I had the same piston sticking on the tech3-e4, I chucked the phenolic pistons and fitted hybrid stainless/phenolic ones instead, no issues so far.

. But I’d never recommend it to someone else, those manufacturing issues back at the beginning and PX’s general handling and attitude mean I couldn’t in good conscience recommend the company again, however good the products might be. I’m fine risking my own money of course….

Your last paragraph looks to be a recurring theme 🤣 I’ve made plenty of small purchases of clothes, components and accessories from them and always been very pleased but never a whole bike. I might have considered the black and red carbon Free Ranger in my list but there was no way I could stomach handing over £1599 when it was on sale for less than £1200 only a few weeks ago.

Cheers guys, pleased to hear the extra few hundred quid will be worthwhile!

Well I decided I would regret not putting up the extra for hydraulics in time, so the two other contenders were the Orro Terra G 105 hydro and the Boardman ADV8.9. Despite the Boardman being in stock at a nearby Halfords and a good chunk cheaper I just couldn’t get over the paint scheme, the black and dirty pearl paintjob was just too unattractive and grubby looking I thought, and with this being my most expensive bike purchase to date it absolutely had to be good looking!

The Orro on the other hand really appealed in the metallic copper colour so I’ve paid for it and am collecting it in the week once it’s had guards fitted.

Unless you’re planning on completely submerging your bike self amalgamating/vulcanizing tape would do the job, or insulating tape failing that. The voltages involved are so low moisture should be less of a problem than you’d think. Poly bag would be fine too I’d wager.

I only charge mine on top of the cooker when I’m in and out of the kitchen, definitely don’t leave them plugged in when you’re asleep or out of the house, but that isn’t bad advice for any battery charging to be honest even with legit mainstream electronics.

I bought a pair of those Aldi (or maybe Lidl) fleece lined thick padded winter tights on a PSA on here years ago, and coupled with baggy waterproof shorts and neoprene overshoes I’m quite happy on most depths of winter road rides. Keeping your core warm obviously plays a big part in keeping warmth in your extremities too.

It must be a workshop he’s borrowed as they’re blatantly not his tools. Who on earth calls deep and shallow sockets ‘big and small’?

I suppose 100 miles round the car park is a bit different to 100 miles as a hire bike at a bike park, so you don’t really know what you’re buying! They’re on my saved seller list for replacing my full sus when the time comes however.

Thanks for the replies folks, does anyone have any experience of the Havit twin piston mechanical calipers currently fitted? Apparently they’re £150 each to buy which I’m somewhat sceptical about but it seems I need to be spending £1k plus to get into the realms of hydro discs, and then the challenge is finding the right size in stock. Just need to decide whether they’re worth the extra or not!

I’ve got the same problem with my SLX cranks, now even with the pinch bolts done up as tight as I dare there’s play on the splines.

There’s a little plastic shim in the pinch gap of the non drive side crank, looks like it’s too stop the arm being tightened excessively and cracking. Anyone removed this to get a bit more clamping force on the splines and lived to tell the tale?

I used 150mm Superstar lock on grips for a long time while they made them, shame they ever stopped.

Just done similar, front pads were soaked in oil after neglecting to change a leaky fork seal for about 5 years. Unknown model of Clarks hydro disc on a cheap pump track bike so decided to try some of these methods rather than going through the grief of identifying and ordering new pads and rotor. Soaked the pads in brake cleaner then held them over a naked flame for 2-3 mins each, and did the same with the disc but just ignited that and let the cleaner burn off for 30 secs. A quick sand and bed in procedure and the whole lot feels as good as new.

Well worth investing in a digital Vernier caliper if you haven’t got one, I always strip my forks first, measure the seals then buy the best dual lip seal I can from a bearing supplier at a fraction of what the fork manufacturers charge. I always try and get SKF seals, and SkF or FAG bearings, but simply bearings own brand seals have been fine in the past too when they’re all that’s available.

Another update, couldn’t find specific Clout fittings anywhere, though the olives look the same as symmetrical Magura ones but at £9.95 each that wasn’t going to happen 🙃

What I thought was a rubber o ring was actually just the exposed hose outer after the olive had been crimped on, I had a few universal olives in my tool box so thought I’d try one. They weren’t quite the right size, I had to heat up the hose then douse the barb in freezing spray to get it in, and even then it needed some pretty big whacks from a proper hammer, and then the newly expanded hose was too big for the olive to slide over so that needed hot and cold treatment too. Got it all assembled and cranked up tight though and the brake works fine with no leaks, so mission successful I’d say.

