Problem I found trying to bodge a guard was you need quite a long extension to cover the entire length of the extended seat post shaft. Mate of mine has had some success with an inner tube cut in half, zip tied to seat rails and then tied just below seat clamp….looked a bit crap though.

I run the zefal no mud …was about £7 and works very well….Looks a bit gash though

Thanks for replies chaps :) yeah I reckon the sprung steel ball will wear away the edges of the pockets in the soft ally lever quite quickly …..maybe that’s why yours is loose m’house….. Have a look at the underside of the lever and see what the profile of the 3 pockets look like…

Will give it another week to see if mine sorts itself out as it wears in otherwise will give tf a shout (who were most excellent in shipping me the shock next day and even sending me another mounting kit as I stupidly gave them the wrong size when ordering)

I have one – don’t know what you are supposed to do with it. But I use 50-100ml of water and stick in micro for 8 mins. My 1 year & 2.5 year old seem fine so far :)

No you have a fair point Mark :) then but the camber frame runs runs really well at +120 (I know because I ran 135 mm pikes on it for about 5 months before having to give them back!). Suits my riding very well.
The stock rebas are fine but the little extra height on the front really helps coupled with the ctd bv rear shock makes a great fast combo.

Again, lots of people run 130s over the 120s so I cannot be alone in my thinking :)

Cheers again guys – will go measure my atc length now on my rebas to see how that compares.

Thanks guys – wwwwwwwas – I am aiming for a 0.5 degree raise on the head angle…so 10 mm extra on the length of fork. As I said, many people run 130’s on the camber because the bb is quite low And you need to time pedal strokes on the trail as not to smack it! Especially as I tend to run more -ve air in my rebas to keep them really plush.

The fox 32 140s with spacer sound good :) ….. Will focus my search a bit on these.

Yeah Khani they are great :) I carry a kit with me now as to be honest I don’t really trust the stans fluid – it’s fine on small pin/thorn holes but not great at gash (ha) sealing.

The kits work well but def worth using a few layers! If the gash (ha) is big enough, the pressure in the tyre can blow the patch through the hole creating a nice little weak “patch balloon”.

Prep is the key here – use rubbing alcholol (or vodka etc) to clean the inside of the tyre thoroughly…then key the surface with sandpaper.

Those kits from crc work well too. So long as you take your time and prep the surface well the repair should be fine!

Ha yeah thanks :) will speak with tf tuned tomorrow so hopefully they will advise. Mounting hardware does not normally come with shocks from wiggle/crc/merlin etc etc so knowing the size is useful ;)

Really good :) nice one!

Ignore all the negative comments. Carerras are actually not bad bikes at all and great value.

I replaced my dt Swiss rws skewer on my reba with one of these:

Cheap and works well – assuming you need a 9mm (other sizes available, I also got a 10mm for rear)

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=286

Swinley is ducked

Yeah it’s fine for me, I like it – I use the lockout on commutes too…out of interest do you find you still get a bit of movement of the shock? I run the shock at between 160-170 psi and get around 10mm of travel even locked out …I know most forks and shocks don’t lock out completely but have always wondered if 10mm is too much! Been like that from new though so not too worried about it!

Interesting thanks :) certainly felt the weight at the front running the pikes! You still running the stock triad 2? (Assuming that was fitted stock).

How does running 140s feel on the camber Steve? I borrow a set of rs pikeys when my rebas went for tuning and had these running 130. I dropped the stem angle a bit but really liked the ride – also helped to raise the bottom bracket a bit! I know they are set up for 120’s but I may seriously consider going back to a longer fork

Do you run a triple or double? Ghost shifting under load when in extremes of gears on the camber (with a triple) has been a little issue on mine for a while, rode a mates 2011 and that did the same thing. Rode a 2012 and did not notice anything – but this could be to do with that running a double bash. It’s not a big issue but you can see the twist in the rear triangle when you step on cranks hard. Compromise between weight and strength I guess – keep a good chain line and its fine.

Agree the 1 1/8 head tube is fine, perfectly happy with the 9mm qr forks too! Like you I made quite a few changes….pro2,s and flows – in my opinion the stock spesh hubs are crap. Still running the triad 2 on it as I like the lockout (have considered an rp23 or new fox ctd but don’t think these can be locked out). Also I am glad the expert was fitted with rebas! A great easy to maintain fork – I will never own another fox front fork due to past issues.

