@mashiehood – It's a grand without flights, which is a lot but more so than that this

The riding is on non-technical hard-pack trails, which are normally in a good condition although they can be rough, covering, on average, about 50km per day.

puts me off more than a bit.

Tried Freeride Morocco but they're booked up on their Morocco trips for the season. Which is a shame cause their trip looked like exactly what i was looking for.

@flowguymtb – under any other set of circumstances i'd probably jump at the chance doing the self guided thing but odds are i'll be flying solo so it's not really a runner. Though suggestions on anyone else who offer similar packages would be greatly appreciated.

Just to dig up this old chestnut again

nickegg – Member

Why are most rear brake mounts still I.S when the majority of forks and brakes Post Mount?

My understanding of this is because in terms of mass production it's near impossible to fix a post mount frame that has been manufactured with any misalignment of the posts. Frames are mostly made using processes where this is a real possibility whereas fork lowers are cast so this isn't a possibility, or at least shouldn't be. Which is why you'll generally only find post mount rear brakes on the most expensive & CF bikes as the standard of quality control in manufacture & the alignment of the post mounts is much easier to control. My €0.02

Met a guy who did it with his mate on skateboards. Took them 3 months or something like that.

The jockey wheels will have written on them top, bottom. Which will tell you which one is the top & which is the bottom. Strangely enough…

It says top & bottom on them. Oh & yes they are different, if my memory serves me correctly they have a diffferent number of teeth on each (though i could be mistaken).

I could be proven wrong on this but as far as i know when you use an IS to post mount adaptor you need to go up 20mm in disc size. So it means you're going to need a 180mm disc as opposed to your old 160mm. Which i might add might pleasantly surprise you in the increased stopping power.

Pretty much all ti used on bikes are alloys. Ti is highly corrosion resistant so i wouldn't worry about them breaking. However they might bend and if that happens well it nigh on impossible to unbend them. But then again that can happen with any saddle.

Extremely. They did it here in Dublin a little over a year ago & it's been a roaring success so far. Reduces traffic (not much I know, but every bit helps), puts more cyclists on the roads which has 2 advantages firstly it gets people fitter & secondly & possibly more importantly it increases driver awareness.

They're Float 140Rl's. I haven't played around with the sag too much though they're set up at the correct presure for my weight. Anyways like i said i'm getting around 125mm out of them almost every ride. Which is 90% of the travel so i'm not overly worried as i'm not sure i'd like to be running them any plusher than they are at present. I'm just curious to see what the norm is more than anything else.

bump for the day shift

I have to say i find it hilarious all of you folk talking about Halfords ruining the GT brand. I worked in a bike shop in Chamonix 10 years ago that sold about 10-20 GTs a week. Starting point for the bikes we stocked was probably about £500 and up. So we were dealing with a lot of relatively high end bikes. Basically the GTs were junk. We were constantly replacing derailleur hangers (in excess of 10 a week if my memory serves me correctly), bearings & finicky bits on the i-drives. Dealt with anywhere between 1 and 3 broken frames a week. They were simply appalling bikes that were badly designed & badly made.

I know back in the annals of history GT made a lot of iconic & great mountainbikes that all ended around 1998 i reckon. That was as a result of the quality of the bikes they were building, nothing else. Plus the triple triangle was a marketing gimmic no more, no less. Now maybe they're trying to change that now but it's really too little & far too late. So for all you folk that reckon it's halfords that ruined GT, think again.

bikerbruce – Member

ASSOS IS UNBEATABLE ALL OTHERS ARE INFERIOR.
(spoken by my fair bum)

WOW! That's amazing! I've heard of people talking out of their arses before but typing that's entirely new & amazing.

Maybe not the best shorts ever!!! But i bought a pair of Assos bibs for under my baggies earlier. All i can say is that they're a revelation how much comfier they are than the other liner shorts i have & have used in the past. They were however quite expensive though i believe they last really well, from what i've been told.

It helps but you don't really need it. Just get a really sharp brand new razor blade to do it with. That's what i did it with & didn't have any problems.

jimmyshand – Member

See that thing that comes up quickly in front of you – trail, road or track – concentrate on that more. I have no idea if any of my kit flexes

Post of the day!

There's a lot of info on this over on UKClimbing.com If you go over there & do a search on articles on it. Should throw up most of the info you need without actually going to see someone about it. Can't link right now as i'm in work.

Following further investigation it would appear that the IS to post mount rear adaptor is too wide. E.g. its pulling the caliper off centre even at it's furthest edge of adjustment. So despite my best efforts one piston is pushing the disc to meet the other piston for braking.

Anyone ever filed down or shaved an adaptor? I'm assuming it'll be fine taking 1-1.5mms off of it to help centre the caliper on the disc.

Cynic al Yes it would appear so. Didn't look at the pciture properly so i thought it was like one of these http://www.screwfix.com/prods/16019/Hand-Tools/Pliers-Cutters/Carpenters-Pincers/7-Carpenters-Pincers

So i take back my earlier comment.

you mean this ?

