5’9” and ride a medium T130 (also had a medium t129)- fits like a glove.

Weeksy, sounds like a cracking ride! Don’t happen to have the GXP file or similar for that route?

Ads678, correct

Swopouts for single speed, 12×142 or standard QR

..but you’d struggle to build one for under £1k.

Based on geomtry and spec, the Whyte 529 looks spot on.
– 2×9, QR rear, solid frame & modern geometry.

You need to go to a demo day!
That should open your eyes sufficiently.
Lots has happened in the 13 years since your bike was made.
I would suggest trying as many bikes as possible across the range; 29er short travel, long travel, and 650b+ bikes, 650b short travel and long travel too.

Whyte T129

Mboy, a.k.a.- Mark of Missing Link Cycles, Droitwich.
Great chap and very knowledgeable.

7

In that case, fancy a set of 650b+ wheels for the Parkwood? It’ll make those rides on the Ridgeway more comfortable.. I’ll even drop them round for a test ride 😛

Joe Barnes (& his friends) has a Spectral and gives it some serious stick racing, traveling and messing about. It’s safe to say he rides it beyond anyone’s talents (and in the Scottish muck) and I believe he’s not had any issues.

I ride mostly natural trails the occasional trail centre

My question would be why the G160 and not the T130? I had a similar predicament and after a test ride opted for the t130. The G160 is fantastic but I think you’d have to live somewhere seriously rocky and steep to justify it. The T130 is plenty enough- I’ve ridden all the usual trail centers (mostly Red & Blacks) and it’s excelled. No doubt the G160 would be better descending, but if you have to slog it back up too, I’d go T130. I had the forks increased to 140mm travel and it;s still great on the local XC bimble.

Always fancied a go on one. I think you’ve convinced me.

That Yeti looks so right. Can’t believe you waited 3 months!!
I know what you mean, I had this with both my Whyte T129 and T130. They just felt right from the get go and never failed to put a smile on my face even after a year.

Stanton Sherpa Mk1
Singular Swift (can be run SS)
Stooge (might be slightly large- check the geometry)
Pipedream Sirius
On-one Inbred 29er
Cotic Solaris (small was only introduce later, so watch out for that)

I can whistle without using my lips.
Used to be the best thing at school. Teacher could be staring directly at me and still not tell. I can do it doing a big toothy smile, or almost closed mouth.

I enjoyed watching it!
I didn’t realize it was axed. I thought they were leaving it for a bit and then picking up further down the line when they got a bitmore established. Shame!

Closest was 17km for me on the UK map.
I recognized the Wye Valley.
I tend to be within 50km or less on the UK map.
The areas are quite distinctive, even the new build estate have their own twist depending on areas (fake Cotswold stone, etc). Geography plus regional traits makes it fairly easy.

The world map is hard though!

Include gift bike locker

Ohh, I wonder what the bike locker is! Maybe an Asgard? Could be tempted..

Aldi Jones, yeah, about right

Really? Does that train of thought apply to all similar products?
Is a HTC an ‘Aldi’ iPhone? The two frames are similar, in the same way that all bikes have two wheels, but they have a different approach, design and ethos behind them. A few bendy tubes doesn’t make them the same. What dictates this as being an ‘Aldi’ equivalent? The lower price point (which is TBC anyway) or the Jones ‘inspirations’? Why isn’t a Jones and ‘Aldi’ copy of the 1980’s BMXs or Klunkers?

For me it’s Burgtec Ride Wide bars & Burgtec Enduro stem in old school 31.8mm.
Bars: 15 or 30mm rise, 9 degree back sweep, 4 degree upsweep (800mm but can cut down).
Stem: 35 or 50mm reach in 31.8 or 35mm size.

My favorite setup to date. Stem is nice to look at and looks tough. Bar shape just suits me. British firm too!

I don’t really want to disclose any more specific info, but really appreciate the info given above. I’ll talk to my friend.

Interesting thoughts!
It genuinely doesn’t apply to me, but I’ve got a friend that this has happened to repeatedly recently. It just got me thinking what procedures and process are.

It sounds like it’s a grey area and that employers are allowed to pick their own process.

Any more detail in your staff hanbook / policies and procedures?

I’ve read through this and it essentially states ‘maybe required to travel as required by the business’, that’s all.

Tom- are you on the SC books too? They do have mighty big pockets 😛

I don’t know the guy but he’s been reviewing bikes since I can remember. Can’t see why he would be anything other than impartial biased. It’s his job to keep the money rolling in.

😆

The idea with the lease is that it equals (or betters) the cars depreciation value. Lease should roughly equate to 25% (or less) of the cars value over 2 years to be worthwhile, that way its less than depreciation. As you pay the fixed sum every month, over 2 years it starts becoming worse value as you start to pay more than the depreciation equivalent as depreciation slows (hope that makes sense).

Pitfalls include mileage.. watch that one as some manufacturers have hideous excess mileage charges, however sometimes it’s cheaper to go for a lower than expect mileage allowance and top up with excess mileage costs, as this can be cheaper. Other thing is servicing- probably not worth going maintained on your estimated mileage, however those 18-19” tyes are expensive if you get a puncture (which some of the maintenance prices include) so could be worthwhile. Also, you may end up having to do a service just before handing it back- might be worth handing it back a month early to ‘beat the system’. Plus, ‘fair wear and tear’- this varies between manufacturer, but some will charge you for that kerbed alloy or dented door (thought sometimes below market rate to get it remediation).

