I had a telescoping one on an old hardtail and found it useless. I think the problem is, even on a racing HT, the seat angle still isn't vertical so the telescoping ones are effectively pointing the wrong way (if that makes sense) the Thud buster designs look better

but tbh, my new carbon HT (Tranny) has blown me away with the saddle comfort, there's so much vertical give in the frame it almost feels like a softtail over cobbles there's no way I could imagine putting a sus seatpost on it, I'd go for fatter thin carcass tyres first (2.1 atm)

what frame and are you planning on riding loaded only on the road?

If road touring then, if possible (dep on frame design) I'd fit a rack and get some 2nd hand panniers and if you still need more space a 20 litre pack. That should see your carrying duties. You can strip the rack when you're camped.

if riding offroad I'd consider a light post mounted rack and load that with the bulky but light stuff (sleeping back and bivvy) then put everything else in the backpack

in my experience frame bags just get in the way but I've not tried all of them ofc.

Schwalbe BMX tubes

I got 16" instead of 20" ones by mistake 🙄 . They work fine but are an absolute c**t to get on the rim the first time, will get 20" ones next time…

you should not need to pay for the empty bag. Fold it and strap it so that it is smaller and it should go in as normal check-in luggage.

as for adding the sports allowance one way I don't know, call them.

you can remove some presta cores but not most. Schwalbe tubes have removable Presta cores, which is what I use to ghetto with.

the gut that knocked me off was actually reversing back over the cycle lane

*reasonably* sure that in reverse the car has no right of way whatsoever

based on how Scienceofficer describes the route, I'd go for 2.25 Nic up front (Nics come up a bit small, the 2.25 is a nice size) and something like a Maxxis Larson or Schwalbe Rocket ron out back. The front wheel will hook up nicely, the back may slide a bit ont he descents but adds to the fun!

for regular conditions (if you need traction climbing technical trails) I'd swap out a High Roller on the back and keep the nick on the front.

Steel Bead

I had this problem with my steel beaded High rollers when I wasn't with Kevlar beaded Nics (and more recently on replacing the HR with a kevlar beaded one was easier too).

The advice I got (which worked) was to turn the tyre inside out and leave it for 20 mins or so (about one beer, iirc). This helps push the bead out a bit.

may or may not work for you but it did for me (still needed a track pump though)

I doubt you'll find a 16" but I got a 15" Rocky Mountain Blizzard for Mrs Fascist a couple of weeks ago for half price (OK, still about 350 quid). Merlin and Wiggle have restricted sizes

Alternatives;
around 300 iirc;
Dialled
Singular
Pipe Dream Sirius
Rock lobster 853

or the joker in the pack;
Handsome Dog Talisman at 60 quid 😯

of the above I could only recommend the RM or the Dialled, I've not ridden the rest but they're all quality steel bikes (and mostly light) for less than Cotic money (although the fact that Cy constantly seems to be selling out might tell you something)

jonb

Aren't on ones about the same price as a mech hanger these days?

^quote of the week! 😀

btw, did you get bummed for import duties / VAT?

Oakley Berms fit that description. Depends on your budget ofc Oakley aren't the cheapest brand, but I've found they last well. My LBS does them for 52 euros

If you want cheaper, Decathlon rockrider and take the liner out.

Raw is the new Black, my next bike will be raw…

very nice!

HT2 BB bearings do seem to be a bit hit and miss. I've killed one in 2 months and had its replacement last > a year and counting

Bearing life aside I like HT2. Feels stiffer than anything I've ridden before and some nice light setups out there. And even the bearing life is less of a problem than with ISIS/Octalink etc as you can replace the bearings separately, not the whole axle (hmm, ok that may be possible on some separate axle BBs aswell now I think about it)

I also have one bike with ISIS, first BB (FSA Platinum iirc) lasted about 10 months and just replaced with a CB cobalt that has 5 year warranty on it so I'll be holding them to that if it only manages 10 months.

Dunno much about octalink, the standard seemed to pass me by…

The price for 1x nipple and 1x spoke is currently £1.

I LIKE that

2pure. people worry because many boutique wheel brands *cough*Mavic*cough* charge an arm and a leg for replacement spokes and stock can be an issue unless you agree to buy loads of them. For example I've been waiting since before Xmas for 3 replacement spokes for a Shimano Alfine factory wheel. They won't be expensive when they get here (like 5 euros each which is nuts for a steel spoke but at the end of the day not a fortune) but the wait is completely ridiculous. That you keep stock is already half the solution then.

