Some great bikes so far :D. Here’s some of my “fun” bikes. Sorry for the pic spam!

Present – Lots of fun, never get the I wish I rode the other bike feeling. Need a new pic as it’s changed a bit.

Future – Need to get out and ride it in anger!

Past – Bit of retro action from 2002 ish. Gotta love the hazard Deemax wheels :D

Stoneage: Before I got this I used an XC bike for everything, then I discovered dirt\street\DH :)

On paper
-Better stability with speed\bumps (you have more leverage)
-Steering might feel a tad slower
-Arms will be further apart so will bring you closer to the front end as you’l have less of a reach (might be cancled out by the rise). Which will move your body weight further forward.

Give it a bit of time and see what you think, then swap back to the old ones to confirm which feels best. If you want something in between then cut down the wider ones. There’s not really a right or wrong, just what works for you.

Stinger, 22/36, bashguard (might go 1×10)

I’ve changed my Remedy quite a bit since I bought it (and since the photo). It had a triple as standard, I find a triple overkill personally and I can’t stand the chain slapping all over the place either. A double with device gives me the gearing to go up and enough for faster downs (spin out at 40mph on fire road downs).

You have to ask yourself do you need a device and double really, depends what bike it is, where you ride, how you ride and your preference.

You asked for a pic of it fitted…

Id say I have “sturdy legs” as you put it, find modern jeans too tight on lower thigh\above knee area (no I’m not obese :P) and found some comfy pads for once.

I bought some Endura MT500’s after looking at a few different pads. Went on a 3hr ride at Swinley forest last week, bit of everything xc\jumps\mini single track downhill stuff and they felt good. I almost forgot I had them on, kept my knees nice and warm as it was 10c.

They are a bit pricier than some others but seem well made and feel comfy. I went for M\L, if you are a rugby beast of a build then maybe L\XL.

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx?dept_id=104&prod_id=400

I already had a similar steel setup but was curious to give one a try so I thought it would be rude not to at that price:D. I finally built it up but i’m yet to ride it. Went for a light\strong combo of a build so come in 24lb odd but should be stable and raggable (Pike Air\XT+XTR 1×9\Flows on Pro2).

I’ll let you know how I get on!

By the way Hope do an alternative to the On-One headset for 1-1/8th fork.
I went for the “Pick N Mix” and bought cups “2” “F” and “HS136” 1 1/8” to 1.5” lower steerer crown race converter. That way if I ever need to run a taper fork I just dont use the HS136 converter race.

http://www.hopetech.com/webtop/modules/_repository/documents/HOPEHEADSETS2011Web.pdf

I liked my Elixer CR power and feel (prefer them over XX), but found they were pad killers and didn’t blead as easily as my Shimano. I’m running Shimanos on most of my bikes now (love my XTR Trails especially) and will be sticking with them after trying a few different brakes over the years.

If you want to try Avids from that range I’d recommend Elixer CR, otherwise 2012 Shimano XT is a similar price range.

Love my Remedy 9. Went to Swinley forest yesterday for 3hrs and didn’t feel it lacking anywhere. Goes up, goes down, nice and comfy and under 30lb with a KS i9 dropper post. It’s my all day fun bike when I know i’m going to do a bit of everything.

As said above the HD25 are a good compact headphone for bass driven music, I would get the MK2 version though. I had a set of the MK1 and the quality was good but I found the cutoff at the higer frequency noticeable, the range was 30-16000hz vs 16-22000hz on MK2. They were fine for mixing but for normal use it was noticeable. The HD25 are also good if you are using them in public and also want more punch, otherwise open backs if you want a more open sound (like the suggested Grado’s).

I love my HD600 but they are over budget unless you buy second hand, Play had them silly cheap (£100) for a few hours when I bought them last year. Definitely the best headphones I’ve tried but I don’t think I could stomach the normal going rate\RRP.

