I’m always paranoid when I fit my roof rack..

Hope your bikes are ok! How did you retrieve themmand reattach?

I’ve got the clamp version that reaches around the door frame rather than your system. It never feels right..
I always add another quarter to half turn once its torqued correctly.

Next car will have fixed system points or a tow bar. CBA with looking out the window every minute to make sure they are still there..

I get a few cars a year swerve at me when riding on the roads, followed by laughing and honking.
Usually a 20 something year old with some knuckle draggers in tow.

Bare in mind I hardly ride on roads and only use them to connect up trails. Scary how often it happens.

I’ve also had someone stop on my tyre at a set of lights. I was in the middle of the lane waiting for it to go green and felt a nudge. Look behind and he’s made contact with my wheel. Then he starts revving so I gesture and move. Not going to win against a 2 ton weapon with a moron like that piloting it.

130mm for me too.
Feels great and certainly wouldn’t go lower.
Tempted to try 140mm when I next service the forks.

What bar and stem combos are people running?

Running 32mm stem (Turbine R) with 800mm bars, but tempted to run 40-45mm stem..

The Ridgeway is a dust bowl.
Bits are are up to 4 inches of chalk dust deep. It gets everywhere!

New BFe then! Lovely

Not mine, but my Uncles leisure e-bike. Great fun. Steal it when I can.

He’s lived in the bottom of the valley for 30 years and has never been cycling from the house due to the huge hills. This changed everything.

@singlespeedstu Something something motorbike something

I’d agree with those above- 417 is easy to ride and rolable, just depends how much you chose to push (as always). There’s chicken lines around everything too.

I’d say there’s enough there for a day. A run takes around 2:15-3mins then its waititng for the uplift, or pushing up. There’s lots of little things to session and practice on to get right. I got around 14 runs in with the uplift, but I was knackered at the end. As said, nice contrast to FOD. It’s a compact site, with other bits there and the Cafes good too. I personally preffer it to Cwmcarn, but FODs better.

Parcel force via senditnow.com worked well for me.

Just over £10 for 48hr with extra cover.

@sheck 130mm debonair airshaft.

I’ll be fitting 140mm on the next fork service. I think it would suit it quite well.

Yeah, Wantage monument. Great view over Oxfordshire from around there.

I think the longer back end took me the longest to get used to. On the Whyte I used to hang over the bars on climbs to keep the nose down, but then you’d sometimes lose traction. No such problem with the Solaris. I originally thought it was a sit and winch bike, but now I’m used to it you can really get the power down on the climbs.

Agreed, geomtry just seems ‘right’ (whatever that means..).

Brassneck, that looks fantastic and really purposeful! Almost like a BFe.

Still loving mine. Out 3-4 times a week at the moment. So much dust covered hardpack up here is making some of the descents really sketchy. Now that I’ve got used to the handling, it’s smashing all of my records and my general trail riding is quicker. Few cherry picked strava runs (mostly descents, but theres a climb in there too).

Yup, just a Spec Enduro of old with the E150 triple clamp fork (130-160mm adjustable). When it used to be a trail bike, not a long travel Gnaduro machine..
It does appear to be in size XXXXL though..

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I suffer hot feet in summer too.
I’ve gone down the Reebok Crossfit (Nano) shoe route.
It’s mostly mesh, so it breathes an unbelivable amount with the added benefit of being super light. I’ve got a pair for the gym (3 years old and going strong) as well as some for out and about. Not cheap, but worth it.

I have zero issues with them providing the users are sensible, but then this applies to all bikes, electric or not.

Lots of people mention physical abilities, but what about mental? There’s lots of riders, some supported on here even, who suffer from mental health which can often lead to not wanting to head out on the bike. A physical cycle challenge isn’t always constructive when you’re struggling to get out of bed. I’ve seen people get out and overcome mental health because ebikes make it that bit easier. It gets them further out and seeing more whilst still spinning those legs and raising their heart rate. It lets them socialise and meet people whilst staying in a comfort zone. The NHS encourage walking as exercise- for certain people an e-bike is walking instead of jogging. It’s still fitness.  Long term I could see fantastic benefits for those with mental health.

The sense of well being from just being in nature is huge. A bike let’s you get into the thick of nature. No cars, no human activity, no noise. There was that great article in STW about not racing everywhere and actually taking time to soak it all in. E-bikes is another avenue for people to do this.

The fat & lazy comments don’t wash with me. You can apply that to anything in life. Can you honestly say that you have never taking the ‘fat & lazy’ route? Have you never ordered a take away? Did you refit your new kitchen? Have you ever had your car washed by someone else? People priorities their time and energy into different things in life. As long as it’s not hurting anyone, crack on! I put a lot of my effort into volunteering. Late nights, weekends gone. I can’t always find time to fit in my local loops. An e-bike would make that possible.

