The post bent? Which bit?

@clubber….. see the images down the chat in this prev forum topic link

Apologies for slight hijack….My Hope Pro II Evo rear hub has recently gone significantly quieter….hadn’t noticed until out with a hope hubbed friend at the weekend and heard the contrast….I’m assuming this is not a good thing? Do the hope Pro II bearing service guides out there apply for the EVO? Thanks in advance for any advice….

My two HiLo’s failed within 4 rides each (one seized, one bent, home made boot used for both). Reverb on different frame no probs 6 months prior. Cheap trail drop no probs since for past 6 months including back to back Marin/Penmachno last weekend.

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Just love it……I swop out the flows with my old set of wheels with skinny road tyres on for occasional commute/roadie duties and the steel frame is a lot smoother ride on tarmac than my old alu rockhopper. Really flies on skinnies but does lead to the occasional embarrassing overtake of lycra clad roadies!

Just another perspective on the X-fusion hilo….I had 2 consecutive ones fail: the first seized (despite boot) after 3 rides and the second buckled (upper tube) on ride 4. Had previously had a Mk III reverb on a different bike no problems for 6 months prior. Replaced/refunded through Wiggle and now trying cheap trail drop (so far so good) until the KS LEV skinny post is released later this year :-)

glupton1976….drop me an email (in profile) and I’ll happily give you some PG info/thoughts…..

Ampthill……nothing wrong with getting massage/trigger points done for the symptomatic surrounding muscles….usually really helpful for some relief without upsetting the capsular inflammatory process. glupton1976 thoracic mobilisation suggestion a good one too as stiff/rounded middle back can really mess with shoulder blade/shoulder biomechanics…helps indirectly calm down pain sensitivity too.

Glumpton……..you have misread. Ampthill asks in question 3 what background you had if you were replying. I answered with a no 3 in front with my mackground, not a qualms recomendation. Yes, any Physio should be capable of dealing with this problem.

1. You could do but I there’s pain you will probably prolong/worsen phase 1 (the acute I flammatory phase) and your overall recovery timeframe as a result. Sometimes you progress faster by going slower initially…..

2. A. stretch into pain WILL make you worse in phase 1 if it is a true adhesive capsualitis

3. A. Physio (postgrad musculoskeletal) this should be standard Physio advice as per current understanding of the pathology and current clinical practice in specialist shoulder clinics (your Physio needs to review the like of clinical specialist Jo Gibsons work!)

Most chuckle worthy………..especially as I am a 40 something very part time surfer from just outside of Solihull…..living the dream!! (just need to get one of those red vans and bond with a shaper somewhere……).

http://www.i-escape.com/hotel-recamier/overview

Just over budget but if you book through i-escape they offer a room upgrade, which we actually got when we went last month….mileage may vary on a busy weekend though like Bastille. Excellent small boutique hotel in a good location. Reviews on the site are accurate and fair.

Edit: just seen they’re doing Special offer: 20% off room rates: 20% off all room rates – full prepayment required and non refundable. Excludes breakfast. Valid: 15 Jul 2012 – 31 Aug 2012 …Doh! Day after Bastille!

Good stuff…….think you’ve earned a brakes upgrade at least!

My surname sake Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe started the company A.V. Roe and Company in 1910, which was to become AVRO…..although he was involved with Saunders-Roe at the time Roy Chadwick designed the Lancaster. Think it’s in the blood a bit as the sound of a low flying merlin engine(strapped to a hurricane, spit or lancaster) is just the most amazing thing for me….

You need to distinguish between popping sound effects from the knee cap joint as opposed to deep within the main knee joint…..a hand on the front of the knee cupped over theknee cap as you bend should let you distinguish the (more common and less problematic) knee cap sound effects from the deep main joint ones……usually felt more right round either one side or the other of the knee away from the knee cap.

From your description sounds like knee cap is tracking under tension in it’s groove, and clicking as this excess tension drags it a little off course…..feedback after doing the above though for more clarification….

And another latecomer…….
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Picked my frame up 2nd hand earlier this year….the final part of a long upgrade path from a stock standard rockhopper obtained 4 years earlier that signalled a long overdue return to riding after a 15 year time out. Just a beautiful looking and performing bit of kit! A revelation after Alu HT frames to date, and a bike that just makes you want to get out and ride as often as possible…..

Spec:
XT group set (with an opportunist XTR shadow plus rear mech upgrade following the XT’s demise at the hands of some rather large Peak District rocks!) Flow Rims on Hope II pro evo’s run tubeless, Reba Ti 120mm with DT Swiss RWS bolt thru’s 9mm front & 10mm rear, Chris King Headset, XT 785 brakes, Thompson X4 elite stem with sunline V1 711’s, Thompson seat post with Fizik gobi XM. Must get round to shortening cables at some point!

