Anyone know what state the bridleway from Hazelseat to Low Dale Park is in? I was up there at Christmas 2012 and the trail was closed as it looked like they had had a major blow-down and the forestry commission were trying to clear it up. Have they damaged the trail underneath?

And the frame, some only have clearance for 160 or 180 rotors.

Frame and fork are ?

Detour down the A49 and ride the Long Mynd !

It means the front wheel comes with both 15mm and QR adaptors. Use the ones to suit the fork and shift the others on the classifieds on here for a tenner.

(Soul owner with 15mm fork).

Was it a Schwalbe tyre ?

Pre-ordered a large orange with hope headset and fox shock but considering changing to the CCDBAir.
Rest of build with be 150mm rev rlt ti fork, pro 2 / flow ex wheels with 2.3 butcher front and 2.35 minion dhf rear. Old school 3×9 xt drivetrain, formula oro k24 brakes, reverb, havoc carbon bar and Thomson stem.
Can’t wait to get it built :)

The expensive & long winded option is to order one from a company called North Shore Billet in the USA. Alternatively, use a 180mm adaptor, some longer bolts and a few flat washers between the adaptor and caliper to get the spacing right.

I’ve always used Merlin for wheels, decent price on Hope Hoops and if none of them suit, will custom build whatever you want.

Headsets: Nukeproof 44IETS, Hope Pick & mix 2 (upper) and H (Lower) will both do the job.

And the hub is?

Sounds to me like the charger is knackered, (mine was from brand new) indicator on charger lights up green but the battery is still flat. The light goes into that mode when the battery is flat.
Do you know anyone with the same light that you could borrow a charger? or alternatively measure the battery with a voltmeter, a fully charged one should be 8.4V.

That’s not what stans recommend. I have 3 original flows all taped with 25mm. By the time you’ve gone in and out of the spoke bed the fit is spot on. I doubt 21mm tape would cover the small holes in the bead bench.

Superstars 25mm yellow tape and a pair of tubeless valves. Total cost £15

I think you’ll struggle to get anything better than your revs for £300!
Why do you want to change ?

Nukeproof Mega TR will do the job, just needs a nukeproof 44EEOS headset. 10% off at CRC at the moment.

The guard should match the biggest ring that is left, therefore if your current chainset is 22,32,44 the bash should be 32.

As above, it’s not a cap, it’s part of the structure of the fork. If I were you I’d get a guard that mounts to the brace instead.

Mine was 815g brand new.

+1 for not scraping it off. The aluminium oxide (white stuff) forms a protective layer and prevents further corrosion of the metal underneath.

I’m a big fan of the 2.25 Beaver. Works very well in mud but is a decent size and works well as an all-rounder. It’s not a one trick pony like most mud tyres IMO.

In that case you need 25mm rim tape, tubeless valves and sealant.

What rims are they ?

Get rid of the washers between the caliper and fork, keep the ones under the bolt head as that design of mount means the bolt heads are not flat to the caliper, use the avid bolts but saw them down 4mm. Swapping rotors will not make any difference.
Also, ditch the avid washers and bolts from the rear and re-fit them using the shimano bolts.

If you’re after cheap but good tyres I’d be looking at the on-one chunky monkey / smorgasbord combination personally. That way you get decent maxxis rubber on a slightly heavier carcass. Should be just the job for afan.

I agree with wilko. In 26″ 2.0 flavour, storm is the biggest, then the mud-x and the beaver is the smallest of the three.

Re: the comparison between the CM and Schwalbe, The 2.4 CM is slightly smaller than a 2.4 Nobby, I’ve run both on the same wheel & fork and the CM had slightly more clearance. Note: the NN fell to bits within 6 months but the CM is over a year old and still looks new :)

O-O recommends a minimum of 19mm so you should be fine.

Don’t forget to remove the thorns as they accelerate the growth of the alien blob !

Stif currently have them for £23 each. Can’t see any problem using them with tubes, although mine is set up tubeless on a Flow rim.

http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/maxxis-beaver-26×2-25-kev-exo-tyre/12010

Another +1 for 2.25 beavers. I’m running one on the front of my Soul at the moment with a Mud-X on the back, Fantastic winter combo. Have tried storms but I find them draggy on anything other than mud. A word of warning, the 2.0 beavers are tiny! closer to a 1.85 IMO.

Personally I’d go dual compound on the front and single on the rear. The single compound will provide enough grip for the rear but should roll a bit faster and last longer.

Med cage mechs tension the chain slightly more and have better groud clearance than long cage, however they don’t have the capacity for a triple chainset. For the gears you have you need a long cage.
No issues changing to SLX shadow, other than the rear cable will need trimming as the cable routes directly into the mech rather than having the big baggy loop at the rear.

Conversion kit available for £13
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=576

Hi Mike, fellow Soul owner here and I’m running a 120mm Reba and find it’s a good compromise all round. If your main interest is climbing and bombing through the woods etc. then 100mm would do the job fine, however as you’ve got the RL for that then you’d be better off going for a longer fork to increase the difference between the two. The handling is still pretty sharp with a 120, it won’t climb as well but will descend better.
As for adjusting fork travel, most aftermarket Rebas can be adjusted to 120mm but some supplied as OEM forks are fixed at 100 so unless you can confirm before you buy that they are adjustable, I would say avoid 100mm forks.
The difference between SLX and XT is pretty minimal, I have SLX on one bike and XT on the other. The XT shifters are slightly crisper in their action but the main difference IMO is the drag from the jockey wheels. SLX runs on bushings and XT on bearings and when you compare them side by side there is a difference, however this is easily cured as jockeys are a consumable item and easy to fit a set that run on bearings when the originals wear out.
I’d say put the new gear on the Soul as that’s likely to become your main bike once you get it built up !

Looks like another ardent then! Thanks for the replies chaps.

I’ve had exactly the same with a pro 2 evo hub, crack started at the pawl and ran the full length of the freehub. Was replaced foc by hope.

+1 for hope, but if I were you I’d be looking at the crest rather than the arch ex.

So still plenty of love for the Ardent then ?
I’ve looked at the Purgatory but is doesn’t look like it rolls as well as the Ardent. Anyone who’s used both like to comment?
Also looked at the Conti X-King 2.4 but not sure how big these blow up (running a 2.3 Butcher on the front and don’t want it to be any bigger), I know the 2.2 comes up small for it’s size.

I’d be looking at a Racing Ralph personally, they roll much faster than a Nic on the rear and give almost as much grip. Anything from 2.1 to 2.4 will be fine on a Flow EX.

For a BFe I’d recommend a Specialized Butcher control on the front and an Ardent on the back. The RaRa is a pretty decent rear but I’d steer clear of the Nobby Nic, they grip really well right to the point where they break away completely and deposit you in the nearest ditch within 0.05s.

I used to run a 2.25 Ardent, which is very tall for a 2.25 without issues.
To quote the on-one website: “26” x 2.5 tyres will just about fit, but we recommend 2.0 – 2.3″” for best performance”.