The rear post mount is some kind of coated magnesium not carbon. Caliper bolts need to be tight so the caliper doesn’t move, put loctite on them.
I don’t think the tape that comes with it is matt finish either?…mine wasn’t.
Get some self-amalgamating tape to put under the chainstay protector and maybe put some on the seatstays.
Hope you get it built up soon, I’m full of cold so can’t get out…taking mine to Morocco in a week or two though, wish it was a 160 for that!

Edit – the rear caliper mounts directly if you’re using a 160/165 rotor. I had to use a post to post mount for using a Formula 185. It’s still looks tidy and is a lot better than an IS mount.

If you’re going to use chippings I’d use 20mm as they don’t move around as much. If you’ve got cats in the area they won’t use the bigger stuff as a litter tray either. If there’s any local quarries in your area find out what stone it’s that they quarry. Buying chippings from them wouldn’t be much more than £10 a ton plus £50-£60 delivery. If it’s a big area you’re covering it could work out cheaper that buying from a builders merchants.

Nobeerinthefridge – Bad news for you…white stones in tarmac is a cowboy job! It detracts the eye from rough work and because the stones aren’t coated in tar they will come out. This gives the surrounding tar somewhere to move and the surface will become rough over time especially in high wear areas. Any reputable company or someone that knows what they’re doing would never put uncoated stones in, even if you wanted them.

OP – I don’t think there’s much you need to do differently than you would with a normal frame. Apart from the seatpost, no other parts are fixed directly into the carbon.
If you’re going to use helitape, look for a bloke on ebay who sells it with a matt finish. Normal tape is shiny and will stand out a mile on your matt frame. Apart from protecting against chain slap and cable rub I wouldn’t bother doing the whole frame. The kind of impacts that will take chunks out of the frame are surely going to rip through helitape imho!

Anyone with their own business should know not to pi55 anyone off or make enemies! It serves her right for getting talked about on the net, she could of handled it a lot better. Her husband is like a malfunctioning darlek at the end…”Why are you intimidating my wife” x100. HaHa.
The bloke filming needs something better to do with his time too.

Why does it describe them as having, ‘ Crank bolt puller cap makes crank removal a snap with just an 8mm hex wrench.’ then?

Because that’s exactly what you can do. One crank arm has an axle that goes through the BB and the other arm bolts into the end of it.

click on member instead! You can only click on someone’s name when they’re online. :roll:

OP – I was in the same position nearly a year ago. Mine’s set at 140 though but keep wondering if I should change to 160 and stick a bigger fork on? I don’t suppose it will add much weight. :?

Last Feb!

The reason I asked was to see if your rear hub can be converted to 142×12. I think it’s possible with the Iodine’s? You’ll have to get hold of a conversion kit.

I had this dilemma, like you say they come up small. I’ve short legs for my height so had to go with a large just so I could use a dropper post. My post is in as far as it will go (reverb) and I had to buy a saddle that wasn’t as thick as my old one! The XL HD has a 21″ seat tube, might be more with the clamp (the large is supposed to be 19″ but measures 19.5″ with clamp).
Typical that Rockshox are now making the 2012 Reverb with a 100mm drop as well as 125mm.

No problem, I see you say you’re only waiting for your fork. What wheels/hubs have you got already?

Itheisinger – The HD models before July 2011 still had a 12mm axle, just 135mm wide (Look at my profile pic). The only difference with the 142 is that there are shoulders for the hub to fit into, making it easier to put the wheel on. You have to line things up with the 135mm before putting the axle through.
And yes, they’re as stiff as…

Hobnob – The cable guides look better when the cables are in them. You just unbolt them if they’re not needed.

Buy the USE seatpost shim 30.9 to 31.6.

SilentSparky – don’t knock the supermarkets…Booth’s (Northern England only?) is the best for different beers, Morrisons isn’t too bad either.
Have you got any local breweries you could buy from? I like to buy a mini-keg (8 pints) of Loweswater Gold (Cumbrian Legendary Ales), Mmmm.

Bowland Outdoors have 24% discount on nearly all Gore clothing. :D
Just saw that Pro Bike Kit have 26% off Gore kit too.

Get yourself on one of Simon’s Morocco trips instead! I know what you mean about the riding in the Sierra Nevada though.

Depending what kind of characters this bloke deals with it might be you that gets a visit off three blokes in the night! :roll:

If you’re going to do GT and Inners…I’d do Inners first, get a bite to eat in the village or GT, do whatever at GT and then you’ve got the facilities to get washed/cleaned up/have more to eat if needed.

Skywalker – there is no such thing as the “shock” to have…it depends what bike it’s going on. Anyone with a DW link frame should know this only too well, RP23’s aren’t the best shocks for them!

