Three fish – I would have to check but remember struggling to find any play but think there was the tiniest bit. I just didn’t want to say no play. The remote lever is stiff though in comparison to the KS. Is yours? If not I might need to try lubing or changing the cable.

X-fusion is an option. I bought an unused second hand one for my wife’s bike. Too early to review properly as yet but seems to be pretty good. The only slightly odd thing is that if you lift up the saddle the post extends then drops back to where set when you let go. I much prefer the infinite adjust type like this. Play is minimal.

I had this on my front Tech M4 with floating rotor on my last ride (3rd with the brakes). It was doing it quite a lot and then stopped but was under light pressure I think. I doubt it’s anything to worry about.

They are more or less brand new.

You can get nice thick helitape from http://www.helitape.co.uk then get protectors as mentioned for certail frames. I got one from the US from a forum member who was making them specially for the Tallboy and RIP 9 which is more to protect the suspension links and under the BB from impacts (but extends up the downtube a bit). There are also these for bearing protection http://cadaix.pagesperso-orange.fr/cadaix6_003.htm

The offer I had was a UK price but if the discount is big enough it’s worth buying from the EU as postage isn’t that much. That said with dropper posts having more problems than most things I would also prefer UK for one of these.

I don’t know anything about the Command but you should be able to get the Reverb for less than that. I’ve managed to negotiate a price of £220 but then decided to stick with the KS i950r I picked up second had for now. I can’t say who with but have seen similar prices from the reliable German stores.

Oh and if you go through roofbox company, do a google search for vouchers as there’s a 10% of code for some organisation for multiple births that works.

Just thought I’d put the Atera Strada DL in the mix. Just got mine and it’s a quality bit of kit. I wasn’t sure about the expense but a friend bought a basic Thule one and having seen that and used mine I’m glad I paid the extra. The sliding as opposed to tilt mechanism is better in my opinion.

I’m about to receive my wheels from Goldtec. I went for Stans Arch with Goldtec Pro Competition rear and All Mountain front hubs is a custom colour. I weigh just over 15 stone and want a bit more strength than Crests but didn’t want to go as far as Flows so went for Arch which I understand to be the same profile design as Flows but the same width as Crest.

If you buy in the US, sales tax will apply which is typically up to about 10% depending on the state. If you then have to pay tax and duty when it’s sent on or you bring it back it will work out more than if you’d imported it directly.

Take the price, add the postage, at duty at 4.7% for parts or 14% for full bikes then add VAT at 20% to the total. It’s not really worth buying the full bike due to the difference in duty.

Also, be careful about how you pay. Typically credit card companies and banks charge up to about 2.75% and some use their own exchange rate and not the Visa or Mastercard rates (eg Tesco) that can result in not far off 5% charges. I have used an FX dealer for larger purchases.

Feel free to email me if you want more details on this.

The Santa Cruz carbon hardtail on the thread on here looks nice. Not sure when it’s due for release or what it’ll cost though. I might be selling my Scandium Kona but will keep it until a short period after my new build to see it I want to keep both or not.

It’s hardly difficult to keep people informed. Most people I have dealt with have emailed to let me know when the payment is received, emailed me to let me know when they expect to be posting items and emailed me to let me know when they have posted things. This is the ideal I would say and what I do myself when selling.

I think this kind of communication is especially important when buying off classifieds like this as there is little or no comeback and much higher risk than ebay etc.

I always ask for contact details just in case and if it was an expensive item I would make a call to check the number’s valid first. There are times I haven’t but they have been for very cheap items.

My view is if you’re going to sell on here you should be prepared to communicate, check emails regularly etc but there is currently no mention of this in the rules.

I hope it works out ok.

I’m currently working from home having set up a new business fairly recently and find it strange. I think it’s due to not mixing with people as much, lack of routine etc. I haven’t really got anything to add to whats been said but have found this thread helpful to read and was a little surprised by the positive responses to a post on a forum. Very refreshing.

I had a thin pair and thick pair of proper hill walking socks on and my goretex spd shoes and the reason I turned back when I did was that my feet were worryingly cold. I was out for about 3 hours in -5 or so but still.

There will be cat crap in it by the morning – guaranteed!

I was planning on buying a reverb but there are some pretty scathing reviews on mtbr. There is also a rumour about Fox developing one. I would really like one but think I will wait until the problems are ironed out. Either that or pick one up second hand to use in the meantime.

Edited to add this: http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/Interbike-2010-Prototype-Fox-Shox-Adjustable-Seatpost,1606/Slideshow,11306/sspomer,2

It’s happened three times to me. Once was a fridge freezer which ‘apparently’ was damaged by a forklift truck in the warehouse which may have been genuine as it wasn’t relisted. Another was someone who ‘apparently’ listed as an auction instead of buy it now but still waited until the auction finished to correct the mistake – I would have got an expensive coffee machine half price. And another was an exhaust which again ‘apparently’ was damaged.

