Yeah it does – presumably for dynamo routing? Not bunged off on mine either

Just picked up an Arkose X courtesy of the insurance payout – the paint job is really lovely in the flesh! Rides just as nicely as my old 4. Will probably swap back to 700c wheels for commuting but the 650b ones are v comfy.

Thanks James! Yeah cables/brake lines/chain cut and handlebars/shifters/ RD / calliper stripped off the frame. Gutted! Hopefully the insurance comes through, might snag an X in the sales while I wait thought.

Hi @jameso – Had all the bits nicked off my Arkose 4 so looking at getting an Arkose X as a replacement. Did the geo change at all? I had a 46T chainring on my 4, will the X still clear that (in 1x). Thanks!

I had issues with the indexing and shifting when I got my arkose 4, turned out whoever built it had forgotten to put the spacer on behind the cassette (the sram 11-42 is the width of a 10 speed road cassette). Added that and reindexed & it’s shifted perfectly ever since. Worth checking the derailleur hanger isn’t bent…the rival RD is pretty chunky, would be surprised if it can be damaged without bending the hanger.

The MX8 looks like it fits on a normal shimano freehub, no xd needed.

Are you running them with tubes? They don’t really have any puncture protection so tubed without sealant I guess they’re a bit vulnerable. If you’re planning to stick with tubes the Vitoria voyager hypers get good reviews.

@mashr not sure about non-sram chainrings but their own x-sync ones are offset so you mount them where the big ring would be and the chainline sorts itself

Basically any sram chainset with a 5 atm 110bcd spider – so all of them except for that daft proprietary 4 arm apex one. Rival/force/red, the “normal” road double and 1x versions are the same. Best thing is probably to get a cheap or second hand road one (often less than the 1x version for no reason) and then flog the chainrings & buy a 1x 38t ring.

Eg:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CSRRIXYZNOBB/sram-rival-11-chainset-(no-bb)

Or just ditch sram and get a shimano road crankset and an aftermarket 1x ring.

There’s an 11-34 ultegra cassette (maybe an r7000 105 version too) that fits on a 10 speed freehub. People have definitely machined a bit off the back of the cassette before to solve this as well.

Have a look on PX, few things that fit the bill. Conti race kings & clement xplor mso are both £13 if you can fit 650×50, £21 for the clements in 42c.

@grantyboy – had the same issue, evans sell a pinnacle branded bolt…or nip to a hardware store and get a 60mm+ version of the one that came with the guards.

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-60mm-carbon-crown-mount-bolt-EV288248

I’ve got 45mm sks chromoplastic guards on my arkose, there’s def space for larger ones. Don’t think I could fit much more than a 32-35c tyre under them (although the bluemels are a slightly different/wider shape which might change things).

The clements weigh 340g according to the internet, didn’t bother weighing before I fitted them. They don’t feel especially sluggish or difficult to get going. Absorb road buzz nicely, bit less supple than the g one speed but the payoff is they cut up much less. Will probably switch back to 35mm g ones once the mudguards come off. If you want something around the 28mm mark there’s probably nicer rolling but still hard wearing slick tubeless tyres like the IRC stuff.

G one/g one speed are really nice but quite pricey. Clement Strada USH 32 are decent and have a bit of tread, have been good on wet leafy lanes recently. Went up easily just with a track pump & still only £21 on PX:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYCLSUSHT/clement-strada-ush-tyre-700c

@easily

When I got my arkose I took the riddlers off to tape my rims for tubeless and they felt quite fragile, so ended up swapping them for g one speeds. The few times I did ride them tubed they were ok but I did see a review where they had a few punctures (I think advntr.cc). Tbh I think for off road the nano looks like a better bet, on road the g one speed or similar. Using the clement Strada ush at the moment because Planet X had them cheap, not as nice as the schwalbe’s but durable and roll well.

New models look lovely…especially that purple one with the r7000 & ultegra clutch rd.

Awesome, thanks dude. In terms of customer service the arkose has got most bikes beat just with this thread!

@jameso quick q about the stock wheels on my 2018 arkose 4 – will the freehub take an 11sp shimano road cassette? It says 11s compatible on it but not sure if it means mtb or road. Thanks!