Opinion:
Doubted the hype but now yet another nausey convert……as an aside any other Kiwi soul riders out there?? I sense a niche within niche riders group coming on!

This could be you….£250 2nd hand Soul frame for me with your same specs for fork and groupset and (almost) rims…..now that’s one fine looking ride and monster performer to boot for general trail/X/C duties!

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Kept it…cable snapped as predicted on first outing, 24 k into a 28k ride, fortunately while post up! Was impressed up until that point having had to pass up my faultless Mk3 reverb with a recent frame switch to skinny (soul), and then having had two consecutive Hi Lo’s fail. Awaiting cable update and hoping it lasts a bit longer! Post itself seems fairly robust and mechanism is simple and works well. I was worried about missing the infinite adjust capabilities of the Reverb and HiLo but to be honest, the dropped height seemed pretty much spot on for me for general pointing down hill XC/trail duties.

Recent conversion to soul from aluminium HT = happy camper. Then a switch to Flow rims with LUST maxxis options for dead easy changing and lower pressures =VERY happy camper! Corrugated downhills at speed are now so much smoother thanks initially to frame but added to with tyre change….grip noticeably better with the lower pressures and again takes the edge off the rough stuff….much appreciated by an ageing derrière spine and wrists!

Sounds like classic patellofemoral pain. Very common. Excessive kneecap friction within its grove caused by something in your bike/biomechanical/muscle balance setup…you’re right in thinking running had a role to play as it’s more common in running than cycling. Would affect both potentially once aggravated. Key is to find/sort the cause……tap into grazed knees network for cycle specific assess and treatment to rule out bike? :-)

Pretty happy with current model Altura attack……has massive pit zips and magnetic top front closure so you can unzip front too……big easy grab tabs on zips for adjusting while riding….tough fabric has survived me bouncing off a few rocks! As for all waterproofs will get pretty toasty in anything above mild conditions, but helped hugely by large pit/front zip opening options. Shop around though as huge variation on pricing….

What’s the actual problem?? Pain in the knee? Pain or fatigue in the muscle? Where in the muscle (its vast as the name suggests!)? Immediate onset or several minutes in? It’s not really clear from your description…..

Bike set up/previous injuries/your muscle balance & biomechanic/climbing & sprint technique will all have an influence on motor pattern (timing) of muscle firing……pretty hard for a physio to comment with all those variables and not actually having you on hand to assess….

If there’s no pain there’s every chance this is normal…..lower VM (vastus medialis obliquis) has a role in countering the natural outwards pull on kneecap and normally fires early to counter this. Long adductors sitting on inside of thigh next to vastus medialis are key power muscles in downward stroke particularly if seated….they will fatigue with hard seated work.

Long and short….find a postgrad sports Physio with a cycling interest and get a proper assessment of yours and the bikes setup!

Search perhaps? just a thought…..

X-fusion also do a layback version of the hilo…

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That was my second one after ride 4 (first one failed…seized…ride 3).88 kg 6’1″ riding XC hardtail before you ask….. Had seemed very good up until the fail(s)….not quite in the league of the mkIII reverb I’d had for 6 months prior until I switched frames and became a 27.2-er, but did what it said on the tin. Wiggle were excellent with a warranty replacement after the first, and a refund after the 2nd once Wiggle sent back to X-fusion. Poor response from X-fusion itself….no reply to initial emails explaining fails and querying rider weight recommendations for the engineering tolerances…sent to both UK and US contact emails…finally a reply on resend several weeks on when I questioned the existence of any customer service! No followup response to request for info once post sent back. Did I just get a rare dud (x2)?. They couldn’t be bothered to tell me so no further custom from me.

Failures were not crash related (i.e. there were no crashes, just regular single track riding from a rider who rarely leaves the ground)

Loving this post as another combi surfer/biker. I find it’s when you buy your 2nd surfboard and you live in the west midlands that things get a bit challenging on the “convincing the missus” front! And beware yet another endless kit/accesories uprade path…….Surfing has a parallel quandary to the HT and/or FS dilemma in that you need a shorter board for bigger surf days and a longer summer fun board for small days…..and then there’s winter versus summer wetsuits, boots, gloves and hood for winter, roof rack / box for carting……not to mention funding fuel, accomodation and sacrifices to the very ficcal uk wave gods….. Best start looking for a 2nd job to fund and equally addictive “habit”!

