Solarstorm X2 head unit (without batteries) arrived yesterday from Lightmalls, was ordered on 3rd October.

We should have bought a job lot for every account on singletrackworld!

How about putting a stem on back to front? Then you could have a -110mm stem – job done.

A wire Conti Explorer 2.1 up front and a Trailraker on the back is my favourite combo.

(but seriously, if Advantages are slow for you, your probably better off swapping to something faster on the back as a slippy but fast compromise – I use the much-maligned Crossmark, but perhaps something like Saguro, Captain, Aspen)

Tried this a week ago: all OK bar printer and strange Flash issues which prevent my children from playing Moshi Monsters. Still trying to work out if that is actually a downside…

I go for the turn down light and dip it. Which is bloody irritating since you end up constantly trying to re-adjust your light angle.

Having a backup road light is a good idea, especially as it means it means you can use all the juice on the offroad lights without worrying about the ride home. The downside being another bit of bar space used up and another set of batteries to worry about.

Too late now grum! I’ll cross my fingers and hope. Actually 10-30 days is possibly a little too long for that, so I’ll just stick to hope bit. I’m used to waiting for DX.

Cheers Mr Finger – I’ve ordered the Lightmalls head unit.

Anyone got this one from DX?

The battery pack looks better (actually encased).

Other thought was – does anywhere do the head unit on it’s own?

Sneaked in a Purgatory tyre for £20 late last night. Am now trying to remember why I needed it…

Yeah, OK about all that education stuff, but don’t forget, he sent you all (schools) a bible each. And it only cost £370k. Can’t you at least be grateful for that?

Just put in a Muckynutz order. Going to try one on the back to shield the suspension + a new rear one.

As cookeaa says, I break the rear “whale type” ones fairly regularly. However I do prefer the minimal protection of mudguards to sweating buckets in waterproof shorts/trousers.

Lots of lucky people. One evening a week for me, light or dark, rain or shine. Managed about 3 day rides last year. No wonder all you lot have the fitness and skillz us middle-aged IT guys can only dream of.

Weird ain’t it.

What kind of shoes should I wear in this weather?

Can you still get Minirig speakers anywhere? They’re unavailable on Play.com & amazon.

Ha! My 7yo is now riding around the trails in 1st gear, so that he never gets caught out by hills. It is, however, preferable to the first habit he picked up on a geared bike of “turning it up to 6” at every opportunity and then moaning on every slight rise. We’ll get there eventually…

Who’s selling them for £300?

Orange peel on here at Deal Extreme – i’ll give it a shot.

Where did you get your diffuser lens Gonzy? Amazon too? any good?

I am/was on the lookout for an “orange peel” reflector for mine (the “crinkly” ones as used in the older DX lights) to try and de-spot it.

Definately worthwhile for the OP – at worst you’ve tried out night riding for a year or two, with luck they can last even longer.

If your kids happily pootle along through the park and don’t really mess around, I can see why you wouldn’t bother. My boys always manage to find some way of crashing – running up banks, pulling skids, racing eachother, so I personally reinforce a no helmet no bike rule. And obviously we (parents) have to back it up by doing the same ourselves. And, let’s face it, most crashes I’ve managed (wheel in train tracks, stuck cleat) have been slow speed keel-overs where I was pretty glad of a helmet.

I really hate this liability stuff around bike vs car accidents. All the onus should be on the contributory factor of piloting a large lump of metal without due care and attention, imho, the helmet’s protection generally being an insignificant factor.

Another 2.1 crossmark rear/HR front here, run all year. Occasionally wish I’d swapped it for a Mud-X when in really mucky woodland, but generally v. happy with the speed/grip compromise.

Crossmark 2.1 wasn’t that confidence-inspiring on the front except for trail centre-type stuff. Fast though.

Now thinking of something lighter/quicker than the HR on the front – maybe 2.1 Advantage or even the Mud-X I’ve already got. I notice that Ardents have come up a bit in the list.

Very happy with my 2011 X3. And, let’s face it, my red gear ‘n’ brake cables are wayyyyyyy faster than those dull 2012 ones, and they match my socks.

What’s “Double Whammy” then? The route parallel with Weir Lane? Or that quarry bit?

Agree it’s riding beautifully. Been fixed in all the right places. And when slightly damp a nice challenge, especially the contouring bit across the bottom of the woods which is deceptively do-able in the dry.

Mind you, even the orchard trails are riding OK at the moment!

What are the Midge bars like for braking & gear changing, ir_bandito? I changed largely because I found I needed to go to the drops to get decent brake purchase, which was exactly when I also wanted (commuting) to be upright. I did like being on the hoods though – seemed a perfect position for fill climbing.

I went to flat bars & Ergon grips which I like, although the bar ends are not as good as Cane Creek ergos to “get hold of” when giving it some climbing welly.

