2 I think with Pikes anyway. We have some Dual Position Lyriks in stock so will check the box tomorrow if that helps?

Great to see a couple of shouts for Green Oil here. It’s what we use on our hire fleet and customer bikes, and it works at least as well as the big names. It’s by far the most environmentally-friendly option we’ve found, despite the claims made by just about every cleaner out there.

It’s a good bit cheaper than Muc Off but obviously not quite as cheap as some of the other options mentioned.

Not sure if I have a ridden GPX of the “official” Gap route as every time I ride it tends to be a bit of a variant.

Here’s one I did a couple of weeks back for Wild Rides who sometimes posts here. A more interesting climb and descent than the normal route from Talybont. You’d probably not want to go all the way down into Ponsticill – that’s where these clients were staying – but you could turn right after Dolygaer to head back up towards the Gap.

https://www.strava.com/activities/531904053

Edit to add – not sure you’d make any friends trying to ride up, or riding back down, from Pen y Fan or Fan y Big. Neither are bridleways, both busy with walkers most of the time, and there’ve been lots of problems with erosion all along the escarpment there (caused by walkers, obvs, not MTBers, but illicit riding is not likely to go down well and shouldn’t be encouraged IMHO).

We’ve a medium complete bike in; can upgrade the shock to match the frame-only spec (the complete bike comes with a more basic RT shock; we have a Monarch RT3 Debonair from a build we did where the customer swapped it out for a Cane Creek).

We’d also be happy to split it if you didn’t need/want everything from the complete bike.

It probably won’t work for you if you literally just want frame-only. But if you need a few other bits with it, we can probably work out a deal. Happy to swap out (or sell without) fork/wheels/drivetrain/brakes etc.

We’ve used Massi custom clothing in the past and have been really pleased. More recently, we’ve been looking at Flare Clothing Co for our next run of jerseys and will probably go with them – nice folk, really helpful, and make some great kit.

Do it, you won’t regret it. See what you think when you demo it, but I would say for the vast, vast majority of UK riding, the Scout is more than enough – and it’s a better bike than the Patrol for most of the riding that most of us actually do, most of the time!

Just noticed you also asked how heavy they are: from about 19kg upwards for a hardtail, usually 20-23kg in most cases. As with any bike, they get lighter the more you spend, but the motor, batteries and controller weigh about 6-8kg.

We’ve sold e-MTBs for a good few years now. Haibike were our first brand and they’re decent quality. Specs have come down over the last couple of years to maintain pricing but still not bad. KTM is also worth a look, and Mondraker too.

Bosch system is the market leader and better than Yamaha, but Yamaha is cheaper and at £2k you might get more in terms of the rest of the spec if you did go Yamaha. I’d probably still recommend a Bosch system though as it’s the only part you’re not going to be able to upgrade later.

A new brand for us this year, and the one we’re using for our hire bikes, is Moustache. They’re a small French company and the bikes are built in the Voges with frames manufactured to their spec in the far east. Quality is head and shoulders above anything else I’ve seen. Really pleased. Start at just a smidge over £2k, but possibly worth considering.

http://www.moustachebikes.com/uk/

If you’d like a run-down on the range, give us a shout!

How much is it on CRC and how much would it be with a voucher? We might be able to help you out!

We have a Pyga Pascoe (OneForty) frameset in medium up for sale, ex-demo, asking for £1000. Would suit your requirements down to the ground, OP.

100 or 120mm? We have some in stock I’d be happy to do you a deal on.

Just in case anything goes wrong I want my warranty to be in tact.

Seems a small price to pay then, and not hard to justify to yourself surely?

Just got myself a Merida Ride carbon and love it. There’s a disc version too.

I’d have thought Nant yr Arian would only be an hour or so from there and Coed y Brenin not much more. Both well worth a visit.

95 this year. Several of the same staff still around.

Eh? Assuming they were 16 when the company was founded that would make them 111 years old.

Hi Rob

We supplied a 200×57 Float X just the other day – not the remote version. If you’d like I can find out the availability situation for you on Monday. If in stock in the UK, we’d get it to you within a couple of days, and if not I’ll be able to give you an accurate ETA.

Email in profile if we can help.

Cheers!

Sturdiness and ease of tubeless-ing are equal (EXO means tough sidewalls, both will go tubeless easily).

Difference is the compound, 3C is a triple compound, more advanced and more grippy. (It uses a softer grippier rubber on top of a harder-wearing base).

3C for the front every time.

Seems as though this isn’t going down too well!

Knowing the folks at STW, they’ll no doubt take our feedback into account. The idea that they’re money-grabbing is a bit much though, TBH. Comments like this one, for example:

Seems like you forum customers are pretty low on the list,just under MONEY MONEY MONEY

Firstly many of the forum users aren’t “customers” as they don’t pay STW anything (Premier folk and subscribers obviously an exception here).

Secondly I’m pretty sure that the STW team, one and all, could earn far more money doing other things, if that’s what they were into. But they’re also not a charity and they’re perfectly entitled to try to make their business (more) profitable.

There seem to be a huge number of posts on here about things being money-grabbing or overpriced (whether that’s labour charges in bike shops, or this, or other examples) and then similarly a lot of posts about employment or contractual stuff where people feel they’re being underpaid, or that others should demand more. Does anyone see that there might be a link?

Durano is definitely a way quicker tyre than Marathon Plus. Where says they’re not?

Rolling resistance is lower – it may not be that much lower (although I’d expect there to be a significant difference) but on top of that the much reduced weight will have an impact too.