Yup – same as above. Got a 2011 expert and its great! Only problem with the earlier cambers was frame flex at the rear under heavy load – I believe they stiffened up the back end in 2012. I commute on mine with skinny tyres – it’s a really comfy bike for all day riding. The bottom bracket is quite low though compared to other similar class bikes.

Only downside as I guess is common with many fs frames is the 11 bearings needed for all the linkage / pivots!

Spesh warranty is very good too (from what I have heard never used it)

The jubilee clips supplied with those hoses are made of cheese and the threads strip easily. Check when you do the bolt up, the threads are not slipping on the steps in the clip….I would replace with a high torque band (we uses these on our turbo hoses at work). If it looks to be ok, you can also use a bit of high temp sealant on the protruding pipe, tighten up jubilee clip and leave to set for a bit. The clamp needs to be on pretty tight but if the person fitting in the first place applied too much force, as I said before, threads strip on the clamp and off pops the hose.

As Jag says, hoses popping off are much more common on pressurised side of the turbo, other side is under vacuum (there are thick ridges in the hose to stop it collapsing).
look at the back of the black intake tube that goes from the air filter to the turbo, you will see a smaller black hose with a sensor on it. This smaller tube is your crankcase ventilation line. You see the oil in the turbo intake because the air vented from the crankcase contains oil mist which pools in the turbo inlet hose – perfectly normal no problem.

Had the same problem. Bit of plumbers ptfe tape round the nylon hose tail fitting and replacing plastic jubilee clip with metal one did the job for me. I assume the housing is not cracked or anything?

Yarp for me! Absolutely love mine – I really don’t give a plop what people think! Got some short stubby ergon ones (3 finger)…the ends curve inwards so less likely to catch on stuff. Nice to have a larger pad to rest palm on too. You can switch positions easily and so far they have worn really well. Took a little while to find the correct angle after a bit of trial and error. I did originally buy them for longer xc rides with the intention of using my clamp on “normal” bars for more fun stuff but once I tried them I did not want to go back.

If you got the money sure why not! Personally, I would go for a set of pikeys (454’s) on the bfe although a bit heavy.

Customer service from smudge is top notch :) had a slight issue with the original battery pack and smudge sent me another with no question at all and this one is perfect. It’s a really good, solid light and reliable – been using pretty much every other day for 2 months and its as good as the day I got it. Nice beam pattern too and more than enough light even on low.

Why? …..interested to know that’s why.

If you can get to all the bolts then yeah sure just pop ring off. The only think you may need is a flat thin knife/blade for holding the rear nuts in place while you do the ring bolts up during reassembly. There is a crank bolt tool available for this very purpose but i have never bothered – I just use a kitchen knife.

Worst case yeah just pop the rings off ! Hopefully you will get to the bolt head – especially if you used a mult angled Allen key (not sure what technical name is but has a three dimensional “ball” at the end if you know what I mean!!!)

Good luck :) I aim for 2mm cage height above big ring – seems to shift very well. Any more or less I get cage rub.

As coatsey says ….see the pic below, see the two oval holes? There should be two oval pieces of metal to set height of the mech. Obviously if bolts at top of the oval, the mech is at its lowest position, bolts at bottom, mech at at it’s highest. I don’t bother with the metal bits (they act like spacers). On my bike the perfect height is bolts in middle of slots!

Depending on the size of the rings – you may be able to remove one of the crank retaining bolts and poke Allen key through to reach the bolts that hold mech on. (works on mine as luckily the hole lines up).

Alex – I could have written that post and for me its the same since sept 2011. The best i can describe what i feel pretty much every day is “Brain Fog”. I too have had complete blood work x3 times…also checks for Lymes and EB something. Consultant recently sent me for an MRI which thankfully came back clear.

somedays i find it so hard to concentrate on a single task as my head is spinning all over the place and i cannot think clearly. GP’s have not a clue – nor does the consultant so far (going back in Jan…he has hinted at either something to do with my thyroid OR something like post viral fatigue (which CAN last for years)

send me a mail mate corless at hotmail dot co dot uk – dont use google like i did to try self diagnose – you will find out and convince yourself you have cat aids with an undiagnosed tennis ball sized brain tumor (hence me pushing for MRI).

Keefus – sorry you had to endure the delights of Bracknell town center* (you mentioned you stayed there)….next time you visit swinley stay in Wokingham! Nice place with loads of decent pubs to try and swinley only a short (ish) ride away.

