Best to avoid it at funerals I find, but it’s de rigeur at will readings if things don’t go your way. (YMMV of course)

Very nice Ben, here’s mine when it was single speed (now 2×10). Have to say I prefer the old Cotic downtube decal.

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Looks the business – not that I’m in anyway biased towards a Soul in white.. :lol:

TINAS – your bombhole crash was pretty much me two weeks ago (spent 8hrs in A&E flat on my back in a neck brace) luckily it was a race so plenty of help immediately available. However, I had my phone in my jersey pocket, and bent it during the off. I think the ICE thing is great in principal, but I’d worry about a lack of reception or destroying my phone or that device during an off.

I have a (fairly tongue in cheek) ‘competition’ with a colleague at work which involves one particular segment, but I only ever ride it as part of my morning 10 mile loop. That said, I can’t really see why it matters what your approach is regarding Strava, it’s just a recording tool, and as such it’s pretty subjective; I’m on my MTB he’s on a roadbike etc..

Precisely nowhere, after last Sundays ‘racing incident’ (8hrs in A&E with suspected broken neck etc). I’ve been teetotal for nearly a week now thanks to my new morphine habit! Doh!

Destroyed my Fox Flux last Sunday – and will probably replace it with another Flux as that one did its job well I reckon.

We found box-fulls in the cellar of the big house below Wychbury hill, which was a burned out ruin at that point (think it’s an old folks home now?). We called them Martians, and for a while at primary school they were traded like currency! I found years later they were de-burring media.

Walking out (well, hobbling if I’m honest) of A&E yesterday evening after spending about 8 hours flat on my back wearing a neck brace following a pretty big OTB stack that morning. Being told (after x-rays and finally a CT scan) my neck / back wasn’t broken or dislocated was pretty satisfying. Aching like a bitch today mind you!

+1 on the build it yourself thing – yet to put a set of wheels together, but it’s on the to do list.

Oh what have you started?! :D I think I’ll try sealing the inner sleeve to the top next time with JB Weld – should improve things further, oh, and slightly fewer holes. I cut it down to about half that height since and it seems to work ok. Definitely for Meths only.

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If it’s only c.25lbs but still gets used for downhill would that be classed as ‘lampoon’ then? ;-)

Currently running 2.25 NN Snakeskin Gatestar up front and same spec but Racing Ralph on the rear of the Soul, tubeless, F.26psi R.30psi (typ).

I would agree with some of the above – re. the need for snakeskin sidewalls if running tubeless to avoid squirming (though that might be less of an issue on a wider rim – I’m using Crests).

The OEM ‘performance line’ are a terrible compound.

The Gatestar compound is much better, though I found the edge knobs on the Ralphs began to tear on rocky stuff (they never failed completely mind you). The Nic up front suffers less, as you can imagine.

And they’re light for what they are – I can see adding 0.75kg to the bike just by fitting ‘A Different Brand’ of tyres. IMHO obviously.

Never had a bouncer – currently loving my Soul and still using my Cube for rides with the kids seat on the back, or with slicks on for road use. Not much of a jumping god, but looking to learn /improve that, rather than back out of it! 45 in a couple of months time.

Use an old spoke as a drill bit (great for woodwork too).

Does that make them easier to ghetto tubeless? ;-)

Kevin, I made one – but the football needle was a) only just long enough to reach into the top of the fork leg, and b) too flimsy, as I twisted it to pieces in the end, (leaving a few frantic minutes of swearing and fiddling with needle nosed pliers to extract the stubby end from the fork leg!). Getting one turned up on a lathe would be the better solution, though far more costly.

As I found by trial/error that the best ‘feel’ was with no pressure in the IFP chamber, I could have just let the pressure out using a fine allen key (there’s what feels like a ball bearing with a spring behind it making the seal – depress it and the air comes out) and not gone to the trouble of bodging a tool up. Stick a rag over the top to avoid oil spray.

Re-indexing the talas system is a bit of a chore, I wish I’d made something to centre the sprung inner piece – it’d be so easy to bend/break the little driving pins without care. Glad I bothered though, the fork feels much better for it. It’s a Talas 2 by the way.

If I get a minute later I#ll dig a picture out.

