medium term update.

Very impressed, infact so impressed with the frames ability I have treated mine to a further diet

XTR chainset, sram gold sl chain, 819/hope front wheel, XTR levers/brakes, XT RMech. K-force bars.

yes the standard chainset is very heavy, it makes the XT feel feather weight.

even after all this, it is still 29.2lbs (with home made mud gaurd), but some how this weight feels just right, it feels supercharged and effortless on long climbs, goes in and out of ruts like a Range Rover. and is rock steady and predictable on fast technical decents.

I think the frame and forks are heavy, but with that comes the rock solid handling

my only gripe is that if you are slightly off with rear mech indexing, then rear suspension will causing gear shifts, which is a nightmare, but if indexing is ok, then no problemo

if its a bit tight then for the ultimate all in cheap but great deal check out the Proflex 768. and with the money you save over FSRXC or EX, you can upgrade the chainset and wheels!

Give us a clue on your budget

The moto has been seriously considered and might yet pop back into the picture, as has the stumpy.

I already have a Rize 130, and Prophet lefty so I suppose a Rize 140 is a bit silly.

the stumpy carbon might get my vote, does anyone know if spec offer a lifetime warranty on thier carbon frames?

I have a V12 5.5Litre (1995) and that only costs £225 per year, its emissions are ok, it just that it blurts them out at 10mpg!

So I can afford the tee-shirt!

Ok then why is it in every race I do:

Kona Cheddar
Kona Bristol
are you tough enough
Honc
ect

I always get stuck behind some numpty on a HT in singletrack sections, they have to pick thier way through the rocks and roots and I can simply pile straight through.

How can being slower than your mates be any fun?

yes LT/HT is cheaper and less mainentance that Full S, but thats got nothing to do with the ride.

there is no way a skilled rider would be faster downhill or over the rough stuff with as much control and poise on HT than FS, I think the problem here might be the cost of decent FS bikes. lord know you have to be in the 4000-5000 bracket nowadays to get UST as standard. and yes getting them set up right takes hours.

But for me FS is to HT like SPD is flatties or FS is to the flex stem.

Come on chaps in 2010 not 1990!

Regardless of how stpuid dog owners can be if they choose the path of Violence Against the Person offences, they will only end up fined and on community service

Mind you most dog owners are dafter than thier dogs!

I am cleverer than my dog because I dont sleep in the shed.

Ok "calls your bluff" please list the MTBing situations where LT/HT is wins over LT/FS or anyhting else.

Come on, enlighten me, I am open for persuasion, so long as now tells me that Pace 303 with XCAM's is anygood, cos they are usless.

I tried a Pace 303 with RC40 XCAM's but it didn't work. Or put another way I didnt get it.

Short travel HT I do understand (and enjoy) and Long travel Full sus I understand (and enjoy)

But what I cant figure out is how having a front end capable of a 20 foot drop off, and rear incapable of taking a direct blow from a 3" kerb, is suppoosed to be good at anything.

from a climbing sprint POV the HT is great but the front end is to high even on RC40's dropped to 100mm and on the down hills even a cheapo FSR XC would be quicker!

I just dont get it, I know all bikes are a compromise, but long Travel HT? thats just a step backwards.

Hitting a dog on a bike is quite safe to the rider, I only have experience of running over dogs on full sus and suspect it might be a bit trickier on a hard tail

I have even hit a large labrador at least 9 stone and the same happened as when I went over a spaniel with both wheels.

As with all obstacles you need to keep your weight far back and lock the bars rock solid so that the front wheel doesnt get deflected, with this technic the dogs drop like stones and confirm with one squeal when the front wheel goes over and another when the back wheel goes over.

Since I am a dog lover I have since invetsed in the Airzound, and I have not mowed a dog down since (excluding a heavy glancing blow to the hind quarters of an alsation 3 weeks ago.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=4&src=froogle

my most able dog squisher is my Cannondale Prophet

and these guys make so much noise anyway I doubt anyone would even notice

OMG like anyone cares, you'll be showing us yer mums cottage pie next

Strong opiate based pain killers, so his parents can knock themselves out and have a quiet lie in

y'all need (not want) the park tensionometer

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=16&item=TM-1

I defy anyone to "guess" spoke tension to within the accuracy this baby delivers.

I brought one for my first wheel build, its a piece of cake with one of these.

I wish!!! I aye bin up t'chase fer 2 yers!

Happy to make the numbers up for a weekender…

I do between 7 and 10 weddings a year and start at £750 for CD, it usually works out at less than £10 per hour all in. Even on a £2K job most of it goes on albums and mounts and frames.

Probably the lowest paid profession, only celeb photogs get rich quick

come to my house and we can one each, I will lead… and show you how

you'll need a windsurf board and rig too, poole harbour rocks for island hopping.

ORANGE ALPINE?

1st bike I have seen with a rear maxle?

What colour to choose though

Show us the colours!

dont waste the doctors time at AED

when its been killing you for more than 10 years, make an appoitment.

kids these days…tut!

Fiat Scudo Panorama 8 seats 2/3/3/:

and road bikes fit in sideways

This is just part of the tubeless initiation, 3 years ago I had a speccy tubeless tire explode off a cross trail rim, my neighbour was up his garden at the time and thought I have let my shotgun off on the patio! I particulary liked the spray pattern of stans juice that travelled up to 4 meters!

