Rigid 29er for me, so its Exo Ikons for anything requiring speed.

Yes, for the 200.

Remembered that entry was open at 1230am & looks like I was lucky I didn’t leave it until this morning…more than the maximum amount of nutters have applied overnight. 8O

I possibly should add that I’m not expecting any trouble with the tyres themselves, I reckon its more likely I’ll crack the rim round a nipple hole when I hit a pothole with a small volume tyre at high pressure. Any engineers able to comment?

In the not-dead-yet category…

Having read the comments about road tyres (tubed) on Crests I thought I’d give it a go with my usual winter road tyres: Michelin Krylion 25mm at 80 psi.

They went on easier than I thought they might, and worked fine on the commute, so I left them on & have now done 4 x 200k audaxes and months of commuting. One puncture and the tyre came off fine.

Crests are 60g lighter than my former default road choice Open Pros, and my usual tyres come up loads wider on a wide rim…I’m sold. :-)

(I’ve also run 35mm SB8s on Crests tubeless at sub-40 spi without issue).

29er Chunky Monkey on a P35 rim fit into my Rebas with a small amount of clearance.

No gps files please, best way is to tag along with a local group and respect the less than official trails

Understood.

I only have early Friday morning available so don’t expect any local groups to be out at the same time. Besides, the last time I tagged along with some locals after a request on STW it didn’t go according to plan :oops:

All this talk of off piste stuff at Cannock…I feel ashamed that I’ve never ventured further than a lap of the pebbles and braking bumps.

I happen to be up there this Friday…if anyone has a gpx of some of the best (pebbles optional) off piste stuff they could email me I’d be most grateful. :-)

Waterproof OS map from Splashmaps

SS is for people who don’t have the balls to ride fixed.

Both of mine above were fixed. Fixed teaches you the skill of pushing a high cadence smoothly.

On the 1km of 7% downhill on my commute home my knees often wished I had ‘just’ a singlespeed :D When I finally accepted defeat, the gears went back on along with the freewheel.

Toupes for years on the road bikes (also with a couple of broken shells eventually), but beware the pointy plastic bits at the back if you are hanging over the rear on the MTB. Do not ask how I know this.

I bought a pair for the Yelli when they were about £16 each.

They certainly do stick like **** to a blanket but riding up hill is like wading through treacle.

The front is staying but I’ve got a 2.25″ Ardent going on the rear to hopefully speed things up a bit. It amuses me that I might lose 1/2 lb off the bike with just a tyre change :lol:

wl – this is the thread you need. I set a 10spd SLX mech up on my 9spd SRAM shifter 6 months ago and like others say it has been perfect.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/9-speed-sram-shifter-with-a-shimano-10-speed-clutch-rear-mech-will-it-work

My two 29″ ones weighed in at 900g and 940g on the kitchen digi-scales 8O

Damp proof course. Lightweight and looks like a part of the mudguard, not a repurposed fairy liquid bottle.

the offer I’m looking at at the moment

Where’s that then?

I have CMs (the 50/42a ones) on 29er Crests (at the moment)

The two tyres weighed in at 900g and 940g when I got them.

On a Crest the CM on the front fits into my Reba with plenty of clearance. Enough clearance that this weekend I’m going to see if it’ll still fit mounted on a P35 rim.

At the rear, again on a Crest, I had plenty of clearance on my Singular Swift, and even more on its replacement Yelli Screamy. I guess clearances on a Scandal would come up smaller than both of these though (no experience of a Scandal). A quick test in the garage (but never ridden) and it *just* fit into the back of my Niner Air9.

HTH

think this is the first LEL without a qualifying requirement?

No, LEL has never required qualifying rides.

First rider back was last night at 65hrs. Good effort

I’ve been considering 29+ in my DT Swiss rigid fork (which has dimension similar to Tazzy’s Ti fork by the looks of it; plenty of room).

If anyone is upgrading to a Rabbithole wheel and wants to sell their P35 rim or complete wheel (on a 100mm hub, no Jones hubs please!), drop me a msg.

