I have the fox flexairs, a few friends have the decathlon non insulted ones and one mate has the fox rangers.
All decent quality. I prefer my flexairs but they’re not worth double the price of the decathlon ones. Better fit & look better IMO, lighter fabric & more stretch. The flexairs have a very tight ankle cuff, bit of a pain getting my size 11s through but great on the bike. They have a boxer short style fly which is fine over Lycra but you’ve got to be careful if you wear them over boxers to avoid your chap peeping out. I often wear mine to slob around the house in because they’re so comfy and it’s happened once or twice when I’ve not done up the button on my boxers.
The flexairs size up big on the waist band and only have a bit of adjustment on the ratchet but the waistband is very stretchy & wide. Super comfy. I generally wear 32” pants. The 32” foxes are done up all the way tight, I could have gotten away with the 30” but the leg was too short (I’m 6’). Out of interest I measured my waist last night and it was 34”, I guess most trouser companies make their products oversized to make you feel better about yourself.

My friend that wears 34” trousers bought the medium decathlon ones and they don’t really fit him. They have minimal adjustment and not as much stretch in the waist band. It’s just a choice of 2 different press studs to adjust them. He’s on the last press stud and can’t really get the fly zip up all the way.

I’d avoid the fox rangers, they have a quite cottony feeling fabric and the lad that has them complains about them being too hot for spring / early autumn riding and they don’t seem to deal with the wet as well as the others, getting quite heavy. The waist adjustment doesn’t seem too good either, his are always half way down his arse.

My flexairs came with DWR, it was good for a few washes, not nearly waterproof but did deflect most puddle splashes. It’s totally gone now. Tried reproofing with nikwax but doesn’t work well. The decathlon ones say in the description that they have a waterproof bum panel… they don’t. Everyone was complaining on wet arses on a soggy lakes ride a few weeks ago.

I had this exact same issue with a 2.8 vigilante & rimpact plus inserts. Tightest bloody tyre I’ve ever come across. First time removing it (I’m a serial tyre changer) I had to resort to pinching the sidewall in a big bench vice. That worked a treat but I’ve had it off since by standing on the sidewall in stiff shoes (five tens) and pulling the rim up on the other side. Good job I love the tyre as it’s staying on til it’s worn out now. All other tyres with rimpact original have been super easy to remove, it’s just the WTB tight beads.

I’ve had a set of 160mm 29er pikes since 2014.

2.8 Vigilante on a 30mm rim & the profile is fine. WTB recommend 28-35mm rims on the packaging they came in. Incredible tyre in the high grip compound. I’m running the front sub 15spi for natural peaks stuff with a rimpact insert. No noticeable roll or squirm & the grip is insane. I’d bump up the pressure for bikeparky stuff with fast berms & jumps though.

In my experience WTB tyres tend to be true to size whilst maxxis are narrower than what’s written in the sidewall. Maxxis 2.3s are pretty skinny. I’m currently running a 2.8” vigilante up front on a 30mm rim & it’s not too baloony, the profile is fine. I’d imagine a 2.5 on a 25mm rim would be fine also. CRC has them cheap at the minute. Only 2 rides in so far & As a serial tyre whore I think it’s going to be my favourite tyre. Very magic mary ish but softer, grippier rubber than the schwalbe soft compound and a slightly squarer profile meaning it works better on narrower rims.

I used to just strap it to the side of the frame with a couple of toe straps. It worked fine but it’s easier to put the wheel in the boot.

30mm internal is the sweet spot. 35mm is great if you’re running bigger tyres, think schwalbe 2.35 / maxxis 2.5wt / specialized 2.6 (all about 2.4 in real life). Try putting a 2.3 maxxis or specialized on a 35mm rim and it’ll be so stretched out that you’ll be riding the cornering knobs in a straight line.

Thanks mate, I’ll look into it

Not too sure about measuring etc but I can wholeheartedly recommend the Chromag Trailmaster. Comfiest saddle I’ve ever used, half of my riding group are now on them too & all swear by them. If you want something a bit special they do the trailmaster Ltd with a beautiful oiled leather top. It’s really well padded without looking like something off a Halfords hybrid & a bit longer than most with a rounded nose so it doesn’t try to penetrate you when you’re right on the front of it hoofing up a steep climb. Mine’s starting to look tatty after a good 6 years of use so got relegated to the hardtail and replaced on the big bike with a burgtec cloud but that’s destined for the spares bin as the name clearly breaches the trades description act.

