hey all

Just wanted to post my Arkose up here as ive read most of 23 pages of the thread. and James O is my hero.
Ive spent a silly amount of time and effort and money in building up this bike.
2013 Arkose frame
Sram Apex 1 group set (hydro discs, 11 speed, 10-42 cassette)
Hope 20five wheels (Pro 4 hubs)
WTB nano 40s (they fit fine)
Ritchey venture max flared shallow drop bars.
25* zipp stem
Fabric shallow saddle
Knock off Canyon VCLS seatpost from china 🙁
Nuke proof headset spacers
Fiziks seatpost collar thing
PRO performance seat clamp
Lizard skinz bar tape.
Approx 10kg with pedals.

Now I know that thru axle forks are stiffer, might have to get 2017 frameset when they drop.

What’s the current go to recommendation for guards for a 2015 Arkose 4 (the blue one, carbon fork). I’m currently running the stock Small Block 8’s on there (well, I’ve replaced them when they woe out but kept the same tyre) but will probably fit some 32 -35mm winter road tyres, erm, for the winter.

Looking to move on my XL 2016 Arkose 4 rolling frameset if anyone’s in the market?

What’s the current go to recommendation for guards for a 2015 Arkose 4 (the blue one, carbon fork). I’m currently running the stock Small Block 8’s on there (well, I’ve replaced them when they woe out but kept the same tyre) but will probably fit some 32 -35mm winter road tyres, erm, for the winter.

SKS Chromoplastics here – I’ve fitted the 35mm variant, but that is because they were removed from my previous bike – the next width up (40mm I think) would be better.
No issues when fitting but you might need to bend/shape/cut the stays a bit, especially on the front.

Read back through this thread, loads of mudguard info earlier on.

Finally hit buy on the Arkose 4 last weekend as it was in a sale (10% off). Now marked as out of stock for every size except XL, but hopefully it’ll turn up at the shop soon.

Very excited! It’s to replace my five year old Madone as a more versatile bike. Sections of bridleway, tracks and towpaths linking up quieter roads. Very excited!

Anyone got any pictures of the black 4 in the flesh? Keep me entertained while I’m waiting!

my arkose was stolen in feb, replaced it with a rapide rl2 disc whose forks snapped after 2 rides. now im bikeless

I picked up my Arkose 3 on Thursday so I’ve only manned to get out on it once so far but I think it’s going to be perfect for me as a commuter/ winter road bike.

Bregante, that looks really nice. Classy simply black / red thing going on. I love mine.

I’ve had mine for about 9 months, mainly as a winter bike and a bit of off road when it’s dry. I really like it, its so versatile with 40mm G Ones set up tubeless and a few other upgrades. Possibly a bit small for me at 6’4 but overall very happy with it.

I need to sort rotors and a cassette but I’m looking forward to giving this a spin.

lush. I love me some gum walls

Hmmm, have got an Arkose Ltd reserved at Evans, but they are telling me that it will cost £74.49 if I want to have it tubeless. I’ve never had tubeless before, but that seems a bit steep when the bike itself comes with rims which Evans say are “tubeless compatible” and tyres which they describe as “tubeless ready”. Am I being ripped off? I loved the bike when I test rode it, but Evans always seem to make it really hard work buying from them!

Just do the tubeless conversion yourself. You’ll need to buy your own fluid for top-ups anyway.

I spent approximately £15 on tape, £12, on values and £15 in sealant and a couple of hours or so of time to get my hope rims running tubless.
I then spent another £20 and another hour changing over to stans rubber inner thing as couldn’t get the first attempt to seal, sealant comming through the spoke holes.
So actually £75 doesn’t seem to be too bad. 🙂

Am I being ripped off?

No, it’s just that shipping bikes with sealant in is fraught with issues, the bike is just specced with TLR rims and tyres to minimise the cost of going tubeless if you want to. Tape plus sealant is part of the cost of doing that, labour is the rest. It’s an easy job to do yourself tbh and I’d recommend it, it’s useful to learn and get to grips with the process.

Many thanks all. Sounds like I should forgive Evans and this might have to be a learning experience then! Any recommendations for tape or sealant? If it is relevant the rims are Alex Volar 2.1 and the tyres WTB Riddlers.

Slight thread hi-jack (but still Pinnacle related)

Jameso – any plans for a 2018 Dolomite SS (and if so, what changes are there to the ’17) or should I just go for the 2017 that is currently being reduced?

Need a new N+1 for my winter commute…….

Cheers,

A

Any recommendations for tape or sealant?

