My WPL C14 kit arrived this morning so I’m looking forward to starting the build over the weekend.

For those interested I ordered it directly from WPL on 1st Feb and it was delivered via Royal Mail today. No additional fees so far so hopefully there won’t be any. It was well packaged too so I’d happily order from them again.

You can convert non boost to boost but you can’t convert boost to non boost as the hubs are too wide.

So if the hub has interchangeable end caps you can usually convert between QR 135mm rear and 100mm front to thru axle 142mm rear and 100mm front and vice versa.

A boost 148mm rear and 110mm front thru axle would become 141mm rear and 110mm front if converted to QR as the hub shells are wider.

As for hubs you could look at Hope, DT Swiss, Superstar etc, just make sure the end caps are interchangeable and the hub isn’t boost spaced.

Personally I’m running WTB Scrapper i40s on DT Swiss 350 QR non boost hubs on my Stooge with 27.5 X 3.0 but I’ve seen people run 2.8s on 35mm and 40mm wide rims.

@gaidong They do look like good value kits. I’ve ordered the C14 all metal kit myself at the start of this month but it’s still on it’s way to me in the UK. The last tracking update a few days ago said it left Hong Kong airport.

I’m not sure what duty it’ll attract, if any. A few people have reviewed them on YouTube but no one’s mentioned import duty and this is the first time I’ve ordered direct from China. I’ll post an update when it’s delivered.

I’ve also had good experiences with their 11 speed cassettes. I’ll probably buy another when mine needs replacing.

@gaidong I’m similar to you, I’d been eyeing up crawlers for a few years but resisted buying anything till last week. I was also tempted by the Axial SCX24 but wasn’t quite able to convince myself to buy one. I think that it’s the best of the 1:24 scale though.

Personally I thought the 1:16 and 1:18 scale cars looked a bit more suitable for what I was after. They’re more capable outdoors but can be used indoors. I get the impression the 1:24 can be used outdoors but are at their best indoors.

The FTX Mini X looked OK, I quite liked the Panda Hobby models but they were hard to find in the UK. The FMS Atlas 6×6 and the Roc Hobby Katana Land Cruiser look cool too. I wasn’t sold on the combined ESC/receiver though so I didn’t buy anything.

A few weeks back I discovered the WPL C14 and C24 1:16 scale Hilux trucks. They’re direct from China so you do have to wait for them, mine hasn’t reached me yet. Basically they’re cheap, upgradeable, have a great community supporting them and are easy to modify. They come in three levels:

Ready to Run – Regarded as more of a toy
Kit – Better tyres and motor than the RTR and stronger gears
Kit Metal – Metal axle housings, bigger motor with a two speed gearbox, metal hubs, wheel weights, bearings etc. More expensive by quite a way and the axles look like a bit of a challenge to build but it’s a good smallish crawler when it’s built.

Both the kit and Kit Metal require you to add electronics. WPL do their own kits but I’ve bought mine separately.

WPL also do the C54 which is basically a Land Cruiser hard body for the C14 and C24 chassis.

I’d also take a look at the FTX Ranger XC. It’s another 1:16 scale but it’s a ready to run and comes with decent electronics. It’s the same as the RGT 136161. I was really tempted by this, but like the idea of building the kit and having loads of upgrades available.

Just thought I’d mention the models I’d considered incase you weren’t aware of them.

SkyRC genuine kit is decent quality, I have an imax mini b6 unit which has done well. Also use a Turnigy Reaktor, again, been working fine for a long while now.

I have not had good results from Overlander RC6 series chargers. Two units, both had very short lives. Twice bitten – never again. YMMV.

I think I’ll go for a SkyRC of some description. Thanks

Thanks, I’d looked at that Overlander charger, it looks to do what I want. I’ll take a look at the SkyRC s65 too.

Cheers

Question for those that use LiPos. I’m planning on running my WPL C14 on a 2s lipo when it arrives, but may want to get a 10th scale car at some point.

Can anyone recommend a balance charger that does LiIon, LiPo etc with storage charge functionality? Just looking for recommendations that aren’t likely to burn my house down and I’m somewhat suspicious of the knock offs from Banggood, eBay and Amazon.

That tank looks great in the snow!

Wireless Madness are also showing stock for the Escort too.

Ouch. Wishing Dave a swift recovery

ATF = automatic transmission fluid.

I’ve heard that acetone and ATF mix is good before, but I use Plus Gas as it’s convenient.

