Chainstays look unfashionably long

Funeral shrouds don’t have pockets.

@adsh, appears to be a good test worth reading but results work other way round, FSA K-force comes out best and WCS does not.

I refer you to the OPs response to my giving him the benefit of my experience:-

With all due respect why the **** would you pay £120+ for a non-dropper seatpost? Madness.

I continue to wish him the WCS.

And being a shit descender I’m all about the uphill segments!

Having just bought a Stages I now only partialy agree – it’s all about the uphill segment power (until it’s about the battery life…..)

….It’s like having your bottom caressed by angels…………

it was like being dry bummed by someone well endowed…….

This would appear to be a case of one man’s pleasure is another man’s pain 😯

Will look at the ti/27.2 route. With all due respect why the **** would you pay £120+ for a non-dropper seatpost? Madness. Made for peanuts sold for ££.

See this test. I hope you find a Ritchy WCS Carbon Straight at a bargain price.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/12/training-center/technology/from-the-pages-of-velo-getting-the-most-from-your-post_267560/3

Syntace P6 hiflex – not cheap but very good indeed.

Thanks – if you have any links I’d appreciate it.

Yes

Never mind bikes you don’t ride how about frames you don’t build……..

Enigma Eclair (or some other such stupid name) bought 2011, sold 2014.

Salsa Spearfish heading down that route.

I have had a 29C since April.

Best bike I’ve ever had. Allowed me to do the Manx 100 on ground I would ordinarily want a short travel FS for.

It’s fast, comfortable, very confidence inspiring, descends like a demon, corners well and climbs too. Wondering why I bought a Spearfish frame now.

Also to be considered are the working conditions of the 3rd world factory the frame is made in. Carbon dust very carcinogenic?

If you’re light and easy on kit you could also try Podiums

Any chance of seeing what the rears are like?

So what gearing did you use?

Well, i’lll be on the AM bike unless Njee wants a day out on an AM29er and wants to give me his 19lb Carbon bike

You’re OK it’s

only

a 20lb bike unless there are some new rules about rounding down? (note pedant memory might be wrong)

The section by Kingston Blount must have been uncomfortable!

Wow that’s fast. Well done!

But in case you think they’re magic I had to replace all the bearings in my rear DT240S after 1x dry hour, 2x damp hour and 3xhorrendous wet 4hour races plus about the same again dry training. This appears to be out of the ordinary (and the conditions in one race were truly ghastly)

I’m about to take an end of season break for 3 weeks and it’s going to be hard to watch that hard won fitness drain away but people much more knowledgeable than me tell me it’s essential to take some time off to avoid staleness and to go into the new programme fresh.

Rocket Rons
Whyte 29c
Torq gels
North Wave celcius GT boots
Fenwicks foaming chain cleaner
Caselli Nanoflex arm and knee warmers

Nearest and best A&E is Frimley Park which is very good. Sunday afternoon is surprisingly busy but even so anything minor will generally be sorted in 2hours or so.

If it’s raining or cold you will have some major chores/penances with your wife. Even the Army hate standing around on the training area in the cold and wet doing nothing.

How old is he?

51mm is probably Bike24 or Bike discoun for Reba.

Spearfish is now saying that 46mm is ‘accepable’ on their website.

I bought my Gforms a bit tight to keep them in one place. They do stay up but are pretty uncomfortable after a couple of hours. They make my kneecaps ache and also bunch behind the knee which can pinch. Next size up is probably too big.

Paint must match Audi

Aha – very good idea!

I do Wallingford to Avebury and back as a training ride. This is a bit more serious.

Do you have to start at either end or can you start anywhere on it, ride to the end back up to the other end and finish back where you started?

Not a fan of either of those major components!

I don’t have a Yeti but I did have an Octavia and now a Superb. The yeti is fun has a better ride height for off road but is now lagging a bit on consumption in the diesel models and definately has some space compromises – the boot with the seats up is pretty tiny. Plus I think you pay a premium for the model

The Octavia and the Superb both take a 29er (large) with wheels on and on it’s side with the seats down. You can leave one seat up and have it semi upright with a wheel off. The octavia boot is the same size as the Superb just without the immense rear seat leg room. Both do more or less the same MPG as the Yeti and the Octavia is cheap second hand providing you don’t go for the 4wd. Resale good – millions of taxi drivers want high mileage clean ones.

All great cars

Triple 53/42/30 and 29-13 here. Big ring for descents, middle for most everything else and 30 for climbing.

Castelli nanoflex. Expensive but patch well if required 🙁

Don’t think it’s changed and granted it’s not technical but I don’t think boring when I do it – just shut up legs!

Not worth the potential harm.

Great for XC training. Love the XC loop, lots of roots, lots of techy riding, some fast descending and a sodding great climb – what’s not to like in the dry?

Mr Blobby – drop me an e mail

Training doesn’t cost that much.Torqs day is £250 and worth every penny.

Interested to hear more about this. Did see this recently and couldn’t quite work out what you get for it. So you get a load of testing (assuming establishing thresholds, that sort of thing) then a bunch of theory on training, nutrition etc.? Do you actually come out with some sort of plan or just the tools to put one together?

AM Lactate threshold and FTP test on the col de westbury – ouch!

Lunch – tasty

PM establish your goals and current training regime, do the theory on nutrition (surprise!), training, periodisation etc with some help to build a plan.

You also get their products at trade.

They bend over backwards to help. It’s the best value for performance gain I’ve spent. Really class outfit.

Snake oil evidence.

3x 100mile rides – faster and more comfortable.

1x100mile race on very tough terrain – ain’t ever descended that fast or long on that sort of ground on my Flux.

Move from mid pack 8hr to top 10 (8th) in first 12hr race and I didn’t manage that increase by fitness alone from May.

Training doesn’t cost that much.Torqs day is £250 and worth every penny.

29er by a factor of many.

It’s not just the extra rolling speed but comfort and (at least in my case) modern geo being SO much more confidence inspiring for cornering and descending. My 26er front wheel responds to input from rider and trail so much it feels nervous. My 29er feels like it’s on rails and allowed me to race for 12hours. I have no way of knowing how I’d have done on my 26″ FS but I would have taken part and got round and tried to survive not raced that’s for sure.

I find the ralphs a bit scary even as a rear when its not dry. Some high speed drifts in damp soil in the woods in summer when descending makes me pretty carefull on them. Personaly I prefer Rons but they wear even faster

Whyte 29C

Coke has more carbohydrate which it’s caffeine helps absorb plus it has no fat which means it’s overall calories per ml is lower. No protein but that isn’t an immediate need in the 15minute window. Anyway whatever you prefer.