The 2016 (& I think 17) ones were just the same frame and forks as the 29er but with 27.5+ wheels. I’m pretty sure they also just had the normal traverse fattie rims too which were only a 29mm internal width. The rims would take a 2.3-2.6 tyre just fine, actually much better than the 3.0” rubber specialized specced. You might find the BB ends up pretty low with a smaller tyre.

I’ve got a couple of old slx’s in the shed you’re welcome to. Im in Manchester if you want to pick up but can post em if you cover postage. Drop me a message if you want them mate.

Quite often on these the bolt that holds the cage onto the body of the me h can get a bit dry and crusty. Try taking it out and greasing it. Greasing the clutch isn’t a good idea, it’s meant to grip

I was an early adopter of inserts and I hate riding without them. I first made my own version of schwalbe procore From a set of time trial tyres and road tubes after seeing pics of the prototypes & later upgraded to the real thing. I didn’t want to drill me new rims for the second valves. Swapped to Rimpact now and love them. I really struggle with hand / arm pump and whilst lower pressure helped, I was constantly cutting sidewalls. Being able to run sub 20psi pressures and not worry too much about flats is a revelation & the grip and confidence they gave me was game changing. The Rimpacts support the sidewall more than the procore so even at silly pressures they don’t squirm too badly. I’ve also noticed that below 20psi you seem to actually roll faster on anything but tarmac. The rimpacts are not much more than a third of the weight and cost of pro / Cush core. I ride every weekend in the peaks with regular trips to lakes, Wales, Scotland etc. I flatted about 6 times in 3 years on procore (mostly just popping the high pressure core, not the tyre) and I’ve had one flat in 6 months on Rimpact, nothing a plug couldn’t fix. Best things since dropper posts in my opinion.

I had a brilliant one from Clas Ohlson but it died after 4 years service and now they’re discontinued. I’ve found the best ones are the forced air type. Basically a very low powered hair dryer with two or more flexible hoses that you shove into the shoe. You can get ones that are just a heating element that goes into the shoe and ones that use a desiccant like silica gel but they’re not as good.

This is what totally put me off Shimano brakes. It’s happened on every single one of the 5 sets I’ve had over the years and nothing has cured it. Zip tieing the levers to the bars over night makes them feel ace for the first descent but it soon comes back. I sent my last set of XTs back to crc for a refund. But that’s CRC, generally no quibbles with warranty because they can absorb it. Not sure what Maddison would do with a set returned via your LBS.

I did see this video shortly after I swore off them for the last time. Totally different way of bleeding them from the syndicate mechanic. Got to be worth a try.

How to Bleed a Shimano Saint Brake with The Syndicate’s Marshy.

Give Twelve50 bikes in Frodsham a call. They do a weekly shop ride round delamere and can show you all the decent stuff. Very friendly bunch.

I’m on a 140mm full sus, designed around a 140-150mm fork. Bought it as a frame only and put my 160mm fork in it. Rode just fine to be honest but I felt the need to tinker and fitted a works -2 deg headset. It’s made everything better to put it simply. Climbs better as it’s made the seat tube angle steeper, so even though the head angle is below 64deg i get no front wheel lift on steep ups. It Lowered the bb back to roughly what it should be with a 140mm fork. Only minor issue was the front wheel feeling quite far away and losing front end grip if I wasn’t consciously leaning forward on flat turns. Upped the stem length from 35 to 50mm and it’s a lot better. Try it mate, doubt you’ll be disappointed

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Are you sure you’ve not selected the option for them to assemble it too? Don’t recall a big delivery fee on mine, maybe £50 or so but I’m only in Manchester. They guys that delivered it were employees of the company, not a logistics firm so I can see them charging more if they have to go further. Great bit of kit though, can’t see anyone getting through it in a hurry. Remember to get a drill or impact driver to put all the screws in though or you’ll loose the will to live and give yourself arthritis

Plus one for the rock bros. Had mine about 4 months now and it’s great. Regularly ragged around Peak District B roads and tanked down the motorway for hours on end. Solid as a rock. I went for the 3 bike one even though 95% of the time it’s only used for one bike as I thought more suction cups equals more secure. It’s rock solid. A few minor issues to keep an eye on though…
the supplied adapters can be a bit loose and can fall out when a bike’s not on it. I lost one and the replacement I ordered came fitted with o rings that hold them in much better.
The adapters are close together. On my 3 bike carrier, if I drive one of my mates that has a similar bar height to me, we have to loosen the stem & turn the bars on one of the bikes as they hit each other. Not a problem if one bike has heightened bars than the other. If I wanted to take 3 bikes, all the bars would need to be turned 90degrees. You do need to keep the rubber cups clean, they come with clip on covers but I’m lazy and noticed two of the pump buttons had come out the other week. The cups were still very firmly attached but it worried me. Popped it off and the cups were filthy with muck and grit. Cleaned them up and it’s been perfect again. It’s also good to pull the pump buttons out every now and again & squirt some silicone lube in there to keep the seals fresh. If you don’t want to put a muddy wheel in your boot then it’s a good idea to buy some old school toe straps and just strap the front wheel to the side of your frame once it’s up on the roof.