21mm rim tape (20-23mm would be OK) and Stans, WTB or other sealant brands, not sure there’s much in it ime, I’ve used 50% water and 50% art shop latex as sealant just to save £ when swapping tyres a lot.

Andy, Dolomite SS will have flat-mount brakes to follow how the Dolomite ’17 frame evolved, and black paint, otherwise the same. Not due in for a couple of months though.

Cool – cheers Jameso! Think I’ll go for the ’17 version

Size wise I’m thinking Medium? I’m 5’10 (on a good day) riding 56cm specialized road bikes (diverge and roubaix) so looking at the geo charts it’s Medium – do you agree?

A

You could ride a M or L, if the reach and stack of the M is close to what you have now I’d go for that.

Size wise I’m thinking Medium? I’m 5’10 (on a good day) riding 56cm specialized road bikes (diverge and roubaix) so looking at the geo charts it’s Medium – do you agree?

[quote]You could ride a M or L, if the reach and stack of the M is close to what you have now I’d go for that.[/quote]FWIW, I’m 5’9 and had a test ride on a friends ‘M’ Dolomite and found the stack a little high and the reach a little short.
Quite disappointing, as I was only testing it quickly to confirm I wanted the lovely new LTD edition and it put me right off. 🙁

Me again……

What’s the biggest tyre I can get in a dolomite SS?

After thinking some more (and increasing the budget!) I toyed with an Arkose SS for some trailway duties – but the 2017 is OOS! – when is the ’18 due?

So – if I can’t get an Arkose can I bulk up a dolomite with some CX tyres etc?

A

Double post…..deleted!

Triple post?! – deleted!

Quadruple post?! Oh come on! Deleted!!

Size wise I’m thinking Medium? I’m 5’10 (on a good day) riding 56cm specialized road bikes (diverge and roubaix) so looking at the geo charts it’s Medium – do you agree?

FWIW, I’m 5’9 and had a test ride on a friends ‘M’ Dolomite and found the stack a little high and the reach a little short.

The M Dolomite is within a few mm either way of the Roubaix and Diverge 56cm reach and that Andy was asking about though, and it’s 15-25mm lower stack than either. It’s not a race geometry but it’s not as upright as some sportive bikes either. Maybe the bar shape made a difference?

Andy, Dolomite SS will take 32s w/o guards. We’re not bringing in an Arkose SS ’18 sorry. Limited by the number of drop bar models we can have! A shame as it was a personal fave but the Dolomite SS is at a price where we sell many times more bikes than the Arkose SS.

Cheers for the reply jameso!

Hmm – that’s a shame about no Arkose SS! Thinking if a dolomite is still the way to go, but go for a skinny cx style tyre for trailway duties.

Out of interest – is the rear wheel on the dolomite a normal freehub with spacers and a single sprocket? Or a screw-on SS freewheel?

Ta!

A

Now seriously considering an Arkose SS – scouring the second hand market…….

Jameso – Seeing as haven’t got the option to try for size – medium or large? Was leaning towards a medium Dolomite SS

Thanks!

A

Saw the Arkose Ltd in the local Evans today. Fine looking bike. Glad its too expensive for RideToWork otherwise I could have been tempted

I got mine on Cyclescheme, store accepted a cash top up…

Picked mine up earlier this week, and yes, the store accepted a cash top up. You’ll need to find another excuse. It rides beautifully, on road and off.

Dont think that thought hadnt crossed my mind

Does anyone know what size of bolt is necessary for the fork eyelets in a 2016-17 arkose 4? I’m trying to fit my mudguards and none of my massive bolt collection fits. I’m suspecting a bizarre imperial size or odd thread pitch.

Just bought a secondhand 2013 Arkose 3 today so will need to read yup on this long thread!

can you squeeze 47mm tyres on 2017 model?

Hi,

I believe you can fit up to 50mm on 650b (I’m running WTB Byways, 47mm) and up to 40mm on 700c (mine came with 40mm WTB Nanos).

Ben

I’m trying to figure out a build for this frame

specs says it has integrated headset, what that means exactly?
do I need to buy some kind of headset or is it included?
can anybody point me out a compatible headset?

can you squeeze 47mm tyres on 2017 model?

47mm 650b fit with bags of room.

Rear

Front
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/36242692514_aeafc69873.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

meant 700×47

Bregante,

Good to see that after missing your message you’ve got wheels and tyres sorted!

I’m continuing to experiment with pressures, but find the WTB Byways roll pretty well at 35psi on and off road.