Rest assured, you’ve made a good purchase! Now get back to work…

As above, yes and yes.

Same day might be asking a lot, unless it was booked in, in advance, and the shop was able to ascertain exactly which parts would be needed (and they know you well enough to be happy to order those parts in before you drop the bike off).

A really good shop *might* have some or all of those parts in stock, but there’s every chance they’d need to order at least some.

Depending on what time of day you dropped it off, whether they were expecting it that day, and how long before they were able to take a look at it, parts might arrive next day, or might take a couple of days.

So I’d say 2 days min, 4-5 days max to allow for time to do the work.

If you dropped it in on spec without pre-booking, and they’ve already got stuff in the diary… it depends. If on top of that they’ve had staff off sick… I can see how it could drag out. We’d try to get it done within a week, even under those (unusual) circumstances, but it’s not always possible.

How long has it been?

As above – shop is still responsible, your contract is with them, not the distributor.

That said, the distributor might be happy to deal with you direct and it might save some hassle. I believe it’s these guys:
http://www.bigstone.co.uk/

Pretty sure we have the part you need in stock. Definitely have Crossroc wheels and 142×12 frames in stock, so can easily check compatibility before sending out. If it’s the part I think it is, £14 RRP so £12.60 delivered to you.

Ping me an email if you want them and I’ll send you a payment link.

The Bosch units are definitely the better. We have a couple of hardtails in the hire fleet – if you’re somewhere near mid Wales or fancy a trip this way, you’d be welcome to give one a try.

You do really need the power on all the time unless you’re on flat/easy terrain. On eco mode, though, which is more than enough to compensate for the extra weight, they go a long way.

Great little bike, have a demo one in the shop/hire fleet. 3 is at the lower end of the range who’d fit it, but will depend on how tall he is and how well he’s got to grips with balancing.

I was going to say MRP Stage too – that’s what we have on our Smuggler demo. Great forks, RRP is a little lower than Pikes but they actually sell for what they’re supposed to, so actual market price is very similar.

Yari or Revelation would be the cheaper option, both very good.

Alternatively as others have said the new X-Fusion forks are very good.

Your responsibility to get it back to the shop (if it’s warranty, not if it’s faulty on arrival). The shop’s responsibility from there, whatever their agreement with the manufacturer/importer/distributor.

This is assuming you bought it from them in the first place, which in this case seems to be so.

Postage costs are an overhead the business has to deal with. Hopefully they made some profit on the sale in the first place!

Congratulations! Fantastic achievement, and you’re quite right to be proud of her.

As for asking you LBS to price match the Internet the trade price is usually more than Internet.

Yes – this is true, but as Welshfarmer says, if you ask, you might be surprised. The UK distributor (Fisher) is actually being pretty supportive of the LBS at the moment, and helping stockists price-match on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve got a decent LBS, why not talk to them, and see what they can do for you. They may surprise you, and they’d undoubtedly appreciate your business.

Nice build. You’ll love it – hope you get a chance to get it muddy soon!

Or maybe “our e-bikes are pretty amazing, look how much fun it’s possible to have on one if you like that sort of thing”?

In the fairly distant future at the moment. There was some talk of it being a mid-season launch this year (so May-ish) but with the delays to the Carbon Patrol – which is only just arriving in the UK in any great numbers – it’s been pushed back, and is now “probably” likely to be part of the 2017 range which will launch in September 2016.

The Carbon Patrol was part of that range this year (so theoretically launched in Sep 2015).

So I’d not be at all surprised to not see any until this time next year. I think it’s highly likely to be the next new model Transition launch, though.

You should definitely wait to buy one rather than getting a Santa Cruz though!

Please post back on here when you find some 25mm ones in stock anywhere!

We have a couple of pairs in stock if you need them. Great tyres.

I don’t think you’ll fine anyone selling those for less than the RRP as the profit margin on them is tiny. If you buy 4, it would just about cover the cost of posting them to you – so if someone will sell you four for £40 without charging for the postage, you’re doing OK. (The shop would be making a gross profit of well under 10% on the deal).

Echo the above recommendation – Tom was our workshop manager until last year, and the quality of his work is excellent. He knows more than a thing or two about bike design.

very old

This might be your issue. Helmets should generally be replaced every three years or so anyway – you’re right not to trust it if it’s way older than that. But it’s not what crash replacement is intended for.

Full policy details here:
http://www.zyro.co.uk/giro/content/giroreplacement

Edit – beaten to it as a customer came in part way through writing the post. Full answers above!

Surely you’ve just described the Salsa? Sounds like exactly what you’re after. Plus it’s stunning in the flesh.

Our demo bike is fitted with a 140mm Fox 32 and we’ve had positive feedback about the setup (it’s a medium, too small for me, so I don’t have direct experience, but OH has ridden it a bit recently and likes it).

t’s something they can legitimately opt out of, but they have to make that information available before you buy.

Absolutely not. If the goods are faulty, irrespective of what any T&Cs say, the retailer is liable for the cost of return. See:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations

This only applies to things which are faulty from the off. But within the first six months, it’s up to the retailer to prove that they were not faulty, rather than the consumer to prove that they were. A sports watch which fails to hold a charge after only two weeks, has probably been faulty all along.

Sorry to hear this OP. If you still need some help then we’re on 01497 822419 or email in profile and more than happy to help.

Not experts on Ritchey but know a thing or two about steel frames in general and more than happy to find out any answers we don’t immediately have.