Another thanks from me also :D

If your current Giro fits well, then why not get another.

I’ve had helmets from Bell, Specialized and Met (what I’m wearing currently). The Bell didn’t fit that well from the start, but the others were a very good fit (I’m sure that’s down to my head shape).

The Urge Enduromatic is certainly popular at the moment & I have been tempted to get one.

Turned out to be an 11mm allen key in the end & the non-drive side bearing needed replacement – thanks for the advice

There are a couple of options if you don’t want another Truvativ one.

Superstar components have two available (£27 non-ceramic bearings, £50 ceramic bearings).

You could also go for a Hope one (around £60 non-ceramic & you will need an adaptor for the GXP – around £9)

Finally there is a Chris King one (around £100 & you will need an adaptor – around £35).

I’ve run the standard Truvativ ones for a few years now & usually manage to pick them up for around £20. They typically last me around 9 – 15 months – I’m thinking about switching to a Chris King next time for the 5 year warranty.

As of about 10:30 this morning Nirvana Cycles in Westcott (near Dorking – Surrey Hills) had 3 Medium Mega’s in stock & 1 Small (I think they’re all black).

If you want one the website is http://www.nirvanacycles.com/ or call the shop on 01306 740300

I’m running Elixir 5’s (had them for nearly a year) on my FS & Elixir R’s (had them for just over a year) on my hardtail. Aside from the bite point adjuster I can’t notice any difference.

I have also taken the 5’s for some more gravity fed work in Italy & they performed well enough. I did try a set of Hope’s while I was there (can’t remember which ones, but they did have a 4 piston caliper), which did perform a little better (but I’d expect a 4 piston brake to perform better than a 2 piston).

My 5’s are setup with a 180mm rear, 203mm front, while my R’s are setup with a 160mm rear and 160mm front (no need for anything more as this is an XC bike).

I run Look Keo Classics – done over 4000 miles on them (about 1000 miles per year), there is a bit of play in the axles, but I’d expect that after this amount of miles.

Cleats do need to be replaced reasonably regularly – I usually have to buy a set every 12-18 months.

The engagement mechanism is very good, not so tight that you can’t clip out, not so loose that you don’t unclip when you don’t want to.

I’d buy the same ones again if I was starting out now.

toys19 – I’ve only tried building one wheel so far & had to get it finished by my LBS – I did ask how well I’d done & they said they didn’t need to make too many adjustments. I don’t plan on building any further wheels myself, I just happened to have two wheels, one with a knackered rim & another with a knackered hub & decided to make one wheel out of two.

In terms of the truing I’ve done with the stand, whilst the wheels I’ve done probably aren’t as true as the day they were built (after all I am not a pro, nor have I done any formal training or qualifications), but they have been good enough for me :-) & have held true when riding in the Alps.

I’m sure the Park stand is a great bit of kit, I’m just very happy with the one I bought – if I was planning on building loads, then sure I’d probably go for a more precision piece of kit.

I own a Tacx T3175 Exact Wheel Truing Stand, which comes in around the £55 – £60 mark.

I’ve used it to true around 15 wheels (not all my own – some for mates) to date & found it fits the bill well (I’ve had it for about a year now).

I have attempted one wheel build with it, but ended up having to get my LBS to finish it off (probably a measure of my skill level)

I like the fact that the stand is easily portably (fix to any bench via the G-Clamp).

When I was looking I considered a slightly cheaper Park one (there is one for around £95), but the price/portability of the Tacx one sealed it for me.

I’ve got a DHB (wiggle own brand) one, which I’ve had for about 5 years now.

Unlike some of the other DHB gear, this has proved to be a good buy & I would buy the same one again.

Mine doesn’t have wheels, but the latest one does (for £70).

I’ve taken it overseas a handful of times & so far (touch wood) I’ve only had a bent rotor in transit (I left it on the front wheel, which was a mistake).

One of the things I like about it is it’s a bit bigger, so I can leave the rear wheel in the frame when packing (I have a medium FS).

Agree with Leku – bubble wrap is useful. I also strap my knee/elbow pads to the frame & put pipe lagging around the frame (usually about £1 per meter at your local DIY store – 3 meters is enough).

