Great suggestions thanks.

Not thought of a pallet being used as a bike rack… interesting :)

That’s great, thanks for confirming the load capacity :)

Nice solution @Leigh. Any pictures?

@marclelliott, I assume that is a LWB to get that much in? Do you have any pictures of the bikes inside?

Demo one I used years ago rattled and that put me off for a while. Did buy one, MK8 I think and that was fine. I’ve also bought a Mk12 and that doesn’t either.

It’s the padding around the battery I believe, sometimes not fitted properly.

Yep, I can see your point and to be honest I’m in the same place.

To be fair I ought to of explained that with my normal riding buddies this is not a option and we just ride and shout at each other as normal. This scenario has come about as I’ve moved and ended up getting some new people into riding via e-bikes, plus my girlfriend and this type of comms is how they like to ride with each other so I’ve had to adapt to it.

Now I’ve used them a few times, they are ok and there are some real positives to being able to chat away whilst riding. I do want to make it easier though hence looking at a no cable option.

@wzzzz, not that long really but worth checking the area as you suggest. Wouldn’t fell good about selling a leaky fork! I seem to remember that the Vorsprung conversion is less prone to scratching than the Push….

I think there are various upgrades to the forks themselves to make them stronger and lighter, normal advancements but doubt it’s a huge difference. Worth thinking about though, nice idea.

@markgraylish, good point but its the recording of my ride that starts from my house currently.

I’ve marked all rides as private now and will keep it that way.

@singlespeedstu, good point, thanks. I’m currently running a 160mm fork but also want to change to 170mm. Probably work keep the spring the same with a slightly longer travel then to try.

@RichPenny, just thinking about it as an option. My current setup works well once things get lively but still feels harsh on normal trail chatter. I’m also not sure if the guy who fitted got the preload correct etc. and I have some noise from the fork leg so I am thinking something isn’t quite right.

Thanks all, much appreciated.

Knowing that there is a marking on the spring, can I simply remove the top cap to take a look at my current spring rating without having to mess with oil etc? I assume so form what you are saying?

@Northwind, what’s your riding weight just for a gauge for that spring? I’m probably about 95Kg’s in riding gear and I think I have a 50 spring and considering a 45.

Also, if no heat shrink supplied, is there a recommended type to use?

Still trying to work out the best course of action here. Bought the new forks today and really want to put the Smashpot conversion in them from the off. Do I sell my forks with current Smashpot fitted, or will that put people off?

Seems that others are thinking the same then. It’s not really a problem as such but I would like to share with the community as I am looking for other peoples rides, I hope I can help people with suggested routes. Would like to do all that without my home location being shown.

Doesn’t look possible for now then, which is a shame. I still like the platform and will continue to use it but as I ride from my door most of the time, keep them as private.

I personally like it. Been using it a lot since moving to a new area and not knowing any of the local trails. I upgraded to the Premium version so I could use the mtb specific map and that has helped by showing good spots of trails.

As said, depends how popular the area is but I’ve found some good routes from other people that I have then been able to replan from my location.

I’ve found it the best app to date for being able to replan an existing route, change the start point and trim the route to suit etc.

Very nice Vendetta 😁 Loving mine also, although only just got mine so only a couple of rides in.

Good thread for motivation to sort mine out. It’s quite large but the previous owner didn’t finish the build off so the block walls are rough and the ceiling is unfinished plasterboard and this make the place really dusty. I need to get time to take the whole lot out and paint it to stop the dust.

I tried using the cheap Halfords flooring tiles to provide a more comfortable floor. This worked at first but for some reason after they had been down a few months, they became mis-shaped and now I have a few of them central that have lifted, almost like the have grown in size. When I redo the floor I will get some heavy duty garage floor tiles.

Also used BigDug shelving as pictured earlier in this thread, very pleased with that.

Best pedals I’ve used to be honest, much better than the really expensive Hope F20’s I have. Bought a few of these now in the sales. I use the longer pins on the front and rear, then the shorter pins in the middle to give the concave shape. Yes they turn up a little tight but the do ease off after a while.

