I’d get in touch with some of the suspension tuning places…I know some folk who hadn’t been using the Talas adjuster on their forks and ended up having a Float cartridge fitted instead. There must be some barely used Talas cartridges laying about somewhere.

househusband – Member

Depends if they’re being worn at the time…

I was once ironing a shirt just before I was going out on a friday night. I’d already had a few, had some tunes playing and I was dancing like a loon whilst doing said ironing…ended up with a line burnt across the top of my leg and would have been burnt elsewhere if I hadn’t my kegs on! :oops:

The bag I have on my bar fits between 6-10ltrs. It has my tent, air mattress, sleeping bag and sleeping clothes in it!

Check these links for some other folks’ setups:

’Sick as a dog’ thread, here on STW.
’Loaded bikes’ on Bear Bones Bikepacking.
’Bikepacking rigs’ on MTBR.

Hopefully you’ll see something of use on some of these sites.

The bloke with the long hair looks like the trap has already hit him in the side of the head! :lol:
Seriously though…fookin’ muppets!

What are you using your bike for? As a long travel trail bike or proper all mountain with big jumps and drops too? Have you gone for carbon for the bling factor or for light-weight? If your using it as a light-weight trail bike do you want to be adding a shock that weighs more than a pound? Out of interest what fork are you using? If your using Lyriks/36’s go for the DB, if your using 32’s or Rockshox equivalent, I’d think twice.

I had a Tracer VP (what the carbine’s based on) and these were known to blow through their travel when using a RP23. Whatever you do with the shock still won’t make it perfect. Although reducing the air volume helps a bit.
If you really want the best performance while still using an air shock, buy a Manitou ISX-6. I’ve seen some very good deals on these in the past, with prices quite a bit under £200. There is plenty of info about setting them up over on MTBR.

Scroll down to two of my posts on another thread from earlier today: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/revelate-tangle-frame-bag

Have a look on the Nicolai website for some inspiration.

May be try a pneumatic/hydraulic suppliers. I once bought some funny shaped fork seals from that type of place. A few bearing suppliers might have something too.

Rorschach – I’d probably go Dt240’s, sapim cx rays,Oddessey taperlock nipples (alu bmx nipple you CANNOT round off) on Pacenti TL28’s.

For an all-mountain wheelset? 240’s are for XC and I’m not too sure on the Pacenti’s long-term durability. I’ve been holding off buying some for my bikepacking bike, let alone a trail/AM bike.

OP – I’d go for the Arch EX, I think Rorschach is thinking of the normal (old) Arches when he says they’re too narrow.

Most wheelbuilders will steer you away from bladed spokes/CX rays for AM use. They may be light and strong but they don’t build the stiffest of wheels.

scu98rkr – If others cant understand the frustration with constant changing for the sake of profit then erm ok.

Surely the companies only make plenty more profit if the new product is better than the old one?

There’s some info about the Buggybags here on STW.
Checkout Bear Bones Bikepacking for some setups too.
The cheapest frame bag you’ll get is a Jandd Framepack but these are rather small and you’ll have to order from the US. If you did fancy one it’s best to buy on eBay from Bikewagon (cheapest p+p).

Plenty of folk have been buying the Bikepack stuff, that’s why there’s always a bit of a wait. Pricing is great, as is the postage. I couldn’t be happier with mine…I bought a seat and a bar bag.
Here’s some info from when I first got my bags: Bikeandbivi.co.uk
More info from the bloke who makes them: link (same site as above).

look at the literature and it makes out this is a pretty straightforward climb with a few awkward sections

It is, isn’t it? Unless you did it the wrong way round?

+1 on Silverfish for parts.

Love my R1’s, I wouldn’t use 160 rotors though.

I think it’s Carey Schleicher-Haselhorst…I’m only going off the filename for the pic though.

I’d go for the Mojo, just as capable as the 5-Spot but the frame is over a pound and half lighter. I’ve a Mojo HD140, it’s the only frame I’ve bought that I’ve never fancied changing. I’d always wanted a Nicolai but aluminium has had its day when it comes to XC/trail bikes!

Gee, have you read any of the threads about 650b tyres on MTBR. By all accounts those RaRa’s are pretty fragile, you probably know that already though. Someone is selling the Pacenti Neo Moto’s in pairs on eBay…they might be too heavy for racing though?

P.S. Let us know what you think about the differences between your El Mariachi and the Ala Carte.
I’ve just bought a Siren softail that was designed around a Lefty and 650b, I haven’t got the wheels for it yet though. Depending on how I get on with it I might end up getting a Ti Salsa. At least with the Lefty I don’t need to change it if I choose a different wheel size.

