Maybe if I had the money but still not sure I’d want to spend so much on something that could easily get wrecked.

That’s great, that really narrows things down. The short cage SRAM X9 could be a good option as long as it works with 11-36 cassette OK. I like the idea of the mech being out of the way of rocks and sticks as much as possible.

XTR is a bit out of my price range unfortunately unless I can pick up a second hand one which is probably a big gamble with a rear mech.

Thanks mboy. So the shorter one would cope if I used chain devices as long as I get the chain length right?

triballegs – Member
Hi if you can’t get a 456 frame. Why not consider buying my Ragley Blue Pig frame? Awesome hard tail and advertised at £150.00 + postage.

Certainly worth considering this if you can get some adjustable travel forks for it as it’s slack up front. I just finished building my Blue Pig and it’ll do anything with the Pikes on it. Comfy riding position for xc at 120mm and amazing fun downhill wound out to 140mm.

Some really nice techy bits but I’ve ridden nicer descents. Would like to try it one more time now I have more experience and preferably when it’s dry and not a river bed.

I believe it can be done with standard size bits with a single speed sprocket at the back but the recommendation is to use bits designed for ss.

I started off with a horizontal dropout frame with chain tugs but the system I was using didn’t work for me and was frightfully fiddly. I’ve since converted to vertical dropouts with a tensioner which I’ve found to be far better. Get the chain roughly the right length and the tensioner does the rest.

I got my sprockets and stuff from On one and Charlie the Bikemonger. Charlie has set up videos on youtube. Singlespeed sprockets and chains are beefier. I have a KMC chain which is lasting well. You will need to get your chainline right so having lots of small spacers is better than having a couple of big ones. You’ll probably need singlespeed chainring bolts which are shorter than those used for 2 or 3 ring set ups. Charlie the bikemonger has these. You can get single speed specific wheels too but a normal one can be converted ok.

Not for hills. You wouldn’t get up many hills with that. I started off with a 2 to 1 ratio but went even easier than that as there’s lots of hills here and I find it easier for technical riding too. It’s a bit spinny on the road but my commute is only a mile and it’s ok round town.

I think we all know what the OP means. He wants to know which trail centre is most like riding a real mountain and it’s a fair question.

Personally I don’t really like trail centres that much, which confuses me as many of the trails are actually great. The natural (non trail centre) riding does it for me as it’s more about adventure and riding stuff not designed for bikes. I think it’s a mindset thing, a feeling of remoteness and being close to nature.

You know what to expect at trail centres but riding in wilder areas can spring up more surprises. Go to Glentress and you know that at some point you’re going to see some bell end do a bunny hop or something in the car park then look around to see how many people saw his amazing skills.

Kirroughtree black is probably the closest thing to a mountain I’ve ridden at a trail centre. I’d still much rather ride my local trails though even if they are a bit thin on the ground and limited at times.

Imagine jumping on a nice cheaply built, light weight bike and accelerating away up to full speed in just a couple of pedal strokes, flying up hills and attacking technical sections of trail like an ape shit mother f*****g killing machine. Then you get home and throw your bike into your shed and when you get back to it it’s ready to ride and there’s nothing wrong with it, infact it never goes wrong. This my friend is single speeding. NB. You need to find a suitable gear for where you ride and work at it to get fit and up the hills.

The clearance for the back wheel is rubbish. No wonder they get so muddy.

Are BB’s reverse thread at all? Turning it the right way? I got confused with a pedal thread once and in trying to remove it tightened the thing up so much I can’t get it off now. I have an spd one side and a flat the other.

I’ve always enjoyed my mountain biking but there’s been a couple of days recently that have been quite special. The first was a trail I rode in the Trossachs that was so nice that I had a bit of a ‘Isn’t life bloody great’ moment afterwards. Then I did a bit of the WHW a couple of weeks ago during that really dry spell and rode all of the bits I thought I’d never be able to ride when I first tried about 2 years ago. I’d never ridden so well and had the bike sliding about on the loose dry surface right at the very limits of control. I’ve had equally good weekends away with friends and rides with the club but for the sheer joy of riding a bike it’s the above.

I’m of the opinion that he should have just let him pass in the first place, I mean is it really that difficult? (pull over caravan and let the folk who want to get there at a reasonable pace do so). The guy behind asked politely to start with but then became rude and forced the issue which was unwise. He should then have stopped and waited.

The guy in front definitely has problems and should probably see someone about them.

OK thanks. So you put some grease on the threads so you can remove it in the future?

Item has been previously ‘used’.

my son chose the Ragley blue pig only to be told that CRC could not provide a headset for it until may!

The only place I could find that has the STANDARD size for that frame is here:

http://www.globalbike.co.uk/products/Nuke-Proof-Warhead-44IESS-Headset-2012.html

Hope you get something sorted.

OK so it seems that the most important place to have the chain guide is at the top. Are the BB mounted guides compatible with both internal and external BB’s? The frame will have ISCG mounts.

