Are Silverfish any good then (at some point I’ll want some spares I guess)?

The only time I’ve been in touch with them they were great. Really friendly and obviously passionate riders themselves. Thumbs up from me.

…That you could set fire to the trees as you ride along?

Or ramblers? :D

Are Fox OE forks heavier or did they lose weight in 2010?

The weights I quoted were for the 2011 forks, so I guess it’s likely that they’ve lightened up a bit in the last two years.

I’m in the exact same position, can’t make my mind up and don’t wanna spend more than £400 in reality.

If you don’t need a tapered steerer then Merlin have some pretty ridiculous prices on Revs at the moment…

Yeah, I’m leaning towards the Revelations too.

The WC and XX may be a tad lighter but I don’t think they;re worth the extra money if you can get the RLT (if that’s the one with blackbox damping) for several hundred less as I believe the performance would be the same.

Yeah, I was a bit confused by range without the Race/SL/Team versions, but it seems that the RLT Ti does have BlackBox damping. The XX versions have an entirely different damping system – anyone had any experience of that?

The RLT Ti is 3.61 lbs for the dual air (3.81 lbs for the dual position air, which I’m guessing is the travel adjust), according to the Rock Shox website. The Float 32 Fit RLC is 3.74lbs (for the 15mm axle), so you’re right that it is a bit heavier. The Revelation World Cups are only 3.28lbs, but probably a bit too spendy for me.

Or look at the Marzocchi 44 RC3ti. Good offers on the 2010 140mm version around the place and cheaper than those other options anyway. I’m looking at them for some of our frames – slightly heavier but good performance and much less maintenance from what I’m hearing.

That’s a good point. The higher maintenance requirements was one of the things that was putting me off the Fox slightly.

Pike 454 if you can get hold of one.

Probably a bit too beefy for my requirements. Looking for something a bit lighter (but still stiff) if possible.

I’ve got a revelation on my chameleon. 110mm to 140mm. It climbs hugely better at 110mm, and when I’m doing more training focused rides I keep it on 110mm. 140mm for descents that are worthy.

That’s interesting. It’s going to be for a 140mm full-sus though, so it might be a bit too steep at 110mm for anything other than climbs…?

I’m currently running Nics and find them a much, much better allround tyre than the Fire XC Pro. A lot of people do complain about Nics having soft sidewalls, but I’ve never torn one myself. Pretty sure they do a Snakeskin version with reinforced sidewalls though if you’re worried. That said, at about £35-40 Nics are about twice the price, so if you like the Panaracers then why bother changing?

Damn, that thing looks great (though in black, as Backhander suggests). Pretty astonishing value too when you look at the kit on it – those SixC cranks are £550 alone…

My mate has got the old 160mm Canyon full sus and he absolutely loves it, if that helps at all.

monotokpoint

Not sure if mine is bling or not?

Who cares. That’s one of the nicest bikes I’ve ever seen. Stunning.

You’ve reawoken the “I want a Ti hardtail” itch, damn you.

I’ve got the 2009 Ltd Race. Cracking bike. As you say, there is little else for the money that can touch it in terms of spec – good groupset, decent wheels, good fork, breaks, reasonable finishing kit, etc. The only thing that I felt I needed to change on mine is the stem (my XL came with a ludicrous 120mm EA30 that I swapped for something a little less stretched) and the bars (the EA30 were a bit narrow and have been replaced by Ritchey WCS carbon rizers). I changed the EA30 post for a Thomson because I’m a tart. The ‘Ready for Race’ saddle was a bit of an ar*e shredder at first, but eventually settled down after about 8 months. I think they spec a different, less sadistic one now anyway.

The overtly Euro looks are a bit of an acquired taste – they can look like someone has fired a sticker cannon at them – but the black anodized ones look pretty smart IMO.

Most importantly, it’s a great, involving ride. It’s certainly not what I’d call relaxed and can feel a bit out of its depth on steep rocky stuff – it is a XC hardtail, after all – but it’s seen me through everywhere from the Surrey Hills to the Scottish Highlands. Overall a solid, light, terrifyingly fast bike that I still get a kick out of riding.

Can’t comment on the current conditions, but there’s nothing too hard about the slab. It looks quite daunting from the top at first – it’s bigger than it looks in the photos – but just get over the back, try not to lock your back wheel and you’ll be fine. If anything, the shorter qualifier just before it is more difficult.

It’s an amazing trail though (one of my favourite trail centres). Enjoy it!

Easton EA70 bars (in lo, med or hi rise), stem (just 6deg rise, if you’re okay with 90 or 100mm length) and post. £120 all in. Could probably even find it a bit cheaper if you looked around.