I was well over 50lbs at the time, ever since I have stayed under 44lbs and have been safe.

For nail/thorn oblivious riding, well worth it.

I can defo say not the speccy alias bg, I did 190 miles over a weekend in 2007 and truly discovered saddle sores

so what kind of discount is a 2500 bike for 1000 then? you just havent been to Total bike yet, they always over 200 bikes crammed into a tiny shop and no website, the owner also runs the UK import buisness for Rudy Project and is only interested in flogging Pinarellos and Tarmacs, this is why he can afford to give away mountiain bikes away at cost

shop around for a good deal, the first year I did it I could only use Halfords and they got me a Cannondale F3, which was delivered from leisure lakes. and for the 150 of accesories I brought a hardtail for my daughter!

Last year though i could spend it at any cycle scheme shop in town and visited 5 bike shops to see what they would do, 4 shops offered me nothing, ie no deal, 5th shop I went to let me have a Specialized Epic Expert!!! RRP 2500, for a 1K voucher! yes it was last years bike but who cares!!

So before you waste it on a 1K RRP bike give these guys a call

Total Bike
Commercial Road
Swindon
01793 644 185

Now can anyone beat this:

the thing to do is waltz into bike shop waft the letter under thier noses and ask them to make your day! if they dont start licking your shoes, just walk away, its thier loss!

Any yes thats a 2.5K with 2bliss tires and dt swiss rims, so it cost me another 70 for the dt swiss tubless kit!

yes the co2 will freeze/crystalise the slime and could block the valve

I had a 2004 TD5 110 which was great fun off road, but I only off roaded for fun and ended up filling it with dents and scrathes! for the other 99% of driving it was crap, got blown all over the place on motorway, was noisey, was so uncomfortable, and load space was less than an astra estate.

Then I got a Range Rover, which was way better to drive, it had air suspension which means you can drive it like a car. sadly the engine "went" at 40K miles! I got that fixed for a paltry 5K and then the electrics went haywire, it wouldnt start, the air suspenion computer was eratic. Oddly though I sold it with only 500 depreciation over 12 months, or 5500 if you count the engine!

All in all enough to put me off buying anything related to British Leyland again.

for bike/dog/family the new Scudo Panorama hatch back is a dream. drives like a car and is cavernous..

bikes in car with secdond row left up (5 seats):

and road bikes (this one is a 58cm Allez) fit in side ways:

and with the door shut!

and hardly touches the sides on ones driveway:

youll need to budget fo the avid bleed kit too, thats the only advantge they have over shimano imho – they are piss easy to bleed rock solid, whereas shimano's are more like fairground donkeys to bleed

the 3's are ok, but altogher a bit lack lustre, and the calipers are not up to deore build qualiy

I have never used co2, try wetting the tire bead and or rim seat in the stans, you need to make sure all nooks and crannies are moist with stans, if you cant get the tire started off inflating with track pump, try spreadin the tire towards the rim beads and if air is gushing out anywhere, hold it flat with one hand while you pump furiously with the other, thats the most trouble I have ever had.

Where abouts do you live? I am in swindon, wilts

those boardman bikes are great for the money though,

today I learnt that skiving off work in winter is not as much fun as skiving off in the summer

Its all about the washing up liquid, I have stopped laughing now thanks, what planet were you on? anyway for perfect stress free inflations and puncture proof tires:

Step 1: leave the washing up liquid in the kitchen
step 2: buy a can of STANS Sealant
Step 3: clean all of the 'wasup' liquid off, you might need to use white spirits to do a decent job.
Step 4: refit following STANS instruction and Bobs your flippin uncle.

If you are struggling to get mudX tires on 819 rims, then get some weights and start pumping iron, they are a tight fit but no moreso than a stuck jam jar lid. if you must using a lever make sure its a nice plastic one.

I have mudx 2.0 on 819 with stans which has held 40lbs since July 09, the secret is making sure tires and rims are squeaky clean and using STANS.

I have used dt swiss juice and bonty juice, all rubbish, STANS really is the dogs juice.

Using UST wheels with inner tubes ranks up there with "thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife" and using ust wheels and tires without stans sealant is like riding spd pedals in Nike pumps!

I wouldnt pay a penny over 125 for them

dry my arse…maybe the sandy tracks by the glacial boulder on cannock chase and clean block paving in the sun, but try riding across a ploughed bridle way in a valley.

shed made from reclaimed timber/and tin:

and since I missed the green thread:

I got da l'orange shed too!

I inserted my Shatir solutions linux cd into the wheely bin, thats how good it is.

ecky thump, anyone would think this was a come to get engaged to a stranger ride? someone wants to start a NSA swingers ride thread!

I would like to come but can only offer go between services, so happy to relay messages from either sex, "my mate fancies you" and the like.

I can supply a van for the banner:

will be coming in from the west on M4, so where is the banner?

that cage is where terrhawk keep his lunch, i think hawks eat mice dont they?

I deflated mine 2 years ago just to see if anything would foul the water bottle I had just fitted, some oily gunk came out but it pumped up ok and worked fine ever since.