I’m running a 10speed SLX chain set with 9 speed chain. No problems at all!

Since moving to the a place where I can ride a different trail from the door every day of the weak I would struggle to relocate to the suburbs. I’ve barely visited a trail centre in 18 months and not missed them one jot. A lap of W2 at Afan last weekend reminded me that I’m not missing much. All riding is good though, just make the most of wherever you live.

Called in there today for new rotors and front mech. Always my first point of call.

New chain + part worn cassette = trouble in my experience. Rediscovered this issue on todays commute. Glad I rode the bike before this weekends road trip to Wales.

Has anyone persevered with the chain skipping? Do they eventually fuse nicely?

New chain + part worn cassette = trouble in my experience. Rediscovered this issue on todays commute. Glad I rode the bike before this weekends road trip to Wales.

Has anyone persevered with the chain skipping? Do they eventually fuse nicely?

George…

[/url] Untitled[/url] by Aaron Cousins[/url], on Flickr[/img]

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Untitled[/url] by Aaron Cousins[/url], on Flickr

He moved in with us just over a year ago. Came from Manchester dogs home but now lives the life of riley with us up in Saddleworth. We don’t know what he is and how old he is but he’s a little scamp. He loves socks (preferably worn) and is a fine trail dog.

I have a raceface respond double and bash in very good condition if you’re interested.

Bromptons are surprisingly rapid due to the skinny tyres and high pressure. I often find myself keeping up with roadies and overtaking hybrids. The strange handling very quickly becomes normal and very good fun.

NWMTB[/url] in Cheadle near Stockport.

I can highly rate SLX. Had a set on one of my bikes for 2 years and they still look fresh due to limited superficial wear from shoe rub.

Merlin currently have a very good deal on the 10 speed triple which I am informed works nicely with a 9 speed setup. Mine should have arrived in the post today!

I emailed Merlin who promptly replied stating that 10 speed cranks work fine with 9 speed but some people report rougher shifting.

I’ll be using it as a double on my Alpine 160 so I doubt the shifting will be an issue. It can’t be any worse than the shifting quality of the Raceface crankset it will be replacing.

I’m not usually into musical but I lived it. What a breath of fresh air compared to the usual tosh that’s in the cinema these days. Some of the singing is a bit shonky because it was filed live. Added to the gritty frame in my opinion.

We went on our honeymoon 4 years ago and had a great time. Travelled around and stayed at some nice hotels. Kandalama was the highlight. Earl Regency in Kandy was very nice. Tea Factory hotel was good for a few nights. Mount Lavinia was very nice in Colombo. Colombo itself was pretty forgettable but everywhere else was fab.

Highlights were Sigariya, Dambulla, Temple of the Tooth, Botanic Gardens. We also paid to go on a day long elephant safari which was really good. Prepare for eating curry at breakfast. All the food was very good. Look out for egg hopper and mutton curry. Very tasty! Watch out for bones though.

Glad to hear you,re ok Ed. Hope it doesn’t cause too much trouble at work. I’m sure you’ll be back on the bike in no time.

Here, here. I’ll also be making a donation. Top blokes.

Frame – Orange Alpine 160
Brakes – Hope M4
Fork – Fox Float 160
Gears – Double with bash and Saint 9 speed.
Wheels – Hope Pro II on Mavic something or other.

Frame – Brompton
Brakes – Brompton
Fork – Brompton
Gears – Sturmey Archer 3 speed
Wheels – Brompton castors

Go and see my old man if your after a van. Tell him I sent you.

http://Www.cdvans.com

Buck 53 – not many miles of bridleway around here so cheeky trails are the name of the game. There’s a lot around dovestones and most of it is stuff worn in by bikers as opposed to footpaths which minimises walker/biker confrontation.

I’d be willing to show you some trails.

It made the MEN – at least it’s getting good coverage. Some very short sighted comments from the usual anti-cycling brigade.

Link

The alpine comes speced with a race face double bash so I can’t see any reason why slx won’t fit. Good choice. You will love the Alpine!

:arrow:

If the CCDB is in good nick and you’re interested, I’ll do you a straight swap for the RP23 that came on my Alpine. It has had 1 year of light use.

Doesn’t sound like there’s much justification for spending an extra £170 on Hope. I do like to support UK business (I have a Brompton and Alpine 160) but £170 would come in useful elsewhere over Xmas.

The new Deore are only £80 so I’ll give them a whirl and report back. Thanks for the input.

Brompton commuter here.

Lots of punctures led me to using slime in the inner tubes. Not sure whether its the volume of glass on Manchester roads or a Brompton thing. Only other mechanicals in two years have been consumables including new chain and brake blocks. I do all my own maintainence and repairs.

Wouldn’t swap cycle commuting for driving if I was paid to drive. Love it.

I bought an Olympus EP-1 a couple of years ago from Wilkinson cameras at £300 and used the fact that I’d be able to stuff it my camelback as justification. I take it out on dry rides but it is too and heavy and big for a pocket. Due to its aluminium construction it’s still looking pretty fresh and the shots are as good as an intermediate level SLR.

