You’ll want some of these[/url] then. A massive 170mm wide !

Ordered a tyre from them last Sunday, arrived on Wednesday. V.Happy.

As above, they’re 15mm wider than a standard grip. I saw some Charge grips in my LBS earlier that looked pretty wide but I didn’t look closely at them so can’t remember thier name.

Superstar Excel on one bike and Lizard Skins Northshore on the other. The lizard Skins are firmer than the SS. Beware with the SS grips though as they’re 15mm wider than standard, need to make sure you’ve got enough room on your bars.

What’s the date of the postmark on the envelope compared to the day you placed the order ?

If you look at the back of the lever, the rod that links the lever to the piston has a threaded portion and a 2mm A/F allen key head. Turn the rod to adjust reach :-)

£13.24 gets you one of these. Try one first and if it isn’t for you then you haven’t lost out much.

Going for a wider bar will make you feel more stretched. I’d swap the stem for a 70mm first and see where that takes the handling.

Picture looks fine to me !

Should bolt straight on as long as your existing calipers are post mount.

Merlin are doing Elixir 1’s with 180/160 rotors for £84 at the moment when you add the 6% discount.
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/MTB++Parts/Brakes/Disc+Brakes/Sram++Avid+Disc+Brakes/Avid+Elixir+1+Disc+Brake+Set+-+Front++Rear+-+HS1+Rotors_2012-ELIXIR1.htm

Impatient aren’t you ?

I use Kyle Straits. Perfectly comfortable over long rides over 5 hours plus. Needed a bit of breaking in first though.

I had an SDG Bel-Air which I found really comfy, then one day I left my saddle and post at the side of the car after putting my bike in the boot. Tried a Gobi and found it an instrument of torture, no matter how I adjusted it, so sold it and went back to a Bel-Air.

I think it’s due to the low swoop on the nose of the bel-air which makes it good for me, the Gobi always felt like the back was pushing me forwards or the nose was sticking up too high.

Now in stock at CRC for £250. Currently waiting in for the postman to deliver mine :-)

You should be using a T25 torx bit, not an allen key.

The blue stuff is a threadlocking compound. With the right tools they should go in with the stuffin place.

I stayed at Mynd House in Little Stretton earlier this year and it was very nice. The food and beer at the Ragleith Inn just down the road was superb and the breakfast was good as well. The owner will let you keep your bike in his garage as well.

I have 2 Inbreds. My riding buddies have an Orange 5, Orange P7, Whyte 805 and a Boardman Pro FS.

Sunline, Renthal and Nukeproof all do wide (745+) bars in 38mm (1.5″) rise.

Whether it’s worth it is all down to personal preference. I’m broad shouldered and currently running 745’s but contemplating chopping 1/2″ off each end as I think they are a little too wide as they are.

I wear a hi-viz vest when commuting. Commuted in one for 18 months without problems, changed to an Altura night vision jacket and got hit by a transit van within a week. That was nearly 2 years ago and I’ve been wearing the vest since.

I’m not overly bothered about looking like a knob if the car drivers can see me clearly.

Myself and a couple of lads who I work with used to refer to our other halves as ‘Our Meg’.
At the time we had a particularly stupid apprentice who after working with us for a month said ‘Isn’t it weird that you three work together and all your wives have the same name’.

When you say ‘slightly larger Ardents’, do you mean 2.25’s or 2.4’s as both are bigger than a 2.35 HR ?

I run a 2.25 Ardent (bigger than a 2.35 Minion) on a 719. Never had a problem with burping but can feel it squirming around occasionally. I wouldn’t go any wider.

Some of the high-end Shimano rotors with the big spider will foul on the pad tabs, however you’ll be fine with the cheaper ones.

Commuter / Pub / Spare bike for mates etc….

Buy a Bike (Charnock Richard Cycles) are doing them in the shop for £30 a pair, don’t know if they do mail order though.

I run a medium cage SRAM mech with a triple. Large-Large is fine as long as you set the chain up by going large-large without the mech and add 2 links. If you try and use the granny ring with the smallest 2 or 3 cogs on the cassette then the mech can’t take up the slack, however that’s a combination you shouldn’t be using anyway.

Can you post a pic of the stripped thread so we can see how much extra metal is around the thread. May not be possible if there is minimal wall thickness.

Not sure about powder coating but would be ok sprayed as long as the frame is thoroughly cleaned, de-greased and etch primed first.

Don’t know much about your riding, a bit more info wouldn’t go amiss i.e. weight, type of riding etc.

Merlin’s advice on spoke choice is in the link below, it’s a bit hard to find on their website:

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Handbuilt+Wheels.htm

I’m running the kevlar pads at the moment. Performance is fine, however I’ve been disappointed with the longivety as they’ve lasted about half as long as I got previously with Avid or Clarks organic pads. Just bought some sintered ones to try when my last pair of kevlar wear out.

Radial wheel + rim brakes = ok
Radial wheel + discs = recipe for disaster as they stress the spokes differently.

You’ve answered your own question. Flows + Stans tape + Olympic valve + Schwalbe / Maxxis tyres = Win !

My Inbred.

The BB spindle length is dependent on the chainset, it’s nothing to do with the frame. In the past I’ve run a M442 chainset with a 113BB then an M521 chainset with a 126BB on the same frame with the same chainline.

What chainset are you using and have you looked it up in the shimano techdocs ?

You could save £7 and get a Nuke Proof Warhead post, I’m running one on my Inbred at the moment, had if for a couple of months now and other than the height markings wearing off, still looks as-new.

Hmmm, I think it would be very hard to prove that a kink in a chainstay is due to a manufacturing defect.
Any chance of a pic of said kink ?

If you’re mixing rims, you definately need the faster, white rim on the front for added stability. Here’s my Inbred:

I wanted white wheels but trashed my old back wheel when Merlin were out of stock. Keep meaning to have it sprayed but never get round to it.

+1 for B-screw adjustment. The pip that you refer to is the pointed end of the B screw. The opposite end has a philips screw head. Put the bike in the lowest gear and tighten the screw until there is approx 1/4″ clearance between the jockey wheel and largest sprocket.

I did FTD and the monkey with 745’s. I wouldn’t like to do it with any wider. There’s a pair of trees on the monkey that must be 750 wide (I hit both of them) and those at the top of Weirwolf drop were very close !

Thanks for the offer easygirl, no need to have a look as I went back as soon as I unloaded my bike and realised it was missing, problem was that I went from Anglezarke to work with my bike in the boot so it was 5 hours later when I realised I’d left it, by then it was gone :-(