prefer my ‘Pepsi’ anyway

Sacrilege! I know I’m in a minority here but I’ve never much liked the SKX007/9, I think the 779/781s have a lot more character. The QC’s way better on the Gen 1 Monsters I’ve seen too.

The QC’s way better on the Gen 1 Monsters I’ve seen too.

I’ve got a Pepsi, an Orange Monster gen 1 and a white samurai. The OM isn’t bad but the bezel doesn’t line up – since it doesnt have an insert, there is nothing you can do to fix it.
The Samurai is the best of the bunch QC wise. The Pepsi and the OM tie for second. They all ran 25s a day fast out of the factory of course, that’s mandatory for a seiko.

Bugger! The Pepsi is now playing up, the rotor sounds ‘rough’ and to cap it all an old Seiko 5 which has always kept very good time has also decided to stop. I wonder if the Ebay guy will do a bulk discount?

On the plus side, while rummaging about for something/anything that worked,I came across a Zenith Xl-tronic in a bag of ‘cheap’ watches which belonged to my Dad. Hopefully just needs a new battery as the movement looks like new and was a nice surprise when I opened it up.

My Orient Kano/Mako arrived a couple of weeks ago from Creation (take the “Registered Parcel Free Shipping” option”, no taxes or import costs).

Firstly, it’s a lovely watch, feels really good quality, the finish is impressive for a £120 watch. The rubber strap, that I expected to swap on arrival, is also very good, probably as comfortable rubber strap as I’ve ever worn. Time keeping seems good too though I’ve not checked it against an app.

Only negative is that it’s huge, 44mm and it doesn’t wear small.

Not 100% sure if I’ll keep it or not, it really does look good and is a cracking watch, but is it just too big?!?! Hmm….

The OM isn’t bad but the bezel doesn’t line up – since it doesnt have an insert, there is nothing you can do to fix it

You could take a file to the tang on the spring, that’ll let you adjust where the bezel stops.

Only negative is that it’s huge, 44mm and it doesn’t wear small.

It’s a nice looking watch but I wouldn’t be able to get on with 44mm myself. In a similar style I’ve a red dial Kamasu and that’s quite big enough at 42 or so. Having said that I’ve have a couple of Casios that are well over 44mm but somehow they’re different!

I’ve said it before but I really like my Kano, the finish on it is amazing for the RRP let alone the creation price.

It is big but so what, wear it for a day or two and you forget you’ve got it on.

It really depends on case shape for comfort and dial size door visuals. My Hulk (45mm) wears no bigger, maybe smaller, then my 42mm pelagos or 41.5mm po. Iirc my c60 bronze is 43mm but again wears smaller then the Tudor. It’s also a state of mind…. I’ve got used to large watches …I quite fancy fiddy cased Pam these days

Charlie from Singletrack here. I have had a chat with Elliot Brown Watches from my old neighbourhood of Dorset. I used to surf with those guys when they were Animal and I was almost 30 years younger. Anyway…  tomorrow myself, Chipps, Mark and Amanda are having a brain storm/idea shower/thought fog session on a custom Singletrack Elliot Brown watch.

They look amazing, and the micro detailing is incredibly impressive. But I am not really a watch guy… so suggestions and input are very welcome. (sits back and braces himself to learn too much about watches). Cheers watch folk.

Not too big! 40mm case with 20mm lugs is perfect

@<span class=”bbp-author-name”>charliedontsurf,</span>

You’ll get a whole range of views on here, everyone’s taste is different, but for me I’d want:

Automatic movement

42mm or smaller in size

Subtle branding

Style is subjective, but not something that screams “I’m a cool surfer/MTBer/whatever”

and legible!  I want to be able to tell what time it is

and legible!  I want to be able to tell what time it is

Yes!!! That too.

Price point is important too. The quality of some £150 Seiko and Orient watches is incredible, if you’re asking for people to pay more than that you need the quality of finish and movement to back up the price.

Sounds like a great idea.

echo some comments above

legible

not too huge

ability to swap straps would be cool (not deal breaker)

subtle branding please. I don’t mind if the face has the Singletrack logo f’instance, (I think the design lends itself well to it) just don’t make it glow in the dark!

