For uplifts/ alps trips etc I wear a POC VPD jacket…something like that will offer a lot more protection than those roost guards

Race face flank, very well protected on the knees and they cover most of the shins. I even use them on the DH bike but on a trail pedal I hardly notice that I’m wearing them

Thank you – sounds like I already have aluminium nipples without realising it

Thanks everyone for clearing those terms up. I thought that CL must be centre lock but SP and XM had me stumped.

I’ve taken a look on fit wheels which looks pretty good. I think I can just about stretch to EX511s on 350s.

The one thing that slightly bothers me though is that it looks like fit wheels use aluminium nipples. It’s a number of years ago but I was always told to avoid aluminium nipples. Are they okay or should I avoid?

I possibly need a bit of education here on some of the DT Swiss terminology.

Firstly are EX511s the same rims as on the EX1501s please?

Also I keep seeing the terms CL and SP on some of the DT wheels, what does that mean please?

Cheers

Thank you – E1700s look to be a good bet, although out of price range. I’ll have a look around for some deals

Pace rc627?

I wear the race face flank guards which are knee with an integrated shin guard. Can’t recommend them highly enough, super tough and I don’t notice I’m wearing them

Just had the same thing my 36s. Suspension tuner sent them to Fox and the Fox turnaround was over 2 weeks

How about up the budget a bit, but use cycle 2 work so you save?

In my experience versus other bike parks, Whistler offers a much better mix of trials for everyone. If you like the big jump trails, then you have the trails such as a-line, but then you also have the easier technical blue trials and a whole host of decent black trails such as Missfire and No Joke which I seem to remember were highlights. Morzine is great but lacks variety vs Whistler, especially on technical trails, although it is a few years since I’ve been.

I was a bit worried there wouldn’t be enough at Whistler for a whole week but there is definitely enough variety to keep you busy. Even some of the green trails are good fun.

Out of interest for anyone who has a large, what height are you please?

I’m running 40mm stem on the full suss with 780mm bars. So I could go for a 35mm or 32mm stem on the XL pace I guess to help out

TheGhost – Thanks for sharing that, really interesting article. I always thought that spacers and high rise bars achieved the same thing! This means that on my fs Bike, as I have 30mm of spacers, then the reach has been reduced by 12mm.

Therefore I think my 495 reach bike is a fair bit smaller than the XL pace with its 504 reach, by the time you take the spacers into account

Thank you both. Sounds like that’s 2 votes for the XL then.

TheGhost – I do tend to run my bars relatively high. On my fs bike that has a stack of 602mm, I have added 3 spacers and my bars are 30mm rise

Given I had a few questions I got through to Pace today and they were really helpful. Sounds like they do have some stock.

I’m therefore ready to order but torn between the L and XL. The recommendation from Pace, given I’m just over 6 foot 2 was to get the XL, but I’m worried that’s going to be massive. I don’t care about climbing, either size will be fine for that I’m sure, but for steep descents I’m just worried about the growth in reach due to sag.

Anyone with a large or XL how tall are you please? And how do you find the sizing when riding steep stuff?

Thanks for the offer but I’m probably going frame only. If that changes I’ll give you a shout

Thanks again. Maybe on second thoughts then I will stick with 150mm as i guess anything bigger starts to affect things like reach.

I’m not sure on the sizing but once I figure that out I think I’m going to press the button on it early next week

BTW if you say you have 150s in there, do you reckon it would be ok with 160s?

As I like Grip 2, I had planned to get a set of 150mm Grip 2 36, until I found out there is no such thing and Grip 2 is only 160mm and above in the 36.

Thank you, that’s good to hear

Can anyone help on this please?

Sorry for the thread hijack but I’m now also looking at one of these.

For anyone who’s running the L or XL, do you find the standover to be low enough please? The top tube looks a little high vs other frames I’m looking at (Blue pig, Kingdom). Also same question please on the seat tower, is it ok or do you find it gets in the way?

Cheers

Yes that’s pretty much my bike, same geometry, although mine is the separate frameset.

That site is really good, thank you!

If at all possible I think the solution will be to try and demo some. Unfortunately both Pace and Ragley are a long way from me but it might be possible with the Kingdom.

Thanks for all the info Ta11pau1

My bike is 2018 Reign carbon in XL. They don’t specify an ETT, but the top tube length is 680mm. I didn’t think ETT was a good indicator of size though?

Interesting that you’d say you would go for the XL Kingdom at your height, as you’re only half an inch taller than me. I think it was an fs I’d go for it, as its only a small leap from my 495mm reach Reign.

But the point that a few people have made above on the reach ‘growing’ with sag on hardtails is whats holding me back. A 504 reach for example on the Pace or 503 on the Kingdom is probably ok, but may be too much if its going to grow 10-20mm with sag.

Thanks honourablegeorge.

I’ve taken a look at the Pace 627 which seems to be a good option, at a similar price to the Ragley. Although I think the Ragley is the better looking frame, which is always a factor when you’re parting with a load of cash!

Thanks everyone, appreciate all the input.

Joebristol/tau11pau1 that makes total sense what you’ve both said about the reach getting longer on an HT once sag happens. I didn’t think about that but it makes total sense.

I’m still torn between the 480mm reach and 503mm reach. Which do you think is more suited to my height please for a HT?

The best thing of course would be to try a few, but that’s easier said than done, especially at the moment

I’ve used J tech recently and have been pleased. I’ve been less impressed with TF so will be using j tech in the future

My mate has one, think it’s the 2018 or 2019 in carbon. Having had a few goes on it rides well and he seems loads quicker on it. Really good choice if you get one

Thanks everyone for explaining, makes sense now

Thank you, and I thought it would be something like that, although the numbers on the graph don’t quite make sense then.

Take the Reign 27.5 on that graph, it starts at a value of just over 3, then by the time the wheel has moved 10mm, the value on the y axis has dropped to 2.95 approximately. I read that as the shock moving 0.5mm and the wheel moving 10mm, which surely is completely wrong?

zezaskar – is that the v1 or v2 sentinel that you tried? I’ve heard that the blowing through the travel has been fixed on the new one

Thanks for that Sir HC – useful site

I’m tempted by this at some point, due to the cost difference. The one thing that would hold me back though is the Shimano brakes, I would want to keep my guides/codes. Is it possible to get a matchmaker that will allow a SRAM brake to mount to a Shimano shifter?

I have a smash pot for sale that came out of a Lyrik . If that’s compatible and you’re interested let me know

I have a set, they’ve been excellent for 2 years.

I did think the 30mm referred to the external width but I could be wrong

I’m considering the m2 so also interested to hear from anyone who has one.

Also would be good to hear of anyone who has the new Deville, always liked those having had 2 sets

CRC are awful, I’ve stopped using them since the wiggle takeover.

I can certainly see why you’d be annoyed about this. Probably a case of buying from a more reputable company next time.

Personally I can’t stand it. I don’t mind doing it 1 day a week, but the lack of social interactions and not getting a change of scene each day is a problem. For certain work I’m also more effective face to face, so it’s not ideal. I hope it doesn’t become the norm.

I always thought they were fairly on par with each other. Stiniog certainly has its fair share of technical steep tracks given it has a black and double black

I’ve got the dhb ones and also the race face flank with removable d30 pads. Very pleased with both