The deal on Merlin isn’t as good now as it was, they were £280 before, but the discount’s changed….

So who does the best deals on Hope/stans combo’s – I can’t seem to find these £275 offers?

I was gonna build a 29er a month or two back, then couldn’t find forks I wanted, gave up, now upgrading all my 26er kit, it won’t be long before it all comes back around!

I do have a JCB 3CX at my disposal……….. But he might get a bit concerned if I’m down there digging for too long!

I’ll try and post some photo’s up later if I get time, although the flat is about 15ft wide, the sloping banks to the side are mostly clear of big trees and could accommodate some stuff, it varies quite a lot to be honest.

Why do people get peeved that their bike is discontinued? It won’t make any difference to it, and parts won’t dry up overnight, so just keep riding it and enjoying it?

Genesis Core is imminent

Really?

Only one way to find out!

I think people are getting confused (perhaps me included), but they’re not selling it themselves as a purely DH venue, the post above comparing blue runs at DH centres to blacks at most trail centres seems a bit wide of the mark for Bike Park Wales because that really doesn’t sound like what they’ve built.

Yes all of the routes are descents, but not DH courses from what I can tell.

andermt – Member

Although I still have this one awaiting some spare time to get it back on the road (original picture so not current)

That actual car?

I have a Peugeot 205 XS rally car, will try to get a photo up…..

I got myself a defy mini off eBay with faulty speaker for under £30, had an old reflector bracket, so have bodged it on the bars with that for now, is strong, but currently not removable very easily. I want to try and get a quick release set up with 2 clamps so I can quickly swap it from road bike to mtb.

I’ve tried mapmyride, and planning to have a look at strava (as it generally sounds more reliable), but would really like to run orux for the os maps, has anybody got any links to easy(as poss) how to guides for android?

I’m fairly I.T. literate but not played about with digital maps much before.

Cheers,

Sam

Does anybody actually use a 150mm full susser for Blue & Red trails?

http://www.bikeparkwales.com/bike-hire

p.s. I might try it just for the craic but will probably stick to XC trail centres……..

I’m not sure what to make of the concept, trail centres aren’t for everyone, but personally, I’m not that keen on the idea of having uplifts for red trails, or having to ride the same climb repeatedly to get a decent days riding in. Mountain biking means lots of different things to lots of people, to me though I think I’d soon get bored, to me it’s more about adventure than repeated runs, and it’s nice to feel you’ve conquered something at the end of the day. For some I suppose that is improving your skills by doing repeated runs. One thing’s for sure, it’ll be busy!

in 26″ wheel variety……

I don’t actually seem to be able to find very many 650b bikes for sale at the moment, of the major online bike stores, some list none, others 1 or 2, some more, but very few about in general – suppose that will all change next year, but there are also less decent hardtails on the market I think…….

GT’s most expensive 26″ wheeled bike is going to be £500 next year I’m told.

I think for a 26″ hardtail you’re going to be seeing mostly steel for new bikes, they will be the new niche

I chose my genesis partly because of it’s lack of bling, I like the understated, kind of retro look, I think genesis do that well, although some of their more recent colours are a bit gaudy. I really like the primer grey colour for frames.

Cable ties weigh nothing, so chucking a couple in does no harm

I normally ride with a camelback mule, 2/3 full of water, multitool, tyre levers, patches, 1 tube, leatherman, pump, lightweight jacket (if it’s not raining when we start) and a small 1st aid kit. May seem overkill, but after a few k’s you don’t know it’s there.

Had my derailleur hanger snap in forest of dean after taking a dodgy shortcut and a stick getting caught in spokes, managed to get it all apart with the help of the leatherman, wouldn’t have otherwise, so I had somewhere to store the derailleur & chain & could coast back to the shop for a new hanger. Would have been a shit day otherwise!

I have 2 LBS’ – right around the corner from work, within 200 yards of each other, bot successful in their own right, but on very different scales.

