You know when your mother taught you not to stare at the hideous fat thing but you just can’t stop staring with an open mouth and jaw hitting the floor? That.

I’ll buy the rear for £80

I like this. I wish there was a way of setting that up as a desktop background. :D

Just out of curiosity- why don’t you use a basic Garmin? Cheap enough, waterproof and the battery is much better than any phone.

11 Speed (10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42)
10 Speed (11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36)

I can’t imagine any bike being speced with 1x with anything smaller than 11-36.

Lucky escape there! Personally I always have a small shakedown ride after any work I/LBS/other have done on the bike.

What LBS was it? I live locally and wouldn’t mind avoiding them.

Pop into Halfords. They only seem to stock 26” tyres! Good selection too.
Very little 29er choice and I’ve yet to find one stocking 27.5”.

miketually
When does 26+ become a thing?

It’s been here a while- its called the Surly Instigator
We also have Surly to thank for the xPlus idea.

:? I use to really like Charge. I’ve had a Cooker, Duster, Iron and 3x Blenders and countless saddles. All great bikes and parts. Seems odd to jump on the ’27Plus’ thing and not offer any alternatives.

I’m loving the number of bikes in here that are deemed dead by the MTB industry.
Lots of wrong wheelsizes, steerers, gearing, brakes, forks and just about everything else too.

It proves that not having the newest standard doesn’t effect how enjoyable riding can be. They’re all much of a muchness :lol: !

The Stooge. I built it up as a cheap SS winter bike last year using bargin bin bits and second hand parts.

Wasn’t expecting much from a rigid, 1 1/8th and QR bike. It’s undoubtedly the best bike I’ve ever bought and one of the best I’ve ever ridden, despite it costing less than the forks on my FS bike. Andy has worked magic with the geometry and feel of the bike. It’s simple and robust. I’ve ridden through the winter mud and haven’t had to maintain it whatsoever. It keeps surprising me with what lines I can take and get away with.

I keep thinking of upgrading the brakes, post and other bit but then I realise how fun it is in its current build, and it sort of defeats the original point of the bike.

The only bike this would get sold for is a Stooge Ti.

These looks fantastic. If only I had the spare cash.. some day.

mattjg – what are you doing with your Whyte T129?

Chumba, when it was owned by that Lawyer, had issue with a chap that went OTB because the frame was poorly designed with an incorrect shock choice. I think the ride broke his arm and tried to sue them. The story is somewhere on MTBR and there’s a video too.

wiggles dijo »
I’m only 4″ taller, she is 5’5″ I’m 5’9″ (she is older than me so that is my excuse)

Me too. But we have the same leg length, which means we don’t have to move the seat in the car, just the rear view mirror[/quote]

Same as me!

Thanks for the feedback guys :( . Probably wont pursue the idea.

I like to ride both flats and SPDs. I don’t ride either exclusively. Having the option to use flats or SPDs depending on how I feel means that I can just pick the bike, pick the shoes and go. I don’t have to faff about changing pedals and wearing threads. An added advantage is that family/friends can grab a bike and go too.

I’m thinking of fitting these pedals to 3 bikes so a cheaper option would be ideal. N+1 always a applies though and £100 is 10% of a new bike.. so man maths suggests another bike is more cost effective.

Thanks for suggestions. Sadly none of them will offer enough grip.

Jam bo- Yes, what do you think will happen when you swap pedals 104 times a year? Do you honestly think the threads will remain intact indefinitely? :roll:

No problem. The hub, spokes and nipples will fit. The spokes should come alive and grow to match the correct length of the 650b rim*.

* may not be true.

I went out for a 2 hr spin. Headwind all the way back along the river :( .
For some reason my wrist is killing today! That’ll teach me..

Would the Kona Satori work? I’ve read that they have big rear clearance.

