I’ve found the stuff from Just Riding Along is excellent for the money, it seems to be more adhesive than others I’ve tried. A little bit thicker and robust than other brands, but goes on fine with a bit of heat.
HTH

They’re only jealous ‘cos the latest mountain bikes are technologically superior to their twiglet bikes :wink:

Bought a pair of D2B summer weight baggies a couple of years ago. The outers were fine, but the inners were a waste of time (very comical though), inners went straight into the car-rag pile!

No point converting to tubeless if your not going to benefit from decent tyre pressures

Yes, exactly my thoughts. If the UST RQ’s were a lot cheaper, I’d take a chance. However, at £80 a pair, I thought I’d do a bit of research first – ‘cos, as you say, if they can’t be run reliably at low pressures, it’d be a reet waste of money.

Thanks to all for responding – From what you’re saying, it sounds like they’ll be fine in the 20-30 psi range.

p.s. Scienceofficer, just out of interest, do you run the RQ and X-King as a front & rear combo? I’d wondered about an X-King on the rear, but wasn’t sure how they sized up (guy at LBS reckons the 2.2 X-Kin is a lot smaller volume & width than 2.2 RQ(?))

Guess a lot depends on tyre width, terrain you’re going over and how you ride, and of course, your weight (I know some female XCers who are sub 50kg!…..I’ve eaten sandwiches that are nearly that weight…..and you’d never guess :wink: ).

Depending on what & where I’m riding, my non-UST ‘Stans method’ tubeless tyres are usually somewhere between 20 to 30 psi.

Don’t know whether it’s the method I use to mount and seal my non-UST tyres, but when I come to change them, they’re usually quite well ‘gummed’ onto the rim. My idea of trying proper UST tyres is to avoid mess and speed up tyre changes, so if possible I’d like to experiment with no sealant. However, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be running the risk of burping or folding the tyre off the rim at sub 30psi – hence my initial post.

I’ve run stans 355s and tubeless rubber queen 2.2s at about 10-15 psi and they were grippy as anything.

Now, I am a bit of a one for low pressures, but that is super low! – nice one :D

I hadn’t thought about the weight variable……duhhh!! I’m about 88 kilo (13+ stone) in full riding kit, so I guess I’ll have to run a bit more pressure, but encouraging that you’re able to drop down from 20-35 to 10-15psi on 355’s (the XT rims I have are a similar width to my wifes 355’s).

As it happens, I had to check Fox’s website for this t’other day. According to Fox there should be 10-12mm of thread engaged. Apologies if it’s ‘Grandma suck eggs’ job, but with that amount of thread engagement, be careful you don’t bottom out the bolt and strip the thread.
HTH.

I had a pair of Gore Alp-X’s (L suited my 33″ waist), they did OK for a year or so, until I caught ’em on the nose of my saddle and delaminated ’em :( I’m now using DHB ones (L FWIR), which don’t fit quite as well and are less packable than the Gores, but do seem tougher – and are shed loads cheaper!

We’re not that far from Norton, so will keep our eyes peeled.

Always useful to hear of places offering good service, and cheers for the cassette removal tip.

Thanks for the reply mtbtomo, and good to hear the fix has worked. Using Studlock certainly sounds the best option – might already have a bottle in my workshop….er somewhere!

p.s. don’t know about you, but I love the way the bike rides – shame I’ve had a few build quality related issues with though. If it wasn’t quite so new, I’d take it to bits and put it back together again properly (I’ll leave that to the bike shop for now tho :wink: )

Just wondered how the creak fixes are doing? (mtbtomo, is your bike still creak free?)

Reason I ask is because I have a 3 or 4 week old Zesty 514 which started creaking after about the 3rd ride. Very similar circumstances to what has previously been described (creaks even when stood up pedalling), and I’ve tried the most of the ‘easy’ fixes – chainring bolts, cleaning BB and tightening crank arms, tighten mech hanger/drop out plates, headset etc etc. Bike is due for its 1st service in a couple of weeks, so am going to get LBS to investigate, however, if I can point ’em in the right direction, I guess that might help.

TIA

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I’ll have to sell ’em, which is a shame ‘cos they’d look great on my other bike…………might have to save some pennies and upgrade the fork lowers to 15mm’s :wink:

:( oh bu**er. I was hoping it would ‘just’ be a case of getting some suitable end cap type jobbies, like the Pro 2 type things. I know a couple of fellas that could potentially machine something up for me, but it sounds like it might involve more work than a quick ‘lunchbreak job’.

