tonyplym – yes clocked that one, even better when you consider the accessories too!

http://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-b6cc304scr004-24ltr-air-compressor-240v/85834

I did a course yesterday down nr Midhurst so thought I’d see if I could put my new-found knowledge to use in the Surrey Hills. Found a big batch of Ceps and plenty of Bay Boletes, with a few Amethyst Deceivers, but sadly no Chanterelles. Feasted tonight on a fantastic soup and tomorrow should see a chicken & mushroom pie made, with the rest being dried.
Glenp – any tips on Chanterelle location and recipes welcome 😉

Pikes have the same awesome control when things get really rough, but have the small bump sensitivity of Fox forks. That, plus servicing issues, means Pikes all the way for me.

R0’s are truly awesome. Used a pair on my 29er in Whistler and Alps using just 180mm and 160mm rotors with no fade whatsoever.

Rog at Head for the Hills in Dorking builds a good wheel. He built me a set of ENVE 29ers that stood up to a week in Whistler and 2 weeks in the Alps no problems.

Love purgs in both 26″ and 29er form. For out and out grip, use them F&R, if you want a bit more slip on the back, use a ground control.

Yep and think they are awesome. Ran them 180/160 on a 29er in Whistler and Porte du Soleil this year and never once had any fade issues.

Alpina B3? A lot more stealth…..

Another vote for Pikes here over Revs & X-Fusion (all on 29ers) and Fox (vs 26″). Think they are all-round awesome. Damping is up there with BOS when things get interesting, but with the plushness on the smaller stuff of a Fox.

Mate flew with them back in July with an Evoc bag no problems.

Anyone ridden the pike against the revelations in 29r flavour? Much difference in stiffness?

Yes. Pikes are stiffer despite being a 15mm axle vs my Revs which are 20mm. This isn’t the big difference though – Pikes are in a different league in terms of damping control.

Solo – who needs 110mm on the Evo eh? You know it makes sense!! 😉

Yep got a set of the 29er ones on my Spesh Stumpy Evo and deeply impressed with them. I’d say that they have the high-speed control of BOS Devilles but with the slow-speed plushness of Fox, i.e. they feel very plush but don’t dive under braking and feel very in-control through rougher sections. They replaced a set of X-Fusion forks which I thought were pretty good, but the Pikes are on another level.
Further, they look bling, are cheaper than Fox, and are easy to set up. What’s not to like?

I like it! Got 6th place down there on Tuesday night…in the dark too! 😉

Anyone know if 29″ wheels fit in one, please?

Not easily in the older ones. Mate had to take his tyres off to get his to fit. Think the new ones are a bit bigger to be 29er compatible.

Just got back from 2 weeks with wife kids and dog in Chatel and loved it. Nice little town and not as overtly “mountain bike” as Morzine, esp the downhill element. The super-chatel gondola gives you quick access to some easy trails (and more difficult ones too), and you have the Chatel Bike Park at the head of the valley for more full-on downhill stuff.

Re: routes, suggest you get the yellow / black Portes du Soleil route guide – as has a very good selection of easy and difficult routes.

Worth a shot. I’ve got a boat-load to sell too. Might also be worth speaking to Howard at Pedal & Spoke.

Thanks for the info. Will use the Garmin on the bars so am happy for the iphone to sit in my pocket with everything disabled.

@officialtob – no, our firm has organised it, so will be 60 or so riding, setting out on Wed to arrive Sun. Good luck!!

RIP.

As others have said, was instrumental in my formative years. Mates and I would often quote the book to each other, our favourite being the cartoon of “Rushing the rise”.

If I remember correctly, the technique for dealing with the dog was to hold the frame-fit pump out horizontally in the hope the dog would bite it. When it did, lift dog into the air and apply boot to knacker-area! Thankfully I never had to use it!

Why not just buy a regular SRAM crank and run a bling-ring?

Your i.e. is correct.

TBH I found the Camber very easy to jump on coming from 26″ bikes. So much so in fact I bought one and haven’t ridden a 26″ bike since. To me, it just felt like another bike and I mean that in a good way, allowing you to get on with riding the trail. It is only afterwards you realise the impact of bigger wheels when your mates are way behind on the rooty slippery sections! By comparison, I found the SC Tallboy LT and Intense Spider Comp 29er took much more getting used to.

Re: not being able to lock the rear wheel – that will be the extra grip from 29er tyres 😉
Re: alternatives – if you want something a little slacker, go for the Stumpy FSR – awesome bikes but just don’t expect to climb as quickly.
Re: wheels – carbon wheels make an amazing difference on 29ers – much more so than on 26″ bikes. Yes they are expensive, but in terms of hom much they improve the ride, it’s a big step up.

Freeborn not in stock – they get them in from Upgrade too. I’m with gotama on this one – tell Rog I sent you!

PS What colour Yelli is yours? Seen black and pink around, and have a green myself!

LBS (Head for the Hills) ordered from Upgrade. You can see availability here…..

Upgrade

warns74….seen this…..

Evo for sale

Yep def smitten!

