I’ve tried the Green Oil chain oil, grease, bike cleaner and chain degreaser. The cleaner and degreaser work fine and i use them regularly. The grease is fine for general stuff Like assembly but i wouldn’t use it where performance is important like in bearings. i think The chain oil is a too light for wet riding and i prefer wax based lubes for dry conditions and so it hasn’t been used much – only on my town and pump track bikes.

I’ve been using a wolftooth remote with tech 3 levers for a while. I don’t know of the design has changed but mine didn’t work without some mods. The remote came with a 4 mm bolt and an aluminium square nut that fits behind the lever clamp. This required a bit of filing to make it fit well and have a solid connection for the dropper lever. Later I stripped that in a crash and replaced it with a hope square nut. These take 5 mm bolts and so I had to drill out the the hole on the dropper lever to allow a 5 mm rotor bolt to fit. Great dropper lever once it’s attached though.

I rode a blackbird for a year. It was good and did everything well. I think the chainstays were a bit on the short side but that also comes down to style and preference. Unfortunately I broke the front triangle but the warranty was really good; they sent me a new frame as soon as they saw the photos.

I tried it with a sram gx 11sp shifter and a hope cassette because the sram mech wasn’t coping well with the larger cog on the cassette. It worked but wasn’t as crisp as the sram in the higher gears so I took it off.

You’re welcome to have my mech for postage if you want to try it.

Lots of good biking within a few hours drive. My favourite areas are:

The Vosges, just over the border in France about 2 hours away. There’s a reason so many of the worlds best riders come from this region – the trails are technical and fun and the dirt is perfect.

The Jura. The French Swiss know how to make good trails! the best trails in Switzerland are in this region.

Davos / Klosters is really good for natural trails accessible by lifts and the area is really behind biking. Seems expensive but lift passes are normally free if you stay overnight there.

Nauders / Reschenpass in Austria is another area that is really supporting biking and trails. Really fun trails that are well marked and some lift access.

If you want to go to a bikepark then the closest to Zurich is in Chur – the Alpen bikepark. I think it’s one of the best in the area – 900 m of drop and trails that are not over built. Much better than Lenzerheide that is just down the road.

That said my two previous bikes (Banshee Runes) both cracked in under 6 months so 18 months is not too bad!

The sensor is a little different – it doesn’t have this small dogbone that the sanction has which is where the bushings keep wearing out.
It’s more about the type of riding than the miles. Rough fast descents are what kills it so over last winter I didn’t have a problem because my local trails are not so rough but a few big alpine trips and races is enough to destroy it.

I’ve had one for about 18 months. It’s been properly thrashed in a lot of races. Basically it rides fantastically – really well balanced. It’s not the best peddaller. it’s pretty good but I notice when I forget to put the climb switch on the shock on. There is one big issue though and it’s that the shit little idrive system eats bushes. To have no play would mean replacing them every 2 or 3 months for me. And when a little play starts then it makes the chainring wear out faster. Really annoying. I tend to live with a bit of play and replace them around 3 times a year. So although I’m really happy with the way it rides I wouldn’t get another or another bike with a similar system.

My pikes did this and I thought it was the steerer but it turned out to be the cartridge had come a little loose, so I suggest to check the damper and air top caps are tight.

Link to my first cracked frame:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-ry6X-1naBmTWJ2TzFybUF2bFU/view?usp=sharing

It is a crack or it will crack soon anyway as it’s a Banshee. I know of 5 runes (2 of them my bikes) that have cracked in the same place after a couple months use. Warranty replacement has been good but it seems to be a design flaw instead of a quality issue and they have changed the bracket for 2016.

The previous rune (2014/15) has a poorly designed shock mount that makes the downtube prone to cracking near the top welds. I cracked two (a 2014 and a 2015) in the same place in a matter of months and know of a few others that have cracked there. The frame was replaced under warranty no questions asked but I had to wait a few weeks because they were out of stock. The 2016 model has a re-designed mount that should solve the problem. Bearings are not that well sealed but are cheap and easy to replace.

Although the GTs look like single pivots they behave quite differently because most forces from the rider are acting through the BB. The design results in incredible performance when breaking and pedaling over rough ground and a very laterally stiff rear end.