I’ve recently got a hydra on the rear to replace a torch. It’s a lovely thing and the engagement is unreal. The noise it makes with the 690 points of engagement can be a bit too much though. It’s not as loud as the old torch but there’s something about the frequency of it that I find a bit annoying. Even when pushing the bike it sounds like you’re doing 50mph, I’ve had walkers leap out of the way when I’m just rolling along at walking pace. My mate has got an onyx hub, polar opposite but it’s amazing. The engagement is instant but there’s a softness to it when you stamp on the pedals, a bit rubbery yet very solid feeling at the same time. Almost damped. Hard to describe really. The thing I love the most though is it’s dead silent, When I’ve had a go on his bike all you can hear is the tyres gripping the trail, it’s ace.

There’s loads of hand cut DH tracks that you access by riding up the street from the main car park. Similar style to the cheeky stuff at Macc forest and on Win Hill above Ladybower. Best way to find them is to tag along with a local. If you don’t know anyone then most have been Strava’d. Just do a segment explore of the area with the slider set to flat / downhill. Some brilliant stuff up there and a very active community of trail builders.

I’d try and stay off the footpaths though. As mentioned previously the land manger is a nob and the local fat dog walkers can be aggressive. Not somewhere I’d go for an XC loop really.

I don’t get on with bum bags… lack of a bum means they slip down and they still press your jersey against your back and restrict airflow. Best thing I’ve ever bought has been a set of specialized SWAT bibs. If you sew one of the mrs’s hair bobbles a bit above the middle pocket it creates a loop to support the neck of a bottle. On longer rides I’ll put a platypus 1l soft flask in there. Once I’ve finished my main bottle on the bike, I’ll top it up with the soft flask then roll it up and put it back. Plenty of room for extra water, a multi tool and a thin jacket in the pockets. The leg pockets are great for your phone, car keys and a few bars too.

Nothing will ever match the grip of five ten stealth rubber but the newer better functioning & lighter models like the freerider pro don’t last as long as the old foot sponges. I’m a big fan of the Adidas / five ten trail cross shoes that use the stealth rubber. The sole has only just started to peel off on my 4 year old trail cross SLs but I just glue it back on with The flexible superglue. It happened after I left them wet in a carrier bag in my boot for 2 weeks.
On Teva links… great casual shoe, comfy but awful on the bike. No grip, might as well have used a standard running shoe.

My experience is only with proper MTB rides, not indoor training or anything. It takes me hours to mentally come down after a ride, even if I’ve physically exhausted myself, I’m still mentally buzzing for ages. It’s a great feeling and one of the reasons I love MTB but I can’t do it in the evening if I have work the next day unless I have some chemical help to get me to sleep.
I think it’s a fairly common thing talking with my riding mates. Can’t you adjust the timings of your rides so you have longer to wind down and get all your endorphins back to a normal level?

Ibis Ripmo AF looks like the best way to spend £3k but good luck finding one. Vitus escarpe VRX is awesome for the money but they seem to sell out very fast too. The sentinel is awesome but the lower end one is HEAVY and the spec isn’t a touch on the vitus or the ibis. Search for the MBR trail bilke of the year 2020 video on YouTube. They seem to really rate the Nukeproof reactor

Rims are great but if you’re a bigger fella or ride hard the hubs may be an issue. My mate is on his third rear axle and second freehub body. He is a bit of a unit, About 14st and rides quick but nothing mental. He’s had enough and laced the rear rim onto a hope pro 4 now.

Same thing here, mine sounds worse though. The LSC knob will now only move half a turn and not click at all. I’ve taken both compression knobs off and they’re both clean. HSC still adjusts normally. Not too fussed at the minute as they’re still working perfectly otherwise & I don’t often adjust the compression but they’ll have to go back to zyro on warranty at some point.

The OneUp V2 posts have the shortest stack height for a given travel on the market. My 210mm one has barely any less outer tube showing above the seat clamp than my old 170mm reverb. You can also reduce the travel on them with the supplied plastic shims. Shortest travel they do is 120mm but that can be shimmed down to 100 & will probably still be shorter overall than most 75mm drop posts. They’re Cheap too, bout £160 online but that’s without a remote. Only had mine about 3 months So can’t comment on long term reliability but it’s been perfect so far.

I usually get down it feet up as long as it’s clear of ramblers. My rides round there rarely exceed 20 miles though. Riding Cavedale with your seat up is sheer madness though, braver man than I!

I run 16psi front & 19psi rear with Rimpact inserts. Was on procore before them. Cushcore are burlier than either of them so unless you’re really heavy you’ll be fine sub 20. The only time they feel too low is on fast berms.

If your rim is dinged up then consider schwalbe procore. The high pressure tube is pushing the tyre beads into the rim at 90psi (although that can create its own issues with rims) so they will seal on pretty beaten up rims. Although if your rims are on the narrow side getting any insert in will be a nightmare.

There’s another one called the tannus armour I think. That’s a sort of foam shroud around a tube, so not tubeless at all. It’s meant to be really good. I think NSMB did a review of it.

