I have had the 1 x 11 fitted as original equipment to my new bike.

I didn’t expect to like it, as I have always been a Shimano man for geared systems.

I like it alot, it shifts very well, makes hardly any noise or chainslap.

Seems very logical in in hub geared sense of changing.

Simple up or down selection, makes riding on the trail easier – seem to concentrate on the riding more than the gear selection.

1 x 11 will become my new preferred system in future , SRAM or Shimano.

For me, as normal trail rider, much better.
Regards

Denis

I had one a few years ago.

On a hard tail I think it’s best suited. The weight factor plus no chain tensioner made a lot of sense.

Also fitted one to a Nicolai Helius with the dedicate dropouts. Have to say it added too much weight and additional complexity with the chain tensioner, chain guide etc.

I liked it overall, but hard tail only for me.

Turner Flux

Rocky Mountain Blizzard

Glad I had them both, great bikes, for their time.

Hours of fun on them.

Wall and / or Whites Level.

Virtually all single track,

its a poor design really.

i have one on my trek Stache 9, its only a matter of time before they start giving grief.

ordered a Chris King 92mm replacement bottom bracket with Skyline Cycles. They will fit once the bottom bracket arrives.

Using the Chris king grese tool this should end any problems in the bottom bracket area.
Regards

Denis

Did you take the cassette off as well?

If so, then the XD driver hub needs the cassette to be fully screwed back on to the freehub body.

If the cassette is not fully home, then the cassette will foul the chain stay.

I forgot to mention that when I took the freehub apart there was hardly any trace of any grease in there at all.

I applied some very light grease sparingly, but this didn’t make any difference.

Went to bed and slept on it , I then remembered that my road bike has DT star ratchet system.

Swapped the internals over, and everything works as it should.

I will get in touch with the shop for a warranty replacement.

Never had a freehub fail before, hope this is a one off.

Easy to take apart and regrease etc, so I will probably do this every three months or so.
Regards

Denis

Cheers,

one thing I hadn’t checked.

I’ll have a look in the morning.
Regards

Denis

Aberlour 10 year old

£18 in Morrisons Neath.
Regards

Denis

Ducati – I had a Monster 1100 S , with ohlins as standard.

Lovely bike, but be prepared for servicing costs to be high.

Didn’t want to ride around town, its not that type of bike.
Glad I had a Ducati, but can become a little tiresome to ride unless you are committed ..

Personally, I wouldn’t have a Ducati again.
Regards

Denis

My age is 60

Ubble age 48

1.7% chance of dying in the next 5 years.
Regards

Denis

Dropper

I bought the Touring bundle in Halfords in the last 7 days.

Doesn’t come with cadence though.

Can recommend it though. I just wanted an all round unit that would do a bit of everything for about £250.

Just an update, I looked at some YouTube videos to get a better idea of how to use the dropper.

Been out twice now using the dropper slightly dropped on the descents, and extended on the climbs.

I seem to have adjusted to using the dropper, find it much better now.

Thanks for the advice.

Quite a while ago, at least 7 years ago when I put a big dent in the downtube on a Turner Flux that I had.

They were excellent, gave me the owners discount against a new front triangle.

Turner bikes are expensive, but the customer care is first class.
Regards

Denis

In the sixties we used to go and watch speedway. This in turn lead us to make our bikes into trackers and making “speedway” tracks.

The best places were away from houses around trees.

This is how we discovered the world of cycle speedway eventually.

Had great fun on simple beat up bikes in my childhood, no brakes, no gears, very simple and sturdy bikes – great fun.

Regards

Denis

Yes, I have been used to getting my hips back over the saddle for any steeper stuff, but I will give using the dropper and lower my body with my knees a trial.

Thanks for all the advice.

I’ll give it a little longer and see if I can adapt to the dropper, glad to know that I wasn’t the only one not to get on with it straightaway.
Regards

Denis

Most of my riding is at Afan.

I have the saddle at the usual position to help support me whilst pedaling both up and downhill.

Never used to drop the post very much before I had a dropper, only in extreme cases, and then I found it was too low to ride through the rest of the trail, so I would stop and put it back to the normal ( extended) ride height.

It looks quite neat to be honest, has internal cable routing, works well. But it seems as though I’m carrying around a bit of kit that barely gets used.

I might give it a few more tries to see if I learn to use it more.

I have generally liked the support of the extended saddle whilst pedalling, so it would only be used for tackling steep descent stuff etc.
Regards

Denis

Hi stoddys

Good to meet up, hope you enjoyed your visit at Afan.

I saw your comments on The Blade, will give it a go tomorrow.

Regards

Denis

The advice I was given from Southdowns bikes, where I bought the Trek Stache 9 from, was that a normal 29er tube will be fine for an emergency puncture on the trail.

Unfortunately, speaking to a lot of my close family members before they recently died, none of them said they had wished that they had spent more time in work ~ paid or unpaid hours.

I have recently retired, and know the pressures that are exerted to expect unpaid “overtime”, but eventually nearly everyone resents this situation.

There is a give and take, but over the years , my experience is that the employer always gets the better deal.