I also remove the following – pedals, rear mech, chain, rear mech hanger, front brake rotor. I make sure there is a pad spacer in the front caliper. I do drop the tyre pressures a bit (some airlines want them flat), but leave around 20-25psi in.

Anyone able to help?

Anyone have any ideas?

I’ve just ordered a set (on Thursday) courtesy of York Bike Outlet.

There seem to be a fair amount of people who are shifting used sets on via the classifieds for around the £250 – £270 mark.

The brand new price of £270 including delivery was a bit too good to resist (oh and the hubs are pro II evos :D )

Can’t wait for them to arrive

Mine came at the end of one of the routes at Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield.

Got to the end of the trail & decided to hold onto a conveniently located fence post.

Just so happened that a big bunch of walkers were passing at the point where I somehow let go and topled over sideways in a big heap.

The best one I had was also at QE – I had just finished a ride & was heading into the car park. I saw some hot ladies 8O & decided the best way to impress them was with a wheelie! All was going well but I leant back too far & fell flat on my ar$e resulting in a rather large cut to my derierre!

I’m moving towards being in the a group, but previously would have been b.

In the last year I’ve learnt hub servicing (Shimano type – I’ll be having a go at cartridge bearing hubs soon), wheel truing & fork servicing

Had some good, some bad experiences with the various LBS, but have now found a couple of bike shops in my local area who are good

I’ll do everything except….

1. Build wheels
2. Remove/fit headsets
3. Service rear shocks

Right here’s mine….

It’s a 2010 Limited Edition (they only made 500).

It’s the second one I’ve owned & I’ve been very pleased with both.

It suits where alot of my riding is (Kent – some singletrack, some fireroad, some road but nothing too technical) & the only changes I’ve needed to make were saddle, stem & bars (all personal preference – the CBoardman saddles are not comfortable)

+1 for the SDG Bel Air

I’ve had three in all now (one i-beam, one cro-mo rail, one TI rail) & I find them comfortable.

It’s very difficult to be certain which one would suit you best as it depends on the shape of your rear – one of my mates even went to the length of getting his measured to find out which one would be the best fit!

Couldn’t agree more – was having a great ride, then the gear cable for my rear mech snapped! Luckily I only had about 8 miles left to get home & had done most of the hills

For the money you’re definitely best to go 2nd hand

It’s a little over what you want to spend, but the kit list is very good

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-orbea-asphalt-road-bike

My own roadie is a Cube Peleton (2008), which has a carbon fork & mostly Shimano 105 running gear – I’ve done over 4000 miles on it & it still runs sweetly (I have taken care of it)

IMHO weight makes more of a difference on a roadie – I recently had a go on my brothers full carbon Planet X (kitted with Dura Ace) & it absolutely flew along :D

Just to update – my mate fitted the extra firm spring in the end.

Also had poor service from them recently.

Ordered some bars which were showing as in stock, but got an e-mail a few days later saying they were out of stock, but the bars would be sent when available.

I didn’t mind waiting initially, but soon found a better deal with CRC, so I sent them an e-mail to confirm I no longer required the bars. I was somewhat surprised when around 6 weeks later I got an e-mail confirming the bars had been despatched.

Having received the bars I then e-mailed them about getting them returned, but received no response. I also tried calling, but they never seemed able to answer.

So I sent the bars back to the shipping address with a letter explaining my experience. Given that it wasn’t my fault that they failed to respond to e-mails I thought they should (and probably would) refund my returns postage, but no – I’ve just had confirmation that they only refunded the goods – I wont be using them again :evil:

Assuming the BB has never been changed then it will be a Truvativ GXP type BB.

Truvativ do their standard BB (same as you have currently) for around £20 – £25, or Superstar do one for similar cash.

If you’re feeling rich, then Truvativ do a ceramic bearing one for around £120.

I’ve run Truvativ BB’s on a couple of bikes & found the standard GXP ones to be fine – they usually last 12-18 months for me.

Note that the Truvativ system is the only one which is not compatible with Race Face, Shimano, Hope etc. BB’s

Here it is….

