Looks like Shimano have finally seen sense and relaxed the licensing anyway….

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/shimano-expands-microspline-licensing/

I’ve got the Adventure AT3 double trailer with stroller kit. Not too bad to hook up the front wheel and convert – but leaving the handle fitted was the biggest problem for us, ’cause it stopped it folding flat (and we needed the space). Not a problem now as the kids are all too big for it and I’ve got a garage for it to hang up collecting dust in!

Worth noting that certainly the Adventure one is quite wide – no problem when using it in the great outdoors, but I wouldn’t want to have used it going in and out of shops say.

Thanks both – good idea on the adjustable spanner, hadn’t thought of that (and yes, you can call me a spanner too – I should have chosen a better line through those rocks)! I’ll give it a go – not a lot to lose!
Thanks again.

Bird are spec’ing the Zero 29 12 speed with M8100 (or M7100) but with a Sunrace 11-51 cassette on HG freehub. They would only do that if they were confident it could all work nicely together.

From the website:
Frame weight – 2.05kg Med

That GX build is amazing value btw.

How old is it? Mine is 6 months old and nothing like that, (sorry). It is an externally routed one if that makes a difference. Used in all sorts of horrible conditions but still smooth in operation and full travel without having had any maintenance. If yours is in warranty, I’d be sending it back…

Hi, I find the Bontrager Mud X to be the best all round tyre going into the colder, wetter months. I know you said it wasn’t a priority but it rolls really well too, (compared to any Maxxis offerings I have tried anyway).

They do still seem to be available, (called XR now but same thing). If you do go for these – don’t buy them all – I need some too!

Hi,

I’m using:

Shimano XT M8000 GS Shadow+ 11 Speed Rear Mech
XT M8000 shifter
MT800 Bottom Bracket
XT M785 Cranks
Blackspire Snaggletooth oval chain ring, 32t
Sunrace CSMX8 11-46 (Shimano freehub)
SRAM NX PC-1110 chain

All works just fine. No issues with the clutch being on, no chain slap, no chain dropping etc. Good shifting is a bit more sensitive to the drive train being kept clean than my old 2x – but not so much it ever causes an issue.

Hope that helps

Hi,
‘Could’ be ghosts but we had a similar thing last year (with a touch sensitive light), and (slightly more boringly than ghosts), traced it to a live wire crossing over to an earth on some crazy wiring in our loft. Sometimes those lights are just really sensitive to spikes in the voltage – but with the other issues you describe it sounds a bit more like something else not right. Get it checked out by a professional and don’t get fobbed off by the developer if you’re not satisfied.

Is it the same problem described here?

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/15mm-maxle-help/

Another satisfied customer here. I went over to them 18 months ago after being with BT forever. Wish I had done it years ago. Saved a fortune and seem to have a more consistently high bandwidth.
No problem streaming ultra HD on Amazon while the kids play on the X-box. You are still reliant on good local infrastructure though. We were on BT fibre before and still are effectively + we are near to the exchange.

Been listening to these guys again recently. If they ride bikes I think it will be single speed cruisers, on or off road, old school like.

Rivers Cuomo is still writing stuff – latterly with AJR

Just to top it off – both Alfa’s penalised for technical infringements and dropped out of the points, so Hamilton elevated to 9th and a couple of points.

Boring I know, but I really like my DMR Vaults. Nice and thin, reasonably light but a very supportive platform. I might be lucky but haven’t had any of the issues with maintenance that some have had, (three years of all weather, all year round use), the seals have just started to go, so I will probably have to invest in the service kit soon. I have a set of Neutrons too and they would be a close second – certainly good value for money even with a question mark over longevity. I see CRC and Wiggle have Vaults at £49.99 at the moment (if you don’t mind white)!

I’ve offered to take a pals 12 year old to Glenstress for some riding – all he does presently is stuff round the local woods (no idea what that is like). He’s struggling at school with dyslexia so for biking to go well for him could help his confidence.

It’s a really nice thing that you are doing for him. My son is also struggling at school with Dyslexia (I think he feels battered by just keeping his head above water in the classroom). When he got round the blue at Swinley at 9 earlier this year his sense of accomplishment was palpable, (his whole demeanour changed).
Main thing I had to adjust to was just taking it easy, remembering he’s a kid and was a bit apprehensive when surrounded by other riders. As others have said, take lots of snacks and drinks, and be prepared to stop often. It would be good if you do get the chance to have a local ride in the woods with him first – proper use of the gears was where my son struggled the most. Your friend’s lad is a bit older, so it might not be an issue.
I tend to ride in front when I go out with him now, works for us ‘cause he sees me do something and knows that it if I can do it – he can definitely do it, (this is the boy that said he “wants to be a good mountain biker like I used to be”)!
Hope you both have a great time.

