Agree with ND on doing your homework on which trails to ride. Lots of GPX files floating around online but bear in mind that the trails evolve and, in some cases, fall into disrepair. I usually tell people to use guides when they go. I figure if you’re spending a load of money on a holiday and only have limited time then you don’t want to spend that time lost or on a trail which was good 2 years ago but is rubbish now.

Admittedly I’m not a lightweight or subtle in my riding style… To me though, the E1900 wheelset felt flimsy even before it started to fail. My current Flow/Pro 4 combo has been blissfully hassle-free and gives a nice ride quality too.

Not sure what terrain you normally ride but for uplift days I’d stick a DH casing tyre on the back. Might leave it on there even when pedalling to be honest. There are lots of sharp rocks in Finale that’ll tear trail type casings to shreds.

I’d advise against the budget DT Swiss wheels. I had a set of the E1900, which I think are supposed to be stronger than the M1900 (?). Anyway, they lasted less than 5 days. Rims dinged by very minor impacts and wheels went out of true every ride. Swapped for Stans Flow which have been faultless. Don’t know about the Stans hubs I’m afraid.

ahh but they could be complete mtb newbies who just haven’t twigged they can ride up and are taking the uplift cos they think that’s what you always do and are unaware that’s the selling point of an ebike as they’ve never had a normal bike.

Thing is, they’ve ridden at least 3 miles of mostly uphill trail to get to the shuttle pickup point. Only a small part of the trail network is shuttle access. So, either they know the area and chose to ride to the shuttle, or they looked at the extensive trail map and navigated themselves there. There’s no way they could have done it by accident.

I didn’t think I had a problem with e-bikes. I don’t see myself buying one but they look like loads of fun.

Today though, I did a few runs on the local uplift. There were at least 10 e-bikes being loaded up per shuttle. These nutters were struggling to lift the things onto the trailer due to the weight of them. I have no idea why they were doing it. Due to the shuttle queue, it’s actually quicker to ride up, even without a motor! These people have gone and spent a load of money on e-bikes and are now spending more money for someone to drive them up a hill. Not to mention the various environmental issues. It makes me despair a bit with humanity.

Book an appointment with your GP. They should have all the information and be able to advise you properly. The GMC has pretty strict guidelines to discourage doctors from giving advice over the interweb, and for good reason.

It seems like you have been thoroughly investigated and are on the right track now. Your GP can take it from here and make sure you do all the right things moving forward.

Sorry if this seems like a fob-off, but nobody should be giving out the kind of advice you want over the internet without knowing you and your full medical history. You have the world’s finest healthcare system (despite its many flaws) at your disposal, make the most of it!

For me, it’s a combination of things. I used to avoid machine built wheels because the build quality and choice was so poor. That argument doesn’t stand anymore.

Now the usual issue of price and convenience take over. Why wait several weeks and pay potentially hundreds more for a wheelset I can buy off the shelf? This is coming from someone who has built dozens of wheels. These days I can buy a built wheel cheaper than the component parts.

There’s a known warranty issue with Eagle jockey wheels. Might be worth contacting whoever you bought it from to see if you can get it sorted free.

Interesting. Judging by the side knobs on those, it looks like you go round right (I think) turns faster than left! As to your question, I’d stick your old front on the back and buy a new one for the front.

I like how they ride. Plenty of grip compared to equivalent Maxxis and the extra volume improves ride quality a bit too. My only concern is that they won’t be very durable but I’ve not had any problems so far.

I’m running these 2.6 tyres at the moment (Hillbilly front, Butcher rear). Although, as noted previously, the tread width is nowhere near 2.6, they are a much higher volume tyre than, say, a Conti or Maxis 2.4. They are also a very supple tyre though. What I’ve found that means in practice is that I’m running slightly more pressure than before (before being with a “true” 2.4 tyre with a sturdier carcass). This has meant that the extra pressure gives more support when cornering hard, so the tyre doesn’t squirm. At the same time because the carcass is pretty supple it will still deform enough on roots and stuff to give good grip. I do worry that I will take them somewhere rocky and they’ll get cut to shreds, but I’ve not tried that yet. Oh, and I use a pressure gauge, before anyone asks.

I have a Banshee for solo trips. As you say, great bang for buck and perfectly adequate for me. It’s not big though. I’m 6’1 with a fairly average build and I wouldn’t want to share the tent.. No experience of the Zenith I’m afraid.

Yeah, like I said, it only works with 11 speed stuff but it’s all interchangeable.

Assuming weather doesn’t intervene, I reckon:

1 – Atherton

2 – Nicole

3 – Seagrave

1 – Gwinn

2 – Hart

3 – Shaw

Playing it pretty safe with those. I’d love to see Gee put down the sort of proper fast run he’s more than capable of but I don’t see it happening. Maes and Williamson mixing it at the sharp end will be good to see.