Loads in Macc & the goyt. Most of it us on Strava so just have a look on segment explorer.
An easy one to find at macc starts just behind the weather station at the top of Charity lane. Go just past the station and climb over the fence into the trees. You’ll see an opening and probably tyre tracks where others have gone through before.

The V1 following has a super short reach by current standards. At 6ft I think you’ll find a large too small. A mate of mine has one, he does get on with it at 6ft but he comes from a bmx background and prefers shorter bikes. I’ve ridden it and it felt like I was going to go over the bars at any given moment. I’d definitely be looking for an XL if your legs are long enough.

I got the 2018 vrx 29 frame in the crc sale back in October to replace my battered Enduro 29. It’s probably built a bit burlier than intended with 160mm coil pikes, procore in the tyres and big hope V4 brakes. Mostly ride the Peak District and other northern chunkiness. The frame isn’t that light but doesn’t bother me as I’m not hanging anything light off it, including myself.

Really can’t knock the frame. The geometry is so much more confidence inspiring than the 2015 Enduro 29 I was on. Both 19” frames but the vitus has over 20mm more reach and is much slacker, especially with the 160 fork. I was a bit dubious about the long chainstays before I rode it but I’m a total convert now. Puts you in a very central position on the bike and it never seems to lose back wheel grip on steep climbs. The bike descends like a freight train, even compared to the Enduro with had more travel and a better rear shock.

About the suspension, it took me a while to find the sweet spot as I was coming off a longer travel frame with a cane creek double barrel on it. With it set up firm it was quite chattery and got hung up on bigger stuff a bit. I’ve found the suspension to be pretty progressive and it seems to pedal well irrespective of sag. I’ve ended up running it around 35-40% sag when seated and it’s feeling a bit closer to the Enduro now. The 2019 one has a posher fox shock on it compared to my RS deluxe so I can only imagine it’s going to be better.

Only other negatives really are the dropper routing. You have to be careful that you route it so the hose doesn’t rub the lower linkage. There’s a tiny slit on one side of the seat tube opening for a zip tie that holds it out of the way. Would have been good if this was explained in the manual. Also the head tube is quite long which put my bars higher than I would like (remember I’m running a longer fork than spec & 30mm rise bars). Easy enough fix, just run a lower bar.

Quality of the frame is on a par with anything else I think. Can’t see any areas in which my old Specialized seemed better made.

They’re awesome bikes, I’d say go for it. You won’t be disappointed if you realise that it’s on the burlier end of the spectrum and isn’t going to win any xc races.

This is pretty normal when running a double on a 10speed cassette with a 36t cog.
You should never be in the small cog on the back and the granny ring at the same time so it shouldn’t matter.

I’ve fixed loads of torn tyres (some big tares too) by patching them on the inside with a piece cut from the side wall of an old tyre. Glue it in place using Seam Grip, it’s a flexible polyurethane adhesive meant for sealing seams on tents. You can get it from pretty much any outdoor shop. Works a treat! :D

Has anyone got any experience with this setup? It would be a lot cheaper than the Leonardi or the Trickstuff converters…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/41-Tooth-Cog-for-Mountain-Bike-Cassette-41t-Sprocket-/251324151982?pt=US_Cassettes_Freewheels_Cogs&hash=item3a841638ae#shId

It will be fine at the moment. Not been down Cut Gate this summer yet but I live in the area and all the trails are riding sweet. You might hit the odd bit of bog but nothing major. Enjoy it… great trail (except for the c*nt of a climb at the start).

Awesome vid

Giro Remedys are massive around the face but normal around the cranium. They look a bit silly on folks with skinny faces actually…

The ardent does roll faster thn the advantage but is scary in the wet. A rear summer choice only unless you only ride trail centres IMO.

Wow, good job the ranger found them first. That’s a step up from a bit of wire accross the trail, what a couple of psychos.