I find it’s when you buy your 2nd surfboard and you live in the west midlands that things get a bit challenging on the “convincing the missus” front! And beware yet another endless kit/accesories uprade path…….Surfing has a parallel quandary to the HT and/or FS dilemma in that you need a shorter board for bigger surf days and a longer summer fun board for small days…..and then there’s winter versus summer wetsuits, boots, gloves and hood for winter, roof rack / box for carting……not to mention funding fuel, accomodation and sacrifices to the very ficcal uk wave gods!

X-fusion also do a layback version of the hilo…

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That was my second one after ride 4 (first one failed…seized…ride 3).88 kg 6’1″ riding XC hardtail before you ask….. Had seemed very good up until the fail(s)….not quite in the league of the mkIII reverb I’d had for 6 months prior until I switched frames and became a 27.2-er, but did what it said on the tin. Wiggle were excellent with a warranty replacement after the first, and a refund after the 2nd once Wiggle sent back to X-fusion. Poor response from X-fusion itself….no reply to initial emails explaining fails and querying rider weight recommendations for the engineering tolerances…sent to both UK and US contact emails…finally a reply on resend several weeks on when I questioned the existence of any customer service! No followup response to request for info once post sent back. Did I just get a rare dud (x2)?. They couldn’t be bothered to tell me so no further custom from me.

Switched to 27.2 with a frame change and had to leave my fab 6 months no problem 2012 reverb 34.9 out of the equation. X-fusion hilo seemed a promising alternative but two failed hilo’s later I’m back to a standard seatpost…….first hilo seized on ride 3 (warranty replaced), 2nd one bent (yes, bent, in upper tube…warranty refund) on ride 4 (!!). I weigh 88kg at 6’1″ so not exactly a porker and had made an inner tube boot for both. Think it’s a product for lightweights only……will watch with interest to see how the new KS LEV fairs….

As a kiwi (might have given that away already…) usually go Air NZ as one stop is all you want in such a long journey…it’s worth paying a bit more to avoid 2 stops…..that just kills.

via LA as mentioned you have to clear customs and you are then held in an isolated “holding pen” with no access to the airport. No need for bag transfers as everything stays on the same plan for next leg to Auckland. There is nothing to do in “the pen” which is essentially a large open room with seating and loos, but there are rudimentary snacks water and coffee, power points, and American day time TV (aaaarggh!). You definitely need a laptop/ipad/kindle/book to num the pain of the 2 hour swop over time, although a fair amount of that is spent with officious American custom staff treating you like criminal cattle.

via Hong Kong you get off the plane to immediately cue for scanner of hand luggage. Don’t bother with duty free alcohol/liquids over 100ml from the UK because you’ll have to ditch it here! Once through this though you have free range of the (fairly dull but sparkly new) airport where you can get a coffee, grab a shower, do some (limited) shopping, then it’s back on board, again with no luggage transfers to worry about as it all stays on the same plane for the next leg to Auckland.

There’s not much in it between the two, but 18 return trips on over the past 14 years, I tend to try and go via HK and grab a shower and my wife loves the foot massage option!…. Other hot tips are get hold of a jetrest travel pillow, and some noise cancelling in ear earphones. Get a seat as far forwards as possible if going cattle class (massively less engine noise), but not up against the bulkhead (baby cot zone!), or near galley or loo’s. And start practicing your kiwi speak! NZ speak….

Hard work until you eventually sift through all the varied and sometimes conflicting/contradictory methods and find what works for you. For me this is the pain free easy method:

NON UST: Seat one bead using tube (no need to leave overnight), hang tyre, straight fairy liquid on non seated side (more viscous, better fluid tension for temp seal)……my non ust 2.35 maxxis SP minion F and advantage 2.1 R go up first time with a quick burst of track pump core out…..non of this 5 minutes frantic malarky!

LUSTs even easier…just seat centrally, bounce tyre working around circumference to seat out towards beads, hang and pops on first go. I don’t bother with core out as not necessary. Many frustrated attempts to come up with the pain free solution after much forum trawling, but now swap tyres regularly. Now if only they’d make a maxxis minion SP 2.35 LUST !

Have run a 2.1 folding 60a tubed on the rear (35-40 psi) for 8 months and then converted to tubeless on flow rims with stans sealant for past 4 months (30 psi) …sizes up with reasonable volume but seems reasonably fast rolling and has been my general use tyre for everything except full on mud, when a 2.0 Bonty Mud-x comes out. Seems to be a good balance of roll and traction from dry through wet, and has worn reasonably well. I’m going to try a LUST crossmax 2.1 for hard packed trail and bridal way duties and lower rolling resistance though if summer ever arrives :roll:

On taking a closer look at the 60a, it actually says “maximum load 90kg” on the sidewall which I’ve never spotted before…..me + bike has been 100kg at least, but no problems with a years use.