I also agree heat works well. I’d add Irwin Bolt Grips to the list of tools should everything else fail. They’ll chew up the fixings but if you’ve already damaged them you’ll probably want to replace them anyway.

nwmlarge I’m liking your D12. They appear very good fun for a small outlay.

timmys that’s a nice collection you have there.

I’ve finally caved and ordered a WPL C14MK directly from WPL. I ordered last night and got the dispatch notification this morning.

I like the idea of building the kit and from what I’ve seen the metal kits are pretty good. Brass gears, proper bearings, metal axle housings, 2speed transmission etc for £62 delivered. Obviously it’s more expensive than the RTR version and I need to supply my own radio etc but it means I can specify what I install.

The new FTX Ranger XC is a similar size and I almost bought one, it looks cool and seems great value for what you get.

I’ve ordered a WPL D12 off eBay this morning too. Apparently that’s UK stock so should be here by the weekend.

My old 2017 Rockshox Recon boost were labelled as 29/27.5+ and I ran them with 27.5 x 3 and 29 x 2.4 with a mudguard and had loads of room.

My current Suntour Aions are listed as 27.5+ and there’s loads of room for 27.5 x 3 but the biggest 29er tyre I can run is a 2.35 and that’s tight. The’res loads of room at the sides but clearance around the top of the tyre is minimal. My 27.5 rims are 40mm id and the 29ers are 24mm.

Based on my experience of 2 sets of forks I’d say it depends on the fork model but if in doubt go 29er.

I also managed to get one of the frames when Planet X were doing the frame, headset and seat collar bundle for £150 and for the price I paid I’m really happy with it.

Mine’s size small in orange, it weighed 2.78kg with through axle on my kitchen scales and has been built up on a budget. I’m running a Suntour Aion 35 27.5+ fork with 29er wheels, so can only just squeeze a 2.35 tyre in, and my wheels are self built RaceFace AR24 rims on Superstar hubs with boost adapters. I re dished the wheel in the frame with the boost adapters I’m using so managed to get the rim fairly central. I noticed that the wheel is closer to the seat stay on one side and the chain stay on the other side, but I can live with that. I’ve not measured the alignment to see if it’s out, it rides fine.

I’ve had a 2.4 Trail King in the back without rubbing, but the E13 TRS+ 2.35 i tried had massive side knobs that rubbed the paint off the frame on both sides when cornering. I’m not sure if my wheel build contributed to this though as it’s the 1st wheelset I’d built.

The rest of my build is an XT/SLX combo, Trans X dropper, Clarks M4 brakes and cheap finishing kit I had spare. It was built to a budget but it rides well and I’m happy with it. The only things I may change in the future are a boost wheelset and the forks for 29er ones for more tyre clearance. For now I’m happy enough running a 2.35 tyre up front.

Now that you’ve mentioned you’re prepared to up the budget and look at used amps have you considered the Boss Katana Mini?

I have one and also have the Orange Micro Crush (predecessor to the original amp you mentioned) and the Boss sounds much better. It’s not as good as a Yamaha THR but it sounds decent and costs much less. It runs on 6 AA batteries or you can buy a mains adapter.

I’m so sorry. Thinking of you and your family.

I did buy this in the end and I’ve no complaints with it. I’ve not punctured much so I’ve not really given it much of a test but it has sealed small leaks on initial setup and small thorn punctures easily.

I use a Camelbak Podium Dirt Chill and it works well but the rubber cap is quite small. It does completely cover the nozzle but mud still gets thrown onto the lid. If you’re not careful when removing the cap it’s easy to spread this mud onto the nozzle, especially if you’re wearing thick winter gloves.

It’s not been a major problem for me but I’d expect a full coverage flip lid is more likely to prevent contamination.

There are different kits available depending on your hubs. I’m running a generic kit with an axle spacer on each side of the hub plus a disc spacer up front and a 6mm spacer and disc spacer at the rear. I did redish the rear wheel to keep the cassette in the correct position but it’s only 3mm.

If there are end caps available for your hubs you probably won’t need the extra spacers. The cheap kits I used came with longer disc bolts too.

@inbred853 If it’s just the boost spacing that’s putting you off but your existing wheelsets are thru axle why not just use boost adapters?

I get that it’s not the nicest solution but if that’s the only thing you dislike about the frame I’d give it some consideration.

I also binged this a couple of months back and would agree it did go downhill towards the end. That said the last season wasn’t awful, just not as quite as entertaining.

