Think you might have to compromise on the fork.Either scour the classifieds,for some cheap Revs or live with the weight of a Tora.
Best vfm groupset is probably the £400 SLX deal at Merlin.
I

a

s website for example……….
That of course is the other option,find a bargain,well specced donor bike,and sell the frame.

I recently had some annoying creaks which I had ,been trying my patience for weeks,and I had suspected them to be from the cranks.
In the end there were 2 causes.One was the tread of my shoes rubbing on my spds.This was cured by some grease on the pedal interface,though a more permanent cure may involve trimming the tread of the shoe with a stanley knife.The other creak was cured by a smear of grease on the seatpost.
You sometimes just have to methodically work through each,component,to get to the problem.

Used to be god at rugby,but then again I was second row,so more brawn than brain.
OK at skiing but there its a case of bravery/stupidity over skill.
Same on the bike…….:)

Needed a pi55 whilst on safari in Tanzania once.
I relayed my pee stop request, to our driver,whilst we were watching some Cheetahs.He said hold on,I will drive to somewhere a bit safer for you to get out and then I could take a leak behind the Land rover.Moved all of about 200 yards and he said OK,heres safe.

Fastest pee I have ever taken!

I wonder if the clue is in the name…..

WMB test would have given the Boardman 10 if it had different tyres.Scored 10 in MBR last year too.So much better spec wise than any other similarly priced bike.Frame is very nicely finished,too.

£12 for 50ml of mineral oil,isn`t expensive then? You can buy 100ml of Bikehuts own for a fiver….
£30 ish for two bit of plastic tube,aka brake hose not expensive….?

Must be many thousands running Shimano brakes though,which use the same mineral oil,the same hoses and small parts.

On the economies of scale thing,there must be millions of Shimano equipped bikes in the world.
With them aving a virtual monoply on many parts,I can`t see why economies of scale come into it.

Re; bottle brushes,aplogies ,that was the wrong link.How about something like:http://www.cdaquatics.co.uk/aquarium-cleaning-brush-set-of-3-p-2068.html?utm_source=Google-Shopping&utm_medium=Free-listings&utm_campaign=All

How about this bottle brush? http://www.cookability.biz/kitchen-craft-bottle-brush/b_1279.htm?SRC=GB1

Shimano chainrings is another one we should add.How is it that an XT outer costs 44t £80 yet a 32t middle only £30?
Theres not 2.5 times as much material or machining in it…….

Whyte 905 or save a ton of money and buy a better specced,bike like the Boardman Pro HT for £1k.
Hell for that money you could buy the bike and buy a steel frame for a swap with the change if thats your fancy!

Which is what puts me off.Wish they would do the vert drop out version again!

Sorry about the previous post.I am losing half the text when I post,for some reason.
Anyway why don`t XTR calipersfit?Wil an XT M760 fit,as its a similar design?

Do you get a gear hanger if you want to run a geared set up?

Whats the reason for not being able to swap stems?
Stems can be bought pretty cheap.

Old git,mines an older 2006 XTC which came with 100mm forks.Think Giant changed it for 2007 to more of a jey boy xc racer geometry,with 80m forks,now sounds like they`ve gone back to,the older design!
Seems strange as they now also have the new Talon,which is meant to be mpore “trail orietnated” too.
Still quite like the look of the XC Pro2 though.
I quite liked the idea of a white one,but there only seems to be red left in stock on CRC.Having seen the pics the red looks pretty swish.
Any better deals than £360.Saw one for £310 but no stockuntil August…..

Take a look at this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkzvfCaIbyQ&feature=PlayList&p=B503294E3FD31811&index=0&playnext=1

I have a Trek 1200 and had a similar click.Turned out that it was the bb cup slightly use.Use of an ISIS BB tool (fiver off the Wooly hat shop)and one turn of an adjustable spanner solved it.

I`m tempted by one of these to repalce my XTC frame.Are they an out and out race machine or are they comfortable enough for longer rides?

Have a read:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkzvfCaIbyQ&feature=PlayList&p=B503294E3FD31811&index=0&playnext=1
Sounds like indexing is out.Check this first and see how you go.