For the Flite Ti lovers: I have a used but ok condition one that’s in a box in my garage, last used maybe 6 years ago. I doubt I’ll ever use it again.

Email in profile if anyone wants to make me an offer :D (I thought it wasn’t worth selling!)

toons – email received, thanks. Won’t know about day to day plans until I get there, but might take you up on the guiding offer.

Everyone else – can’t wait to get home and fire up the OS maps prog for a planning session :D

Great stuff, thanks chaps.

Any particular trails (descents) worth prioritising, or all similar riding?

I’m 85kg, bought some RS80s early last year and can agree with every part of this

i must say, i was very dubious when i bought my rs80’s last summer, but 5000+ miles later, pot holes + all the extras our british roads have to offer… Still true and am very impressed with them, an excellent buy, best shimano wheels i have purchased, or ridden!

Stayed at the Lakeside Hotel with work last week. About 8 miles south of Grizedale visitor centre. Nice place but glad work was picking up the tab :D

As usual there’s a difference between what the manufacturer and physics dicates is the maximum tyre width for a particular rim. You won’t die putting 2.5s on Crests (I didn’t with 2.4s). But it sounds like you’re already running the 2.5s/Crest combi, so have you decided you don’t like it?

Have run 3.30 hubs on 29er Crests for 2 years wheels-on-ground xc use with no problems.

Be more worried about the alloy nipples those wheels will be built with :wink:

There’s a positive spin – he can start thinking about next year and use the current ride as a course preview – i.e. doing a race pre-lap.

Except he did his course preview ride in 2011 ready for 2013 :(

What could be more scary? A confrontation with an angry bear

Quote from here: http://suited.myomnipod.com/tony/tony-cervati-tour-divide-journey/

“In 2011 Tony Cervati attempted the Tour Divide, a world-renowned, off-road, cross-country mountain bike race spanning over two thousand miles from Banff, Canada to the U.S.-Mexico border. During the race, Tony survived a near-fatal experience when he fell off a ridge into class III rapids and 40 degree water in an attempt to steer clear of a grizzly bear. He was carried down the river until he was able to climb back to land, where he tracked down his bike and rode seven miles with fractured ribs and hypothermia until he found assistance.”

8O

The loss of his Spot tracker for a while didn’t seem to be a problem validating JP’s record last year.

Sam – you’ve got a 120mm fork on yours…is it going to be fine with a 470mm rigid?

Might need to open negociations with the boss about an upgrade from the current Swift :D

Do some prep before the ride so you know where youth hostels, travelodges etc near the route are, then pack the bivvy kit and make the decisions based on how much further you want to ride that day.

Conversely, with the bivvy kit you have an emergency option if there’s no room at the inn.

Having no particular goal for a day can be quite liberating :D

Currently trying out Chunky Monkeys on my Swift. Really like the extra squash and grip over my 2.25 Ralphs, and at £35 a pair at the mo they’re a winner.

They went up tubeless no bother too.

Works fine no rubbing on my 1×9.

I did do the import myself & got it for about £35 last year.

That’s neat. Now, if it was just a third of the price and available to buy in the UK…

I’ve managed to get my Paul chain keeper to work 1×9 but its at a jaunty angle rather than flat completely covering the chain. I just can’t be bothered to buy a different chain device and sell the Paul one.

That said, I also have a clutch mech ready to get fitted as have realised a top chain device alone isn’t enough when it gets really rocky.

Day 2 in the Aeron Pros today, and I’m still happy with them.

Pad isn’t as ‘hugging’ as my old Assos bibs, but better than some Endura / Northwave / Exteondo / Gore shorts I’ve had in the past.

We’ll see if they fall apart in the wash tonight.

Couldn’t bring myself to spring the £stupidprice to replace my Assos bibshorts so have just had a punt on some DHB aeron pros.

First ride this morning they seem just the job. I particularly like the longish leg (not a big fan of the hotpants look).

Before you know it someone might do LEJOG version, that would be epic.

EWE

Light grey?

Match the forks / saddle / grips to the frame highlights. Black text on the frame? White forks will looks pish.

Looking North from Hambledon Hill, Dorset yesterday evening