*I live in Bracknell so perfectly within my rights to say the town center is a plop hole!

Yeah thanks for the biscuits! Was really nice riding out there today and good to meet some of you guys/girls in real life!

I was the guy on the spesh – yes who stacked it on that downhill bit :) ha still trying to work out how that happened!

I have spent more hrs than I care to remember setting up my rear indexing! They key I find is to obviously set limit screws first…. Don’t forget the b screw adjustment – can make things sound like a bag of spanners if not set correctly (too close to gear).

Best way to check cable tension I have found is surprise surprise as per the shimano guide (admittedly the way it’s written is crap). Stick chain on second gear in rear and then apply a tiny bit of tension via the shifter just enough to take up the play in the cable. You want to adjust the tensioner screw (anti clockwise = more tension) until you start to hear the chain picking up on the third gear.

Indexing with 10 speed systems can be a bit of a fiddle as quarter turn on the tensioner can make a difference between good/poor performance! Also with the flex in most full suspension rear ends – the gears may shift and sound fine in the stand BUT as soon as you get some power down while riding things change! The best way is to adjust as best you can in the stand and then adjust a little at a time during a test ride.

In addition to shimano instructions check out this :

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailler-adjustments-derailleur

I reckon Alzore would be good to lead the slower group ;) knows the trails well and more importantly can navigate off the firetrack. Look forward to meeting some of you guys (I think ha ;) )

Had to hose myself down this morning as well as the bike. It’s horrible out there at the moment – try to stick to the higher areas of swinley (and less used) but it’s pretty torn up at the mo.

Pretty sure a crossmark advantage combo will work well for you. Would not run a crossmark at the front though –
You need something a little gripper to dig in on the turns. One of my riding buddies runs the small blocks and they seem pretty good too.

Needed to swap over my 2.35 Hans damf tyres for my 22 mile round trip commute. Got lots of good suggestions on here and decided to go for a 2.1 crossmark on the rear and a 2.1 advantage on the front. The crossmark runs really quick on pavement/road/fire track and the advantage rolls fast enough with good grip at front.

Did a blast round swinley this morning (it’s muddy) and the combo was fine (ok slipped a bit on wet roots and not quite as much traction in the mud as the Hans damfs but that’s expected)

Probably the best combo I have run (my commute is mixture of off road, pavement, road and canal path). Strava says I am roughly 10-15 minutes quicker on this combo than on the treacle tyres.

Oh and running tubeless too which helps – run 40+ psi for commutes and 20-25 for forest blasts.

V8 – yeah thanks for that – literally just checked that after reading your post. However…lockring very tight.

Tried adjusting tension, tried checking b screw. Tried everything….think my next step will
Be a new chain.

Fingers crossed

Ha yeah good point :) Doh! Killed an hour at work over engineering a tool on my colchester lathe and mill :) has a knurled Handle too ! Absolutely serves no purpose whatsoever.

Found it! Looks like I need to thread in a 1/2 inch bolt and yank the bush out.

Good video here :

http://mpora.com/videos/OyqyIljtx

Will try tomorrow hamble thanks – made me a little spacer at work today to Check the required 5-6mm clearance so will set this and see how I get on!

Maybe the spacing needs to be slightly Bigger or smaller than what’s called up in the shimano tech docs – I guess they assume you are using all shimano running gear (I am using kmc chain).

Stevie – yeah double checked the position of the wheel in dropout.

Bikeshopbob – yeah I must admit this has been my thought all along – however its a new kmc chain (well 200miles on it). I killed my last chain with degreasing too much so have been really careful with this one. It feels ok when it’s off the bike and a heavy soaking in chain lube has not helped.

Singlespeed stu – I think ruling all other options out, this could be a probable cause and will have a good look tomorrow. I know 10 speed setups are a bit more sensitive to indexing than good old fashioned 9/8 speed setups. The noise does sound just like the gears catching the chain edge. Tried winding the adjustment barrel all the way in and out on my way home today and did not seem to help :(

One thing I have noticed is that the sprung arm on the rear derailer does seem to vibrate with the noise and moves back and forward. I was wondering if it could be a genuine incompatibility with the design of the kmc chain. The chain rollers have quite a bit of float radially and I am pretty sure I can see the edge of the chain riding up on the jockey wheels before popping into a seated position.

I am totally flummoxed by this! May run it down to my trusted BS (not my LBS as they are rubbish and will just start randomly replacing stuff).