Really impressed with my DHR II so far. Granted I’m only two rides in but the 3C EXO TR version is not at all draggy and offers plenty of grip.

I’ve been running Ardents front and rear on the steel hardtail for 4 years so the DHF and DHR II on the new bouncy bike are a revelation being seriously grippy and confidence inspiring in comparison.

I must admit though, as things continue to dry up on the trails I’d like to try the Aggressor although I can’t see them being available (in 29er format) anytime soon.

I thought about stopping and taking pics on a few I occasions, especially Minton Batch, but I was having too much fun to stop. So sorry, no pics. It was stunning though…so crappy iPhone pics would not have done it justice.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. Soooo glad I took the Solaris. Such an amazing day and amazing ride.

I dropped the new bike off with Lee @Invisiframe and drove to Church Stretton. I then rode the MBR published Long Mynd route. Up Cardingmill. Across the top. Down no. 7 Minton Batch. Which, quite frankly, is the business. Up no.1 FC track then retracing the road before descending no. 9 to Little Stretton and then road back.

Top stuff. There looked to be loads more options for loops both sides of the Mynd. Shropshire looks like it has loads to offer too. So, I’ll be back with the new bike sometime this year. The campsite at Little Stretton looked a good base (there’s a pub nearby).

Thanks all. Booked in with Lee @ Invisiframe next week.

Just spec’d DHF / DHR II on the new bike. I would have preferred the Aggressor but I’ve not seen it in stock anywhere and I may switch to an Ardent (which is what I’ve got on the current bike) if the DHR II feels to draggy. The HR II on the demo bike certainly did.

Hahaha, brings back memories jambalaya, we were situated just opposite you when we stayed on Don Khon :)

Thought Anuradhapura was shite when I went in ’13. Although that’s progress for you :) Burma looks amazing and is on the list. Although our daughters conception in Marissa, Sri Lanka in ’13 has put the brakes on backpacking for a while :)

Went in 2010/11. Landed in Vientiane. Had a few days there. Headed up to Luang Prabang by bus (12 hours) and had a few days there. Didn’t bother with Vang Vieng, looked shite and full of off their face Aussie backpackers. Back to Vientiane on the bus followed by an overnighter to Pakse and morning bus to Champasak. Night there, followed by a trip to the sister temple to Ankor Wat then back to Pakse for a few days. Hired a scooter and went off exploring the countryside and little villages before heading to Si Phan Don and Don Khon for a few days. Very quiet. Very chilled. Very basic. Went a pootle round on a bike. Went river dolphin watching. Then back to Pakse for a flight to Siem Reap. There 2 weeks in total and then another 2 weeks in Cambodia. Both felt the right amount of time for me as I find it difficult to stay still when backpacking.

Dark Chocolate Hob Nobs. Although I’ve changed my mind and I now think it’s the Dark Chocolate Digestive. McVities of course.

Doug, when I get 5 mins I’ll drop you an e-mail.

Considering the same thing as we’re off in the campervan this summer (June) and I’m taking the bike.

I’m only looking for a day here and there but I’m considering being based in Luchon, Ainsa and Hondarribia/San Sebastian during the trip.

So I’ll be getting in touch with AQR, Basque MTB and I’ve heard Ainsa has great way-marked trails.

Mk1 L in Green. SLX throughout. 2×10. 100mm Floats. ProII/Flow EX wheels. Three and a half years old now and has been my only bike for at least two years.

Great bike that’s took me on many an adventure (Torridon, Ben Damph, Nan Bield, Sticks Pass to name a few) as well as tapping out the xc orientated local routes. Considered going chubby late last year but have resisted spending any more money while I consider the n+1 equation.

Good shout @TomHill, I’ll get in touch Al @ Garage. Thanks.

Considering the 38mm LB rims for my next 29er build. Has anyone had a set built in Leeds or nearby? (Or the 35mm version for that matter).

Just wondered who you had used and who comes recommended?

Would they need experience of building wheels with carbon rims or is it much the sameness as an alu rim?

There doesn’t seem a great deal of difference between 35mm and 38mm bar <2mm internal, 7mm depth and a little extra weight.

What’s only just occurred to me when watching the last episode is that it’s linked to S1.

The main character Lou’s Solverson, his daughter Molly, is the police officer from S1 and in S1 he is the café owner who talks of those series of events and murders when he was a police officer.

Love this yearly post. Brilliant work.

Rode some of these myself this year so will re-read over the weekend and add locations/names to the 2016 wish list. Top stuff munrobiker. Well done.

Loved the film. Liked S1. Loving S2. It’s been brilliant so far and Mondays episode (watched last night) didn’t disappoint. I can’t help but thinking that Hanzee was sent to kill Dodd a la Bear and Simone and ‘it’s a done deal’ (or whatever the wording was).
Although it’s also entirely plausible that the incident in the bar tipped Hanzee over the edge. His loyalty and acts for the Gerharts as for his Country still going unacknowledged and in respected by his peers. Remember Bear telling him he thought of him as a brother were as Dodd used him to conduct his dirty work with very little respect.

I realise now that going the road wheel/cassette route would also mess with rear mech. So perhaps best with 29er wheel and 11-36 cassette.

Actually would a cheap road wheel and cassette be a better option? Would my current 10 speed KMC chain work with a 10 speed road cassette?

OK. Thanks. I was hoping that a 28×1.25 trainer tyre would fit. So I was just going to buy a cheap wheel (Shimano MT15 @ £60) and put a cassette and trainer tyre in it.

Good point. I’ll check whether the Solaris dropouts are OK on the trainer.

X reg Renault 5 ‘Le Car’. 1.1 beast. Loved it. Think it cost my dad £50 to buy. He did a little work on it and I ran it for 2 years and it was faultless during that time. Scrapped it for £50 (which I regret as it deserved better) to make way for a G plate Pug 205 GTi.

