@trusty, did you use DHL for delivery? I had an order from R2 bike dispatched with DHL who then hand to Parcel Force once it hits the UK. The tracking said it had left Germany and then no updates for 4-5 days. Out of the blue the order arrived at my front door! Tracking still says it’s not hit the UK, so could very well be an issue with the DHL/PF handover with the tracking and it’s actually on it’s way to you.

The storage thing is a good one! I have 3 bikes to store in an Asgard 29er shed and by heck with wide bars is it tight! Somehow I’ve had to move 2 of them around recently. They fitted very nicely before and now, for some reason, getting the last one in is a nightmare! It’s not actually a problem, because they do fit (just) but christ it’s annoying when you just want to put one away!

While we’re at it. Di2. Nice when it came out, now completely pointless. A pain to install, expensive and not particularly neat either.

Yeah I always wondered why they didn’t just make it compatible with both Plus and 29″ wheels. Weird when the 529/629 look great at a lower price point, why not make the 900 series an extension of that?

I find Scott’s insistence on using Twinloc on all their FS bikes infuriating too. They are efficient enough as it is without adding all that gubbins on. If they made a Spark with normal fork/shock and slightly more aggressive geometry it’d be a killer bike. Basically make a Transition Spur with Scott stickers on it! A Spark DC as opposed to RC if you will…

Looks like the lever says Q-lock, so just like this presumably?

Yep, whole new damper. You’d need the Raceday remote on which is about £250 if I remember

Don’t all 2021 SIDS have a lockout anyway?

R2 bike seem good at the minute, I got a set of G2 Ultimates for a good price (bought individually so they were under £135 before postage) and didn’t get hit with import or VAT. Bought matching rotors a few days later and same again. Good stock on a lot of things that are impossible to get in the UK too.

Back on topic, that image is everywhere now. Here, Vital, PB, Facebook. Crazy how quick embargoed stuff spreads when one person leaks the info.

In theory, there is nothing stopping you running their road AXS mech and 10-36t cassette with the MTB AXS controller if you can get an XDR rather XD freehub for your wheels.

maybe sales of the XO1/XX1 stuff is a bit slower than expected.

Going on how many full X01 AXS groups my LBS are selling at the minute, they really aren’t selling slowly! Nice to see the mystery boxes from Insta have leaked already…

Felt the same with my Mojo HD, I adored that bike but it was too small and 26″ and wanted to move it while it still had value. By no means perfect, but lots of good, good memories on that bike. Not felt anywhere near as sad when I’ve moved subsequent others on weirdly, but the HD always sticks out as one I miss.

None that I’ve seen, they tend be snapped up before they even appear in most places. Last I heard was June for some.

Placebo or not, I’ve been on Oval rings on the hardtail and FS bikes over the last 3 years and won’t go back to round rings. I’ve found when climbing I can pusher a harder gear than I would normally and back to back, traction seems marginally better on steeper, looser ground too. The Spur came with a 32T round ring and I swapped to a 32T oval, I didn’t notice an increase in bob, so if the anti-squat changed it was minor enough for me not to notice. Going from a 38/24 on my old Mojo HD back in the day to a single 34T, I did notice though, comparing the 38t to the 34T, 38T felt noticeably plusher, presumably due to drop the in anti-squat. At the end of the day, I think they’ll suit some riders and not others, I’ve noticed no difference perceived downsides and a marginal gain in some areas so I’ll stick with them!

Santa Cruz price increase of 10% from 1st April apparently. Heard from a UK rep from one of the bigger brands that you’ll be lucky to get a carbon 105 disc equipped road bike from the “big”, non-direct players for much under £3k for MY2022!

Raceface Direct Mount rings are mostly (possibly all?) for 51mm chainlines, falls between the 48mm (6mm offset) for non-boost frames and 52mm (3mm offset) for boost frames. If you’re buying a Raceface ring, no need to worry!

