Freeborn will also build you wheels – they always have Stans ZTR rims and Hope Pro II hubs in stock

you will go through pretty much any lock on the market with large enough bolt croppers – you will ruin the blades but it will cut the lock

if you search the websites of leading motorbike-lock manufacturers they show how easily most "big brand" locks on the market can be cut with enough leverage from big bolt cutters

I've also had luck (in our workshop) removing a £50 "big brand" d-lock that a customer had lost the key for, by several well aimed blows at the barrel with a lump hammer, the lock popped very quickly!

definitely 700c wheels for commuting = so much quicker than any mountain bike

I ride a Specialized Tricross singlespeed with Specialized Armadillo All-Condition 700 x 28c tires (100 psi) and it goes like sh*t off a shovel

I do about 100 miles a week commuting and have never felt the need for gears or suspension

I am liking my Wellgo MG1 pedals alot – cheap, light, seem tough, reasonable sized platform, very grippy, thin enough

great with skate shoes for messing around, and with 5-10 shoes for trail riding the feet stick like glue

most stupid flat pedals?

one of my friends spent £250 on a pair of US made "boutique" pedals (twenty-six?), and was not happy when I pointed out my £40 Wellgos are only 40 gms heavier and I won't cry if I ruin them…

its got to a good thing, just to have more people on bikes

however, the big rise in numbers of cycle commuters in the past 2-3 years means lots of dangerous cyclists with no common sense, courtesy to other road users or any application of the highway code

I've been riding bikes in London for 20+ years, and find the most dangerous road users are inexperienced or arrogant cyclists, rather than taxis or buses

I've had many near-misses this year with cyclists who have completely ignored a red traffic light, decided to ride against the traffic on a 1 way or ridden off the pavement straight in front of me

hopefully with increased numbers using the cycle hire scheme, the authorities can step up 1. cycle education 2. enforcement of the law!

somewhat overpriced…

as an example, they are selling 2009 Fox 36 Talas R for more than others are selling 2010 Fox 36 Talas RC2?

I run Stan's ZTR Flow rims, Roval tubeless rim tape, Stan's valve cores and Specialized 2-bliss tubeless ready tires (Fast Trak, Eskar, Purgatory, Captain, Clutch SX) with 2.5 cups of Stan's Solution

super easy to install (5 mins a tire), inflates every time with track pump and no detergent, no tire roll or burping, have regularly changed tires, never found it an issue…

no problems really? and the performance gains are very noticeable, both in terms of ride feel / traction, and lack of punctures / pinch flats

but I can understand trying to set it up on random rims and tires which are not designed for tubeless, or doing ghetto setups, can make people give up with tubeless?

If you lift the bike by the stem I can feel it lift a few mms before the forks top out

nothing to worry about – its a slight amount of free vertical play in the u-turn mechanism itself, and is experienced on both the Pike Coil and Air U-Turn forks

its not something you will notice riding with the fork loaded with weight

Thanks lads, how good are the air ones?

better than the coil for sure ;)

I've been running 454 Air U-Turn Pikes for stuff like this:

much better adjustment setup using the pos/neg air springs (filled seperately) and of course 100% sag correct for your weight, using air pump

here's my claim to gappy fame

i cant stand the feel of my dhx5 air and will be changing it asap

the DHX 5 Air is an unpleasent shock for sure ;)

try the new Fox RP23 XV BV shock as a direct replacement for the DHX air on your bottlerocket, it will put your faith back into air shocks

RP23 = awesome

definitely check your chainring bolts – try removing, cleaning, greasing and reinstalling, all with equal torque

Are M STEEL cycles still open in Newcastle? (they used to do lots of frame building and respray work)

otherwise ARGOS Racing Cycles in Bristol are highly recommended, and undertake frame warranty work and resprays for Specialized UK, etc.

its when taking a gentle ride down the canal path, or messing around doing wheelies outside your house, that accidents seem to happen, probably when you have not bothered with a helmet!

some years ago, a friend of mine who was a world-class rollerblader (X-Games medalist) died near his house in Barry, Wales after skating down to the local shops, stumbling and hitting his head against a lamp post (no helmet)

this was a guy who could get 10 foot of air on a vertical skate ramp, and do flips and spins at will – always whilst wearing a helmet

RIP Richard Taylor

I will always wear a helmet, even when riding to the shops…why not?

