Shifting feels both lighter and crisper. Happy so far :-)

Here’s what I’ve used so far…
3×8
1×8
3×9
2×9
1×9
2×10
1×10
1×10 with expander
and finally 1×11

I’m sticking with 1×11, 11-42 34 on 29er. There’s plenty of gear range for all day rides, the steepest of climbs, fast trails\road and once descents get really fast you may as well get low\aero.

I’ve found some people will never have enough gears, despite someone with less gears (or even one gear) riding the same stuff with no problems and faster.

Did it this weekend for the first time, 2 days 40/60mile split.
Not an easy ride but I enjoyed it.

Go for it garage-dweller :)

As mentioned above different components have different dates, but mostly July\August. My R-mech and shifter are due next week, 11-42 cassette is end of Aug (11-40 is available sooner). By the sounds of it I would pre-order if you definitely want it as I don’t think the first drop is massive and demand might outstrip supply.

Just hit 2000miles tubeless with no flats (Bonty and Arch Ex), love it :D

How often are you checking the sealant?, looking a bit grey and watery in there.

This started as a short post and got longer :roll:

Did my first solo 12 at Bikefest last weekend, despite lack of preparation I managed to survive the full duration. I only managed 2hrs a week in April as I was ill, then straight up to 15hrs (playing catch up) for a week and naffed my knee, then 6-10hrs a week in May-June, only steady rides to look after my knee. So it sounds like you should be fine if you pick a pace you can handle on longer rides.

I started off at good pace overtaking as much as I could then slowed to a heartrate that was comfortable on normal long rides.

Drank whenever I could, swapped between water and energy. Had a gel\bar when I wasn’t having energy drink and stopped for real food when I felt the need.

I tried to make my laps more efficient, no point pedalling hard to a corner to brake then accelerate, stop pedalling at the right point and go through the corner without using the brakes. Freewheel and pump when you wont gain by pedalling sections. Just try and improve your lines and flow on each lap, it will save energy and keeps things interesting too.

In the end my legs were fine, the thing that massively held me back was my core strength. My back was aching a lot after 3hrs then my arms and hands followed, it made me stop more than I needed to and longer stops made the pain more obvious when I got back on the bike.

What I learned…
Core strength is very important
keep fuelling all the time
Short stops
Start quick then slow to a steady pace
Keep it smooth and find your flow
Wear whatever is comfortable and use plenty of chamois cream
Don’t give up, “it’s only X hours on a bike” as Steve Abraham would say

The right cross bike should do it all fine, with the greatest difference in speed being the rider on it, tyres and how aero you are. My road bike is quicker, but riding the same route with same tyres on road or CX bike there was more difference between me on a good or bad day (or time of year fitness wise).

Have a look at road and CX geometry, some of the CX bikes are closer to sportive bike geometry. Angles are slacker and wheelbase longer, which can be nice on rough roads.

With regards to gearing for Crits, if you run Shimano 11speed the BCD is the same across cranks, so you can stick a 52T outer on your 46\36T cross chainset. 52\36 for summer/racing, 36\46 for cross/steady winter road rides.

Cross bikes make dull tracks and trails a lot more fun, fast enough on the road and most current (non race) cross bikes take mudguards and rack if needed.

I rode Afan for the first time the weekend just gone, the route we did sounds like the one you’re after…. http://www.strava.com/segments/7333220

The Skyline trail was empty, we had it all to ourselves, which was nice :)

I’ve been using free OS style maps on my Garmin from talkytoaster.co.uk/maps for 3+years with no problems.

I use bikeroutetoaster.com to plot off-road routes, I’ll normally gather parts of the routes from previous rides or find new sections by searching for other peoples rides on Strava. If you need to splice multiple sections of routes together bikehike.co.uk is useful (it does plot too).

For longer rides I sometimes plot a route ending at a train station to get maximum off-road miles without going back on myself or riding long road sections.

There’s enough room for 35mm SB8s in my Grade Ultegra, but not a lot of space in the fork/chainstay. I’m waiting for more tubeless options so I can try a 38mm. It would be nice if they had room for 40mm with good mud clearance.

