I was having similar problems, again only with the back brake. I’ve bled and bled the brake, and i’m pretty certain I’ve got most (all) of the air out.

What (I think) I’ve found is that these are very sensitive to how they’re set up. Centering the brake by pulling the lever doesn’t seem to work, leaving the brake with the symptoms you’re getting.

If I align it really carefully and centrally by eye, the brake feels much, much better. It’s still not perfect, but loads better. I guess I’ve got a sticky piston (although I’ll be damned if I can tell which.)

Worth a try?

(I love these brakes when they’re working, but the rear was doing my head in to the point where I was considering getting a set of Avids (of all things) to replace them. Going to see how they go with centering them this way.)

I’m going against the flow here, but I’d always chose Cannock. Specifically the Monkey Trail. Narrow, twisty, muddy, rocky… love it.

Llandegla just seems soulless. It’s improved recently, but the only really fun bit is the short jumpy section of the new black.

But, and it’s a bit but, the amount of litter at Cannock always really depresses me. Do mountain bikers have that little respect for the outdoors?

I’d be more concerned about the fact that it’s only close to one chainstay. Sort your wheel out and you’ll probably have plenty of clearance.

And let your tyres back down! Having rock solid tyres won’t make any difference to whether there’s any rubbing on the chainstays or not, it’ll just make the bike ride worse.

Doglover – I chatted to you up the long climb and saw you on a couple of other laps. I was on an orange Soul. Nice to meet you.

Hi Gronk, well ridden! You were absolutely flying – your fastest lap was nuts. Can’t believe it went down to the last lap!

Tom

The last USE post I had (in a soul) bent. My thompson was great. I’m now using a Ragley. It was fine for the Puffer solo. (My back’s killing me, but that’s due to the course, the amount of time riding and the fact that I forgot to put a sensible length stem back on. Arse-wise, and comfort-wise, the Ragley was spot on.

It’s my upper body that’s taken a battering

Yup. My wrist, triceps and back are in knots. I dropped a carton of juice this morning. Picking it up again took several attempts…

That said, I loved the rocks. They kept things interesting, there were multi-line bits, single-line bits and bits you really didn’t want to get wrong! But it did start to hurt (a lot) after 18 hours or so!

I found the fireroad really hard – all I could think about was how long it was. The techy bits kept my mind nicely occupied. I think plenty of Peak District night riding helped too.

I got a reserve place. And then I got offered another reserve place 2 weeks later. Didn’t get on the list till really late either, so I’d say it’s definitely worth getting on it even if you miss an entry.

That was the most technically difficult and enjoyable 24hr course I’ve ridden. It was absolutely brilliant, although my back, neck and arms are killing me today as a result! Anyone know how long a lap was?

The fireroad climb was another matter entirely…

How Gronk put in a fastest lap only a second slower than the fastest ovverall I will never know!

Congratulations to everyone, I had an amazing weekend!

Have yo got a blog or anything? I’d love to see photos from that!

Where’s the route go?

I just wrapped a cloth around mine and did it by hand. Worked fine.

Walkley’s ok. Mostly friendly, easy to wander into town, quick access to the Peak, shops close by. Couple of nice pubs too. Plenty of people around who bike/climb too.

I’d agree that Crookes was a bit nicer, but it’s also a lot more studenty, if that bothers you.

If I was moving, I’d look over around Ecclesall/Greystones/Abbeydale – it’s easier to ride to more of the Peak, which is my priority.

He clearly doesn’t mean ‘awe’ in the way you’re claiming he does, does he?

I’m sure he’ll be along shortly with some

A friend who did the puffer a couple of years back doesn’t reckon mud tyres are necessary.

From the pictures (I know, I know), there’ seems to be only one picture where it mud tyres would be needed. Everything seems to have a fairly hard base underneath, which goes with what my mate said. Is this fair?

(I can’t find my mud tyres and don’t really want to buy new ones that I’ll only use for this.)

That was awesome. It has made me both incredibly happy and incredibly sad (can’t go this year) at the same time.

Why is SbZ being such a knob?

How could it not be?

Brandy butter – awesome.
Marmite – awesome.

Awesome + awesome = much more awesome.

Cheers for that.

I have now given up all hope of keeping my feet dry. 😥

I’m in on a last-minute reserve entry. Not sure four weeks has been enough time to get fit but hey-ho…

I’m driving up Friday night from Sheffield and staring at a 2AM arrival. Which will be nice. Obviously, the site’s shut then. Can I walk in? Anywhere nearby to put up a tent? Nearby youth hostels? Or am I best stopping off on the way up and making a crazily-early start?

Well the anodising’s worn off mine, but it holds my seat in the right place. As that’s what it’s meant to do and I don’t care about how it looks, I’d say it was fine. And cheap.

