I use a pair of AM40’s that I’ve dyed black with Terrago synthetic leather dye. (I’m 48 and a half BTW :D )

p.s. anyone yoof-like peeps want to buy some hardly used ‘Sam Hill’ 5.10’s?!

Yeah, what is it with a lot of people in this Country – no sense of pride in their own Country or respect for themselves or other people. I don’t think they seem to realise that they have to pay taxes for people to pick this s**t up. Recently came back to the UK after driving around Europe, and the amount of litter was the one of the first differences I noticed. Very poor how it’s spread to ‘non-urban’ & trail locations.

A few years ago I worked with a group of foreign post-grad students and when I asked ’em about the UK, they all seemed to like it, but lots said they were shocked by the amount of litter. One of ’em said that some British people seem to take pride in living up to their ‘dirty, lazy, ignorant & oafish’ stereotype.

If people can’t even be arsed to pick up their litter, how the F*** is Camerons ‘Big Society’ brainwave going to work?!

I reckon you may well have had a super tight set of Mud X’s there as i can get mine on and off with my fingers.

Just out of interest, are you running them on 4.2 rims?

I’ve run ghetto and Bontrager rim strips in the past (which are both much cheaper options)

Soz if this confuses things, but yeah, might be an idea to give ghetto a try – esp. given the cost of the DT and Stans kits. Compared the Bontrager rimstrips and sealant, both of the latter are a bit of a rip-off IMO. I think I paid less than £20 for two Bonty rimstrips, valves and decent sized bottle of sealant. Dunno if you can get Bonty rimstrips that are compatible with 4.2 rims though?

I’m lucky enough (er..depending on your opinion!) to have a 2010 Five and Trek EX8. Also had a couple of decent off-road demo rides on Alu & Carbon Remedy’s.

The carbon Remedy was very nice, but at £5k, I guess it should be!

However, if I was forced to choose between the Five and an Alu EX or Remedy, I’d go with the Five every time. TBH, my jury is still out on the looks of the Five (tho I reckon white is a good colour for them), but lets face it, when you’re hooning along a nice bit of singletrack on any decent bike, are you really gonna give a flyin’ fig what ot looks like?

p.s. good move getting the household used to a bike being kept indoors :-) My newest bikes have lived in the dining room for years, but now I’ve got a decent dry & secure workshop, they live in there, apart from when the in-laws visit, when one of ’em gets brought back in – just love the look on the mother in laws face :wink:

Stronger tyre levers?

After breaking 2 plastic ones, I tried an old metal lever, but just ended up scratching the rim and bending the lever!

TBH, with long steel levers, it might have gone, but the amount of force would have probably folded the edge of the rim. Maybe the Mud X’s I’d got were tight examples, ‘cos can’t remember them being that quite that bad on other rims.

My wifes bike has got 4.2 rims fitted with Stan’s yellow tape & rubber rimstrip. In winter she prefers Mud-X’s, which were OK on her old wheels (muggins gets the job of tyre swap-overs :? ) However, last year, after breaking two tyre levers, I gave up and put folding Maxxis Minions on – which went on & inflated fairly easily.

TBH, I’ve had very mixed success with this rim/rimstrip combo., and from my experience, if I was starting from scratch, I’d go with the DT system.

With the 4.2s I’ve found some tyres, like non-UST Specialized fit & inflate easily, Bontrager MudX’s and XR4’s were too tight to fit. Kendas were way too baggy and wouldn’t inflate. Maxxis seems OK. I’ve also got a Bontrager wheelset fitted with Bonty plastic rimstrips, that I think are v.similar to the DT ones, and these have been very good so far. Because the plastic is stiffer, the rimstrip doesn’t seem to get disturbed as easily when switching over tyres – and its very easy to fit in the first place. The Stan’s rimstrips don’t seem to suit these rims as well as others – maybe it’s the internal profile of the 4.2(?).

FWIW, I’m not a Stan’s ‘hater’ and run ’em on 3 other wheelsets with no probs at all. I think your main problem with the 4.2’s and MudX will be getting the super-tight beads onto the rim (I even bent a metal tyres lever trying).

