I'm in the same situation, with a double, and a triple. ONe for head, the other for bike.

Is it really as simple as using a bunch of AA's, in series.

I'd love to know, if anyone can answer.

well done Spokescycles…
I find sorry quite hard, so hat's off.

Penrod??

you may answer without shouting if you wish….

well i shall buy my stuff from somewhere else. So, thats a good suggestion.
The reason for this is the manner in which my complaint was treated by them. when i did indeed bring it up with them.

With regard to the 'not bringing up something about bikes' on a bike forum… i must have got the wrong idea about what goes on here.

Dougal.. i think that the other people replying in a slightly more adult manner would be evidence to the contrary.

I will however admit, it was not the most exciting post ever. Just thought that it may make others think twice about ordering things from them, and that would be a good outcome for the 'small' amount of consumer power we might have.

I might not have been frequenting this board as much recently, so maybe i have missed out on the popular sentiment, and you could tell me why this comment has yanked your collective chains so much?

when i'm really working hard, nothing keeps me dry on the inside of a jacket, but a good 'breathable' jacket will keep you dryer than a 'boil in the bag' job.

My Montane jacket is superb, and still holding up after 6 years of mud, and abuse. Expensive, but worth three of the cheaper ones.

so…spokecycles

why is it a 'load of nonsense'?
Is it because you're not interested?

big smile from a little man. I can almost remember my first bike feeling.

fantastic

+1 for what timbur said.

my son had a Hotwalk, and loved it. He was off and running in a matter of hours. Although, i would (should) have bought the 12" hotrock, and taken the pedals off.

It's nice and light, which i think is a real bonus as he can pick it up, and manouvre it much more readily than a wooden one.

i'm sure there are forums for this kind of sexual preference too..

Alan
maybe…
i thought i was going to stick them on me hard-tail-jumpy thing. But, if there's a market.

i'll keep ya posted. They are black in 1.5inch rise,not cut down (maybe a bit, but not much) and reasonable condition.

IMHE snowflakes are quite strong, but actually have a fell of some 'give' when riding. IE, they could be considered a compliant feeling wheel.

I had some, and they felt great to ride, but every hard landing they went out just a little bit. easy to true-up, but didn't stay true for long.

I reckon, avoid them. 'specially old ones that have been tweaked to f*ck.

hey sluff…

You can get a longer shock too, if you get a coil DHX, or something like that. Mojo do an aftermarket one that will retro fit, and it gives an extra inch (almost) travel. That will balance it up too.

The shock shuttle i spoke of, is the bit of triangulated machined ali, that fits between the downtube, and the top end of the shock. Most frames came with the short, and the long.. (well mine did).

I'd sell you the long one, but i'm using it. With a 150mm fork too, as i like the handling nice and twitchy.

get the bigger/longer rear shock shuttle, and that will increase the head angle once more, to compensate for the longer fork.
It will of course raise the bottom bracket, but some say they are too low on spesh bike to start with.

that should offset the issue.

Just came back from a spin around stanmer for my usual sunday quick ride..
Dont envy all you who were trying to slither around that yesterday. It's still a slippery peanut butter stciky mud fest, and it's had all night to dry out.

And yes… avoid those particular trails if you're a local. They're thrashed.

Take your saddle off completely, for a quick loop of some (mildly) technical trail. This will mean that you HAVE to move yourself around on the bike, and will learn how to use your weight over the bike to get over/around stuff.

If you sit down to much, you'll not learn to feel the trail.

Repeat small sections of trail over, and over again, trying different ways of keeping your upper body over the bike. You'll learn how different it can feel this way.

Make sure your tyres are not too hard, as you'll lose vital grip.

Ride on your own ALOT… as following people on a trail can 'HIDE' the trail from you, and mean you cannot anticipate whats coming. Reading the trail means you'll ride it better when it's under your wheels.

Flat pedals only i presume?

just get some nitro on it, and see whats under there. It's white, so a touch up paint should look pretty good after.

Looks like it COULD be a crack, and when the headtube from my (very poorly welded) GT snapped off mid ride (jump), i broke my nose, and smashed my face up pretty good.

So, i would get the paint off and make sure. Aluminium give you absolutely NO warning before a high pitched 'schtiing' noise, and instant face-plant.

no big difference in my mind… In fact..is it even different at all? It did not seem any faster to me, or any more responsive.

Stable enough tho', at least on my machine. Macbook Pro 17"

Normally, i always err on the side of caution, and let others do the 'testing' that apple should have done themselves, by being early adopters.

I slammed into a car with my last macBook and broke it, so was forced to but another very recently which came with 10.6 installed already.

well… i'm not quite sure what you use the side buttons for, but the new magic mouse is (IMO) pretty f*cking great. I never been a fan of Mac mice, always preferring MaCally, but this new thing is great.

There are some third party apps, to make use of assigning actions to certain aspects, in certain apps for this mouse too.

Multi-touch on my desktop machine is a right bonus.

Expensive, and a bit small for my Bear Paws, but brilliant none-the-less.

I have a Spesh 'hotwalk' balance bike, and the seat goes down real low. He loved it, and was riding for almost 100 meters downhill within a few days. Brilliant.
He was 20months at the time.

a sunny day prior to the Hope endurance DH a week or so back.

yeah, for the Alps… i'd take both anyway. At TrailAddiction a couple of years back, there were some switchbacks that were super tight even on the single crowns.

xiphon – thanks for that tip on the axle.. i might have a look at one o' them. Cant be doing an Orange anything… don't like single pivots really.

