I love them, and they are even better than the older version of the E4’s which I moved to my fatbike. I find Shimanos pretty grabby compared to the modulation of Hopes, plus you can get perfect lever positioning with the reach and bite point adjust. Build quality is great and I really like the long lever which allows you to mount the shift levers outboard of the brakes

Much more expensive than Shimanos but worth it IMO as they go on forever. I don’t understand the comment about parts as Hope are renowned for supplying bits for ancient models

Had my 30mm internal rims for 2 years. I’ve smacked them into lots of stuff including ripping sidewalls in tubeless tyres by getting water bars wrong. Not only are they unmarked but they are still dead straight where I reckon alloy rims would have some major dings

Thanks guys. Have been on Shimano for the last 4-5 years, but did like the feel of SRAM XO1 on a demo bike recently. Crisper and more “decisive” than Shimano. Big cost difference compared to Shimano so need to decide whether its worth the extra £140.

Mboy, to answer your question I did go through a spate of trashing rear mechs but have only done one in the last 4 years. Could be a combination of slightly better skilz and the shadow rear mech which is probably not quite so exposed as the old ones

If I go with XO1 SRAM mech the other issue that raises is whether to go 1×12 Eagle rather than 1×11. The Eagle cassette is £60 more than 1×11 but the cost difference between mechs, shifters and chains is negligible. Apart from the extra 50t cog, any big positives or negatives between the two? I had heard that the Eagle stuff wears slower and runs quieter?

Pretty much all of the places in Scotland that fit your requirements for walking/cycling etc, assuming you want some decent size hills, can be affected by midgies. They will be around from April/May and well into September so unavoidable for the summer

Thing is you only need a breeze over 4km/h to stop them flying, so the majority of days will normally be fine. On the still days you just need to walk fast or be on the bike

I wear standard Salomon 2-3 season walking boots with Vibram soles partnered with DMR Vaults. Its not perfect as there is a bit of foot movement but I’ve never felt I was going to slip off a pedal. I usually add some shorty gaiters to keep 95% of the water out as well

They could try asking for delivery in the smaller 2 axle tankers which are designed to get to more difficult places. They will be lighter and may have a longer hose. How about asking for last delivery so that the tanker is a light as possible? Also worth getting some thick wooden posts or similar to put over the drain area to spread the load either side of the drain

Mrs M refers to it as “Singlechap”. She does not go anywhere near it but does acknowledge that it has provided some top steers on all sorts of topics

Been using the new 5:10 Sam Hill this year and really rate them. I find the Freeriders a bit thin and flexible for my liking. The SH’s are pretty stiff so really good at hike a bike, and they have synthetic uppers plus quicker drying inners so better than other 5:10’s for drying – but still not great. They also have a loop to tuck the laces into. I love them, but you don’t get any of the pedal feel you get from the Freeriders

honourablegeorge – Member

CaptainMainwaring – Member

So for me, I reckon 1×11, 30T oval front with a One Up kit for the Shimano 11-40 which will give 11-45 in decent steps. Will probably also choose the bike that will allow me to go back to 2x in future if needed

IF you’re going to the expense of a Oneup kit for the 11-40, I would seriously consider a SRAM GX 10-42 from bike-components.de – comes with an X1 chain, and make the switch to the XD freehub

https://www.bike-components.de/en/SRAM/GX-11-speed-XG-1150-Cassette-PC-1130-Chain-Set-p50103/
Or I could just use a Shimano 11-42. 30/42 would only give me exactly the same as my current 26/36 taking the shorter cranks into account. I want slightly lower gearing, hence 30/45 using the OneUp kit which works best with the 11-40 cassette

Coming in to this thread a bit late in the day, but its timely as I am just about to change bikes. Of the two options I am considering one has no option for a front mech, the other does. Thought process so far:

Trying to take a balanced view as part of the new bike choosing. On my main bike I am currently running 2×10 with 26/36 and 11-36, but would like a slightly lower bottom gear because where I live has a lot of long steep climbs. I have pretty much never had an issue with dropped chains, front mech issues etc, so it works OK, but having a shifter and dropper remote on the same bar is bit of a PITA