I've attended too many accidents involving dirt jumpers not wearing helmets and ending up with serious head injuries / coma in hospital..why not wear a helmet?

Rocky Mountain – still born & bred in Canada ….

perhaps born, but many of their frames are now being manufactured in Taiwan (not a bad thing, just a comment)

this move started with their "Flatline" DH frame and additional models have been outsourced over the past seasons

something to be aware of, "made in the…" can mean that the majority of sellable value has been added in the country that the company is claiming as origin i.e. USA, or Canada

painting, stickering and finishing a raw frame made in TW, can add the majority of sellable value to that frame – as without paint, stickers and facing / finishing it would have barely any sellable value

this allows a company to "legitimately" claim it was made domestically

the same is true for final assembly of bicycles done domestically, using frames manufactured off-shore (which is what Rocky Mountain are now doing..)

Devinci (vague on models – a few sources claim it's only some but all the full suss bikes I clicked on said (made in Canada)

Devinci make ALL of their suspension frames in-house, in their factory in Quebec, canada

its no secret that their hardtail frames and their carbon fibre road frames are made in Taiwan, as its simply more profitable to outsource hardtail frames (not as much profit as selling a suspension frame, and almost as much work!) and the Taiwanese / Chinese do the best CF work for bicycle frames

anyone that read last Friday's Evening Standard would have been surprised to learn that Devinci are manufacturing the 6,000 London Cycle Hire scheme, aluminium alloy frames custom "Bixi" bikes – as the work could not be done in the UK

from Esher Pump Track

I'd recommend Hampstead Heath in NW London (head towards Spaniards Wood, at the top of the Heath)

a good amount of elevation so a big climb up, and lots of excellent and surprisingly technical singletrack riding going up, along and down

I've been riding the Heath over 10 years, its one of London's best kept riding secrets (whoops, let the secret out the bag!)

strictly speaking, its illegal to ride off the 3 marked cycle paths (which are tarmac and fireroad) but…..

I've owned too many pairs of forks over many years of riding Mountain Bikes

got my first pair of suspension forks – Specialized Future Shock Pro (manufactured by Rockshox)in 1992

owned many pairs of Rockshox, Marzocchi, Fox, even Manitous

in my humble opinion, Fox just make the best fork in each category

you used to pay alot more for Fox, but SRAM raised their prices substantially last season, putting the Lyric at parity with the Fox 36

I've found Mojo to stand behind their product and offer very quick turn around, which is something I cannot say about Marzocchi (Windwave in the UK) or Rockshox (Fishers)

the 15 hour service recommendation on Fox lowers is just a recommendation

I've been doing the lower service on my 36 Talas every 2 months (bike ridden 3-4 times a week) and had no issues with seal or stanchion wear, or contamination with water or mud despite riding through the entire winter we just had

I've had considerably more problems in recent years with Rockshox Totems, Lyrics and Pikes than with Fox forks

I would say that ALL suspension needs servicing, including Rockshox

when forks and shocks are NOT serviced, that is when problems develop..I can think of riders that have ruined Fox 32, Manitou Super Black, Marzocchi Z1 and Rockshox Pike forks by never doing a lower service, and then wondering why their stanchions have worn out!

the answer to OP

I would actually ask "Trail bike or All Mountain bike?"

most of the bikes people have suggested in their replies have been 5" travel (5 x 5) trail bikes

I would class all-mountain as 6" travel (6 x 6) typically with a 67 degree head angle and wider / tougher rims to take bigger tires, than you'd normally use on a trail bike

the biggest selling suspension category in the UK is the "trail" bike, simply because it suits most riders want / need for the UK!