Hope this helps….and good luck.

Hey there grim168. I used a dye made by ‘Tarrago’, can’t remember exactly, but think I ordered direct. The website is tarrago.co.uk and the stuff is listed under shoe and fabric dyes as Tarrago Leather (Penetrating) Dye 50ml.

As far as applications goes, I cleaned the ‘leather’ bits on my shoes with meths to degrease the surface. (left the suede bits green). Painted the dye on the white bits and left it to dry, first coat looked c**p, but if you go for 3 or 4 coats, leaving it dry properly between coats (unlike me :roll: ) it covers really well. oh BTW, one bottle is plenty for one pair of size 10’s.

Good luck

Thanks v.much for the info., ‘cos I was on the point of ordering a 35.9mm. Couldn’t see any size marked on the Bonty one, but only had a quick-ish look last nite and didn’t take it off the bike. When I measured the outer diameter of the seatpost (with my v.battered calipers) it came out at 36.0 to 36.1mm er…plus or minus about 0.5! Noticed that the Hope QR’s jump in size, which is why I posted the question. Sounds like 36.4mm is the way to go.

Cheers.

Real pleased with mine – especially after I ‘blacked out’ the white bits with 3 coats of synthetic leather dye :wink: For anyone interested, the dye works a treat – was expecting it to just wear/scuff away after a couple of weeks, but it’s lasted months of Peak District wear.

I can’t stand him & the wife likes him even less – which is why I flick onto his show to wind her up :wink: …..dunk..ouch! Oh, and Piers Morgan….telly out of window job!

I’m normally pretty cynical, but this does sound like genuinely excellent service (way better than a few I can think of). Really good to hear of stuff like this. Just wish the shop was closer to where I live!

Well done ‘Bike Chain’ & get well soon Fudge.

Yes, it’s the museum in Coalbrookdale. Not sure if the collection is open to the public – last time I asked, you had to write/email the curator to get access, my guess is because it lurks in boxes in a dark corner of the site. Just thought, I think there’s an on-line catalogue of the collection – I’ll send you the link when I can find it.

The fella that I’ve had to work with on the project is a bit odd, and has a bit of a reputation. I gather he’s from an arts (historian) rather than science background, so he’s got a different perspective to me. (I’ve come close to wringing his neck once or twice!)

I’m intrigued that a museum would consider metallic slag important enough to keep samples of.

You haven’t heard the best yet – there is something rather grandly called the ‘National Slag Collection’ at Ironbridge Gorge Museum (people usually look at me in disbelief when I tell ’em….don’t know why :lol: ). Last time I heard, the reality of the Collection is that it’s a rather mottly collection of ‘historic slags’ that were donated by late or retired metallurgists/academics etc. Allegedly, there are quite a few bits of unusual slag relating to metallurgical processes that are no longer used.

The author of the 1860’s book was, at the time, a famous engineer/metallurgist and he left a collection of ‘stuff’, which is in the Science Museum archives – tho’ we’ve just been told it’s mainly bits of iron & steel (things like very early alloy steels & wotnot).

I guess it’s a very long shot, but if we can turn up any of this old coal-fired reheating furnace slag, we’re going to drop it in at one of the local labs with a sample of the stuff that we had the SEM-EDS analysis done on.

P.s. glad I ran the question by, because the fella that I’ve been working with has been pretty insistant that it’s OK to use the old data for direct comparison – and I’ve been getting a bit concerned.
Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the info Garry. Hmm…I thought there might be potential for some of these historic analyses to be accurate, but wasn’t 100% sure – I hadn’t thought about the problem of oxidation levels.

Another fly in the ointment is that I’ve also noticed that, in the historical table, each column of results (representing samples from different furnaces) were presented by different companies. It looks like a representative from the Institute of Mines & Metals (or similar) collected data from different private companies – which IMO just adds to potentail variables.

We’re currently in contact with a couple of museums to see if we can scrounge any archive samples of the material, so that we can do some comparative stuff.

