MHW Bike House have said mine arrives for assembly next week. Paid £1550 for a 19″ SL. Hoping I don’t get the sorry, not in stock email this week.

Posted pix look great. Good upgrade on the Pro. Makes a lot of sense. Couldn’t resist the DT Swiss wheels and full XT. Heard SID can be a little flexy. Will see.

MHW Bike House have said mine arrives for assembly next week. Paid £1550 for a 19″ SL. Hoping I don’t get the sorry, not in stock email this week.

Posted pix look great. Good upgrade on the Pro. Makes a lot of sense. Couldn’t resist the DT Swiss wheels and full XT. Heard SID can be a little flexy. Will see.

Will see. Thanks for the tip off. Was getting conflicting responces re delivery week. Ordered a 19″ SL.

Just ordered mine – 29 GTC SL from MHW Bike House – £1585 including delivery.

A road bike is great for mixing it up.

All depends on your local roads though. Cycling in heavy traffic is pretty awful but on scenic b roads it can be amazing.

Wear what you feel right in. Lycra is comfortable and practical.

Carbon repair company – A few common sense ideas you might like to think about!

Excellent for cleaning cables and cable housing (if you reuse them).

Also handy for polishing titanium frames – mud and dust just falls off. Keep it well clear of brake pads, rotors and tyres.

I have a pair of DHB bibs[/url] which I really like. Very comfortable and great value for money. Because I am tall, I went for a size up – bit more room than a race fit.

not hugely strong when subjected to force from angles they were not designed for

Yip!

Need to be very careful with carbon for this reason. Lots of damage caused by car racks. Also repair stands.

Yes. Very good.

Focus on kicking your heals out. Practice a few times.

This is the thread I started: Hope Pro 3 hub problems

Seems like the new design isn’t as good as the previous one.

It’s taking a long time but it looks like Hope are sorting mine out under warranty. The bearings are worn too.

Tempted by this Scott Spark 40 – any good?

@rickon Thanks for the tip re a hobby vice mate. Great idea.

I think the tools are needed for reassembly – Hope video

Sometimes TK Maxx have sports classes for dead cheap. I got a really great pair of tinted Speedo glasses for around a tenner.

Also got Bolle clear safety glasses which work well.

Can you now tell us who manufacturer/model is?

I’m a New Zealander living in the UK and I love it here. Access across farm land always amazes me. If you walk across private land in NZ you are likely to be confronted by an angry farmer with a gun!

This country has some brilliant riding, often right on your doorstep. It’s just a case of moving to the right spot.

hope changed the endcap design – there is now a gap / hole between the cassette and the outer freehub bearing – the race / bearing seal is now easily visible (and to the weather).

It took some questioning, but the tech said he sees lots of the newer Hope hubs with precisely this issue.

Yes, this is what the bike shop guy said. Planning to service them myself and will buy the tools recommended by Hope.

Don’t have a vice so hoping I can pull off the end caps with vice grips. Anyone got any tips re removing them?

@velomanic. If flats are what you like then you have every right to use them! The great thing about bikes is you can customise them the way you like them.

I rode flats on my GTC Pro 26 for about six months before going to spd. Really like them now but they did feel pretty scary at first.

A tip: carbon downtubes can be a little vulnerable to rocks flicking up from the front wheel. My second carbon frame was damaged beyond repair in this way. A cheap plastic crud catcher can help deflect some of this.

Happy riding!

@velomanic How is the fork? Much flex? Why did you put flats on it?

Thanks for the feedback. Reassuring.

How often do you strip theme down, clean and regrease the free hubs?

Still bomb proof? Mine have failed after 6 months.

Yes, I am asked for it to be sorted under warranty. Still a little concerned that this will be an enduring issue…

@compkiler – let us know what you think of it when it arrives!

Did you order it from MHW Bike House / another German company?

VERY, VERY tempted myself. Mate of mine says the Pro is a better option as Rebas have less flex and XT wheels are very solid for the money. What do you think?

To ‘make the rocking world go round’? 😆

Free to the uk. Very tempted myself now! Wonder about size. I am 6″ and have a 20″ frame in my 26er. Wonder if the 21″ frame would give more options in terms of stem/fit…

http://www.mhw-bike.com/mountainbikes/29er/545/?c=208

By the way, if you are considering importing from MHW Bike House – email them and barter.

I saved over £300 of the UK price by doing this. Figured if anything went wrong I would have some room to move with local repairs. Turned out their support was great anyway.

Loved my GTC Pro and love my Elite HPT Pro (titanium) frame even more. Brilliant bikes.

Not sure about that.

The citrus degreaser certainly broke it down. The chain sparkled after cleaning it. Once dry it also seems to repel water.

We need a chemist!

I have the footage but wont be uploading it for sometime. Makes for a good watch!

Come on, upload it! Class 🙂

Was grumped at by an older women in group ramblers on a tow path for ‘not using your bell’. I had but she din’t turn her hearing aide up that morning.

Made a point of ringing the bell continuously as I rode back past them on the way home. I think I made my point 🙂

I assume you are looking for super light skewers?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28607&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/a2z-Titanium-Quick-Release-Mountain-Bike-Skewers-Blue-/310364081349#vi-content

http://aspirevelotech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TI-QR-SK-MTB

Let us know what you end up buying and what they’re like…

Yes, when horses approach I always slow down and check with the riders to see if they are ok with bikes.

Ramblers in groups can get a little domineering. Suspect it’s that time in life 🙂

I had a Reaction GTC Pro 26er. Imported from German company[/url]. Much cheaper than local and get this…. much better support when things went wrong.

Replaced a cracked frame no questions asked. Also paid for re-installation costs. Sold me a crash replacement ti frame for £600 once I snapped that one. Superb.

One word of caution. Carefully check the spec of the wheels which is where Cube (and others) tend to save money. Had lots of hassles with SunRigle hubs. Again MHW sent me a new hub.

1st rule of sharing trails, get in there first with a cheery ‘hello’. It helps to break down tensions and is quite disarming.

Absolutely agree.

Find most people are very considerate and polite. I try to do the same.

Asked a dog walker to pick up their poo today. Gave her a plastic bag and explained that it’s pretty horrible getting it in your tyres and then all over you. She didn’t look too pleased but did pick up the crap.

If the cycling industry didn’t cater for overweight, middle aged, single, IT managers with lots of disposable, then there really wouldn’t be much of an industry and those of us left would have to go beck to riding hardtails with 100mm stems and purple anodised bits. In that regard, if this frame failed due to “too many pies”, it’s clearly not fit for purpose.

Yes, pies are a good thing. Bring back the pies 🙂

Light cloud, dry and cool in Bradford today. Trails seriously drying out.

That’s what made my winter interesting. I quite enjoyed the sliding around in the mud

Me too! The moors I ride on get very boggy so even with the mud tyre I have both front and back sliding about. Really good for balance.

Simply wouldn’t get around with the racing tyres.

When I had a carbon frame, I used a crud catcher in the hope it would protect the down tube from flying rocks.

Can anyone recommend a good mudguard set for an XC HT ?

SKS make some very good light guards.

I have these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25802&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25798