My new Trek Stache 9 29+

Regards

Denis

Thanks for the feedback, I’ve made getting lost a bit of an art form over the years, but that’s just me….

I’ll have a look at the recommendations, thanks.

Regards

Denis

Thanks, need mapping though, as I can record some local rides and share the routes etc.
Regards

Denis

I already had a track pump so went for the Airshot product.

Airshot works well, good idea if you already have a good track pump.

Only improvement I would make is to have a small stand for the Airshot canister to fit into.

It tends to fall over as it has a small diameter and is tallish).

Otherwise great product.
Regards

Denis

South Downs bikes where I bought the bike from St the tyres up tubeless with Stans tape and valves.

You leave the original rim tape in place and add the tubeless rim tape .

I probably would have adopted the method below, but credit to Southdowns bike shop for prepping and setting the bike up, worked flawlessly.

Tubeless Fatbike Guide: Nate to Rolling Darryl

Thanks

What Trek have done is to produce a different type of bike by looking at the frame design to fit the 29+ wheels.

The elevated chain stay and the X1 drive chain make a very good combination, no chain slap either , very quiet ride.

The forks and the 3 inch tyre work very well.

It has been thought out extremely well.

Dropper post doesn’t suit my style though.

Very observant posters here, yes, no bike cleaning or lubing allowed on the patio, small robins are allowed however.

Here are my impressions of the bike.
Had a good assessment ride, out for three hours, at Afan including climbing and descending – not much else really at Afan….

Sram X1 is fine, can’t see me wanting anything else in terms of a gear set up, works flawlessly and much more intuitive. I have always been a Shimano Xt man , running 2 x 10 on my other bike, but Sram X1 is much better.

Manitou Magnum fork worked very well, will leave alone for the moment to let it settle in etc, works very well with the 3″ front tyre. Sag set at 25%, but will play with settings to fine tune. Front end felt very secure with large wheel and 110mm spacing.

Tyres are now tubeless and ran at 12 psi front and rear. Sounds like a tractor at speed, wide bars at 740mm give a sort of invincible feeling.

I went for the 19.5 inch frame , look carefully at the Trek geometry, as it is actually 18.5 from centre of bottom bracket to top of seat tube. I’m 5 10 1/2 tall with a 32 “ inside leg.

Dropper post, the only negative. I can’t see the point of this for me, so it will be replaced with a normal carbon post very soon to save some weight.

Bit slower on the climbs , but doesn’t seem to mind, it feels nicely sedate in a relaxed sort of way – it just doesn’t want to be rushed ( which is fine my me), and the grip is impressive.

Like a bulldozer descending, sort of rolls and thunders over all sorts of things with the forks and 29 x 3 inch tyres.

I like a lot….

Very different from my Cannondale F29 lefty, which is good, didn’t want two bikes which were in any way similar.
Regards

Denis

Nice, I like it.

Looks good dirty and abused, its got wheels and its a mountain bike, not much to worry about there. I’ve got two 29er’s, but the important thing is its a bike and is being used in anger.

Lovely.
Regards

Denis

Regards

Penis

You could put a smiley or something behind that, my name is Denis, I’m just being polite
Regards

Denis

Haven’t seen the wife for a while….
Regards

Denis

cheers, lots of other plastic garden animals as well.

Regards

Denis

Just read the post with some interest.

I have now bought two mountain bikes in the last five months , one today.

I haven’t got a beard though, suppose I could work on that though.

Cannondale F29 , carbon frame, lefty fork, 29er wheels

Just bought the new Trek Stache 9 29+ today, sort of half fat bike with all sorts of new stands.
1 x 11 , new to me.
Weird front hub and rear hub spacing, big tyres, dropper post, elevated chain stay.
Hopefully out tomorrow, failing that it will make its debut ride at Afan this weekend.
Can’t wait.

Cheers,

Looks like the standard bb30 is just a means of keeping down the standard build cost of the bike.

kcnc unit will be my choice though, thanks.

Our original fit cost £7000 about tWo years ago.

Very good investment, South facing roof with very litllemobstucrion.

Paid in the region of £1500 by means of energy reduction and grid pay back.

Would still recommend, but get a few quotes, if you are in S.Wales then I can recommend an installer ..

Congrats on the new bike, I have had a few BMW’s in the past, as others have said , careful with the low speed balance etc.

I have quite a large touring bike, always aware of the weight parking it, or getting it out of the garage etc. Yamaha FJR1300.
Regards

Denis

It’s been dry here since Saturday.

Rode Afan on Saturday and it was pretty dry then.

Weather forecast is for more dry weather, it will be dry and fast come the weekend.
Regards

Denis

yes,but there just seem to be so many choices.

The cost of the advice I have been given does seem to be inline with what the IFA propose, but I can’t help feeling that I had to work quite hard and long for £3000.

This does seem to be a high cost to me.
Regards

Denis

Ps

Not all doom and gloom.

Just been to the gym for 2 hours, now at home, cup of coffee, some gardening to do.

Off out on the road bike this afternoon for a quick jaunt.