Probably scrapped it like most others have. They don’t need to offer money off to get people in anymore as people can’t buy most things anywhere anyway… Hell most places could probably sell at lot of stuff above RRP if they actually have it on the shelf!

If you/a shop don’t have any order in already, you’re going to be waiting a long, long time. And if you can find a frame, good luck finding components. Nothing is going to be normal until the end of the year at the earliest from what I’ve heard from a few places. Drivetrain parts, saddles, forks, tyres and complete bikes seem worst affected though.

100% Brisker, they’re comfy, warm enough down to a few degrees above freezing and still give excellent feel on the bars. They last pretty well too. I got 3 years out of my first pair before they disintegrated.

If it came with 21mm ID rims to start with can it even take tyres that wide anyway? What bike is it?

You’ll be glad you did, I didn’t on my Soul and it did scuff quite easily, plus while they might “cheap” compared to carbon, they’re still gorgeous frames so worth looking after for sure

Not over yet by the sounds of it!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/wada-looking-into-haas-f1-livery-after-russian-flag-ban/5589751/

Less travel and less weight needed by the sound of it! Going down in travel/weight would make a big difference, something like a Tallboy/Optic/Occam might be worth a look

This thread needs pics, so here’s mine from the weekend!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/haas-claims-russian-flag-car-livery-not-a-result-of-wada-ruling/5578405/

Doubt we’ve heard the last of the Haas livery… I can’t see how they can get away with it, the whole front wing is basically a Russian flag! They sure love a bit of controversy in that team…

Me and the Mrs had a 58 plate 1.2 Corsa (mine) and a 17 plate Hyundai I10 (hers) last year and traded up to an Arona FR Sport like this when we realised having two cars was a bit pointless with her working from home for over a year. Loving it so far, all the toys, quick enough and room for the bike!

Update for anyone interested, received both parcels from R2 today with no charges from Parcel Force yet. I was about £4 over the £135 max though for each, anything under would be fine I think. They have good stock of a lot of kit and the price seems good too. Delivery took 6 days so not too bad. Overall, a bit of a stressful waiting game, but hopefully worth it!

Yeah I didn’t get that either with the MBR review. They also mentioned in the first ride that the BB was too high and the front end was flexy, but then made no mention of either in the back to back test with the Following… make of that what you will. For me though, it’s plenty poppy and playful enough. I do like Evil as a brand (I lusted after the original Sovereign hardtail way back when and the unreleased “Sect” alloy precursor to the Uprising) but the Super Boost spacing and complexity of the Delta link put me off.

I do like the Forekaster, some will claim it’s no good but for the most part I really like it. It’s hard wearing, grips pretty well and still rolls quickly. It’s a shame that aftermarket they only offer the basic Dual Compound versions, if they offer them in Maxx Terra you sometimes see on complete bikes and maybe an EXO+ casing for the rear, it’d be a really good tyre!

Yeah the Spur/Tallboy comparison is interesting, a riding buddy got a Tallboy V4 around the time I got the Spur. Both GX based builds, but the Tallboy is a good KG heavier (even bigger gap once I put my hunt wheels on) and bobs noticeably more on climbs. It does seem to be a real traction factory though, difficult to compare like for like as different tyres but the Tallboy does seem to generate more grip on loose climbs, but seems slower on smoother climbs. I think the VPP suspension and possibly overbuilt frame helps the Tallboy on descents compared to the Spur; the Spur might be longer wheelbase/reach wise but the suspension has a firmer feeling to it seems and is lighter and a little less “solid”. I mean it’s not a flexy bike by any means, but it does feel like it has more give and compliance.

@chakaping, are they the ones with White Maxxis logos?

I’m just over 6ft and a large with the standard 50mm stem fits me like a glove, I could have gone XL and used a super short stem, but the handling with a 50mm stem and short 44mm offset is amazing.

I was particularly surprised how it handles low-speed; there’s a mega, mega tight hairpin on a section of Llandegla (dave the fox if anyone knows it) and on every other bike I’ve never been able to carry any speed around it, either the front wheel washes if you try to go to tight and fast or if you go wider you just have zero speed. First time on the Spur I stayed super tight to the apex and carried ungodly (for me!) speed through it without really trying. No washing out, no sliding wide, just tonnes of grip and plenty of speed.

