Cheers Bez.

@vortexracing any idea of the weight of the frame and fork? And was the headset fitted?

Awesome, I really enjoyed that.

That’s the best thing I’ve watched this week, thanks for sharing.

Not good. I hope no one was injured and that the students didn’t lose anything that cannot be replaced.

The postie has just delivered my t-shirts, they seem decent for the money. Thanks Singletrack.

The industry is pushing towards 29ers running 2.6″ tyres over the 27.5 plus from 2 or 3 years back. The Genesis Tarn, Kona Unit and Marin Pine Mountain have gone that way.

That said I have a plus bike and still ride it, and the Trek Roscoe is popular.

So I’d say it’s not dead yet, but it’s not as popular as it was. I still like them on hardtails.

Cheers, just ordered a couple.

I’ve got the previous model, which I believe is pretty similar. It’s the same frame in a different colour, same fork and finishing kit with slightly different rims and tyres. I got mine for similar money and really like it, but it is a bit of a heavy beast. It’s certainly not long, low or slack but it’s great fun on singletrack and more compitent than I was expecting based on it’s geometry.

That said I’ve not ridden any modern bikes with more up to date geometry.

Bounce in Preston have a good reputation. I’ve only used them once when I bought a rebuild kit for my dropper and they were really helpful and reasonably priced.

I use RSP Slick Kick. Still expensive but a bit cheaper than the alternatives, works well and lasts ages as I only service my own forks.

I’m running Vittoria Bomboloni 27.5 x 3 which seem to have reasonable sidewalls and roll well. I could do with buying something more suitable for winter and am undecided on whether to buy a more aggressive 27.5 x 3 for the front or a pair of more aggressive 2.6 or 2.8 tyres.

I’ve not been riding much recently as life has got in the way but there ground is so wet here in Lancs that a Bomboloni up front may result in a trip to the dentist!

Twunts. I hope you get the bikes back. I’ll keep an eye out in Lancs.

Voodoo Bizango is around this price, a bit more at full RRP but less when on offer. It’s well regarded by the mags and people on here.

Onza Payoff or Jackpot are around this price too from Onza. Or something from Calibre/Go Outdoors.

As has already been said if you want to stay 26″ you can pick up a used frame for not a lot of £.

Re the Merlin Malt +, I’ve no experience with it, it does seem very good value but the geometry seems quite dated. More importantly however is that the 27.5+ tyre has a similar diameter to a 29er with a 2.2-2.3″ tyre. I don’t think this will work well with your existing 26″ kit if that was your intention?

Thanks Tracey, I guess the Butcher Blck Dmnd is worth the extra money.

Has anyone used the Specialized Purgatory Grids in plus sizes? They’re cheap at the moment in 2.6 or 3″. Or the Eliminator?

I’m currently running Vittoria Bomboloni 27.5 X 3 which are really fast but will be no good for winter. The only other plus tyres I have are the Performance line Nobby Nics the bike came with.

I believe the Unit is single speed and the Unit X is geared. You can buy the parts to add gears to the Unit.

I’ve ridden a 27.5 unit and really liked it. This looks great too.

I use Bondus allen wrenches and they seem to be decent quality. Like these ones
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bondhus-10946-Balldriver%C2%AB-L-wrenches-1-5-5mm/dp/B0006O4AEC/ref=sr_1_13?qid=1566126239&refinements=p_89%3ABondhus&s=diy&sr=1-13
Not colour coded but fit allen bolts well and I’ve never rounded a fixing with them.

I think you’re out of luck on this one.

You can convert some hubs from thru axle to QR, but boost spacing is wider than normal spacing so the boost hubs will be too wide even if you fit QR end caps.

148x12mm thru axle boost rear becomes 141mm QR
110x15mm thru axle boost front becomes 110 QR

The Stooge is 135mm rear and 100mm front I believe so you’d need non boost hubs.

Superstar currently have 25% off wheel builds and allow you to choose boost or normal in thru axle or QR configurations.

I’ve got the Lezyne micro floor drive HV. Bought it when I got my current bike with 27.5 X 3.0 tyres. It’s a good pump but quite big.

