Saracen Mantras are reduced from £499 to £399 at your local Saracen dealer. 120mm and very upgrade-worthy.

We’ve found the Moustache range to be superb, although as others have said above most big brands do some now. One of the things we like about Moustache is that they’re specialists – they just do e-bikes, and only use Bosch.

Hardtails start from £2k. There are some offers on 2016 stuff as they’ve just launched the 2017 range – offers are mainly on small and XS hardtails and larger (M and L) full-sus though, so above budget. If anyone is looking for a very nice short- or mid-travel full-sus e-bike there are some bargains to be had. Happy to talk through the range with anyone interested.

For all the new range?

Quite taken with that Vapour and and I’ve always fancied a Genesis. Hmm.

Some of the range is in stock as soon as next week. Vapour alloy is imminent, carbon bikes and frameset are due either in mid-Sep or mid-Oct depending on model/size/colour.

You could have a Mantra Trail now for the top end of that budget – great hardtails.

Schwalbe Ones the OP was asking about are one extreme. Marathon Plus are the other extreme. In between, for commuting I’d go for something like Durano, Durano Plus or DD if you don’t mind a bit of extra weight and sacrificing ride feel, or Marathon Supreme if you don’t mind spending a bit.

All of those are extremely puncture-resistant but still ride nicely on a road bike. I’d not want Marathon Pluses on anything short of a hybrid or proper tourer.

What sort of work are you looking for? Any good with bikes? We could use an extra pair of hands for the next month or so for sure. Email in profile.

Not at all what you asked for (in true STW style), but we’ve got an XL in mid-Wales. Will probably be building up a Large demo too when the new stock arrives.

11s 105 mechs work absolutely fine with 11-36 cassettes, despite what Shimano officially say.

We’ve got some Sportful kit and as above, it’s great. Think it’s min 10+ per item (mixed sizes) and probably 30 or so pieces in total.

We’ve also had some kit done by Massi which is cheaper, decent quality, and mix 30 items with no min for individual items, so you can have a few men’s jerseys, some women’s jerseys, shorts, jackets, etc all mixed.

Give us a shout if we can help with anything.

Don’t Wiggle/CRC offer free returns anyway (with carriage paid by them) so it doesn’t actually make any difference whether it’s a fault or no-fault return? You can send them back for exchange or credit at no cost to you either way.

You’re right. they’re wrong, but other than them admitting that I’m not sure it makes any difference?

They are around about trade price.

If someone paying Hope’s “dealer” price (for shops who spend a fair bit with Hope) for them, sold them on eBay for that price, they’d lose nearly £30 per pair sold.

If you seriously think shops can buy them as cheaply as that, you’re deluded I’m afraid.

The fact that the next cheapest seller is charging nearly twice as much should speak volumes.

Could just do with a uk seller now.

Any shop with a Madison account. £19.99 posted – email in profile if you’d like us to send you one.

I have a Genesis Equilibrium (non disc) and love it

Yep, was going to say Equilibrium Disc. It’s basically what the OP has described. Could do a very nice custom build for £2k.

The Pyga Stage Max in XL is big. I’m 6’2″ and was trying to figure out whether L or XL would fit me best… I reckon somewhere in the middle. I went for L in the end as I guessed it’d be a better size for others to demo and/or to sell on.

XL has 638mm stack. It’s not going to be £3.5k though (but complete build for not too much more than that should be possible).

Saracen Mantra Trail reduced from £850 to £699 now. If you’re anywhere near Hay on Wye you’re welcome to come and try one.

If you’re looking for inspiration, I’d throw into the mix the Transition Scout; Pyga OneTwenty or Stage Max; and the Saracen Kili Flyer carbon.

Ah that makes sense. Yes, Hope definitely just do the one pad. Sounds like it’s the E4 pad but will work with the M4 caliper, as you all said.

I thought the e4 pad was deeper than the m4. Chances are they’re backwards and forwards compatible but there is a subtle difference to be aware of.

Nope, the part numbers I gave above are Hope’s – same pad exactly.

Transition PBJ (reduced ATM):
http://www.transitionbikes.com/Bikes_PBJ.cfm?Token={ts_2016-07-23_02:10:47}-13791e5f08fb6e02-E1EB6D5A-E072-B8A4-3BDF81D0E79B24F1

HBSP323R (or HBSP323S for sintered) are Hope pads for “new” (i.e. 2013) E4 and Mono M4. The older E4 and M4 also use the same (sets of) pads as one another.

So yes – as long as your M4s are not the ancient ones which use 4 pads per brake.

We use the HP automatic ink thing for our work inkjet (which just gets used for full-colour printing – mainly maps). It saves a packet and means you never have to remember to order ink.

Think they do a low-volume monthly subscription. We drop down to a lower monthly fee in the winter when we’re quieter/not printing as much, then up it in the spring when we get busy.

Now, I don’t claim to know much about football, but….

and then a freak result against belgium, who are a far far far superior team in every way shape and form (bar that one game)

And the last three times we played them before that, dating back to 2013?

Yep, would recommend transferwise too. Very quick, easy to use, and was the most cost-effective option when I researched this a while back.

Lots of Mavic, Sportful, Santini bibs c. £70-£100 RRP currently 50% off on our sale rail… if anyone wants to let me know size I can say exactly what we’ve got.