I was actually amazed by the performance when I first got my sanction – under braking the suspension remains far more active over rough stuff than my Banshee rune or my horst link downhill bike.

Normal patches are a bit weak and tend to bulge out on bigger cuts. I’ve used these with good success on holes up to about 1 cm http://www.rematiptop.com/part.php?pid=58&cid=6&sid=4

I fit the olives over the braid, after stripping the plastic cover. Still can be a pain but a new olive and tape around the hose before cutting helps.

Are all your chainring bolts tight? I had a clicking sound once when one of the bolts was not tight so when I was in a low gear and the loose bolt was near the top the chain pulled the ring away from the spider slightly and when it sprung back it made a clicking sound. Also possible if your bolts have bottomed out so they feel tight but the ring is still slightly loose.

The end cap comes off with the cassette on and, unless you have a very deep lockring tool, you’ll need to take it off. It can be stiff to pull so I normally need to use molgrips and line the jaws with some rubber to prevent cosmetic damage.

Really don’t try to use the tool if it isn’t fully engaged because you’ll break the cassette.

My rune is a 73mm BB so there shouldn’t be any spacers on the non-drive side. Not sure if the spitfire is the same.

I’ve done a few races with a full face and it’s really not an issue for the ups – either carry a 2nd lid or just get on with it. There’s a lot of rucksacks out there that hold helmets really securely so that they aren’t noticeable on the downs. I would wear one even if it wasn’t in the rules, and I noticed many pros do as well, because it’s quite easy to crash when racing and any crash at speed can result in a smashed face.

I can only speak about hans dampf on the rear and my general opinion is they are not the best option out there. I managed to rip all the centre knobs off one in a weekend, effectively turning it into a semi-slick. Also they tend to lose grip in spectacular fashion at a certain amount of lean. Maxxis minion or Michelin wild grip’r are much better for grip and life time.

and yes a 36 tooth deore cog will work with the XT cassette. You’ll just have to cut the pins that hold it together.

yeah it’s a bit pricey and ended up working out 15 quid more than the hope one. It is wearing well though and I’m not convinced the hope would work on 9 speed because of the overhang on the last cog of a 10 speed cassette.

Manning up is my go to option but there will come a time when you do a big ride where the mind wants to get up the hill but your legs just won’t be able to turn the cranks and having a lower gear would have saved that little bit of strength that could see you up it without walking. It happened to me the first time I did a day with more than 2000 m of climbing – I just couldn’t pedal up the last 200 m steep slope.

I’m currently using an 11-39 cassette made with an Actiontec 39 cog, SLX cassette and 2 Miche cogs to give 11-13-15-18-22-26-30-34-39. Shifting is good enough but not as good as a normal cassette on and off the 2 Miche cogs.

Probably not without modifying it. The spacing will be slightly too large between the cogs because 10 speed cassettes overhang the free hub a bit and so you might have to take a bit off either the hope cog or spider to get this right for 9 speed. You’d then have to add a spacer on the inside to get the right stack width so there isn’t any play. Then there’s the supports which look too high for a 34 tooth cog and might interfere with the chain.

It doesn’t sound easy to get it perfect but might be doable.

I think it’s true that larger size allen keys are longer because larger bolts are often done up tighter. I don’t believe the flexing thing though as the components can very too much for such a general rule.

I’ve only used torque wrenches when doing things where the correct torque and tightening sequence are really important, like cylinder head bolts. I’ve never used one on a push bike because it’s far easier, and probably more accurate, to nip it up and go ride. If you get movement or play nip it up a bit more.

Agreed, though I do wear helmets as I’ve seen too many minor accidents turn nasty and only with folk with no helmet!

That’s the difference between gloves and helmets – in the worst case a helmet can save your life whereas gloves will only prevent a few cuts and grazes.

Anyway I agree with crikey – a lot of safety stuff is over the top. I don’t always wear a helmet because I know there are times when the risks are almost non-existent.