If you’re not 100% tied to the Giant…

I’m still massively in love with my Trek Superfly 9.8 HT after a year of use. I’m running sensibly low tubeless pressures on some Bonty XR3’s (XR1’s for the summer), it’s very fast but comfy enough for all day rides. I’m still surprised at the speed to comfort ratio, and it handles great too, stable but snappy when you want it to be.

Any good stiff carbon hardtail should still be comfortable, you can’t go fast for long if you’re uncomfortable. As mentioned above if you’re running overly high pressures it wont be very comfy or handle well.

I used some chainring spacers to sort my chainline. Measured hub centre to cassette centre and did as close as I could to the same on the chainring. Runs smooth and only one chain drop in 1500 miles (stick trapped between ring and chain).

http://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=CRIDSD06

I’ve been meaning to build one for a while and I’ve just had the perfect excuse!
I want to build the girlfriend a nice MTB and the TT length should be perfect for me with drops :).
She gets flat bars for summer, then I claim it back for winter duties (with drops).

I got to the point this winter where the MTB got put away, I couldn’t be bothered with the cleaning and maintaining only to wear stuff out for the sake of a short mudbath ride. The Crossbike turned into the winter road bike this winter.

I think a monstercross setup would be perfect next winter, drops, fat tyres, Exposure Dynamo, mudguards, 1×10 or SS. Pothole eating, winter ready, simple setup, which can go offroad and keeps the best bike from getting wrecked.

No flats on tubeless last year. Every once in a while I remove the tyre, pull out the thorns and top up the sealant. All done at my leisure, less bother than fixing a tube when I’m out.

When I didn’t have a plug kit I used an appropriate sized twig which held up fine.

I carry CO2/pump, core tool, tube. But I need to get a small bottle of sealant and plug kit. Really not fussed with carrying a few bits, it’s been a lot less bother than my bikes which still run tubes.

I’ve used BB7s, Shimano CX77 and TRP Spyres. I prefer the Spyres, seemed the best mix of power, modulation and adjustability. I don’t really get the cable actuated hydraulics, more things to go wrong and the Spyres are good enough, full cable or full hydraulic for me.

The rotors also made a noticeable difference, IceTecs being the best or the standard Hope Saws if you don’t want to spend too much. A lot better than the stock Avid or TRP rotors I used, in terms of immediate “grab”, noise and general stopping power.

Sorry ignore what I said, I’ve just realised the gibberish. Don’t go on forums sleep deprived and overdosing on festive food :P. I actually run it higher to counteract the shorter crank on my full sus, and it’s useful to lower it with the remote when stationary (saddle sits higher compared to my HT, higher BB and shorter crank).

If you cant get the correct length dropper and you have a couple of saddles check the rail to saddle top height for something shallower, might get you a few mm. Same with crank lengths, shorter crank will reduce leg extension if you have options.

Not going from hardtail to full sus by any chance?.
To get the same leg extension as my hardtail I run it slightly higher on the full sus to counteract the sag.

What would you like to know, run time?. I use the largest battery which has 3 cells in it and the light has 1 internal cell, you get about 2hr on max but it’s bright enough on lower settings unless you want the extra brightness for flat out or technical stuff. Plenty of runtime\brightness modes to choose from, I set mine depending on the ride and I don’t always take the external battery.

I’m definitely sticking with discs and going hydraulic on the next road bike.

My Shimano CX75 cable discs on the cross bike feel much better than the R650 on my road bike (using the same tyres). The discs have more modulation and power is immediate if I need it, it doesn’t ramp up as the surface clears of water and crud. It stops quicker, feels more consistent and predictable, and I feel more in control if there is a “moment”. Power delivery is the important bit, most brakes can lock a wheel up.

I gave up on rim brakes on my MTB in the 90s when discs were available, I’ve got no attachment to them at all on road bikes either. If people prefer rim brakes then that’s fair enough.