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/another-chumba-hx2-build

Obviously the forks have been swapped since the original build

He weighs in at 16st, which assuming I’ve worked it out correctly comes in at 224lbs. I can’t remember if he fitted the firm or extra firm spring in the end – I can ask him tomorrow if you like. Basically once Manitou had agreed to send out the spring from the US he didn’t want to chance getting the wrong one so bought both.

One of my mates (who is on STW) owns a HX2 which is equiped with a set of Manitou Minute 29er forks (these are the same as the Tower forks – they just renamed them).

I know he’s been very pleased with both the bike & the forks – he certainly isn’t wishing he bought reba’s. He’s certainly alot faster on it.

The only issue I’m aware that he had was getting hold of a firmer spring than the stock one (they do soft, medium (which you get as standard), firm and extra firm). It took him a couple of months to get the correct one & had to speak to Manitou in the US, who shipped him a ‘special one off’ firm & extra firm.

Typing this message out on my 18 month old £300 Hewlett Packard Laptop, which I got from EBuyer.

I asked the IT guy at work & he suggested a HP (he said I should avoid an Acer) – I’ve been very happy with it.

EBuyers service is first rate too.

+1 for the EBay dispute process.

I’ve used it a couple of times when items haven’t been as described & they’ve always ruled in my favour.

If you don’t want to return the forks, then you could ask for a partial refund (which you can also do via the dispute process)

I took in a couple of demo days earlier in the year, so had a chance to try out several different 10 speed setups, some 2 x 10, others 3 x 10.

Shifting did seem a little smoother than my 9 speed setup, but not sufficiently better to justify the swap.

One of the 2 x 10 bikes I tried had a 39 tooth outer chainring. I usually do a fair amount of the climbs in the middle ring, but found this pretty hard to turn over going uphill.

I won’t be in a rush to switch as my current setup works fine – if you’re worried about the technology becoming obsolete, then you could always take advantage of the good deals currently available & get a few spares.

I’ve also just gone up from 685mm to 710mm for bars and down from 90mm to 70mm on the stem.

Wider bars will move your position on the bike forwards if you stick with the same stem length, so it’s all a bit of a balancing act.

I don’t think I’d want to go any wider than 710mm, so as you’re at 630mm I’d probably give a set of bars somewhere around 670mm – 685mm wide a go.

There are plenty of people selling bars in the classified section, so you should be able to get hold of some bars reasonably cheaply & if you don’t like them, then you should be able to sell them for what you bought them for. I’ve had very good experiences so far buying via the classifieds, so I’d recommend it.

I own a cateye strada wireless one, which I use on a roadie (covered nearly 3000 miles – still on the original batteries), coped with the odd shower without issue. Fitting was fairly easy too.

I also use an i-got-u GPS logging device (I own the GT-600 unit) to track where I’ve been (I don’t own a smart phone & didn’t want to shell out for a full GPS). It gives me stats on average speed vs distance/time, pace, altitude vs distance/time, max speed, average speed, calories burnt etc. I use it for both Roadie & MTB duties. It doesn’t give you feedback whilst riding (download to PC once you’ve finished). Think I paid about £55 for the one I’ve got.

Very happy with both of these.

Having just come back from Italy I went through the same pre trip question. Here’s what I did….

Serviced the rear shock (Mojo – it hadn’t been done for just over a year) & fork lowers (myself)
New rear wheel – the freehub was on it’s way out & turned out that it wouldn’t come off (to be replaced) so a new wheel was needed
Stripped, checked bearings & re-greased suspension pivots
Swapped my tyres to a set on Maxxis Minnon dual ply DH tyres & corresponding DH tubes
Fitted new brake pads & checked if the brakes needed bleeding (they are quite new so didn’t need it)
Chopped a bit off my seatpost to run it very low

I took the following spares: –
6 tubes (I ended up giving most of these away – I was amazed at how many people turned up with few spares)
4 sets of brake pads (I went through nearly 4 full sets in total, so brought back 2 pairs unused)
Tyres (pair)
Spokes (at least 8 – some front, some rear wheel)
Mech Hangers (I have somehow managed to end up with 4!)
Derailleur (rear)
Bottom Bracket
Gear Cables (2)
Brake lever clamps (I seem to have a habit of breaking these)

Any spares you buy there will cost close to double the UK price (I learnt this to my cost when I had to shell out nearly £50 for two pairs of brake pads in Switzerland last year)

Not sure if you’re diving or flying, but if flying take some time to pack your bike carefully (I took off all of the following & packed them carefully: rotors (packed between 2 sheets of stiff cardboard), rear mech, mech hanger, pedals). I made sure I put pad spacers in the brake calipers. I used plenty of bubble wrap & some pipe lagging from the DIY store. I also strapped my knee/elbow pads to the bike.

