Right pressure is 9 bar in the Portafilter when it’s brewing. You can’t measure that, but if you set it to 10 bar static (I.e. with the gauge blanking the Portafilter) then you will get 9 bar dynamic in brewing.

So basically set the OPV to 10 bar with the gauge on the Portafilter.

Strip everything and check the opv valve is actually working. It may be full of scale and not opening. This could cause all the pump pressure (approx 15 bar) to go into the Portafilter and consequently your issue of not being able to control the output through grind or tamp.

Order a seal kit from eBay for about £8.50 and take the whole thing apart (lots of good YouTube and coffee forum guides around to help). Don’t forget a load of descaler too, or citric acid as it’s cheaper and is essentially descaler.

(I’m assuming everyone is using a pre 2015 Gaggia Classic)

By the time you’ve paid postage both ways you might as well get one from eBay:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F161207194396

Handy to have lurking as a periodic check (annual service and boiler strip) is handy to know everything is still good.

You’ll need to take off the double spout from the Portafilter and use a load of ptfe tape but it works well.

Small tip: it’s not an oil dampened gauge. On each test, take off the Portafilter, empty out the water and put it back on. The extra air volume dampens the pump pulsing and keeps the gauge needle steady. When you hit the button to stop the pump, the air blows out through the 3 way solenoid and the Portafilter fills with water, then when you hit the brew button again the needle bounces all over if you didn’t take the Portafilter off.

Sometimes I’ll get a friendly hello from them, but it’s usually the minority. I do however love to give the moody roadies who stare straight ahead and ignore my existence a very big and loud ‘speshul’ hello. It usually wakes them up.

Its got to be the Lycra, I’m sure they’re all in denial and pretending nobody can see them. Or they’re totally zoned into a back water starva segment attempt……

We rode from Great Longdale yesterday, only a few hours but headed north towards Eyam and back around in a loop.

Snow and ice was present on the tops, lots of runoff water everywhere else. We did stick to the bigger more aromoured trails as it was evident the less well travelled stuff was boggy. Overall very nice day out and all in good winter condition with no horror stories.

Do you have any issues currently? If not, then it’s not worth it.

If you would like a little more effective stopping power or increased cooling capacity (handy in the very hilly areas) then it is worth it at the penalty of weight, but not exactly much weight compared to what you’ll gain in the first muddy trail you go down.

I moved up to a 203/183 combo a while ago and haven’t looked back. I do like having excess power on tap, and just occasionally they get a good toasting if its steep and long enough.

My suspicions were correct then.

I’m not actually doing it myself, but I have the 34 2016 damper for sale and an open enquiry about someone wanting to put it into an older 32. These things are sometimes surprisingly compatible, but just couldn’t see any clear info.

Cheers

As above, you describe air in the remote or hose. Bleed from both ends, and follow the SRAM instructions about orientation of the ports so all the air has a chance to come to the top of the bleed port.

If you’re really paranoid about the being something wrong with the post, the remove the hose from the bottom of the post completely and activate the poppet with an allen key through the port. Careful as if the post is OK it’ll fire out at a decent rate (if already compressed). This is how the bike yolk remote works with the reverb.

Half will say it’s terrible, the other half will say it’s great. Personally I reckon it’s a good XC loop that’s just gets better with speed. It’s not the most hilly area, only 150m ascent in the 14k loop. It’s well armoured, but does get standing water when wet. Usually do 3 laps to get a good session. Don’t expect a super technical session, just decent forest Singletrack. 40 miles each way is nearly what I’d drive to get there, and I’ll posibly be there tomorrow!

Exposure are very good, but I prefer the battery system from hope. I’ve got a few of the lights (r1, r4, r8, District) and find it handy to swap about the battery’s depending on what I’m doing. I also don’t like the exposure lights as they’re a big lump on the bars (for the bigger ones anyway) that I’m prone to knocking off when going through gates or over styles. Appreciate that’s my issue though, not the light.

Then there’s the hope loyalty, good quality, brilliant service and availability of spares in almost every shop in the land.

Nomad every day of the week. We have one and it’s leagues ahead in terms of pressure, flow rate, battery life etc. Main drawback is it’s fairly big, but then the water reservoir gets 2 bikes done if you’re sensible.

Kärcher didn’t really make it as a pressure washer, more of a rinsing tool. Yes it’s small and very handy size, but it’s not up to knocking sticky mud off a Bike without refilling about 10 times and recharging. I see the point of it for rinsing off boots, dog paws etc.