I completed the month and found it got easier as the month went on. I wasn’t planning on drinking straight away but someone dropped some beers round the other night so I may have one this evening.

I didn’t bother with 0% alcohol beer etc as I wanted to prove to myself that I could do without it. I might try some now that it’s over in an effort to limit alcohol intake to weekends.

I’m still onboard. I found the temptation was stronger early on which I suspect was down to grabbing a drink out of habbit. The last few weeks have been fine, although I still seem to be looking at alcohol when shopping.

I think I’ve been sleeping better too which surprised me as it didn’t seem to make much difference when I stopped last year. I’m not in any rush to have a drink though.

Still in. I’m not finding it too bad so far.

Picked up some knee-length Sealskinz with 40% off.

I’ve just done the same. I do try and support local businesses but I’d never buy these socks at the RRP my local shops would charge. I’ve been looking for a decent deal on these for a couple of months on and off.

I’ve got the Orange Micro Crush which is the predecessor to the Orange mentioned above and a Boss Katana Mini.

The Boss is more expensive and doesn’t feel as well made as it’s all plastic but it’s a much better amplifier. It has cleaner cleans, much better distortion and a great tonal range.

I think Anderson’s did some comparison videos a while back which might be worth checking out. I’d avoid the Marshall, it doesn’t hold up to the competition.

I’m giving it a go this year. I only really have one drink on days that I do drink but those days have become more frequent than I’d like.

I stopped for all of September last year to see if not drinking would help me sleep better and improve my mood. Can’t say it made a noticable difference to me last year but I’m giving it another shot anyway.

I’ve a Worx Hydroshot and although I don’t use it on my dogs I think it’d be fine. Worx recommend doing just that with it. https://youtu.be/gj-PeMxbfd8

It’s nowhere near as powerful as a proper pressure washer but it has settings from a trickle to being strong enough to shift mud from tyres or moss/algea from stone, all be it very slowly.

Looks great, and the spec seems fairly decent. He should have a lot of fun on that.

With two syringes it’s not too hard to get a good bleed but it was very time consuming as whenever I repositioned the lever or moved the bars I found there was still air trapped in the system. There seemed to be loads of micro bubbles in the fluid too which took a while to fully remove but I’ve experienced that with Maguras too so I’m not sure if that’s a characteristic of mineral brake fluid?

I’m using Clarks floating rotors rather than the ones that came with the brakes as I’d bought them before I ordered the M4’s, not sure if that had an impact on my setup but as they’re all Clarks components I’d expect them to be compatible. The reviews for the M2 and M3 brakes recommended a pad upgrade so if that fixes my M4’s I’ll be happy enough but it shouldn’t be neccessary and I agree you can’t take chances with brakes, especially for someone elses bike.

@drewd. Did you get yours working ok?

I’m having one of those builds that fights you at every step.

The brakes are just not biting. No hose cut but pads just feel like cardboard. Lever travel inconsistent so I guess a bleed needed but when I tried that my RS reverb bleed syringe thread didn’t fit🙄 5mm instead of 6mm at the thread.

They still feel a bit inconsistent at the lever but they’re useable now. The bite and power has certainly increased but it took 2 or 3 rides to get there.

I’ve shortened the hoses and bled them but it took ages to get a decent bleed. There seemed to be loads of trapped air that was really tricky to remove. I ordered a Total Bleed Solutions bleed kit that had 50ml of mineral oil, two syringes with hose and an assortment of bleed nipples but you only get one or each size and you need 2 6mm nipples, one for the caliper and another for the master cylinder. I had one from my old Magura brakes but if you don’t your local motor factor should be able to sort you out with some.

It’s like the pads are too narrow as even with brand new pads it takes nearly all the lever travel to get the pads to engage with the disc properly. With a bad bleed I was running out of lever travel before the pads were engaging with the discs with enough power to stop you. I noticed that you can see the pistons move a lot before the pads even touch the disc, and when you release the lever the pad springs slowly push the pistons fully home again maintaining a massive gap between the pad and the rotor. As this happens slowly pumping the brake before the pistons have retracted fully provides a more solid lever. I don’t think it’s air in the system so much as the master cylinder can’t move enough fluid. It’s almost as if the pistons retract too easily.

I’m considering trying some finned pads to see if that improves things. I’m going to try making some shims from a coke can first to test the pad thickness theory but I’ll not risk riding it with shims in place.

