I wouldn’t bother. had 3 sets between me and mates, all of them have gone stiff and it turned out to be the outer bearing race/holder that had cracked (its ridiculously thin) and Specialized don’t carry spares of those.

Managed to get mine undone with circlip pliers easy enough, but the fact you cannot replace the small  needle bearing or its holder has really put me off. Its not even sealed very well.

great pedals and idea… when they are new.

I’ve got the normal LT from 2017, tried a 57mm shock and the tyre rubs the seattube even in the high setting, be very careful.

As for LT or Normal, where is 90% of your riding done? buy for that rather than 2 trips to the Alps. the non LT is a seriously capable bike and a decent shock transforms it into an even more capable weapon. The standard Monarch RT3 is utterly rubbish.

I’ve never felt held back or much difference in terms of spped and capability compared to 160mm 650b bikes i’ve had in the past. I run mine with 150mm forks as well.

If its been thrown into the spokes, its likely you’ve bent the mech and or the mech hanger…the problems you are now experiencing are probably in part due to that, caused by the poor initial setup, rather than the mech itself being poor,

<p style=”margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;”>My current 6, unequivocally crap, SRAM drivetrains have been faultless. The eldest 2 being 4 years old, ridden in all conditions.</p>
<p style=”margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: #eeeeee; line-height: 1.2em; color: #444444;”>Maybe I’ve just been lucky. 6 times in a row.</p>

Same as my Shimano setups. Totally faultless over decades of use.

Its entirely your fault for buying SRAM. it is unequivocally crap. a huge range is its only redeeming feature and even that isn’t the be all and end all. and its usually OEM stuff from CRC which is generally even worse.

SRAM chains used to be great, but recent experiences of mine have seen them only last 4-5 wet rides before they are as baggy as a wet pair of boxer shorts.. I’ve had mechs fail in a single ride, cassettes shatter and then freeze to the stupid XD freehub etc etc.

Stick to Shimano, its a touch heavier, a touch less range, but it just works, day in day out.

or just tyres. too light and they squirm around. decent thicker casing, sticky “enduro” tyres make a HUGE difference to the solid feeling a bike has.

What are you running currently?

Yes, you want carbon. Just look at it, stunning bike.

87kg weight

front, 2 tokens in a 150 Pike, 65psi 30% sag, rarely bottoms out
Rear in Monarch 6 bands, 230psi and 35% sag.

Rear with DPX2 initial set up, 220psi and 30% sag, to be refined further once ridden.

another mudhugger here. took all of 5 mins to modify and fit and its perfect.

Further to my post, I’m 6’2″ as well and on the XL, it’s spot on.

Also have a cc xt and have struggled for a year with the monarch rt3, same as above harsh feeling with a 2 stage feel thanks to the debonair can. This weekend I’ve just bolted on a factory fox dpx2 evol. Not ridden it yet, but I can now get the right amount of sag and it’s a smooth as butter through the travel. Expensive but we’ll worth the upgrade it would seem.
If the 2018 ones come.with fox already then that’s a big plus for me.

I’ve got the non LT version and it’s ace, by far the best bike I’ve owned in 30 years of doing this.

might see if i can go ride at the bottom of my local swimming pool as it’ll be drier…

a handy tip for getting the edges to stick down is use a clean tea towel to soak get the final part of the edges down rather than a squeagy. it soaks the water up and the edges go down and stay down… just make sure you work towards the edges. never had an edge lift in a year of ownership and bike looks like new still.

Similar but different

Those are great fun. another £125 on top gets the next model up. or a dropper.

done 2 now, piece of cake, just work through the very clear instructions and it’ll be fine if you have an common sense. I can see how people get it wrong, but it is also very easy to do right, just takes time, as others have said.

Finally, there is no evidence of external factors – such as bullying, or other school difficulties – at play.

Are you 100% sure? kids can be incredibly good at hiding them and from what you are saying it sounds like there is a reason he doesn’t want to go in.

SteadyEddy, do you need the star ratchet version or the 3 pawl one? i have the latter

Had this on my XTs, lever ended up doing noting,like it wasn’t connected.

Quick squirt of fluid back from the caliper end and all was well, well, as well as new XTs can get anyway..

@Splash-man, I’m based in Storrington, have been for 2 years and haven’t really explored as much as i should have…

I could.do with finding out where this is as it’s on my doorstep..

Thanks stuc, anyone else?

Had exactly that on a Norco range carbon with a hope.rotor and a DT Swiss 240 hub. Works fine with a SRAM rotor.

or is it just personal choice? a big house isn’t everything. Some would argue that huge unnecessary houses are the same thing in reverse.

I’d rather have a humble home and be able to live than plow everything into a huge house for me and the wife and kids.

I use a few of these:

Halfords hook

lasted for years and been rock solid. cheap as chips too

that sounds like you have bled them incorrectly rather than anything untoward.

Hope do some great videos on how to bleed them up, its dead simple.

@PDW, i’ll have a look tonight to see if i can spot any difference. or if i get chance i’ll pop into the shop and have a look.

Shimano list the 11-46 as 1x only. The others are compatible with both. I’ve had all 3 and the 11-46 is the only one that doesn’t derail when back pedaling.

They’ll all work pedaling forward with a 1x setup, the 11-46 is the only one designed specifically for 1x.

What makes a casette 1X specific ?

I believe its the profiling of the largest sprockets teeth so that it can run at a more extreme chainline that 1x setups require. the 11-40 and 11-42 are designed to run in 2 and 3x setups so don’t require the additional profiling.

you could have just swapped the bb spacer to the other side of the frame…. just saying.

also, xt 11-40 and 11-42 cassettes are not 1 by specific, thats why they drop the chain when back pedalling. the 11-46 is and doesn’t drop the chain.

Personal fave of their 2018 bikes is the new Stereo, really nice looking bike that is

Stereo[/url]

And a comparative bargain for all the kit its got on it, AND they have sorted out their sizing it would seem.

it’s made of actual cheese

Welcome to SRAM…

my 2.5 hours was with a brand new frame. i didn’t include the hours building it up afterwards!
that was just a straight 2.5 hours sticking it on. once you’ve worked it out, its a doddle.

yep, took about 2.5 hours to do it on my Hightower. Bike still looks like new after nearly a year of abuse.

Well worth doing it but only really worth doing it when its new and before you’ve ridden it, otherwise you might as well not bother.

How about this? Novyparts.com

ive tried all bar the Endura (but used the previous Endura lids – NOT good)

the forefront is by some considerable margin the best helmet i have ever used. so much so that anyone whos popped mine on their head has gone on to buy one and loves it.

dmorts, in a very good way, smashed my one around all last winter and know a load of others that have them as cheap winter or play bikes. just a really really fun frame to ride, and i’ve also had 2 456’s in the past (an original 26 and a ti one) this thing beats them hands down.

These are utterly hilarious to ride Pinnacle Iroko

Get a Smith Forefront

south downs, Surrey Hills, Afan, Bike Park Wales. mostly South Downs and Surrey Hills though.

Agreed with andybrads comments about ‘3 winters and fine’ guaranteed they are just held together with dust and hope.

mine are never jetwashed and only hand washed with water, no detergents or cleaning products.

hardtail is all set for winter now anyway