+1 on the 40mm or less, they only have one watch in their range which’ll fit me https://elliotbrownwatches.com/collections/kimmeridge

tomorrow myself, Chipps, Mark and Amanda are having a brain storm/idea shower/thought fog session on a custom Singletrack Elliot Brown watch.

This is going to be like when car manufacturers bring out a ‘mountain bike’ , innit? 😉

See my comments last night on size, case shape and dial size….a ‘small’ 43 or 44 works, BUT lots of potential buyers will see the spec and move on. So 40 – 42mm. Sports watch, screw down crown, 200+m wr, clear and legible dial, 3 hander, no date, I prefer automatic and Swiss but a quality quartz would be cheaper. Or.. something a little different maybe… Ditch the screw down crown, 100m wr is enough and go manual wind…a unitas movement maybe.

Your going to end up with a current watch and styling changes though agent you? Crank arms for hands and cogs for hour markers.

Just looked on the website and the watches don’t look bad at all, but I just can’t get my head round £900 for a watch with a fair standard auto movement.

Legible, simple, tough, not divers (it’s a riders watch), leather / rubber / nato and not metal strap.

On legible & simple. Doesn’t need a date, high contrast colours are good. Supernova a given.

Avid brake discs used to be 12 armed – I made a clock out of one – nice shadow print on the dial maybe?

And automatic for me – NE15 perhaps?

Legible, simple, tough, not divers (it’s a riders watch), leather / rubber / nato and not metal strap.

Pretty much defines a fleiger/pilot watch or field watch. The whole reason for those is legibility, accuracy and toughness above all else, and you don’t need a bezel or extra complications.
Something like the Laco I posted earlier, or a Sinn. I’d be up for something like that, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, Seiko NH35 movement, matt-finish case, perhaps even a composite material.
Job jobbed!

You’ve been beaten to it though

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323165576771?hash=item4b3e2b5e43:g:t~8AAOSweq5atWO3

One requirement that’s not been noted above – make it light!

I’ve sometimes forgotten to take of one of my heavier watches when MTBing. Gets bloody sore battering against your wrist if you’re hauling down a rough trail. Or you have to wear it a bit too tight for comfort.

I ride with a HRM watch or smart watch, for a Elliot Brown / Singletrack collaboration weight wouldn’t bother me.

I ride with a HRM watch or smart watch, for a Elliot Brown / Singletrack collaboration weight wouldn’t bother me.

Agree with this. I ride with a smart watch or my aged G-Shock as they’re light and hard wearing. I’d see the Elliot Brown as a leisure watch not a riding watch.

I’ve got an Elliot brown canford and a handful of animal watches

Fabric or rubber strap. (The canford on a bracelet is way to heavy for riding further than the shops) where as my old animal W001 and W002 on Velcro or NATO straps regularly get used for riding.

Don’t use the flat head strap screws they used on the canfords.

No bezel or external bezel (the internal bezel on the canfords is a bit gimmicky as it’s bi directional so can’t be used for timing) and the extra crown is just another thing to hit the back of your hand on a bike

The sealed non screw down crowns are great. 200m and no need to remember to screw the crown down.

And this will be controversial but in a genuine tool watch I like a quartz movement, accurate/reliable/robust no need to reset if you don’t wear it for a few days.

@IHN you should of seen the car we designed… 

Our watch will have rack and peanut steering, a bottle opener, a cup holder for Great British sized pints, and the bezel edge design is based on the teeth of Bez from the Happy Mondays.

Realistically it’s likely to be a re-designed Canford or Holton but if we’re allowed a wish list I want a quartz version of the Archimede Outdoor in 44mm with fixed lugs and a 6 o’clock date, matt finish, black dial, white numerals etc and maybe an STW green seconds hand.

A variation on the Kimmeridge would be good – new Explorer almost?

Or a Bloxworth – quartz chronographs make a lot of sense and there’s even a picture of an MTB on the website!

Clearly there will need to be nightrider and weekend warrior versions.

I ride with a HRM watch or smart watch,

Me too, a Garmin Instinct which annoys me as I don’t used it for anything other than telling the time. I’m thinking of selling it and buying a Rangeman for the job.

Although a Rangeman would be even more difficult to get under arm warmers

And automatic for me – NE15 perhaps?