Nationwide are good, and offer a switching incentive I believe. Edit – just checked, and they offer £100 if you open an new account and £100 to whoever recommends you too so if anyone wants a link please ask!

Their premium account is one of the few which is actually worth having – £10 a month covers annual family travel insurance, breakdown cover, and mobile phone insurance.

I really don’t get this business of such-and-such manufacturer is good with warranty or not good with warranty…

The behaviour of the manufacturer is nothing to do with you, the consumer, unless you’ve bought direct from them. If the shop refer you to them, and you’re happy to deal with them, and they look after you – great. However the business you bought from (and therefore have a contract with) is where the responsibility lies. The emails you’ve posted indicate quite clearly that the product is inherently faulty (of course we don’t know the full story, so there may be more to it than we’ve seen) – but if that’s the case, you’re entitled to a refund or replacement from the shop. They have to honour that, regardless of what their supply chain then does for them. If they’re a good shop, they’ll sort you out without any issues. If they’re not a good shop, they’ll still have to sort you out anyway.

We’ve never sold Evil, but in our experience Silverfish (who will have supplied the shop, and who will be responsible for fixing this problem for them) are generally excellent – but again, that’s not your problem anyway. It sounds like Richie is going to get involved, which will help, but the shop should be sorting you out anyway on this.

Yes, it does – have done exactly that on long Audax rides. Depending on usage, I find I get about 8-10 hours out of a full battery – you’d get much more if not using the mapping screen as that seems to be the one which drains the battery most.

Outdoor tech battery pack is my suggestion, BTW.

Eagle cassettes have been delayed, so groupsets are not being sent out to shops that have ordered them until the whole groupset is available (which makes sense). It would appear that chainrings are going to be in stock tomorrow though.

Hi bitterlemon – have sorted bearings for Lynton, give us a shout via email and I’ll get some to you too – couldn’t see an email address in your profile.

I’d have thought so – that kit will convert 135mm QR to 142×12 (i.e. +7mm) so logic would say 170=>177. Having said that one thing I’ve learnt in this trade is that logic very rarely applies so proceed with caution.

The helpful folk at Hope (01282 851400) will be able to tell you for sure, though.

Cane Creek don’t do 10-series level replacement bearings, but the 40-series parts are interchangeable with them (and the 110-series too).

Bearings are £12.99 and £14.99 respectively: let us know if you’d like some and we can post them out.

Eagle coming in next week…

Folks – don’t forget your LBS (if you want to support them) or any UK dealer can match any UK or European online price you see, at a discount of up to 30% off RRP – so if you can find the fork you want at £574 or thereabouts, grab the details, and talk to your preferred retailer.

If you find them on offer at more than 30% off, your LBS should still be able to knock off the 30% – then it’s up to you whether the value they add justifies any remaining difference in cost…

As far as we can see, there aren’t many RCT3 Solo Air Pikes in 27.5″ or 29″ for under £570 or so since the euro strengthened again.

The new DT Swiss wheels are very nice – we’ve just sold a set of the XMC 1200 which is the wider, AM version of these:
https://www.dtswiss.com/Wheels/MTB-Wheels/XRC-1200-Spline-29

XD driver, centrelock, tubeless, light, reliable…

Yep, I’d happily go (back there). The FCO advice is uber-cautious, and even that doesn’t suggest not going.

Lovely city, great people, and arepas are tasty!

Nice fleet!

Some routes on our blog – have a look at the Mynydd Troed and Llangorse one – that would work well as long as it’s not too wet:
http://www.drovercycles.co.uk/mountain-biking-in-wales-three-routes-near-hay-on-wye/

Otherwise the Pontsticill Crossover is a good ride but uses a similar climb to the Gap out of Talybont so you might not want to do that twice. The Crickhowell Red from the MTB Brecon Beacons route pack is also good, especially if it’s dry – one of my favourite descents in the area (fast, flowing singletrack from high up).

Beyond that, welshfarmer does indeed have lots of good local knowledge in that area.

Afraid not – can’t actually see them listed as a spare part, which is odd. I can certainly find out about availability for you though. I’m not in work now until Monday so might be helpful if you could drop us an email to prompt me to check this out for you, if you could?

We certainly like them!

What are you after, specifically? Availability is mixed but they do exist, honest.

If you’re interested in anything, give us a shout and we’ll see what we can do.

Drovercycles – how are you finding the green oil chain lube? Met the owner at a show in London last month and really like his attitude towards materials, especially the way they use old coke bottle tops on the bottles.

Would be great if all bike shops stocked it in bulk to refill like you can Ecover at some places (like our post office in the village).

It’s good – every bit as good as any other lube we’ve tried. It’s hard to get excited about a chain lube to be honest, but it does the job, seems to be just about the right consistency, and for us the (admittedly small) environmental side of things is important. Simon is a good guy and yes, his approach is different to most – the green angle is core to his business, not just a marketing exercise.

It would indeed be great if all shops stocked it – I don’t see that happening any time soon given that the margin isn’t amazing, and that they don’t have the marketing budget of Muc-Off or the like (no-one has ever come in asking for “Green Oil” but we sell a good bit of it when we’re asked for lubes/cleaning product and get talking about the product).