I don't see the spokes listed on your site. What's the retail on a (pair I guess they come in pairs?) of replacements?

genuinly tempted to buy an alfine hub, and take it apart, to see if its viable to convert them

which is where I ended up with my idea, because some custom re-threading I rekon you could build it into a bike today. In a drunken moment I actually considered ordering up an inbred frame and seeing if I could do it myself. Then I sobered up and realised that I can't weld.

putting an alfine in the BB space is essentially an extension of the Schlumpf/Hammerschmidt idea and while I can see the advantage of a lower CofG I rekon you'd have less problems putting it higher up, especially when SFB decided to go riding through rivers with it

My idea of the future;

Hardtail
Gearbox mounted half way up the seattube
Belt drive from Crank to gearbox then Gbox to hub

FS
Same thing but the G-box mounted concentric with the pivot axle of a single pivot rear sus

Must have a burning skull on it somewhere

I used SPDs (well, Time ATACs) most of the time, unless riding DH courses or trying jumps etc where I'm out of my comfort zone.

I echo the above that I have tried and abandoned caged clipless pedals. Struck me as worst of both worlds

clipless helps with climbing although how much is psychosomatic is up for debate and I don't really care; if I think it helps me then it does, no matter if it's physical or mental

They do take some getting used to and at least one comedy "TIMMMMBERRRRrrrr" is inevitable when first using them

I say give them a go, get some entry level ones (My vote is always Time ATAC alu) and see how you get on

Spoke replacement cost/availability would be my concern aswell. 2Pure; what do you sell replacements for and how available are they?

^ mostly what they said;

frames come up large (I'd get a small and I'm 5'10", mrs Fascist has a XS or dwaaaf, as we call it)
they're light
comfy all dayer rather than trail hooligan
Finishes are good (Mrs Fascist has the black ano one)

we haven't had any issues with the carbon back end but then Mrs Fascist is about 65kg.

Check the seat tube diameter. They are now 31.2 but used to be smaller and I think the change was made with the '08 model but not sure. Yeti said they changed the seattube diameter to allow the use of droppy seatposts but it also apparently stiffened up the rear end

I would certainly testride before you buy but if it suits you then they're a lovely bike

Evil Sovereign
De kerf
Kona Explosiv

but all are sliding (and thus replaceable) dropouts rather than just the trad replaceable hanger.

'09 RM Blizzard doesn't but I don't know about the '10

generally not considered necessary on a steel bike because you can bend the hangar straight after a crash without it cracking (as ally would) Still, nice to have the extra confidence perhaps

Conventional rigid 29er mountain bike with 700c rims and drop bars.
Would that work ? It's not a common conversion, which makes me suspect it wouldn't.
Does anyone make hydraulic levers for drop bars ?

No-one makes hydro levers for drop bars at the moment. Magura used to for their Hydrostops and I believe that Hope may have a cable actuated master cylinder that you frame mount aimed at tandems but it won't be competitively priced. Until the UCI legalises discs in CX competition (if ever, which is not anything like a given) I doubt that the big boys will bother but who knows?

as for 29er with drop bars; frames for drop bars are typically shorter than for flat bars (witness the Cotic Road Rat which sells in 2 different lengths depending on whether you want flat or dropped bars)

but …. it all very much depends on your own body shape what frame length you'd need, you may find one compatible

secondly (and perhaps more importantly, I'm not sure) 29er frames tend to be sus corrected so you'd either need to go with a suspension fork or a longer A2C than a normal X/road fork (which is around 400mm) and you'd end up with slacker angles I'm pretty sure

if you want an off-the shelf drop-bar 29er MTB look up the Salsa Fargo.

I have BB7 and find them a pain to set up properly, they eat brake pads as well. Having said that I suppose it's better than getting through a set of rims each winter…
Given my time again I'd get cantis for my road rat though

it's funny that, I've heard other people say the same but I really had no trouble setting them up and am on the same set of pads from new (after 5,000 km and 4 seasons on the road)I probably adjust the pads every 3-4 months, but like I said it's strictly road use.

one disadvantage of discs on a road bike / CX is the attention they attract. Like flies round sh1t I tell you.

and racks can be interesting to fit, depending on the frame design.

I fractured my wrist about 10 years ago ffalling off my bike in China. Didn't realise it at the time (thought I had sprained it) so drove home and borrowed a bit of tubigrip then went out to watch 5N (at the tiem) rugby (eng v wales iirc) and then out all night partying. The Alcohol must have been covering the pain because the next morning was no fun at all.

I was 6 weeks in plaster after which I was pretty much immediately able to ride but the pain (more like an ache really) stayed for a long time after.

I'd forgotten about the (unbelievable) price of STi levers. got a J-tek Bar end shifter and Diacompe brake levers running in my cockpit

the shimano cable discs i had were terrible and i'd never choose them over cantis in the future. The cable required requent adjustment, they added a lot of weight, made fitting 'guards/rack a pain, and weren't very powerful at all.