Oh and crashing because you have more effective brakes sounds like user error :P

I’ve done the same as above with some ID ones…

http://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=CRIDSD06

500+ lumens is a sensible starting point, 1000+ will allow you to ride fast safely. More speed needs more lumens. Start with a decent 500+ lumen helmet mounted light and go from there if it isn’t enough.

I run a helmet mounted Exposure Equinox with external battery on longer rides. It’s 2000 lumens on high but I only use full power on fast sketchy bits, 1000 lumen mode is plenty on group rides or faster solo rides and 500 lumen mode is enough on slower solo rides or the road. It’s very bright and has a huge hotspot so you don’t have to move your head around too much, not cheap though.

Far from dead.

Love my 29er, it’s fast, comfortable and fun!. I will be rebuilding my 26″ hardtail for the winter, I’ll let you know if 26″ wheels are dead.

Trying to decide on a 650b or 29er Remedy 9.8 for next year…

I don’t think you could rule out rider input\feedback or normalise things like tyres pressures. The bikes interact with the riders in different ways and would effect the energy input as would what tyres and pressures complement the different wheel sizes.

This year I thought I’d get a 29er and see for myself the difference.

My unscientific thoughts…

I found I was able to lower pressures before feeling roots etc (rolling over easier rather than compressing on the square edge hits sooner?). Use tyres with a lower tread height for lower rolling resistance but with the longer contact patch and lower pressure I found I had the same grip with a less aggressive tread. A change in technique helped the issue of tight corners and accelerating out of them. Accelerating from a stop involved slightly more effort until somewhere between 5-10mph then the larger wheels gained momentum faster and retained more speed with the same effort as the surface got worse.

Overall I’ve found the 29er quicker as whole (on or off road) and more comfortable and less fatiguing on long rides (rider fatigue\comfort has to effect energy expenditure?, we are the power source after all).

The bike is great fun, which is the most important bit :)
Just to poop on the science, it just depends on what bike\wheels work for the rider\trail.

Doesn’t work for me either, it was fine this afternoon.

My unscientific tactics earlier this year…
For weight loss: cutting out excess carbs\sugars, sugary drinks made a huge difference. I lost 6 or 7kg in about that time. I didn’t want a fad diet, just an easy change I could stick with.

Riding: I switched it up between short intense rides, increasingly longer steady rides, and a casual potter. Hills seemed to help a lot, regardless of the pace. As said above, don’t burn yourself out by riding too much.

I found Strava helped a lot, you can’t lie to yourself about the amount of riding. I intentionally rode the same route for the more intense rides hoping to be able see the improvement, it always felt as hard but it’s nice to see you did it quicker.

I’ve been meaning to buy a tubeless repair kit, I have however successfully fixed two big holes that were struggling to seal with small twigs that I’ve used to plug the hole :D .

1000 miles into my tubeless experience with no flats, I’ve had\found about 20+ moments\objects that would have punctured a tube.

Very happy overall, I won’t be going back to tubes.

Helicoils as nemesis said. There’s a couple of frame builders lister Ti repairs on the below list.

http://www.framebuilding.com/custom_uk_bicycle_framebuilders.htm

And BETD do helicoil repairs http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/items.asp?CategoryID=236&Name=Frame+repairs

I think it’s getting harder, despite all the pro 26″ wheel talk on most forums. I think the majority who are sticking with 26″ have the bikes they want and the newer alternatives now have larger wheels. People buying brand new bikes are going for bigger wheels.

Did you have to post this thread, I’ve been trying not to build another bike! :P

I’ve been toying with the idea of an SS rigid Lurcher for the winter.

I’ve just noticed how similar the QR version of that Whisky fork is to this On-One fork…

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOMTBCAR29D/carbon-fork—29in-mtb-disc-only
http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-forks-c6/rigid-forks-c51/whisky-no-7-carbon-qr-29er-fork-p1417

Design\shape wise, the Whisky forks look a lot smarter though.

Flows with Kenda Small Block 8, Nevegal – easy fit, sealed with a track pump.

Flows with Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Gravity – Very tight but still fitted by hand, washing up liquid on the bead area and rim edge and strong thumbs. Sealed easily, over inflated to max pressure to stretch them out, went on easily next time.