Being the owner of what must be an especially abrasive a**e, I’ve owned or own many of the ‘usuals’ (Singletracks, Humvees, mt500’s, Dakine 8 tracks….amongst others!) For slimmer legged baggies with no liner, I think some of the Sombio stuff is hard to beat – quite slim fitting, but very comfy stretchy fabric, reasonably hard wearing and weather resistant too. Only drawback is that I find they can be a bit warm in full on summer conditions – full prices also pretty steep, but shopping around usually turns up sale stock.

HTH

Cheers for the feedback. Having used a corner bath in a house we rented many years ago, I can appeciate the comments on ‘naffness’ and size for tallish adults to stretch out in (though I only seem to ever get time for quick showers these days).

Hmmm…as we’re on a water meter, I think I might have to have a rethink (washing up bowl sized bath here we come – or take my bro-in laws approach and move the dirt around on ’em with a damp flannel :lol: …..alright Rich :wink: )

Great stuff, thanks for the advice.

p.s. just hope the wife doesn’t notice that I’ve swapped the wheels on her bike :wink:

Cheers :-)

No air loss with non-ust tyres – Nice one :-) Are your 819 rims the UST non drilled type? (please ‘scuse my UST ignorance, I’ve only ever run ghetto and Stans type set ups – I know some non-UST tyres have really slack beads that can be impossible to seal)

Hmm…er, glad I asked how you were doing with ’em 8O TBH, I have had similar(ish) problems with other brands, but then I’m a bit of a cheapskate who re-uses skanky old worn(non-tubeless) tyres that have lying around the shed for years. Have had some v.porous brand new Kendas tho.

From what’s been said, I think I’ll put up with the extra weight and try the UST version. Cheers and good luck fixing the leaks!

I had a 405 for about 18 months. Eventually sold it, because no matter what I tried, I could never get 100% comfortable on it (partly becuase of an old shoulder injury). I’m a bit of a bike whore, so do have other ‘popular bikes’ to compare it to. Also live and ride in the Northern Peak District, so the bikes get a decent testing;)

I’d agree with some of the previous observations. Personally, I found that it was a bike that only really shone when ridden fast and hard, and with a bit of skill. My bike was fitted with the DT ex200 shock which, apart from a damping problem (sorted with no fuss under warranty), performed well. IMO, the bikes strongest point was its climbing performance – I demo’d a lot of bikes when I was looking to replace the 405, and for its weight, there’s not much that can touch it on climbs – closest I found was Giant Anthem X (but only 100mm travel) or the Zesty, which really is very good.

Again, only my opinion, but I think the low front end that really helped on climbs, was at the expense of descending confidence.
The 405’s descending performance was where I was a bit disappointed. It’s not particularly bad, it’s more that you don’t neccessarily have the margin for error that you do on some other similar travel bikes (Trek EX or Yeti ASR5 for instance), I think because the front-centre is comparatively short for the wheelbase. It’s not a bike that you can just brakes off and plough straight through terrain if that makes sense (like an Orange Five or Zesty :D ), the 405 really needs piloting. I fitted a 150mm fork to my 405 (on the advice of Adrian at Pace) and with about 30%-35% sag on the fork, it felt much better down gnarly terrain – the only problem is that I felt quite perched on the bike, rather than sat in it. After trying numerous bar/stem/seatpost combinations, I finally sold the bike to a guy who’s a seriously fast ‘pinner’. He’s had the bike for a couple of years and FWIR, he’s now running a 150mm coil fork on it (good choice :-) ) As far as reliability goes, it sounds like the new owner has put it though some serious abuse (Snowdon more than once, Lakes, lots of Peak mileage, Scotland). I think he’s had to dismantle and clean the pivot bearings a few times – but IME, I’ve had to do this on all my FS bikes (er…apart from my Orange Five of course!) – so, given the amount of use it’s had, it’s done very well. Paintwork was looking fairly…er..distressed the last time I saw it, but the welds, bolts etc. are all good.

In summary, I’d say if you’re a reasonably skilled rider looking for a very involving ride that comes alive when ridden hard, give one a try.

Penguin all I can say is test one and make your own mind up

I’d certainly agree with this – seems a bit of a marmite bike, so well worth trying before you buy.

p.s. I had some experience of Pace’s customer service and, IME, it was pretty good.