I am definitely going to try 1×11 on the new bike as I can see the benefits. Going 30T chainring with 11-45 would give me my slightly lower bottom gear, including allowing for me going to shorter cranks which make a difference to the gearing (or required torque to be more correct). At the top end I would only lose just over 1 cog, so not really an issue

A couple of things I shall be avoiding at least for now:
1) SRAM Eagle because I am not prepared to spend £250 if I trash my mech
2) Di2 for the same reason and not convinced it is yet proven reliable if given a bit of a knock and then submerged
3) The Shimano 11-46 cassette which must be the most bodged bit of kit in Shimano’s range. They have taken an 11-42 and just changed the largest sprocket rather than any intermediate ones, so the jump between the two largest sprockets is 24% which is ridiculous

So for me, I reckon 1×11, 30T oval front with a One Up kit for the Shimano 11-40 which will give 11-45 in decent steps. Will probably also choose the bike that will allow me to go back to 2x in future if needed

I had several sets of Hope brakes with braided hoses but went with the standard hoses last time. Genuinely cannot tell any difference between them.

Aesthetically, although you can match them with braided look gear cables, you are struggling with the dropper if you run a Reverb. I also found you can get odd loop shapes in front of the bars as you twist them to get the brakes in position

SRAM Eagle
Bottled water, especially at W.H Smith
Trains, especially the Heathrow Express and the Caledonian Sleeper
The LED headlight option on a T6 Transporter (£1600 to you sir)
Venison
Arc’teryx jackets

It was more relevant when I got it just after his first video around Edinburgh which included the tree trick

dirtydog – Member

WT is not about tyre width, its about the profile/tread layout on 35mm+ internally wide rims, a 2.4 is a 2.4, WT or not.
OK, got it. Designed for wider rims. My current rims are 30mm internal so they may not give an ideal profile

From what I have seen, any given tyre size will come up quite a different size and shape depending on the rim width. Both myself and a mate run DHR II’s on the back, but he has 24 or 25mm rims compared to my 30mm and his tyres look smaller

benpinnick – Member

Maxxis WT tyres are bang on there ERTO sizes on a 35mm rim I have found.
Thanks – that’ great. Not exactly “wide tread” though. ETRTO is shown as 61 for the 2.4 WT vs 58 for the standard 2.3. Thats a massive 3mm extra width so not exactly mega wide

honourablegeorge – Member

Same here, 2.5 Minion DHF on a par with a 2.35 Schwalbe.
Really? I currently have a 2.3 Minion DHR II rear/Hans Dampf 2.35 front combo at the moment and I would say they come up roughly the same size. Rims are 30mm internal

I am assuming the Maxxis 2.4 WT will come up wider than a standard 2.4 or even 2.5.

I’m with Hon Nob and the others. I run a DHR 2 year round on the back of my Bronson. Currently on an HD on the front but that will get swapped for a Magic Mary as my default for winter. Unlike Hob Nob I have not found it wears badly on the front.

Not been there this year but usually go once or twice a year. I tend to do the upper red, lower red once each and the black twice in about 4 hours including a break. Adding the brown over the road would make a reasonable day out

Not exactly Inverness, but one of the villages near Aviemore. Signed up with Zen Internet who have been excellent. 32mb FTTC and great customer service, which TBF you are paying extra for.

I also would not touch BT, Plusnet and Virgin don’t do our area, so went with Sky. The line speed was atrocious although the call centre were very responsive and tried lots of ways of trying to get the issue fixed before giving up

Fenix 3 here as well. Had it for a year and can’t fault it apart from it being a bit bulky, but it is a pretty solid pice of kit. I bought a screen protector for it so save getting the glass scratched. Battery last about 18 hours on normal GPS, and probably double that on Ultratrac. It only uses GPS when you have an activity running. Without GPs the battery is meant to last 4-5 weeks

hughjayteens – Member

I’m a fan. Have had mine for two years and have given them a hard time and only managed to snap one spoke butr the wheel stayed totally true. The guys I ride with have all either had to true their wheels several times or replace a rim riding similar stuff. I managed to split a sidewall on my rear Magic Mary racing the Tweedlove international landing on a rock and then did the front this weekend (three bloody times – first time split the sidewall and then I pinched two tubes riding Cadon Bank at Inners) and in all cases the rim was completely unmarked and the wheel perfectly true. Alu ones may gave done exactly the same but again, my mate’s wheels came back from the weekend needing a true.