A bike shop will charge you a premium especially if all the bits haven’t been purchaced from them. I used to work for an independent LBS and customers that buy bits from CRC etc and want service on them really don’t get the same level as customers who have got stuff from themselves. No bike shop would touch it for less than £100 but I think you’d prob be looking at more.

I can reccomend a couple of very good mechanics that work independently of shops if you are in the north west. Inbox me if you are interested.

You get barely above minimum wage working in any chain bike store.
They seem to think that because it’s retail then it’s OK to pay you the same as a checkout girl in Tesco, totally ignoring the level of technical knowledge and sales skill required.
If you want to be able to survive working in a bike shop you need to find a decent idependent… dunno where you are based but I know of one in the South Manchester / Cheshire area that is in need of staff. I worked there many moons ago and was the lowest paid member of staff on 16k. Most of the older lads were on 18-20k. Let me know if you want the name of the shop and who to contact…

kiwifiz, there should be a few of us out on Saturday morning doing a fun little loop around the Hope valley. You’re welcome to tag along but I doubt people will be able to get there much before ten…

I used to live in Banff (an hour West of calgary) and it truly is the best place on earth, if you can put up with it hitting forty below in the winter. Calgary is alright, nice friendly city but pretty charmless I found. All that matters id that you are an hour from the Rocky mountains. Canada is the promised land, just do it man!

Your LBS should be able to sort you out with some decent bearings, that’s where I got mine from.

dawson, It’s a dirt cheap hub from china. The hub body is great quality for the money but something has to give… moon on a stick?

Both the pitch and the mega come up really small. At 5’7 you’d want a medium on both. Just a word of caution, the mega is a very different bike to the Alpine. The nukeproof is a great bike, loads of the lads I ride with are on em, (well 4 anyway) and one actuall did the megavalanche on his but it is far from a plush ride. The rockshox shock makes it very firm compared to both the alpine and the pitch. Great if you hit things hard and skip over rough sections at speed, but if it’s a comfy bump swallower you’re after then the pitch is a better bet.

I’ve heard plenty of similar reports. They are a great hub but come with pretty cheap bearings. Fair enough for the price. Throw some quality bearings in there and job’s a good’un, they should see you for years of service

The RQs come up huge by the way. My friend runs the 2.2s and they aren’t far off the size om my 2.4 advantages. Never seen a 2.4 rubber queen but I’m guessing they will be massive. Another confusing thing is that the 2.2 RQs came up bigger than another mate’s 2.4 mountain king 2s. Weird…

The tevas are very comfy, well made with a sole that’s niether rigid or too flexy. I use 5.10 freeriders, not as well put together with a flexier sole but waaaaaaay grippier. 5.10s take a bit to get used to as once your foot is down, you have to lift it clean off to reposition it. The 5.10 impact is the best imo, mega grippy, stiff sole for pedalling efficiency and very prtective. Avoid 5.10 spitfires, you’d be better off riding in slippers. Got a mate that swears by the shimano ones though aswell.

On some of this year’s giros its just a colour change. The hex is one of them. Exact same lid, I actually prefer some of the womens ones

+1 for the Advantage. Great in the rocks (cause they come up pretty big for their size), lightish, grippy, roll fast, ok if not great in mud. Best allrounder I’ve found

You won’t rip your headtube off in a month of Sundays. Worked in the bike trade for years and it so rarely happens, but your bike will not go up hills in a straight line. A mate of mine has 160mm domains on a pitch and it’s sweet in a really burly, slack way but near uncontrollable uphill without him usng the Uturn to wind them right down.

Me and most of the lads I ride with (All dark peak locals) are on 2.4 maxxis advantages. Roll faster than either the high roller or minion 2.35 and come up huge and really tall to ward off the pinch flats. Not the best in mud as they tend to surf about a bit but they are ok. Awesome over the rocks!

Both he and a mate recently had out bikes nicked. Each worth around £3k if new. I’m with Santander and got the princely sum of £750. He’s with Nat West and got £2k. (both were maximum pay outs). Guess who I’m switching over to…

I’m pretty sure Nukeproof do a headset with an extended lower cup for fitting 150mm forks to it. Anyway, a few of my mates have em with 160mm forks and they are slack! I don’t think it would be at all bad with a 150mm fork.

You can but any generic silicon lube will work just as well (I assume you want to lube your fork seals for a plusher action). I use the Halfords own brand silicon spray (it comes in a yellow can). Fraction of the price of the muc off stuff and the same product

The camers is very good and when paired with the snapseed photo editiong app you can get some amazing results. It’s about £3 and very easy to use