There weren’t any reviews when I ordered the brakes from the Amazon link above, but there are now and they’re not glowing. I also noticed they’re not available o I’m not sure if Clarks have pulled them. If finned pads fix their travel issues I’ll be happy with them, but for a brand new brake they’ve been a bit of a disappiontment so far. Clarks never did reply to me email either.

Isn’t that BearingPro one just for the bearing installation, not for the headset cup installation?

The bearings in every headset I’ve worked on just push in by hand. It’s for the cups. The stepped press should ideally match the size of the bearing that would fit the cup to encourage the cup to go squarely into the frame

Same here. Align by eye, hold in place and nip up bolts then tighten each bolt 1/8 to 1/4 a turn at a time until tight.

I’ve got the Bearing Pro Tools one linked above and I’ve mixed feelings about it. I should point out it’s the only headset press tool I’ve used so I’ve nothing to compare it to and I’ve only used it to install two headsets.

I bought the version with bearings and drifts as it seemed like a better option than washers and spanners, they seem nicely made and work well but as the bearing and washer stack is loose it can be fiddly to thead onto the bar and it’s easy to drop a washer. It’s by no means a deal breaker though.

My biggest issue is that the drifts for me at least were a slightly loose fit in the headset cups, so the cups always seemed to start going in at a slight angle rather than perfectly square. When I installed a 1 1/8″ hope headset this was less of a problem, but fitting a Selcof headset into a tappered steerer it took me a few attempts to get it in square and I ended up starting fitting the cups with the press then gently correcting any misalignment with a small rubber mallet when the cup started going in at an angle. This worked well but I expected a press to negate the need for doing this.

I’ve not fitted many headsets so it could be user error and I was able to fit the headsets without any damage but it was frustrating.

The beauty of the Bearing Pro Tools setup though is that they sell drifts for other bearings too, so once you’ve got the bar and handles you can just buy the drifts you need. I bought a set for hub bearings when I got the headset press and they’ve been great. I’ve also used the headset drifts and old bearings as drifts when fitting new bearings to a different hub that I didn’t have the drifts for, so the press has proved more versatile than I thought it would.

I’m using Selcof Sterrato from Planet X

They’re currently on sale with 30% off so cost £14, but I think I paid £13 last year. They have a 10 degree flare and are quite compact so might not be so good if you’ve got big hands but I’m happy with them.

I think their On One Brian bars are supposed to have a slightly better shape but I wasn’t aware of them when I bought mine.

We’re with Petplan with lifetime cover. They’re the company that are repeatedly recommend by vets, which is why we chose them even though they’re more expensive than the competition.

My biggest grievance with them is that although they’re more likely to pay out for a claim in my experience I’ve found them poor to deal with and they always increase the renewal by 10% or more.

We have two dogs, the eldest is a 5 year old miniature poodle who we’ve never claimed for, with £4k cover and the renewal has increased again. The policy started at around £400 but the renewal last week wanted £700. Each year when I call them they refuse to move on price, yet a new quote for the same dog is hundreds of pounds cheaper, but won’t cover any pre existing conditions, even though we’ve never claimed. They also refused my request to increase the limit to £7k to match what our other dog is covered for.

We did claim for our younger dog but the specialist vet we saw required us to pay up front and claim the money back. Petplan did pay but it took nearly a month and I had to chase them a few times. Turns out they were trying to invoice the wrong vet! Somewhere we’ve never been to, but didn’t contact us to check the details when they didn’t get a response from the vet they invoiced.

Everyone I speak to recommends PetPlan so I suspect we’ve just been unlucky, but if you don’t like what they’ve quoted you already I doubt you’ll be happy with the renewal quotes.

I know that not everyone is a fan of the Superstar V6 but since I made sure the bearings were seated correctly it’s been absolutely fine.

Hopefully you’re not without the bike for too long.

Are the bearings in the rear hub and freehub seated correctly? I had some freewheel drag on an early Superstar V6 hub that I bought second hand but unused and experienced a problem where the rear wheel wouldn’t freewheel.

It turned out to be a bearing or seal not quite seated right so it was binding when the axle was tightened. I bought a bearing press from bearing pro tools and ensured all the bearings were seated fully and it’s been fine since.

Can you borrow a press from anyone or your LBS? Or get creative with some threaded bar, washers and sockets?

I bought a set off here last year with post mount calipers and the more modern levers for £40. The front lever was sticking so needed a rebuild and the levers are a bit tatty but they work fine.

I think the lever rebuild kit was around £10 so they stand me at about £50. eBay prices are higher but personally I’d not spend more than £60 for a set in good used condition.