It’s a fantastic camera and has pretty much made my Nikon SLR redundant. I would definitely recommend one of these to anyone considering SLR. It’s well worth getting an adapter so you can use old lenses. I have a series of Olympus OM prime lenses that I picked up for about £20 each.

I got one a few weeks ago. No complaints. Very bright.

Received my C&B seen last week. Very impressed.

Last week I discovered we had a visitor in the garage. I bought a Procter humane trap from the local hardware store for£6 and loaded with a few dog biscuits. Next morning there was a very cute mouse in there happily nibbling away. I drove him onto the moors and set him free (probably to be eaten by a buzzard/stoat/other predator).

+1 for Saddleworth. 30 Mins on the train from Greenfield or 45 minutes in the car. The train is in the subsidised zone so only £85 per month. I sold my car when we moved and havn’t looked back.

More importantly the riding scene is great. At least 3/4 separate groups regularly out 2/3 times per week catering for all from XC whippets to crank/plummet.

Jimbo,

Until last week I operated a wordpress site and had done so for a about a year. I found the UI and the link with my webspace provider a bit clunky so shopped around for something integrated and came across squarespace[/url]. It looks fairly similar to Moonfruit in terms of pricing and features and is definately worth a look. It also includes a free domain and email and is pretty idiot proof (which I need when it comes to this kind of thing). Type Gimme10 in the voucher box when upgrading and you get 10% off.

I created my new site on Sunday in about 5 hoursshiny new website. There’s a few loose ends to tie off but I’m very happy with it. I emailed the support team a question regarding linking to facebook and received a detailed answer within 10 minutes. Can’t complain so far.

Alpine 160 gets my vote. The free ride pack is a worthy upgrade. Otherwise this is all the bike you’ll ever made-and it’s hand made in Halifax.

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Sorry Flikr wont let me link directly to the image.

It’s a Jamis Dakota Elite 2008 – lovely bike to ride. The frame is aluminium with carbon seatstays which absorb vibration nicely but keep it stiff. It’s still serving me well after 4 years of abuse and I rode Mountain Mayhem on it last weekend.

I bought it before the days Evans began stocking the low-end Jamis bikes. I got it from my (at that time) LBS which was Buy a Bike in Charnock Richard. No idea where he sourced them from as he was the only Jamis stockist in the UK at that time. He had a few mountain bikes and road bikes which were all very well kitted out for reasonable price.

I have since bought a much more expensive full susser which I ride on a weekly basis but I can’t help love this bike more than any other I own – partly because it’s pretty unique in the UK.

Better get some miles on the Jamis Dakota in the next month then. HT It is. Probably take the Alp as back. We have a few teams running and are hiring a big yurt so pop over for a chat. Here’s guys.

No direct experience but I have a Jamis Dakota Elite 2008 and I love it. Really well made, light and great fun to ride.

Mine was a 2012 with silver coller and no bleed kit. Received it two weeks ago.

Both the pobgreen and marsden descents are pretty techy with cobble filled ruts etc but great fun. There are lots of this type of descent on the pots ‘n’ pans hill above Uppermill. The easiest way up is to ride up the Holmfirth road and access the hill from the a landrover track opposite the farm.

The marsden descent is accessed from the penine way which follows the top of stanedge.. Boat lane from the road that crosses stanedge down to dggble is also a great descent.

I’d be happy to show you some stuff around here but don’t have a bike for the next two weeks as my forks gave gone to mojo for a service.

I moved to Uppermill six months ago and I’m sure there’s still loads of stuff I haven’t discovered.

There are lots of Saddleworth circuits on my Strava account. If you have an account feel free to follow me for access to the routes. (aaron cousins)

Here’s a few pics of my Alpine…

I’ve been using an Alpine as my main bike for the past 6 months and I absolutely love it. I use it for everything from xc stuff (grizedale, llandegla, etc) to steep rocky natural local trails in saddleworth and the dark peak area.

I prefer riding the Alpine on XC trails to my Commencal Super4 and I actually think it climbs better (maybe I’m a bit fitter now), hence I just sold it. I’ve always been a plod up, blast down kinda guy so it suits my style. If you have XC whippets tendencies stick to a hardtail.

My only other bike is a 100mm hardtail which I use on commutes & towpath/canal rides with the mrs but otherwise it’s Alpine all the way. I’m seriously considering using it for Mountain Mayhem and will definitely be using it for the summer Alps trip (you don’t get more all round than that).

I tested a Five AM and Alpine and both felt great and are very well made but the Alpine didn’t feel anymore of a chore on the climbs so I went for 160 all round. Everyone seems obsessed with not ‘over biking’ but unless you’re a pro you’ll notice very little difference.

If you are going to get one definitely go for the renhtal bar/stem upgrade and if you’re going to use it for AM stuff consider a reverb dropper.

Go for it, you’ll love it.

Band: British Sea Power
Artist: Elliot Smith