After reading this thread, it got me thinking – the only “problems” I’ve had with bikes and related purchases have been with manufacturers/distributors/sellers of high-end or boutique brands. Seems to me that all the USPs associated with expensive stuff are just that – designed to justify the price, not any reflection on quality/performance/customer care.

I’ve tried Barons front and rear, feels sluggish on the back. Running a balding RQ rear and Baron front at the mo, feels pretty good.

@OP – I’d stick the HR on the back and the Baron on the front

if they give McLeish the boot, it’ll be too little too late unfortunately :-(

Rides under 3 hrs I rarely take a bag – pump, tube, tool, lever, sweeties, phone goes in my pockets.
Have crashed many, many times and not suffered any injury due to the contents of my pockets.

Very sad, RIP

It is madness, agreed

I think some people have some success in setting RC3 dampers up for lighter riders by compressing the forks whilst pressing the valve on the air assist. Release the valve, allow forks to extend creates a negative pressure (not sure if this is correct term, physics fans) which allows the forks to be more compliant.

way off IME, I guess Shimano have built in enough fat to avoid warranty claims. Used my 36t x 11-34 combo this morning, no deaths were incurred ;-)

had sunshine, torrential rain, hail yesterday. And empty trails :-)

Having had similar issues with my 2011 bv xv rp23, I’m having pretty good results at the mo with the following setup:
Standard air can
Running slightly more sag – 35% ish
Running pro pedal on 2 permanently

Renthal bars are 7 degree backsweep iirc. They certainly feel nice for my orang-utan arms :-)

I have run my short cage with a 24/36 up front combined with 11-32 out back. I didn’t die ;-)

he seems like a very angry little man

i run the short cage 1×9 with a 36t front and 11-34 cassette if that helps

totally – ride last night, awesome; commute today – shorts and that still wet for the journey home, still awesome

:-)

If you want to get faster, drop a couple of stone and ride your bike as much as you can. Sounds obvious, but pays back much more than new frame/forks/tyres/helmet/bell.

Oh and wear white gloves ;-)

they shout “RIDEERRRRRRRRRRR” during races to force lesser mortals out of their way?

I didn’t say that out loud did I?

“keep f*cking that chicken”

Oakley Crowbar MX for me – but as above, make sure they fit your helmet

Race Face external BBs – crap incarnate

i thought this thread might be about the modern trend to fit cars with day running led lights and weak as p!ss indicators which mean you can’t see which way someone wants to go at a junction.

And breathe ;-)

erm, chill out? live and let live?

used coils tend to go for £80-£150. Exotic coils (CCDB, BOS etc) will go for more, maybe £200+. Take a punt, stick it on eBay with a BIN of the price you want to achieve?

have a search to see how much similar items have been sold for on here/SDH/eBay?

get an older Spesh Enduro SX, i’ve had two over time and they’re a total blast – just the job for what you wnat to use it for

i nearly pulled the trigger on some Gravels on Friday, but CRC were out of stock of my size. I think i may have to go for the Gravels as I can’t really live with the glacial drying time of Five Ten shoes.
Vans Gravel review FYI http://factoryjackson.com/2012/03/22/review-vans-gravel-shoes/

hmmm, i was worried about the drying aspect as the AM40s are pretty fast drying (as you know). I was kinda hoping that they’d dry quicker as not so built as the Impacts.

Bugger

“Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism’s in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, “I don’t believe in Beatles, I just believe in me.” Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I’d still have to bum rides off people.”

Anyone? Bueller?

Nanos are great pedals, I just wanted something fancier. Have snapped the cages on the Nanos, but that was after 2 years of hard abuse, so pretty happy with that.
What ever you do, don’t be tempted by Straitlines. Great grip, but you’ll be rebuilding them every month.
Go DMR out of the two in your OP.

went through this loop myself recently – ended up buying some Burgtecs

national play strategy? How about banning parents from driving their kids to school instead?

it was crap

sorry to hijack the thread, but @mildred, how did you sort the rear suspension on your Blood? Mine never feels quite right, not wrong, but you know, not *right*.
cheers

interesting – i picked a Blood because i didn’t want a 5…

+1 for Orange Blood

Can be had for cheapness at the moment
5″ travel
Can be built up reasonably light
Slack and low angles
Jumps like a scalded cat
Rails turns like a….thing that corners well
Can run 140mm – 160mm forks
IT’S FUN!

in neon green FTW

+1 for Superstar grips.

Banana
Chicken
Water

Right-handed, left foot is chocolate foot. Prefer turning left on a bike and a board (skate, surf, snow). Feels better driving off my right foot, if that makes sense.
HTH?

Sorry to resurrect, but I’d be interested too. Ta :-)

I though 760 was *my* width until i got some 780 Renthals for Chrimbo. Loving the width – no serious tree/bar interface issues to date…