Well they are here.

Initial impressions.heavy with a sturdy feel and no defects. Similar to my Marzocci AM2s.

I bought the reomte lockout lever/ damper cartridge in the end (30 odd quid new) . The damper replaces the Platform cartridge supplied with the unit. (The platform has 7 positions, the lockout on or off.I could have used the Platform cartridge with the lever, but I you only get 1/2 travel with the lever meaning you would have had to sacrifice one extreme or the other.

Not too bothered. never bothered with the PP setting on my rear shock when I had it..

Once on the bike, I set sag at about 23mm at about 30 psi. Played around in the street and you could feel obvious bottoming out when going nuts. I have never felt this before so much; my fox F140 could be set really saggy but you would never feel the sharp stop of the end stops.

I have upped the air to 38 psi ish which gives a firmer feel, but stops the bottoming out. (at least outside) It may be a warning that I will have to play with the oil level later on.

The forks feel less flexy than my foxes and quite stable when braking. (I am 95kg)

pics. Ill get it out on the mud next week and see how it does. The "ride up a kerb" test is really encouraging..feels like there is loads of travel there….satisfying slurp from the rebound circuit too.

quick review as I am getting earache for not helping with dancake jnrs bath.. 🙂

The rebound adjuster is quite effective, even though it has less than 1 turn from one extreme to another

I am home. But I have to work all night..ARSE

The first time I rode to work about three years ago, I thought I was going to die. It is 3.75 miles and my heart was bursting out of my chest, I felt sick and I had stars in my eyes. 15KG heavier back then, and a big fan of fags, booze and curry.

3 years on, I still eat too much curry and drink far too much (and to be fair I am more than a little on the portly side) , but I am fitter and healthier than I have been in years.

Good luck to you, Sir and remember it will get easier and more enjoyable.

they are meant to be an ok budget fork, but a wee bit flexy if you are a big unit.

I read that. quote

weaknesses : "cheap. Sticky. Flexy. Struggles with multiple hits" (1 star)

and the next one down

" i am a 270 lb rider, this is the first fork that i have felt no flex in"

bottom line "best fork I have ever owned" (5 stars)

With only 5 reviews on this one, i thought I would take a punt and add my own. Wish me luck 🙂

Ok. I have go the "order complete" bumph from CRC so they should be here Friday (Parcelfarce 48)

Ill let you know how I get on

CRC. 80mm out of stock so I took a punt at 100mm here

did you get my email re the fox f29's?

cheers

sorry I didnt. Just checked my Junk email and it was there 😳

I am sorted now thank you. I went for Manitou Drakes with The Absolute+ Damper in the end (also ordered a remote lockout kit). Plus points are they are in stock , 9mm qr and Cheap enough (and 1900g which isnt a disaster). Minus points are that the web isnt awash with reviews so Ill have to find out for myself.

Good review. I would have to buy a new front hub though…

Being both lazy and fat, converting to SS was an eye-opener for me.

After riding my fav trails for 2 years with gears and spinning most of it, it became a revelation that I could actually go fast up stuff . (its either stomp on the pedals or get off. Dont get me wrong, this kind of behaviour leaves the lungs bruised but it is ace fun and brings a new dimension to your standard ride.

I am putting the gears back on now as I am going down to one bike and it has to do it all. My riding style has changed though and the little ring has gone forever I think…

My 456 SS with a tensioner was faultless running 36:18. Just a bit of slack in the chain taken out nicely with the tensioner.

On my 29er though, running 36:20 didnt work very well. The only device that I got to be reliable (I no slip inder big loads) was a rear mech which looked a bit gash. I wish I had gone for a Horizontal dropout frame. Perhaps the original alfine (derailler type ) tensioner would have been ok?

Don't forget ParcelForce handling fee..

ARSE!

