My second Sw…everyone knows what it is! After the dry winter it’s now getting lots of use in the recent spell of near continuous moisture. Has a Surly rather than WTB cog and XT 780 rather than Candy 1 pedals in photos.

Waited until the afternoon when it was supposed to be dry. Watched the rain move away, the sun come out and the wind drop down. So I headed out with conditions looking good and was promptly soaked by a shower before I’d even made it a mile down the road. This is starting to grate! (mainly because I’m too cheap to buy proper wet weather gear at the moment)

It’ll still be pretty slippery there but I saw a dust cloud at one point today on the South Downs, the wind is doing a fantastic job.

Wow, didn’t know there were so many tall riders on here!

6’4″

XL Singular Swift

XL Stumpjumper FSR 29

Built this up for a winter bike but ground conditions are still very good here for the time of year so it hasn’t seen as much use as I thought.

XT 32T and WTB 18T

The nearest good riding to there would be St Leonard’s Forest but perhaps not if you aren’t up for a bit of mud.

Better ground conditions and more obvious trails are usually found in the Surrey Hills…specifically Peaslake as you say.

The Beaver felt light in hand but has anyone actually weighed one to check if they’re coming in close to what the reviews say?

I got a pair of Nobby Nics but they both had a wobble and have been replaced under warranty. Didn’t really want to take a chance on another pair so I asked them to get down a pair of Beaver and MudX tyres. Beaver = lighter, bigger volume, shallower tread. MudX = deeper wider tread and tubeless ready. Went with the MudX!

The new range looks good and seems well priced. Most importantly Paligap won’t be able to pick and choose which models they bring in so availability should be a lot better.

Camber 29er is coming to the UK for 2012.

The Pro Carbon model included?

I tried to get a Rip9 last year. Would have been very interested in that one had I not just received the Stumpjumper.

O2 removed £30 from my account after I used CRC. Card was new and I don’t use O2. The bank sent me a letter and a new card.

Without the rubbish…

Huge step up…it’s a beast! Will hit some proper trails over the weekend to see how it performs.

Reflectors, stickers and bell removed…proper pedals and some mud installed!

Anyone know the first piece of music used for the Atom?

I would just like Specialized to ‘allow’ us to buy the 29er frames that they do make…

From what I’ve heard, Specialized UK wasn’t planning to bring in any 2011 29ers at all until a higher authority intervened from across the pond. That’s why the orders were placed so late and the bikes won’t show up in shops until Dec/Jan. At least the model I want is available here! 😀

Link[/url]

I emailed Madison last week but haven’t received a response.

I’ve just found this though:

"It is recommended that the gear ratio of the front chain ring be set to approx. 1.9. Example: F34T – R18T, F39T – R20T, F45T – R23T"

Some guy on mtbr. Anyone know for sure?

This was my Giant Trance with Alfine before I sold it. I’ve heard the 11spd Alfine has been delayed until October due to technical issues but I haven’t verified that and it's only a month. It’ll go straight on my KHS whenever it shows.

There's a good 500 pics here!

that niner carbon is the only bike to look right with the niner forks…funny that!

The Singular forks are standing by just in case I ever want a bike that looks right!

KHS

– Scapin does a Blato 29er hardtail
– Duratec does a Torain C1 29er hardtail
– Lee Cougan does a 29er hardtail
– Amaro does 29ers

The new Orbea

There’s a few more but these are the ones that I can remember the names of:
– Scott does one Scale 29er this year and will have 5 aluminium and carbon models next year
– Titici does a carbon 29er hardtail called the Fielty Nine
– Paduano does Ti 29ers
– Nicolai has done quite a few custom FS and hardtail 29ers
– Nevi does their own Ti 29er as well as the Singular Pegasus
– Bianchi does 29ers
– A prototype Pronghorn FS 29er has been spotted in the wild
– Mi Tech seems to have a carbon 29er hardtail on way

Now with lighter and faster rubber

Pre-ordered mine from Nirvana recently. I wasn’t sure what size sprocket to get? The gear range has been increased but is that increase at the higher or lower end? Or both? BikeMagic seems to suggest the increase is at the lower end which means we would need a smaller sprocket or bigger chainring than the 8-speed Alfine to move the range into useful ratios?

"The existing eight-speed Alfine has a gear range of 306%, a Speedhub offers 526% and the new 11-speed Alfine will come between the two at 409%. To put that into context, eight-speed Alfine is roughly equivalent to an 11-34 cassette, while the 2011 unit would be 11-45. Obviously you can tweak the chainring and sprocket sizes to move that range into useful ratios."

It isn’t a light bike but it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s made of lead. Considering the weight of the wheels and tyres it accelerates pretty quickly. The suspension seems to be doing plenty for a 3.5in travel bike. It doesn’t feel ponderous or hard to manoeuvre to me but installing a shorter stem and wider bar can work wonders and that’s something I’m doing. Remember it’s £1200 because you can do some serious upgrades with the saving over other full sus 29ers. I can say with certainty that if I was the right height for a Medium Flagstaff and rode one, it wouldn’t be as enjoyable as being the right height for a Large and riding one.

The KHS Flagstaff is sensibly priced at £1200

I was told by a guy on a Strange Five to look for a multi linkage bike of similar travel to the current Five on the Orange site in June.

Latest bit of hardware, KHS Flagstaff

Currently just this one…not for long though!

That happened to me riding near Findon…then it happed to my boots when shouldered the bike.

My Trance just over a year ago. Rear wheel has been laying around in the shed since I sold the bike…

So the CB headset has been in for about 4-5yrs? It has only been available for a maximum of 2-2.5yrs.

I ran a Cobalt C on my Swift through a lot of last year. It isn't the easiest to install, the bearings are poorly sealed and easily squeezed, the headset had play that couldn't be sorted out through conventional means and the outside of the cups rusted. The instructions state a 2 year warranty, contrary to the 5 year warranty stated on the box and website. Replaced with a Hope.

I’ll probably get one…will have to see what else is coming out this year before saying for sure.