I'm running a Ti456 with On One 440mm 26er fork and 29er wheel with Racing Ralph 2.4" tyre. No clearance issues at all, rides fantastically but that is as a commuter (on & off road).

Advice (from Brant) when I started was that it'd be good with rigid forks but a barge with short travel 29er forks. Yet to try this out as it'd be an expensive experiment.

Fine with Pro 2's (just tried them out), but can't comment on SLX. However, I can't see anything about them that would cause a problem with any caliper.

From this…

… to this in commuter guise. Ugly it is, then.

Thanks – worth a go, then.

Anything can be made ugly with effort…

Ran a Rohloff for a winter, but eventually sold it on. Two reasons:
1. Weight at the back made it feel very unresponsive. But this might be a combination of (a) my lack of any technique other than 'hold on and plough through' and (b) I compared it to a SS set-up (same bike, just a Rohloff / 819 wheel vs. DMR Revolver / 819 wheel).
2. Soul-destroying drag in 1-7. Now, it *might* be no worse that a dirty normal set-up, but it was a lot worse than a dirty SS set-up. But far, far worse than that was the noise – it was just so depressing to hear it that I nearly always just wanted to get off and push instead.

Now, if the Alfine can run silently I'd be interested at the prices being quoted. But really, we need this sort of technology brought to the BB area IMHO, as others have said.

Ah, southern man speaks with forked tongue. Clouds of despair congregate around Kings Cross, St. Pancras & Euston awaiting the unwary. Luckily, spirits can be lifted by keeping your peepers wide open.

As a fellow northerner trapped in that London each week (I get parole each Thursday to travel back to God's Own County), I have a few survival tips:
1. Keep moving. That's why cyclists down here run the red lights – get mugged or stabbed otherwise, see.
2. Leave your manners at home. If you're rude – with a grumpy scowl – you'll fit in just fine.
3. Bring your own beer. What's here is over-priced and under-bodied for the Northern taste buds, and worst of all almost always has no head.
4. Approach no one if you get lost. If you approach a stranger to ask for help you'll be given a filthy look and treated as a sure-fire sex pest.
5. Keep your eyes open as there are some great sights on the streets now the sun is out. Ogling is positively encouraged I believe.

Not an infallible list, but it'll get you by to start with.

Have 5 sets on bikes ranging from rigid to full suss. Avid Speed Dial levers (I've got some of the older SD Ti versions), XTR cables and smooth runs work a treat.

If you have to adjust the pads very frequently you're probably doing something wrong – they don't wear down that fast IME. Only downside is that the inboard "piston" can get stiff to move, and has seized up completely on one set (6 years old) that was used throughout this winter without any TLC (so probably my fault).

Have tried older Hope Minis ('02), Magura Loiuse ('04) and recent ('08) XT hydraulics. Only Maguras would tempt me back, but I can't justify it – lots of cost, not much benefit.

logic told me that, but being a numpty I wasn't sure. Also, just found a couple of Youtube clips where oil doesn't come out.

Anyway, if all's OK I'll forget about it!

Yess ETR-V, now only £28 on CRC? Seems like they're half the price they were a year ago!

Seems to ring a bell now, think Tim had just moved up to the area iirc?

That's right, Drac.

Nice to see there's still plenty of people around from back when, and that we all seem to have good memories of what it was like. I guess that means we're all middle-aged farts, then :-). I am.

Managed to go to a couple of Thetford Yuletide rides 2002 / 2003 – one organised by Grueller who appears occasionally. Bez turned up at one with JoB and few others from the south coast.

Never felt up to meeting for a proper hilly ride – no fun in being the fat, wheezy bloke holding everyone up!

Drac – we met, oh 2003? Rode in the Cheviots with you & TimC, you on your old Rockhopper, me on a black Sub5 if that helps. My wife still laughs about it today – "you and two fit blokes" as she likes to say.

Russ Pinder was a regular around that time. I remember the shock and horror when the thread went up on here about his fall, and the aftermath as it became clear how bad it was. Definitely had a sense of community about it … maybe it still does – maybe I should spend more time here again!

2003 was a golden era, I agree.

I got advice on bikes (Orange Sub 5 vs, Ellsworth Isis), how to mitigate the visible cost of transactions to the nosey (a.k.a. my wife), unblocking drains, met people for rides all over the place incl. Drac who left me for dead and spent many a happy day doing no work whatsoever. And generally the place had great humour with few people getting uppity as seems commonplace now.

2003? Newcomer

2002 for me 🙂 Opened up a whole new world of work-based slacking.

2003…Ahhh those were the days

Indeed.

Piersb – great articles in the earlier mags ("I count myself lucky I can still maintain a bike and an erection, though not at the same time") and good value contributions here.

Samuri is still here, trying (and failing) to offend the fat last I saw – pity no more mag articles from him.

Thanks for the update, Drac.

Who else from 2003ish has gone AWOL or is still around, other than you?

Bez – still around occasionally but used to spend all day entertaining us.
Neek, RHS, AndyA, SteveM …

Last night commuting back to Chingford on the towpath, just after Ferry Road, our brace of On Ones happened across either a Heckler or Superlight and some sort of Specialized full susser. Got me thinking – what terrain is there around these parts that needs that sort of kit?

Like you, jamesca, I'm a part-timer here (weekdays only). Had a couple of trips into Epping Forest but wouldn't want to go myself – too easy to get lost, no elevation to find out where you are.