Yeh I saw that but looking at the pictures it’s the 3pawl torch road one. The MTB one has 6 pawls. I’ve found a second hand one on eBay. I’ll have a punt on that. Cheers!

Cheers guys. I’ll check out the sunrace ones.

Specialized tyres have always come up a bit small. I think trying to stretch out the tyre with a very wide rim will square them off quite badly and effect handling. I run a 2.6 hillbilly on a 30mm rim & its just about spot on even though it measures just under 2.5. When I put my 2.3” slaughter on the same rim it is pretty squared off & as such I find that I’m riding on the side knobs all the time at my favoured lowish (with inserts) pressures. The tyre can’t bulge upwards to let you roll along on the low profile centre tread, negating the rolling benefits of a semi slick.

With spesh tyres it’s just best to ignore the size printed on them & treat them as a smaller tyre. Going above 30-35mm on the rim will make them weird and slow. Their 2.3s are really about 2.1/2.2 and their 2.6s are more like a Maxxis 2.5 or ever so slightly bigger than a schwalbe 2.35.

My mate’s just got rid of his following for a wrekoning & misses it. That thing was used every weekend in the peaks & has been on numerous lakes trips and done revs a few times & a week in morzine. I’ve had a few goes & it rides like it has more than 120mm (he had a 140 fork). he was as quick as anyone on a 160mm bike most of the time. He only changed because he’s pretty rapid & it was getting him into a bit of trouble occasionally going full chat into big stuff and reminding him it only has 120mm. One thing I notice was it was very short, the size large 2016 model he had was tiny. It felt sketchy to me but I’m used to much longer frames.

That’s everything you need right there. To be honest though I doubt you’d need to change the seals yet. It can be a bit of a ball ache. I’d inspect the ones you’ve got and keep the new ones as spares if they look in decent nick.

Yeh I think less HSC is definitely part of it, I have it wound all the way off for anything other than BPW days when I’ll be hitting jumps. The Pike is an older RCT3 version and the HSC isn’t adjustable on that, I think it’s set pretty firm from stock as I very rarely bottomed it out with a softer spring than recommended. There just seems to be less stiction overall with the lyrik ultimate. Could be the updated seals or fancy maxima oil they’re using now. It just takes less to get it moving and it seems to recover quicker. On my regular Peak District rocky stuff it’s a magic carpet.

I also suffer with carpal tunnel and have swapped from a very plush pike with a TF coil conversion to a Lyrik ultimate. The difference is night & day. The pike was a great fork but the extra comfort and control I’m getting out of the lyrik is unbelievable. I can actually hold on for descents longer than about 3 minutes now. I’m guessing it’s the damper thats making the difference. The RC2 damper isn’t available on pikes as far as I know.

Another thing that’s helped my hands no end (actually more than the £1000 suspension fork) are Rev Grips. Might seem silly & expensive but try them. Game changing for people with hand / grip issues

Are you on the debonair spring or solo air? I’ve got the lyrik ultimates with the same damper and the debonair spring. Weigh 12st and ride fairly aggressive. Running 30% sag (more that I did on my old forks but these seem to work better with more sag as the mid stroke of the debonair spring is so supportive). I have both HSC & LSC wound all the way off & find them plenty supportive and insanely smooth. Usual trails are Peak & lake District rocks and steep, rooty off piste stuff but I also found them fine with all the compression wound off at BPW, revs and black mountains too. I was fully expecting to have to wind a load of compression on to deal with hitting berms and jumps but they held up just fine. There is still a reasonable amount of HSC present with the dial wound all the way out. Only time I’ve felt like I wanted more LSC is stood up climbing. I borrowed a shock wiz and it confirmed that the setup was good, it did tell me to run less rebound damping than I used to, they felt super bouncy pushing down on the bars but so much better on the trail. First ride, run em wide open, don’t choke the spring with excessive compression damping and start adding clicks of LSC if you find them too wallowy. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised, it’s an amazing damper!

Long time MM fan boy here, ran the front and rear for years. The new addix ones definitely last longer and don’t shed their knobs like the old Trailstar ones. I have a mate running the 2.6 on a 30mm rim and it didn’t seem that much bigger than my 2.35 to be honest. Didn’t get the callipers out though. I’m a recent convert to the spesh hillbilly grid though. Amazing tyre. Like the Mary but better in every way except rolling. That said For the grip on offer it’s not particularly slow on roads and gravel. Currently running 29 x 2.6 hillbilly up front (I did get the callipers on that one and it’s 2.5” at 20psi with a Rimpact in it). And a 2.35 Mary out back. Best winter combo one used for peaks riding.you can also often find the hillbilly silly cheap too. Paid about £25 for mine.

I’m in the same predicament. A snory Mrs and a bulldog downstairs who’s snoring shakes the foundations. Best earplugs I’ve found are Bioears. Boots sell them & ive seen them in some branches of Tesco too. They’re soft silicone & really comfy. Block out everything, I’ve even slept through my alarm a few times when sleeping with a brand new set in.