Did Treak with 4 & 6 yr olds in summer and it was fine for them. Perhaps too many steep steps for a 2 year old – you’d probably end up carrying.

When I managed to jam on a pump to my rear shock (dirty thread/in a rush/stupidity) I was mightly relieved to borrow 2 leathermen from 2 different people in the nearby pub in order to remove it. From being a mocker, I now think it should be a necessity for all pub goers to carry one. Except me, of course.

The sound recording quality might be dreadful, but if you are going to run your mate over (about 5 mins in), we really want to hear it!

Other factors on servicing:

Most LBS around my way have a long waiting list and awkward opening hours. E.g. we can fit you in in 4 weeks time. You can drop you bike off after 9:30am and you’ll have to pick it up by 5:30pm.

Sometimes you can’t talk directly to the mechanic directly so things don’t get done as you like (e.g. fork steerer cut down further than asked).

I either go to a friendly market stall or a bike hub who do nothing but repairs/servicing. They can usually find some time for emergency work when necessary, are more flexible with early morning/lunchtime drop-offs/pickups and I’m speaking directly to the mechanic.

Of course, your shop may already bend over backwards to help people out at short notice and work unsociable hours just for the convenience for your customers.

Yes it’s great isn’t it!

Doing 50 acre is always a dilema now because it’s such a contrast to the new trails. On one hand going from max grip to muddy/rooty/rocky randomness is great fun, on the other the amount of mud the bike picks up is unbelievable!

I quite like them BUT when I first had them, the tight shoe/bulky sealskins sock combo gave me numb & cold feet. With slightly roomier shoes, they’ve been fine. Also they are ridiculously expensive for socks.

I’ve got a wireless alarm extension on my bike shed. Was about £70 from the guy who does our alarm. Sensor sets off house alarm immediately as the door is opened. To disarm, I have to switch the main house alarm off, which is fine for me as I have to pass the front door on my way in anyway.

Until it gets stolen, sadly.

(Although it gets upgrades every now and then – my Claud Butler Cape Wrath morphed into a Giant VT, part by part over a period of 10 years before getting nicked. Yearly photos would have made a nice story, come to think of it – must do that with the latest steed.)

Caught the bus. Like pretty much every time I don’t cycle (usual excuses: feeling ill/torrential downpour/broken bike), I regretted it pretty much immediately. A long wait, expensive ticket, dodgy driving. And I shall regret it even more after the return journey. The upside is: it will now be another 6 months before I convince myself not to cycle again.

To be fair, there might be a lockout on some of the higher specced Anthems, but not the 2011 X3.

To my mind, the X3 has a nicer fork and generally lighter components. I bought one and I’m very happy with it but I daresay I would also have been happy with an X4. So down to you – would an extra £200 stop you buying new school shoes for the kids? Or would you get upgraditus and spend it on the bike anyway?

I can guarantee that the X3 will get you loads of grief off your riding mates. Every time my red waterproof goes on – “why that goes well with your brake cables” etc.

Been using Maverick on the phone (free, or v. cheap in pro form) which shows OS maps. You can pre-download squares before you go out by browsing the righ area.

Tried the bikehike website recently to display routes – works for my purposes – see here.

Both these services are essentially free but perhaps more useful for mapping than training/performance monitoring purposes like Endomondo.

Are the newer Humaxes better at PC connectivity? My old 9200 needs a shockingly unreliable app to transfer programs to my PC via a usb cable (even the command line version from the forums).

Cheers Buzz – I’ve been warned!

Might be there a bit late to avoid the gorge crowds. But I’ve never done that bit – previously got down to Cheddar on the track from Tynings farm past the mini racetrack. Will file it for future reference.

Thanks very much guys. Will decide which one to choose based on how the Mrs feels about navigating to Priddy!

Is Priddy to Westbury Beacon/Stoke Woods/Draycott Sleights/Cheddar bridleway navigable? Looks interesting on the map – which usually means annoying my riding mates by dragging them through mud, cow shit, nettles and impossible climbs.

Just turned their offer down – wasn’t bad but most of the bikes on their website weren’t in stock. Cash deal was less but last year’s model discounts or mail order can make up for that. The other thing was, when I expressed interest in a bottom of the range Trance, they couldn’t change the fork spring for me, not even if I paid for it. If that’s the extent of their helpfulness, what would they be like for warranty etc?

One interesting thing, though. My old frankenbike I valued at £600 – probably what you’d pay for it on ebay. Wheelies valued it at £1650 on the basis of adding up the component prices and finding an equivalent model. So the moral (or not) of the story is that I should have been less honest and insured it for nearer the new equivalent price.

Did you do it Andyruss? Thinking of similar (X4 from either there or Paulscycles)

Anyone actually got a Rockrider 9.1? Thinking of one myself as bike theft/poverty aren’t leaving me a lot of options in the full sus area. Review sounded very positive – I’m just wondering whether there’d be new bearings available in the future, support if there are any issues etc.