Thanks again for the info.

hey there Saccades, here’s what we’re having problems with – the interpretation of the modern analysis hinges on the presence of Fe3O4, which was a predominant phase seen in scanning electron microscope. (the material concerned is metallurgical slag)

One of the 1860’s analyses lists ferrous oxide (FeO ?) and ferric oxide (Fe2O3 and/or Fe3O4 ?). I’m assuming the historic analyses used classic ‘wet’ techniques, but I just wasn’t sure how accurately they’d have been for identifying & quantifying different oxides of iron.

Do you know how they’d have worked out the amount of various iron oxides?

I’m currently running Vanilla RLC 140’s QR on one bike, Revelation Team Dual Air Maxles (reduced with spacers from 150 to 140mm) on another and some ‘old’ 130mm Coil U-turn Revelations QR on my hardtail. Oh, until recently I was running Vanilla R 140’s QR on my Five. (er…the bikes are shared amongst other members of the family…honest :wink: )

Depends on your priorities really. For ease of set up and maintenance, plus suspension performance, I think it’s hard to beat the Vanillas. However, in the QR versions, they’re definately not as stiff as the 20mm thru axle Revs. The Vanillas are also heavier than the dual air revs – although, personally, I think the more supple action of the coil forks offsets the comparative lack of stiffness, so that in the real world, it’s pretty close. If you do go for the Revs, try and get ’em with black-box damping, as it’s definately worth getting – IMO it’s a huge improvement on the motion control damping – especially over repeated fast hits.

The coil Revs are good, but are a bit heavier than the Vanillas, and (again IMO) the motion control damping isn’t as good as the Fox Vanilla damping.

Good luck choosing :-)

Thanks for the replies. I was about to get some post-lunch calculator action until I saw Andituk’s link – it’s absolutely brilliant, Cheers!

Has confirmed what I’d envisaged, but it’s good to see some figures to confirm – also helped avoid another expensive stem purchasing mistake!

Thanks again guys.

My wife tried some bib-longs from a German brand called Protective, which Edinburgh Bike Co-op sell. She liked them because they had an ‘easy access zip’ for pee stops (unlike her Enduras, which are a right faff), but as she’s tall, they didn’t have any in the right leg length – so she didn’t get ’em. Looked like very good quality kit though.

Thanks for the replies. Just got back from holiday – dropped the bike in at the dealers before hols and left it with them for its first service. The dealers have sent the fork off to Mojo (and also waiting for a new freehub from Trek), so fingers crossed it’ll get sorted.

p.s. didn’t see your ‘slow puncture post’ before I replied. Hmmm…I can see why you’re suspicious. er…unless you’ve been driving around the streets in some of the old industrial areas (my wife picked up two punctures in quick succesion after driving down a street where there were lots of small machining scraps of metal lying about)

Yes, I’ve used them 3 or 4 times and they’ve been very good. They fitted a stainless exhaust that I supplied – they made a very good job of it and FWIR only charged £20. Also supplied & fitted exhuast on my wifes car and had two sets of tyres from them. They price matched the tyres to internet prices and took real care fitting the one set to my posey alloys (unlike other places in Sheff.)

Depends what you’re having done I suppose – but for tyres & exhausts I’d recommend them.

guitarhero – Member

Need a bike for the wife

That doesn't sound like a fair trade, what else can you offer?

OK, I'll throw in some protective equipment too…

I'm only the 3rd owner and she's in decnt nick, considering she's been ridden pretty hard 2-3 times a week. The front triangle's in a bit of a mess but you should be able to tidy that up.
Cost me a mint and there's be no expense spared on the upkeep.

LOL. Five star banter chaps :-)

er…as far as bike suggestions go: HT – something with a steel frame maybe, On One Inbred(?) or second hand Orange P7. FS – my wife really likes her Giant Anthem X4 (mens version). She reckons it rides much lighter than it is and is really comfortable. Seems quite a beginner friendly bike, but one that doesn't dumb down at all – way more capable than its travel suggests. As another postee has mentioned Rutland Cycles have got some good deals on at the mo.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've told him it'd be best if he could have a sit on a couple of bikes before he buys, so the Halfords and Decathlon options are good options.