I’ve been out riding every other evening in this heat. I’ve been passed by about 10 ebike in the last week (ridden by the whole spectrum of riders). You know what I thought? It wasn’t ‘you lazy fat ***********’. It was ‘that looks mega’!
I was boiling up, cramping and running out of water. It was a suffer fest and I started not to enjoy my local loop. I would love to have one for days like that. Days I want to cover ground without torturing myself. Days I want to take in nature and not keep my head down. It’s in addition to, not instead of for me. Still, you’d see me on a trail and call me names (on the internet). No consideration for any of the above. Just label all users the same.

I’m a fit mid/late-twenties rider. I race various disciplines and push myself hard.

Cotic SolarisMax- the new Longshot geometry one.

Lighter and shorter travel than the Moxie.

Sounds like you’re looking for a short travel FS bike with a longer fork upfront..

FlareMax with 130-140mm fork for FS, or new LS SolarisMax (love mine).

Depending how old the frame is, it might be worth contacting Whyte.

I know is SH, I’ve heard only good things.

Back left hanging up ;)

I used to have a lovely single garage to myself with a work bench. Sorry- these are the only pics I have…

Recently moved and now down to a shed to hold everything (inc. garden stuff), so count yourself lucky! It’s okay really. It’s nice having everything close together. Maintenance is done outside.
Will post some pictures of that at some point..

I’m struggling to picture this.. where do you fit the pegs? Is it around the rim either side , with the tyre sandwich is the well of the rim? Interested!

That said, since running Hope and Maxxis I’ve had zero issues. They go up in 5 mins each, if that.

Thanks Whitestone- will take a look at those.

Yes, agree that it would make sense in most business cases. I think our process might be fairly unique. I’m working on an IT transformation project for the business, though I’m not sure how much I can influence it in all honesty. The ‘want’ needs to come from the top down..

Thanks grizedaleforest, that plugin looks useful! Will dig a little deeper.

That is very fortunate. I’d love to work in an environmet with process like that. Woes of working for an SME/ startup..

Thanks for all the points AlasdairMc.

I’m an IT bod and worked my way up. I’d love to answer those questions, amongst others, but this really isn’t a suitable place to be doing it.

All I’m looking for help on is how to report on Time Estimates vs Time Burnt in sprints.

Edit: Too much detail.

I’m just looking for a plugin or report that’s able to do the OT.

Please do let me know if you know of anyhting suitable.

@ Plython I’d like to be able to do that. I’m in complet agreemant with your reasons too.

Our issue is that the developers are outsourced and we pay them a retainer plus additional development charges. Given recent perfomance, we need to keep an eye on this. I’d like to be able to make informed quantitative decisions. I’m being asked some big questions by senior management.

@Whitestone even if that where the case(which it’s not), it would still be useful to report on estimates vs. real burn time. When I’m building the next sprint and they are underestimating by 70% conistently, then this creates a whole host of issues for the business.

Edit: Wouldn’t like to give too much detail on a public forum.

Any idea of a report or plugin available to do this?

What you really want is a Honda Grom (MSX125 in the UK).
Mine was great fun and cheaper than even a budget e-bike.

It cost £5 to fill and did over a 120 miles. They hold their value. Cheap to incure, tax and even easier to service/work on. Plus there’s an infinite number of bits to customize it with…
It’s only small so you can stick it in the corner of pretty much anywhere.

Must get another..

There’s a few of the XD SS kits on the market now, though they all offer limited cog options..
I’ve got a design somewhere that adds a short length of Shimano spline freehub to an XD freehub, to allow you to run a series of spacers for the perfect chainline as well as pick any traditional SS cog. Was faily cost effective too..

Another option is swapping the XD freehub with Shimano with someone on the forum. They are both in high demand due to swappinng for preffered drivetrains (or for the traditional SS setup in some cases).

You can also get a singlespeed kit for the XD freehubs.
See Guesset HERE.

Yes, they sure can !

Hope Pro4’s can take XD, Shimano or the new Hope propriotry freehub.

Ordered a new XT m8000 shifter for the new build. Opened it up- Yum, shiny, but no outer so order 2m long outer. Comes to fitting the shifter and lift the tab up to get the whole shifter out… outer is included, just hiding underneath. Damn shimanos neat packaging.

Where’s everyone elses build photos?

Some feedback from me- I’ve done about 80 miles now of mixed riding. I live on the Ridgeway, so it tends to be steep up, flat, steep down, flat, then rince and repeat. I’ve used the same build kit that was on the Whyte, bar a shorter stem and different bar.

The build- few niggly bits when I first built it up, but soon rectified or got used to. Mainly a few burs on the seattube slot that cut up my new dropper post. The external cable routing (vs. internal on the whyte) takes some getting used to and I’ve had to apply much invisi tape. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that the seatube has a sleeve bonded (I assume) in. It’s light though and the colour is really nice.

