An interesting extract from an MTBR thread:

“Larger wheels roll over obstacles more easily”
Here are some screen shots of the impact angle of the three different wheels hitting 1”, 3” and 6” rock.

There is less than a 2% improvement in approach angle going from a 26” wheel to a 29” wheel in all cases.

For rererence.

As above, i’m glad you’re enjoying your new bike; don’t let my prejudices spoil it. However, i’m going to carry on with 26″ wheels until it becomes cheaper to switch to a different format.

You make a good argument. However, I am loathe to buy into a format that restricts tyre choices, frame choices, fork choices, etc. with nought but hyperbolic justification.

let us not forget that this 650b thing is being driven purely by the industry; nobody ever asked for a third wheelsize. Meanwhile the marketing men are helping themselves to everything in your wallet.

You are entitled to your opinion, but i’m out.

The NHS recommend the following:

The shoes’ shock absorbers weaken over time, increasing your risk of injury. It’s advisable to replace running shoes every 300 miles (482km).

Personally, i don’t believe this could be accurate; there are far too many variables for anyone to state such an arbitrary figure. For reference.

In my (very limited) experience pain is more likely to be attributable to poor form or overindulgence. Perhaps take a week off from running, and then take it steady for another week.

Don’t be a **** duffer….

I’m allowed to be a dick because the OP is a friend of mine 😉

That said, i do think the 650b idea is fundamentally ridiculous. I’m glad you enjoy you’re new bike, it’s just not a format i would have bought into.

I’d hold off until they release a 673c wheelsize. Oh, and 2×11 gears. That’ll be the golden bullet, in my opinion.

I’ve never been able to ride CwmCarn in less than an hour, and it’s definitely my gears and wheelsize holding me back.

What news, sir?

One factor has been a lot of urban miles probably not helping our C-Max…The C-Max is staying so this is a second car…

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with the first point; modern diesels really don’t like short trips. Also, the first time you get a DPF fault, that could be a write-off unless the car is worth a lot of money. I’ve always been a Diesel fan myself, but for this purpose i suspect you’d be much better off with a petrol.

Duffer – Posted to the A4 hub? Nice

Better than being posted to the Death Star… As for the Gym, i’m hoping to get my MBL and start running some Expeds. The Gym does have bikes, as far as i’m aware.

Thanks for the above.

Glenh – thanks again!

Thanks for the input, chaps. I’ll definitely be exploring the area in the not-too-distant future. There seems to be a couple of interesting looking bits within riding distance (mostly woodland). Only just moved, so still got plenty of sorting out to do. Also, my bikes are currently inaccessible… Should hopefully start getting out by next weekend.

Glenh – what’s the story behind the Yarwell pit? Who does it belong to? Is it ok to ride there?

Sortmaster – thanks for the pointers. I’m currently trying to pick areas out on Google Maps, as i’ve not had time to explore. I’ve also made contact with the Wakerley Wheelers, so hopefully i’ll be able to glean some knowledge from some locals.

And where do you work in the industry…?

ended up in hospital for 18 days with 2 broken legs,(3 fractures in tib and fib left leg and broken femur right leg) broken hip, broken ribs punctured lung and a ton of bruises etc. Anyway head on with car is not a good result.

Head on with a car?! I’d say you got off relatively lightly… Glad you didn’t come off any worse. Get well soon!

As for the bike, i only have one thing to add; i would seriously recommend giving you’re brakes a good service before you ride again. I have personal experience of storing my bike for 6 months (not through injury, fortunately – i was working away) only to have the brakes fail on the first day out.

All the best. Healing vibes have been dispatched:

I’ve had an NV for years. Never a bad word to say about it.

Mule gets my vote.

What’s an STW?

You’d be doing well to build a Soul for under a grand… Perhaps with second hand parts?

It’s quite a broad question. My default answers to a “What Hardtail” question are Inbred and 456, depending on the intended usage. However, there may be better options available if the circumstances dictate so.

More information would be useful. How tall / short is said lady? What kind of riding is intended?

Right, i’ve joined the group! Perhaps see you out on the trails!

Many thanks for the steer!

I quite often ride Sherwood Pines quite often at the minute. When the weather is nice, i’d say 1/3 of the bikes on the trails will be 29ers (another third will be Orange Fives!). When the weather is bad though, it’s a different story!

Either way, i love chasing them down on my 26″ Gaspipe Special Singlespeed!

I’m moving to wittering, so wakerley / fineshades are (I think) within riding distance.

Many thanks for the invite! I suspect I might take you up on the offer! Next time I’m on the facetube I’ll try and find your group…

We tend too pay about £300 for the quarter during the better months. £500 during the winter.

I’d love to keep the heating off, but when you have little’uns around, it’s not that easy.

It might just be a case of learning from it and moving on

I’m not sure what lessons can be drawn from the situation; the buyer did nothing wrong, and there was no way of knowing it was stolen. However, i fear you may be right – chalk one up to experience and write it off as a bad job.

Best of luck.

The cables route along the bottom of the down tube and under the BB; this is a recipe for cable rub around the BB shell, so make sure you have a good look around this area. If it’s been neglected, the cables can rub right through the ally.