That and the people who use multiple accounts to increase the bidding, wait until you lose and offer you things by second chance offer after knowing your maximum etc really p*** me off.

Ebay do nothing other than a black mark. They say they cannot get involved. They didn’t even help me when I bought a ‘new’ items that clearly wasn’t and the guy seller tried to accuse me of fraud! It was quite a large transaction and it was a shop – mastercard sorted it very quickly. Ebay wouldn’t even remove his slanderous feedback without me getting a document signed by a solicitor etc.

Rant over but if the bike’s not very reliable, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.

I haven’t really searched yet either. I shall be builing my bike over the next month or two so shall start looking around for the best deals and maybe get my wife to phone a few places.

http://www.bikediscount.com/ItemDetail.aspx?ig3=Reifen%2bSchl%C3%A4uche&ig2=29+Zoll+MTB+Reifen&esc1=Schwalbe+Nobby+Nic+2%2c25+Snake+Skin+29+Zoll&ig3id=10&ig2id=251&iid=6531&mi=0&hasv=0&webi=0&pr=0

I think shipping to Germany is free on orders over 100 Euros or about 10 Euro to the UK

Same price for 2.25 and they’re the new tubeless ready versions (650g)

Just found 2011 2.35 Snakeskin Nobby Nics for about £32 delivered to Germany. I’m not sure if they’ll post to the uk but that’s not a problem for me. They’re 725g though so I might go for the 2.25s but then again the grip of those must be great for a winter/bad weather tyre.

I was thinking of getting some Nobby Nics and Rocket Rons too. I go over to Germany every now and then (my wife is German) so if I can sort out a decent German supplier I could get them sent to her Mum’s and pick them up. I might even try and get hold of a few if there’s demand.

Thanks for the advice. My major decisions are now made. I am pretty certain I’m going to go for Stans Flow rims and probably Hope Pro 2 hubs (or similar). I was thinking I might go for DT Super Comp spokes but don’t really know so thoughts welcome. I’m also not sure about brass vs alloy nipples. Regarding the rear axle, should I go for standard q/r, 10mm bolt through or 12mm bolt through? I have no idea. Any ideas on good places to get these from?

The 2011 American Classic all mountain look good (well actually they look too bling for my tastes) but the spec looks good. They’re not out until February though.

I believe Crests are fine but I’m not sure for my weight and use.

I think TN719s are about the same weight as Stans flow (15g less). I’ve not seen a lot of info on Arch. I was hoping to get to around 1800g to 1900g as I think my current wheels are 1900g and they feel light enough. I am also thinking that I’ll probably go for Hope Pro 2s. I tried a demo bike with a Chub hub on the front but apparently they’ve had problems with the bearings.

I was conidering the Superstar wheels too as they do look great value. What rear axle choice should I be looking for?

I just tried a bike with MAvic TN719s on and they didn’t seem too heavy and are about the same weight as ZTR Flow so I’d probably go for flows out of those. DT Swiss X470 are a bit lighter but I’ve not read any reviews on them yet and what about Stans Arch? They’re between Crest and Flow weight wise but I don’t know about stiffness and strength.

That’s what I was wondering but I’m also conscious of saving weight, particularly wheel weight. I’ll have a look at the difference. Are there any lighter but strong alternatives I ought to consider even if a bit more costly? Could I save weight through spoke choice and still retain the strength?

I don’t run the wheels on my current bike tubeless but do use fairly light tyres and ligh Schwalbe tubes. How much weight does tubeless save about?

Hi Mike

I’ve sent you an email.

Many thanks

Dan

Hi Mike, on a different topic would you mind dropping me an email to dan1502 at f2s.com regarding your US contact. It’d be much appreciated.

I must have a look for that, thanks.

Ok, saves me a job too. I quite liked the Hayes brakes but haven’t had a lot to compare them with. The only thing I had thought was that the Hayes have adjustable reach (and are quite light).

+1 for the muddy climb. I was chuffed when I managed to get all the way up after two or three attempts. It taught be quite a bit about balance and positioning!

Don’t let a bit of rain stop you. Mine was up to the BB in water the other week riding between Lee and Cragg quarries. There’s something satisfying about riding in those conditions. Strange thing was a guy went past us on a drop handle race of some sort at the top of Lee quarry – bizarre!

Mine after a fair few recent upgrades mostly using bits from the classifieds. All work done myself. Wheels are the only thing I’d really like to improve. I think it’s about 27 lbs at the moment which doesn’t seem bad for a 20″ frame and big wheels.

How much for the outer ring Hungry Monkey and is it new?

Ok, first job, fit new drivetrain. Next project, increase shock travel. That’ll keep me in the shed for a while!

What weight will they be about?