Commuting for 12 years in oxford and London, been knocked off twice…both times in Oxford. Never had an issue in London but echo what others say – beware left turning vehicles, don’t jump lights, have a decent set of lights in winter (I like the lezyne helmet mounted thing). In terms of route from limehouse you could actually cycle to kings cross on regents canal the whole way then Euston is just 5 mins up the road…I’m not a fan of the canal personally just because it can be a bit dark and/or crowded. I’d probably do something involving Vicky Park/dalston/Essex Road/Bloomsbury then cross to Euston somewhere near uclh. Mostly quiet except a short bit of Essex road, some bits on segregated paths.

G-one speed comes in 30, 35 and 38c now just like the g-one allround, the German online places have them. Speed version is heavier and has the v-guard puncture belt, allround has slightly more prominent nobbles on it.

Been using the 38c g-one speed for commuting and towpaths etc, it’s great. One puncture in 6 months, sealed with a smear of flexible superglue then later reopened & needed an anchovy, massive shard of glass that would have done for most tyres/tubes. Will probably replace them with 35s when they wear out so that I can fit mudguards.

Secondhand 105 cranks and an aftermarket narrow wide ring. Or secondhand rival 22 (cheaper than rival 1 for some reason) and either a proper sram or other ring. I’ve got a barely ridden 42t rival 1 sram ring to offload if you decide to go down that route…

@hochmatoch

i set my arkose 4 up tubeless myself having zero experience with it – was dead easy. 2 valves and some 25mm wide VAR tubeless tape. Ensure when you’re sticking it down you really stretch it into the central well of the rim and press any air out using your thumb. Put a single layer on, pair of schwalbe g one speeds went up and held air first time with a normal track pump. Getting the tyres on (and the riddler’s off) was fine with some IRC tubeless levers. Squirted the sealant in through the valve with a syringe gizmo from wiggle.

I’ve used raceblade XLs on my arkose with 38/40mm G-one speed’s because I already had some lying around. Fine for keeping water off your bum & clear the tyres ok but grime all over your feet & BB area/discs. For what it’s worth I found them dead easy to fit and they stay in place fine, no rattling. Just do them up tight.

Absolutely loving my 4…went for a ride today that took in roads, gravelly towpaths, bit of forest, some rocky stuff and it didn’t miss a beat.

Yeah sorry should have been more clear. Its the circlip that i lost (inevitably dropped onto the floor and disappeared when I pulled the pin out), the pin is still there and screws into one side of the calliper. It’s got some blue stuff on the threads, presumably threadlock. Does the circlip actually do anything?

WTB tcs tyres are a right pain on my alex rims to (tried riddler, cross boss) using tubes.  I made sure I bought nano race (folding but not tcs) and they are a joy to fit / remove in comparision.

I bought some of the IRC tubeless tyre levers and it’s made fitting & removing wtb riddlers and g-one speeds very easy – both on alexrims volar rather than the hopes but might be worth a punt. No problems with them nicking tubes or damaging the tape either.

Another wee question here, say I did go for the 3(I do prefer the black), I think that’s a 48/32 on there, with 11-32. What’s the largest cassette that would take on the back? 32 the biggest?

Pretty much same measurements as you and went for a medium, absolutely love it. If you did get a 3 the new 105/ultegra can do 11-34, maybe the older 105 will too with a bit of fiddling? Otherwise could swap the mech out for an r8000 or get a roadlink.

Cycleclinic has the IRC tyres in 28mm. I’ve been using 40mm g-one speeds (tubeless), don’t seem to be any slower than the tubed 28s I was using before, if anything makes it easier to ride shitty London roads without worrying about pot holes etc. Might be psychological but I do think they feel a bit draggy uphill. Probably be less of an issue with the 30mm ones. Only had one puncture, from a decent sized shard of glass that would have gotten through most things other than maybe a marathon plus, sealed itself with help from a smear of flexible superglue.

Cheeky plug for the pair of 37c riddlers I’ve got for sale…

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wtb-riddlers-37c-sram-1x-42t-chainring-mavic-tiagra-wheel-fsa-cranks/

otherwise – Terrene Elwood? Was v cheap on PX a while back and gets good reviews.