Worth the cash? If you have it then sure, if you don’t and it means your kids won’t have any shoes, then certainly not!
This ^^ Had my LB rims for 2 years on my Bronson. They have some cosmetic scratches but no damage and still running dead true which is unbelievable with the number of times they have been smacked into waters bars and other general incompetence. Living in the Cairngorms I ride a lot of rocky stuff

When I bought the rims they were about twice the price of Flows, so not too stupid extra money on a carbon MTB. They are also wider than the Flows so help with running lower pressures, plus you can choose decal colour so look quite bling as well

Edit – just had a look at the LB site. Prices have gone up and £/$ is now rubbish so they are about 3x the price of Stans rather than 2x

I have two sets and like others above, I can’t fault the rims or the service. The 2 year old set on my Bronson has been reasonably abused on many rocky Cairngorm descents. They have been smacked into water bars etc hard enough to pinch flat tubeless tyres due to my incompetence but are still dead true and unmarked.

Also worth mentioning that, at least with Schwalbe and Maxxis tyres, tubeless goes up first time every time just with a track pump and they are easy to get on and off

On one comment above, the decals do not come off because they sit under the clear coat. Its pretty easy to get them to do custom decal colours and they send you a mock-up of the decal on the rim to check its OK

Definitely mainstream me:

Paul Simon – Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Frankie – Two Tribes
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Stone Roses – Waterfall
Oakey and Moroder – Together in Electric Dreams
Phil Collins – You can’t Hurry Love
James Brown – Living in America

Wahl cordless all the way. Best I’ve ever used and and only £45 now Wahl clippers. The battery seems to last forever – I do my head once a week and they do at least 5 weeks before recharging

kaiser – Member

seen lots of recommendations for the mueller but is it comfy for cycling and does it stay put or is it a constant source of irritation ?
Also ..my arthritic knee pain seems worse when walking a few miles ….is the brace good for a hike ?
thanks
bill
Totally comfortable for cycling. I have used it on every ride for the last 10 years and do not notice it at all. I also have arthritis and joint instability and could not walk in the hills without it – makes a huge difference, especially on the descents

Jackie Stewart – chatted for about 30 minutes, partly briefing him on the event he was speaking at, and partly general stuff about Formula 1 etc.

Phil Read – for those of the older generation, a legendary motor bike racer. A mate of mine lived a couple of doors from him so we just went and knocked on his front door. Spent about an hour in his garage chatting and climbing around some of his racing bikes

Prince Charles – Mrs M worked in the garden at his house Highgrove for a while. Once a year he gave a big party for all staff where he came round and chatted to everyone. Talked to him for about 4 minutes before he was moved on to the next bunch

+1 for the Mueller HG80. Hinged for best support or cheaper version with a wire spring. Make sure you get the size right – you want it snug

Also tried the equivalent Donjoy. Cheaper but not as comfortable and bulkier

Another here who things MBB is sh**e. Got bored after about 2 episodes although Mrs Mainwaring likes it. Faves for me:

1) The Thick of It (I still re-watch it on Netflix)
2) Still Game
3) Gavin and Stacey
4) Bluestone 42

For some reason I never watched the IT Crowd. Need to have a look judging by the popularity on here

Thanks folks. It sounds as though one of the Shimano XM boots or shoes with a pedal that has a bit of platform (Crank Brothers Mallet E ?) would work. The need for new pedals does make it an expensive option though. I could just try something more waterproof with a more walking friendly sole (e.g. approach shoes) with my existing flat pedals first.

I was not a big fan of Freeriders for hike a bike because they were too thin and soft. The Karvers were better as they were stiffer, had more support and had the flap over the laces but are no longer available. Currently using the Sam Hill Impact which I am pretty impressed with as they are really stiff and the uppers have some waterproofing. Have done some scrambly type stuff like the Chalamain Gap if you know that, and the grip and support have been excellent – effectively just like an approach shoe. Definitely not waterproof but they do dry slightly quicker than standard Impacts

I have arthritis in my right knee from having large chunks of the cartilages removed 40 years ago. The only way I can ride (or walk any reasonable distance over rough ground) is using a knee brace which removes some of the load and rotational forces on the joint. I have found the Mueller HG80 the best compromise. Might be worth trying before you spend a lot of money on new bike parts

4psi on the FS – 20f/24r. 2.3/2.35 tubeless on 30mm internal rims. I go for an extra 1-2psi in the rear if I am doing a ride with a lot of rocks and/or waterbars.