> Slx- front and rear available;
– http://www.halfords.com/cycling/parts/brakes/shimano-d-brake-slx-m675-kit-post-mount-calliper-rear
– http://www.halfords.com/cycling/parts/brakes/shimano-br-m675-slx-brake-with-post-mount-front

> XT- looks like front and rear judging by the hose lengths (1000 & 1700mm);
– http://www.halfords.com/cycling/parts/brakes/shimano-d-brake-xt-m785-kit-pm-fr-sr
– http://www.halfords.com/cycling/parts/brakes/shimano-deore-br-m785-xt-bled-disc-brake-lever-and-post-mount-calliper#tab1

If you buy it through their ebay store you got the 3 for 2, plus £10 off if you spend over £100.

I’ve done this. LR Discovery at the bottom of my hill.
I was in full tuck looking at my stem. Bang.
No car has ever parked there before :oops: . Not a single mark on the Disco. My private parts were bruised and I hit my face on the stem so a couple cuts and bruises there too.

A winter hardtail- I bought a Stooge and set it up SS with a 3.0” Chronicle. What a bike! It’s cost me nothing since being built a year ago despite the worst winter weather and thousands of miles.

jameso –
Clink, it will, it’s based on a std Ramin frame with a tad more clearance at the back and an EBB. It won’t be using boost etc, the idea is similar to the Ramin 1, you have a good entry-level B+ bike that can run your old 29er wheels or the B+ wheels can slot into your other 29er maybe.

Spot on! That’s what we need and what I want. Why is it that Pinnacle doesn’t try to pull the wool over our eyes..

If you want a serious answer, MTBR is pretty good and diverse. Millions of different sub-forums to tickle your niche.

You need one of these! [/url]

Headset press. Incredibly satisfying tool to use.

+1 for testing a bike.
It’s more important to have a test ride on an FS bike because the suspension platforms feel so different between VPP, single pivot, FSR, etc. I personally love single pivot and find it suits my style of riding and ‘feels right’ but others hate it.
I can’t stress enough that test rides are key. Look what happened with your Trance. On paper you said it looked perfect but you didn’t get on with it for whatever reason. How can you be sure that any bike you order online will suit you? You’ll only kick yourself because you made the same mistake again. Why not put out a request for riders willing to let you test their bikes?

I’ve still got mine from a few years ago. Lovely packaging!

Deviant +1.

Aye, I’ve just seen these.
I don’t like the PB one though as they look ugly and long. Steveied’s ones are a lower profile and look more expensive.

I’ve been using the Chronicle for about 6 months.
Great tyre. I used it through the winter gloop and found that it gripped well. It saved me a couple times over my Spec Purgatory 2.3. The drag isn’t too bad on the road either. I recently did 60 miles with the Chronicle on my SS Stooge.
It’s great on dusty trails too. Carries enough speed and grips well in the corners. Very comfortable. I set it up tubless on a rabbit hole in about 5 minutes with a track pump.

I would have thought that a phone is the best solution.
I’ve done this. £15 smartphone with £10 credit. I opted for the data pack and I’ve used £1 in about 4 months. Battery lasts a long time and it’s got the added benefit of a user interface.
Edit: And it can be used in emergencies.

It’s okay, he’s only 173KG.

£870 is plenty.

Wheels- Newish Hope Hoops- £240
forks- Newish Pike RC- £325
drivetrain- SLX 1×10- £150
brakes- SLX- £90
finishing kit- Mix of on-one/ebay- £30
tyres- Slightly used choice from ebay/classifieds- £35
= £870.
I’ve recently picked up some brand news Hope hops and Pikes for the prices above.

I really like the Stumpjumper range. Prices seem good and I really like the frame storage. I hate carrying stuff and the void in a frame is wasted space anyway. Wonder how they’ve layered the carbon in the DT to ensure strength.

Thanks Mincer! Spot on. It had the product code I’ve been looking for.

I’ve found all the bits now: http://secure.hibike.com/shop/product/pac56916ec96478adda86ecb8c3c44b43/KONA-RAIJIN-12x142mm.html

Thanks for the ideas guys!

The only example I’ve found is the Saracen Mantra.
There’s a fair few burly carbon 29ers around though.