How does everyone feel about the starting order? I was onboard with the change last year but this year seems overly complicated. Plus, I feel for guys who qualify inside the top 15 then don’t even get onto the live feed.

Yeah, all combinations of SRAM and Shimano components work together for 11sp. I currently run a Shimano shifter with SRAM mech, for example. This is only the case for 11sp. I doubt this was a deliberate move from the companies; historically there hasn’t been much love lost between them… It’ll be interesting to see if the new Shimano 12 speed stuff works with Eagle.

OP, I gave up on Maxxis a year ago for similar reasons. Tyres always failing, usually the sidewalls, long before the tread wore out despite relatively high pressures. I ran Continental der Kaiser/Baron for a while, which offer great sidewall support, grip and puncture protection, but the beads kept blowing clean off the tyres instead. Now on Specialized Butcher Grid 2.6 (more like a 2.4 really) which are good. Similar grip to DHR2 but a bit more supportive sidewall. I haven’t ridden them anywhere rocky yet though. I’m on a 29er as well, FWIW.

Yeah, I’ve noticed the same quirk. Although the reach screw only moves the lever, and has no effect on the static master cylinder, it does change the effective length of the lever blade. I had noticed that changed the feel of the brake, rather than the free throw, but it could be altering both.

Not sure how well I explained that. It would be easy with a diagram..

I have the V4 and wouldn’t want any less power (200mm F+R, 29er enduro bike and I weigh about 85kg). The price difference wasn’t much when I bought them, so it was an easy decision. The modulation is so good that I can’t imagine anyone would buy the V4 and think they were too powerful…

I’ve been running Baron/Kaiser for about a year now and struggled with the same issue. Having tried all combos I’ve come to the conclusion Continental just don’t make a decent rear tyre for dry conditions. Also, after 4 tyre failures (all replaced under warranty) in that time, it’s time to give up on Conti.

2 weeks would be rapid for them. I had to order from them as part of an insurance settlement. I waited about 6 months all-told. All parts were showing in stock when I ordered. Worst customer service experience of my life, which is saying something…

On the Tech lever I’ve found that the master cylinder diaphragm can easily get deformed, whereby the long edges warp inwards and stop sealing properly. I always keep spares now (they’re about a pound or something) and check to see they’re ok at every bleed.

The other thing that’s caught me out in the past is if I’m a bit clumsy with the brake fluid and let it get on the top of the diaphragm when reassembling. If this happens then that fluid will weep out of the little hole in the cap over time. This doesn’t have any effect on braking performance but does get my OCD sensitivities twitching!

I tried one a while back, basically when I was stuck for a tyre and it was all I could get hold of a short notice. I only tried it on the back and pretty much had the same thoughts as you – Fast rolling (better than others which are supposed to be fast like the Aggressor or even Minion SS) and predictable, but lacking outright grip. The funny-looking side knobs make for a pretty loose rear end, so it’s actually pretty fun to run in drifty, dry conditions. Braking grip is poor. It’s bloody awful in anything resembling mud! I replaced it when winter rolled around and have never felt the need to put it back on the bike.

The only time I think I would use it again is if I did an XC or endurance race where I wanted something fast but still able to be pushed round corners a bit.

Oh, and I agree, it just looks wrong!

I think the short socks thing really refers to ankle socks. Most everything else is fair game IMO. Team Robot has covered this territory before: http://theteamrobot.blogspot.co.nz/2015/07/it-in-geneva-convention.html 

I’ve had Terraduros and the Mid version. The first thing I’ll say is that, IMO, the shoes are quite different. As far as I can tell they only share the soles. As noted above I found the fit different between the two shoes (which was a pain as I ordered the Mids without trying them, thinking they’d fit the same as the standard shoe). All that being said, I like both. I think the standard shoe is better though. Easier fastening and quicker drying, plus they fit me a bit better but obviously that’s a personal thing.

I run them with Nukeproof Horizon CS and find the interface great. Easy to clip in and really nice support from the whole pedal. They work well with Shimano Trail pedals too.

I run Cinelli Gel Cork tape on both road and MTB. Fulfils all your criteria and happens to be on sale at CRC for a tenner at the moment. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nz/en/cinelli-gel-cork-bar-tape/rp-prod25854

Gaze had a hissy fit because he thought Anton Cooper should have waited for him on the last lap when Gaze punctured. Gaze gave Cooper the finger as he was waiting for his puncture to be fixed, then moaned about unsportsmanlike behaviour after the race and wouldn’t accept Cooper’s gracious congratulations. He has since apologised on Facebook…

Awful news. Didn’t know the guy but he could be any of us… Donated.