Otherwise, they’re pretty nails. As above, some of the kit fitted to them was turd (cheap-o headset and shite Avid brakes failed on mine) but most kit was excellent (pikes have never been serviced, and continue to function brilliantly, 4 years on).

Just look for the usual frame stuff, afaik there weren’t any issues with cracks or snapping bits.

Spesh warrantied them for 160mm forks, but i’ve seen plenty of people run them at 180mm with no issues.

Enjoy!

spent hundreds on a professional qualification…spent hundreds on insurance

The Military will pay for the qualifications, and exercising personnel are classed as “on duty”, so no insurance is required.

July? Why the urgency? It’s only a 5-day course up at Grantown-on-Spey. There was i DIN released about it recently. If it’d help, i can dig it for you…?

I’d say you’ve got plenty of time to get someone Q’d.

A large flathead… Or a medium ring spanner.

I think this thread contains more bo##ox than the average. I’ve never read such a bunch of crap.
If you want to climb better, man up and put in the effort. It’s retarded to think steel is better than alloy or alloy is better than carbon or Bala Bala Bala.

Pretty much what i said, except i was more succinct:

They won’t make you any faster, uphill or downhill; for that, you’ll need fitness and talent.

😉

I also never thought I’d see the day when I’d see more Jones hybrids than on one’s.

On-One is the niche, connoisseur’s choice these days.

Skoda TDI here. Advice is much the same; go for regular long drives, and keep the revs higher than normal.

When the warning light comes on, the engine has entered it’s “regeneration” cycle. The car will adjust it’s fuel map and ignition timing in order to generate higher temperatures in the exhaust. This will in turn clean the DPF.

I can only speak for my Skoda, but the indicator light coming on shouldn’t indicate anything is wrong…

Personally, i’d drill a small hole at the end of that crack to take the pressure off it, put the stem back on, and carry on riding it.*

*may cause some / all of the following outcomes:

-death
-tooth loss
-memory loss
-death

As for rust – as I said in my experience rust will come through. I did not say all steel frames will “rust out”… Whatever that means?

The rust that will develop on a steel frame is little more than cosmetic; i wouldn’t be concerned about rust on a frame less than a decade old. Anyway, it’ll add some character.

I’ve never had any on… Perhaps that’s been the cause of the bad weather…?

Something is clearly up. I’d start with looking at the pads; there is a good chance the’re either glazed, contaminated or otherwise worn out:

Take them out of the caliper and attack the face of the pad with some rough sandpaper or similar (to remove the glaze that can build up of they’ve been overheated). Then reinstall and see if they’re any better. If not, then they could be contaminated with lubricant or similar, so replace them.

If all of the above fails, then perhaps there is a more significant problem.

If you’re after a golden bullet, i’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. They won’t make you any faster, uphill or downhill; for that, you’ll need fitness and talent.

Once you’ve got those two nailed down, buy a 456 😉

Teetosugars – every time I see that bike I fall in love with it all over again. I also find myself googling lefty forks! Best looking bike on STW in my humble opinion… if only t’were an on-one, t’would be perfect! 😉

Did you ever do a build thread?

I spent the day overtaking fashion victims on 650Bs…

There’s loads of us up at scampton! Like everyone else in Lincolnshire, we’re RAF types who’ve been posted from areas with loads of great riding.

Did you get up the climb to lower cliff ok then?

Is that the one immediately the other side of the level crossing? I did struggle on that bit, and i lost traction about 6 feet before the first switchback – but otherwise i made the rest of it!

As for facial hair – i’d love some, but the boss says no!

enough with the “overbiked” crap if you want a frame that can truly do everything get the el guapo, if you want to be in with the cool kids get the bfe you can rattle down the rough stuff beating the shit out of your body safe in the knowledge that your a super awesome trail bad-ass

Better still, you could sit on the sofa and eat pringles while watching Geordie Shore! You’d never have to worry about “beating the shit out of your body” or punctuation again!

I don’t know about you, but i ride because i enjoy it. If i’m riding on rocks, i want to be bashed around! There’s no point riding if you’re going to make everything flat. If push came to shove, i’d keep my HT and sell the FS. This is, of course, opinion only.

To the OP – buy a 456 😉

While i would class myself as a fan of the BBC Home Service (i’m 25, by the way!), i don’t very often find myself listening. I think this is symptomatic of their prime-time programming. On the rare occasion that i’m driving somewhere, i’ll tune in and undoubtedly find myself listening to Woman’s Hour or Gardener’s Question Time or something…

I do enjoy their podcasts, though! I wish they’d release more stuff on podcast!

Shift the shipping forecast back by 15 mins and they’d take to the streets.

Never mind that, moving the Today Program could instigate a nuclear war!

I’m 6 foot but want a compact frame for chuckable fun. Would a 16″ be far too small?

I’d suggest it’ll be miles too small.

I’m 5’11” and ride an 18″ 456. Realistically i’d say i’m on the borderline for needing a 20″, as i’ve got loads of seatpost showing. 18″ is thoroughly recommended!