Well, in that case, you will always find it Slippy and gritty there!!!!

If it was me about 2:30, in a yellow gore top on a white Heckler, it will be because I was f@@@@d, and could barely cycle, let alone exchange pleasantries!!!!

Wet??? Hardly, considering.

Slippy?? Back wheel span once, pinged about 6 inches off one root in 34km!!!

Gritty?? Well, it is sandy soil, isn’t it!!

Have just ridden swinley today, as my local club visited Berks on Bikes. Now, we cycled 34k in 4 hrs, with a few mechanicals/injuries/faff stops, and there were 30 of us out in train, so no speed contest, and half of us were visiting for the first time.

I had X-King rear/Nobby Nic front set up tubeless, and I was happy with my grip levels.

There are a few puddles around, but nowhere as bad as my local trails in East Sussex. I’m sure it may cut up a little, but it won’t be a mudfest, if conditions stay as they are!!

Oh, and my sintered pads look the same now as at the start of the ride!!!

If its for your students, I’d say something cheap, simple, with good kit. So I’d be looking Boardman Team (£1000) or Canyon Nerve XC.(£1100-2500)

I like talking bollocks and drinking beer after a good ride!! Harvey’s Best in my local :-))

I really want to be tidy………

Yep, no problems at all!! Watch the video on Hope Tech website for any questions.

I always follow the streams on days like today – all the mud washed away = great grip!!

But there’s also none of it that I can’t ride on my Heckler either!! Will a 29 lb trail bike be way too much bike? Are there a lot of fun downs/jumps/drops?

And after riding in the rain, now the sun is out, the roads are dry, and everyone wonders what all the fuss was about!! Summer tyres for tuesday then :-))

It can’t be as wet as some of our local trails!! Some are completely unrideable with axle deep mud!!!

Will The Enduro route not affect Saturday riding as well?

Been out with the lads in East Sussex – the rain was only light today, even though its been pissing down all week!!

It was wet, but not really muddy, on a carefully selected route!! There were a few new “rivers” to mess around in, and the 6 inch torrent on the road home cleaned the bike nicely!!

All in all, a great morning out – I love summer!!!!

Faceplanter – I assume you have removed the crown race from your old fork and fitted it to your new one?

Reccommended to store batteries with 60% charge, I seem to remember.

Continuity – If you are after a good but cheap set of brakes, I will be upgrading my old xt (M765) brakes in a week or so. Bled and ready to go for £50?

The writing in that link seems to be the wrong way up too!!!!!!!

Try Starbucks sachets of microground cofee – they do decaf too.

I have fixed loads of punctures for people in our cycle group – all upside down. If anybody gets grumpy (they havent yet) thats fine, but DIYFS!!

Work out what stem height you want, but dont cut straight away. try for a few rides with extra spacers above the stem to hold it all tight, and only trim the steerer once you are sure its high enough!!

Yep, sintered from superstar all the way – the organic ones fitted in new brakes are great in the dry, but wet and mud eat them alive. Sintered last me about 6 months riding twice a week, and I’m no XC lightweight, and drag the brakes far more than I should.

Get the deal on 4 sets, then you will have another spare set for each wheel too!! All for the price of one set of real shimano ones :-)

Make sure you wear them in – about 10-15 hard stops in succession, to glaze the pad/disc surface and make them work properly/last longer. Use the search function above to find a million threads/opinions on this.

Ps – superstar delivery is free, lightning quick, and a free pack of Haribo!!

And another done.

My second hand Heckler frame was £300 with a DHX5 coil shock :-)))

You may need to push your font mech a mm or so further when under power than on the stand, to get it up on the next ring. That may be a case of a little more cable tension, or if your Hi stop needs to move out a little, to allow the chain to rise.

Front mech setup is definately black magic!!!

Could it be more of a back sweep angle issue than width? Or maybe a combination of the two?

Hope sh@t shifter diluted 5-1 and a bucket of soapy water!! Final rinse with hot water, then dry frame with halfords blue roll.

Lube chain, gt85/bike spray on spd’s, shifters and mechs.

Final spray of brake cleaner onto pads/discs

Stand back and admire shiny clean squeak free bike :-)

Blimey, I’m a fat knacker (92kg) and with tubes I used to run 35psi. Now with tubeless I run 25-28 no probs at all.

I think the suggested issue is chainsuck damage to the carbon.

I have double heli-taped that region just as a bit of sacrificial protection. If it gets trashed I can replace it, but hopefully the chainstays will be in one piece.

Thanks chaps – busy day tomorrow!!

Will do!!

Yep, the german sites are pretty good!!

I’m setting mine up at the moment and am having a few niggles.

I’m setting up 2×9 with an SLX double and bash at the front. I have 2 top pull top swing front mechs, an XT and an XTR. Both seem too big, they hit against the chainstay behind the chainrings, stopping me drop the mech low enough to get the correct 2-3mm clearance between the chainrings and front mech.

Chicken breast cut into strips. Marinate in chicken tikka paste and yoghurt. Leave in fridge for a week.

Tender and delicious.

If marinating chicken in a hurry, seal it all in a ziplock bag.

150 Revs/DHX5 coil

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If you wanted a pure downhill bike, you would have bought one. As an all day all mountain machine, 150 revs/F32 ‘s are great. Merlin currently have rev150 RL 15mm maxle for about £330 – what’s not to like???
Link that to a DHX5 coil on the back, and you are away!!

East Sussex – bloody hilly for the south!! Great riding right from the door. There’s much more here than just the South Downs!!

It was the special edition black finish.

I have emailed, and will follow up tomorrow with a phonecall.

Frame looks delicious and is so light!! It’s my first carbon frame, and I’m almost scared to touch it!!

Yes, there is definately a little something sticking out at that point. They have also sent me horizontal dropouts instead of vertical.

Email outbound!!

Probably get a set of recon solo air 130mm for about £80-100 second hand.

Brad, that fork has a 1.5″ steerer, so won’t fit in a 456 headset.

Carefully selected parts can be bought new at great prices. Look at Rose bikes for shimano brakes. German website Actionsports does a great price on complete SLX drive trains.

Saddles/stems/bars can be found on the classifieds or bought secondhand from flat out cycles very cheaply.

Merlin cycles have some great prices on forks.

I am also building up a 456 at the moment. Can’t wait to finish it!!

Tbh, you can’t ride a bike without the lot, so it doesn’t really matter!! If you buy bargains as they come up, that’s probably the best bet. Unless you want to ride it yesterday, but that’s going to cost!