I am 6'2" and have a 19" IO , but the geometry/sizing is the same as the IO ID

I find the 19" too small and wish I had bought a 20.5"

As stated above standover is fine, but the effective top tube is too short and much shorter than other 19" bikes I have.

The one major drawback I can see to the GD, is that you only have set heights. And how am I to know without trying one, that they match my seatpost height requirements.

From that perspective I think the Joplin or similar would be better, as you have infinite adjustment (ignoring any reliability issues that those posts seem to have).

Thanks

Reliability is one of my concerns, as they are not cheap and it is hard to part with so much cash for something that you know may not last well.

Have just stripped the paint off a alu frame and am looking to polish it before laquering.

Goog – What did you use to get a good polished finish

Anyone – what sort of laquer do I need.

Cheers

Cheers for replies.

My worry with carbon is that unless you have serious delamination, you never really know whether it is damaged or not.

But then again you could just as easily have an underlying internal weakness in a alu or steel fork and not know.

Am tempted to go for the Carbon.

Sounds like you have air leaking from the +ve to -ve. Or just leaking out of +ve.

However, you say that the pressures are still ok.

As Rob suggested, you should start over again and always adjust the -ve with the bike upside down, otherwise you will lose oil and any oil in the pump head/pipe might affect the pressure reading, as the -ve chamber is very small.

I would also definitely give TFT a ring. They are usually more than happy to give advise over the phone without giving you the hard sell to send your forks in.

Am intending to use them instead of a Talas 125 on a 26er.

That has crown axle of 490. Thus allowing for 25% sag, I reckon I need something around 460 ish.

I like to run my bikes quite slack, so thought 440mm would be a bit low.

The carbon cycles website says the 465mm is equivalent to a 130mm suspension fork, so that all seems to stack up.

Any specific issues I should be aware of, if going for the carbon, i,e. damage due to over tightening caliper bolts, etc

Have looked at both the ebay shop and direct. About a £1 difference in price for the Alu ones.

Haven't cross-checked the carbon.

Thanks

Thanks.

I am right in assuming they are from the same "factory"? and in fact the same product as the Bontys?

After riding rough terrain for the first time, I found I needed some kinda device and went for a jump stop and a bash ring.

Lightweight and cheap.

Didn't get on with it.

Switched to running a dhf on the rear. Grip much improved.

Thanks.

Cheers for posting up the link to the DX forum Duckers.

Must learn how to post pics and links sometime.

When I didn't get a DX order no or confirmation email, I clicked on the "contact us [/u]Here" on the track a single order page.

I then followed the "Order not shown in DX account" link and pasted a copy of my Paypal confirmation.

When I did this, I got a reference/ticket number.

At the top of the same web page as the "Order not shown in DX account" link, there is a link in blue entitled "Request Status History". I typed in the ticket reference and my email address and up popped a copy of the request I had sent.

The Status part of this stated "Request has been received – waiting for processing".

Sorry if the above was a bit long winded but just trying to be as helpful as possible.

By the way my DX account now seems to work and you can access the same information once you have logged in. My account is now showing a DX order no and the message "awaiting supplier" so I assume all is well.

Have sent the required "paste" of the paypal confirmation and that ticket is showing on their system as having been recieved, so I have no reason that to believe that the order wont be processed at some time.

But would still be reassuring to have a confirmation from DX.

Looks like I am another victim of the "blank screen".

As suggested in the other post above, I tried to create an account to view my order but got a message saying that DX couldn't complete that request at this time and that I should try later.

Have tried to create an account again just now, but now it states that my email address is already registered. Excellent I think.

However, tried logging in and just get the message that my account is not verified. However, I have had no confirmation email through which to verify the account.

And can't do self verification as I have no order no!!!

Catch 22.

Looks like I'll have to sit this one out and hope a light turns up sometime in the future.

Thanks. Good to know that it is not just mine.

I assume that it is just due to the large temp difference between the air inside the lamp and the ambient air. Plus the air in the lamp will always have some mositure in it, as unlike a bulb it is not sealed/filled with inert gas etc.

Have already tried the plumbers tape option and doesn't seem to make much difference.

The only thing I can think off is trying to make sure that the air that is inside the lamp unit is as dry as possible. But even then I'm not sure the rear of the lamp is totally hermetically sealed and thus over time some moisture will get back in.

Dooh.

After posting, I thought I'd check the bike I have at work and yes it is 3 cross. I was missing out the first one close to the hub.

Was hoping to get back in the office in time to edit my post. Damn too late!

Who feels stupid now! :oops:

In that case I think I will opt for 3 cross for the Alfine. Plus as the spoke length will be longer, I can go for DT Swiss DB spokes in black.

Thanks for your help.

My initial concern about 3 cross was the spoke/nipple angle, but I decided on 3 cross from a strength perspective.

Now i'm unsure.

Also if I go 2 cross then I will need 236mm and so will have to go for PB spokes as they dont seem to do DB that short.

What are the pros/cons of PB & DB?

DB are lighter but if I go 2 cross I will need shorter spokes and thus save some weight back that way.

Any further advice/thoughts welcome.

Forgot to add, my Alfine measurements came out pretty much identical to the Nexus 8 Spd on Spocalc.

I am also opting for 3 cross for added strength, as seeing that the hub is quite heavy, I think the extra strength will be necessary and there seems to be only marginal weight penalty in terms of spoke weight.

Thanks for the advice.

Using "spocalc" as a guide I have measured my hub and have also measured and adjusted the ERD quoted by Mavic for my EN521 rim.