Depending on what your budget is, I think I’d buy some bags for the bike instead…have you seen the offerings from bikepack.eu? You would be able to get a seat bag and bar bag for around £100.
Any ride, let alone a multiday one, can be hard work with a big pack on your back if you’re not used to it.

Schadenfreude – is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. This German word is used as a loanword in English and some other languages.

Looking For The Right Book Store? This Ain’t It

Skyliner – Member

Some Lefty’s have an internal spacer you remove to make them 29er compatible. I think they reduce the travel to 80mm though.

Is it not the other way round? I thought that you add the spacer, not remove one?

I’ve just bought this frame…just need the wheels to get it built up!

You can buy it from oil warehouse…£13.84 a tube. To be honest though, you could buy any type of bearing grease. It’s not going to get the kind of wear/heat a bearing in an electric motor or such like is going to get. Probably would be a third of the price too.

Taken from the Cannondale instruction manual:

Re-apply a fresh heavy coating of grease. Any clean high-quality bicycle bearing grease selected for riding temperatures and environment can be used.
We assemble forks at our factory using LUBRIPLATE GR-132.

2.35 High Roller on the back, 2.35 Minion DHF upfront…job sorted. I keep a 2.25 Crossmark to put on the back for longer distances but I have a different bike for that too, so don’t need to change it much. You could also use a Minion on the back instead of the Roller. Rampages are alright but I don’t recommend them on the front. They wash out easily, especially on soft stuff.

I’ve got a HD140 and the problem is that it’s got the other travel option…I’m always wondering what it would be like set at 160 with a 170 fork! If I’d bought a normal Mojo or an SC Blur LTc, I wouldn’t even be thinking of more travel. :roll:

edit – misread last post.

I doubt it…I wouldn’t have thought newer programs would work with it. It’s up to OS 7 now too.

I once had a similar accident…insurance company said it was impossible too say who was at fault because there were no road markings! Great for me as there was no damage to my vehicle but the same couldn’t be said for theirs! (I was in a 18T wagon). They had to claim on their own insurance, I actually felt sorry for them.

p.s. any scrape will cost £300+ as the full panel will need spraying.

Here’s a link to a site with the main ‘self myofascial release‘ exercises. Scroll down a bit for diagrams.

I’m hoping to be there. I did the Winter Warmer and have done a few of their other events in the past but not the Border Raid. A few of mates say it’s quite tough as was the WW the other month. There was quite a good turnout for that and hopefully the series will continue to grow. Although it’s a refreshing change to do an event which hasn’t got 100’s of competitors, especially on any singletrack sections.

P.s. Make sure you carry a few simple spares and plenty of food. With it being one big loop, it will be long walk back to the start/finish!

Leave me alone and stop tormenting me!

I only protected mine because they’re carbon…this is on my ‘good’ bike, I don’t bother on my others.

Make your own out of protection tape? I made some out of the stuff from Paragon Tapes on Ebay. Make a cardboard template first and cut tape around that.

Hora – I was staying in Lajaron and riding in the Sierra Nevada and Alpujarras regions. It was with Freeride Spain but they’re doing more trips to Morocco these days, I recommend going there too as I was there a couple of months ago with them. Five days of biking across the Atlas Mountains…quality stuff!

He’s done a search for his own website and due to someone asking about it and posting a link from within STW, here he is!
Thank you Mr Plow!

For anyone wanting to struggle in picking a best day and having to choose a best week instead…go on a biking holiday to somewhere warm when it’s cold and miserable here. That’s if you haven’t done that before.
The first time I went biking abroad was to Spain a few years ago. We were flying out on NYE, the weather was that bad in the UK we weren’t sure we were going to make it to the airport. The next morning though, we were the side of a mountain, wearing shorts and t-shirts. It felt quite strange coming to this, it was almost like a dream. None of us had been on our bikes for at least a month due to the ice back home! The riding was more technical than we were used to, our skills improved fast though and each day just got better, I think? By the end it had all blurred into one long ride and we couldn’t remember what we’d done on what particular day…excellent!

Go and do some biking the week before the Electric Elephant festival, then cane it at the festival, couple of days recovery before coming home, sorted! If your Mrs isn’t up for that, go yourself!

I’ve got a Sony TX-10. It’s the smallest waterproof camera you can get. The image quality is better than most other waterproofs, if not ‘the’ best? They can be a bit blurry when it comes to bigger images, normal sizes are fine though. The panoramic mode is excellent too, you take the pic as if you were filming a video, no stitching involved.
My only gripe is that it can be a bit too small for using with gloves if you don’t use the stylus thing that comes with it. This does attach to the lanyard though so it’s not too much of a problem.
I got a great deal on mine and paid less than £200 before xmas, it may be even cheaper now? Do a Google shop search.
P.s. Depending on how much zoom you think you need, most waterproofs only have a x4 zoom due to their design.