@ thisisnotaspoon – I found my HD600 (rated 12Hz – 39kHz) are quite noticable down to 25\30 hz not much at 20 unless at high volume, below that you can tell when it’s playing a test tone as your hearing feels odd (feel kinda queezy) but like you say sub frequencies are going to be felt not heard… 18hz in a club with a massive tuned setup is fun, that’s the frequency eyeballs start to shake :D.

The sweet spot was a few years back I guess (early 00’s), before all the global financial issues etc. Stuff was cheaper and the strength\weight\functionality was pretty good.

Prices have gone up lots and the top end is silly but if you pick the right bits for your budget and type of riding and look after stuff I don’t see why you can’t have a decent bike that will last. You don’t really need more than SLX when it comes to drivetrain and brakes, entry level Rockshox are pretty good now and if you are not convinced by modern alloy or carbon frames then buy a reasonable quality steel frame. The secound hand market is very active and the upgrade bug means that there is a lot of decent new kit about for a lot less than retail.

Comparing old with new I’d much rather ride my modern mountain bike rather than my first decent bike I got back in 95, I loved it at the time but it wouldn’t be as capable or versatile as my current bikes. I hated rim brakes, elastomers forks and square taper BB’s and cranks. They were fine for XC but not for heavier riding, snaped a few axles and rounded crank tapers back in the day but that was doing stuff like bigger drops to flat in street\dirt\dh stuff back in the day.

Taff, are you trying to find out if the chain is worn out or just weather it’s getting near to a performance effecting stage?. If it runs perfectly fine then I would personally leave it a bit longer, but if your tool says change it and you are keen on keeping your bike running perfectly then change it.

If you are trying to get your monies worth of chain and cassette the two easiest indicators without tools…
– Slipping under pressure
– Or stick it on the outer ring and pull the chain away from the teeth, if it clears or is almost clearing the teeth then it’s generally worn out. The slippage is the chain rising above the teeth under pressure until it doesn’t have enough purchase and slips.

Both are quite crude ways but it does the job if you are trying to get your monies worth. Running worn chains to the bitter end will wear chainrings quicker however.

Give it to someone else in installments until there is enough saved up(?).
I’ll look after it for you :wink:

I’m trying to save for a deposit for a house (which isn’t easy), I just stick it in a second account that’s a bit more faff to get to.

Like GW said above, you don’t try combinations it’s just done by feel.

It’s all down to how much play there is in the mechanism, to crack a very cheap one you just pull on both ends whilst turning the combination, one wheel at a time starting from the first combination barrel. On the cheap ones there is enough play that it will jump into place when you hit the right number (when pulling on both ends of the lock), it does take as long as how quick you can turn the barrels (secounds). The better quality ones take much longer as you have to be able to tell the slight difference in feel when you hit the right number. Either way it’s easyest to do it “blind” as you can concentrate on the feel more.

If you are concerned about bike security then buy a sold secure rated d-lock or heavy chain. Not a cable or combi lock.

No i’m not a bike thief, but we do like to test new locks at work.

Did they come pre bled with pre cut hoses?. If the lever travels that far without the pistons moving or oil leaking from somewhere then it sounds like there is (or was) air in the system. Bled my set after cutting the hoses and they’ve been fine so far, they haven’t had any abuse yet and are only a couple of months old though.

You’ve broken one of the most important rules in the purist rule book!
Page: 248 section 2B – “Purists do not participate in interwebs based forums.”

Purist MTB’ers don’t need a 45 litre rucksack for two hour rides stuffed to the gills with every “cool tool”, “Swiss army knife” and cotter pin remover even if it has a hydration system fitted.

I don’t know anyone with cotter pin cranks on their MTB.

Are you selling the Zaskar to make way for a real purist bike?. An alloy framed carbon forked bike with disc brakes isn’t purist, you need something like this…

To be honest it doesn’t matter how or what you ride, so long as you enjoy it.