I have had 2 rockshox 29er forks of this guy on ebay in the US i got him to put £30 on the box so no customs & got both sets in 3/4 days http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2011-RockShox-Recon-Gold-Solo-Air-29er-100mm-black-NEW-/150476380420?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories

I considered this. Trouble is you wont get any money from insurance if they are lost or damaged?

Recon golds are going to available from CRC from 9th sep. They come in at <4 lb and are £315. Worth a punt.

NB Thanks for the heads up on Import tax from Jensen! Figure 419 dollars (+vat/ import ) plus $30 delivery would come to about £350 Still good for Reba Sls though (if they were in stock)

Edit. Made my mind up. As soon as my 456 sells I am getting some recons (if they are in stock anywhere (free flow bikes have them on their site, but it is unclear if these are in stock. Ill get my email out. Wish me luck 🙂

Probably. There are going on a Scandal. I will probably go for 80s tbh. Dont have to be 9mm qr but it would help if I dont have to change my hub…

32:16 on the 26er and 36:20 on the 29er

I now go up hills literally twice as fast as I used to. Trouble is, I can only do one little climb and thats me goosed for the rest of the ride

It had to be 140mm, it had to be single pivot and it had to be a Meta. When I was going well, it felt really fast..but it felt different from one ride to the next for me and I never really set it up how I liked it.

Replaced with a stell hardtail and I was much happier. In every condition, it just feels right

Went out on my rigid ss 29er for the first real ride today..Felt a bit crap at first, but when I relaxed, it wasnt 'alf good. (if not a little bumpy and knackering) Now I want to ride it all the time

Had my first go the other day (29er with 24" tube/ stans method)

I went down the garage and pressed the "fully deflated" button. The first one was a pain. Put the valve at the top and tapped/ squeezed the valve area until I got it to take. Once a bit of air was in, it went up to 50psi with no drama. The second one went up like there was a tube in it!

I havn't ridden it yet 🙁 Good news bike is in the shed with 2 still-hard tyres )

What tyre are you using btw? I am on Ardent 2.4s (non ust)

When I am on nights, I get about 4hrs during the day and hopefully get a nap before the next shift. Lates like today is cool…bed a 1.00am and up at 8-9 depending on little dude. On earlies I can go up at 9.00pm and get up at 5.30

Nights is a killer, but catch up on the others.

NB Used to sleep all day on nights but cant seem to do it any more 🙁

Kitchen disassembled, bleached and scrubbed. No rodent found, but rodent evendence. (Maybe Sid did finish the job)

Reassembled with 4 various-sized inhumane mousetraps ready to roll.

Had a word with the cat….

Got my entry yesterday (2 laps)

Have not done it before so I look forward to it. Dont know what bike to take though. Fancy the Big wheeled SS 'cos it's new but the trusty 456 will probably be the sensible choice for me

My favourite was a buzzard swooping down and gliding along the track in front of me before gracefully going on it's way. Really big, too. I have chased a deer along the road once as well in the same area at dusk.
Night rides are cool because you can hear snuffling and see the occasional pair of eyes…

Oh and another bug-bear of mine – your cassette and chain rings are sprockets, not cogs.

high five

One went on ebay recently – the geared/ reba'd one – it went for 275 quid is. I was gutted (mint) If I had the cash I would have bid for the forks alone and sold the rest on 🙁

Last one I did, I bought a load the same length (I think) When doing your initial setup, screw all the drive side nipples in an extra 1mm and see where the dishing ends up? Hopefully you will have enough either way to get away with it

I can spend too much money on bike parts even when my extension roof is clearly leaking and goes unfixed because I am swapping stems, growing wheels, going 3×9, going 1×9,buying guides, buying tensioners, buying frames, going singlespeed, buying , more stems, BIG WHEELS, forks, (now I want suspension forks, tubeless stuff, tyres, more tyres, saddles, brake pads, spokes, hubs, chains…

and countless other stuff which results in me still riding once a week and still being s**t.

sorry got carried away there. I like to belch the word "belch" at the dinner table. My wife loves it

I can crash on a corner even my 2 year old son could get round

How quickly do the entries sell out; I fancy a go next year…? I am too fat to race and I am quite fond of Lager

My god this sounds absolutely fantastic.