I bought a bike from the big one a few years back, missed the free service deadline by about a month, had hardly ridden the thing anyway, begrudgingly paid for a service and came out £125 worse off. They sell a certain brand of flashy german bikes that look the part and get ridden around town a lot…… Pretty patronising staff who think everyone’s aspiring to ride the tour or fort william.

The other is modest in comparison, sells good value, good quality, non flashy bikes, will fix anything you drag in, love a good chat, ride old school bikes themselves, and will always do a deal, on what you want, not what they want to sell.

Guess which I use now…

I get that, this just seems to be a really blatant push to force people away from 26″ wheels for no reason whatsoever…

Purely a money making sales driven pitch, try to convince what you have is shit so you spend your money on something no better than what you’ve got……..

http://singletrackworld.com/blogs/2013/04/a-time-of-change/

Anyone read this?

I’ve been hankering for a steel 29er, but reluctantly decided against it, yes they’re nice things, and I like the idea, but I don’t think it’s the holy grail. For XC racers, yes they may gain the odd second here and there, and on flowy, less technical stuff you may carry more speed, but for the vast majority of riders, there is just no point, is there? Other than wanting one, and keeping up with trends, which is fine if that’s your bag, 29″ wheels are just another gimmick.

650b or 27 1/2″ may be about to take over as the predominant size according to that article – but again, what’s the point? If the difference in all these tests between 26″ and 29″ was marginal, then surely a wheel in the middle is going to prove nothing to 99% of us!

I’m sticking with 26″, if I break something somewhere, or need a tube or tyre, spoke etc, I want to be able to get something.

Being ‘niche’ for the sake of it isn’t cool, far from it, stick with what’s reliable, and the most practical for 99% of people – 26″ MTB’s.

A chainstay protector, off the shelf, they only a cost a few quid, don’t know why it has to be any more complicated than that?

Thanks for the replies, I take the point, am going to replace the cheapy coil forks on my Genesis core with Reba’s – go 15mm axle and get a set of hope hoops at the same time (as the current rims aren’t great) so at least I’ll have adaptable hubs and be a bit future proof for a frame upgrade, and have a fair few parts left over for something else maybe…..

It was really for the 29er I was thinking, hardly any stock anywhere in the configuration I want. Also thinking of upgrading forks on 26″ – there seem to be plenty available but not sure whether to get 9mm qr or 15mm bolt thru, and then have to change wheel/hub?

Why not go for a short travel bike with lockout fork?

Almost everyone I see at trail centres is on a full susser and looks at me and my mates on hardtails as if we’re some crazy luddites for riding anything without 150mm of travel and a rear shock, dropper post & remote levers for everything on the bike. Each to their own, but I think you should just enjoy riding whatever type of bike on whatever type of terrain you want. Yeah you’ll get some “all the gear no idea” comments if you turn up on a £3k dh machine on a canal path, but mountain biking is what you make it, you can ride as fast, as hard, as difficult as you want, on pretty much any bike, within reason.

I’d take it to a local engineering firm and see if they can machine an adapter, if you take a 15mm maxle and the forks I’d have thought they could do something.

Well, I bit the bullet and got myself an inbred frame, vertical dropout (just never going to want to ride ss or hub I don’t think)……..

So now I need some forks – what are my options? On one say 100mm max, 1 1/8″ steerer required, and I’d preferably like them in white, with thru axle????

I’ll happily go 9 speed, was being thick!

There is a slot frame with mech hanger available.

After some advice please guys?

I’m planning a steel 29er build, inbred frame, but I can’t decide whether to go slot or vertical dropout.

The slot dropout lets you ride ss, hub or dérailleur rear. The vertical standard gears only, but has ISCG 05 mounts on BB.

I was thinking single front ring, 7 or 8 speed rear mech. Quite fancy the slot dropout version as it’s available in the sand colour, and gives options for the future, but how important is a chain device going to be , and will a seat tube type be good enough if I go for the slot frame, or are you better off with ISCG 05 given my current plan?

Cheers,

Sam