Definitely not a bit too “freeridey” for an expert racer?! 😉

Would be all over it, but I’ve bruised my ribs.

probably me.

looking fast. Risers though?! :op

12 stone trail_rat?! Surely not…

Do you run tubeless? I really need to sort mine out, ghetto style.

Congrats on the race result, don’t think I’ll be getting a podium this year.

I hurt my spine riding home from lectures. My friends rode Laggan yesterday, riding Golspie today and Learnie tomorrow on a trip that I organised. Also got a huge amount of work to do. Got a brand new bike, helmet and custom Oakley Radars sat in my room (turned 21 on Wed), taunting me untily my spine gets better and my exams are over. One day.

ns surge ns surge ns surge. I rave about mine. Cheap, colourful and does everything.

Hi, if you’re after a mega budget frame, I ride an NS bikes Surge. I absolutely love this bike, but I’m just over 6′ and need to operate a 410mm seatpost. Proper rad bike and mega cheap. I’ve done big drops and 70km epics in the Alps no problem.

The Evil is my dream frame though, a chap in my club has one and it’s unreal how nice it is.

If your mate has an inside position go with him. I work for a large hotel chain and we have all sorts of rules about hair and personal grooming, no matter what role we’re in. Hair must not extend more than 2″ above the head and moustaches must not extend past the edge of the mouth, to name but a couple. It’s a bit ridiculous maybe, but there needs to be some discipline.

Everyone always appreciates a smarter person I reckon.

Awesome, thanks for the info, I got a bit worried when I saw a conversion kit for BMW bars up for sale.

Not that bad?

This is true. I’ll give it a blast and see if there’s any repositioning.

Thanks very much for all your help, it would appear I’m a bit thick. University education and all that.

Dropouts are ordinary size, and there’s a tiny bit of lateral movement when the wheel is seated. I reckon it’s a fail really. Bit of a faff though making sure the wheel is aligned properly. Gonna have to redo the brake too. Been like that for ages!

Is there a reason in particular for this? Or do I still have issues? Are photos still required?

Thanks so much so far.

It could be panic over actually, the axel seems pretty loose in the drop outs so you can adjust the wheel before doing up the QR and it seems to be ok. Is this an ideal solution?

Ok, I think I have a little bit more insight, if I push the wheel to the side when loose in the dropouts then it goes to the correct position.

It’s equal distance of bare axel showing on either side.

That’d be a negative on a buckle.

Hmmm, hope it won’t be the rear triangle.

Check it out:

That’s great, thanks. I was looking at the other DB stem, which is only available for 31.8mm bars. Reckon it’ll be the Funn for me.

Scapin?

Ha ha ha! Here’s hoping!!

Yeah, my race partner’s amazing. Notice the Ritchey WCS carbon seatpost and headset? He gave me them.

24:36 chainrings is a great combination. Been like that for a while now and never been upset by it at all. Apart from all the chain suck.

Ditto.

Third draw down. There’s usually a tool kit in the gap too with a track pump and shoes under the drawers. Bags are kept under my bed. Note, brake fluid, milkshake and isotonic drink kept along with alcohol and deodorants. Hope this helps.

Amazing. I hiked up Ben Nevis yesterday and then this afternoon I went to Dunkeld with a few uni guys on my NS Surge bike. Amazing day on the DH track.

I went up Ben Nevis yesterday and was looking at the potential for biking down it. Reckon it’d be a goer no probs on a quiet day with some slack angles and youthful ballsiness. Probably only a few sections to walk down. Getting up would be a bit more problematic, just a fair bit of shouldering.

I did Helvellyn in the summer and that was quite a bit of shouldering too, but the descent was out of this world down past Dollywagon and the like. I reckon the Ben wouldn’t be dissimilar but maybe just a bit more full on for longer. Can’t wait to try.

Don’t take it off your to-do list.

Whilst I don’t condone wearing headphones with music, I invested in a lovely pair of Sony’s here

Dunno if that worked. Had them for years and they’ve been everywhere and although they seem a tad flimsy, they’re still operating just fine despite being stuffed in pockets etc many many times.

the 55s have been slated to the max on here, in reviews, on CRC. The reliability just seems gash unfortunately. Apparently you can send them back to be fixed, but that’s just needless hastle. I was all up for gambling, but have been strongly advised against it.

Amazing Will, you’re swaying me. I’m 11st too, which one’s do you use? The 302s or 318s? I just don’t think I’ll find anything as reliable so cheap and for what I want. Just worked out the weight of my current forks: All Mountain sls and they’re 4.4lbs! The extra 2 pounds may be noticed somewhat. I’ll just lose it in other places…

That’s cool Will and I agree. I don’t think the extra weight would be that bad, and definitely not worth bunsing out for. Surely it’d make me faster on my Scale too, no Oli?! Besides, apparently I’m used to heavy forks.. :p

Some interesting comments here. Luke, I’ll have a look at Wotans…

I’m on a budget Oli and I want a 120-160mm fork with a 20mm bolt-through! These are my criterium and I thought the Domain fitted neatly. Can they really be that heavy?!

Never done this before and this is the bike’s debut appearance. I love it. Needlessly long seatpost but it flies down and up anything.

Complete with gash guard.

I would also post my scale but it’s currently having XTR cranks fitted..