I have to admit I never even suggested any sort of multi-ring option, she got what she was given and never complained. Operating a rear mech is enough for her to worry about IMO, 1×8 allows sufficient gearing for her current use/ability, she can do 15-ish undulating miles with daddy before we get a meltdown. Extra cogs would probably not prevent a tantrum, they might even cause one…

I agree with you (in principle)! My 7 year old daughter is very sensible, she would be more accepting of a simple drive train. The boys are a problem – they seem to have a ‘Spinal Tap’ approach to gearing – “yes you might have a nice efficient 2×10 but I’ve got 3×7 – that’s one more gear see…” You can imagine the incredulity of my 1×11 setup!

My three have all been OK with the SRAM grip-shift Islabike use on the Beinn (X4 now – not sure what it was a few years ago), but then struggled when they moved up to second hand 24” bikes which have had Shimano Revoshift.

I have switched them over to Altus M310 and with the indexing setup properly they have been able to change gear no problem, quite a nice light action. It might be that part of the problem is old cabling and shifters when buying second hand – but I think £19 for a pair of Altus M310 off ebay is easier than persevere with the Revoshifters – and gets them used to more conventional shifting.

I did consider losing the triple setup(s) for simplicity – but was met with a frosty stare from my then 9 year old and told in no uncertain terms how important it was to have as many gears as possible, (even if some of them never get used)!

Thanks – yes i’m coming from 26” so sadly I need some new wheels too! I’m trying to hedge bets here too – probably get a Shimano 11 speed freewheel on a DT Swiss hub knowing it’s not too painful to upgrade the freewheel later. That gives me more secondhand options too if it comes to it. Final decision on the drive train will decide the hub and wheel choice in the end.

Unless the 11 speed kit is quite new, it’s not going to work well with a new chainring. Even if it doesn’t skip, it will increase wear on the chainring so that’ll be knacked when the 11 speed stuff comes to upgrade.

Just bite the bullet and do it all now.

I agree with the sentiment. However, can’t stretch the budget to that right now. Plan is to build the bike up over the coming months as and when I can afford bits. If I can use the 11 speed stuff, then the bike can be finished this year – otherwise, it will have to wait until after Christmas. The 11 speed has done about 600 miles – all looks OK at the moment – chain is not stretched, but I will replace anyway as it is too short. If 11 speed works, I will run it into the ground – don’t mind a sacrificial SLX chain ring for that!

I appreciate the advice though – it would be the ideal way to do it, probably not much to lose trying the 11 speed first though.

Thanks for the replies both. The current cranks are my old XT M785 (was 2x) using a 104bcd. (I can just about get away with them if I restrict myself to non-oval 32t but anything bigger and I will get issues with clearance and chain line). I’ll see if I can find a boost offset chain ring to fit the 104 bcd….

Thanks all,

No horror stories and sounds pretty conclusive that it’s worth the extra £ for the Roughcut to get the most out of the fork.

Thanks superstu. Good to hear the positive feedback, whatever I go for needs to last a good few years, so combined with the original comments your experience is reassuring!

Hi all,

Thread bump!

After a year how are these McQueens fairing?

I am planning a new build (29 hardtail), and am wondering how they compare to a slightly cheaper option like RS Revelations? My use is general trail, Surrey Hills stuff, Cwmcarn, nothing more than trail centre red – I run Reba’s at the moment (and have for the last 15 years), which are OK but run out of puff sometimes so either would probably be an improvement.

Thoughts appreciated!

I’ve got the external 125 brand x ascend on my Soul 26 and it’s great. I did upgrade the seat clamp to a bolt up one with a cable guide to keep it all tidy. There is a tiny amount of play in the post – since new but it does not affect it at all in use and has not gotten any worse. The latest lever design is fine and it took only minutes to fit. Anyway, cost me about £80 from CRC with one of their regular discount offers, so can’t go too far wrong!

It’ll be fine – just go with it and the kids’ll have a great time. Windsor Triathlon this weekend so expect extra traffic…car park is open from 09:30 (maybe earlier) and you can get into the park from then – rides start from 10:00.

