Forget the Niner, I want a Ti Buzzard

Whorses.

Horse prostitutes. Training for alfresco assignments. Obvious.

Looks lovely but only obvious advantage over a Buzzard is easy SS-ability so I’m out

One rigid, two HTs, one FS.

The balance has swung back to HTs (and rigid) among the guys I ride with. FS definitely in the minority, apart from when we go on a trip

For local (Surrey hills) riding, if I could have only one bike and it could have either a dropper or suspension, I’d choose the dropper.

Like everyone else, I rode without one for years and all that time thought they were a silly waste of money.

Of course you don’t need a dropper to enjoy your rides but, for me, it adds fun. It lets you move around on the bike much more freely, improves your riding and increases your chances of attaining that mythical, mystical state of ‘flow’.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooommmmm

Love Molini, it’s the best! V jealous

Oooooh…

* Wider bars on rigid SS. Can’t believe I used to ride it with 640mm bars.
* 29in front wheel on rigid SS (then matching back wheel, and a 29er frame)

* Dropper on other bikes.

Chunky Monkey

All day hardtail? I’d be thinking 29er.

Don’t think a bfe will be any more comfortable than a C456

Could be pedals. If you’ve got another set, try swapping them.
Also worth greasing up your skewers.

Chunky monkey for mucho cheapness and grip. Not v light but who cares

There were actually v few beards at SSUK this year. I’ve ridden SS for about five years and only had a proper beard for about two months of that. Lots of weekend / holiday stubble though

760 on my rigid SS, Buzzard and Alps bike, 720 on my C456. Tried 800 for a while on the Buzzard but I was too stretched out and couldn’t move around enough.

Brakes – I know where you mean on Wolvern’s Lane and have the bruised pinkies to prove it

I like that.

Sounds like a dodgy tyre to me

Frames look nice, not mad about the spec or the over-long chainstays. Not ridden one though…

The Wheelpro calculator’s good, as is the accompanying book (available as a download). Everything you need to know about building wheels

We do a range of bespoke earth-tone colorways

This is why I’m learning to make my own bicycles out of discarded pubes and human excrement.

http://Www.artisancycles.co.uk

Try holding the headset (top then bottom) when you rock it. you may feel play if its that. next try the same thing on the fork – put a finger between the stanchion and lowers. If you feel play here it’s likely to be fork bushings.

Could also be hub bearings or even a loose QR by the sound of it.

What sort of play? Sounds odd to me. If it was the crush washer you’d surely be able to nip the lower bolt up a bit and sort it out (ish).

If it’s front to back wobble then it’s more likely to be bushings, which is much more faff.

Seals shouldn’t lead to play but if you want to do a full service then Loco off here should be able to supply you with the bits you need for a fair price.

That’s quite a variety of bikes! But you haven’t mentioned Buzzard, Canfield, Bigwig, Honzo…

I never crash, I’m too awesome.

Either that or a series of blows to the head have affected my memory 😳

Why do some people get so worked up over this? It always amuses me when someone who isn’t the landowner and who hasn’t been put out in any way goes into a piss-boiling frenzy because someone is riding a bike on a foot path. Why do they care?

A mate has 650bs on his C456. There’s acres of room, even for a proper tyre; in fact you can (just) squeeze a 29er in there. I wouldn’t bother as can see the advantages of big wheels and little wheels and I like having bikes with a proper contrast.

27.5 is not marginally better than 26, it’s marginally different.

The difference between different and better = marketing

If I come across a hairpin or some other technical feature I simply alight and have my man carry the bike to the next smooth section of trail. I’ll follow on in the palanquin.

I have droppers on three out of four bikes.

Before I had them I used to run the saddle much lower than ideal pedalling height. Now, I can keep the saddle high enough to pedal efficiently and be able to drop it the couple of inches necessary to move the bike around when needed.

I use the dropper tens of times on every ride – not just on steep stuff but on all the twisty, bermy, undulating, rocky bits. I wouldn’t be without it.

The bike I don’t have a dropper on is a rigid SS. I’m out of the saddle a lot on this bike so I leave it a little low and it’s less of an issue. Still tempted to get dropper no. 4 though …

That is a great vid. Is 47 too old to get a BMX? 😆

Superstar do the yellow tape cheaper than Stan’s-branded stuff. It’s exactly the same

Not seen the A-bike before. I’m lost for words

That looks fun! Good work

Get them a bike

Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? 🙄

Thanks all. I’ll try cutting back mileage to the minimum and see what happens

Conditions make a big difference for me here in the Surrey hills. I ride rigid SS in the winter and the wet and longish travel hardtail in the dry.

Moi but tha do look luvverly

Goodness me ! 😯

Thanks for the replies everyone. Tried Admiral – it came out at 450 without my daughter and 2800 with. Gulp.

Best so far is with direct line at about 1500. Even getting one of those black boxes doesn’t seem to make a difference.

A medium Buzzard isn’t 6.5lb, despite what’s on the website. My complete bike with heavy rims, tyres and a dropper weighs approx 28.5lb with pedals. I too was worried about the TT but I’ve actually gone from a 70mm stem to a 50mm (with 760 bars) and it’s comfy for me at 5ft 9in with longish arms. Yes, it’s more suited to mucking about for 3 hours than epic all-day journeys but it definitely isn’t just a jump bike. And it is sooooo much fun.