Arch Ex with Bontrager XR1 – very easy fit and sealed easily with a track pump. 800 miles with no flats, plenty of punctures and thorns in there but not had to stop and fit a tube :)

Never used levers to fit tyres (only remove), I just make sure the tyre is in the central well of the rim (smaller wheel circumference), if needed use some soapy water to help with that last tricky bit. If they are a tough fit I inflate them to max pressure and leave them overnight to stretch the tyre\bead out to make it easier next time.

I’m still enjoying it. I use my Garmin\Strava on rides but it doesn’t dictate the ride, I may have a go at a few climbs that pre Strava I would have just pottered up. I still go on leisurely rides and enjoy just being on a bike. It’s made me ride more, got me fitter and through it I met a great bunch of people 2 years ago that I still ride with on a weekly basis now. I don’t use Strava as an alternative to racing.

Most of the Strava negatives involve people riding like dicks, people ride like dicks with or without it.

I’ve lost just over a stone this year so far not by doing anything radical (eat rubbish at the weekend still).

The main thing I changed was trying to generally cut down on anything sugary and high carb snacks (for me: crisps, fizzy drinks and juice), especially those in between meal snacks. Also I’ve been logging my weight daily on “My Fitness Pal” app, that way I can’t lie to myself about current\past weight and being able to visibly see a graph as well as my appearance really helped.

Really enjoying my Trek Superfly (9.8). Feels really quick and was comfortable enough on a 74mile\6hr bridleway bashing ride (plenty of rough lumpy rooty tracks), I’d only started riding it that week so I was surprised how spot on it felt straight away. I haven’t done any long “proper” MTB rides on it yet, but enough to throw up any comfort issues. Don’t forget, tyre choice and pressure will make a big difference to both requirements.

I’ve tried lots of chain lubes, including a lot of the new fangled “best ever” lubes of recent years.

Definitely sticking with ProGold ProLink, can’t believe how much of a difference it made through the winter especially. Didn’t collect much crud and cleaned to spotless with minimal effort. Wouldn’t touch wet lubes again and it was better than wax lubes I’ve tried. Through the drier months I just give it a small amount after every few rides and once in a while pedal it through a cloth with some degreaser on if I’m feeling overly OCD and want it looking like new.

Is this your first darkside bike?. It does take a while to get used to the change in position. I always find people new to do drop bars tend to lock their arms out straight instead of dropping their elbows and leaning forward a bit (I did the same at beginning).

As mentioned a shorter stem and a bit of rise will help, an inline post will give you another 15-20mm if you have a setback. Other than that just some time in the saddle will help get used to it.

If a driver is observant enough to notice I’m wearing a helmet I’m sure they are capable of not driving into me. I’m more worried about the ones that don’t notice cyclists at all!. Most people I know say the driver said “I didn’t see you” when they’ve had an incident.

Quite happy to carry on wearing my helmet weather or not it’s going to make a difference if a truck ploughs into me at 30mph. It’s been useful enough for more minor incidents and stopped plenty of cuts and sore heads from smaller offs and low branches etc.

Just started riding my first 29er this week and absolutely love it!, so I’m not bothered about what other people are\aren’t buying\selling.

It’s all about right bike for the rider and the place it’s being ridden as far as I’m concerned. Take a 29er xc race hardtail to a DH course and both the ride and bike will feel crap same as a DH bike on your local XC route.

Things have changed and I think we all need to get over it, let the industry try different things and cherry pick what you want to ride and enjoy it.

Shimano AM41, got rid of that issue for me straight away (on rougher descents). Very long very rocky descents in Spain (think constant rock garden), my feet would have fallen off with my old Vans, no problems with the AM41s. Stiffer, very grippy, laces out the way and reasonable coverage on wet winter rides.

Been using KMC exclusively with no issues for about 10+ years and before that Sram issue free.
KMC do manufacture a lot of big name brands chains so I’d like to think they know what they’re doing, you are going to get the odd faulty one with any brand.