Love mine. It’s 3 years old now out of the first batch of green frames and a keeper. It Is certainly not heavy.

Running Shimano SLX 2×10 drivetrain, SLX brakes, Fox 32 100mm forks, ProII/Flow EX (25.5mm internal) wheels and tubeless Ardents (2.4 F / 2.25 R).

I think it cost me £1800 to £2000 to build and its intention was to be a winter bike to save my expensive boutique carbon full suss but it’s outlived it (lots of factors to this though, 26″ wheels, type of riding and riding opportunities, etc), became my go to ride and at present is my only ride. It’s been to Torridon, Arran and the Lakes this year so very capable.

Currently toying with the idea of buying/building a B+ wheelset. I’d be quite tempted to buy a set of rigid carbon tapered forks from Exotic when they do a QR15 set too.

In summary, Do It!

Lovely bike fella. Love my Mk1. Enjoy! Any plans to go plus size?

My order has probably been lost in the post but it’s IA’s job to resolve once I’ve reported it to them. Unfortunately I’m unable to report it to them and have been trying on and off for over a week.

So, I’ll add no response on FB to my frustrating list of trying to contact Intrepid. P155po0r really.

Will try FB then as I’ve not had a response via Twitter and their feed doesn’t look like it’s been updated since April ’12

Did you receive your gilet from Intrepid Apparel honourablegeorge?

I also ordered one and got the email confirmations to inform me the order was complete (15/9) yet have received nothing. They’ve not responded to my email and the phone number rings through to VM.

Nine months selfish (travel, riding, etc.), three months selfless (voluntary work at hospitals, charities, etc.)

Yes jekkyl, I’ve had a bout of itchy shins this year. Basically I scratched them until they bled. Although they had to be scratched to this extent to provide relief.
I went to the docs and he said that my skin was incredibly dry and to moisturise them twice and day (morning and night). It worked. Simple as that really.

How much for the ProII/Asym wheel set from Cotic?

In ’12 I was lucky enough to buy a Yeti ASR5c and Cotic Solaris. Probably £4600 for the Yeti and £1800 for the Solaris.

I now only have the Solaris and although I’ve been lusting after and close to buying numerous nu skool 29er full suss’ (Stumpy, Phantom, Smuggler, Following) in the last 12 months I’ve managed to resist. I’m mainly having problems with justifying the cost of a new bike.

Although the new Yeti SB4.5c might change my mind. Think I’ve managed to work out a £5100k self build.

Before I spend lots of money again and probably start divorce proceedings I’m going to buy a B+ wheel set for the Solaris. Which might change my mind and will be considerably cheaper :)

Been looking for these too (as well as other options).

I already have a donor set of hubs from a ProII/Arch EX 9er wheelset I have and I’ve been quoted £340 for a service and rebuild using Velocity Dually 650B rims.

I’ve been in touch with Hotlines and promptly received the following:

“We’re expecting the i29 and i35 rims to arrive with us at the end of November and be with dealers at the start of December. UK RRP will be £59.99”

So, I’ll be waiting for these to be available before commencing my Solaris B+ wheel build. They should also reduce the price drastically too by £30-£40 quid per wheel.

^^^ I need to ride in Shropshire ^^^

Juice Lubes Dirty Little Scrubber and their Super Gnarl degreaser. Works a treat. Generally use once a month when I wash my bike. Most of the time I brush the crud off the bike and wipe my chain down with a cloth. Job done.

Cotic Solaris. 100mm forks. No dropper. ProII/FlowEX wheelset.

I’ve gone back to hard tails a couple of times in the last few years. Sold my 5 frame and bought a Ti Holeshot. Then recently sold my ASR5C and kept the Solaris having fell in love with the big wheels.

Switched back with no regrets. It’s a different style of riding and just as fun. As you discovered yesterday. Less to consider from a maintenance perspective too. I personally think it’s good to get back to basics. It makes you consider your riding and riding choices and you realise that you can ride everything that you rode your FS on.

I don’t think you would have any regrets with a Solaris. Such a fun, capable bike. A quicker, stable Soul if you like. I’ve ridden mine in Torridon, Ben Damph, Arran, Nan Bield and Sticks Pass this year.

I test rode a Soul some years back and although nice it didn’t set my world on fire. I bought a Solaris as an n+1 bike in ’12. A winter bike, trainer, XC bike, something to save the expensive FS, etc, etc. and quickly fell in love with the big wheels. My FS saw less and less use until I sold it last year.

I have a spare ProII / Arch EX wheelset (now running ProII / Flow EX on the Solaris) which I’m going to strip and build up a B+ set. Probably looking at £300-£350 all in but I’ll have existing hubs and rotors to use.

Intention is to swap between wheelsets depending on the ride, conditions. Having recently contacted Cotic about B+ they echo that suggesting B+ suits rockier, technical terrain wereas 29er wheels for faster, smoother rides.

Get one, you won’t regret it.

Saw it earlier. think the Large Bronson was 619 or 620 ETT with a reasonable 445 reach.

Ullswater and Lonscale Fell? Roughly two hour rides. Not too techy but a good amount of fun.

Yep. Try and go every year, weather dependent. Not great weather today but not too bad.

Rather than walking down the road and watching the parade from Cantors (like you) we decided to go straight to Potternewton Park and watch the parade leave. Then filled our boots with curried goat, jerk chicken, rice and pea for lunch before the parade returns and the crowds surge into park.

Always good. A great atmosphere and a credit to all those involved.

Not just me that’s been getting excited waiting for this to be released :)

Looks great and exactly what I was waiting for. The SI version of the SB95. Think BikeMag have an early review.