Convert them into a bong?

Quick search shows mine was an 87 Rockhopper. I’m older than I thought

I remember really wanting that Lava Dome. Konas looked so good in those days

89 rockhopper in yellow with pink and blue decals, completely ineffective exage plastic rear u-brake, semi-indexed thumbies, etc. Did years of mtbing then commuting and went to the skip about six years ago when the drivetrain finally died.

You can buy individual half links. There are usually some on ebay. However, it prob makes more sense to buy a whole chain if you’re planning on SSing long-term. That way you’ve got a ready supply.

113 not 133

2004 MX Comps are still in daily commute use after an active off-road life without ever being serviced.

Killed a set of TALAS and a Wotan in little over a year’s very light use through stanchion wear. Basically ran them dry 😳

Two sets of 2005 Revs which now get fairly regular lowers service and an occasional damping oil change and are still going strong.

UN54 +1

I suspect most of us fall into the “that looks fun and I’d love to have a go but I’m pretty sure it won’t suit 98% of my riding so I can’t justify owning one” category.

If Singletrack were to give away a fatbike to all current and new subscribers I think the world would be a much better place.

Those bikes look great.

You want 68/113

I’ve inflated a Purgatory on a Crest without sealant. I’m sure it would be fine for a day or two without being topped up but, honestly, why bother?

Stans rims are designed for use with sealant. If you want to ditch the sealant you need proper UST rims. Lots of people still use sealant with UST for extra puncture protection though.

What’s the problem with using sealant? Do you change tyres a lot?

Decide on a routine, write it down on a chart, tell people you’re going to do it, cross off each day or exercise session as you complete it and plan to buy yourself a nice new bit of bike jewellery if you stick to it.

As everyone else has said: get a remote. I’m a dropper addict now but have one bike without a remote and find it v frustrating as I like to tweak my saddle height a lot

Depends if it’s open or keyhole surgery. Open chops through more muscle and needs longer recovery. I had keyhole a couple of years ago. Hurt like **** at first but was much better within a week or so. I reckon he’ll want to (and definitely should) take it easy at 3 weeks.

Eeeeeeeeeeeew! Cast iron trellis? That could only look right with a clematis twining through it and evil Victorian sewage coursing through its pipes.

Matt, I’d try moving the cage up a bit. I reckon it’ll be OK. I have 34/22 on an XT double using a standard front mech and it’s fine.

I’ve got a Smorgasbord 29er tubeless on a Crest rear. Went up easily and seems good, although I’ve only done one, very slithery, ride on it so far. It drifted very easily but it’s difficult to say how much of that was the tyre and how much was just down to the conditions. Anyway, I liked it

Don’t think you can get a 26in Scandal with swapouts at the mo. I wouldn’t describe the 29in version as especially chuckable. You won’t go far wrong with a 26in slot dropout Inbred. Very versatile, pretty tough and cheap as chips.

Only prob with square taper is removing them IME. I’ve had a couple over the years that have jammed solid and stripped the threads before coming free. I’m quite prepared to believe it was due to either a poor tool or my incompetence but it’s not an issue with HT2. On the other hand, maybe the square taper cranks had seized on because the BB had lasted five years …

A mate has just fitted 650bs to his C456 with a rigid fork. Loads of space in the frame and he likes it. They wouldn’t fit in a SID fork though, even with a small (2.1?) Crossmark

Dah! Doublepost

I have some . Air, non-travel-adjust ones. Very, very good fork. Top quality and really good tweak able damping. Having said that, I bounced them up and down today after a few months of not using them and they’re makng a weird clicking/twanging noise mid-stroke. Anyone else had this? Should I worry?

I’ll be on my Inbred 29er. Not niche, not boutique just luvverly

Humph! Really want to try one of these but a) I’ve missed the boat on the cheapy deal and b) I’ve just put a new Uno ring on and the previous one lasted about four years.

Humph! Really want to try one of these but a) I’ve missed the boat on the cheapy deal and b) I’ve just put a new Uno ring on and the previous one lasted about four years.

I’m in. Missed the cut for camping, though. Is Tom’s Field the next best bet?

+1 for Exotics

I hope you’ll be mating this to a rotor made out of an old biscuit tin lid and a caliper fashioned from bamboo salad servers. Otherwise I, for one, will feel cheated.

I can’t see your problem. Islabikes were clear and up-front about their – perfectly reasonable – returns policy. It didn’t suit you so you took your business elsewhere and got what you wanted. End of story.

I almost met Harry Secombe once. Lovely voice.

Remove a spoke from the wheel and either measure it or take it to your lbs and ask them to match it.

Otherwise, the wheelpro calculator has the measurements for your hub and you should be able to get an ERD for your rim by googling. It may not be accurate, though. First option would be safer.

I almost met Harry Secombe once. Lovely voice.

I went with a Swift fork on my new Inbred. Partly because I couldn’t find a Salsa in stock anywhere and partly because, having had an Exotic (which I loved) on my old 26in Inbred, I thought it might be overly twangy in the longer version.

The Swift fork also happens to go rather nicely with the pearl white SS Frame. But that had nothing to do with my decision. Obviously. 😳

Bike shops are great for advice if you can find a good one. I’ve heard some awful nonsense, marketing guff and plain lies being served up to inexperienced customers though, so don’t take everything the salesman tells you as gospel. I don’t know your area but I bet someone on here could point you towards a good local shop.

I’m so angry I’m starting a campaign against all forms of written and spoken communication. Please support me by not mentioning it.

jameso’s advice is sound. It might also help you to understand some of the marketing cobblers that surrounds mountain biking.

The following are fairly meaningless labels but will help you grasp what the people trying to sell you stuff are talking about:

XC (cross country)
100-120mm travel. Light, fast, good all-round mountain bikes. May be a bit race-orientated and less comfortable at the top end of the range

Trail
120-150mm travel. A more capable all-round bike. Slower uphill but more comfortable on long days and better on tougher downhill stuff.

AM (all mountain)
140-170mm travel. More focused on going downhill and hitting jumps and drops. Still capable of being ridden uphill but slower and with more effort.

Freeride
160mm+ travel. Jumping off cliffs and generally endangering your life.

Downhill
Loads of travel. Racing down v. steep hills with big jumps and generally endangering your life.

I’d recommend something from the first two categories. And, personally, I think a hardtail makes more sense to start on. But it’s no biggy.

Black=bogstandardperfectlyfinebutabitdull
White=ohmygodnowhathaveyoudonetothatswift
Silver=mythat’sanattractivebicycleyouhave

“You do realise this is a footpath…”