Strokers are notorious for having sticky levers! all our rental bikes last season had stroker brakes and each one had the same problem.

if its the problem I'm thinking of, then this is how to fix it:

unscrew the reach adjuster so the lever pivots freely, and the rod pushing the lever piston in is just held on with the circlip. Then take off the circlip (this isnt a standard size, so you'll have to experiment with circlip pliers!) with a cotton swab apply some KY jelly (no one will beleive its for your bike!!) around the piston and gently press it in and out a few times, wiping away the dirty lube and applying fresh stuff, keep doing this until its feeling smooth again. you have to use a water based lube such as KY, as mentions earlier other oil based things can make the seals swell and make the problem worserer. be careful with the circlip as they're delicate and can only take being undone a certain number of times before they wont sit in the lever properly. better to make sure the lever is running smoothly before you put it all back together again!

It may appear at first as if its the pad end of the brake causing the problem, but from experience it normally isnt!

I have had 2 bikes posted back from the USA for me, and neither were held for import duty or any such stuff.

Both of them were mine and I had ridden them whilst over there, but I didnt fly back with them. Technically I wasnt doing anything illegal, however customs didnt know that. If you could get the seller to put your name as the 'sender' and 'receiver' then it may look more credible, but only if you're sure the seller is a genuine person who isnt going to rip you off.

as for price, factor in about $130 for shipping a bike over here, and thats without insurance (if anyone knows of any cheaper shipping deals then please let me know!). regarding frame/fork combos; a friend got charged the 14% import on a frame/fork set, but successfully argued his case and got it taken down to 4.7%, again arguing will be easier to do if you're not doing anything underhand in the first place!

1. Use the search (its all been said before)

2. the answer is always the same: single specific ring, and a chain guide (MRP 1.x or E.13 XCX) but a front mech will work. bash isnt needed.

3. recommended ratios will be a 32-36t ring with an 11-34t cassette, depending on your local hills

4. Do it! you wont regret it

Unfortunately bike stuff more than a few years old does sell very well, especially forks where technology moves pretty fast. I would think you could get much more than £50.

If I were you, Id hang on to them – marzocchi's from that period were pretty reliable and should outlast most other things on your bike!

iRaq?

A few of the strokers werent very well bled from the factory, so it may be worth bleeding them yourself just to make sure that isnt the problem. other than that, make sure the pads are parrallel to the rotors can help, but otherwise I'm out of ideas.

Oh, and when you bleed them, make sure you rotate the lever up and down through about 180 degrees to get all the bubbles out of the nooks in the lever. not the best design if you ask me, but I have found that with a bit of persistance they can be a REALLY good brake.

I know its not an entirely relevant comparison, but look at the way Sam Hill et. al. ride; right over the front. with your body weight over the front tyre you have way more control in corners as you're loading force into your tyres allowing them better grip. a big bike like the pig has enough suspension up front to handle your body weight being up there… try running your forks a bit stiffer if not!

DONT DO IT!!! weights need to be so tightly controlled to prevent injury in a fully developed adult, let alone a growing lad.

I was racing national standard 800m when I was 15, and started doing weights; now I have a screwed up posture.

If you can find a highly experienced coach who will give 100% one on one supervision, then it would be a great way to start learning correct technique, but keep it to a broom stick rather than a weights bar.

Neither football or cycling require a significant amount of weight training anyway; better things to suplement training with would be stretching, drills, plyometrics and more stretching.

SX trail – longer and lower, but heavier frame. brilliant bike, but I would NEVER ever want to pedal one up hill

Scratch – a little bit more upright and shorter top tube for the size, I havent ever ever pedalled one up hill, but the one I rode felt more capable of doing so than an SX trail.

I wouldn't worry too much about the SX being 'proven' as the scratch uses the same suspension as the 88 and the remedy, both of which people love.

think it may just come down to price or looks if I was choosing again.

I'm in the last year of a 4 year degree, and £10,000 a year would be a dream! I'm at Bath, and would say that a lot of people do have that kind of money to spend, but its definately not needed.
heres my breakdown;
£3300 Tuition
£3840 Rent – £3000 on student loan, rest down to me
£2000 Living (£165 a month) – bank of M+D

This is in Bath, one of the most expensive places out of london. I would say anywhere from 6000 – 8000 a year would be plenty.

after all, I still have enough left for the occaisional bike kit purchase!

I think the whole (distilled) point is, that if Marc's trip cost £25,000 then why did he only raise £20,000 for charity? Especially now thats he's endorsing companies who could loose 10 times that much and not even blink.

I dont agree with his anger and bitterness, but I do think if you take that away then he's raising a valid point.

We get lots of lone travellers heaading our way – they always seem to fit right in with people around at the time. I think if you're the sort of person brave enough to book a week by yourself, then you wont have a problem being brave enough to make some new friends. Mountain biking is a pretty social sport – specially when you get to sit in a gondola and yak away on the way back up!
go for it – you'll meet plenty of people

You'll need to clean the pads with something stronger than muc off – try methylated spirit or pure ethanol – neither leave any residue. also with some sand paper gently scrub the pads to get rid of the surface layer. do the same for the rotor too and see if the problem remains.
if so, then try bleeding the brake again with the super clean rotor and pads. if they still go spongey you've got a leak.

Are you running HT2 cranks or similar? Non drive side bearings wearing out before driveside is a sign that you're over tightening the preload cap on the crank and putting too much pressure on the bearings. I couldnt work out why the non drive side would go first until I talked to a friendly shimano mechanic at a race this summer.