Yeah, I much prefer a wide-ish rim (30mm, but haven’t tried wider..) because of the extra sidewall support. I went back to a 24mm rim briefly recently and was quite surprised how much it bothered me, with the amount of squirm I could feel when cornering. Dunno if the wider rims and my perceived “better” feeling equate to faster riding though. Can’t say I noticed a difference in punctures or rimstrikes either. That might be because I tended to run higher pressure in the narrower rim to try to cut down on squirm.

Interestingly, a few EWS pro’s prefer the narrower rims, though I’m not sure why. Last race I did I was queued up behind the Canyon team and Fabien Barel was giving Justin Leov a hard time because Leov had fitted an old narrower rear wheel to his race bike but hadn’t changed the stickers to make it look like the new and “improved” wider version!

For anyone not convinced that there are better ways to save 100 grams, this picture is a small LBS’ warranty return box from a single summer: Dodgy carbon cranks

I’m using the Hope V4, having had Guide RS previously (and Zee before that). I liked the Guides, better feel than Shimano and enough power. Lever blade shape not as nice as Shimano but not bad. Where the Guides let themselves down was reliability, they needed bleeding every couple of months and I didn’t find it a quick or easy job to do well. Hopes have more power and the best modulation I’ve experienced. They’re also easy (if a little messy) to bleed but hardly ever seem to need it. Only downside for me is I find the lever blade a bit big and industrial feeling. Still my favourite brake though. Oh, and for the sake of 20grams or whatever it is, i’d advise anyone to go for the V4 over E4.

Just a quick update on these. Short spin today and while riding a turn fast, but not pushing hugely hard, I hear a deafening “bang” as my rear tyre literally explodes. On inspection the tyre bead and sidewall have completely separated. It was a smooth trail so highly unlikely it was a normal puncture. Just complete tyre failure. Trying to decide if I can be bothered to send them from NZ to Germany in hopes of a warranty replacement…

I went from Zee to V4. V4 is a much better brake IMO. Way better feel and always consistent bite point, which you don’t get with Shimano. Don’t be tempted to go for E4. The weight difference is barely anything and the power is delivered so controllably that there’s no downside to having more.

RHA – UK (Glasgow) company making fantastic quality stuff cheaper than most of the major brands. I have 3 or 4 pairs, the oldest of which must be pushing 8 years old. They all still work, just in various stages of tattiness/clogged with pocket fluff.
RHA

I did think about Graves. He’s stocky but not very tall. Google reckons he’s sub-80kg.

Apologies in advance, but I’m going to add another level of complexity to your problem.. How much do you weigh?

I had a similar decision to yours to make not too long ago. The Fuel EX is an awesome bike and I’d love to own one in addition to my Slash. However, at pushing 90kg, I found I couldn’t so easily get away with the shorter travel on faster, rougher trails. My lighter friends manage fine. Rider weight isn’t talked about as much as it should be when choosing a bike IMHO. If you look at the EWS guys, some of the smaller riders (Barnes, Melamed) run shorter travel bikes. I can’t think of anyone over 80kg who runs a bike with less than 150mm of travel (happy to be proved wrong there..?).

Also, as alluded to above, not all DH/enduro/EWS trails are created equal. If I was exclusively riding, for example, Tweed valley tech, I might go with a shorter travel bike. If I lived in the Alps then I wouldn’t consider it…

I took one out for a full day demo, the 9.8 I think. I agree with everything above, they’re great bikes. Very stiff frame (the carbon one) which handles beautifully. Efficient pedaller too. It’s just a quick bike everywhere. I went with the Slash in the end because I’m heavy, a tad clumsy and like mowing through stuff faster than my skills warrant. If I had unlimited funds and space then I’d have one of each. Only downside is, as mentioned, silly slack seat tube angle. Baffling decision that one.

Knobs on Der Kaiser are a bit closer together and deeper than an HR2. IMO it’s a more aggressive tyre and has better grip all round, at the expense of rolling speed. I’d say it’s a dryish weather tyre as it’s fairly prone to clogging in thick mud. I prefer Der Baron in the mud as it clears better.

I originally bought a set of Conti’s for the Apex sidewalls, as my Maxxis sidewalls kept tearing on rockier trails (no availability of doubledown in 29er at the time), but I’ve been so impressed I’ve been running only Conti’s for a while now. Black Chili rubber is awesome. If only Conti owned the DHR2 design and made a semi-slick…

The Trance is a great bike and plenty “big” enough for the races you mention. Having ridden both though, I’d pick a new Trek Fuel EX over the Trance. Faster up and down. I’m not sure how the prices/specs compare between the two in the UK but here in NZ the Trek is competitive.

Funnily enough, one of YT Mob’s warm up bikes (a carbon Jeffsy, immaculate, Fox factory and carbon everything) just popped up for sale on facebook in NZ for £2500. Looks like they’ve found a way to limit the return costs…