Honestly, the only downsides I’ve found on it is the paint is a little thin (invisiframe is a must), especially compared to my old T130 which seemed to have 6 inches of paint on it and was battered for 4 years with hardly a big mark on it. The back end also has a few fiddly bearing shields/spacers where the swingarm bolts to the rocker, which went walkabout when I took it apart to check things over, but that is it really, pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. Ohhh and they are like rocking horse poo at the minute, though my LBS (Tweeks) got 2 large GX builds, one of each colour, delivered yesterday apparently.

11/12 speed Sram cassettes do seem to last alot longer than I remember 9/10 speed ones lasting. I’d be lucky to get 1000 miles out of a 10-speed XT cassette, my last X01 Eagle cassette was 2500 miles in and 4 years and still took a new chain! Expensive, but seem to last pretty well.

I’ve gone from Hope to Shimano, to Sram, back to Hope and now back to Sram! My first Hopes were all X2’s/Minis and they were great when I was 16/17 and about 10 stone, now probably not so much! Unless you want to save every gram possible, I’d leave the X2. I’d avoid Shimano, since they replaced the XT M785 with M8000 they’ve been pants, wandering bite points and hopeless reliability.

Went to Sram Guides as they came on a complete bike and they were good until the levers started to stick (a known issue subsequently solved) so went to E4’s and while they have lovely modulation, they never had that WOW power feeling, you had to work hard to get full power, which even then seemed down on the Guides (especially so on the Guides with SwissStop pads). Now on Sram G2’s and very happy with them so far, more power than the E4, similar modulation and have been very consistent in the 6 months I’ve had them. Will stick some SwissStop pads in once the current ones wear which will improve the power a bit more. Such a shame they don’t make them for E4’s they’d massively help in the power stakes compared to the stock Hope pads, which do last forever but sure seem short of bite.

Alfaholics GTAr, Singer 911, DB4 Zagato… pretty much any of the current restomod or continuation specials

Had a Spur for 6 months nearly how. It rips. It’s seriously playful, feels very agile and is so light it’s scary. Not ridden the Following but it’s heavier and the geo is a little steeper. Both would be great, they got top marks in MBRs test. I love the Spur, it’s immense and really feels fun, fast and just a hoot to ride. Only 6 bearings to change in the frame too and a lifetime warranty.

For the most part I agree, they’re horrible things. There’s a few Bentayga’s round here in North Wales and they look chuffing awful. However, I do like the I-Pace. It’s not really an SUV in my mind, more of a supersize, luxury electric hatchback. If I had the means, I’d have one, that or a Polestar 2.

Been following the development of this online/Instagram and it looks ace, not a bad price either really and nice to see they’ve done a 44mm head tube so you can for a carbon fork. Tempted by one in grey, just weighing up whether to stick with my hardtail or move it on for one of these. The Spur is my main bike and the hardtail is getting less and less use (arguably too similar to the Spur) so umming and arrring over what to do. A Warlock or Nordest Bardino would be top of the list, don’t think I’d quite bring myself to push the boat for a Fairlight Faran, gorgeous as they are!

Ran M785 XTs on several bikes with no issues at all, then went to SRAM Guides which were OK until the lever started to stick, replaced under warranty and sold on. Swapped to E4’s and was happy enough with them, but had several sticky pistons over two sets of E4’s. New bike came with SRAM G2’s and plan was to swap for E4’s, but really liking the G2 actually. Feels more powerful than the E4 and has similar modulation, but you don’t need to properly pull the lever to access the power. Will be flogging the E4’s on the hardtail and replacing with a set of G2’s I think!

Thanks for clearing that up, my lord it’s a minefield! Do we know if the £135 is inclusive or exclusive of shipping cost?

Encouraging to hear, did you choose UPS or DHL for delivery?