I may have answered my own question….

9mm rear axle to thru axle

flat mount brake

think that’s it though

Out of interest, does anyone know the difference between the tempest v3 and v2 ( v1 apparently was rear qr but can’t find what changed from v2 to v3)

I know, been tempted to push but today but… don’t want 2×11 and not sure about rival… had force on my last bike but that pushes me over budget…. ahhh decisions decisions.

Spoken to them…. no haggling success!

the search continues…. £1500 max budget and that’s stretching it

any other options?

cheers again everyone… Ben, your last post is a pretty convincing sell

imgetting pretty close to blowing my budget and ordering a tempest

do Planet X ever do any big discount codes?

Good point, I’m only looking for the option to run 2.1 front and 1.95 rear, for more off-road use

Thanks for replies, it’s good to hear positive experiences

just need to figure out how much I can justify spending

I was coming to that conclusion, I wish I wasn’t as the spec I’d like (but can’t afford) is available on the tempest, Sram force and 650b wheels

anyone got a mate at Planet X that can get me discount? Haha

I’m also looking for similar and ideally ti…

if anyone has spotted any bargains out there at the moment, or looking to sell…. I’d love to know

cheers

Tour du Mont Blanc…

just got back from running the tour…

last minute plan a couple of weeks ago, so we went with no real plan or prep. Plan was to see if we could run it in 3 days, carrying all our kit and tents, so we could just run and stop anywhere.

pulled it off in 3 days chamonix to montroc (and a couple of hours the next day to enjoy the views along the Grand Balcon, back to chamonix from montroc, on the fourth day)

We pulled in for a cheeky bus ride from ferret to champex, to miss one of the low level/valley sections and allow us time for all the high level variants.

running with a 15kg+ pack was hard but worth it, as we had a couple of nights in amazing spots.

i would highly recommend it, one of the best distance/adventure runs Ive done.

whole trip cost us around £400 each!

we were away for 6 days and got to hang out in chamonix and get in some of my favourite runs after we had finished, can’t believe we had the legs after running the tour.

total distance for the whole trip, tour plus two extra runs – 131miles

cheers Elshalimo, sent you a pm

on my 11-42, i had the same issue. its a big leap from the 42 down to the next one and a bit of B screw tweaking during a ride sorted it out. Silky silence now!

Exactly the same reasons i built a Fargo, Towing the youngster in the trailer or on a rear seat one day, long distance races the next and squeezing in the odd ITT. However, what i didnt realise, was how much fun it would be blasting around trail centres like a lunatic, if you lean towards the smaller frame size (to suit your size) they are awesome. It is now my only offroad bike, running 2.4 up front and 2.25 rear with a 1×11 setup, best bike i have ever owned!

or pretty much anything to do with parenthood…

etc etc

I use the hoods all the time on my roadie but on my Fargo with a set of woodchippers, I’m never off the drops. Loads of control on tech terrain and loads of fun on singletrack descents.
For my money, flared all the way if you want to ride hard off-road.

Ruka in Finland is awesome…. great accessible xc ski, decent fun piste when you fancy it. All in a quiet, fairly non commercial little Finnish resort.
I will probably do an early season visit every year now

Yep, thumbs up from me too. I’ll also replace with another when the time comes. They look pretty too with the red anodised spider

first time it happened to me it was for the last parts for a new build, delayed me 3 weeks… not happy!
Would not order from them again unless they were giving away stock for free, may even have second thoughts then!
Cant believe they can do business like that in a competitive market and survive

good call on la grave!
i did think about 7day deals too but id get bored on my todd for that long i reckon

cheers nickdavies, ill check that out
I know nickjb, i diy all our trips usually, just want an easy option this time but i feel you are right and its my best bet…

Yep….Fargo

I am loving mine, hardly used it sensibly yet, they are awesome on trail centre terrain, no problem thrashing the hell out of it but it could easily become a calm, comfy mile muncher too

Possibly…. best bike i have owned
Although, definitely out of the ctw range, sorry

+1 for – Hunt for the wilder people, mainly for the Sarah Connor comment and the birthday song!

mild hijack, as i don’t have any advice but I am also looking for a new gps, with satnav style directions.
My query, that might be a priority for you too Dabaldie, is battery life. Which units have huge battery life for multiway use?
sorry and cheers

bell peppers, cut in half and filled with halved (quality) tomatoes and covered in anchovies (the little salty buggers) and olive oil. Slowly baked in the oven….best easy tea ever!

+1 for organic bucket, he’ll be well chuffed, I would be

I’m off for a loop of the mbr on the weekend.
Will gladly report back on conditions

I’ll be there!

I am very jealous of those of you who have 15 mile odd commutes. I would love to cycle or run to work every day, year round.
I just have to figure out the best way to partially do it with my distance.

Salsa, yep exactly what I’ve been thinking, if I’m to do it more regularly that is probably my best bet.
I’m not planning on 5 days a week, that would kill me slowly over a few months, I’m leaning towards two regular days and the occasional 3rd. It may be a tough ride but it’s pretty nice, not much traffic and follows the a39 from Cornwall, into Devon.

I nearly bought a sonder Camino for different reasons, they are very nice for the price!
I have a Fargo for drop bar off road duties, so I’m after a racier bike as it will purely be for fast road.

Thanks again all
I’m usually happy with second hand bikes as it pushes boutique into my price range but for a titanium road frame I have been thinking shop bought box fresh, for the warranty. Sounds like the sensible thing
I was looking for frame only to swap all the parts onto but there are some ace deals around on full bikes, particularly the sabbath aspire. No idea how much my condor is worth though to offset it!

Cheers all,
I have intentionally not been looking at Lynskeys, as they are more than I want to pay but for £1k! I need to re consider!
Anyone own or ridden the R265?
I do like the sabbath too, although I think I would’ve leaning more towards the aspire. I’d be very interested in hearing opinions on either

We had a swb t4 before the James Cook and that was fine, so a lwb exclusive should also work for us.
The JC is just too big, we couldn’t even get it down some lanes on dartmoor and around home in Cornwall. Its like a double decker!

haha, I just sold a James Cook…. Pictonroad and ElShalimo.
They are awesome but just too big for regular use. Was perfect for 6 weeks in the Alps but no good for every weekend heading out and about and camping out with a toddler in tow. Thats why we are looking for a smaller westy, like Cali exclusive or a nugget

yep the nugget is also an option. generally just sold on the Westfalia quality and layout. Still rare to see a decent nugget over here though

For what it’s worth, if anyone has the same problem. The solution was a new chainring, my old 3/32 uno isn’t worn, it just seems it can’t handle the range of an 11speed cassette, nor the narrowness of an 11speed chain.
The new middleburn uno thick thin chainring has done the trick ( thanks BETD) and as a side note, a salsa Fargo with 2.4 tyres, appears to be the most fun you can have on a bike at a trail centre! I’m thinking it may end up being the most fun you can have on a bike on natural trails and long tours too, time will tell

Hadn’t tested the freehub as wheels were sold to me lightly used by the bike shop owner, who sold me the frame. Just assumed it was fine, seems it is!
Just got home and put markers on cassette and wheel, stamped on crank and had a right old crunch but zero movement of the cassette. Has to be the 3/32 uno chainring?

It doesn’t retain the chain all the time, it throws the chain at least every three slips
Chain is good, I even tried it with two links removed and it made no difference!
B screw adjustment is spot on too

Chainline is all good and it will slip the same in any gear

Just ordered a Middleburn UNO Thick Thin chainring, from the lovely people at BETD. Fingers crossed that will solve the problem!