Bump…

Ozzy please can you measure the width of your syncros FL?

I've just been out and only did 7 miles and my ass is sore, my wtb saddle is only 133mm wide, i think its to narrow.

I looked at the Fizik Gobi XM K:Ium when i was in evans cycles on friday..its very firm and £69 vs £50 for the syncros
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/syncrosflsaddle.aspx?&id=11140

I know its only £19 difference, but another £10 and i can get an XT front mech to swap out the deore one that came as stock..and ad some more bling :)

Ozzybmx you have the same idea as me I think. I have a giant anthem x2, same forks as you in white.

Is the saddle comfy on 2-4hr rides?

Has anybody tried the Syncros FL saddle?

Do the SDG Bel Air RL Ti creak? there's a few reviews that say the rails creak..

Chain reactions are doing the SDG Bel Air RL Ti 2009 for as little as £42 depending on which colour you get..

Think ill give that a bash..

Cheers

Discobrakes ceramic pro pads turned up today.. thoroughly cleaned my rotors with mug off brake disc cleaner, popped the new pads in and gave every bolt on the calipers a tweak. 20 miles off road and hardly a peep out of them, the only time I got a squeal was when bombing it down a track covered in tree routes and small jumps slightly out of control..
Thanks for recommending the discobrakes pads guys.. :-)

thisisnotaspoon
Im confused why your reminding me why my X2 is not a DH bike, did somebody say it was?
I bought 180mm front and rear as thats what i wanted on my XC bike… 180mm will give me that extra stopping power i wanted.. i had 160mm on originally and didnt like them..

Are these the disco pads i need? the ceramic pro's?
http://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=0&c=14&p=125&

Cheers

Edit..I've ordered these

Scruff when you say mounts, do you mean the mounts on the suspension fork and rear frame or the shimano mounts that bolt on to the frame?

One thing i have noticed is that everytime i take the front wheel out the pads never align with the rotor when i put the wheel back in..

Anyone used superstar pads?
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=18d2a19b6a0b19c4db659b8c5e70d188

Rock… the XT's give so much more power, but the squealing is annoying!
If the squealing can be mutted then i recommend them..
I got mine from merlins for £200 for the complete set..

Im wondering if the 180 rotors i put on are the problem, looking at this years Anthem X2 it comes with XT disc brakes and 160mm rotors..curious if they used the 160mm because of this..
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/model/anthem.x2/4892/39050/

I've tried the copper grease trick.. didnt make any difference..
Can anyone recommend any pads worth trying?

Thanks guys, thanks jolly Green Giant for recommending Addiktion cycles..
Think ill try some new pads first, then if that dont work nip over to addiktion and get their opinion…

Thanks

They do stop me well, i can sit down brake and launch the back end up into the air..

I've got a Giant Anthem X2 2009, XT M775 2009 Disc brakes 180mm Rotors F+R
I used to have Hayes stroker rydes with 160mm rotors F+R but they were pretty lame..

Looks like i have a few options, new pads, or new 160mm rotors, or new pads + 160mm rotors..

Thanks Peter,
This leads me on to my next question… can anybody recommend a bike shop around hemel hempstead hertfordshire?

Thanks

Is it difficult to face the mounts? is there any guides on how to do it?

That looks painfull..

Snowy hemel today..about 1 hr ago

llamafarmer

Out of curiousity what have you swapped out on your X2 so far?
So far i have replaced the wheels with hope pro 2's and 719rims, seatpost Thomson Elite and the cassette for an XT so i dont ruin the cassette body on my shiny blue hubs..

Does your seatpost creek? my original was driving me crazy, after taking it apart to grease it up i noticed that the teeth on the clamp were buggered..

I noticed in one of your previous quotes you said its a great climber.. not with the schwalbe racing ralphs..my always spins at the rear..
but then thats down to tyre choice..

A skid…

I ordered them from CRC as they were doing 10% of this weekend on everything.. 719's with Hope Pro 2 blue hubs.. £222
Merlins £266..
I hope the £44 saving was worth it..that will pay for a Thomson Elite post..

2.25 is a dam sight fatter than my previous 1.95 speziallized tires…

Ok…Im running Schwalbe 2.1 Racing ralphs in the dry and 2.25 Nobby Nics during the winter… (I like fat tyres)
Are these going to be a bitch to get on and off? I've never needed a tyre lever to get these off so far.
Is there a lot of difference in strength between 719's and 819's?