Alternatively, you could swap the post and stem for Thomson Elite for about £30 more, bringing it neatly to your £150 budget, also on Merlin.

Minor Threat.

It’s not the messiah, it’s a very naughty bike.

Not groundbreaking, perhaps, but just what I’ve been looking for.

We’ve got a great video inside of Transition’s own Kyle Young getting rad on the new bike

Yeah, okay, but ignore all that and it looks pretty interesting. 130mm travel, 68 degree HA, 130x10mm real axle, reasonable frame weight…

I’ll have Shredder’s, thank you very much.

That was the point here, right? :D

That’s great and everything, but am I the only one thinking that the music was a bit over-dramatic for a few ladies getting photographed in their smalls?

Yes, I know, I was probably the only person who even noticed the music, or anything else for the matter, but still… :wink:

Very nice. Brakes look like they’re set at quite an extreme angle, though?

Sadly you just missed the Merlin Cycles 10% off sale, but it’s still a bit cheaper than CRC there: £106.95.

*edit*

£95.99 for 170mm…

There was a grouptest on this in last month’s MBR, I think. SLX won. For the money you’re really going to struggle to beat it, although the Race Face SixC stuff looks pretty nice if you’ve got a spare £550 that you’re happy to spank on some new cranks.

But then, they’re only 12.5mm wider on each side than the standard 685mm on my bike, it’d have to be a bloody tight gap to mean I could fit through with one set and not the other.

This.

Granted 800mm wide bars might make tight, wooded singletrack a bit of a squeeze, but surely the difference between 660mm and 700-725mm is negligable in real terms? Are people really so precise that they regularly avoid trail obstacles by less than 2cm?

Joking aside, Race Face Atlas[/url] bars come in pretty much every possible colour.

Not usually a fan of pink bikes, but that I like. Looks burly – a not inconsiderable feat for something so, well, pink. Saddle angle looks a bit off though?

More than £10, but definitely my Camelbak. Can’t imagine riding without one now.

Good effort.

Plan is to ride my 853 Sov back to back with the Foia in early September then take it from there. Based on this thread, it would be pretty easy to shift a dozen plus, so could well fly.

Did this ever happen? I’m still very interested in a Kingdom made Ti Sov…

Is it a 2011 model? One of these?

Ramsey isn’t a great businessman. His ’empire’ would have gone into administration last year if he didn’t pump £5m of his own money in to save it. Also, most of his business success is attributed to his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, who stepped down as CEO of Ramsey Holdings earlier this month.

Most chefs have strong businessmen behind them to run the commercial side of their restaurant(s).

The kitchen is a tough environment and sometimes you need to be strict with trainee chefs, but there’s a difference between getting the best out of them with tough love and just being a c*ck. Kithcin got that balance wrong, in my opinion, but I also got the impression that he was acting up for the cameras.

ChunkyMTB

Still deciding on which head badge to use.

I’ve seen the bird/skull/unicycle one – what does the other one look like? Any chance you could post a pic of both?

If they ever actually release it.

The point made earlier about BR posts hanging around for longer is a good one – the volume of posts given the combined format of this forum can mean that questions get buried – but both have their pros and cons.

BR = less elitist but more repetitive (what bike/tyres/etc)
STW = a bit too niche-obsessed at times but lots of purdy photos

Lots here.

Thanks both. Not considered the New Forest but had a look into it and seems quite promising.

Snaps – I’m sure the South Downs has just what I’m looking for, but I’ve never been there before so I really wouldn’t know where to begin. Any suggestions for easy/scenic routes that start by (or near) a train station?

I think that was Corsair.

It was indeed – the Marque. Shame, looks a nice bike otherwise.

Manitou – a black Cube Ltd Race HT, going round clockwise. Was wearing a red t-shirt and probably looking pretty rough as the tank seemed to be a bit empty today for some reason. You?

I just came back from a quick lunchtime lap of Richmond Park. Not exactly a back country epic, but fast, dusty and scenic enough – even came across a few groups of deer (and plenty old dears). Better still, I’ve just finished my work for the afternoon so I may go out again later.

Valves/logos not lined up. Fail.

Vinny – you live in Richmond then?

Ultimately death? That sounds painful.

Ohmychrist. Is that yours Gator?

If they did a ti sov i'd have one tomorrow with no hesitation.

There seem to be no shortage of people in a pretty similar position, myself included. Obviously there's a big difference between people saying they'd buy a frame and actually stumping up the best part of £1,000 to buy one, but surely in this case they really would sell like hot cakes. My fingers remain crossed.