Like someone else said – go to the furthest rides first and work back for minimum queues….

Definitely get the old roof stripped off and start from a good, known foundation for the new roof. We had ours done last year and the state of the woodwork that came out was shocking. Leaving anything rotting under a nice new roof is asking for trouble later on. We went for fleece backed EPDM, guaranteed for 20 years. Slightly bigger area than yours and less than £1.5k in south of England if that helps….

@Choppersquad

I’m off to see them in December too – should be great. Seen them quite a few times before and never been disappointed (dazed perhaps)!

Enjoy!

@Johnw1984

It’s listed on Bike Discount M8100

Availability stated as within 6 weeks – (group set ‘priority pack’ said 14th June).

Coming down an Atlas mountain pass in Morocco, steep, fast rocky descent – saw my mates camera lying on the trail ahead. For some inexplicable reason decided to try and scoop it up as I went past without stopping, like some sort of bike-rodeo trick. It didn’t end well, (although he did get his camera back and the blood wiped off easily enough).

Tooth count on the medium 11 speed XT mech. is 39 – so it should be OK. From memory the XTR version has a smaller tooth count so best to stick with XT if anyone’s tempted to try it!

Hope do a 10-48 cassette 10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-33-40-48 which on paper sounds the best of all worlds – but won’t run on the Shimano hub and expensive – so not worth it for my 26’er – I just have to spin out and enjoy the scenery occasionally. :-)

Re. the 11 speed ratios:

XT 11 speed: 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-37-46
SR 11 speed: 11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-36-40-46

I use the Sunrace 46t cassette and the 40-46 gap is fine.

*Sunrace also do 11 speed 50t too: 11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-36-42-50

Nope – once a week 20-30 miles, mid week night ride mostly (all year round at least). Leave home for work 06:30 get home around 19:00, 3 young kids and full on weekends. The kids do want to do some riding with me now – So the goal is to get some level of weekend ride in with them now too!

Just got back from taking the kids round the Science Museum. Good day out but now recovering from the cost of three milkshakes!

Ha! Should have read the advice earlier – first ride tonight with the Rocket on the back and first ‘proper’ crash in years. Can’t blame the tyre really – ambition outstripped ability this time, but yes it is a fast tyre alright… which ‘might’ have been a factor! I think the Soul might now be setup as Cotic intended (6 years ago), it’s feeling like a much more fun, livelier bike with the recent mods. might even go get really modern and go tubeless one day!

Funny enough a Rocket Ron Addix Speed has just turned up on my desk at work. I’m just going to use it as a rear. Would have preferred the ‘Grip’ version – but they don’t make it in 26”. Cost me £35.55 delivered from Bike Discount (cheapest I could find it in stock anywhere). Not sure if it’ll help me towards perfection – but you never know! For me, the recent 1x conversion and fitting a dropper (2 rides ago now) have been the biggest improvement to my riding experience. Before that, it was changing to flats after 20 years of SPD’s, (I just seem to move about on the bike more and get more out of it – once I got used to it).

Sorry I can’t offer anything useful – but you sound like a great brother. Hope your visit helps lift him and things improve for you all.

Wanted to report that I returned to Swinley today and rode those pesky little drops that freaked me out last time! The smallest of pumps and even my teeny 26” wheels popped over the top. Next time I might even get both wheels off the ground at the same time! Might.

Anyway, lovely day for it!

Sounds like it might be Loctite 641 retaining compound? That’s a yellow colour and used for push fit bushes and bearings – if it is that, then it is designed to release with a little bit of force. Sorry no experience with it on a bottom bracket though – others will be along with more sense!

My 5 year old just graduated from a Halfords 12″ bike to a secondhand Islabikes Beinn 20S, (cost £200, in very good condition). He’s a bit short for his age – but has taken to it really well. In fact we have two now ’cause his 7 year old sister is still riding the other one – which shows you can get a bit more life out of them if you can go to 20″ early as possible. Every time I pick it up I’m struck by how much lighter it is than the truly awful Halfords thing it replaced! Personally I would avoid suspension at this age – even my 9 year old’s 24″ suspension is a bit pointless(I think).

In my recent experience; yes – on the steepest stuff – but if this is a chain ring swap you are contemplating you might find the benefit is throughout the range, (I went from 34 to 32 and find I use the whole range much more effectively now).