Here’s a thought: Racing drivers always wear helmets but do you when you drive to the shops, despite knowing that people die everyday in car accidents? It wouldn’t be much hassle, just keep it in the car. It could save your life but the chances are so small there are millions of other things you should be concerned with first.

my experience may be unusual though.

I dunno – I bought a juicy 7 last year for 30 quid, slapped it on the bike and went out riding. All I’ve done to it in a year is check the pads and it’s performing pretty well. Mates can’t believe how powerful it is, although it takes a bit of getting used to to achieve any modulation.

I’ll throw another into the mix – IXS slope series pads. Really comfy, lots of protection, light weight, stay put and don’t slip. Also relatively cheap at £50.

I have friends who used to use wires and cable ties but they didn’t work too well. If you go for the PVC tape job then try and get some decent quality tape. I bought some stuff which was pretty cheap from the £1 store and it didn’t work as well. Also give it plenty of time for the petrol to evapourate before you try them out – overnight is ideal.

I come from a motorcycling background, mainly trials riding, and never had heard of lock on grips before starting mountain biking and my initial thought was why do you need them? I never had problems with grips sinning and used to ride in far wetter and muddier condition and put a lot more torque through the grips on my trials bike than I do on the mountain bike. I have also noticed a lot of pro downhill riders don’t use lock ons (Hart and Ragot to name a couple). So there must be some advantages and I think the main one is more rubber for the same thickness or a thinner grip for the same amount of rubber.

I was taught a trick to put grips on when I was younger by my dad who used to be a pro-rider. I add a layer of doubled up PVC tape to the bar and then swirl a bit of petrol around the grip to slide it on. It takes a few hours before it’s ready but after that it won’t spin. It’s worked for over 40 years so can’t really see myself changing to lock-ons.

Hopefully this diagram from hope will help explain the system.
http://www.hopetech.com/webtop/modules/_repository/documents/ProIIEvoFrontExploded.pdf

Doing up the axle clamps the two 20mm spacer (no. 6), the two inner races of the bearings (10) and the centre tube (2) between the lip on the axle and the left fork leg. The right leg doesn’t have to be against the hub and just clamps onto the axle.

So if everything is clamped up like above then the only way there can be play is if the outer races of the bearings move relative to the lower ones.

If it isn’t properly clamped (eg. the axle has bottomed out in the fork before claping the components) then the inner races can move on the axle. If the axle is bottoming out then it can be fixed by putting a spacer between the lip on the axle and the hub.

You should not try and clamp the fork legs together – it’s not the way the system was designed and will be a temporary fix at best and will ruin your forks at worst because the stanctions will wear unevenly.

The step in the axle is meant to push up against the hub spacers and hold the inner races of the bearings in place. It doesn’t have to line up exactly with the fork which then clamps onto the axle.

It doesn’t sound like an axle problem from your description as you can screw it in further without the wheel in, so it should be clamping the inner races in place. If it’s not then the bearings haven’t been fitted properly. If it is then the bearings have play and need changing.

I can only speak about my experience based on hope hubs but if everything is set up correctly then the only place side-to-side movement can occur is between the inner and outer race of the bearings and a new set of bearings completely solved it for me.

I’d look carefully at your set up and try and work out exactly where the play is happening.

I had this problem with 36s and Hope hubs – small amount of side-to-side play when everything was done up. Either the bearings aren’t seated properly in the hub or they are worn and need replacing.

With hope hubs the axle pushes against the spacer, which pushes against the inner race, connecting tube, other inner race, other spacer and left fork leg. If the axle is done up, and the bearings correctly fitted, then the only place that play can occur is in the bearings. If the bearings aren’t in all the way then there are gaps in the system which makes the play worse. If the bearings aren’t fitted properly then doing up the axle tighter or using the right leg to compress it will help, but the only way to get rid of it is to check the bearings are pushed in all the way and if so then put in new bearings.

Using the right leg to compress the bearings isn’t a good idea as it won’t be running straight and will, likely, wear unevenly.

The design fox use is quite common – it’s almost identical to what was used on my trials motor bike back 10 years ago.

I’d check the bearings are seated properly – give them a good whack and also check if the connecting bar is loose. If they are then it depends if it’s noticeable when riding – if so then new bearings are the only fix.