Thanks guys, the head tube won’t snap off from a longer fork. The bike won’t be getting hard use, I’ve got a big bike for that (but even on that, I’m no where near rad or heavy enough to be ripping off head tubes) . It’s going to be a budget mile muncher, I’m just using the parts I’ve got lying around the shed.

I’ll just suck it and see, it it’s horrible to climb on then I’ll put the forks up for swaps I guess.

Yeh if it has swappable end caps 142 x 12 & 135 x 9 use the same (non boost) hub shell.

Weird that. Rockshox reduced offset 29er forks are 42mm and fox use 44mm I thought. I have replaced a 160mm travel 51mm offset fork on my big bike with a 180mm travel 42mm fork (they have a similar ride height though as I run a lot more sag on the 180mm lyrik). The difference isn’t as night and day as some articles would have you believe. The main difference I noticed was that on a very slack bike, the shorter offset just makes the front wheel feel a bit less like it’s in a different post code. A bit more direct without being twitchy. On a shorter travel, steeper bike like the clockwork I honestly doubt you’d notice much difference.

Limp Bizkit, Significant other… stop sniggering!

I did a hope factory tour a few years ago with a mate who’s one of their dealers. It was when they were trying to develop a handlebar. They had a rig set up and were testing competitors bars. The chap doing the tour, Adrian one of the directors told us that there were no aluminium MTB bars produced in the uk as no one had the machines to create the central bulge. At the time the MTB bars were the only thing Renthal didn’t make in Stockport as they didn’t have the equipment, I guess moto bars aren’t as heavily bulged / tapered. This was a good 6 years ago though and things may have changed. I believe Hope do make their carbon bars in house now.

Longest lasting winter gloves I’ve used are 100% briskers. Bought a set on a rainy day at Antur Stiniog in about 2015 and worn them at least one ride a week between October and April
ever since. Still going strong. Summer gloves wise I’m on my third year with a set of Dakine ones. Can’t remember the model but very minimal ones with an elastic cuff. Also had a lot of use out of TLD gloves in the past. Fox gloves don’t seem to last very long in my experience, between our group I’ve seen so many sets fail on the finger seams in the first season.

Yeh as BadlyWiredDog said, the tougher version that’s rated for use with a pack is used in the new R7 trail. I think you can get them over here now. The R7 is a running jacket but I find it’s great for MTB use. The hood won’t fit over a helmet but it’s so thin and well fitting that I put it underneath my lid if it rains. What a revelation, it’s a lovely feeling, haha. The gore ones are a super athletic cut. I’m 6ft and 12st, usually on the border between M & L. Glad I went for an XL in the R7. The large would have been very snug. One mud related issue that just sprung to mind is the zip. It’s bloody tiny and after one ride when I just hosed it off rather than washing it, the dried mud in the zipper made it very hard to zip up. I had to squirt some water out of my bottle to soften the mud back up.

I’ve been using a gore R7 jacket for a couple of months. Got to say it’s without a doubt the best functioning jacket I’ve ever owned. Got it 40% off at wheelbase. Despite no vents it breathes better than my old burghaus vapour storm goretex active shell that has loads of venting. The beading on it in the rain is something to behold. Seems absolutely fine in the mud and it’s not ripped yet despite regularly catching it on bushes etc. I have been babying it a bit to avoid unnecessary abrasion & unless I’m going up a proper mountain I tend not to wear a bag. I wash it at 20 deg with pure liquid soap (same as tech wash but cheaper) in a net delicates bag, no spin and just shake it a few times and hang up. I’ve not crashed in it yet mind. Not sure how well it’d hold up to a tumble, it’s so thin but I feel that the function is totally worth it. With no DWR to fail (no matter how much nickwax you use it’s never the same as new) it should keep working like it does until I inevitably tear it to bits.

Compared to current frames, the spesh stumpys and enduros of that era are very short in the reach. Just something to consider if your goal is to size up. If your lad is going to be pushing 6ft any time soon I’d definitely have a look at some geometry charts as the reach might not be that much more than many mediums. If I remember correctly, my old enduro (2014-16 frame model) was 445mm reach. Most medium frames these days are longer than that.

I’ve been on the lyrik ultimate since September and I’ve got to say it’s game changing. My last fork was a top end 2016 pike with a TF coil conversion in it. It was a good fork but the lyrik outclasses it in every way. I’ve always been a die hard coil fan but the lyrik ultimate is so much better over small bumps. I really suffer with hand pain on longer, rougher descents and it’s all but cured it. The lyrik has a better mid stroke and just never seems to get out of its depth. They’re bloody expensive but it’s without a doubt the best bike part I’ve ever bought.