I’ll recommend what I’ll be using this winter. Spesh Butcher 2.3 on the front and Maxxis Beaver 2.25 EXO on the back.

How about a 2.25 Beaver?
Same carcass as the Ardent EXO but a tread more suited to winter use. I know a few people who run Purgs and rate them so also worth a look.

Clamp with molegrips then lever off with 2 screwdrivers under the jaws of the molegrips.

I have a zee rear mech and it can only just cope with the range of an 11-36 cassette and the chain growth on my Spitfire. If you have any plans of using a range extender then I’d stick with a medium cage mech.

LOL @ wwaswas :)

ive just rang my lbs, and they say its a gamble if they would work or not, because the single ply minions arnt a ust tyre

So, Shop that sells tyres advises you to buy new tyres. What a surprise :lol:

UST tyres are overkill for stans, as the rims aren’t UST you’ll have to use sealant anyway. At the most you want tubeless ready, however your existing Minions will be fine. I’ve used loads of standard Maxxis tyres tubeless over the years and never had any problems.

I run Flow EX’s tubeless. The tyres should be fine. As above, you need valves, tape and spaff. I’d recommend using the 29mm tape from superstar as the 25mm isn’t wide enough to seal the holes in the bead bench without adding an extra layer or patching up the holes with smaller bits of tape.

Rise and sweep is all about personal preference IMO. Personally I like the shape of Easton bars (9 degree sweep and 5 degree rise). Tried a set of renthals and didn’t get on with them (7/4). As for fitting your stem, it will most likely fit unless you buy one of the new bars that have a 35mm clamp, however the extra with will make the bike feel much bigger. As a general rule, to keep the same feeling, for every 10-15mm that you add to your bars you should take 5mm off the stem.

A Nukeproof 44IETS will do the job, £36 from CRC.

Maxxis ardent race EXO ?

Limit stop +2.

There is no way of fitting a tapered fork in a standard 1 1/8″ headtube. 40mm into 34mm does not fit.

+1 for the Soul. Mine is built quite strong with Flow wheels, bolt-through fork, a 740 bar and short stem, would be just the job for the riding you’ve described. I’ve never felt the need for anything stronger and I’m 17 stone.

I think both bikes would be pretty similar (I’ve had a Blue Pig in the past and loved it). What would swing it for me is that the Blue Pig will take a taper fork where the 456 is 1 1/8″ only.

Any reason you don’t want an Ardent? I’ve run the non-tubeless versions tubeless for years without problems and they’ve recently bought out a TR version. Ardent Race and Icon are other options.

I think I can see why you’re confused, most rear mechs specify the capacity i.e. 28t will cope with a 28t difference between sprockets, however the Zee actually specifies the biggest cassette the mech can cope with. Therefore you need the 32-36t (FR) version.

Why bother buying the wrong mech? Just get the FR version.

There are big 4 holes in the shell already (downtube, seat tube & chainstays), I very much doubt a small drain hole will make a difference in strength. I drilled my Inbred and didn’t die :)

Superstar NW ring, 9 speed XT rear mech (long cage) and chain. Never dropped the chain in 6 months.

If you can, try and get a copy of vertebrate guide book ‘mountain biking in the Lake District’ (should be easy to get a copy in Hawkshead) and follow one of the routes in there. I’ve ridden most of them and also the NFT and the natural stuff is far superior IMO.

Sounds to me like the new hub is a Pro 2 Evo which has a larger diameter axle. You need the Evo freehub. Mine did the same and Hope replaced it FOC.

63cm Swede here, currently have a Large Giro Xar and had a Large Hex before that. IMO the Xar isn’t worth the extra as it doesn’t feel any different to the Hex so I’ll be going back to a Hex when the Xar is knackered.
I also have a Giro Remedy full face that fits well also. I must have a Giro shaped head ;)

On-one chunky monkey front tyre, took a punt on one at £17.50 and it has been a permanent feature on the front of my 6″ bike ever since. Also very impressed with the £2.99 socks from aldi and the lidl bike stand.

Here’s my old Blue Pig. Sold the frame 12 months ago to fund a Spitfire but would definitely have another if I was in the market for a LTHT, although I do have a soft spot for the Privee Shan in Gulf racing colours:

Lol at hot_fiat :)

Thanks for the input chaps, think I’ll give the pipe lagging bodge a go first and if that doesn’t shut them up then splash out on a set of wing bars.

Cheers !

This’ll do the job, just don’t expect it to last as long as a hope:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-warhead-44iess-headset/rp-prod85842

Not sure if it makes a difference but I always fit the crown race with the split to the side. The majority of load on a headset is front and back so I want the split away from the load path.

For Flow EX’s you’re better off with the 29mm rim tape from superstar, the 25mm stans isn’t wide enough to seal the tiny holes at the edge of the rim near the bead hook. The yellow tape and valves is all you need.

Just fit one of these to your 1 1/8″ fork to bring the bottom up to 1 1/2″:
http://www.merlincycles.com/hope-hs136-15-1-1-8-reducer-57832.html

On my spitfire I’m running a zee rear mech and there is only just enough capacity to cope with an 11-36 cassette and the chain growth of the suspension. It may work on a ht or full suss with practically no chain growth, however there’s no chance of it working on mine. Med cage xt mech is the safe option.

Rebas, sids or fox float 120’s are the oobvious answers. What are you looking for from the upgrade ?

Personally I always remove the rack. A fancy lock may stop someone stealing the entire rack, however I do know someone who got back to his car to find some scrotes had nicked all 9 of his securing straps !

I’m 5’11” and ride a large, fit is good !

My current Spitfire & Soul:


My old Inbred:

+1 for the thule 9503. I got mine second hand 5 years ago and has been used weekly since. Neither the bikes or the rack have never moved in use. One thing to watch out for is the neoprene on the downtube support eventually wears through and leaves metal on metal contact. Mine has been fixed using the free chain stay protectors supplied with magazines.

Spitty owner here, same front mech as bluearsedfly but had to file the mech slightly on installation as the bosses on the frame fouled the mech. It takes a standard rear mech.

Here’s mine in it’s natural habitat:

They’re a sealed hydraulic system (unlike a car which breathes at the master cylinder), therefore unless opening the system I wouldn’t expect to bleed my brakes ever.
However, that only applies to correctly bled brakes. IMO the main problem with brakes is poor bleeds (either factory or user) combined with the standard internet forum answer to every brake problem is ‘give them a bleed’.

What did you not like about the Ardent/Advantage vs the Crossmark? As someone who has ridden all three I’d say the Ardent is the next step up in grip (or maybe a RaRa, IMO they’re lighter but not as grippy as the Ardent).

As for where to buy, my default is http://www.nextdaytyres.co.uk Does exactly as the URL suggests.

Nothing more to add other than +1 to Nobeerinthefridge and chip.

I demo’d a Rocket last October, pre-ordered in January but ran out of time & patience and bought a Spitfire in March.

Wish them all the best for their UK facility though and still love my Soul :)

For a company that has it’s own in-house CAD/CAM facility and a CNC machine, if it’s a CAD model today it could be in the metal tomorrow :)
As someone who uses one of their I/O chainrings I’d be happy to buy a cassette adaptor from superstar.

The only thing that’s holding me back is that Shimano / SRAM must be kicking themselves that they don’t do a 11/40 cassette and if they did, which let’s face it, they’d be stupid not to, the entire cassette convertor market would be wiped out overnight. Also there’s no way I’d pay more for the big cog than for the rest of the entire cassette.