Maybe just a new front and rear shock set-up would be a boost enough.
Which opens a whole new can'o'worms.

Forks with 7", and single crown? (and maintenance is not my thing, so likely not fox anything)

Rear shock? DHX-5 or CCDB.

Oh, the choices…..

well..
my SX is a first Gen one (2005).
So around 6" on the rear, with Z1 freerides up front, and 5Th Element on the back.
Its built up tough but not heavy. Hone cranks, Bulb hubs on (721 i think) azonic bars, stem. Minion tubeless dual ply's.
Gone through 1 set of chainstays, but that's all so far – which is a miracle considering the multitude of frames i have eaten up before this.

I'm nearly 18st, but i do know how to ride OK (and more recently, within my limits), so i haven't bent a wheel in years.

Maybe i should just look at a longer fork on the SX.

It's a toy thing really i guess….
so, next years Spesh Demo… hmmmmm – Or second hand VP free.

LCJ

that sounds very tempting..
Pictures, and size?
I ride a medium SX, but have short legs.. so how's the standover on your M3?

well…
It comes from my trip last week to Nevis, and the extra speed i would like to get over the bigger rocks. It's not that i cant do it on the SX, it's just that it will probably break pretty quick, and i need all the cushioning i can get so i'm less likely to stack.

Budget? cos i'm older, and richer.. is not a big consideration.

My last trip to France was great on the SX, and i could keep up on the twisty trails, but some of the big stuff would have been easier on a bigger bike.

It's definitely my age, and ability holding me back, and not the bike. I would never make that claim. I would mostly ride my SX everywhere anyway, it's just there's a hole in my 'quiver' on the 8"+ travel end.

My first proper off-road bike (Marin Bear Valley) was one of only two in the range available in UK, and one of three possible brands totaling seven models in all. I didn't see ANYONE else riding a trail for at least a year, and when i rode it on the road, everyone asked "why my bike looked like that".

1987, a good year for bad frame colours, and bad flouro clothing borrowed from the roadies. Things have, fortunately, come a long way.

northern California has an amazing amount of trails, and some temperate weather to boot.
Downieville, near Lake Tahoe is an incredible place to ride for both shuttle access and XC, and the Tahoe area in general has some great trails.

Mammoth, and the surrounding area is also worth a trip. In general there are some great rides in Northern California.

throw away the rubbish spesh tires, they're like riding round with crepe paper tyres. Thin sidewalls, and lots of pinch flats.

Get some Maxxis, minion/highroller if only for the back, and deal with the extra weight. You'll see lots less pinch flatting, and can run low-ish pressures. Not to mention being able to go round corners almost as fast as along the straight bits.

yep… they don't do it super quick, but they work fine.

hey, thanks for that flyingFox.
I've got your details, and will give you a bell closer to the time.

Ta.

Thanks for that TJ.
Nope, cant take my own (which is a shame, as it rocks on that kind of terrain).

I'm flying up, with lots of kit already for a film shoot.

Thanks for the tips on rentals. I didn't spot the 'demo' fleet at the hub site when i looked. I just saw the 'rental' hardtails.

thanks.

does anyone know of a custom frame builder who can do a good job of building a 'utility' bike to my designs?

I have some strange and twisted needs for a mutant bike.
Does not need to be superlight/racy/hi-tech.

yep… they come up slightly under sized if anything. I've got little legs, and a medium is only just big enough for me.

Try it, or get the larger one to be on the safe side (if you can)

Hamax siesta thingy for my monster too!

He loves it. Easy on and off, and the bars they come mounted on act as a little bit of suspension for him too! Takes out the speed bumps a bit.

go on then chucky…. £££ ?

'si'
not a fan of excessive maintenance, so i would probably NOT buy a Fox. At least not until they have done their customer R&D properly.

i know they work very well, as i have ridden several pairs. BUT, cant be doing with things made out of putty.

So, the consensus is to keep the Z1's, or get some 66's.

Ta.

'hora'
because it's in my nature to think there's always something better out there somewhere, and i should upgrade. Silly i know, but i'm a victim. And also i'll put the Z1's on my hardtail, so they wont go to waste.

I would just stick with the Z1's rather than get the 66's, as the stanchion size (although nice) would not be enough in itself to change/upgrade.

Not sure if it's an HSCV freeride? It is a 2006 Z1 if that helps?

So the performance of my Z1's is pretty close to the performance of either lyriks/fox etc>

well.. i'm surprised you didn't use more than one set 'nickegg'. But then, i do tend to over-commit on my riding speed into corners.

Mine were standard Hope Moto V2 pads. So a big brake to start with, but still wore them out.

so, after reading all this….
the question is, i reckon i should get Lyrik coils, on my SX trail.
But, i dont need the u-turn gubbins, and want about 6-7inch travel. I'm a chunky mo-fo, and want a more modern supple fork than my current Marzoochi Z1 freeride.

Don't want any fox nonsense servicing issues, and need coil, not air.

Is this the right fork?

…..answers on this greatly appreciated.

Bleed those brakes first, and should not be a problem. Just take lots of spares. I went through 2 sets (on the front) in one week with Trail Addiction.

It does require a bit of a shift in gear changing technique. BUT, not that much.
Only occasionally do i ever have to think about chain torque to get it to shift.

And only very occasionally do i ever have to think about cleaning my bike to get it to work. Which is the real story for me.

Cant wait till I can get to 11.