Midlands mate. I had a lot of good quality parts on my old bike, so I had the origin LTD edition and swapped the x fusion (which is actually a great shock) for my RP23 Kashima, the brakes for Hope Tech 3 V2’s, the bars and stem for my Renthal ones and fitted my XT Mech and shifter just because they are I spec and mate to the brakes. I also shoved my Reverb on for good measure.

Here’s a vid, you will have to look out for me, obviously bright yellow bike but I have the orange bag and helmet.

It rides really well, very smooth and I climbed the Wrekin twice on it Sunday so I can say it climbs well!

I have one but I don’t have any rides planned on it for a few weeks as the next few club rides are more suited to my hardtail in places that wouldn’t really test a short travel FS let alone an AM bike. I also live 2 and a half hours away.

What build are you looking at? Only done one ride on mine so far but I’m liking it!

A typical ride for me is 4/5 hours at various different places, trail centres and natural. The last few rides i’ve come off on slow technical stuff and knocked my knees about. I think if I was going to be doing downhill/freeride lines I would get hardshell pads but I think the soft shell should suffice for now.

I did like the look of the trail skins and they are a trusted brand, certainly in motorcycle circuits anyway. I like the look of the POC but not all reviews are favourable and if I was going to spend such an amount I would want universal praise!

It took some getting used to the bigger wheels, but it went well. The bike climbs really well for a 150mm travel bike, better than my Mega did and that wasn’t bad either. I really struggled with confidence on the very steep and icy downs the Wrekin has to offer, but i don’t think that was down to the bike, more the fact I was struggling to stand on the gradient let alone entertain the idea of riding down it. When I got to the jump/Freeride area I was full of confidence and I was doing things I couldn’t find the speed to do on my Nukeproof on the last visit. The bike picks up speed fast and feels stable over the rough stuff. The forks felt sticky at first but have started to bed in nicely. Small bump sensitivity is inferior to the Pike RCT3, and I can’t see it improving to be on par with them once fully bed in. On the plus side, what you lose on the small stuff you gain on the larger/repeated hits. The forks stay higher in their travel and don’t seem to pack down under braking. I really wouldn’t hesitate to buy a pair if I were doing another build, even at this early stage.

This was yesterday at the Top of the Wrekin in Telford.

I don’t mind wet and muddy, but it was just pure grit! To be fair it was probably the worst day of the year when we went down there. Incredibly cold and rained non-stop all day long. No idea on section names but one bit was fantastic, so much so we did it about 4 times! The start of it is next to a big old tree on the left and it drops down into tabletops and left berms.

Don’t think I’ll return to Swinley until the summer, I seriously couldn’t get over how sandy and abrasive it was to every component on my bike. Wrecked brakes for 4 out of 5 of us and i’m still picking sand out of my pockets now.

I know speshpaul, the amount of rides I’ve done in Shropshire and not saw another bugger all day…It’s madness that no one rides there!

I used to ride Cannock every week when I started almost 4 years ago. I did this for about 12 months as it was on my doorstep and the only place I knew. Now I ride the trails once or twice a year, usually at night. Off-piste is good over there though as new stuff pops up all of the time.

I’ve done contact point’s on my Meta V4 after seeing some horrendous heel rub on the extra ride rear triangle. I’ve never bothered before as my bikes haven’t had any paint to scratch, this one sure is pretty though. I’ve done a stellar job too even if I do say so myself! I’m kinda looking forward to scratching a bit I haven’t protected so I can go back to just riding and not caring.

For the little things, I often find my LBS cheaper. For the big stuff he isn’t a muppet and actually recommends you buy your stuff from Chain Reaction and he will fit it. That may be something to do with the location of the shop. I don’t live in a…shall we say…affluent area and the business model revolves around fixing supermarket specials and selling CBR’s mainly. I can tell they would like to sell high end stuff, but the customers don’t exist in this town and little man has no chance of competing with the online retailers. The owner has told me that CRC sell parts cheaper to the general public than he can buy at trade price.

I don’t tend to feel too guilty about buying my parts from online retailers though, money is tight for all of us, not just LBS owners.

Oh, I didn’t know rim hole adapters existed!

Nope they dont! I haven’t used Schraeder for ever either. That’s why I thought about using a 24″ tube stretched around the 650b rim. Should hold it tight right?

I think people are over analysing it, if you are going to do them just do them. The more you look the more nervous you will be. The more nervous you are the more likley you are to grab a fist full of brake and go OTB. The best situation would have been to carry on going down them the first time you stumbled upon them. You would have made it, felt like a boss and applied the knowledge that you can do those steps so you can do ‘X’ in the future.

It doesn’t always work like that though haha!

Hopton a couple of weeks ago.

We got stuck actually driving there though, the main road up to the entrance was thick with ice, and having 3 bikes behind the rear axle didn’t do anything for grip. It took 20 minutes to do the last 100 meters! Be prepared is all I can say!

Oh, and Hopton is doable, but it’s gonna be very wet and the main climb is about 20 mins so bring your climbing legs!

Minton batch is awesome. The whole of Shropshire is but no one seems to know it. Eastridge/Hopton/Wrekin/Ercall/Long Mynd are always deserted in terms of bikers. Plenty of walkers in certain places (carding mill and the wrekin really). We did a ride up the Mynd and saw one guy all day. It was heaven, the views are spectacular, so was the wind!

I’ll post a ‘my two cents’ after I’ve done the Wrekin on Sunday.