Nice one. Have a good time in the Lakes – & hope the tyre stays up OK! Be interested to hear how you get on. Cheers.

Hey there Gee76, have you managed to seal your RQ’s yet?

I was thinking of getting a pair of non-UST RQ’s until I read this thread! (I’ve got the same wheels as yourself and have previously had similar probs with another tyre/wheel combo – so I know what a PIA it can be)

Cheers for the suggestions. The thinner ones like the Gore Ozons sound good, as I’ve got some really warm indestructible woollen ones that I bought in Italy about 10 years ago – they’re a bit winter specific tho. (hmm….come to think of it, the Italians do seem to have some really bizarre bike clothing)

The cranks on the demo bike (and the one I’m thinking of buying) are 175’s. I know what you mean about the 170’s – I wondered about this, but the crankset that’s on it is superb, but, you can guess, it’s a SRAM one specifically made for Spesh – so I think I’d struggle to get a 170mm (unless I could get Spesh to supply one off a small size bike).

If the peaks was my main ride spot i’d be tempted by single pivot

Yes, I’ve been tempted by the Yeti ASR5 for this reason. The Yeti is a terrific ride, in a much more direct feeling suspension way, but it can’t touch the Spesh for value, or rear wheel ‘connectedness’.

Interesting to read about the probs with the Triad shock. I guess to put things in context, I’ve also had to have warranty repairs on a DT and Fox DRCV shock on previous bikes – but 4 times is a lot!

My boss talks sone right old shit

‘pre-empt rather than be prompted’
‘the management pyramid’
‘the management monkey’

What a ****

LOL, sounds like you’ve ended up working for my old boss. Ahhh….reminds me of why I became self-employed :-)

Ah, cheers for the info Stumpy01 – that’s very helpful. The model I’m looking at is the Carbon Comp, so carbon front triangle and Triad shock. (I’ve been borrowing a newish Orange Five, so don’t have a problem with regular PP lever flicking for climbs!) I’ve only had a 20 minute ‘car-park test’ of the carbon FSR, but was really impressed by the stiffness and acceleration.

The demo bike I tried was an aluminium framed ‘elite’ with Brain shock, which apart from the pedal tapping, I really liked. IMO, it feels very similar in character to the Five but, understandably I guess, the suspension has a much more refined feel. I loved the way it carved the corners, and the grip it gave under hard & late braking. Oh, also pleasantly surprised and impressed by the 2×10 gears on it.

Interesting that you’ve got experience of both Ally and Carbon frames – do you find the Carbon frame a lot stiffer in the steering department?

I did have a bike with higher bb and hated it – felt very unstable.

Yeah, I used to have a Marin Wolf Ridge that was like that, and it was bloomin’ awful. I guess it’s always a balance between ground clearance and handling.

I think part of the problem I was having with the Stumpy was that the demo bike I tried had the Brain-type shock. Most of the time I rode with the ‘Brain’ completely switched off, in an attempt to mimic the ‘normal’ Triad shock. I guess the bike was settling into its full sag more readily with the Brain off(?).

I’m guessing both Triad equipped bikes would sit up in their travel a bit more with the PP lever on? Is this what you find with your Stumpy?

err…Anyone?

So the comments on, its a bike that will hurt you seem to be quite accurate. As it will kill you on the climbs by tearing your legs off, and kill you on the descents by encouraging you to go that little bit faster.

I can definately appreciate what you’re saying here – I found the demo bike I tried very entertaining and fast. Brilliant bike for nipping out for a quick blast on. However, this is part of the problem for me (if you can call it a problem :D ). I’ve got an Anthem X, which is mental fast, so I’m after a longer travel ‘calmer’ bike for bashing along Dark Peak terrain….something to compliment the Anthem X – if that makes sense?! (my wife’s got an Orange Five that I’ve borrowed, but I fancy something a little bit different – pref not a Zesty)

Ta for feedback. Good to know Yeti’s sizing guide is a bit off. The demo bike I tried had an inline post and 80mm stem, and it felt pretty good – very compact, but still comfortable.

Only slightly odd thing is that the bike seemed very sensitive to shifts in body weight with the ProPedal off – anyone else noticed this?

