Hi RG,sounds like we are both scratching the same itch.
For me it would be the Travers 29er+ Ti frame with their carbon fork,but you would be looking at around £1600!
How about the Stooge frame & forks at about £450 , steel so may be heavier than you want but getting good write ups.

Definitely put bolts in , but use stainless allen bolt grub screws , with a bit of locktight to stop them winding all the way in & jingling about.

How about one of these from Winstanley?

Name:
Genesis Latitude Ti 2013 Frame
Colour Options: Titanium
Frame Sizes: 17.5 & 19″

Price: GBP Sterling £599.99, Saving £650.00 (52%) on RRP (£1249.99)

Having said that I love my Ti 456 evo with 140mm forks even if the wheel size is now obsolete!

How much is the non supplied bleed kit & how often is it needed?

Thanks for the replies.
I will pop into a local shop which sells the stuff ,now I know it is a viable solution.
Cheers
Jeff

I was really tempted too,however they require 1 1/8 forks, 27.2 seat post & no iscg mounts on the bb.Looks to me as though the new 456 ti would be a better bet at only £49.99 more & a 10 year warranty. Although you do get a detachable mec hanger which is nice.

Dave at Stendec advertises that he services them & uses factory parts.
Should be worth a call.
Good luck with them.
Cheers
Jeff

If you are prepared to go a little further afield :-
JT Cycles,Chettisham , just outside Ely.
01353/667627 , ask to speak to Jerry.
He is the best wheel builder I have ever used.(mtb&road wheels)
Cheers
Jeff

I have been very pleased with the silicon sprays , I now use WD40 silicon spray which seems to shed the muck & keep every thing as clean as can be hoped for this time of year.

I am thinking of selling my 2010 medium 5 spot frame if anyone is tempted. jeffbushi@yahoo.co.uk
Cheers
Jeff

Have a word with Dave at Stendec,he services them & I have always found him to be honest & straightforward.

Brilliant feed back,thanks guys.I think the Brodie is the favorite, but I will research the Ragley & On one Evo.Not heard of Kingdom ,so will look that up too,
Not bothered about steerer tube size but it must have clearance for 2.4 tyres & mud.

The reason you are only hearing from Cotic owners is because you did not mention Cove in the title.
Having said that I bought a Handjob & built it up with 120mm Sid’s – 23.6lbs.It far exceeded my expectations ,comphtable ,fast, brilliant handling on singletrack.I do not think you would go wrong with either frame

The Kinesis is a nice looking frame , the question is how would it handle with a set of 440mm rigid forks on the front.
Cheers
Jeff

Thanks for all the feed back.The RR tyres look perfect for me.
Sorry should have said I would need a 16 to 18″ frame as I am short in the body so tt length is important.
The pace looks stunning but is too large.
I am tempted by the Cove Hand Job but cannot find out what the head angle would be with 440mm forks.
Thanks again
Jeff

Thanks for the replies,I guess the question is redundent as I have just spotted & bought a Cove Handjob for a very good price.
Cheers
Jeff

Clare here, I’ll be there squelching though the puddles with the wrong tyres.

Hi Holyzeus passed your email on , not sure when he will get it as he is supposed to be doing the Southdowns this w/e.
Cheers
Jeff

A friend of mine is about to sell his 2009 Nicolai CC frame (medium) if that is of any interest to you.

£350 to £500.
I bought a 2009 frame from stw a 2 years ago ,for £800 ,kept it for a year & sold it to a friend for slightly less.It was black anodised with an rp23 & still had some warranty on it & was the latest geometry.
You could put it on ebay & let the market decide.
Hope this helps

Thanks Richen , I will check it out when I get down there.

Glad some one else thinks so too.I just found them by chance when doing a google search for tyres.

Thanks for all the info & advice.Which Schwalbe would be a good replacement for the Maxxiss Aspen 2.25?
Cheers
Jeff

Cheers AWH , I was not sure if they would stay on in use & did not want to risk rideing the wheels with out some reassurance.

Surely some one on this forum has experience of Liteville bikes?

I have never seen one in the flesh , but they look really nice , I was hopeing a few people might have brought them in from Germany. I will be able to test ride a medium early next year ( they only have large) but was hopeing to get some other riders impressions.

When assembling the crank onto the bb axle use only a very small amount ( thin flim) of grease. If you use too much it will pack down in use & come loose.
Cheers
Jeef

Thanks Tom , I cut & pasted with out checking that I had included the link.Hope a few people saw it before it cleared the first page!

Great , thanks for the advise & encouragement , I will see my optician next week.

I made one of these a few years ago for an on one & did cut the top off the washers , the problem was that sometimes the outer washer got knocked & turned , making it less effective , & looked silly which was more important.

If you are using a gravity dropper , so you will not need to slide the post up & down why not locktight or glue the shim to the seat post?

Hi LTR – love mine , xt & xtr build with fox 120 mm forks.The most comftable hardtail I have ever riden.Some of which may be down to using a 16" frame & being 5'10" , there is a lot of (titanium) seat post to flex.
The bike loves twisty single track in this guise.
I know yours has a hard life up there in Scotland , what build is it?

Thanks for all the info.
This is a steep learning curve.
The facilities I would like are maps which show where I am, also if I was following some one local in an area I did not know , could show me the route we had been on, say the next day, if I wanted to ride it alone.
Cheers
Jeff

Hi TT , thanks for the correction.
Absolutly useless with a compass , hence my interest in a gps system for the bike.

Cheers Davy

If you guys like the Hemlock , take a look at the Ventanas , I have never seem one break & they are designed the way the Cotic should have been.
The rockers are kept as short as possible & I do not think a gorilla could cause them to flex.Also all the pivots have double bearing & you can have multiple tavel rockes.

Hi , Brian?
I have a WRS4 entry & will not be able to make the race.
If you are still interested email me :- jeffbushi@yahoo.co.uk
Cheers
Jeff

I used a use post for several years , using the medium weight elasomer / spring set up.however my knees did not enjoy the constant change in hight , so I changed to a hard set up. this was much better & still kept me disconnected from the small bumps & buzz , I always unseat for the big ones.
I weigh 11 stone.

6o this April (all pressys greatfully received ,nothing expensive , Cotic Soda , Moots softtail ect)left knee a bit "funny" & just done my rotator cuff.But as most of my riding is at Thetford I should manage another 20 years.

They only advantage of Schraedr valves is the valve core can be removed to inject sealing fluids.
Having said that Schwalebe make a Presta tube with removeable valve core so its Presta for me too.