Hi Clarky, We're based just over the hill in Kitzbuhel and I would say Austria is a great choice. I have guided from kitzbuhel for two full seasons now, and I still havent ridden all the singletrack in the area. the benefit of Kitzbuhel over Saalbach is there tends to be more alternative activities going on in the summer, and also the night life is pretty good.
if you want any general info on the Tirol, or anything specific then just drop us an email.

Chris

If you're only using the bike for racing, what about a 1×9 set up?

I race with a 36 tooth front ring and an 11-34 cassette. it will work out lots lots lighter (I took off about 500g) and cheaper too as you get to sell all the bits you take off!

1. does the chain skip when you select a gear? if yes, re-index gears and go from there. if no;

2. change cables. still a problem?

3. how old are is the chain/cassette? if they're pretty worn together, shifting wont be so crisp. not fixed yet?

4. spring in mech is gone.

hope that helps!

Good news – I finally got my refund today, over 2 months since I placed my order!!

I placed to order on October 3rd, Cancelled it on November 18th, and got my money back today.

I'm pretty sure both my mobile and landline numbers had been blocked (or marked to be ignored!) as the only way I could get through to them was by ringing them on random payphones and other peoples mobiles! my emails went unanswered too.

so in short, avoid. If anyone else has had similar experiences, please ring Windor trading standards; they have an investigation open at the moment and the more evidence the better. This shop needs to be closed down.

Exercise.

I know it can be extremely hard to get out the door when feeling low, but even a 30 minute cycle around town will perk you up. Try jogging too – less time and faff than cycling so you could get a good sweat going in 20 minutes.

I have a new i20 which is the next one up. cant fault it; scrapped my old car to get the discount and I'm glad I did. drives great, can easily get 45mpg just driving around town and the dealer was excellent (not that I've been back since I got it).
go for it!

Good advice from Retro. steer clear of the tst2.

Not that I'm bias, but Kitzbuhel, Austria is the place you should be heading!

Guy – send me an email with some pictures and details and have a look. I've been offered Tang's roadrat which seems unbeatable at the moment.

lightman – cant think of anything worse for going touring on! looks good for bringing the shopping back on though. I was more thinking of a light but sturdy bike with skiny tires, just like the roadrat and sutra.

I'm planning on riding from North Devon to Plymouth, then Roscoff to Croatia via Northern Italy. its still in the early stages yet, but I graduate in May and need something to look forward to!

PP – thats a nice find and the sort of thing I'm after, I dont think I will be needing front and rear racks… just the back ones and a rucksac should do me fine… we'll see though!

I've had bad halfords experiences, so I'm staying away from carrera for that reason rather than any other, I'm sure they're decent bikes.

Hi Tang – yep send me across some pics I would be interested to have a look

anyone else got any suggestions of things I should include and things to look out for?

Yea I've just been on with my bank and will be getting a new Visa debit card as soon as possible. Maybe I've just had good luck before, but I've never previously thought about needing a credit card for that reason.
Live and learn I suppose; Never using Bonthrone again!

Well I just had an email back from Bonthrone saying they have granted my refund, and need my card details to process it. we'll see what happens in the next few days.

I have also been on the line with trading standards, and registered my complaint, but hopefully I don't have to pursue that path any further.

o, and b-r, I used a debit card as I'm a lowly student without a huge credit limit.

I hope it will be soon, I have the MRP 1.x guide and its fallen to pieces on me.

I have run a new XT cassette on them with no problems at all, no spacer needed. also ran an XTR with no problem, and a few different sram models too.

Hi Hicksville.

Happy user here. I have the 2009 Colbalt XC wheels, and have used them pretty hard since April. they've been on my XC race bike and on a trail bike. I've now ridden about 1200 miles on them, including 12 elite xc races and two trips to Moab. they've survived 6 foot drops and a few good rock scrapes.

I had a problem with the freehub though; the pawls seized up as the sealing wasnt good enough for the UK, but they've redesigned it now so new ones come as standard and I've been riding along without even wiping them down since mid august.

I would say go for it; I dont rate crankbrothers pedals or headsets, but these wheels are great.

O dear – Just logged on to my account with Bonthrone, and was greeted by

You have no open or completed orders

YES I DO! YOU HAVE MY MONEY
I have just been reading on Bikeradar… how do companies get away with it?

I ordered on a Debit card, so no legal responsibility for my bank to do anything about it. :(

I originally ordered a 2009 Cannondale cx9, which was 'in stock' on their website, but got offered a 2010 cannondale xr9 as they 'had just sold' the other bike.
all in all, I'm £1000 down at the moment and not very happy

any link to the thread on bikeradar Grumm? I had a quick search but couldnt see it.

Just on the phone with trading standards. not very helpful really, but at least my complaint has been logged.

Its a shame as I have already had to cancel two races because I havent got the bike, and this weekend will be out the window too :(

Is anyone willing to 'pop in for a chat' for me? theres no way I can get to windsor. I could pop a few quid in the STW (or your own) beer fund for the troubles. my email is in my profile.

Hmmm, thats annoying. I didnt really want a refund, I just wanted a bike!

I take it I should give up on expecting a delivery and get on to trading standards?

the Ribbles look alright. anyone had experience with them?

I'll be doing a few races so would like something that wont snap under me.

If doing the transrockies is a big deciding factor, then have a think about what spares will be available with the travelling circus that is the race. Hope spares are notoriously hard to get on that side of the pond, but then again they are pretty reliable hubs.
CK stuff is easier to get over there, but I have no experience of reliability with them
I've had 2 pairs of Crossmaxes, both of which have been great; learn how to dismantle the freehub (it is very easy) and you'll be fine. they look bling too!

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/running-1×9-for-xc-what-are-my-options-for-keeping-the-chain-on-the-front