Never regretted selling any frames as they’ve always been upgraded, however I did sell a couple of nice sets of 26″ hope/stans wheels and a 20mm bolt through Revelation RLT Ti for next to nowt a few years ago, which would have been really handy for the kids bikes now.

One word of warning, if you’re unsure what size you need for the back, err on the longer side as if you have to fit an extension, it’s a bit crap because it permanently rattles and no glue known to man will stick to the plastic. Better to go for the 29er and get the hacksaw out if needed.

ODI rogues are what I use, same diameter as superstar excel but standard width. Expensive but feel nicer and last much longer.

Hope HS136, it’s a steerer expander rather than a crown race reducer. Will work happily with any headset. Best go for a headset with a split crown race though to reduce the faffage when changing forks.

Usually I’d say avoid cut gate at this time of year but I was up there last weekend and other than the usual few bits in the bog of doom, the rest of it was very dry and in excellent condition. At the moment another dry week is forecast so if that holds, it should be fine to ride next weekend.

This winter, I will be mostly running a 2.8 HR2 MaxxTerra on the front and a 2.8 dual compound Recon on the rear of my Solaris. 3rd winter on this as I really rate them.

My Rekon comes up at 69mm at its widest, that’s on 35mm internal rims.

I run a 2.8 rekon in the back of my mk2 solaris, it comes up a bit smaller than the 2.8 Ron and has been fine for the last 2 winters, I just put a bit of helitape on the chainstays to stop any mud damaging the paint.

Shameless plug: I have a brand new 32t non-boost version that I’d sell for £20 posted. Drop me a pm if interested.

Yes, by changing the air shaft.

I’d say you’re right on both questions.

Is the fork solo or dual air (i.e. is there a second air valve at the bottom of the spring leg). Dual airs are adjusted by spacers, solo air is a shaft change. Both are relatively straight forward as long as you’re reasonably competent with a set of Allen keys.

Definitely not, the inner bearing and drive flange are a bigger diameter on the pro 4.

To clarify, any splined mtb cassette i.e. Not sram XD driver will fit your current freehub without modification.

Blatant advert: I’m selling a brand new 32t GX Eagle chainring for £20. If interested drop me a pm.

A 2.8 will just about fit in my 2015 non-boost pikes.

^^ what he said ^^

Another +1 for the Alex/chosen wheel from merlin. I’ve used one on my touring bike for a couple of years and it’s been more than up to the job.

My daughter runs that mech with the deore 11-42 cassette. Works perfectly.

I run the same cassette ratio with a one up rad cage. It shifts flawlessly. Personally I’d go with the rad cage over the goat link as the rad cage keeps the jockey wheels closer to the cassette in the higher gears whereas the goat link just moves the entire mech lower and rearwards.

The shimano freehub is designed to take a road 11 speed cassette, which is a midges’ wider than an mtb one, hence the spacer behind any 8 to 11 speed mtb cassette.

In your situation (which I’ve been in the last couple of years when taking my bike to the states) I’d put new stuff on, making sure to give it a good shakedown beforehand and then re-fit the old stuff when you get back to finish it off. That way you minimise the potential down-time of a knackered bike when you’ve paid top price for your riding but then get the maximum out of your old stuff too.

I’d definitely recommend the 2.1 Ron’s. They fit fine on an islabike (see my pics in the for sale add) and work well off and on road. Much better than the stock small block 8’s.

We were there last weekend and my mate was running 2.8 maxxis minion/rekon on 35mm rims (actual measurement = 2.72) and they would fit in any position. Front slots on each side of the trailer have been modified to take wider though if they won’t fit in the others.

As a plus tyre user, I’m with Whitestone and scienceofficer on this, in that I suspect that by running the same pressure as your 2.3, the footprint of the tyre is now shorter and wider than previous or what’s ideal. Although it’s only 0.3 bigger, the 2.6 has approx 25% more volume, therefore look at making a similar percentage reduction in pressure and give it another try.

I followed the story of the launch of Ragley, always fancied an original blue pig but a new house and 2 young kids prevented it. Eventually got a mk2 and absolutely loved it, was an amazing ride and it’s the only frame I’ve ever regretted selling.

Then Brant left, shortly followed by the Burberry/Chav colour scheme on the mk3 and it all went tits-up from there.

I have standard hoses on one bike and braid on the other. The only difference is the looks, unless you shorten them, when the braided ones are a right PITA.

Stick with standard. Braided not worth it.

I found the zee a right pain in the arse even with a 36t on my Solaris, however I’ve now changed to a Radr cage and run a sunrace 11-42 with no issues.

+1 to what survivor said, along with a recommendation for 7idp control pads from CRC. I’m a bit shorter and a bit heavier than you, with a pair of tree trunks holding me up. I usually struggle with most pads but their XL size fit like a glove.

Spotted this on wiggle, just the job !

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/brand-x-headset-44iess-sealed/

I used to have a blue pig of similar vintage and I remember at the time it was recommended to run an external cup lower headset regardless of steerer diameter. I had a nukeproof one on mine, which you can still get from CRC as separate top and bottom cups. For the bottom you want the B4 version of the following:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-warhead-mix-match-bottom-cup/rp-prod124574

For the top, any 44mm zero stack top cup will do, however they all appear to be out of stock on CRC.

I have a reverb B2 (right lever on left under bars) on one bike and the Fox / Wolf Tooth on the other.

The action of the fox is infinitely nicer than the reverb. I’ll definitely pay the extra for another fox to replace the reverb when it dies.

Another +1 for moon nebula. Expensive but worth it IMO.

Have a look on merlin’s website. Pretty sure I had an email from them earlier saying that XT cranks are cheap this weekend

Yes but this is a full sus.  So the chain will be flapping around loads more than if it were a HT.

Sorry but I don’t buy this at all. Most full suss put more tension on the chain as the suspension compresses, hence the chain will bounce less on an impact than if it was on a hardtail.

But it looks like you’ve made your mind up what you want to do anyway so go for it and report back here with the results.

I’d say don’t bother with the chain guide, fit a narrow wide ring and get some shorter chainring bolts. I ran this exact setup on my soul for over a year without dropping the chain once. The chainset did eventually fail but it was nowt to do with the chainring.

I’m using that exact cassette and mech on my solaris but with a radr cage. No fouling issues here.

I’m 5’10”, ride a large. I like a frame that’s a bit on the big side but I wouldn’t want mine any bigger  I’d say for your height you should be on a medium.

^^ What he said ^^

Currently running a DHF in my non-boost pikes. Will swap it out for a Rekon when it gets dry though.

Thule 598 copes easily with my large rocket. The arm is easy to reposition along the rail by removing the cover off the bottom then slackening a pair of bolts, therefore allowing the rack to accommodate the latest generation of long and slack frames.