TL/DR: universal olives work if you need to shorten the hose, just a right PITA to fit.

Thought I’d crack on with shortening the hose, taking a gamble that the fancy hose gripper/cutter/crimper tool in the Clarks video could be replicated with a bit of ootb thinking and a multitude of other tools, and I’d be able to reuse the original barb and olive like every other brake I’ve had.

Unfortunately not.

As you can see the barb pushes into the hose then the olive crimps over it crushing the hose outer over the barb making the seal. I cut away the hose from this hoping I’d be able to use it before realising it wasn’t going to happen. No new fittings were included so now I have a useless brake 🤣

Going to search for a replacement union now and hopefully the action of tightening it into the lever body will make the crimp so I can avoid buying a special one use tool. It doesn’t look like any brake fitting I’ve seen before though, it’s a definite male end with a rubber O ring.

It’s not cutting the hose straight that bothers me, it’s the complicated special tool he used to fit the new barb into the end. I might just have a go and see if I can re-use the original one without any leaks.

Thread bump, just bought one of these to go on the back of an old dirt jump bike worth about £2.50 but the hose is a bit long. The vid on the Clarks site shows special tools like cutters and crimpers/swagers being used that probably cost more than the brake to buy, anyone successfully done it on the cheap with a sharp knife and re-using the barb?

I very much like the idea, it’s always been the cost that’s put me off in the past though. I suppose if they were cheaper they’d be more popular, but they need to get more popular to be cheaper!

Or rim flat on a block of wood, then place the cutting edge of a garden spade on the bead and jump onto it as if you wanted to stick it in the ground. Has broken most bicycle and motorbike tyre beads for me!

At 5’4″ my girlfriend was definitely too cramped on the 15″ Trek, she hasn’t got unusual proportions or anything it was just too short for her. That’s not just my opinion either, it’s been backed up by a pro enduro racer and coach she had a few tips off too which is why her next bike was a medium and she’s much happier on it. So much so I’m not sure I’d feel happy selling it to someone her height, I’d rather it went to someone 5′ to 5’2″.

I think if you’re in any doubt or you fall between two sizes you should always opt for the larger option as long as you’ve got sufficient standover and can get a dropper post that’ll fit! I think this is evidenced by the shift in geometry and sizing to longer reach frames with shorter stems by most manufacturers.

I could be talking out of my arse though this is just based on my/our experience, obviously there’s no substitute for taking it for a test ride! Just don’t make the assumption the manufacturers know what they’re doing when it comes to sizing charts or you’ll make the same mistake we did, a lot of the bigger bike brands seem to be behind the times when it comes to bike geo!

We happen to be selling my girlfriend’s small (15.5″) 2017 Trek Superfly 7 due to her getting bitten by the bug badly and upgrading to a full sus trail bike. She’s 5ft 4 and we’ve gone for a medium Kona Precept for her now as I always thought she looked cramped on the Trek, so I’d imagine despite what the size charts say it’d be more suited to a 5ft rider.

Bike spec is still on Evans: https://www.evanscycles.com/trek-superfly-7-2017-mountain-bike-EV286575

I’ll pm you some more details in case you’re interested!

Thanks for the help guys,the fork was far too firm when I got it, I’d guess it had enough pressure for a 100kg rider and I weigh 65kg, I can’t remember exactly what I did but I think I deflated it completely, cycled it to get oil properly circulated then just pressurised it straight to 70 psi which gave me approx 30% sag which I was happy with. I’ll try again but adding air pressure incrementally in case it’s as simple as that!

Many thanks everyone fingers crossed it’s a simple fix.

No mention of being able to change the sampling interval in the manual, so I’m guessing it’s automatic which is a shame as it invariably results in lower accuracy. Still a bargain if you don’t take Strava too seriously like I do!

Whenever I’ve had this problem it’s almost always been a sticking/binding gear cable. It’ll work fine shifting down as you’re pulling the cable with your thumb on the paddle so plenty of force, but shifting up you’re clicking down a ratchet in the shifter and the mech spring tries to take up the slack, but if you’ve got a squashed bit of gear outer, a tight bend or loop or a kink anywhere the mech spring won’t be strong enough to overcome the friction like you can with your thumb so it won’t drop down smoothly.

Never heard of Randon. Sounds like a company that would make sex toys, not bikes. Are you sure you don’t mean Radon?

Bought my mrs a womens Radon ZR 5.0, spec for the money compared to anything else is way better, came in at £380ish with delivery and for that you get 9 speed SLX, 650b wheels, shimano altus hydraulic discs and tapered steerer, plus full raceface finishing kit and decent bits. SR Suntour fork is a bit of a let down but easily upgraded, will be getting a decent air fork on there eventually anyway. The same money would get you a 26″ hardtail in the uk with a load of mega low end shimano bits you’ve never heard of, so it’s a bargain in my eyes.