I got myself a set a few weeks back. They are great for riding in the woods this time of year when the normal Prizm trails are too dark. Personally I hate riding without glasses and these are great on overcast days or areas in shade. The only thing I don’t like is the white frames but I’ll probably swop them out for my Trail frames.

I have a Stage 5 with Hope 30mm BB and Hope cranks, not had an issue with the bearings to be honest. I recently replaced the bearings as they were about a year old now. Mine had an issue with the BB thread in the frame, one side needed re-threading.

Had a much better ride out today. Spent some time measuring my other bikes and trying to transfer these numbers to the Stage, actually ended up lowering the seat by about 5mm, seat back by about 10mm just to try and get close to my Five and XC bike. Seat angle really brings the position much further forward on this bike.

Swapped the Hope pedals out for a set of Nano’s which I use on most other bikes, changed the saddle to a Charge as this is the same as my Five, fitted an Aggressor tyre on the rear. Also took the sag down to 25% both front and rear plus re-baselined the compression and rebound on the shock.

Ride out to the local single track was ok, bike felt good but not amazingly different on the climbs. However, was able to get much better purchase on the Nano’s and also able to slide forward and feel supported better on the saddle so climbs were dispatched ok if still a little hard.

When I got to the single track I stopped and changed my tyre pressures down to 21 front, 23 rear and headed off. Bike felt amazing, blisteringly quick and so composed. Didn’t put a foot wrong and had one of the best blasts through the woods I have had in ages. Compared to Friday where I could hardly ride and it felt like I was on ice through the trees, front and rear sliding all over the show! Horrible experience with lots of expletives! Only did one lap as it started to rain sadly and I had a long way home. But the bike felt great all the way home on the lower tyre pressure! Don’t know if it was adrenaline from a great run or if the bike was better but I really enjoyed the ride home and I couldn’t stop smiling with the bike feeling great.

Hopefully I can repeat this on my next ride out

I know I have a background health issue but this is nothing new, had it for years and years. Also I own a fair collection of bikes so I am able to jump between them and I know when something feels wrong. My experience on the Stage is so far removed from everything else I’ve ridden that I knew there is an issue with this bike and me. As I said, riding my Clockwork last weekend I was fine, jump back on the Stage and I struggle.

I’ll get out on it this afternoon hopefully and try again with some more adjustments.

You might be onto something with ballast being added, lol

Ok, yes you’re correct reach won’t affect saddle position. The steeper seat angle will though. I was trying to measure and match the position of the saddle to my Five but that is a lot further back from the BB then the Stage due to the seat angle, I think. This is why I had the saddle pushed right back.

Na, the Five didn’t have a layback, just an inline. Will do some more measuring.

Stepper seat angle is meant to be better for peddling but so far I’m not convinced!

Ha, yes the Shimano clutch was my first culprit! Found it was causing a problem so that led to me having an excuse to buy SRAM groupset :)

Been messing with the seat height, even took it too high so I was stretching too far! Back down now and feels about right and very close to my Five.

Saddle, I don’t think it’s too far forward, I’m about midpoint on the rails. I started off with it way back, which is how I have my Five but with the extra reach on the Stage, I’ve pushed it forward by about 10mm. Good point though Speedstar, will investigate further to make sure not too far forward.

Angle finder is an interesting suggestion. Will get myself one of those.

Changed pedals and seat tonight. Only spun up the run and all felt ok but it has done many times before. Hoping to get out and try again tomorrow.

Fair point and I had considered this as I have been fighting a on-going issue for a while now. However, as a man of many bikes, can never have too many :) I was out on my Clockwork last weekend and was happily climbing away at the front of the pack. My fitness is down from last year for sure though due to illness so it could be a factor.

Spent a while with the Orange dealer this afternoon and they couldn’t spot anything obvious with the bike. They did suggest looking at setting the suspension back up again to make sure this wasn’t sapping my energy. They are a Shockwiz dealer so I might hire a pair from them next weekend to see if it’s way out or not.

I did set my forks and shock up using the Fox recommended settings and then tweaked a little from there.