Yup heard the V3 isn’t a great climber but a belter downhill. The V4 is quite a bit lighter and is meant to be a better all rounder but not as stiff as it’s predecessor. I’ll either be surprised at how well it climbs or die I guess! It’s also the first time 1×10 up the Wrekin. Been running 1×10 since October, just after the last time I went up there.

Frame is a 16″.

I will post a review up of the fork once I’ve got to grips with it and have bedded it in. I’m doing a ride of the Wrekin and Ercall woods at the weekend. If you haven’t been, it’s about as big of a test you can make in terms of climbing on a fork. Coming down is obviously just as steep so it will highlight how supportive it is under braking and on steep terrain. I had a pike on my Nukeproof, loved it but they are all too common nowadays. I like something a bit different, and the 2015 350CR certainly beats it in terms of looks and quality of machining.

TF has said that the new X Fusion stuff is 12.7 now, but it used to be 12mm. I’m just gonna go ahead and take it down to the LBS and see what he says over a coffee. It goes against my nature as I like to do everything I possibly can myself.

Called TF, they aren’t sure either! With it being so new they haven’t had one in yet. They think that the ID of the Fox and X fusion is going to be identical so it should be a switch and swap jobbie. I might take it to my LBS tonight, save me mucking it up!

No, the ID of the bottom mounting is much larger on the X Fusion. I wasn’t sure if the ID of the shock eyelet was the same between the Fox and X fusion without the hardware in but without (probably) destroying the hardware getting it out I can’t measure

I’ve not had enough time on it to post my review yet, but so far so good. 350CR’s seem really good, if a bit sticky at the moment at the start of the travel but they look very well made. More supportive than my Pikes anyway.

I’ve experienced that big hole in the downtube clogging with mud and I’ve only done a few miles so far. I helitaped before going out and it looks like i will need to do a fair bit more. I’ve always had Raw bikes though and i’m used to being ham fisted because I’ve not had paint to scratch. I’m sure in a few weeks I’ll stop worrying, realise it’s a mountain bike and enjoy it much more.

I had some really good parts on my old bike which I’ve swapped over such as the Hope brakes and Renthal bits and bobs. I’ll also be swapping over my reverb If I can make it fit (normal reverb and frame only has internal routing, the shock remote hole seems to be the only real way of doing it) and I also have a Fox Factory series shock that will fit.

Mine did this after two years. Seals in calliper had gone on one and in lever on the other. I got so fed up of bleeding after every ride that I just got some new brakes in the end. Shimano brakes are cheap and don’t last forever.

The main climb last weekend was impossible to get up without dabbing a foot due to ice. Mine you, it took us 20 minutes to get up the final hill to the car park in the car as the roads were so bad. My car wouldn’t hold on the handbrake either as the ice was so thick so had to deploy my mates to the nearest grit box!

My Nukeproof Mega will be for sale for that very soon. Small. 2012 frame with brand new X fusion o2 rear shock. Rockshoc Pike RCT3 forks, Xt crank with raceface narrow wide 34t chain ring, about 2 months old. XT Cassette with one up components extender cog and 17t bridge cog, KMC Gold chain. Brand new x7 shifter with matchmaker to brand new DB3 brakes. Brand new X7 type 2 clutch mech. 8 ride old reverb, brand new 780 bars and stem with brand new ODI ruffian grips. Hope pro 2 evo hubs on stans crest rims, running tubeless with Hans dampf front tyre (snakeskin evo trailstar) and Nobby Nic rear (Snakeskin evo pacestar) and Shimano Saint pedals. It’s a killer bike and has done me for everything from xc rides in the Shropshire hills to the odd bit of downhill and everything in between. I’d knock a bit off if he didn’t want the reverb too.

Here is a vid from the last ride.

Depends how creative you are…..

I do urban rides when I don’t get much time. Surprising how many cool obstacles there are in your average town. Stairs to clear, long sets to ride down, wall rides, those pump tracks they build for the kids. If it’s dry even skateparks can be a hoot.

400 is way too low. I’d be asking 650 if it were mine and accepting 600.

How anyone can describe a 48lbs bike as svelte I’ll never know….

I think I am the only person in the world who thinks the Yeti SB6C is fugly. In fact I find most Carbon bikes look nasty unless they have a super matt paint scheme on. I hate that shiny tacky plastic look you get on all the turquoise Yeti’s.

Ed Oxley!

Why not a tow bar and carrier?

Base mount?

I’m trying not to press pre-order on one of these too.

I’d go for the cheap version as most of the parts of my 26″ Mega will fit it bar the wheels and fork obviously. The ltd edition comes with 350 cr’s FFS! Then I could put my new Factory series Fox shock on, my Hope Tech 3’s, Reverb, XT Mech and shifter and Renthal stem and bars on and it would be a killer!

TMB467 Tapered steerer is no good for a 456 Evo!

Yeah the new Reet ‘ards have cheapo hubs on them. Mine had new bearings in the front around April and they were on my second bike so haven’t really been used more than 3-4 times since.

I’ve never got on with the coil Sektors I have, I don’t suit the spring that’s fitted and it’s a lot of hassle compared to air forks to change it!

Murdered out on a straight steerer though….

http://www.alltricks.com/mtb/forks/forks/rockshox-2014-fork-revelation-rl-solo-air-26-150mm-axle-15mm-1-18-black-pushlock-131-172330.html

I’ve a set of 15mm front SRAM X9 QR SRAM X7 hubbed Reet ‘ard wheels for sale for £65. Bombproof build and not too heavy. For forks I’d be looking at new Rev’s from the continent. £230 IIRC.