So, climbing- it’s longer and more stable than the Whyte, and despite the slacker headangle and short stem (32mm), the long chainstays and wheelbase prevent the front wheel from popping up. It’s comfortable climbing and benefits from winching rather than standing and sprinting or husseling it up as on an XC bike. It got me a PB on a steep lose rocky climb without adding anymore effort. That’s the bit that blew me away. It’s a nasty climb with deep ruts and lose chalky rocks and gravel on top, yet the bike just dragged me up. In general though, it’s fine and get’s the job done. You just need to take your time. Something I’m not used to. I tend to try and get the climbs out the way as qucikly as possibly.

Cotic 1, Whyte 1.

It deals with the flats very well. Carries speed better than the Whyte over the dry chewed up trails. I would say that the trail chatter feels about the same. This might be because of the QR + alu on the Whyte, vs Steel + boost on the Cotic. No disernarable difference either way. I found myself in higher gears and general matching my PB (either exceedeing or riding 2nd-3rd time) which is good going considering the headwind recently and not feeling 100%. Early days, but it’s more comortable with the long TT, even with the shorter stem. I could see myself riding this all day without issue to cover lots of distance.

Cotic 2, Whyte 1.

Descending, leaving the best till last.. it’s the most competent descending hardtail I’ve ridden. I was pretty happy with how it rode until I reached one of my favourite descents- about 2 mins worth of Singletrack. Then it blew me away. The way it picks up speed is phenominal. Once up to speed it is remakably stable, yet playful enough to kick the back end out and manual or pull the nose over trail features. I was so comfortable that I could carve it lower and fast, staying off the brakes where I’ve never been able to in the past whilst staying lose. The lower ST, long wheelbase and slack HA are so noticable, and I was a skeptic to begin with. I have smashed every descent PB I’ve ridden, and it’s generally where I excel. I’ve ridden these trails hundreds of time on different bikes (inc. LT 29er FS bikes, ST 29er FS bikes) but the Cotic has categorically been the most fun and quickest. I can certainly feel the stiffer back end over the Whyte QR, but this make the bike feel more direct and gives a bit more confidence, at the expense of comfort. I’ve been laughing and shaking my head in dibelief at the bottom of every descent. Looks like an LS geometry 29er is the perfect tool for my local descents.

Cotic 3, Whyte 1.

Other musings.. Geometry-  It’s very easy to manual, which doesn’t really make sense to me. I can just pop it up and hold it without too much bother. However, it’s more difficult to kick the back out. I assume this is down to longer CS and wheelbase. I can still do it mind. Jumping also requires a little more effort over the Whyte, but with the added speed I’m able to clear larger features.

Dropper- I’m running a 150mm dropper which has been a weird sensation.  Previously 120mm is the longest I’ve run, but with 150mm the dropper just disapears. It’s made me realise how much I used to use the saddle for support, but also how instrusive it is. With it completly out the way, you can get really low and push the bike right over.

Debonair Airspring- I changed the travel to 130mm a month ago in anticipation of this bike, so ordered a Deonair Airspring from Bird (big thanks to Ben). This is one of the best upgrades I’ve made, despite it only costing £15 more! It’s added the small bump sensitivity that the Pike’s been lacking. I’ve ridden Pike in various forms since the 35mm version came out. I’ve akways liked them, but the small bump sensititvty has been poor. This fixes it, and with 2 tokens, it makes the fork nice and linear, with just enough tokens to ramp up at the end for the big hits. Big fan!

Gearing- despite running the same gearing, 32×10-42t, I find that I’m in between gears more so I’m shifting more. Not sure why, but I think I’m carrying a little more speed in general, so I’m sitting inbetween gears. I might need to play with a different sized chainring.. 34t oval maybe?

Overall, it’s a lovely bike and am very pleased. I wouldn’t say I suffer from new bike syndrome as I just move them on if I don’t gel (sometimes after a couple rides). I would highly recommend a test ride to anyone and mines available near Didcot, if you fancy a ride. The LongShot geometry is really good and has challenged my preconseptions in my head. Ignore the numbers on the page and go ride one. I think this might be the best bike yet for my local trails. I’m glad I waited and didn’t go for something else. Good job Cy and team!

Little overcast and windy here, but trails running dry.
Made some more tweaks to the new bike, so looking forward to an evening out.

Very nice! Looks great. 130 or 140mm fork would be perfect.
Shame Whyte are still riding the model year bandwagon.

I’m running 2.3, but with that much clearance I’ll be upgrading to some wider tyres. Would be rude not to! Just need to borrow a few to see what I can get away with..

Yup, medium.

Quite happy with the Slik wheel and fork decals. Pretty good match.

Finished a shake down ride earlier. Few bits need adjusting, mainly cables and bar height.
First impressions are great though- stable and fun. Not sure how Cy’s managed that. My concerns around the long, slack and low geometry affecting fun where wrong. It’s easy to manual (easier than my shorter CS Whyte for some reason)and no problems kicking the back out, yet stable when needed to carry speed for both climbing as well as descending.

I’ve got a 4hr ride planned tomorrow, so shall feedback.

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I know what I’m doing this evening :D

Hmm, TNT is filling me with confidence..

Sounds lovely Brassneck :D !

Still tentatively waiting on my dispatch email..