I was most surprised / pleased to see my Wiggle delivery the next day this week – very impressive, but it was small and Royal Mail. I noticed JE James are saying their deliveries have been affectd because of the weather – not that I’ve ever used them…

I’ve resisted posting about my bottom bracket before now, but it lasted 2 rides. I got what appears to be the usual shirty response, accused of being incompetent in the bike mechanic department (which may or may not be the case :| ) and have put it down to experience. Never again…

I feel a bit better about things now I’ve got that off my chest.

<and relax>

ah, thanks mustard, much appreciated.

Tell you what – does it look like these[/url] would do? Miche track sprockets, they look good and phat and appear to have the lugs in the right place for the freehub body on the Hopes? Whaddayouthink?

That piccy (off of CRC) shows it with and without spacers. The blue one is shown without the spacers. Typically, I couldn’t really find much info out on Hope’s site – or pics for that matter, but then maybe I didn’t look hard enough…

Thanks for the cog advice – I was going to have a look-see on Charlie’s site for a Salsa or Surly. He’s out of stock on 17T though, so I may have to change the chainring to suit a 16 or 18 that i’ve got in the parts bin…

Durh. Of course – ah well – there’s your numpty content. :oops:
Thanks for the advice guys – much appreciated.

so does it screw into the spacer then (that hopefully comes with the hub)?

can I use one off an old 9spd Shimano cassette instead?

why thank you, old bean. Not as dim as I look then?! :-)

Mikee. Thanks for the nice comment. It’s a real Merlin one :lol:

I got it on here as a frame, and I am so delighted with it. It’s a fantastic ride, in spite of being weighed down by the rather hefty fork.

More Ti vicar? My recently acquired Rock Lobster Team Ti today in the snow. Apologies for the light / mudguard content:

Yeah – mine did too. Never had it happen from other suppliers. Really poor show all round. And the disc brake mounts were too long – well they were for all the frames I tried them on. Hey ho. Nothing ventured etc.

Oh; just a little bit better! :wink:

They’re great – fit and forget, a doddle to bleed, lovely levers. Can’t go wrong. Just jealous you’ve got the new ones…!

Oh, and pad changing compared to the others you mentioned is way quicker.

Right decision.

Yep – workstand and tools from Merlin – I got a great deal a few years ago when they did a combo offer and have never looked back.

So saying, not a single build goes by without some foulup. I amazed myself at quite how useful, and frequently used, a rubber mallet is during a bike build (rather worryingly…) on my last one.

I still get the LBS to do the crown race, and I have more star fangled nuts fitted to my bikes than I have forks, but at least they’re not the heaviest component on a bike to have two (or more) of fitted… arse!

It’s hugely satisfying – especially as I very much fall into the amateurish end of ‘enthusiatic amateur mechanic’ The real guys probably look and and weep, but there’s a great sense of achievement, and fettling can be great fun – with the right tools!

Again, to reinforce, Park Tools website is your big buddy in all of this.

Go do it.

Stevemorg2 – what’s your email? I’ll send you one over straight away, though it’s on eBay at the mo with a bid just gone on it…

I (sort of) went the other way – from a Stiffee to an ’08 Superlight and it’s been fantastic. I’m not 14 stone, but I run forks with a lockout on the front and it makes a difference on the ups, the downs are almost as much fun as they were on the Stiffee but where I notice it the most is in keeping up with other full sussers on the flat, rutted tracks in the Peak. I just used to get so bashed about on the Stiffee.

It’s the long (for use with flat bar) and it’s got a Cane Creek (I think) headset in, and the Cotic seat clamp. I’m looking at maybe £170 + carriage, or I could happily meet up somewhere if you’re not a million miles from the Peak District. It’s been very well looked after, I even have some mudguards that you could have if you wanted them thrown in. Let me know your email and I’ll send you some pics.

Just tried it and it says ‘voucher not found’ – are you sure it’s right?

Oh – thanks for listing it, by the way! :-)

Go for a Roadrat – they’re superb! My frame’s for sale at the moment, if you’ll fit a medium. It’s great frame, you get used to where the front disc sits, and the dropouts work fine. I’m not sure of anything else out there like it, to be honest.

BTW – I’m not selling mine because I don’t like it – it’s been a fantastic frame; I just need to move it on.

Another one in the Litespeed club here (though not quite so grand as KKF!). I’ve pared my bikes down to the “bare minimum” – ti road bike, ti singlespeed MTB and a proper FS MTB. Well, when I say ‘bare minimum’ I mean, what I can easily fit in the garage, yet still not justify to the missus.

Anyway – the road bike stays, whatever else chops and changes, so firmly batting uphill here…

i’ve got gunsmoke with white rims – which (IMHO!) look reet nice.

Nothing changes – I think? Followed by: I am not a number I am 32:16

Have fun!

Those bags of rice for about 50p from tesco with the various flavours, or a ready made risotto – same kind of price. Cook them the night before, put them in a plastic tub and nuke them with a dessertspoon of water at work.

Oh – and sushi – it rocks for lunch. Filling, super healthy and people give you funny looks and think you’re very adventurous. Or Japanese.

The devil makes work for idle thumbs.

Syncros FLDS23 rims – I swapped out my DT 4.2s that were built into Hope SP3 Hoops, and they’re sooooooo much better (and white, of course).

Lifecyles built them up for me, and they also, I think, offer the Spank rims in most colours. Like the previous repsonder said, it sort of depends what you want to do with them, but Syncros have a broad range of rims to suit most stuff, I think.

“All the ideas; and just one gear”

Has anyone got any thoughts please?

Apologies for the low grade photo – it’s the first pic I’ve posted here. Will try harder next time. :?

Now got white Syncros 23 rims, and a white i-beam FX saddle on it, but I run the Revs between 100 and 120 – never more, just doesn’t warrant it.

I’m not too heavy, and was very disappointed with the 4.2 rims on a set of Hope Hoops SP3 builds. I’ve had the hubs (which are ace) rebuilt onto some Syncros 23 rims, that so far seem to be holding up well. The DT rims dented very easily – as in I’ve never, ever dented a rims before, and when I swapped the DT rims out, they had two dents on them.