I’d much rather have a Mojo HD with RS Lyrik’s…not sure what rear shock I’d choose.

Terry – what type of sleeping bag are you after?

OP – Why would you want more people on the trails you ride? If it’s quiet where you’re riding you should be thankful of it.

Float – The 2.35 Minion is narrower than a 2.35 High Roller. That’s the only combination I use these days and wasn’t happy running a narrower front than rear when I first started using them…never felt that the front let’s go before the rear though.

Unless you had bad crash I would say it’s more likely to be caused by too little pressure in your tyres. I’ve had similar problems with tubeless tyres in the past.

I use an Evoc bag…still not cheap I suppose. I take the bars off, mech and rotors, then fold lengths of pipe lagging over the frame. The sides don’t seem that solid but everything’s always been unscathed. Its been on a few trips and it’s still like new. The wheels are a godsend too, especially if you’ve been used to carrying/dragging a box about.
Hard boxes are too heavy imho, by the time I’ve put spare tyres, tools and shoes etc. my bag is usually approaching 30kg…the limit is 32kg, I wouldn’t be able to get a hard box under that weight, that’s if it even had the space for the extra stuff!

Thanks for the heads up!

Like tttt says, it depends on the kind of riding you do and the level you ride at. Your budget will determine how far flung you can go and the time of year will also affect things.
If you look about you can get some quite cheap trips away…nearly half the price of some of those companies with fancy travel brochures!
I prefer going away in winter but for a lot of places in Europe this wouldn’t be possible. I’ve been to Spain a few times (Sierra Nevada is the best area!) and I’m off to Morocco in a few weeks. Apart from my first trip to Spain, the others I’ve been or I’m going by myself.

The main difference between rollers is that you get one’s that are foam all the way through (good one’s) and the one’s where the foam is glued to a plastic tube (cheap and the foam ends up coming off). You may get different densities of foam, I’m not sure on that though?
With you saying yours has squashed in the middle, I would say you’ve already got one of the better ones. I’d buy a new one for excercises that need a full length roller, chop your old one in half and use them when you don’t need the longer one. A half or third of a roller is also good to take with you when travelling.

Sounds dodgy to me! Good bits but seller doesn’t know much about them, hmmm!
Anyway, what frame are they for? You need the fork travel to match the frame’s recommendations.
The letters correspond with the forks external adjustments…R – Rebound. L – Lock-out. C – Compression.
Apart from the more letters meaning more adjustments, they would also cost more new. If they’ve got a lever on the left leg with two numbers on, that’s a travel adjust…you only get that on the Talas.

They could be F-series, Floats or Talas’. R, RL or RLC? How much travel? What colour, this could help identify what type they are. If the stickers have been removed ask the seller what it says on all the adjusters.
What ever they turn out to be make sure the steerer length is long enough for your frame!

The Wingnut packs are made from waterproof sail cloth, this makes them quite lightweight too. Rough Ride Guide are the UK distributors.

The best stuff you can get, imho is Motul RBF600. The RBF stands for racing brake fluid, it’s for motorbikes. It has a higher boiling point, especially good if your riding is more gravity based. You might have to change it more often as it absorbs moisture more than the normal stuff. It all absorbs moisture though so I change mine every twelve months anyway.

The year isn’t over yet!
My highlight was riding in Spain’s Sierra Nevada at the start of January…I’m going back to a different region in a couple of days though, so we’ll see. :D

A proper adventure! Enjoyed reading your blog…bet you wished you’d had a rope for lowering your bike down that slab! You should post a link to it on Bike and Bivi, Bearbones Bikepacking too.

+1 on the pics also.

Not a bad price but it comes with the motorsport mounts one not the helmet ones.

Biketreks in Ambleside sell all three brands you mention. I know they have specific dates for their demo days but I would say they would still be able to sort something out for you.

Maxxis are Cheng Shin’s but Cheng Shin’s aren’t Maxxis.
Maxxis are the best tyres Cheng Shin make for that very reason, it’s their premium brand. They make tyres for lots of other companies brands but not to the same spec as Maxxis.
Bland – What king of riding do you do and what tyres do you use?
I buy Maxxis for their performance not the price. The Cheng Shin’s aren’t the same rubber, if they were I would buy them. I’ve tried just about every brand of mountain bike tyre available (in tubeless) and Maxxis are the only ones I’ve been totally happy with. Be it from a grip, durability or lack of problems point of view.

You wonder why it’s leaking but haven’t serviced it in two years? :roll:
It’s to be hoped you haven’t wore the anodising away…these things need to be kept lubed.

Of course it’s do’able…anybody can do it, you can do it!!!
If you don’t post tomorrow we know you’re in hospital. :P

Are those tyres of yours in the black chilli? If not, they’re the worst tyre I’ve used on wet rock/stone!

Think he means ‘van’.