XTR M971 here. Very unfashionable 3×9 but it’s still ace in my books. Certainly doesn’t hold me back on the hardtail at least.

If we knew what drivetrain you are running then we might be able to give an exact link to one (i.e. Sram, shimano, 9/10/11 etc)

Now you say it, the green have a tiny bit longer tabs on the sides, they must touch the inside of the stanchion slightly more to prevent the rattling.

Thanks for the info

I’ve had a very positive dealings with MSR warranty in the past. The very early dragonfly stoves had an inherent fault where the burner cone would detach from the pivot. Not expedition ending, but a bloody nuisance.

MSR were brilliant. Called and explained the fault. Sent in the stove complete with fuel pump and got a completely service pump back with new burner.

Hopefully their tent warranty process is as good.

Stanton have 3 Ti frame options. I’m on the Sherpa Ti at the moment, and it’s getting used more than the big bike! I’ve fallen in love with…..

You could go the whole hog at Evans and get the Gore One Pro jacket. It’s the best jacket I’ve ever owned, utterly brilliant (there’s even an STW review that is very positive).

Also interested in Micks offerings……..anywhere to see them or pricing?

Thats one of the cheapest out there! Have a look at some of the Fox prices, it’s eye watering and totally unrealistic. I’m not sold on spending that kind of dosh on the BBI one either. It might be a lump of nylon and some drill bits at this rate…..

15% off at Cotswold for Forestry Commission members, not too hard to find the code….

It might be that your shock pump head isn’t pushing the Schrader valve on the shock open, so all you’re doing is pressurising the pump hose.

Use a valve tool to unscrew the presta valve core and remove, then connect the pump and try again. If it starts to pressurise like it’s already done, then the problem is in the shock, if it starts to take air normally, then you have an issue with the pump head or Schrader valve core.

Start with the simple easy things before stripping it all back down again

I do pride myself on being ‘cynically calm’ in these situations (I might be raging on the inside, but being a tit gets you nowhere) as you need the people on the other end to help you to resolve the issue.

I’ll be pissed very soon, and it’s Rioja tonight, Merlot is a Thursday thing…..

I can honestly say I was not rude on the phone, didn’t swear, didn’t direct any abuse or harm towards any staff member. I did state I was feeling frustrated and that the situation has caused me some consequential grief.

As to the ‘flaming on the forums’ then the exact phrase used, which was actually a question – when I had reached a dead end around 2pm of being blanked was – ‘do I need to use social media to move this case along?’. That question was blanked and we remained at a stalemate with no resolution.

The purpose of this thread, as you’ll see in my first sentence, was more for my own catharsis whilst reporting fact, and at no point is anything written other than fact. Flaming is NOT the intention, I’m a grumpy internet user, and possibly a c0ckwomble……

Longest thread I think I’ve ever started…..quite enjoying it go past the usual 3 posts…

On the topic of the address…..Original delivery address was given correctly based on the gaurenteed Friday delivery (to somewhere was going to be, or was today I should say).

When asking about Saturday delivery or even next week, I clearly advised another address would need to be used (the lady on that call even confirmed it to be sure). As it turned out, then Saturday couldn’t be done.

As it would happen, Richie has tried to help by sending the part to the original address given for the gaurenteed Friday delivery, which is not where I’d planned to be next week. If he’d called, or the lady I spoke to communicated the incorrect dispatch could have been avoided. I’ve now changed plans again next week to try and call into the delivery address so I can pick it up.

It’s all too late now anyway. I’d like to have a talk with the responsible person next week and clear the air (Ritchie?). It’s overhauled my plans for the weekend somewhat, not sure I’ll live with the deep dissappointment, but it’s a great excuse for an extra bottle of wine tonight…..

Richie- I’m honestly more incensed now than I was earlier since you have added those points. There is a woeful miscommunication based on a number of critical points explained to the three staff involved so far (excluding yourself).

There are two phone numbers and an email address on file for myself (plus a PM system and email in my STW profile). I’ve made repeat contact to resolve the situation, and Silverfish have not delivered on the gaurentee originally given. Perhaps contacting me directly to discuss the failure of your buisness, while gaining a number of other facts, would have been more appropriate? I would urge caution on misquoting my conversation to twist it into a different light.

P.S. – if £6.95 was not for the next day delivery then what was it for?

As I understand it:

Silverfish have the stock of parts/forks/shocks etc.

Mojo are the service centre.

Conversations today indicate that they are two separate entities. The Mojo centre seem to have no control over what Silverfish are doing in their warehouse.