Malcolm from cycleclinic advised me tape 2-3mm wider than the rim. I’ve got 21mm internal rims (alex volar) but couldn’t find any 23/24mm tape so bought the 25mm VAR tape he stocks. It fits the full width of the rim pretty much exactly, a lot of the width is taken up by the central channel. I don’t know if you actually need tape on the bead seat but it doesn’t seem to cause problems…after 1 wrap of tape some g one speeds went up first time with a track pump. I’d probably get the 21mm version of that if you don’t have asymmetric spoke holes:

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collections/tubeless-bits-and-bobs/products/var-tubeless-rim-tape

If you’ve got a 68mm threaded (screw in) BB shell on your frame then all the 68mm BSA shimano hollowtech (external) road BB & cranksets fit. Your frame is “compatible” in the sense that it has threads for the newer BB to screw into, but you obviously then have to use a compatible crankset (in this case a 24mm spindle shimano one like 5800).

I did the same switch from square taper to 5800 on my bike, was v easy. I used the BB-R60 one because that was advertised as 105/ultegra level but I’m sure the tiagra one you mentioned is fine.

Thanks jameso! It’s a 2018 model so no FD & decent clearance, will try some 45mm sks somethings and see what happens.

@jameso – Mudguards to cover 700×40 tyres on an arkose 4 – bluemels/chromoplastics (not sure what the difference is)? Something else? Thanks

Finally cracked and bought one of the new arkose 4’s…took it for its first decent ride yesterday, absolutely love it. Turns out disc brakes and wider tyres can make riding awful roads in the pissing rain quite fun. Might get a 44 or 46t chainring for the front…then I just need to get it set up tubeless!

Question for any 2017/2018 owners – what mudguards are good on these frames with wide tyres? Running the stock riddlers atm but have ordered some 40c g one speeds so looking for something that’ll cover those.

Oh and props to my local Evans for giving me BC discount. First time using evans and I was a bit nervous straying away from LBS but so far so good…

The old S Ones, now G One Speed are great and go up easily tubeless. Probably similar to ride to the Strada Biancas but a bit tougher. Wish they did a 40mm.

They do 35 and 40 g-one speed now; the 622-40 seems to also be listed as 700×38 on the schwalbe site so no idea which size it actually is…

https://www.rosebikes.com/article/schwalbe-g-one-speed-evolution-tl-easy-tyre-2017/aid:2700328

sram do a road 11-36 11sp cassette which I think is designed for their 1x derailleurs but I’m sure it’d work with a roadlink and a normal shimano rd
<p style=”margin: 0px; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica;”><span style=”font-size: 12pt;”>https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3508&g=414401&p=839789&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Cassettes&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8tHPlPuQ2QIVBqwYCh3j-gw_EAQYASABEgK0G_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds</span></p&gt;

Rose, Merlin and bike-mailorder.de all have the 35 & 40 g-one speeds, just ordered some 40c ones to try

Are these compatible with sram 1x road derailleurs eg rival 1 etc? I know shimano 11 speed mtb cassettes are designed to go on a 10 speed freehub but not sure if that means different spacing to road 11 speed

Another vote for lomo, I’ve been using the 30L one joebristol linked to for about 5 years now. It’s a bit sweaty if you’re pushing hard but most rucksacks are tbh. On the plus side very comfy even when loaded up, cheap, and 100% waterproof.

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=226439;menu=1000,4,38

Pretty sure the sram 11 speed shifters are interchangeable though so could always get a pair of apex/rival 22 shifters off eBay. Either don’t use the left shifter or remove it.

I don’t see how salbutamol could be used to mask thyroid hormone abuse or other doping, the analysers are pretty good. Also a fairly pointless exercise if you exceed the allowed salbutamol threshold! There’s some speculation that Froome could have been unlucky with his personal pharmacokinetics or e.g more dehydrated than usual. There is a study where some (deliberately) dehydrated cyclists exercising in a lab had salbutamol levels above the cutoff after a normal asthma dose.