The chain guide makes quite a satisfying purring noise too.

That’s good to hear!

Edit-just noticed the Superstar one is external BB

OK thanks. Is it better to go for the thinner 10 speed chain and appropriate matching parts or just the usual size?

Yea I get you. They could have done with something like the above at the Banff film festival it would have been more inspiring. A lot of films, although impressive are very jump and downhill orientated. ‘Home’ was a good one, had a good mix of stuff.

Mm yes. I think it would possibly make more difference with steel hardtails where the geometry and frame construction may have more of an impact on ride characteristics.

Is it because it’s the only ever cycling film to have a bagpipes backing track?

Although, saying that I have been looking at Giant Trances, they sound good…

They are good and very efficient so if you find your 5 boring I’d imagine you would find the Trance boringer? Personally I’d just go for a hardtail rather than a shorter travel FS bike. I think if you’re going to have full suspension you may as well have loads of it or none at all but that’s just me.

blue pig.

fast, simple and fun on the downs, but get loose and it gives you a good kicking without throwing you off.

perfect for me. best bike i’ve owned for exactly the reason you mention. got bored on FS.

That’s good to hear. I might be getting one as I’m bored with my FS bike.

Bell air too wide for my skinny ass so using a Gobi now which is fine.

U-Turn is just the fancy name given to the Pike forks that have adjustable travel. It means you can adjust the travel to the kind of riding you’re doing at that time like going up hill or downhill. Very handy if you have a do it all bike but easy to get obsessed with adjusting.

When on night rides I usually end up planning how I’d deal with groups of neds (chavs) using my drinking bottle as a makeshift club as I blind the would be attackers with my light. If I had time I’d reach for my pump and use it like a telescopic police baton swinging left and right, smashing kneecaps leaving my attackers writhing in a burberry tangle on the floor.

I also construct defiant speeches that I’ll one day stand up and rant at our enforced company ‘lets all be one big happy team’ meeting in the face of the management who are looking after themselves very nicely as they cut the pay of the workers on the lower bands.

Aliens too. Nice looking ones clad in lycra like in Sci Fi films. My god I’m weird.

Like Lopes say’s in his book: ‘Get smooth before you get fast’. A while back I gave up trying to go fast and now I’m riding a lot faster.

Wax on wax off.

Three things have helped me recently to gain a lot more speed (although I’m not that quick, just don’t mince along making lots of mistakes like I did).

I’m assuming you’re talking about going downhill here as well.

Since I started riding my hardtail more I’ve become a lot quicker and make far fewer mistakes and it’s helped me learn what works for me (along with a few tips from Brian Lopes’s book).

I now have a mantra in my head before big descents:

Relax, look as far ahead as possible, aim to achieve perfect balance on the bike.

The biggest thing that helped me was to look far ahead so I’m always planning for what comes next. The better balance has come from riding a hardtail more and just practice. It’s great being perfectly balanced on the bike and knowing where to put your weight during cornering etc. This is the most fun part for me especially if you get the bike drifting.

I think like with any ‘sport’ it’s good to have a simple mantra to say to yourself at the start. Like I used to be really bad at football but got better when I said to myself ‘don’t give the ball away, easy passes’.

Get the basics right and the rest will follow, hopefully. That’s what I think anyway. And have fun.

You will probably learn better skills on a hardtail so you could go for a really agro hardtail or something. You probably have all the skills already though.

Ok thank’s folks. Should I give it some kind of undercoat before taking it to the powder coaters or just sand the old paint off? Cheers.

Bookmark. 🙂

OK thanks for that. I’m in the process of trying to identify the frame at the mo to try and get some more info on it.

That’s one hell of a gnarly rock garden.(sorry) 🙂

I’ve bought a few different things off them and been really pleased. The xc430 wheels were a bargain and have been great as have the sintered break pads. Only one dodgy component so far but not sent that back yet.

‘I took my bike back to the shop for a refund because the gears and other stuff stopped working properly’

I’ve heard that more than once.

messiah – Member

When and where did you buy your frame if I may ask?

OK I figured it out ‘Quality Control’ duh.

Have Ragley sorted their QC issues yet? If not I’d steer well clear.

What’s a ‘QC Issue’ and how bad is it?

I think maybe the Cotic Soul I tried just wasn’t set up that well for me although I did try a few things with the set up. I must say it was a really nice plush, fun, springy ride but the steering didn’t feel very accurate or the front end very planted. I certainly wouldn’t rule out a Cotic though and it would be fun to try one of the newer designs like the Bfe.

Brant- Thanks for the info. I’m leaning towards the Ragley now as the steeper seat angle and higher BB would suit my kind of riding better plus I like the frame design and you get stickers. It would be the 20″ frame that I’d need.

tom- Thanks for that looks like a nice bike too. How heavy is the Surge frame do you know?

I Ache- I’ve tried a Cotic and just didn’t get on with it that much for some reason.