Turns out it’s a #8-32 UNC thread. Made a bodged IFP tool with a football needle and a bored-out grubscrew and schrader valve. Tried it with less air in, but found that letting all of the pressure out of the IFP chamber makes the fork behave the best (IMO). There’s no knocking on initial depression either. Talas function is unaffected, just had to add a little more air to the air spring to bring the pressure back up (as the chamber volume’s increased).

it would be a shame to compromise it due to snobbery

This. Get over your perception of Zesty owners, buy one and enjoy it.

Me.

It would certainly be possible – but I doubt you could do it with off the shelf parts.

Here’s a woodworking project built by one of my students earlier this year (I should add, it was a furniture making course – we don’t normally build bikes!).

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Chapeau ! I can fully sympathise with the cramp thing too!

Still looking forward to a full century! Done 90-ish miles three times now (on knobblies, mix of on road & off) but either had a time deadline to hit (get the kids tea and into bed) or been too beaten up (strained knee!) to contemplate adding the extra miles in to push it over the ton! It’ll come, just need to find a full clear day again. :-)

Edit – I was using the wrong diameter wheels, as Epicyclo clearly demonstrates! :D

I’ve never managed to get anchovies to seal – wonder if it’s the stans’ not allowing the glue to adhere? Or are they supposed to be used with full-on UST (sealant-free) setups only?

Wishing you a full and speedy recovery Simon.

Would have to agree with pigface – satellites not metal. Diamond Head however..

Georgia Satellites ! Blimey, saw them at JB’s – I think it was their only UK date!

Edit – clearly not if muddy dwarf saw in manc !

Great riding – I wish I could get anywhere near that level of ability / speed!

On the hub pick up thing – I’ve been running Pro 2 evo with modified pawls (2 pawl engagement – 48 point pick up) for a while now, seems to work fine. Not sure it sounds as cool as that though (probably cause I’m not riding at mach 2 !)

I’d say you would struggle to control the bike whilst trying to open gates and/or stopping on any kind of incline without the bike trying to loop out / get away from you sideways with the weight that far back / high. I couldn’t fit my Polisport Boodie kids seat to my (early) Soul as the front mech cable guide is offset toward the drive side of the seat tube, so fouled the mounting bracket. I kept my Cube Ltd on, partly for jaunts out with the nippers, but even with the seat mounted down low / forward it’s a handful when they get to c.15kg IMO.

+1 wot Buzz said.

I slipped the chain last week (for the first time in 700-odd miles) so have added some tension to the band brake in the mech. Haven’t tried it on the same bit of trail yet to see if it has improved things mind you.

Cheers Winch – I’ll pick one up when they’re back in stock!

Winch – what make are the skewers you’re using – is that a 10mm thru rear?

That does look good! I’d be happy with a lower BB – it’s the one detail I’d change with my Soul if I could.

Only started on Aug 5th, but FWIW

Distance: 298 miles
Time: 24 hrs
Elev Gain: 22,907 ft
rides: 10

Doesn’t include any commuting mind you.

Wobbliscott – take a look at the Mudhugger, reckon I’ll try one next time round. I’m on a hardtail, so no such issues here, though I’ve trimmed a bit off the front end of the rear crudguard so that it mounts around the seat tube rather than on the seat post to allow the post to be dropped.

Mosey – why did it go back? And does anyone know what the frame weighs? Curious to see how it compares with the Bfe etc..

Just re-fitted them to my Soul after a soaking last week. It doesn’t do the bike any favours in the looks department, but better than a wet arse every day..

“Do Nobby Nics work in mud?” – err, only if you want to cart half a field around with you..

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I’ll be trying Medusa’s this winter.

Great products and an equally great approach – chapeau guys, many happy returns!

I can’t imagine why the component manufacturers (be it forks, tyres, rims WHY) would just scrap or mothball their (significant) investment in 26″ tooling either – surely from a sales point of view, if you can offer three options rather than two or worse still just one, then you’d be in with a greater chunk of market share would you not? Potential confusion due to crass marketing strategies notwithstanding.

Happy with my 26″ wheels for what it’s worth.

My 10 mile loop has similar climbing, takes me typically 45 mins on the mtb. Doesn’t seem to make much difference if that’s on slicks or knobblies TBH.

Wot njee said.

I find I’m crap for the first lap, even if I’ve warmed up a bit before the off. Lap 2 I might pass a few folks (as I’ve normally started near the back of the grid) then sometime late on lap 3 I’ll often get lapped by the elite guys and not end up doing the full race distance! My most concerted efforts of flat-out almost bonking self-harm sadly don’t ever get me anywhere near the points! Good fun though. :-)