Which wheel size?

Looking at those Merlin prices, your LBS (assuming they have a Madison account) might be able to get close, depending on what options you want. There are also various options missing, or even parts (e.g. brake adapters) which your LBS might supply, which don’t appear to be included from Merlin.

Just saying – if you want to shop locally, it might be worth having the conversation – there are ways we can try to help.

We have one Large frame coming on the next shipment, I’m sure other shops will have some too. After that they’re finished for the year.

We’ll be there fixing bikes, supplying any bits you might need, and serving up burgers and bacon rolls!

Yes, the new Raleigh Probuild / Alex Volar / Chosen wheels look excellent – we’ve just placed our stocking order and have already pre-sold a couple of sets.

Judging by the quality of their other wheels, they’ll be well-built and the components look excellent. Cracking value.

Reba are usually 100-120mm travel and have the RL damper.
Revelation are 130-140mm and have the RCT3 damper.
Both 32mm stanchions.

We have some pre-ordered and have been told they’re imminent… but we’ll see!

Tyres are already here so just waiting for something to put them on. May go down the Velocity route if the Scrapers don’t appear soon.

Pyga Zero if you want something higher-end although the Saracen is a good option imho.

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/details.aspx/SCHWALBE-HANS-DAMPF-MTB-650B/285

If 10% of RRP is expensive, they’re even more so! RRP of the Supergravity version the OP was asking about is £54.99 (not £59.99 as that link lists) so I’d have thought most shops could/would do them for around £49 if you ask nicely.

Fair enough. I was just looking at that link you saint, honourablegeorge. Their price is 25% under what we pay. OK, there’s delivery on top (and for one tyre, you’d not be far off a discounted UK price) – but it’s a bit silly really.

Does anyone know if they’re retail packaged or OEM stock? Or is it a bit of a mixture and you take your chances?

They’re in stock in the UK so any dealer should be able to sell them to you. What’s a reasonable price? 10% off RRP?

I’d have a Raceface Next SL direct mount crankset rather than SRAM or Shimano, too.

I don’t think you’ll find any – Maxxis in the process of changing UK distributors, I have the full list of the old distributor’s stock here (One Industries) and they don’t have any – and the new distributor (Extra) aren’t getting their stock for another couple of weeks.

We’ll have stock as soon as any arrives in the UK!

Yep, just a safety tab to stop the cranks falling off if they come loose. If the two bolts are tightened evenly to the correct torque (12nm I thought, but whatever it says on the crank) then you’re good.

So how can my lbs be quicker than next day delivery if they do not have said item in stock?
Probably 3-5 days to get in stock and that’s if they are doing an order that week.

Really? If a customer of ours needed something tomorrow*, and we were able to order it for them, we’d do so. There might be carriage to pay (though we could usually cobble together an order for any of our main suppliers of a sufficient value for free carriage at more-or-less any time) and said customer might need to pay that carriage (depending on the value of what they’re ordering, and how we felt on that day. But I’d like to think we could get anything that’s in stock with our suppliers at least as quickly as “the internet” could, for someone who’s bothered to come and ask us to do so. And we’re not a big shop by any measure.

Sorry to hear of your difficulties BTW.

*not tomorrow at the time of posting, as that would be Sunday, and no-one (not even CRC!) delivers then.

I would massively recommend Rozone – we’ve just installed one in the workshop and it’s brilliant. Running costs are OK and you can rent rather than buy which makes it a bit more palatable. Eco-credentials and safety both seem pretty good.

Full disclosure – if you do get one, please mention our recommendation as we then get a free top-up of juice!

The helmet separately is just the Super 2. The chinguards “will” be available separately, due in the next few weeks, but haven’t arrived in the UK yet.

Price is a little higher to buy separately but not much. Chinguards will be in black/white only so won’t match all the helmet designs.

Haven’t had the chance to ride one myself yet – but via our involvement with the Red Kite enduros (Mondraker also being a sponsor) I’ve had a fair bit of contact with folk who have.

Feedback seems to be very positive – it’s described as a very capable all-round bike with a leaning towards being confidence-inspiring on the descents. The geometry isn’t as wacky in light of recent trends as it was when they first came out, but still takes a little bit of getting used to depending on what you’re coming from.

Depending on what size you need it ought to be possible to demo one. If you’re near mid-Wales give us a shout and we might be able to help, if you are inclined to try before you buy.

Yep, we’re building with them a lot these days. They’re wider and lighter than the equivalent Stans, offset spoke holes so build into strong, evenly-tensioned wheels, and tubeless setup is a breeze. Massively recommended.

Ryde Trace Trail (wide, light) or Trace Enduro (even wider, still very reasonable weight). Neither are especially cheap but they’re on a par with Stans but wider and lighter.

Black lines means there is something physically there on the ground – they’re usually fairly well-defined – but not a right of way (they’re often in access land so fair game to walkers but not cyclists – yet – sadly).

Green (on 1:25k – red on 1:50k) lines mean there’s a public right of way (either on foot or horseback/bike/foot depending on the size of the dashes) but there may or may not be a physical path on the ground. Sometimes there is, sometimes there’s just a right of passage across open ground with little to show for it!

Agree with everyone above that you’ll get round whichever tyres you use. It’s not a race etc…

I know someone who did Paris-Roubaix (100 miles) on Marathons in five and a half hours, didn’t slow him down!

It absolutely did slow him down however. There is no doubt whatsoever (barring punctures, and depending on the time taken to fix a hypothetical one) that with the same amount of effort and keeping other factors constant, he’d have finished quicker using lighter tyres. Or, finished in the same time using less energy. Whether it’s a big enough difference to justify spending money on new tyres is something only the individual in question can decide…

Schwalbe Durano in 25 or 28 (I’d go 28 myself). Schwalbe One if you want to spend a bit more and don’t mind the odd puncture.