Calibre (Go Outdoors brand) are well regarded for value for money. There’s currently 15% off everything too if you’re in the market now.

Voodoo and Bordman at Halfords, and Decathlon are worth a look too.

Carbon
29ers
LLS geometry
Racing
Bike packing
Touring

Panaracer Gravel King SK? I’m running a pair tubeless and really like them for road and light off road. I’ve not put them through anything like the 3 peaks though.

I ended up buying this after starting this thread and it’s been in the tyres for a few months. I’ve not ridden the bike that much due to work and recovering from a cracked rib but I can still hear sealant sloshing around in the tyres so it’s not dried out yet. No complaints from me so far.

That was entertaining, especially the camera guy.

Two days ago. I wanted to open an ISA, I didn’t have an account with that bank so had to go in person. It took nearly a month to get a Saturday appointment.

It looks really good, as do most Stooges.

Thanks all. Based on the above I’ll probably avoid the washers and the assocaited faff.

I was planning on using some WTB KOM road/cx rims. I’ve read that they’re soft but I don’t have a track record for trashing rims so was considering giving them a try. They’re also cheap as they’re an older model so if I do damage them I won’t have wasted too much cash.

ACI double butted spokes seem reasonable at 45p each for black or 28p each for silver. I’m tempted to go silver due to price, but I do think black look better so will probably pay the extra for them. I’ve no plans to use any fancy locking nipples or anything, I was planning on reliability and easy spares availability more than anything.

Cheers TINAS, I hadn’t even considered the washer size.

Thanks Joe, you’ve given me a few things to think about there. I’ll check out Cycle Basket for prices.

It’s my first time building wheels, I’ve trued wheels before but nothing more. I was planning on copying the lacing pattern from the existing wheels on that bike. I’ll probably do as you did and spread the process over a few days.

Excellent, thanks guys.

Reliability and ease of maintenance are more important than weight on this build.

The rims don’t have eyelets so I may add nipple washers just to be safe. It sounds like Sapim Race are what I am looking for in terms of weight/cost/performance.

Not sure where you are OP, but Ribble have an EBike demo taking place this weekend in Warrington.

More info here

That looks insane. I can see it being a lot of fun on a tight race track.

Nice bike Cokie, have fun with it.

I hadn’t ridden my BMX for over a year and when I jumped on it a couple of weeks ago it did feel twitchy for a few minutes, but it didn’t take long to adjust to it. Ultimately they’re supposed to be nimble and chuckable.

Do you mean Panaracer Gravel King?

If so, I am running a pair of 700c 35mm and like them. They’re a little slower rolling than the Vittoria Voyager Hyper, but still fast and grip well on and off road so far.

I’ve not tried the G-Ones but can recommend the Gravel Kings.

As far as I know U brakes are the standard brake on BMXs these days. The model the OP linked to has removable hardware, as does mine so that if you want to run brakeless you can remove the mounts for a cleaner look.

In terms of performance, mine has a Proper U brake with clear pads and it works reasonably well. It’s still poor compared to a V brake, but it’s much better than the cheap Dia Compe copies I used to run 15-20 years ago.

If you’re anywhere near Lancs I’ve a WeThePeople BMX that I should really sell. It’s a warriors frame with Salt components.

I’ve recently trued the rear wheel and all the bearings are good. It’s got scuffs and scrapes from use but it’s not abused and is well under your budget. 21.3″ top tube though.

I used it last week to ride back from the garage after dropping the wife’s car in for an MOT, and had a blast riding home on it!

I use a Camelbak dirt chill which works well. It might be a bit too big for your frame though.

Thanks all. Seeing as this thread has been resurrected I’ll add that I bought a litre and am currently using it on my 27.5 plus setup.

It is very thick, and I’ve not punctured yet but the above quote from Brant is reassuring.

As above the Guild Wheel is a good shout.

Beacon Fell is not too far away and has some off road trails that might be okay with a trailer. It’s not very big, and a bit hilly but off road and family friendly.

https://www.visitlancashire.com/things-to-do/beacon-fell-country-park-p1730