My 650b converted to 1×10 for xc racing. Love this bike. Perfect for xc and will take on big stuff too.

fivespot – They look great. Have you considered making and selling them?

My classic mini inspired watch.

Specs;

– Modified 316 Stainless Case
– Custom machined and printed dial
– Custom engraved deployment clasp
– automatic mechanical movement – modified slightly

A Chronograph is underway and I am thinking of starting a website to sell a few different custom watches.

Luke.

Entered the 6-hour solo. I rode the 8-hour solo on single-speed 29er in 2011 and that destroyed me so back on full-suss geared this time round.

Thetford is my local place to ride. It might not be that hilly but the “whoop” sections and constant pedalling makes up for it. Oh and the odd sandy section is a bit of a killer.

Happy riding and good luck to those who have entered.

Luke.

Did you find somewhere in Blighty to get the Dillinger frame or order it over from the US?

Is this the same bike on MTBR? Very nice looking bike, it’s just a shame that there is no dealer in the UK.

Funny you should say about getting them in the UK as I run a web based bike shop on the side (still getting off the ground) http://www.pedalcentre.co.uk and I have been offered UK dealership by Soul Cycles. If theres enough interest I will start importing them. I actually got this frame second hand via the forums.

And yes it is the same bike on MTBR.

Luke

Thanks for the nice comments. I certainly enjoyed building it and it was definitely worth the 6 month wait whilst I gathered parts.

Nice.
My favourite type of bike.
See you a sswc.

Give me a shout if you see me around. Good luck.

Luke

Seems a shame to point out the weeds and badly painted door.
– But the crank arm is neatly lined up with the seat tube, so even stevens IMO.
Very nice looking pushbike!

Ha! Rented house so not my handy work with the garage door. Weeds have had a good dose of weed killer but still they persist. Rubbish setting for the picture I know but I hadn’t ridden it or taken it anywhere up to that point.

Luke

I appreciate it can be hard to get something decent on a small budget but to be honest as above, you’re prob best to go second hand and get something better.

The Carrera will be quite heavy due mainly to the steel forks. It has 8-speed shifters which hasn’t really been used widely on road bikes for 7-8 years or more. The tyres are to fat, ideally you want 700x23c.

One of the low end Boardmans would be better IMO.

Valves & logos not only lined up, but correctly positioned at the top for the photo.
Outstanding attention to detail.

I’m impressed that you noticed! I always pay attention to the small details especially on my race bikes.

Luke,
What gearing are you running on it?

As I’m new to single-speed I’ve gone for 32×16 as a starting point but I have 15 through to 20 tooth sprockets and I was thinking of getting a couple of new chain rings also.

I’m riding the SS Worlds in August on this bike so I’ll be playing around with tyres and gearing for a few weeks to see what works for me.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Luke

It’s a Soul Cycles Dillinger with handbuilt wheels (by me) Stans Crest rims on A2Z XC Hubs. Exotic carbon forks, Chris King H/Set, Avid Elixir R’s and Ritchey WCS finishing kit.

It weighs 22Lbs,

What do you think ?

Luke

I am mightily cheered by this thread for I couldn’t get 29er SB8s onto 29er Flows for love nor money. They came up well short and then, to add insult to injury, the OP and I got given a degree of grief on this thread for having the temerity to suggest that they might be a little bit incompatible with the Stan’s profile.

I don’t care what anyone says, the fit is tight and too much so IMO. I’ve fitted dozens of 700c folding tyres (road variety) to many different rim combo’s including the use of big, floppy latex tubes and I’ve never struggled as much as I did trying to fit the Kenda’s to the Crest rims.

I guess some people will get them to work and perhaps some tyres come up slightly slacker than others. I personally wouldn’t want the hassle of such a tight tyre out on the trial, hence me giving up on them and going for something else. I just hope the new tyres fit!!

Well I had a second attempt last night…

After 10-15 mins of messing around and some sore fingers, I finally managed to get one side of the tyre on the rim only to discover I had it orientated wrong!!! so off it came and I vowed to never buy Kenda tyres again.

Thanks for the tips/help everyone. I’ve got some cheap Maxxis tyres on the way (bought via these forums) to try and then I’ll decided what to get in readiness for Thetford summer enduro on July 9th….

Luke.

Yep they are 29″ tyres. 55-622 to be exact.

Have you got Stan’s tape fitted?

I’ve got Zefal rim tape fitted and it’s 22mm as per Stans website. As above, I’ve even tried fitting to a rim without a tape on. I’m not using tyre levers as I don’t want to damage/mark the brand new white rims.

Luke.

Surely that’s a good opportunity to justify a new pair or lighter, less draggy tyres!

These tyres are simply a stop gap so that I can go for a ride Friday night and then I’ll be fitting Racing Ralphs or Nobby Nic’s in a couple of weeks.

Have you made sure the beads in the centre well all the way round?

Yeah, I even tried fitting one of the tyres to a rim without a rim tape on to see if that was causing the issue. I would say that I still have a good 6-8 inches of bead to get over the rim when it’s at it’s tightest point.

Thanks for the replies. I run 160/160 on my 26″ race bike so perhaps I’ll stick with that after all.

The company I work for is facing going into Administration within a few weeks so I have no job security at the moment. I haven’t actually had any work to do for nearly 9 months however, I am still employed and I’m being paid.

What have I done to pass the time ? Well I’ve worked almost 100% of my time at work setting my own business up (http://www.pedalcentre.co.uk) I have spent hours reading up on business accounting, conducting market research, sourcing suppliers not to mention the actual setup of the online shop.

I know that the internet is saturated with online retailers and that I can’t compete with the big companies but I have a few ideas that have been well received by those in the market, which will hopefully make me a little unique to everyone else.

Moral of the story is to be happy that you have work at the moment in what is a difficult time for lots of people. I’m not telling a sob story here just that you have to make the most of what you’ve got. For me it is time on my hands to have a go at doing something that I’ve thought about for a long time.

Good luck with passing the time.

Luke.

If you leave wet clothes sitting around for a while before hanging to dry they can develop a unique smell. Try some fabreeze or fabric conditioner