Running Trace forks @ 140mm on both the Evo and non-Evo. My riding buddy discussed fork choice with Bikescene and they didn’t mention any issues with running a 140mm fork with either. Front and rear feel very well balanced, and based on how stiff the frame is, I def think a 34mm fork is the right choice vs 32mm chassis.

I bought one of the carbon Evo frames from Bikescene and built it up Saturday. Build is X-Fusion forks, 1×10 XTR, and carbon Roval wheels. All-in, the bike weighs 26.2lbs with a dropper post, with the frame weighing 5.6lbs including BB and seat-clamp.

To date, I’ve only done the one ride – a 20 mile loop through the Surrey Hills taking in St Martha’s. That said, I think this bike is the one that has impressed me most for 1st ride impressions. The light weight and being a 29er mean it climbs well, esp in the climb setting on the RP23, but perhaps not as well as the Intense Spider Comp 29er I tested or other DW / VPP linkage bikes, but not far off.
On singletrack and descents though, this bike blew me away. The combination of 29er, relatively slack HA, and suspension design meant it was stable and supple encouraging v quick speeds, but what surprised me most was how fun it was. You end up looking for every lip to boost, every bank to wall-ride / hip etc, all stuff you don’t expect from a 29er.
Putting an element of science into this, Strava times were quite telling – 30 mins after jumping onto the bike, I put in a personal best down Barry Knows Best, a trail I’ve ridden 100s of times on many different bikes. Further evidence of the speed of the bike came from my riding buddy who is generally a quicker rider than me struggling to keep up on many sections of trail. In fact the bike was so quick and laterally stiff over the rocky stuff, it started to show the limitations of the Roval wheels.
As I say, this is only 1st-ride impressions, but as these go, I’m hooked and can’t wait to get my next fix! As a result, I’ve immediately sold my Ibis Mojo HD!

I should also add that the above probably also applies to the regular Stumpy FSR 29er. My mate got an S-Works version at the same time and rode with us on Sunday, with similar results as measured by Strava and general observations about his riding speed.

Worth noting that I also ride a Camber 29er and a Yelli, so this isn’t just a 29er thing! In fact one way I’ve described the bike is like a Yelli with 135mm suspension!

Purg front GC rear works well in all conditions for me on my Camber 29er.

Bought one of the Bikescene cheapy Stumpjumper FSR 29er frames myself, just came today £800 frame + headset, 130mm both ends, looks lovely, they had the Evo one in too and I took about a week to decide between the two.

Rode my carbon Evo from Bikescene for the first time on Sunday and was blown away by it! Awesome!!

Both good al-round tyres IMHO. Not sure better or worse, which would suggest go with the lightest!

Soller is an awesome location to road-ride from – what goes up, must come down 😉

Stumpy Evo 29 is what you want. Makes a Bronson feel like a toy

Just finished building mine – first ride tomorrow! Sub 26lbs for this…..

Dirt 100 Review

From these guys……

Spesh Frames at Bike Scene

Stunning vid – nose wheelie down the flight of steps just brilliant riding!

Peaslake will be a nightmare this weekend as British Orienteering Natl Champs being held there.

This is interesting as it replicates the position you tend to ride with flats. I like the way you feel more in control of the bike going downhill on tech stuff, and landing jumps places less stress on your ankles when you’re centred like this.

Rule of thumb is that Fox forks work, RS don’t. Loads of info over on MTBR forums for the finer detail though. Most cost-effective route therefore is to go out and buy a pair of 2nd-hand Fox forks of your chosen travel.

Can highly recommend a German Short-haired Pointer (GSP). One of the few dogs that are bred for their endurance. We adopted our 3.5yr old bitch last year, and she’s turned out to be the perfect trail dog, although accept this is more by luck than any training on my part!

I guess the only bit I’d be nervous of would be riding with her on busy trails. The last thing I want is someone blaming me / her for an accident, and however well trained they are, there is always an increased risk.

As to the attraction of riding with a dog, I find her great company for those rides where no-one else can make it!

Did they change the HD much?

Bit more grip and flowed over roots a bit better. Didn’t notice the marginal increase in BB height. Bike still felt v nimble. Using 2.35″ Hans Damphs (which come up big) there wasn’t much clearance around the BB but didn’t have any probs with interference on the seat tube at max travel.
Note you can only run the HD in 140 mode with 650B wheels unless you shim the shock to limit travel.
At the margin prob preferred it to 26″ mode in terms of grip etc, but was more of an experiment than something permanent, as the 26″ wheels are much better quality than the 650B wheels, and so are both lighter and stiffer, which outweighs any benefits of the 650B wheels.

Yep – stuck a pair on my Evil Sovereign and Mojo HD. Pretty much as you’d expect – a half-way house between 26″ and 29er in terms of the trade-off between chuckability and grip / steamroller effect. Actually, probably fairer to say a 1/3rd way house as is closer to 26″ in feel than 29er.
Whether or not you think this compromise is a good or a bad thing is probably down to personal taste – some will prefer to run a 26″ and a 29er, others may just want one bike and for them a 650B may well be the ideal wheelsize.