I am new to the SS market (I have my training derailleur on) and I have never given ss games a second though before

Got mine yesterday from the place in Tomthumb's link (Singlespeed central)

They have exo sidewalls. I have mounted ghetto tubeless (using 24" tube and Stans) Didnt stand a chance with the track pump, but went up nicely with the compressor. Still holding 50psi right now, but dont know what to expect on the first outing (there will be a couple of tubes in my bag 🙂 )

for no good reason, here is a pic

I know the rear mech tensioner looks gash but I have tried 3 and the mech is the only one that doesnt slip (you get a full wrap-around) Never had the prob on my 456…(but chain came out almost the right length on that one)

I always strike the right-hand tree, never the left one( usually with my Knuckle.) Not broken anything though, but have come home with a few bloody gloves.

I guess the answer is don't look at the tree

I am not brave enough to not look at the tree

I started this game a few years ago, straight into 100mm forks and more recently a 456 with F140s (with a Meta in between)

Just built a 29er with Carbon forks and what surprised me was how crap it wasnt…

at times, with Low pressure in the big tyres and a flatish familiar trail you can convince yourself you are riding with suspension forks but it only takes a bumpy bit to bounce your hands off the grips or for the front wheel to lurch sideways after hitting a rock and reality kicks in.

For the record, though, I love my rigids. It is really early days but I love the lightless and climbing ability of the big wheeler. For my local stuff it is perfect.

(I wont be getting rid of the 456 though 🙂 )

ust a quick heads up…………….i use these on 2 29r's
the side walls are like wet toilet roll. very fragile indeed.

thanks, Ton.

Are you running Tubeless? I fancied a Ghetto setup, for no other reason than I havnt done it before.

DOH!

I can only se 26" on your site though?

Ok! Gone is the white bash (replaced with Mrp 1.x / 1×9 setup)

I saw a seagull eating a kebab today

Sit on the towpath with your bike sprawled all over it. In your arms, you cluch a dead animal (preferably cute). You wail "WWWHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY????!!!"

Tears are rolling down your face as you do so.

If she is a Veggie, you are in

This might be the year for me to have a go (only live is Glos so no excuse really)

Would it be silly to take the rigid ss? (given that I have only ridden it once and I am fat)

Didnt like the SKi run too much with 140mm on board…

Works ok on the "Excercise Bike"… almost get the magic ratio with 40something 11. Not much cop off road though 🙂

i will take a pair as payment for the link. thanks

I am not going to lie to you. I used the link and bought 2 tyres…for me.

A "Thank you" is all I can give 🙂

Big thread resurrection, here, but had my first go on the new bike this morning. Not a great test as I was hanging after night shift.

For the first 3/4 of the ride, I was thinking "Oh s**t, what have I done?" but once I had woken up a bit, I started to have fun.

The rigid forks combined with the big WTB 2.55 tyres worked surprisingly well and gave me more trouble when mincing than when going at speed. Admittedly, having the front wheel bounce nastily when hitting unseen rocks was heart-stopping but Ill get used to it I am sure. By the end of the ride I was picking lines (something that I never really bother with with F140s on my other bike 🙂 )and keeping a flow which was all good. What I loved most of all though was the climbing. being a fatty, I thought I would struggle big time, but the tyres roll well and the scandal is quite light

looking forward to having another go. A shortened stem is on now, and I have fiddled with the seat a bit.

Just bought an SJS half-link (2.99 but postage is a bit harsh so buy something else to make yourself feel better)

On my 456, I got perfect tension with 36-18 but now on the 29er with 36-20 you have to put an extra link in and it is just a bit crap with the superstar tensioner. I put a rear mech in for now. looks vile, but works well enough