You could of just used a normal inner tube cap :P Windwave were always pretty helpful with me when I had the (dodgy) 55 forks.

When we meeting for a bike ride again?

Looking nice. Be interested to know what the shock will be like compared to standard fox ctd

They (Dirt) were invited out for an exclusive test on the bike. Sounds more like a first ride that left them impressed than an actual review.

Mark Ferrentino wrote some good articles for singletrack (now available as an ebook Blame The Dog).

There was a very funny write up of the mega avalanche race in dirt quite a few year back now by a chap from a bmx magazine.

I always enjoy articles by Seb Kemp too.

Try the Borrowdale Bash, it’ll be in the Lakes Route book, starts and ends in Keswick and you can add some cheeky bits on to avoid the longer road sections.

I’ll second North Lakes, some great stuff around Keswick for the bikers and other options for others. Easy enough access of South Lakes too (Garburn Pass, Grizedale Forest etc)

I just did too :)

Descent is still rough and good fun, the climb up has had work done making it a little easier to climb yeah, not a bad thing in my opinion

Sounds like seals are starting to give up so yes you could most likely service the issue yourself

Yeti are rumoured to be working on a revised SB66 frame for 650b wheels, it will be a 160mm bike and have a revised eccentric link also. It will replace the current 26″ model and I presume the current 650b model also.

ah ha tidy cheers for info :)

Just remove the end cap on the drive side

The end cap is removable?

If I had spare cash I’d be ordering one myself I really do quite like this

Think I got mine from here

Hans is a good all round tyre, the Mary is just a little more grrrr and copes with gooey mud a little better.

I’m good cheers, seems the Lakes have escaped most of the storms (we have our own weather up here) so it’s just the usual wet weather rides and work is just work really (helps to pay for bikes).

You well mate?

I recently got a Magic Mary from Germany in snakeskin and seems good so far, went up tubless easy peasy. It’s very rare I puncture the front tyre so no need to run a big heavy tyre (though it is heavier than a snakeskin Hans Dampf)

I’ve ran the Hans on the front & back before and they are fairly robust tyres, never flatted the front and only flatted the back on a fairly worn one after a week in Morzine.

You looking at tyres for the portes trip?

Which tyre you looking at in particular? Never had any issues with the standard Hans Dampf snakeskin one up here in the Lakes.

Trail is fine, bit of slushy snow on the higher sections this morning but ok otherwise, south side probably has more snow than the north but may be washed away in the rain coming later today

This is good to know I’ve been wondering this myself since I saw the newer version on the 650b models.

Isn’t the end of the current bolt up version threaded slightly though?

Just fitted one to the front last weekend and so far so good, went up easy peasy (ghetto) tubeless, seems pretty decent like a Hans but with extra grip, i’ll probably keep running it until the trails dry out a little

Stages were all around 3 – 4 minutes I believe but they may mix it up a bit if there’s only 3 stages at this one so some may be a bit longer, there’s certainly the scope to do so there

Rode one of the gravity enduro races there last year, the stages were mainly based round sections of the black and red loops with one downhill run being used also.

Ride with whichever helmet you feel most comfortable wearing, depending on race rules you’ll probably find people wear both types.

Should be a good race, Hamsterley is a cool place with some great sections of trail

Been having same issue with mine recently, I removed the shock and using a toothbrush and some de-greaser (or wd40 etc) i just gave it a good clean out switching between each position (when it would switch) and now it seems ok again. I was advised not to take it apart.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/gusset-bachelor-ss-tensioner/rp-prod17724

I’ve used this one before and it worked fine on both hardtail frames. It’s not sprung and can be run either way (top or bottom pic) to tension chain. Cheap too.

Had a reverb for just over a year, it’s been replaced once and serviced once under warranty (seals went), so not as reliable as i’d like but when working I like it.

I like the way I can set the max height of my post for best pedalling efficiency and not have to faff with a qr when it’s just not quite right. It’s just nice to have on the fly adjustments to seat height depending on the trail, not a necessity but very helpful.

I’ll just try give it a good clean with tooth brush then to avoid any ‘expensive’ mistakes for now

I’ll take a look I just want to make sure I remove the correct grub screw if there is one and not remove anything with unwanted side effects

I have a 17.5″ Soul frame for sale if that would be of any interest, it’s the older one with 1 1/8 headtube and 27.2 seatpost.

Could you not just buy a larger frame to get the leg length and use a short stem to keep the reach on the top tube shorter?

Looking pretty nice, I love my 26 bandit. You running the forks at 160mm?

Worth investing in any better protection than frame tape for inevitable future hits in this area

Good enough for me. Frame tape probably helped reduce damage but i’ll put some more back on as rock strikes like this are pretty common in the Lakes.

Get in touch with tf tuned see how much it’ll cost to convert to floats and maybe reduce travel to 150 to match rear wheel travel.

Alternatively sell the talas and take a look at the revs or the slants (which I have and like).

By enquired do you mean bought, paid deposit etc…

Cy is a really nice guy and i’m sure he’s doing as much as he can to sort frames out for people that want them, as soon as they have an idea of manufacture and/or shipping dates he’ll be in touch.

There’s a group who meet on tuesday evenings from the car park behind the Lakeland Pedlar around 6:30 I believe. Pretty fit and fast bunch I hear.

Or go into Keswick Mountain Bikes and ask as i’m sure there’ll be other groups too.

Whinlatter is the better trail centre I think but there’s tons of great bridleways to be found in Grizedale Forest, there’s a couple of route maps and gpx files available of them.

Just claim a mid-life crisis and buy some expensive boutique carbon 650b bike, no one will comment or say anything rude about you honest ;)

hexhamstu the strive is a nicer looking bike too

If you can afford it just get the 631 slackline and transfer parts over (while still keeping mega) then you can kind of ride both when you want

It’s just that top tube that puts me off but you know that already, I prefer the yeti you have now

Cool cheers for feedback chaps looks a nice simple procedure just like my old lyriks

Running a chunky (single compound) up front and smorg out back and pretty pleased with them both so far, chunky grips well up front and smorg being the smaller tyre rolls good too.

Both are up and running tubeless, chunky was easier to set up this way but using a ghetto inflator and some muscle the smorg went up too, absolute bargain for a pair of tyres I reckon.