Check out Radon, Bike-discounts in house brand I believe. This one would do the job at £376.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/radon-zr-team-27.5-5.0-237181/wg_id-6198

The more money you spend the more fragile little adjustment knobs you get that could break off in a crash, and you save a bit of weight. If you’re planning on doing some big descents, i.e Alps trips then you might benefit from the different caliper, ceramic pistons and finned pads in the pricier models, but for the majority of UK riding the Deores are spot on, pretty happy with mine.

Lovely little town to have a walk round, castle, dock and square are all worth a wander. Black Boy inn is supposed to be the best in the area. Nearest decent bike shop is Evolution in nearby Bangor, or the Framed Bicycle Co. in Llanberis, there is a small shop in Caernarfon by the name of Beics Menai but I think they only hire bikes out these days.

Definitely go the Range with the discount IMO. I’ve never regretted having a slightly burlier bike on the climbs, you just get fitter to compensate, however you’ll be pleased you went with it on the downs!

Most of the generic carbon road bikes look poor because they are bought by people who don’t have a clue how to set them up: inline seatposts, lots of stem spacers, bars turned upwards, short stems that’re upside down etc. etc. They may aswell have bought as hybrid.

As for mountain bikes; any of those cotic bfe’s that were blue/green/purple. Horrid colours, and they all seem to be bought by slightly thick northern men with no taste whatsoever. Look at this one for example. White parts?? On an MTB??

I think tasteful white parts can really set off a bike, I’ve always been a fan of white wheels on bikes, cars, motorbikes, whatever. Agree that cotic is a bit OTT though, you can have too much white.

Couple more here. CRCT252XBK30 and CRCT1PM3XFK5. Please post up if you use either 🙂

Can anyone recommend a smartphone navigation app that I can use with these GPX files for navigation?

They look great, what size would you suggest for a 9 year old with a 26″ waist given your experience? If they’re slim fitting would it be worth going up to a 28″ or does the 26″ adjust up a bit?

From the CRC description of these brakes:

fully bled lever and caliper comes without adapters or rotors giving you the freedom to customise to suit your bike

Seems pretty definitive to me. What’s this code that ran out yesterday then? I tried to use my £5 off £50 code to buy a pair of these brakes but it wouldn’t accept it, I assumed because they’re already reduced in the sale and paid full price for them. Be a bit peeved if I could’ve had them cheaper after all.

I’m in a similar situation with a frame I’ve just had resprayed. Think I’m going to apply the decals then cover the lot in Helitape or similar, seems the simplest option to me.

Garmin Forerunner 10 on Amazon for £59 is a good deal, bit pissed I bought one for the mrs for her running for xmas at £90 odd!

Yup, the only 2 pot Shimano that I’d see myself buying is either the Deore or the XTR race. The two brakes in between add nothing really.

So the ceramic pistons in SLX and above make no difference then?

Not having a go just genuinely trying to find out what the best brake for my money is, not bothered about all the pointless features but can’t find any info as to whether ceramic pistons are worth the extra or what they even do, other than handle and dissipate heat better. I’m assuming they’ll transfer less heat to the fluid so will fade less but I doubt I’d get the Deores to fade unless I go to fort bill either.

I think on the whole I’d choose 2 pots over 4 pots just because they’ll need less maintenance and will be reliable for longer. If you go for the Zees then yes they’ll have more power when they’re working but you’ve got twice as many seals to leak and pistons to seize. To a maintenance shy lazy bar steward like me that’s a big attraction, along with the price difference I think I’d save the money.

Which then brings you onto the SLX brakes. Advantages over the M615 Deores that I can see are:

Reach adjust knob (which could be a disadvantage if it snaps off, and I’d only use it once anyway)
Ceramic pistons (over stainless in the Deores I’m assuming?)
Banjo hose fitting at the SLX caliper which could be handy if you need it.
Finned pads on the SLX which as already mentioned, probably aren’t necessary unless you’ve got an Alps trip planned.

There’s also having the better and more expensive logo on your bars which can’t be ignored by some people.

So I’d have a hard time spending the extra £25 for the SLXs unless someone could highlight what I might benefit from? Are the ceramic pistons likely to perform better or last longer for example?

http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/de/Bikes/Outlet2014/Tues

1200 Euro Tues… Can’t be right surely? Works out at about £950?

If only I wasn’t so skint 🙁