personally? I ride a Devinci Hectik (6 x 6) which is just over 30lb, and with a Fox 36 Talas on the front, and DHX 5 Air with pro-pedal switch on the rear, seems to go up, along and down very rapidly…

when I ride trails, I run the Pro-Pedal 'on' and the fork on 130mm travel which certainly keeps the suspension and geometry lively

I've taken it to Cwm Carn for the uplift (DH) day, and just switched the tires and installed a shorter (50mm) stem and it was 100% at home

since I only have the one bike, and like to go quick on the DHs, and jump / drop off things, I would not trust myself on a trail bike

there is a big difference

Float fluid is very viscious – about 75 weight – designed specifically for lubricating the moving parts (stanchions and bushings)

you can use any suspension fork oil of 7wt or 7.5wt instead of the Fox suspension fluid for the actual damper service

Came riding with our university club once on a Wednesday ride. Nice unassuming chap and a fit bugger to boot! Respect. Honoured to have ridden with him once.

did you go to University of Northumbria (or Newcastle University)?

I was on the Hardisty Cycles racing team with Jason, just before he hit the big time and got his Pro deal with Specialized

Jason was responsible for inspiring myself and fellow Hardisty's team mate Adam Robertson to get into DH in a big way, as we were XC racers at the time

if you've ever seen photos of his Specialized race kit, you'll notice the Hardisty Cycles logo on his top, which he insisted on, due to all the help that Margaret Hardisty had given him before Specialized picked up him

I was also at the Uni of Northumbria during this time, and we'd regularly invite Jason out for club rides from Newcastle out to Chopwell Woods or Prudhoe – sometimes his buddy Paul Plunkett would come along

JMC was a great guy, super friendly to everyone and very down to earth, but also very fast and talented on his bike, professional off the bike, and a big inspiration for riders of that era

JMC, sorely missed!!

rob cole

having used most big brand and boutique hubs on the market

I would always go with Hope – I've found the Pro II to be a very, very good hub, regardless of the fact its more affordable than many fancy hubs

yes, I have broken the Pro II's freehub pawl springs – doing tiretaps on a 10 foot high, steep flatbank in the skatepark on my mountain bike (I have a BMX for the skatepark…) – Hope sent me replacement springs FOC within 24 hours :)

in terms of maintenance, spares, post-sale backup, strength to weight ratio and reliability, I have found the Pro II to be an excellent hub set, I run Pro II on both my mountain bikes with Stan's ZTR Flow rims and DT Swiss competition D/B spokes with brass nipples

excellent wheels, make the bikes feel SO crisp / quick and fast rolling

I've ridden in mud, snow, rain, sunshine, the freehub has never missed a beat…

love the fact that Hope are UK manufactured, any issues? call Hope, you speak to the guys who actually make them (refreshing, compared to speaking to a guy who "imports" a hub from Taiwan), they are 100% behind their products at Hope

when people say Pro II have poor engagement – I've ridden them in pouring rain on Vancouver's North Shore trails in Canada, balancing on a slippery, rotten log skinny going into a steep drop, no issues with "engagement" to comment on ;)

no difference except price

go to motorbike supplier or Halfords and you will pay 1/5th of the price ;)

Freeborn have got 09 Stumpy Comps for under £1500 and 09 Enduro Comp for under £1600

Hi its Rob from Freeborn Esher here

thanks for the kind words about the Esher shop, we try our best to keep customers happy, and unlike Horsham, we prefer sheep to goats ;)

regarding the Paradox, we are trying to get whatever is available from Banshee in Taiwan, but as it has been a big success (29'ers) in the States, stock is limited

if you want a Paradox please give Jim at Horsham a shout (he's not the shortish "stroker" with the blonde highlights, so don't be worried!) and let him know what you want in terms of size / colour and he will do his best to get a Paradox for you (£435)

we're expecting another drop from Taiwan soon, so it should not be too long for the next batch of frames