Had the wired 70 version before that and that was a bit slippy on rocks/roots when things got wet…..but then again that was pre my tubeless conversion and I tended to default to 40 psi pressures….hard compound and higher pressures probably not optimal in the wet in hindsight! Tried running it reversed as suggested in various online places and it certainly grabbed and gripped more on braking, but wore faster also. Would recommend 60a over 70 to give more versatility from dry through to slippy wet/light mud.

Unfortunately missed your post composite before setting off….. Minton Batch “stream” was still in full flow for large parts of its length yesterday…..resulting in one very wet arse. Nothing the lengthy climb back up and sunshine couldn’t sort though.. Everywhere else very dry and it was a good day out…..only 3 walkers seen on a 32 km loop! On a side note, tried a descent down Carding mill valley as the climb up last attempt was a killer, but as others have noted, the frequently spaced water drainage “trenches” across the path make it a stop start affair and pretty much kill it.

great…thanks guys…time to load up the car!

Been pretty happy with this…..Giant torque wrench solid, calibrated and less than £50.00 if you shop around.

Switch off wifi, bluetooth and dim screen and my iPhone 4 lasts for 4 hours plus with app on and screen on full time. Time extends if screen shut down when not needed. Shut app down (gps, the big residual battery muncher, off) and screen if not needed in between waypoints and battery life obviously better again. My rides rarely exceed 4 hours so no extender battery pack needed yet!

Sounds like viral illness + standard immune response as above.

Paracetamol for temperature, fluids and maybe a day off resting.

this.

You’ll recover faster if you rest up for a day and give your immune system a chance to get on top of it. Obviously see your doc if not improving. Hope you bounce back soon!

Excellent App. It syncs wirelessly from phone to online site (simple registration required) which mirrors all your on phone routes….allows upload of gpx files to online site which you can edit/share etc. and sync to your phone.

There’s another useful gpx feature in that you can set it up to record your routes automatically (“tracks”) and you can then save/sync these as gpx files for your buddies to follow any worthy routes in your absence.

Never had an issue with this before but on the way to Hopton Woods yesterday got stuck in a 40+ car tailback for 20 minutes traveling at 9-25 mph on open road. Group of about twenty riders riding two abreast spread out over 30-40 metres or so…….there was a large articulated lorry caught behind them who had no chance of passing ……even I started getting a little twitchy…can’t imagine what the other (non cycling) drivers around me were feeling! We passed several parking bays but the cyclists showed no intention of pulling over even as they crawled up inclines causing stop start in the traffic behind….can only assume this was some kind of organised race otherwise these were the most selfish bastards imaginable…..will assume the former as the only reasonable explanation.

However, for non organised rides where there is no race clock, I would expect any sensible adult cyclist to behave as I would in either car or on bike……If I’m in a slow car/towing etc or taking a (rare) road spin on the open road I will pull over to let other road users through when things build up noticeably behind me and/or there’s no safe opportunity for others to pass…..think road cyclists should have a little more awareness in these situations and let traffic through too. No one has to pull over car or cyclist wise, but there is a thing called goodwill that should transcend the letter of the law. The “stuff you” mentality…well, :roll:

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Easter Peak District Mission….Soul at home in the snow (…and the mud and the rocks!)

plus 1 for KMC 10 speed reusable link with shimano chain….wish I’d discovered them earlier!

Scott Helium paclite gortex….1/2 price at £40 odd from Evans 6 months ago…….now I know why: rear sealed seams, panels and internal lining have all self destructed within his time frame culminating in a mass wear through tear with less than 1 (wet) ride a fortnight average. Avoid. My old canondales for dry conditions are still going strong 5 years on.

plus 1 for Fox launch pro…….comfortable and stay put. Nuff said.

My two pence worth…..bed one side with tyre inflation with tube as above. I don’t bother with overnight, just carefully remove tube from one side leaving other bedded. Then upgrade from soapy water to straight dishwashing liquid.…more viscous = better temp fluid seal. After failing with prev multiple soapy water attempts this has worked flawlessly for me with floor pump inflates of non UST tyres on my flow rims. Just drizzle from nozzle on/between exposed bead and rim and squeeze gently from top of tyre to get bead as close as possible without disrupting bedded side.

I put a standard Chris King No Threadset 1 1/8 on my old rockhopper frame a couple of years back…..found one cheap on ebay. Only then realised that the grindy cane creek (well overdue a service) wasn’t standard sound effects! The CK is still as smooth as the day installed, now on current frame.

Bottom line…..Any 1 1/8 I imagine will be fine. A quick search of the forum will pull up tons of advice,,,,, eg:

Rockhopper headset…..