Ha ha yeah I remember that article. Let that be a lesson to all bike journals NEVER slag off a niche..it WILL come back to bite you in the ass :D

Lance will still be admired my many, if not for the bike but for the cancer charity. Livestrong will live on and im sure this will be his legacy not EPO.

But as Tyler hamilton stated in his book, the guys not taking EPO were at least 4km per hour slower as an average speed over race distance. And as he quite rightly said this is the difference between the first pack or 4th pack stragglers…or finishing 40 mins behind the leaders on 5hr race..

So what were they supposed to do?

2d HD is best. Its a good film if you compare it to Alien it may fall short..but how many other great films still fall short of Alien.

Definately worth watching i enjoyed it.

Hi, I was is the same situation as you about a year back – bought an Anthem X2 2010 frame to build. I put Reba RLT 100 forks on mine which i bought from one one cycles for £200, they weight 100g or so more than the equivilent fox 100’s but i really rate them on the Anthem – definately compliments the rear suspension for smoothness.

With the headset you need a reducer to accomadate 1 1/8 forks, which i was told only can be supplied by a Giant dealer (not sure if its true or not) it was a tenner and took a week to get in – i got my LBS to fit the headset / spacer and also the BB which again was a OE fit from Giant. Ive had no problems with the durability of the headset or BB hundereds of mucky miles later.

Ive got a Fox RP23 triad, awesome shock – i have it on setting 2 with no pro-pedal and thats good for just about anything in the UK – on the road pro-pedal is a good idea but off road it actually makes the rear a bit harsh. I wouldnt be too concered about the rear shock though as the meastro suspension is brilliant – i cant imagine there would be too much difference between Monach and Fox

Giant frame sizing is a stange thing and on my medium ive gone for a 80mm stem with a 6 degree rise and Easton monkeylight XC bars cut to 630mm, which is pretty much spot on for me handling wise

The Anthem gets used more than any of my other bikes to be honest and can kick the ass of bikes costing 3 times as much, you certainly wont regret building it up

Don’t slag off singlespeeds , steel frames or rigid forks and you’ll get on just fine :-)

without wanting to open a discussion on wheel sizes :wink: does anybody know what bikes the podium finishers were riding? There were quite a few 29ers and 27.5’s at the event i noticed?
just interested..

Entry fees/fuel costs are the main for me this year. I honestly believe the future is for events like kielder and off road sportive events such as the bucks off road sportive where you can still be competitive but also explore some new areas and not have the tedium of going round in circles for up to 12 hrs.
The Evans ride it events are brill and the last time I did one it only cost a tenner!

Two words : hideous rubbish

I like it, its being pitched for the right use too I like the idea of having a short travel race machine with a slacker head angle – priced right too spec wise about the same as the anthem x1 with similar specs

Its fine at the moment only a few puddles undercover on the black route (which have been there all summer :)
I think we would need a lot of rain to wreck the course and according to the long range forecast its looking good. The organisers have also put extra routes in if we are unlucky enough to get another soaking to ease the pain.. but seriously thetford is in great shape currently so nothing to stress over

Have you heard about STW,s sister site yet? Check it out

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

Andy this is the perfect bike for you then

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/trance.x.29.er/11852/56867/

Its getting some good reviews

Interval sessions will help, i found increasing cadence also helped with sustained speed efforts – but BY FAR the best way to increase speed is to get out on a club ride, you will find that the quick guys will average 20+ without too much haste and although initially it will be painful you will get there in superquick time (no pun intended)

fab looking bike, love the white crests – just ordered a set for my anthem! :-)

One of the scumbags was put inside for his troubles, apparently after he was locked up bike crime halved in the Brandon/elveden area

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/elveden_center_parcs_burglar_jailed_for_30_months_1_956370

[quoteIf I’d done 60 miles a day and additional interval sessions at lunch, I’d be mighty upset that someone couldn’t just accept it instead inferring something rather more sinister…..[/quote]

Not suggesting anything, its not difficult to ride 60 miles per day plus interval sessions at lunch if you have little else to do, but to do that with a job ( I’m assuming) and to recover for the next days session at that age is nothing short of incredible. Credit to the man he must be super committed to the cause, far from sour grapes I would say envy is a more fitting term :-)

Impressive..maybe a little too impresive :?