This is only as I can gather it between seeing red on numerous phone calls.

It was urgent because of a lack of functional fork (and plans in the diary). I called because it was urgent, explained and sought confirmation. Regardless, urgency didn’t create the cock up at silverfish, their customer service did.

The running around to no avail is my issue, further aggravated by effective dismissal of the topic. I was hoping that there would be a little more customer focused motivation as a new distributor of a product.

Pulse mode as above. It has a constant low level with high power pluses every few seconds. Means it’s always on and flashing at the same time. I followed one in a car recently and it’s remarkably effective (hope District plus was the light)

The art of applying rnr extreme is to lather it on, then run the chain through a towel. This lifts off the dirt like a chain cleaner and leaves behind a really good lube in the required areas.

Yes you get through a lot of it, but that’s the idea as it cleans and lubes.

Perfectly clean for premier users…..maybe it’s a stealthy way of getting subscriptions up!

I have great preference to do everything myself. Only I am to blame then.

However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have the skills to maintain at a high level, so the LBS becomes needed. It’s a rookie error mentioned above, and understandable, but a deep apology should have been given.

It’s also essential for you to check your own gear, especially before a big ride. A month before a biking holiday, the bikes get torn down and serviced, with lots of time for my mistakes to show themselves or parts to be ordered if needed.

Always have a quick blast around the block before taking the bike away on any trip!

Usually bend and fold the sandpaper to make it fit into little tight spots as needed. If I can’t get sandpaper in there then a little file or scraper will suffice, nothing expensive or technical needed.

Don’t be frightened to buy a couple of big rolls from a decorators centre and chew through it. Sandpaper will dull as it’s used, and many hate sanding because they’re using dull paper.

If the surface is already good but old, then lightly key it with sandpaper, it’ll take a very short time with good quality sand paper.

If you’re just putting on further coats then no need to sand, the surface will be clean enough to fully bond. You might want to sand in order to flatten the surface though. This will depend on your desired end finish though. I’ll flat back between undercoat and gloss in some areas but not in particularly visible areas.

As above. Get Dulux trade gloss paint. Yes it will be a bit stinky for a few days, but it’s hands down the best gloss to get a good finish with, and it will last a long time.

Dulux trade gloss isn’t like the usual stuff you buy from bq, it’s a pleasure to work with and very easy to apply.

The water based ones hold brush marks massively in comparison, and the cost it very high in comparison for what is inferior to oil based.

I had a load of cube logoed racing Ralphs a few years ago, all marked up with trailstar/snakeskin etc. I also had some original Schwalbe ones of identical spec at the same time. They were identical apart from the additional cube logo. Felt the same, performed the same, wore the same. Ended up buying a load of the cube branded ones as they were loads cheaper as people were taking them off thinking they were a lesser tyre.

Maybe he can feel the logo unbalancing the tyre?

Wrap some heavy cloth or tape around those jubilee clips, if it does decide to detach then jubilee clips are famous for taking chunks out of flesh when whipping around on hoses etc.

Steve Peat raced for years without all the rotor bolts.

Is your allen key in good condition? If you’ve damaged 2 now then it’s likely worn. Worn allen keys will damage bolts very easily.

Best replacement bolts around are the Hope ones. Nice deep torx heads and good quality bolt. I’ve actually had a torx bit break before the hope bolt. Lots available from everywhere, only a few pounds, and can be fitted to any rotor or hub.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hope-steel-disc-rotor-bolts/rp-prod9950

Rescuing a ‘cool kid’ that is ill prepared does mean you can take the high ground and offer lots of good backpack advice during your trail side rescue.

Camelbak kudu here, like having a back protector after hearing about some crashes recently (own pump digging into delicate spine parts etc.).

NN trailstar on the rear, 2.35. It’s become my winter tyre of choice for the rear (SG Rock razor in the summer) with a SG Magic Mary up front year round.

On the hardtail it’s NN trailstar 2.35 front and 2.25 on the rear. Does really well in the sticky mud and bog we get locally.

The pacestars wear really well but are too skittish for my liking. Performance line is essentially death in wet slippy conditions. I moved away from the Hans dampf as it just didn’t quite shed mud like the Nobby Nic.

http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php

Gore One Pro jacket (mtb specific). The price is eye watering, but I can attest to the fact it’s the best jacket I’ve ever used. It also fits a burly chap properly, unlike gores previous offerings where you need arms like a twiglet to get it on.

http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/review-gore-one-gtx-pro-jacket/amp/