Only 1psi difference on the fatbike – 8f/9r. 4″ tubeless on 100mm internal rims

Interesting that nobody has mentioned the 45Nrth Van Helgas…

They are a bonkers price

Indeed, £125 each (!!!!) and designed as snow specific, so no surprise no one has mentioned them, has them, or that you found they work on snow
Hmm, when I was doing the research I did not see any mention of them being snow specific, and they do work really well in mud and slop. They have around double the knob height of anything else I have seen so hopefully will last twice as long.

When I bought them I am sure they were around £80-90 but the price was all bundled in with the bike so can’t remember for sure

Interesting that nobody has mentioned the 45Nrth Van Helgas. I’ve had them on my Surly Wednesday since I bought it in November. Running them tubeless on 100mm rims and can’t fault them. Tread pattern is very like a huge Minion, they seem to roll as well as much smaller tyres, and have no problem when it gets wet and muddy. FWIW they also seem to work really well in snow and on sand. They have also had plenty of use on technical rocky terrain, and I sometimes wonder whether Sanny’s proposition of using a fat bike for everything is no so far from being true

They are a bonkers price, but I only use the fat bike as my main bike during the winter, and with the amount of rubber on the knobs I reckon they will last me at least 3 years

The tick-tick of rotors cooling after a long, steep descent. Don’t know if this is specific to Hope floating rotors?

Assuming the terrain is as per the north side which I did a couple of weeks ago, possibly yes but I would guess not particularly pleasant. Very steep with plenty of little holes and hidden rocks that could make it OTB central.

Agree that Dave at Bothy Bikes is your man

+1 for the views across Rannoch Moor and then into Glencoe. Worth getting out of the car and wandering around a bit just to grab the atmosphere

Also +1 for the fish and chips at the Real Food cafe in Tyndrum and the fact that the Green Wellie stop is no better than a normal service station. Probably the most expensive fuel in the UK – make sure you can get through to Fort William
The Bridge of Orchy hotel is good for both beer and food

To pick up on a couple of themes so far:

Mounted in a waterproof pack on my pack shoulder strap, the chances of it coming to any harm is pretty remote. How often do you connect with the upper part of your chest in a fall? To be on the safe side I do stick it in my pack if I am doing anything reasonably full on, especially if its rocky

Can’t be a**ed with a second phone. Too much general hassle plus extra cost of buying a phone and a contract (or SIM swapping)

I don’t normally interrupt a ride but sometimes I am riding in work time so need to see if its urgent, and other times I’m meeting a mate en route so need to keep each other updated on timing

Now that phones have become so big and expensive you would think that the manufacturers would have worked out that there may be a market for what I want. Plenty of stuff around for iPhone 5/Galaxy S4 etc – just cannot believe they are taking so long to a the new sizes out there

Cookeaa – yup, first world problem but we are on a MTB forum so pretty much everything on here fits that category

Jambo – my pack has hip pockets but its too dangerous (for the phone) to carry it in there. Any shoulder strap pocket is not going to fit or be waterproof

Nobeer – sadly nothing suitable from Otterbox

b r and scotroutes – yeah I should get up to date but expensive and you can’t do a reply text or take/make a call via the watch

I have a 2014 34 Float on my Bronson. When I bought the bike the Fox was the only option as the Pikes were not available

The Float was pretty crap as it blew through the mid stroke so I either had to have it too firm so it was OK for the steep stuff or set it fine for general riding but then it was crap for the descents

It’s been completely transformed by THIS Push Air Volume cap for £40. I am now running 80psi instead of 100psi but getting a nice progressive spring rate that just gives me full travel on the biggest hits.

Turned a pretty rubbish fork into a good fork. Best £40 I ever spent on a bike