Here’s my Soul illuminating the 7 arch bridge at Rivington pre-dawn this morning, apologies for the quality, it was taken with the wife’s phone.

I second the Moon for next week.

The description refers to the sidewall and compound. No description is standard sidewall, Snakeskin is reinforced, Double Defence is double reinforced. Obviously, the more reinforcement the softer the tyre. As for compounds, ORC is the cheap plastikky compound, followed by Pacestar then Trailstar then Gatestar/4cross. Softer tyres grip better but roll slower and wear out quicker.

So, you’re looking for a wider rim for tubeless ready tyres, do good drops and a bit of air and lots of black with aspirations of enduro next year.

Sounds like you want Flow EX’s. Hope hoops if you can afford them, superstar if you can’t.

^^^ good price but out of stock :(

^^^^^ What they said, mine looks exactly the same.

+2 for Mynd House, I stayed there 18 months ago and it was very nice, there’s also a cracking pub about 500 yds down the road which does good food and real ale. I’ve also stayed in the YHA at All Stretton (at the same time as superfli) which is basic but clean and has everything you need, but not the kind of place I’d take the Missus.

The Hope Tech shops can get them in for you. To find your local tech shop use this link:
http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG51

^^^^^^^^^^^^ +Potato

Mk 3 here, definately 135mm rear.

Quoting the ‘what size’ FAQ on the on-one website:

“Right now we think that REALLY big lads are served better on 26in wheels with big 2.5in + tyres, rather than 29er wheels. But we’re working on stuff. And when I say ‘big lads’ I mean them over like 25 stone.”

So at 20 stone you should be ok on either.

A 160mm front adaptor on the rear will fit a 140 disc. I think that’s what you were asking!

Yes you need a 180 post-post adaptor. I’m selling a shimano one for £4 (3 weeks old, upgraded to 203 hence surplus). If you want it, e-mail d4vew4lsh at gmail dot com if interested.

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/brakes/disc-brake-spares/shimano-disc-brake-spares/shimano-disc-brake-brackets.html

+2 for wider bars. I used to have a 1″ layback post and 720 bars, swapped them for a Reverb and 750’s. Kept a simalar amount of breathing room, moved my weight forward for better climbing and wider bars made it more stable descending. Triple Win :)

Crank Brothers pedals by any chance ?

HR & Minion use the same carcass so a 2.35 HR should be fine. Ardent and Advantage also use the same carcass so if clearance is a problem, you should be looking at a 2.1 Advantage.

The Ragley Spike has approx 1″ of layback.

I used to have an E-class estate (2001). Was undoutably the worst car I’ve ever had, spent over £4000 on repairs in 2 1/2 years of ownership. I wouldn’t touch another with a barge pole!

That’s better, you need a 2 upper and either an F lower with a HS136 crown race adaptor if you want the option to run taper forks in future, otherwise you can fit a D lower but that will lower the front about 10mm, restrict you to 1 1/8th forks and you may have clearance issues between the crown and downtube.

The top cups do NOT come with top cap, bolt or head doctor.

Need more info in the frame as “new fangled 1.5″ tapered head tube” doesn’t really mean anything. Do you know the diameters of the top and bottom of the headtube? Failing that post a link to the frame so we can look it up.

Biketreks in Ambleside have 17″ & 20″ demo fives.

Tyre definately too wide for the rim IMO. I’ve used a 2.25 Maxxis Ardent (smaller than a 2.4 Nic) which squirmed on a Mavic 719 (same width as an Arch) but was fine on a Flow. I’m also currently running a 2.4 Nic on a flow and it’s ok. Putting a 62mm tyre on a 19mm rim is asking for trouble.

Ragley Blue Pig X Swapout.

PTR, you must be reading the ‘tapered’ headet section which applies to the new Soul only. You need to be reading the ’44mm’ section which applies to the Rocket. Zero stack 44mm top cup required:
http://www.cotic.co.uk/geek/44mm

To me, it looks like the nut is only there to hold everything in place and should be removed when the adaptor is fitted.

+1 for the Ibis, I’ve stayed there a few times, it’s in a decent location just 100 yards from the watershead centre and 200yds from the city centre.

Just nip it up tight enough so that it doesn’t move when you’re riding, as you will want it to spin if you stack it rather than breaking your light.

According to Cotic’s web site they have them in stock and you can buy direct from them:
http://www.cotic.co.uk/order/framebuilder/soul/

If you’re going to do it wrong then you may as well do it really wrong:

If you tell us the exact model of hub then we might stand a chance of getting it right. The conversion kits are very different.

I use Nics on the front, I find them a bit sketchy in mud, however IMO only a dedicated mud tyre would be better in those conditions (I’ve also used Minions, Advantages, Panaracers etc). For the other 99% of my average rides they’re spot on !

Can anyone recommend a decent knowledgeable north west based wheel supplier?

I’ve had a few wheels from Merlin & never been disappointed by any of them :)

Personally I’d swap the 710 bars for some Easton Havoc 750’s (I like wide bars) and a 50mm stem, other than that your spec looks spot-on :-)
I’d say black with white forks and white wheels!

Take it out and if it doesn’t seal, put a tube patch on the inside of the tyre.

My Thule 9403 can just about cope with a 2.4 Nobby Nic.

^^ What he said ^^

Sold my Hope QR for a tenner and bought a superstar clamp for £7

The advantage of the endurance over the epic is that you can save a bit of weight by only taking one battery out on shorter rides, where the with the epic is that you don’t have the faff of changing batteries mid ride. If your average ride is less than 2 hours then you can probably do these on one small battery and take the spare for longer rides, hence the enduro would be better, however if you regularly ride longer than 2 hrs get the epic.

150mm Revs on mine, the steep seat angle and low BB means it climbs really well even at 150mm. I also have an Inbred and there’s nothing that I can’t get up on the Pig that I can on the Inbred.
If you try it and hate it then you can always space the Revs down.

I used to have a Nukeproof Warhead. The height markings on the back of the post fell off the first time I farted when riding but other than that it was spot on, no creaks, bends or deep scratches. I’m regretting selling it now and would buy another tomorrow. FWIW I’m heavier than you !

Schwalbe Nobby Nic with Double Defence sidewall ?

+2 for the Superstars, however they’re 15mm wider than a standard grip so make sure you’ve got enough room for them on your bars.