34.9 / 35mm works on mine.

Harry @ 10

That's all & easy. Just follow what Stan does on the videos on his site.

As an alternative, keep the 26er fork and put a 29 wheel in. I've got the 440mm forks and run a 29 wheel with Racing Ralph 2.4" tyre – no clearance problems at all and handles just fine.

Grafham Water Cycling did me a nice set on 819s. Or Ben Haywards in Cambridge?

Loads of entertaining clips linked to the original link, but this one just had me in stitches (and probably the rider in a painful place too). Sorry if this has been trotted out here before.

819 with UST has been faultless over 7 years IME.

819 with non-UST tyres has been easy enough but had to cut the tyres off as the latex had dried out and sealed them totally after 2 years.

Now have 2 wheels with Stans. Flow with UST tyre – went up easily, stays up, no problems. Arch with Racing Ralph 29er non-UST & rim strip – err, went up easily, light as you like, no problem.

But … a mate has a set of Hope Hoops with Stans 355 & UST Schwalbe Furious Freds. One just won't inflate – gets to 25 psi and air escapes. Just can't get it working.

IME tubeless is great if you don't want to change tyres frequently, like others have said. Until the recent Furious Fred debacle I'd have blamed user error, but as I have failed to get it to work that can't be right 😉

My son got a XS Turner XCE when he was 7. Fitted it with 60mm stem, 165mm cranks, reversed post to shorten the reach & 24" wheels – he was fine. Now he's 12 and has an inline post & 26" wheels, and there's plenty of room for further growth.

My daughter got a 14" Explosif when she was 7 – same idea as above, but with shorter (cheapo) 152mm cranks. Worked a treat. She'll move up to 26" wheels soon.

Could do worse than getting a 14" Inbred or similar & then build it up from the Classifieds. I might have a pair of 24" wheels going – Deore 32H hubs & Rhinolite rims, so not too heavy but can take all the kiddy lack of care. Email in profile if you're interested.

Hmmmm … green.

An update after a bit of a stressful time.

On One got the EBB out (involving a vice, drilling the installation tool and quite a few people turning the frame). They said the BB shell was fine and would take a standard BB, but I got the whole lot sent to Sideways Tim.

Meanwhile, Eric at Forward Components sent me a replacement driveside threaded cup and installation tool at cost – much appreciated along with the invaluable advice he gave throughout the process.

Tim chased the BB shell as the threads definitely needed it, and once that was done the driveside threaded cup went in by hand.

So, moral of the story is not to assume that a Ti frame will have had the threads chased – if that had happened at the outset there wouldn't have been a problem.

Big thanks to Tim for chasing a Ti frame when many others refuse, and to Eric for great support and advice.

Here is mine – Ti4569er in commuter guise. 440mm 26" forks, plenty of clearance, rides fine. But 456 geometry might be quite different from your IF.

BTW, got my Forward Component EBB sorted & working (many thanks to Sideways Tim & Eric at FC) – BB needed chasing properly before installation, but that's for another thread. How about yours?

42:17 along canals from Chingford, but that's with 2.4" tyres.

They did my 5 Spot – nice, but a bit chiptastic. Also managed to create a burr inside the seat tube which has scratched by seatpost very badly.

Would go somewhere more local next time.

Got any electrical insulating tape? As a test, run that over the top of the yellow tape. If it stops it then the leak isn't at the valve but in the yellow tape somewhere else.

If that's it, then one of two solutions: More yellow tape or kill the cat that pierced the tape.

I've been trying to help out on this one. I've got 8 UST rims that I've never had a problem with & 2 Stans rims that have been fine. I've not had any tubeless problems using UST tyres or normal tyres.

But this one is fubarred – Stans 355 Hope Hoop with tape & Stans valve, wheel from Roger at Wheelpro. Last night a new valve came, and exactly the same problem. Air leaks out at the valve, and the valve lockring is tight enough (I wouldn't want to do it any tighter). Same with different tyres too. Rim looks fine to the eye.

I can vouch that the swearing really hard solution has been tried to the max.

Suspect it needs to go back to Roger / Hope.

Cycling Proficiency
County Certificate for swimming
10 O Levels ['78]
4 A Levels & 2 S Levels ['80]
MA, PhD in Natural Sciences
MBA
Some professional qualification or other

… and only maths bits & the first two have been of the slightest use.

is it a real improvement and would you DARE do it to the Ti?

From this …

to this …

Excuse is that it's now a commuter. Rides very well as a 69er though.

Just to back up what Eric said – he's been fantastic helping me out (as hopefully came across in my earlier posts).

The good news is that On One got the EBB out using a vice but at the expense of the EBB driveside cup – but at least the frame's OK. As the non-driveside went in easily I'm working on the assumption that chasing the driveside should sort it out for another try with a new cup.

I took one of those Specialized Enduro things MFCat posted and cut a SKS Shockboard in half, then ziptied it to the Speccy thing. Worked a treat to keep the shock properly clean & actually looked tidy too, but wouldn't save your arse.

I've also ziptied half of a Manitou-fit SKS Shockboard to a Turner rear end – worked well for my son when he has 24" wheels but too short for 26".

No piccies to back any of this up, sadly. Haven't yet been able to do anything on a full susser other than mount a Crud Guard fairly high up.

Almost the ideal commuter – bar the tensioner. Now Fubar'd fitting an EBB 😥