Class 47 is the daddy of them all

Good review, coming from a trance though with the fantastic me astro suspension I guess a coil shocked hard tail would be a struggle no matter what the wheel size. If I was going to buy a hard tail though I would defo have a 29 over a 26 any day

My giant TCR advanced had exactly the same defect in the same place (I also purchased it from wiggle)
I’ve had the bike for 2 years now and covered countless miles and it never got any worse, I just put it down to a chip in the laquer , I don’t think perfection exists in any frame whatever its made out of, I’ve had trek and specialized bikes with similar defects but have always been told its would,not affect the structure of the bike

XTC advanced?

Anthem X 26er, the magazine reviews mostly say it can flatter even the most technically inept riders

its true!

On my nee us RIT now only trouble is The tough screen isn’t s quick to react as some others

Prime example of this above!! :-)

Ive always used an alloy 80mm 6 degree rise/drop FSA stem on my XC bikes for years, absolutely sport on for me and weighs little more than many stems costing 5 times as much.

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/200806407146?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla

The 29 thing is working though, im kinda starting to think 26 ers are looking a bit weird, Looks like ive been had by the marketing monsters.Nooooo!! :roll:

[quoteDid Hayles have a minor hissy when he lost the rollapaluzza?[/quote]

I don’t think that Junior cyclo cross champ was human though so it didn’t count in my eyes

Looks VERY focus raven to me, knowing the Chinese they may well have used it as a blueprint..they are the kings of copy after all

Office/shop worker here. I work from 8am to 7 pm on average 5.5 days per week , lunch break is eating a sandwich on the move and swigging coffee from time to time. When I drive past a factory in our local industrial estate there are always groups of people sitting outside in the sun eating sarnies at lunchtime, the factory’s also closed at weekends. That’s my impression of factory work – sure you work 12 hour shifts but with 3 breaks and 2 days off a week…I wish!

Brilliant all abilities red trail at bedgbury,good fun except when muddy and then its miserable it Doesn’t drain very well so best to get up to date trail conditions before you venture out

[quoteI enjoy riding my CX (which are 29ers for real men) [/quote]

Don’t most CX’ers still wear pink Lycra and those silly caps under their lids?…. just saying

[quoteTrances, like most Giant’s are average at best. Weird geometry and dated features like the 135QR rear axle.[/quote]

Ok , apart from the rear axle what else is dated?

Ours now on 120k with no faults only servicing, great cars esp diesels

Giant XTC composite 29er looks good, the XTC3 retails for £1500 – the spec isnt bad but im not sure there are many better carbon frames out there – would be fairly easy to get sub 24lbs without too much effort..

dont think the green flashes on the frame look too bad myself, I dont think you buy a Giant bike for looks or graphics but nobody can deny they ride brilliantly and are stonking value…

The composite 29ers in particular are brilliant value for the spec and get some rave reviews

+1 awesome underated bike

650b with skinnier tyres is all but identical in size to 26er with bigger tyres, i.e. 27″. At least 29er is different enough to make it worth having a second standard size, especially one whose rotational inertia handles well with taller and heavier riders.

Agree, and this is why my 29er is on order. Thinking about it short of electric gizmos and computerised suspension was there much else that could have been done with a 26 inch bike… I think the peak probably came with the cannondale flash ultimate 26er – the one that weighed 18.50 lbs and was virtually unrideable on most technical terrain to all but the best racers.. So with XC 26’s it was really just coming down to a weight game. At least with a 29er you have something that feels different – If it wasnt for decent 29ers coming onto the marketplace i probably wouldnt change my 26…just no point.

650b bikes look good, and if it didnt give me no mud clearance i might just put some 650b wheels on my anthem…but i cant see an advantage other that looks… with 2.25 tyres would there really be much of an advantage?

Wouldn’t bother reporting if nothing stolen it will just go on as a crime stat and yours and your neighbor’s insurance premiums will rise, sad but true I’m afraid

My lbs told me they are targeted on gross sales be it bikes or accessories in ££’s , this makes sense I suppose esp for he lucky devil who sells anything with s-works stamped on it!!

Has anybody on here made the move from 26 epic to 29? missus has given me the all clear for new bike and I’m considering a carbon comp or expert?

This could be early signs of overtraining, be careful I know through bitter experience take it easy For a few days and see if the sleep improves…