GP4000S II if you prefer Conti – nothing much to choose between those and the Schwalbe Ones imho, both excellent tyres.

Any of the above will be markedly more pleasant to ride than Marathons.

Transition TR500

Something from Knolly?

The 3C is quite a bit grippier – softer rubber on the outside. For a front tyre, that’s what I’d go for.

Wheels Manufacturing would be our choice – good value, sealed angular contact bearings, seem to last well. Yes, you will need some tools to fit properly.

KS Lev would be my recommendation.

I had a set on the first 29er I built up for myself. They’re fine – and good for the money, for sure.

Not as much adjustment as on more expensive forks, maybe a little flex, and harsher than (much more expensive) alternatives, but I’d only bother changing them if you’re going to upgrade a fair way. They’re really pretty decent to be honest.

No – just discovered to my cost that the new ispec 2 xtr shifters are compatible only with new xtr brakes. Get the band-on shifter if you can!

The rotors are supplied with lockrings for QR use. Shimano hubs or wheels other than QR hubs are supplied with a (different) lockring for the relevant axle standard.

If you want a 15mm lockring it won’t come with the rotor, you either need to buy it as a spare part of find the one which came with the wheel or hub. If you’re buying a new hub/wheel, at least from Shimano, it’ll be supplied with that.

We can confirm this is in principle possible but the chinguards aren’t in stock yet. Next big drop of helmets is in June and it sounds like the chinguards might be coming then.

Agree with the above, you don’t need 32 spokes for what you’ve described but then again it’s a pretty marginal weight gain if you do go for that number. Personally I’d suggest 28/24 as geetee1972 says. CX rays are nice, lighter and stronger and more aero…. but no, you don’t need them.

Pacenti SL23s would be our go-to rim for this sort of build, too.

You’re missing a trick unless you’re taking on lots of fluid (and hence carbs with it). 500ml of energy drink, a bar or a gel every 30 mins or so is about optimal so in a 2 hour race I’d expect most people to be consuming some gels or solid food, yes.

Sarn Helen (the actual, “official” route not the one used for a couple of recent 24-hour attempts) would be seriously hard over 3-4 days. Obviously I know nothing about your level, OP, but I’d suggest that the vast majority of people would do well to get half-way in that time. It’s nearly 300 miles with lots of climbing.

We’re offering it over either 7 or 10 days which will work well with most people. Doing it over 5 would be a serious physical challenge for the vast majority.

If you’re a Matt Page or Dave Buchanan, on the other hand, it’ll be absolutely fine!

£500 might be aiming a bit low given that they’re £750 with tyres (worth £100). If you could persuade someone to credit you the full value of the tyres AND give 10% off then you’d be looking at £585.

I’d have thought most Mavic retailers would be receptive to swapping out the tyres for you. They’re not bad tyres at all, mind. But we’d certainly consider changing/removing them if that’s what a potential customer wanted.

They are cracking wheels and not really comparable to a set of Hope Hoops (which of course are themselves a decent set of wheels, though).

Forest of Dean would be within that range I’d have thought?

Lastly, would it be poor form to go in tomorrow and book the first week of May off, then go in the following day and hand my notice in, thereby buying the first week of May off legitimately?

If you want to stay on good terms with them, surely better to be honest and up-front.

They’ve got nothing to gain by making you stay on and pay you for outstanding leave (which is what they’d have to do) so I would assume they’d be happy to agree this.

Novices are numpties when it comes to anything bike related, and that’s how they should be treated – as if they know nothing.

True – the shop should have set it up correctly and it’s in no way the customer’s fault that they didn’t. You can’t assume that a customer would spot this prior to using the bike and know that it would in the future cause damage.

However, I think it’s reasonable to expect the OP to be checking over the bike before/after each ride (safety-checking if nothing else). At that point, you’d expect damage like this to be noted in time for the shop to put it right before it gets this bad. If someone lacks the ability/knowledge/experience to do this, they should be getting someone to help, or taking their bike in to a shop for regular (every few rides) servicing. Yes, it would cost a fortune, but it’s essential that gear is checked regularly and if you don’t have the skills, or can’t learn, to do this, you must get someone to do it for you.

Now, if OP was taking this in to a shop regularly for servicing, and this still wasn’t picked up on…

As others have said, cable is either way too long or routed incorrectly. If it was set up by a shop, it’s not great. I’d be mortified if a bike went out from here like that.

If the shop offered, and you took them up on, a “first free service” then that’s a second chance for it to be spotted and put right before too much damage done.

However – while the shop has some responsibility for this – you are also responsible and again echoing comments above, you really should have spotted this while cleaning/safety checking your bike, and it would certainly have been spotted if the forks had been serviced according to the recommended schedule.

The manufacturer will certainly not be interested. The shop should accept some responsibility, but sadly unless they are willing to go above and beyond in the name of putting right their error, I don’t think you can expect better than them going halves with you on the (substantial) cost of repair.

The forks should absolutely be using that bit of the travel if set up correctly.

It’s also a high-stress area and depending on how deep the groove is then possibly safety-critical. 2mm sounds like quite a significant part of the way through the stanchion. I’d certainly be wanting it checked out (preferably by Mojo or a suspension specialist) before I rode that bike on anything remotely challenging.

Yep, it’s the same fork on both. Not a bad fork at this level at all.

You won’t be disappointed in either of these bikes OP. If you can get a test ride on both then great, but there isn’t masses in it. We have/had both Mantras and Cores in our hire fleet and they’re a very good starting point – at the level you’re looking (£200-£250 more than our hire fleet bikes) then they’re very competent MTBs.