Not likely, the NE15 has been discontinued by Seiko and apparently it’s as yet unnamed replacement is to be much more expensive.

Realistically it’s likely to be a re-designed Canford or Holton

I didn’t have time to add anything further this morning, I had to drive down to Salisbury, but while I was driving my thoughts were either base it on the Land Rover or the Holton MilSpec, but sans bezel – it says in the blurb that the bezel can be a bit aggressive worn under a shirt cuff, and really isn’t necessary for riding. Otherwise the Holton is a perfect Field Watch, or Flieger, just put the movement and face into a bezel-less case, sorted.
When can I put my order in?…

Price point is important too. The quality of some £150 Seiko and Orient watches is incredible, if you’re asking for people to pay more than that you need the quality of finish and movement to back up the price

I don’t want to be negative about the whole idea but if I was looking for value I wouldn’t be talking to a company that puts a £20 quartz movement into a fairly run of the mill 316l case and asks £350 for it. If you’re after value look to some of the Singaporean micros, there’s a new Axios just hit Kickstarter today at a launch price of $249/279. Sort of a retro-ish looking 40mm field watch with NH35, sapphire and 200m wr.

I like the idea of the solid bars with screw-in facility, it’s a royal PITA sometimes, trying to get springbars in and out, solid screw-in ones are a much better idea, better than drilled pillars like my SPORK and Heimdallr have.

or drilled lugs!

I don’t think the price point is going to be an issue, in fact it will probably sell much better if it can be mostly sourced/manufactured locally in a sterile handbuilt hut made out if driftwood and be 5-10 times more expensive than an equivalent spec. from outside the UK 😉

New (to me) watch day. Dagaz Typhoon. 484 of 500.

I don’t want to be negative about the whole idea but if I was looking for value I wouldn’t be talking to a company that puts a £20 quartz movement into a fairly run of the mill 316l case and asks £350 for it. If you’re after value look to some of the Singaporean micros, there’s a new Axios just hit Kickstarter today at a launch price of $249/279. Sort of a retro-ish looking 40mm field watch with NH35, sapphire and 200m wr.

Everyone has different ideas of value but based on having been a Canford owner for several years and having spoken to Ian Elliot via email a couple of times after asking various questions I’d personally consider an Elliot Brown to offer better value than whatever the latest “tick the most boxes for the lowest price, disrupt the market by cutting out the middle-man, don’t let anyone see the quality upfront, probably fail to deliver and almost certainly vanish never to be seen again leaving you standard for support” watch that kickstarter is offering.

There are a few Elliot Brown reviews in the wild, of the Canford particularly, that specifically address the perceived lack of value and they all say much the same thing – on paper it’s expensive, in reality it’s definitely worth it because everything is done so well.

This didn’t even include the fact that you can pretty much go into most decent sized towns and physically try one on, try it with different straps etc.

I’m not an EB fanboi by any means and like I said, everyone has different ideas of value but just saying “quartz bad, mass produced cheap as poss auto good” doesn’t really provide good comparisons.

Ivan, you’re obviously right that people’s perceptions of value differ but it’s unfair to slag off that Kickstarter offering to try and make your point. Kickstarter can be a minefield and anyone signing up to one is well advised to do their due diligence but the people behind that Axios offering have a good track record in delivering quality products as promised and suggesting they’ll “probably fail to deliver and almost certainly vanish never to be seen again” is unjustified.

just saying “quartz bad, mass produced cheap as poss auto good”

Well, I didn’t say that and I don’t believe it, though I expect if EB were interested in producing the Canford in a mechanical variant the extra £20 for an NH35 could comfortably come out of their mark up. Though of course they’d have even less justification for including the lettering “SWISS” on the dial.

For someone whose normal taste is bulky dive watches, I’m really enjoying this watch. I’d never heard of the Actus range (also marketed as 5 Actus). Apparently it was the JDM “young, activity line”.
The serial number on this one matches my year and month of birth. In decent nick for its 44th year, keeps good time and still has a decent lume.

New Christopher Ward C63’s have the logo at 12 o’clock and much better for it.  Kinda like the white faced GMT

https://www.christopherward.com/sport-new