Neil – maybe… what sort of nick are they in/how old are they etc? Ok bleed-wise? How much are you after?

Anyone else have any strong views either way?

Split pretty evenly then!

I’ll try and find someone who owns the brakes and have a play. Currently thinking of Magura as I can get them a little cheaper and I prefer getting mineral oil in my eyes, rather than DOT.

EDIT – I clearly can’t count… five in favour of Formula over 2 for Magura!

That happened to mine. I rang them up to ask if spare hub shells were available as I couldn’t find them. They told me to send it in and rebuilt it with a new one. (Not the wheel – I’d already taken it apart.) I don’t recall how long it took but it only cost me the postage and was done within a week or so of me splitting the hub.

The fact that it split in the first place, something that’s never happened with any other hub is a whole other issue…

I’ve been chuckling about that front door retort all morning for some reason

Probably because it was funny! 😛

Or ask google to ‘do a barrel roll’

Do an ‘I feel lucky’ search for ‘Find Chuck Norris’…

I’ve always found advantages and disadvantages.

Lighter wheels make a bike feel more ‘alive’ – it accelerates quicker, seems more nimble and is easier to hop around.

On the other hand, heavier wheels get knocked off line less easily and thus make a bike feel more solid in places. And I don’t constantly knock and ding them to pieces every few months.

All personal impressions obviously!

Yeah, I’ve been a few times and know it reasonably well. I’ve seen a map online somewhere of a few of the lines though, and wanted to get hold of it.

I’ve not had a play with the CT axes, but there’s a whole lot more going on with Quarks. As has been said, you can fiddle around with picks, hammers, adzes etc (may not be important to you). You’ve also got a whole lot more options for leashes – it doesn’t look like you could use clippers or bungees with the CTs. Again, this might not bother you. The ‘gripping area’ of the shaft is more shaped on an axe like a Quark – which I’d personally a lot more comfortable that the CT’s straight handle section. If you’re going leashless, this might be a consideration.

With cheaper axes you’re also potentially getting picks that aren’t quite as tough, so you might find yourself sharpening or replacing them. Not having seen them, the picks on the CTs might be fine, and that might not bother you anyway.

In short, they look fine, but it really depends on what you want to do and what they feel like to you. Another cheap option would be something like the tried and tested DMM Fly or one of the Grivels (I’d go with the latter). (If you want cheap and leashless, check out the Monsters.) Or look for something second hand.

Personally, I use BD Vipers, which are amazing, and orange. Well worth a look if you’re considering Quarks. Axes can make a massive difference to how comfortable and relaxed you are on a climb (although not on most easier Scottish routes – more so if you’re messing around dry-tooling!), so find some you’re happy with.

Getting ridiculously excited about winter now…

Anyone else find that incredibly depressing? 45 ‘powerful’ images and only 5 or 6 that related to hope, or happiness, or in fact anything positive at all.

Must have been a cheerful group of people who chose that lot.

My dad has. Not made any difference to his back pain 🙁

The calipers’s off the bike, it’s near enough to 2012 and the reach is set right.

There’s got to be air in there somewhere. I’ll try the piston thing.

Ta.

I’ve not seen Blackbox forks anywhere for anything like the same price. I’m assuming the damping on the normal Revs hasn’t changed?

Pretty happy with the Fox as it is, so not too fussed about getting FIT added. Is there much difference? (I’m pretty skint at the moment too!)

Awesome. Shame it was in the states. I’d love to have seen that.

How about chilos gives me his lamps and smuzzy gives me his battery?

You bought a Prophet as a ‘temporary bike whilst you fix your Pitch’!?!?!?

But they are brilliant bikes. Everything about it seemed perfect for me. I miss my MX.

Good point, I should have added that it’s only Oros I’ve used.

^^^
**** off!!! That better?……

If it helps, no…

You only ever need one exclamation mark, and there are only three dots in an ellipsis. Whether or not you should use ellipses after a question mark is also dubious. Sorry. 😉

(Crosses fingers, hoping there are no errors in this post…)

Apart from that, Formulas have a great reputation and feel brilliant, but I’ve not used them much. You can get deals on them direct from Formula, although I’m not sure if there are any Megas.

Shimano I’ve used for ages. Loads of power (I use 180mm front, 160mm rear for everything, but would happily drop to 160/160). Great, slightly squishy feel, for me at least. The new levers are a touch shorter than I’d like though. A big downside for me is the lack of spares. When a seal goes, you need a new lever/caliper/whatever – which is annoying. That said, I’m using new SLX, and new parts aren’t too pricey.

EDIT: Go here for Formula’s offer on a set of Megas.

I’ve got a set of 2009 140mm Floats that I’m running at 120mm.