Anyone with a spare mag that has the Enigma review from last year. It was through the grinder by Benji. I’ve mailed STW towers but no response.

I have read it online but it would be nice to have the mag to keep as I’ve acquired that actual frame.

Cheers

Pete

An evening bump 🙂

Oooooo….. please post some pics of it built up. Very tempted myself. Sorry can’t help with the magazine.

One last bump for the daytime viewers

Benji’s on twitter and may know?

is this the one:

http://www.enigmabikes.com/egoist_review.html

Sorry, just read you have seen it on line

If you don’t have any luck then you can have my copy, subject to me getting to try the new bike once my ankle’s fixed!

All the best with the ankle repair Chief!

Just to add a little colour to the thread. It started out in satin black….

the red inside the tubes is ‘red oxide anti-corrosion paint’ btw

two pack primer

two pack top

Apparently it’s issue 59 – just heard from STW towers so I’ll try and order that from them. Thanks for the offer Mr C – guru – of course you can have a go – no crashing mind! 😉

Nice respray! You’re continuing my dilemma that my head wants a beefy carbon fibre frame but my heart wants an elegant steel one… Crash, moi?

my head wants a beefy carbon fibre frame but my heart wants an elegant steel one

simple solution is just to buy two frames 🙂

if you become a Premier member you can just download a copy of the mag.

simple solution is just to buy two frames

Cut and shut?

How about a beefy steel frame – surely!

🙂

How about a beefy steel frame – surely!

I know, I keep thinking about a 16″ BFe but right now it would be a serious case of all the gear, not enough idea…

How about a regular Soul, they seem pretty tough from what I’ve seen?

That’s the way I’m leaning now. I have geometry confusion though! Am convinced that relatively steep head angles and short wheelbases are best around most of our local trails but likewise I think I’ll be much safer with a slack front end over in Cwmcarn, Afan, etc, or on the local cheeky DH tracks. So I liked the idea of a bike that can run 100-160mm adjustable forks – like the 456 (carbon preferably) or BFe. Further investigation has revealed that only the beefiest TALAS / U-turn forks have that range of adjustment (unless I’ve missed something) and those big forks would be overkill for me, which means the Soul is back in the running, so right now it’s 16″ Carbon 456 vs 17.5″ Soul, with Fox TALAS 32 100-140.

Just trying to suss out how both compare at 100mm to my Boardman, I think the Soul is maybe 1 degree slacker and the 456 a bit more, but between unsagged vs sagged measurements, different % sag and different quoted fork length it’s very hard to get a definitive answer! Of course the solution is to ride both but if I could then I wouldn’t be thinking about it so much…

Your new Enigma is relatively steep isn’t it? But you also have a big bike for the big stuff, right?

Woodsman – do you know what issue number you want – I’ve got issues 14-60 at home ready to be recycled. Let me know and I’ll fire it in the post for free.

Cheif or Alex, the Enigma has a 71 degree head angle, classic xc singletrack for 100mm fork or suspension corrected rigid maybe!. In fact I think my old Kona is probably my fastest bike for the local singletrack and that has zero fork travel. I wouldn’t get too caught up in the head angle geo’, most frames made now are using tried and tested head/seat angles. For me seat tube (obviously) and top tube lenth are the most important.

Yep I have the 5spot for the bigger stuff – doesn’t get used much!

Marmoset, fantastic offer thankyou, but my back copy arrived this morning from STW shop. Cheers anyway! Pete

Pete – That looks gorgeous, can’t wait to see it in the flesh – now I’m sorted and should start getting back out soon.

Chief – I’ve sorted myself on a Soul so you are more than welcome to sling your leg over some time. Runs lovely at 120mm and still coped with the drops up Leith Hill no problem.

I thought your old Kona had a tendency to dump you on the floor Pete, or was that an anomaly? 😉 The Boardman is definitely speedy round here, I’m just scared I might get myself into a dangerous situation pushing it/myself too hard next time I’m somewhere more epic. Either that or break it… I foolishly emailed Cotic today, what have I done?

Bobster, I shall give your Soul a go next time I see you! Which forks do you have? Cotic recommended the Sektor Coil U-Turn 100-140 as a lower maintenance alternative to the TALAS 32, and at half the price it’s very appealing. Had the plaster cast taken off today and have been given a boot rather than a fibreglass cast so progress is being made – was shocked to discover that my calf is about have the size it was before and it was already on the skinny side! Is going to take a while to get back to normal… Did you damage yourself too or was it bike sorting keeping you in?

Have I gone a little off topic?

Not sure I know what you’re refering to there Chief – think I’ve only come off it twice and that was in the wet, once on the actual Big Dog (on a climb) and the other a week before training for it. Go-on remind me then? 🙂

Cheers Bob, look forward to seeing your new steel too!

I think it must have been the week before the Big Dog, I was just going out with Ronnie and Rob and you were on your way back after the involuntary dismount. It stuck in my mind because out of everyone I’ve ridden with so far, you seem to fall off the least (or at least do it the most steathily!)

I’m enjoying this one.

After years of faffing, studying bike sizes, geometry and materials I have settled on what suits me, the experience that come with age can’t be beaten. Stem length, bar length and sweep and rise haven’t been mentioned yet let alone crank arm length. Alex you need to talk to the man on the orange Reliant Robin bike (I believe that Ibis and Reliant are now one and the same company).

Pete doesn’t seem to fall off as regularly as the rest of us, the way I see it he isn’t trying hard enough. I must say that recently I’ve become the Norman Wisdom of our little group.

Alex, with one good leg you will be finen for riding cirlces round the rest of us! 😀

Cheers

Alex – I’m running a Reba at 120mm with a Maxle, I loved the fork when I tried it on a Genesis, really don’t notice the loss of 20mm much over the Pike, but notice the loss of weight on the front. Nearly went Fox, and Dobby (The other ex Hummer rider) has Floats on his, the FIT model, they are very nice. But Rockshox require a little less careful maintenance so went for them. My absence was bike failure related, and then I think I got a bit depressed about it all and chose the wrong bike to start with. Sorted now and very happy.

Hopefully I’ll be out on a Thursday again in a few weeks so should catch you then Pete and Mike.