Thanks Jonathan, a rough idea is better than nothing, but I can appreciate what you’re saying regarding the axle and BB paths – and I’d forgotten about these until you mentioned it. I recall a bike mag a couple of years ago that had diagrams showing the general pattern of axle paths for various rear suspension designs. It’s been quite interesting to demoing FS bikes with different suspension designs (if only I could cherry pick the suspension system of one and combine it with the geometry of another, I’d have the perfect bike for my needs – er…but then it’d probably not suit anyone else!)

FWIW, the potential for 3mm increase in BB height for 1mm decrease in sag might be in the right ball park. On the demo bike, I decreased the sag from 12mm to 10mm and I was getting noticeably less pedal strikes, but the bike still felt relatively low and very plush compared to other 140 travel bikes I’ve tried.

Yup, 12mm sag is measured on the shaft of the (air) shock. The bike is a plush feeling 4-bar ‘trail bike’, with a relatively low static BB, so this is I guess why the manufacturer has suggested 20-25% sag.
(I was getting quite a few pedal strikes at 25%)

Had a powered one fitted a couple of years ago, mainly for security.
It’s needed a couple of minor adjustments to its auto ‘double locking’ bolts (DIY job), after one of our builders thicko labourers decided to play ‘up & downies’ with the door, but other than that it’s been v.reliable. I’ve had similar problem to one of the other postees, in that once it didn’t close fully because of a power cut – my own fault, as the fitter did advise me to watch it close fully before driving off (it also comes with a manual winding handle in case of power cuts). Oh, the one we have it quite tough, as it survived my wifes Panda 4×4 rolling down our steep drive into it – it was ‘parked’ like that overnight aswell :roll:

Thanks for the photos and info on the head angle changers (the offset bushing’s a novel solution). Still think I’ll go down the fatter tyre choice, as it’s the combination of a little more ‘give’/travel in the suspension combined with a little bit off the HA that I’m after.
TBH, I guess I’m being a bit princess & the pea, but I’m just after a relatively cheap quick fix, because I think in the longer term, I’m going to sell the bike for a 140ish travel job.

p.s. anyone want to buy a nice Trek EX8 with very fat front tyre :wink:

Can send photo next to a kenda 2.1

STW to the rescue again! Wow, if it ain’t too much bother that’d be great, as I run 2.1 Nev/SB8’s on my ‘XC’ bike, so familiar with Kenda sizing.

TIA

p.s. don’t worry if it’s gonna be a PIA to get the photo.

Ta for the suggestions.

I ran 2.5 earls on my EX9, liked em, and they are big!

It’s good to know they can be shoe-horned onto the EX :-) Interested that you’ve gone for XR4’s, as that’s what I’m currently running up front – I’m guessing the Earls are even bigger?

It’s also good to hear that grip of the Earls is good and that the wets are OK for UK summer use.

Would a bit less sag at the front and a bit more at the back make more of a difference?

Yep, that was my first course of action, however, I find the bikes climbing character is a bit too draggy for my taste when run at the softer end of its sag range – and I really need as much fork travel as poss., so don’t really get on with it in ‘XC’ mode. Unfortunately, for the type of stuff I ride, I think I’d have been better off getting a slightly slacker 140mm-ish travel bike, but I can’t really afford to change the bike at the mo – My own fault, as I didn’t demo the bike on my usual terrain….Doh!!

Thanks for the feedback, it’s an improvement in rocky/techy performance that I’m after, so good to hear it improves things.

Yeah, the new price is pretty eye-watering, so I’d wondered about keeping my eyes open for any new fork offers.

Nice one getting 2nd hand lowers BTW!

I use the same shoes as yerself (AM40’s) and, after experimenting with Wellgos, DMR’s, *ank Bros pedals, I found these MN01 pedals by HT components http://www.ht-components.com/ht_portal/product/list?cname=pedal Superstars also do exactly the same pedal.

FWIW, I spent years on SPD’s & ATACs, but once I’d learnt how to ride and get air with flats, I realised all SPD’s did was to let me get away with rubbish footwork – I’m not a racer, so never really used the ‘pull up on the pedal’ option that SPD’s give you.

Once you’ve got your preferred flat pedal shoe combo sorted, it’s just down to technique, and if an old f*** like me can learn this, anyone can – and (famous last words) I haven’t had any shin or calf spiking in about 2 years of regular Peak D riding. Sounds like you’re already dropping your heels. Only thing I’d add, is that if you really want to fast forward your technique, get a skills session with a MTB coach that uses flats. Oh, and if you want to get some air, check out MBUK’s Doddy’s guide to bunnyhopping on YouTube.

HTH