Mercian and others have given up on 953, simply because Reynolds couldn’t deliver.

It’s true that there’s a sizable lead time with 953 (raw materical is supplied from Carpenter Technology in the US in very, very small batches – http://www.cartech.com/ ). I think with it’s associated costs there’s a sensible tendancy for Reynolds not to hold too much stock at any given time and operate more on a made-to-order basis. Saying that they’re unable deliver isn’t entirely fair. If you want the good stuff, you’ll have to wait.

As lovely as the 953 will be, it’ll still be one very expensive bike/frame and we know it’ll be low volume. Hence the 853 – representing a sweet spot between performance and cost.

Whether we stick with the race geometry that the team settle on or go with less aggressive numbers for production is yet to be decided. The Volare and Equilibrium will be two very different bikes both visually and in ride feel.

Equilibrium’s not going anywhere and we’ve got some nice new ‘updates’ pencilled in for MY2014.

Hi Guys, we’ve not released any details on it because there’s not much to tell at the mo. The team riders frames (version 1 prototypes essentially – some Di2 specific, some mechanical) arrive in about 2 weeks time and I’m sure there’ll be some photos doing the rounds then. The riders will feedback on the frame and this will then form the basis for anything we’ll then offer aftermarket as part of MY2014. A lot of the tubing development is largely experimental (new for both us and Reynolds) and truth be told, until we’ve got some built and ridden we have no idea how they’ll ride (expect it to be a hell of a lot different to the Equilibrium though). We’re looking at frame-only options in 953, 931 & 853 and some full builds (maybe even down to an afordable 725 version).

Hope this helps for now.

Common misconception that Genesis, being under the Madison banner, get preferencial treatment or OEM rates from Shimano. It’s all based on volume, and with this in mind, Genesis is a very small fish in a big pond.

As for big S producing special single ring chainsets given the qtys of bikes Genesis are ordering… I’m afriad you’ve got a very rose tinted view of the OEM market.

Hi scud, should be a 29.8mm clamp / 27.2mm seatpost. Had some personel changes here @ Genesis recently and have a bit of a backlog of emails. Sorry.

Genesis Fortitude is pretty low at the front (but like the Ragley TD-1, has been designed around a short axle-crown rigid fork)

Sim’s testing a Shinobi 2 at the mo. Likes it I think. MBUK review imminent too (think they liked it too). Stock landing mid/Jan. Alan Muldoon/Steve Jones liked it too.

Semi-permanent henna tattoo? Keep everyone happy??? 😉

Not turning up for prize giving: not good really, should at least stand on the podium.

^^^^+1 a bit diva-esque shunning the awards ceremony

http://interbike.mtbr.com/2012-litespeed-cohutta

Mmmmmmmm…

Steel is still the thinking mans choice IMHO

wysiwyg – YGM!

Got a 2007 Supreme 6.10 for sale at a very nice price if you’re interested? I should be able to dig out photos tonight. DHX air on the back and Manitou Nixon 160mm Super Intrinsic on the front.

http://www.troc-velo.ca/velos-de-montagne-freeride-enduro-commencal-supreme-6-10-1-1-1239.htm

If that’s what 10yrs in the cycle industry does to you I’m outta here! 🙂

Only kidding – grow it back Michael!

Yep, you should be able to tweak it in the workstand. It was proper fine tuning (1/2 turns) but it should help with the noise.

You running it with a 11-36T cassette? The last few 10sp shadow rear mechs I’ve setup with 36T cassettes were extremely sensitive to B-Tension adjustments.

Shimano/Time FTW. You’ve got to have confidence in your kit.

+3 PRO PLT Compact. Great bar on or offroad

Bloody awesome bike. Surprised Bikedock have got any left (presuming they’re the 2010 model) – the 2011 model (both full bike and frameset) is rare as hens teeth!

That’s Todd Carver’s company right? They’re official bike fitters for Sky, RadioShack, Garmin and HTC-Columbia so I’d imagine they’re good. Expensive, but good. Giro also used Todd as a consultant on their new footwear range.

GavinB – that’s the date for free stock. Those dealers that got in early with backorders will recieve stock ongoing from the first stock drop on 20/10/10. They’re by no means big drops though so expect limited availability until the bigger drops arrive early in the new year.

Front will go much quicker than the rear as each of the front LED's put out 10 lumens (40 in total). I think they're great little lights.

Nope, not an ad as there's nothing to buy! Tis news.

Ha! James was, and I think still is a bit protective of this project judging by the sole, pixellated, cropped image! There's a few tweaks being made and I think 2nd gen. prototypes will be ordered soon. We'll probably start gathering some wider-reaching feedback on these from third parties (press, dealers, etc).

Park Tool warranty is amongst the best in the industry!

+1 for the Gamut Dual Ring. Makes an e13 look so unnecessarily over-engineered.

All Shimano 15 and 20mm hubs use the oversized CL locking (needed to clear the axle diameter). It's red (on the XT AM wheelset) and should've come with the wheels. You'll need a HTII BB fitting tool to tighten it up. Hope this helps.

Great read as ever Philip. Hats off to you and your brother!

Rorschach – not discontinued just sold out for this year! They were unbelievably popular and sold way beyond our expectations. Keep your eyes peeled for a 2011 model with Alfine 8sp and Versa dropbar shifters.

Glad you like them Houns. It was touch and go whether to range the black lower versions but we decided to keep things simple for the first year. We'll probably expand things a little once things get up to speed. You got yours before I got my press samples (which went out today)! There should be reviews coming up in Dirt, Singletrack and MBR so fingers crossed they'll like them as amuch as you.

Loving my custom built Altitude and can't see me changing bikes for the foreseeable. Isn't the P7 meant to be a bit on the porky side for 2010? Anyone know the frameweight as it's not on their site?

Commencal have got their act together for 2010 and a lot of the quality issues seem to have been resolved.

I get the impression that a few of the posters on here would rather carry their mtb over/around a muddle rather than ride through it.

"dont get it – they're the same fork not in a box?"
"I'm also intrigued how an OEM Fox fork is 'inferior'. "
+1

Take apart some oem Fox forks and give the lowers a yank/twist at the dropouts. Then strip the same 'aftermarket' fork, do the same and then tell me there's no difference.

They look the same so they must be the same, right?

With lights the quality of the beam pattern is just as (if not more so) important as the total lumen count (no point having the output if it's not used effectively). For quality of beam pattern it gets no better than Light & Motion IMHO

Not tried the Mavics but I'm very, very impressed with the Shimano RS80's

RS80's are very, very, very good. Not tried the Fulcrums I'm afraid.

Like the only the difference is the weight?! XTR cranks are miles stiffer than SLX

£25 is a bargain and cheaper than srp on an XTR chain. The upgrades of a Yumeya chain are:

– Hollow pins to reduce weight, 10 grams less than XTR

– Ti-Nitrate plated inner plates to reduce friction for better shifting and improved durability. The Ti-Nitrate coating is also porous and holds lube for longer

I know it's a faff sending the old one back but it's the only way we can control the limited warranty stock of spare 5.1 white rims for the EX1750. If it wasn't controlled/checked then they'd go very, very quickly.