I usually stay at talybont farm, it’s about 30 mins drive from BPW, 3 pubs within walking distance and you can ride the Gap straight from the campsite on day 2.

No bike storage though. I usually take a bloody big chain and as many D-locks as I can find and leave them chained to the back of the car.

Conti X-King 2.4 black chilli? CRC were selling them cheep a few weeks ago, not sure if they still are.

135×9 QR is bog standard quick release, not to be confused with any of the ‘bolt-through’ options or the new 141×9 QR boost.

Can’t comment on the alpkit wheels but if you only need a rear, the wheel below is very good value. I have the 26″ version on my hack/touring bike and it’s been faultless.

https://www.merlincycles.com/pro-build-chosen-hub-alex-volar-trail-wheels-29-82077.html

Mine (latest B1 version, non-stealth) has gone slow in the current temperature. Took it to Florida for a week over Christmas and it was fine, back here in Jan and it’s slow again. I put it down to being designed in California and not Lancashire. Funilly enough, never had the same problem with the older version.

9 speed definitely not compatible.

I’ve heard conflicting reports on the compatibility of 10 and 11 speed, however as you already have the 10 speed mech then why not try it?

Alternatively, stick with 10 speed, add a rad cage and sunrace 11-42 cassette. I have that on one bike and 11 speed XT on the other. 10 speed shimano shifts way better than 11 in my opinion.

I’m running a 2.8 DHF on a 35mm rim in a non-boost pike with a mudhugger FR. Clearance is tight but adequate.

If you’re riding is more XC and trail centres, I’d say Soul. Even though it’s lighter than the BFe, it’s still tougher than a very tough thing and with the new longer and slacker geometry, I’d have no problem taking it to BPW occasionally.

Merlin have a good reputation for wheel builds.

The wheel is actually built by Raleigh, not hand built by merlin. Don’t let that put you off though, mine is still straight and true and has never been touched by my spoke key.

Did you find the geek section of Cotic’s website ?
http://www.cotic.co.uk/geek/page/DoubleBarrelTune
You’re not too different to Cy’s weight so start with the base tune.

I have the 26″ version of the merlin/Alex/chosen wheel and the hub is very good for the money, it’s well sealed and the cartridge bearings were well packed with grease. I’ve done a few hundred miles on mine, including the coast to coast with the bike fully loaded and it’s never missed a beat. The only criticism I would have is that the valley in the middle of the rim is very deep, making it an absolute pain in the arse to tape properly. I ended up doing mine the ghetto tubeless method.

Here’s my old Black & White Soul with red highlights, which I thought looked pretty good:

But I totally agree with submarined on this one, don’t buy a PP without an epic colour scheme, as every time you see another, you’ll look at yours and it’ll make you feel like you settled for the ugly sister….

Not wishing to state the obvious but make sure you order a 180 rear mount, they’re different front and back.

Therapy ?
You’d hate my bike. I run a hope bb with SLX cranks and a Works chainring. Kmc chain, xt rear mech with the clutch off a zee, with a radr cage, hope jockeys and a praxxis works cassette.

^ What he said ^

I used them on my Solaris for a year without problems. Now running 35, can’t say I feel any difference.

Come on markshires, where are the answers ?

Moonglu +1
I went for DT XM481 rims over flows though, zero problems with them over the last 18 months.

+1 for the Fox transfer. I have one (albeit internally routed) and it’s far nicer than the reverb on my other bike. No reliability issues either in the 6 months I’ve had it.

1 B line Llandegla
2 Stanage plantation
3 Deep Navigation, BPW
4
5
6 Marin trail?
7 Cut Gate
8 Blue Pig
9
10 Cave Dale
11 Hully Gully, Gisburn
12
13 Jacobs ladder
14 Wibbly Wobbly, BPW
15
16
17 Cannock Chase
18 the Beast of hope cross
19 Sherwood Pines
20
21 Lady Cannings
22 Penmachno
23 BPW
24 Snowdon Ranger

What frame is it?

1x specific then?

Pretty sure it still has the cable routing to take a side swing front mech.

I’ve used both JRA and moonglu recently for hand buit wheels with hope hubs and DT rims. Both have been excellent and would use again.

7iDP control knee pads are the best I’ve ever used. Bit pricey but comfortable enough to wear all day yet still plenty of protection.

Cotic Solaris you say?

Here’s mine. Tested one back-to-back with a Sherpa and much preferred it. Not for sale though. In fact, if I were to die, you’d probably have to fight my mates for it :)

Matt on my orange Rocket, looks practically invisible apart from where it goes over the cotic wrap on the down tube. The invisiframe seems to make the finish of the logo shimmer a bit more and actually makes it look better !

Can’t speak for the XD driver but the standard pro 4 freehub can be done with pro 2 evo tools. You actually need one tool less because they’ve done away with the oddball bearing size that used to be on the inside of the freehub on the pro 2 evo.

According to hope, E4 + 203 rotor = V4 + 180.

http://www.hopetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2016-Brake-selector.pdf

I used to have that frame with a straight steerer revelation. I ran the hope pick n mix headset with a type 1 upper cup, type H lower and the adapter I mentioned above. A cheaper option would be the Nukeproof pick and mix, they do an external lower cup for a straight steerer, for that you’ll need a T1 top cup and B4 lower, however this means you won’t be able to swap forks in future without changing the lower cup.
Also, don’t be tempted to fit a zero-stack lower cup as this can cause clearance issues between the fork crown and downtube.

Personally I’d go with whatever tapered headset fits the frame and floats your boat and put a Hope HS136 adapter on your fork.

Oops, broken link

What tyre and rim exactly? There’s a whole world of difference between say a maxxis ignitor and Schwalbe hans dampf even though they’re both 2.35.

Have you greased the o-seals before re-assembly?

I have about an inch gap between the grip and shifter. The wolf tooth lever has about 1/4″ of adjustment and I have it all the way in.

I personally wouldn’t pair the wolftooth LA lever with Hope ispec brakes. I use the standard one and have it fully inboard, I think the longer length of the LA lever would get in the way.

I run hope tech 3 levers on both bikes. You need the Ispec a mounting kit. It came for free with the 10 speed XT M780 shifter on one bike but the M8000 shifter on the other bike didn’t, meaning I had to buy the nut and bolt that Antares has linked to above.

My CCDBAir did exactly the same after a tftuned service, they hadn’t tightened the air shaft bolt properly and it had come loose. Better get it back to them quickly or they’ll say it’s out of warranty and charge you £65 for correcting their mistake :(
I wouldn’t take it to the alps like that, it will only get worse.

I’d say it’s 1 1/8 internal / zero stack rather than integrated.
Or in new money, ZS44/28.6 upper, ZS44/30 lower.

Moofo, need a bit more info please, what exact version is it (RL, RLT, RT3 etc.) and does it have a remote lockout ?
Alternatively, if you could post a pic of the compression adjuster that would be grand.

Spesh Butcher front, Maxxis Ardent rear.

Nipple goes at post end.
Wolf tooth remote is a similar price to the fox but comes in ispec versions so fits much nicer with my brakes.