I can recommend Wellgo MG1's, a bit over your budget, but you can get them for £35 online at Merlin.

Over the years it feels like I've tried dozens of various flat pedals – & on various bikes at the mo, am currently run V8's, V12's MG1's, Superstars Mags and Ultra Mag Lites. IMO, by far the most shin friendly are the Superstars Ultra Mag Lites, because they're flat headed aluminium pins, rather than the usual threaded steel grub-screws (like the V8's). Only prob with the Ultra Mags is the price….£70!!

TBH, (again IMO) the Wellgo MG1's are much easier to live with than the V8's and are really good VFM. They've got a few less pins, and more importantly, are better sealed – this means that they don't spin as freely as the V8's, which I find makes them less likely to spin out and shin-gouge.

As other people have mentioned, you could stick with your V8's and get some good flatty shoes. I use 5.10's, Shimano AM40's and MP66's (not all at once :wink: ). My current faves are the AM40's – not as super sticky as 5.10's, but easier to adjust your foot for 'normal' trail riding (just shoe dye 'em if hate the white-ness).

Finally (soz to go on!), if you're still getting 'shinned', try and get some skills coaching from someone who really knows how to use flats (do it anyway if you can:). I used to use SPD's all the time for years, but once I learnt how to ride flats properly, it was a revelation – I just don't bother with my SPD's any more AND (famous last words) very very rarely get spiked by the pedals – It's not rocket science and if I can do it, anyone can. Once you get the technique sussed, the stuff that you can do without popping off the pedals is absolutely bonkers – even in cheapo skate shoes.

HTH

I had an assessment arthroscopy a couple of years ago. I went into theatre about 9.30 and was back at home by teatime. FWIR, I had an 'ice cuff/collar' type thing on it and was laid up in bed a lot for about 2 or 3 days. (I was hobbling about for a few more days – but some of that was put on for the wife, so that she'd bring me food :D ) Stitches out a week after op and gentle towpath/disused railway rides soon after that. Had to have quite a lot of physio, but I think that was partly due to dislocated kneecap, rather than arthroscopy.

Good luck with it.

The 100 mm used to knacker my back, far too long.

Yeah, that's just what I found. I'm lucky enough to have a small fleet of bikes, so am used to swapping between bikes & setups, but the first proper ride of the EX on sunday killed my back (although I reckon a lot of that was my own fault, cos I just hopped on it in shop set-up without adjusting bars/saddle – er…and went on a bit of Peak District killer). Have since adjusted 'em, but steering still a bit odd.

Since my OP I've managed to borrow and try an 80mm stem, with pretty good results. Personally, I think the 80mm would be perfect for 'playbike' style mucking about in the local woodsy singletrack. But, I think I'd prefer a bit more space for longer rides – reckon a 90mm will be the best compromise.

Cheers for all the feedback.

Great stuff, thanks for the feedback. (sounds like it's not just me that thinks the 100mm is like a boat tiller!)

Took them off & replaced them with some oldish MK's. MK ok on the rear but now looking for a front tyre that will roll well but not slip in the mud…

I demo'd an Orange Five with the cheapo plastic version of the MK's – grip wise, things got a bit too er…'interesting' for my taste. Though I've heard the black chilli compound ones are good (is that what you've got?)

fattatlasses – I assume you have checked it is a DHF not a DHR

Good point. Yep, it's DHF. Fingers crossed it'll suit the Bonty rim OK, as I'm gonna run it tubeless (I don't want a 'burper'!)

Cheers for the comments. A pal has offered me an unused 60a Minion for 15 quid, so I think I'll give it a go. Being a 'tyre wierdo' (er…according to others), I'm probably going to team it up with something a bit zippier/silly on the back – stingy option is to stick with the Bonty XDX (hmm), or maybe try something like a Crossmark 60a, Kenda SB8 or Ardent(?).

p.s. any else had experience of Bonty XDX's – just interested to hear other peoples opinions of 'em

Then you probably don't want a DH specific tyre imho.