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/39403/Hand-Tools/Pliers-Cutters/Cable-Wire-Cutters/Forge-Steel-159mm-End-Cutters#

Won't work. For cutting bicycle cables & especially outers you need something that cuts in shear as opposed by compression/crushing. If you bought one of those it would just flatter your cables. Isn't great for your inners makes the outers an absolute mare to use.

This one might work, though don't quote me on it.

As a general rule of thumb, & this doesn't matter what sport it is, the only way to get a redbull helmet is to be good enough to be sponsored by them. Or failing that be good mates with someone who is. Redbull don't allow manufacturers to copy their graphics. Dunno how many times i've heard young ones looking for them but the simple answer is you can't get them.

I likey just need to borrow me a camera that falls into the category of not the end of the world if i break it.

Done thanks to a helpful video on youtube. Cheers for the suggestions anyway.

Inspiring. Makes me wish i'd continued with little bikes 20 odd years ago. Mind in saying that bikes in one form or another are still one of the funnest things in life for me. So it hasn't exactly gone all wrong.

Possibly the greatest shifters ever!!!

Oh & yes even though they are officially 7 speed they do have an eight click, or is that seventh?

bump for the day shift

Twist your bars sideways. So as the front wheel is perpendicular to the frame. Then try rocking it back & forth again. If the movement is still there it just means your headset's loose. Means you've either re-assembled it wrong following the service or just not re-tightened it enough. Easiest thing to check first. So before you go off replacing it or doing any other convoluted things try that first.

What about these?

Just ordered a pair myself this evening. Now here's hoping they arrive before the weekend.

Fixie Inc one looks real nice but highly unlikely they'd get it for me & it's out of my price range. Trek one might be a runner but the shop my company deals with don't do trek. Not sure whether they'll get one in for me especially. Will have to talk to their buyer to see whether or not it's possible.

I've no reason to believe the mech hangar is bent. Shifting was ok before replacing the jockey wheels. Cables could be it, though they're gore ride-on cables & haven't given me any trouble up till now so i'm hoping not.

Was about 12 or so got a second hand specialized hard rock off of my aunts husband who was importing them at the time. That was probably around 1989.

Try emailing Robin Seymour, posts as Bobby on mtbireland.com Brilliant mechanic & wheel builder as well as probably being the best irish mtber ever, what with 4 olympics under his belt.

I reckon ray mears is far harder than Bear Grylls and anyway who would you rather be stuck surviving in the wild with a tubby guy or a skinny guy?

DrDomRob – Member
CF is STUPID expensive still, mostly because our french and american friends (Airbus and Boeing) have bought nearly all of it for their new planes. Thats the main reason for the high cost.

I was under the impression it was mostly as a result of the explosion in the wind industry worldwide & that boeing & airbus have just accentuated the problem more so than causing it.

Probably a carbon blur lt with DT carbon wheels, xtr, fox forks & a scattering of carbon & titanium exotica. Basically a sub 26lb xc/am 140mm do everything bike.

According to the bontrager website they only make them in either 27.2 or 31.6. In which case it should be easy enough to tell using a ruler which it is.

thebikechain – Member

KTM are here already. You wouldn't realise it though. They do have great bikes and a good rep but they just don't click with the UK IMO obviously.

A friend of mine was working for a start up here in Dublin importing Euro bike brands that aren't well known here. The guy was/is bringing in KTM's to Ireland. He is very well connected & did a really good job of drumming up interest in them. Problem is/was that KTM are huge on the continent & his orders just weren't large enough to warrant major interest on KTM's part. As a result of which he's having trouble getting stock for his dealers. Who are now as a result of which loosing interest in the brand as customer orders aren't being met. I would suspect the case is probably similar in the UK. Which is a shame really cause anyone that has one raves about them.

try a couple of cap fulls of detol in with your wash next time. Is usually a pretty good solution for manky smelling thermals.

HT2 bottom brackets come with 3 2.5mm spacers. If you follow shimano's instructions for 73mm bottom bracket shells you need to install one on the drive side, for 68mm bottom bracket shells you need to install 2 on the drive side & 1 on the non drive side. I believe it's necessary to install them like this to ensure the axle length is the right spacing relative to the cups.

On that basis measure the length of your bottom bracket cup, it'll either be 68 or 73mm wide & install the correct number of spacers according to what width it is.

Can't comment on the soul as i've never ridden one. However i do have a chameleon & i can say without any hesitation it's as good as any bike i've owned. As to the argument about it not being designed by a british designer so less suitable well that's just pish. The cham will take forks from 80-160, it has oceans of tire clearance so muck won't be a problem. Now based on the designed for the UK thread it would appear the characteristics that define a UK bike are large mud clearance, long travel hard tail & forward facing seat tube slot. Other than that the chameleon lacks the forward facing seat tube slot i can't see any reason the soul would be more suited to the UK climate than the Chameleon. Plus the derailleur hanger on the latest Chameleon has a built in bottle opener on it. What more could you ask for?