I have an old 531 framed bike I use for commuting.I use cheap and cheerful 700c x 25c Vittoria Rubinos whic are surprisingly tough even along the odd bit of gravel but a 32 would certainly give you a bit more cushion.I did manage to pinch flat a 700 x 25 on my best road bike the other day riding over a pothole at speed so 32 may be a good idea if you have enough clearance bteween the stays.

Think you might have to ask a friendly LBS to get creative with the invoice…….;)

Not sure how you are going to do this!
Minimum on wheels is likely to be £100,cheap bars,stem and post £60,tyres min £40,tubes £6,headset £30,saddle min £25,would imagine rigid forks would be £100,which leaves just £169 left to buy a full groupset……

You`ve been robbed……
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=369&categoryId=66

A good one is one that asks lots of questions as to how and where you ride,listens to what you tell them,and advises you accordingly.

I

o

s riding.
Any reccomendations for bike hire in the area?

Its not just Shimano who have put prices up.I was looking at the price of clothing,shoes and helmets the other day and they have all gone up too.Can

s

t imagine I would ever buy Shimano at rrp from an LBS anymore.

On a positive note I found an XT mech on ebay for £42 today,purchased some XT M760 shifters ,last week for £38 and recently got an XT cassette for £44 via Merlins ebay shop,but the bargains seem to be drying up,and those who bought stcok before the price rise mark up too.

Wiggle and CRC certainly aren

t

t have such a monopoly on bike parts I wonder if the price increases would have been kept in better check?

What

t

t go down even if the exchange rate improves,unless we all hold off buying new stuff.

Call me cycnical,but I reckon that some of the Shimano price increases,especially on XT and XTR were suggested,by therr marketing people to put them on price parity with SRAM X9 and XO parts.

The sound of a Calloway tuned Corvette at Le Mans is one of the most incredible noises,I`ve heard but its possibly beaten by the noise of a Lister tuned Jag V12,I once heard that was fitted to a hevily modifed XJS.
Your first experience of an F1 car in full cry is a pretty,special moment too.

I might be interested too.Email in profile.You know me from the old WMB forum.
Sent you an email about Woburn too.:)

Genesis Core 10

Kona Caldera for £500

XTC 3.5 for £440

Being called Peter I think its only reasonable,that I want to get a La Pierre.

I live about half an hour

d

m overdue a visit,when are you likely to be going?
I know a couple of others that may be up for a more leisurely ride too.

Here you go: EQUVQ-NK3CG
Not bought much from them for a while.Their prices seem to have got a little out of touch,with Merlin and CRC of late.At least they have for anything I have needed!

I have an 06 XTC SX.Bike came with a 300mm 30.9mm seatpost,which was too short.When I asked the supplying dealer for a longer post,they sent a 30.8 Giant branded jobbbie,via Giant themselves,so it seems even Giant aren

s

ve run both 30.9 and 30.8 in mine,and there was no discernible difference.

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2733903/

Prices do seem to be all other the place with Merlin by far the cheapest for Shimano at the moment.
I wonder how long it will be before they put theirs up to match the likes of CRC and Wiggle?

Considering that they the strength of the yen has increased by 24%,I am wondering how prices on that chainset have increased by over 60%?As you say some items seem to have almost doubled,since last year such as XT cassettes.The prices seem to have hit XT stuff the hardest.

I wonder if Shimano are using the currency angle and manufacturing costs as a smokescreen,to bring their prices up to SRAM levels.

On some road bike websites,I have noiced that in some cases it maybe chepaer to go for Campag…….

Nobody`s going to be choosing Shimano as the default choice anymore just because its cheaper.

I may well get SRAM X9 shifters and mech next time,seeing as XT and X9 are now on a level playing field price wise.

I still really don

u

t fully explain why a cassette that you could have bought for around £30 a few eeeks ago is now £63 on crc.Why is it that the recent price rises have affected the price of XT cassettes and mechs ,seemingly more than most other Shimano parts?
You can still get a 10 speed Ultegra cassette for around £40 for example?

Buy a Giant Trance X from Wiggle for £850 (plus get £50 voucher)
Sell redundant parts and recoup £2-300.Hey presto brand new frame for considerably less than your budget.

The Merlins have gone up,and been downspecced in the last week too so not the bargain they were.I

g

d get it ordered before Halfords realise!