Sometimes the problems you get aren’t the ones you expect – on the trip I was on one of the guys had problems with the rear wheel thru-axle coming loose – at one stage he had to get somebody to ride behind him to check it was staying in place!

I’ve also been advised in the past to consider using an appropriate threadlocker to secure the various bolts of the bike to stop them being shaken loose (not actually done this – haven’t had a problem)

I used to have a Joplin 3 (non remote post), with the benefit of hindsight I should have gone for the remote version. Lowering the post is usually fine, but to raise you have to ride 1 handed while standing up & pulling the lever.

I got rid of the Joplin as it was unreliable, but am now looking at getting a 27.2mm dropper post & switching it between my bikes via a shim (one needs a 27.2mm seatpost, the other a 31.6mm).

From what I’ve heard its a choice between the ugly but reliable Gravity Dropper & the pretty, but higher maintenance KS post. I haven’t heard much about the X-Fusion.

Of the places I’ve been to (Verbier with Bike Verbier, Molini (Italy) with Riviera Bike, Morzine/Les Gets/Chamonix (Self Guided) and Spain with (now closed) Tora Loco) I’d suggest Southern Spain (Malaga, Granada (Sierra Nevada) area) as being the most suited to XC.

My brother has one of the Thule towbar carriers – it’s been a great rack for him – he’s had his for about 3 years now. His doesn’t tilt, but they do a 3 bike tilting one which is the 9503 model.

I own Thule bars & carriers for the roof & find little to fault on them – I bought them a couple of years ago at a point when I was considering getting a more ‘bike friendly’ car – the result of the purchase is I still own the same car as I no longer have a need to change it.

You do pay a bit more for the Thule stuff, but IMHO they’re worth it.

Yeah should have said – both rides are Sunday

Glad to see you’ve got it built up – it doesn’t get more unique than this – liking the matching hub/brake combo

I’ll be out on the Nirvana Cycles ‘social ride’ – it’s usually 3.5 – 5 hours, starting at the shop in Westcott at 11am. It’s a mix of XC/Jumps & most people tend to to turn up on 140mm – 160mm full suspension. If that’s your bag, then just turn up before 11am. The distance covered is typically 25 – 30 miles.

If you’re into XC or longer distance rides then turn up at 10:30 for a faster paced ride, where a shorter travel bike would be better suited (I haven’t done this one previously, so not sure how hard/fast it is).

The ones on the website are not the same ones as I’ve bought – they had much more selection in the branch I went to (the ones I went for came in a black, brown or deep blue frame) – I reckon I had about 15 different styles of Nike ones to choose from. You get to choose the colour of the tint also – so I went for the deep blue frame with the ‘smoke’ tint (the other choices were a green or redish tint).

Been using TopCashBack for about 18 months now – only had 2 occasions where I didn’t get the cash (More Than & Legal & General – bit annoying as they were higher value ones), but have been paid over £350 in that time (including an occasion where TCB got the cashback wrong in my favour & I got £48 cashback for an £11 purchase :D ) Went with them as Quidco takes your first £5, but TCB takes nothing (not sure if you end up with slightly worse deals – the ones I checked were the same)

Just bought a set of Nike sunglasses from Specsavers on their 2 for 1 offer (due for delivery on 9th May). My other pair are not tinted for day to day use (you have to pay extra for tint on the first pair), but you don’t pay extra for the tint on the second pair. Total cost £125 + eye test at £20 (you might be able to get this free with a voucher – I didn’t have one to hand when I went in).

I also have astigmatism & looked at buying contacts online & some regular sunglasses, but found the online places only do lenses in a limited range of prescription options (basically I couldn’t match my prescription online). According to the optician I would have had to have lenses specifically made to my prescription (though I might treat this with a little scepticism as they stand to benefit from me ordering the lenses through them)