I’m still at a loss but I’m going to swap pedals and seat for my Five’s next just to rule them out…..

Thanks J273, that’s what I would expect and why this is doing my nut in!!

That’s what I keep hearing Alex and Chestrockwell, positive reports of how much better the newer bikes are. New bike legs, I wish, trying to be enthusiastic but it’s killing me!

Just put the same Stan’s Flow mk3’s rims on it to match my Five but feels the same, really heavy pedal stroke on each climb.

Tyres, I messed about with. Immediately took off the Minion and HR2 after the first bad ride, plus they were sliding about all over the place. Went back to my preferred Butcher / Slaughter combo and it felt ok. Pre my ride to Wales I didn’t trust the standard Control carcass so took off the Grid Butcher and Purgatory from the Five 29 and fitted to the Stage. Next ride I was dying at the back on every climb! So the front was only a compound change and the rear was obviously not as fast as the Slaughter but not to the point that it should kill me. So off they came and Minion back on for Wales paired with a Tomahawk. In Wales these were good on the firm terrain but now I’m back on Southern muck they are useless.

I believe the seat angle is steeper and I’ve moved the seat further forward also to try and get the weight off the back wheel.

Climb switch was ok on the big climbs but this is noticeable on every small incline that you wouldn’t bother switching I feel. I’ll try it again but on my Five which has a CCDB cs, I only use the climb mode on big climbs.

Interesting Hainman, although mines not as serious as that, when it really kicks in I do pass all sorts including blood. The infection normally gives me a cystitis like symptom plus a burning fever. However, since the first private consultant recognised these were caused by the bladder infection and not the Crohns he gave me some really good advice about avoiding infections plus suggested using D-Mannose, which is a healthy urinary tract supplement. Pretty much changed my life to be honest as although I still get some of the issues, it’s been over a year since I’ve had a full on bladder infection :)

Another Crohny here :) No surgery yet and been living with it as a mild case for about 20 years. So far avoided drugs but when I was properly diagnosed about a year ago the consultant immediately wanted me on but I refused as my normal daily life isn’t too bad currently. Most of my symptoms are tireless and irritable bowel and I have dairy tolerance issues. Been on Soya milk for years now so I’m back on cereal and I can drink a glass post workout.

My issue is I have a fistula connecting my intestine to my bladder at the point of the Crohns which causes me regular bladder infections and wipes me out for a week or so at a time. This has taken 20 years to diagnose! NHS at its best but once I went private it took one consultant to work it out. Should be a simple op to remove but due to the Crohns the surgeon is reluctant unless he removes the infected intestine at the same time and he will only do this if my Crohns is unbearable. So for now I live with it.

I’m sure cycling has helped my body cope with the disease and infections. I really took it up to get myself fitter to help deal with these issues as at the time I had no sight of a diagnoses. Love it now and get really frustrated when the fatigue kicks in a wipes me out for a period of time.

Interesting point @Dansk1 regarding the inflammatory response as I suffer from slow heal of bruising, especially on my shins! Never really had this confirmed as a symptom of the Crohns but glad someone else has said it.

This is what put me off my Fatbike in the end, lack of tubeless. So many punctures when the local farmers did all their hedge maintenance, hawthorns everywhere! I have the OnOne Fatty and although it’s a great bike the wheels are a pain in the butt to setup tubeless. One ride where I ended up using all my spare tubes and walking home and it’s not got used since :(

Got them on all my bikes now and work well. Probably only been about a year at the most but so far so good. I normally buy them when they have an offer on and get the Ti axels also.

I have just bought a treaded rod type press from eBay for the princely sum of £6 :D Trouble with this and so many of the cheaper proper presses is they are not large enough for today’s headsets, most of them will only fit a 1/8″. If you want a stepped set that fit a 1/5″ you end up with something like the Park Tools press for £130! Now I don’t mind spending a bit of money on decent tools but I wish there was something in between.