As above, be flexible on your requirements and badge. The beast deals can be odd and marvelous. Often the best deals are on the cars that depreciate the least, so those with a nice badge (win/win).

You’re on a bike forum and you’re worried about losing 10-15% a year? Ha! You must know that you lose 50%+ on a new bike in the first year. Makes cars much better value.

New bike, so honeymoon period init! 8)

Seriously though.. it’s a brand new bike which he’s not ridden that much. Can he really be that head over heels instantly? Or it’s a (vaguely disguised) advert.

Sato, HERE (although it’s in the USA..)

Great, thanks for that Denis.
Sounds like it’s worth giving it a try.

What level did you buy (NX, etc.)? Is there any slop/play in the shifter or does it remain fairly solid until twisted?

I’m tempted to go NX and if I like it then upgrade.

Day to dusk
Beautiful clear sky
Sounds of birds

@Shand- How does Mr Stooge manage just fine with 135QR!?
I’ve run the Mk2 Stooge with 1×11 M8000 with 40mm internal width rims and true 3.0” rubber- no issue. Equally my Zealous Division ran the same setup but with a 35mm rim and 2.8” rubber with 142 spacing.

So, SC there is a logical reason to make 142mm hangers, and that is for exisititng users. As I said, many people buying frame only will be moving from an older bike which is bound to be 142mm or 135mm (often upgradable to 142). SC are so close- all they have to do is ad an OPTION of a 142 mech hanger, rather than forcing 148 on me if I want gears.

Eddie, sounds about right. They need to up the price to recover the tooling costs for those 4 dropouts..

This forums Classifieds is rather good..
also got Pinkbike & BikeRadar that are free

Stooge Mk3 is available soon.
This will be my third and I love it. Will also be available in two sizes.

Ceeing as you asked, here’s a little info on the MK3. First off, they’re being made at the moment, i’d like to say 3 months away but these things have a habit of dragging out a little. So, 2 sizes – the current size with a 18″ seat-tube and a 23.5″ top tube, and a 20″ with a 24.8″ ETT and slightly taller headtube. 44mm headtube, tapered steerer steel fork, 15mm shorter chainstays (430mm + or – 7mm due to EBB), fatter downtube, slightly fatter top tubes. I’ve stuck with a 27.2 post because of the comfort, plus there are plenty of 27.2 droppers available now.This new one is optimised around B+ because i love the way it rides, but you can still run 29 rear/29+ front if you want.

Why a 44mm headtube? Couple of reasons really, a lot of people wanted to run a carbon fork on their MK2’s but couldn’t, and the axle to crown of the fork is the same as a sagged 120mm B fork or a 100mm 29er, so if you really wanted to you could.

Argh, it gets worse! Different drop outs for the different wheelsizes…

Santa Cruz developed a modular Swappable Dropout system for the back of the Chameleon frame. These bolt-on dropouts are available in four different versions. There are 27.5+ and 29in dropouts, and each version is available in geared (148x12mm Boost) and singlespeed (142x12mm) versions.

So a potential 4 dropouts and 4 wheels I need to purchase.. instead of 2 dropouts and 2 wheels. Other manufacturers have managed just fine to combine 2 wheel sizes into the 1 dropout, Stanton & Cotic, yet the mighty SC have failed.

Many people, including about half my riding group, run gears for summer and SS for winter. They don’t ride either exclusively. There isn’t anything wrong with 142, and as they are getting the clearance with 142, why even bother with 148? Is it to appease the fashionisters who believe the hyperbole of 1000% increased stiffness from that extra 6mm?

Also, as it’s available frame only many riders will be using existing parts, most likely 142mm, meaning they need a new rear wheel to run gears. That’s why I’m annoyed. I’ve got a nice Pro4 build on 135/142 that I can’t use.

Round my way it appears to get to a stage where you’d be faster walking than driving, then the council come along and perform the shabbiest repair you’ve ever seen. Said repair last a week, then rinse and repeat thee above.

I lived in Germany for years and their roads are fantastic. Much better than the UK, despite seeing much more extreme weather conditions. Even the rural roads are great. I always look forward to some spirited rural twisty riding/driving when I head back. How can we get it so wrong!

Are you planning on building a new website around the shop, or do you have an existing website and want to plug in a shop?

If the latter, how is currently built? Online sitebuilder, template, WP or custom?

When I used to live in a flat I had this setup:

I used this rack from Ebay.
Easy to assemble and huge amounts of adjustment. I put some cardboard between the wall and the stand to stop it marking the walls. Worked a treat.

As above, you’d be fine on a rigid. Just a question of skill on how fast you can descend. I would still prefer FS for comfort though. Less fatigue means more loops.

I’ve only ever ridden the diversion route, but it’s the worst bit of the ride. It’s just straight lining down the hill- no technical. With all the climbing it would be nice to have something a bit more rewarding.
I’ll definitely head back once the diversions gone as the rest of the trails cracking.