I have heard that about shim cable discs but never tried them myself. Rest assured though, Avid BB7s (or indeed BB5s) are bloody good.

Are cable disc brakes any good and worth the price difference?

IMO Yes on both counts. Avid BB7s all the way

CX bikes are still a bit of a niche so perhaps are priced a little accordingly. A CX bike should normally be able to take hopping kerbs and speed bumps but a road frame is a *lot* more difficult to hop than an MTB frame (bloody impossible once you have anything on the rack) and take care about casing a kerb as that will kill a road wheel dead.

I had similar requirements to you (plus wanted to run a hubgear) and ended up getting a Cotic RoadRat. Not the lightest but tbh once loaded with panniers an extra half kilo in the frame isn't noticable. Was pretty cheap too and after 5,000km on it in the last year I'm still happy with it.

Another (gorgeous looking) choice is the Singular Perregrine, which I may have gone for if I'd known about it before ordering the Cotic

/edit; oh and IMO discs are 100% worth it. Not that there's anything wrong with cantis per se but with discs I do zero maintenance, the brakes work the same in all conditions and I never get grinding once road grit gets under the pads so I don't worry about rim wear.

Timbur, did you buy the 150 USD tool or do they do another cheaper one? looks nice but I can't imagine ever making my money back

it has a proper man cave.

sold.

by chipps Oct 31, 2007

ha ha ha ha ha

I've often wondered how one of the most mature and sensible MTB publications out there gets such a controversially … erm …. active forum when the official forum of the kids' mtb jazzrag (MBUK … OK, amongst others) has a much more mature one … now I know

It's all Chipps' fault!

yeah …. figures (the money constraints bit)

couple (ok, 3) of suggestions for you;

1. whore traveller forum sites, maybe someone would be willing to bring it out for you (a stretch, but you never know when you may get lucky)
2. Get a local bike or loaner for the next 6 months
3. Bug VSO / other NGO dudes in the area, they *must* have other people / materials going back and forth who can help you out

How about a change in route? If you're riding 10 mins across town, what about 20-25 minutes skirting town?

dunno exactly where you are but there may be a route less travelled that could make your commute safer and more enjoyable.

no-one coming to visit you who can bring it to you or visit home planned so you could bring it back as checked-in?

trouble with shipping liek that (P-force etc) is you get into customs declarations, which can turn into a nightmare depending on the system in the country your importing into. I've not lived in Ethiopia but I can tell you that china is a bl**dy PITA, I'd sooner fly to london and bring the stuff back in check-in.

how about asking the guys you're working with, perhaps VSO can help out?

good on you for doing VSO btw, I hope you're enjoying it, I know there's sod all cash in the system and you're effectively volunteering so props to you

if the frame was sold to you cracked then I would not be shy about complaining

if it cracked soon after you bought it (perhaps the crack was propagating from the inside out) then I see what you mean

I'd call a frame builder and get a quote, but in the end it's probably not worth it, especially as you'll be looking at a respray into the bargain. 200 does sound rather steep though (mate of a mate of mine had a titanium headtube replaced for 250…..)

Storage; Hooks on the wall and hang them if it's your wall
Cleaning; find an unlocked hosebib somewhere on the ground floor (there will often be one in the carpark if you have one) and use that. Washing your bike in the bath is fine for students but IME wives tend to object
Up and down stairs; I don't worry too much but if it's a problem you'll just have to clean it first

actually, just googled 2004 Stinky deelux and pretty sure it has a straight seat tube.

From this I assume you are thinking about buying this bike but haven't seen it yet?

I've been very impressed with tubeless on my Evil. I am a serial pinchflatter and this reduced my average flats from 2 per ride to none for a year and a half (and counting)

I haven't converted any of my other bikes though as I don't have problems pinching on them (I guess the difference is the terrain / how much the Evil turns me into a hooligan 😀 ) that and thorns seem to be a non-issue here

I hear the comment about changing tyres but if you have a year round tyre solution (as I have) and struggle with flats then tubeless seems to be a nobrainer to me.

also, the faff wears off the more sets you do as there are tricks to seating the bead

ianv; what year is your frame?

I know they updated the frame around 2005/6 and am fairly certain that the seattube on my 03 stinky is straight down to the BB (but I'll check when I get home coz it's been in the basement for 6 months and I can't remember tbh…..

I've ridden the Intense and found the geometry very free-ridey. Very slack. But it was set up at the longer travel settings for me so I don't know how much difference that could make

I've not ridden a heckler but Iirc the angles are steeper than the Tracer so it's a bit apples and oranges.

but it's so personal, depends what kind of bike you're after.

I *much* preferred the feel of the Spider 2. A proper midtravel (120) but stand on the pedals and it sprints like a XC FS bike. Angles are steepish but not bonkers. Will be my next bike if I can sneek it past the missus 😀