Thanks for all the advice. I bought a set of Stan’s Flow mk3 today and having them built up on Hope Pro4’s, DT spokes and brass nipples :)

Tacx Flow for me also as I wanted to get into Smart trainer for Zwift. Yes the 6% incline is a bit of a limiting factor but to be honest it does the job well. It will do me for this winter and perhaps I’ll upgrade next winter but for now it certainly is the cheapest way to get into a smart trainer setup.

So it seems like 30mm is the step up from my current wheels that’s worth trying from what people are saying here. Today I run Hope Enduro’s which I believe are 23mm internal so this would be a reasonable size up. Also from what I’m getting here 30mm should be ok to carry on running 2.3/2.4 rubber but will also give me a good platform to use wider rubber when it becomes available.

I would happily go for the LB rims as I’m confident in them as a company and product but the price is no longer compelling.

Therefore I’m considering Flow/EX471 (approx. £500) for aluminium rims or BlueFlow 35’s (£680) for carbon.

Interesting and mixed feedback, thanks.

What type of rider am I? This bike gets used for trips to Wales, Afan, BPW etc. So not a fire road bike but I’m more of a Red run rider than Blacks, so far :)

Good points about the wide rims and tyre profile, I was a bit concerned about this also. Most of my tyres are in the 2.3-2.4 range so until I upsize the tyres perhaps a mid point of 27mm internal might be better. Having just put a set of Easton Arc 27’s on my P7 and they seem pretty good but I was keen to try wider.

I’ve used LB rims before and been very impressed with them but now the exchange rate is rubbish, they are no longer a cheap alternative from what I have priced up recently. BlueFlow seem to be the cheapest alternative for UK supply of Carbon wheels, obviously the rims still coming from China. Even cheap you are still looking at £680 or £800 if you spec them up a little.

Would I be better looking at the Stan’s Arch Mk3 or another set of Easton/Raceface Arc 27’s as opposed to the Flow/EX471’s if I’m sticking with 2.3/2.4 rubber?

I suffer badly from cold feet and it really ruins my winter riding. Tried all sort and still not there on fixing the problem but I think I have a circulation issue which I’m never really going to fix. However, what I have tried so far and seems the best to date is;
Switching to flats to avoid the cold sink issue of clips
Buying 5:10 elements a size larger so plenty of room for thick socks
New pair of Sealskins with the sticky top to keep the water from running down
Additional pair of merino wool socks under the sealskins
Roubaix lined Endura bibs with 3/4 length baggies

Last ride out my feet were ok and not killing me by the time I got home.

I love 29’ers and have a Five 29 but I recently bought a P7 to try out as I like to have a hardtail for the winter months. I’ve tried a few HT’s and never really gelled with them. However, the P7 is great and a lot of fun to ride. It’s not as fast as a 29er hardtail would be so not an ideal xc bike but it sure is a lot more fun when it’s pointing down or pushing on through single decent single track. I took mine over to Surrey Hills recently and had much more fun than I thought I would on a hardtail, in fact I would happily do it again and I used to swear that I would never ride a HT there!

I’ve been using the Endura Singletrack knee and elbow pads for a while now but after after two crashes in two weeks I’ve found the pads themselves have caused bad grazes on both my knees and elbows! I used to really like them but I’m really not happy with them now. I’m looking at the Troylee Designs ones now as they seem to come high recommended.

Thanks for this thread, encouraged me to brave up and go try the drops on Thick and Creamy :D Crashed a while ago on the second one, didn’t take enough speed in and caught the gap :( The first just scares me on approach but i did a load of practice on the T’s, Wurly Curly, Proper Bo to get a bit of confidence. Went and cased it for a bit and then maned up, wiped out on landing on the first one, doh. Went back and had another go and cleared it :) Did it again to make sure and then cleared the second. Very happy with myself as I had been properly scared to do these. Thanks for all the advice in this thread and sharing your own journey teamhurtmore :D

Have to say that I absolutely love my Five29 and I can use it for everything, mid week XC rides, blast around local single track, big days out in Afan and going large at bike parks. Such a versatile bike and if these loose a bit of weight and bring the geo bang up to date, they will be ace. Spoke to them last week and they said a bit more testing and they should be available early next year, can’t wait.