Spoke length is coming out as 253.8 and 253.2, so looks like I need to go for 252. Think I'll get some DT COMP DB in Black.

Next job is to try and build it once I have the spokes. Think Sheldon will be coming in useful again!

Thanks for the advice.

Sounds as if it may not quite be as straightforward as I first thought, although doable with a bit of thought/few pointers.

However, since posting this someone at work (who used to be a bike mechanic) as offered to do it for me for a beer!! So looks like that is the way ahead as it'll save me the £50 or so that the LBS charge and save me from messing it up!

Cheers. You have a deal.

YGM.

Petra cycles have them at £38.38 new, so how does £25 posted sound or am I just being tight and unreasonable?!

Yes, I am very interested.

Is £20 posted reasonable?

If it can be broken, then I can guarantee that I will break it.

We have been planning this road odyessey for months, so am leaving nothing to chance.

It would be disappointing to get all the way to Golspie and then suffer a broken maxle.

Was thinking £250, so that seems to tie in.

Thanks

We have stayed at the Eagles a couple of times.

If you want to self cater for 10 then I think you will find the kitchen far too small. In addition there is no other communial area to sit other than the bar down stairs which may a good or bad thing!

However, there is the option of a bar meal, but I cannot vouch for that as we have always cooked for ourselves.

Avoid the Vagabond Bunkhouse at all costs, as we found the staff very rude and inconsiderate and the bike lockup is not at all secure.

Your urine could be too clear, (can’t rememember the medical term) but you have had to much fluid but have not replaced the salts lost through sweating. Especially if you have not eaten.

Cheers for advice.

Thinking about it, there was never going to be an easy answer, as there are obviously some many variables, i.e. peoples heads, different manufacturers, different helmets from the same manufacturer.

But was just trying to get a feel for whether certain makes are more renowned for being larger than others.

Unfortunately my LBS does not stock much in th way of Full Face Helmets, so may have to take a drive to somewhere that does.

As to the suggestion that I could try some on in the LBS and then buy online…………… you should be ashamed. :roll:

I used towequipe recently and got a good deal on bars and a bike carrier.

Have also used roofbox company.

I wasn’t intentioanlly getting at anyone, more just trying to put a positive spin on things.

Since various areas have been fenced off, we have ended up riding some different trails and found some really good stuff that we just didn’t know was there.

I personally haven’t been stopped riding any of the fireroads that I wanted too and judging by the breaks in the tape people have been riding fenced off areas anyway, so don’t see it as a big issue.

On a positive note the trails were amazingly dry last night. Don’t remember that happening last summer until well into late Aug/Sep.

I was shocked how much I had to concentrate on my riding in order to find grip and not lock up under braking. It was almost like the first ride of winter if that makes sense, but way quicker and thus with more potential for serious injury.

I haven’t slept that well for the last 2 or 3 years (since my little boy was born) and find that I can only sustain approx 2 weeks or exercise before I start to feel really fatigued.

However, before reading this thread wasn’t aware of the link between poor sleep and exercise. Could it be that the exercise is making me sleep less well and thus making me tired rather than feeling tired after too much exercise as I do not sleep well.

Who knows.

Is there a right and wrong way on the Stickler. Like all trails in Swinley they are bi-directional, although you could argue that riding up the Labyrinth would just be stupid. I personally prefer to ride it in the direction of Tank Traps.

Am surprised that people are complaining because a small part of Swinleys trail network is currently fenced off. Would people be just as unhappy if for example, it were due to forestry work?

There is so much riding to be had there, it’s hardly an inconvenience and a great opportunity to find/ride some new trails or to ride some familiar trails in a different order. Stops you getting stale and bored of the same old stuff.

Flipiddy, thanx for the lead.

I may follow it up, or though to be honest, until these recent posts had started cropping up, I was pretty much resigned to my fate and have just been trying to get on with a normal life as much as possible, as my GP seems somewhat disinterested.

My symptoms are nowhere near as bad as they were three years ago when I had 4 months off work and I am now better able to spot the signs and back off early. Although I sometimes still get caught out when the symptoms hit me out of the blue.

Hope you have success in finding a specialist and wish you a speedy recovery.

I have read the above (and especiall the song of the paddle link) with much interest, as I have suffered the exact same symptoms for the last 4 years or so.

I know a lot of the symptoms are common to other illnesses but I have never be given a satisfactory answer out of the Docs to this day.

Have been “tested” for Lymes twice but negative both times.

Thankfully I am still able to ride my bike (although some would dispute that :-)), although no where near the level I used to and have to be very careful not to overdo things otherwise the symptoms and primarily the swollen glands/sore throat & fatigue return.

Have emailed John and ordered book.

Roper – just something for a couple of hours max out of El Chorro or closeby, i.e. nothing too lengthy as it’s primarily a family holiday and also it’s likely to be hot and I don’t do hot that well.

I assume it’s going to be rocky, so shall I take some leg protection?

Thanks for all the advice/links.

My sisters friend who lives out there knows Jim and he was going to be my first choice but apparently he has moved on.

I’m 6’2″ and have just swapped from a 19″ Attack Trail to a 20″ Five.

Attack Trail always felt a bit short and a bit tall.

Five feels longer (even with 50mm stem) and much lower and hence more stable.

The Five is definitely a much more sorted bike in terms of geometry and ride.

The added bonus I have found with the 20″ Five is that I really don’t feel the need to move my seatpost up and down half as much as I did on the Marin.