Yes, know what you mean – tbh, it's another reason I asked. I do prefer a more 'bitey' but predictable type of front though (still like to get the bike leant right over on the berms :-) )

Have been very impressed with SLX's on my Orange Five – performance wise, I can't tell any difference between the SLX and XT on my Anthem X.

If you're interested I have an unused set of SLX cranks in my garage. They were going to go on my wifes Anthem X4, but (you'll like this) she prefers the colour of the boggo Deores that came with the bike :lol:

I was gonna bung them on the classifieds for £70 posted – let me know if you want 'em. Cheers

I've got a little bit of metallurgical training, but specialise in er…'special steels' of other types (amongst other things). I'll be honest, welding of 853 isn't my specialism, so I wouldn't like to give a definitive answer. As you no doubt know yourself, there's a bit more involved in the application of air/self-hardening steels in this application.

If it's of interest, I know a very experienced chap that might be able to advise (he's also a cyclist & fan of steel frames), so if you want, I can drop him an email (if you could PM me a couple of photos of the crack it might be a help). The chap is thoroughly enjoying his retirement though, so it might be a week or two before I hear back off him – as he's normally off bike-touring, munro-bagging or grand-kid sitting!

The tune on my 2010 Five is firm compression/velocity, medium rebound and 225psi boost valve pressure. The tune on my wifes 'early' 2010 Five is medium compression/velocity, medium rebound and 175psi boost valve.

Both shocks are RP23BV(XV)as they came from the factory. Tune on mine gives better slightly pedalling behaviour and more of a ramp up on bigger hits, whereas the tune on the wifes shock is more sensitive to small bumps and has a more linear feel on big hits (doesn't bottom out nastly though).

HTH.

Cheers Michael. We're both looking forward to trying one now – sounds a very interesting alternative to the current US & Euro offerings. Will let you know how we get on.

Thanks for the info michael@orange – hmmm, hadn't though of the ST4. I think you've hit the nail on the head with the longer travel bikes, as my wife hates bikes with a 'perched on' feel – although she has said that she feels sat in, rather than on, her Five. Looks like we'll have to get a test ride on an ST4 (be quite good if we both fit the same size bike, like we do with the Fives :wink: ..ahem cough!)

Just to open up a can of worms :twisted:

The 'boost valved' R23 on my 2010 Five has a tune of 225psi boost valve, velocity = Firm, rebound = Medium. Whereas my wifes early 2010 Five has 175psi boost valve with medium velocity and rebound. Both are 'stock' tunes from Orange. I don't know if the above is the reason, but to get similar chracteristics, there's about a 10-20 psi difference between the two shocks.

Set at the same amount of sag, both shocks feel good, but in quite different ways. Nice to mess around and switch bikes mid-ride, as hers is a really nice 'descender shock tune' – Only fly in the ointment is that she wants to sell her Five, as she prefers her old Anthem :cry: (no comment)

p.s. anyone want to buy an georgeous hardly used 18" Five let me know!

I also have an Anthem, and maybe it is not the best bike for building confidence, but if she likes it she likes it (they are quite big for their size, if that makes sense!!)…

Yeah, I kinda know where you're coming from here. She's 5'10" and went for a medium mens AnthemX4 – I'm 6' and have blagged a couple of goes on it, and it feels just right size-wise. the Giant is a most peculiar bike, it looks tiny, but has a decent sized cockpit. Not sure if you have the Anthem or 'X' version, but (for its travel), I can't believe how well behaved the Anthem X is on descents, however, it definately doesn't have the 'safety margin' feel to it that the Orange has – and it doesn't feel like there's much wheel in front of you (er..if y'know what I mean). I think my wife likes the Anthem X because she finds it easier to weave round things on it than the Orange – whereas I tend to blast over & off things on my Five :D

I suppose I should have suggested she try an EX beforeshe got her Anthem X…………..DOH!! Although that would have robbed me of the opportunity of getting her an EX, that I can then (cough cough) 'borrow'.

p.s. who am I kidding thinking that she hasn't already worked out my plan.