Cheers…

With regards to CRC I emailed them and asked if they machine build or Hand build there custom wheels.. They replied:
With Regards to our Custom Built Wheels, our Wheel Builders will lace all hubs to rims by hand however they will use a Machine to quicken up the process of building by tightening the spokes via a Machine. Once these are finished in the machine the wheels are then placed in a Truing Stand and have their tension adjusted by hand to double check the build before they are placed into a Wheel Box. They are Hand Built Wheels Start and Finish with a small amount of mechanical help to speed up the process.
I cant see this being a problem…like some some said there prices are a cheaper than merlins..

Are the DT Pro lock nipples worth the investment??

I can maybe see this as a bit of a waste of money if the spokes need a tighten after a few rides..??

Cheers…

I notice this thread is 9 months old, i was wondering what the general consensus was on this subject? Do i go with merlins and pay £282 for Mavic 719's DT comp spokes with Hope pro 2 hubs or CRC £252.
It seems to me that merlin build better wheels from the comments on the forums?
I would rather pay for a decent build then worry about £30, although i might email merlins and see if they can match the price.
The may say no as we hand build and do not machine build??

Cheers

Yeah woke up and my back was killing me…

mboy – Member

I would say that a 180mm front rotor would be more than adequate for your needs on the Anthem. And certainly cheaper than replacing the whole brakeset. How 'used' are the brakes? Perhaps a good bleeding and clean at the same time would help.

What he said…

I'm pretty sure your Fox forks are not covered under warranty with anything bigger than a 180mm front rotor fitted anyway, so this is worth bearing in mind.

Your Hayes brakes aren't the last word in sophistication, but as much as I love Shimano brakes, I don't think you'd find the stopping power you require just by switching brands. And certainly I wouldn't be putting a set of Saints (as stated a "DH" brake) on an Anthem. At just shy of 15 stone you're heavier than the average rider sure, but not my a lot.

Give a 180mm front rotor a try (about £15 for a rotor, about £6 for the requisite adapter), at least it's a cheap option. And whilst you're at it, see if the brakes need bleeding (are they spongy or not?), and possibly/probably fit new pads all round… My favourite pads for pure stopping power terms are the A2Z blue compound. I've used these pads for some time, they're more powerful than anything else I've tried (EBC redstuff aside but they last minutes!) and yet seem to last a long time too!

Thanks, some worthy points in there.. I think your right abouut the hayes brakes i have, they are bottom of the line.
I was thinking it would be nice to have the all shimano groupset look by ditching the Hayes.

Any recommendations on rotors? or are they all pretty much the same?

takisawa2 – Member

There not as bad as avid 3.5 though

Have to disagree. I've tried plenty of disc brakes & the stopping power of Juicy 5's with 203 / 180 rotors is simply awesome. And I'm 16st on a Coil Pike forked Ventana, so not the lightest bike & rider combo. They can haul me to a stop stupidly quickly. One thing I would say though, Shimano brakes have a nice feel to them. The Avids are just brut force braking by comparison.

Try sticking a 203 / 180 rotor onto your existing brakes but first off a new set of properly bedded in sintered pads. Find a bloody great hill & just keeping breaking hard – repeatedly, that should do the trick.

Thats why you disagree i've only tried them on 160 rotars not the 203/180 combo you use…
looks like putting a bigger rotor on mine might get a better feel..

James,
So what are you advising me to do? buy some saints with DH tyres and then buy a DH bike to fit them to lol…
I used to ride motorbikes and always upgraded my brakes so im a bit hooked on lots of stopping power..
Do i bin the hayes and get some Shimano XT's??

There not as bad as avid 3.5 though.. i thought they were awfull. Saying that my XT v brakes on my orange put them both to shame..
I looked at the XT disc brakes but apparently there a bitch to set up??
Merlin are doing a complete set for £210 but for another £45 you can get a set of saints.. are they really that heavy?

Just checked the shimano site for weight.
XT levers pair 161g
XT calipers pair 223g
Saint levers pair 266g
Saint calipers each 162g

383grams vs 590grams

I cant find any info in my manual for the fork.. any recommendations on rotar size?