Osprey Syncro 15 is a good pack. I picked one up for commuting recently, and also used it for the trail centre. The airflow system works brilliantly and the whole pack is very light. Seems plenty stable enough as well.

I would have gone for the Raptor, but for the commute the airflow sold the Syncro to me. Thought Id get a second pack for XC/trail use but tried this and won’t be bothering.

Good price as well (I think)

I don’t even get non lock-ons to spin, what a load of guff

This…until the other day. My Kona Dew (hybrid) came with foam grips. When they’re wet they slide right off 8O However my 10+ year old Lizard Skin grips have never moved in all the years I’ve ridden with them and they don’t require bolts, hacksaws or hairspray!

Recently bought a flat bar road bike that was too small for me. Sold it to buy a CX bike. Decided I didn’t like drop bars at all. Sold that and used my mountain bike with slicks for a while. Have since bought a flat bar commuter and very pleased with it.

Always been happy with my mountain bike however and will NEVER ever sell that.

Crud catcher on the downtube and an old innertube between the fork crown and brace (+ a mug of MTFU!) and an ass saver on the rear.

Thanks for all of the replies, no clear “winner” out there. This turned into a bit of a wanted add, wasn’t supposed to be, but thanks for the offers of frames.

I’ll be doing some more research, but I am swaying towards an Orange 5. Mostly because it’s a bike I would have bought back in the day, and mostly because of the simplicity of it. Might have to save a bit longer though as it’s not “bargain bin cheap”.

When you look at the power of the Ramblers Association and BMC the chance of it ever happening in our lifetime (this one or the next!) is zero.

If it has a removable back system I’d take that out first, and buckle any loose straps up.

How important is the tapered headtube/fork? There are bargains to be had with straight headtubes!

The only reason I suggested that is the availability of 1″1/8th forks seems to be getting harder to come by. If I’m wrong then great, add straight steerers to the options 8)

Will have a look at the above options and reply later. Wasn’t looking to buy this month but may be tempted by one of the options above :wink:

As above, unless you have a parts bin full of oddments it’s not worth it to be honest. I priced it up myself recently and bought a Kona Dew from Wiggle instead.

Well a quick bit of after work internet sleuthery and sure enough, it was all set to go out as per BikeInn’s email with the tracking number so would probably have been with the OP tomorrow

Amazing

! I mean anyone can make up a tracking number, you just tap a load of keys on a keyboard.

What are the chances of it actually relating to that same order, on that same day. The internet is full of mysteries!

Gonna get a refill and more biscuits :lol:

I see it having a place on mountain bikes. Reliable, no batteries, simpler more durable than electronics (perhaps), cheaper (perhaps).

I’d buy them as an alternative to cables (electronic or other).

So basically, they don’t have stuff in stock they just take your money

Yup, that’s exactly how the “inn” group works. I waited 8 weeks for a rucksack, but then I knew I’d be waiting 8 weeks. Also, they didn’t take payment until it became available.

As for the rest, they kept you updated (more than most companies do when there’s a delay in your order) and the tracking number may have arrived once the courier actually scanned the collection.

And anyone else who wants to slag me for having to resort to expletives to get what i am entitled to as a consumer

You are not entitled to be rude and aggressive to staff, and had that been the case in a “real shop” I’d have thrown out. Just like you expected to be treated with civility in your job.

Moral of the story? You need anger management. If you want something in a rush buy it in a shop and pay the premium, or don’t be such a tight arse and support UK stores (such as Wiggle) who actually hold stock and deliver next day.

Life sucks, things get delayed, people are human and make mistakes.

Just to update (and say thanks for the above) having fitted Purgatory 2.3 Front and Ground Control 2.1 Rear, and now ran them in the dry and wet at Hamsterly (same runs, different days).

Easy to fit and holding air on Mavic UST rims with 90ml Stans in each.

Front is very grippy, sticks to everything and also “goes where you want it”. An odd statement, but I feel that if I end up off-line I can point this back and it just goes there (previous tyres would have bucked me off for my mistake). Also absorbs hits and drops very nicely and I can turn in harder and tighter than previously.

It does, however, feel very draggy. Even with 40psi in you can feel it dragging. Still grips well at that though. Dropped gradually to about 28psi and it does feel better for grip and hit absorption, but still draggy (oddly, not noticeably worse than 40psi though). So, not so sure about the weight or drag, VERY impressed with everything else I could throw at it.

Rear seems to grip very well during both days also. Doesn’t feel draggy with higher pressures (40 psi), however dropping to 28psi makes it feel noticeably draggy on the flats and sprints. At 40psi it spins out a bit too much on technical climbs, and bounces the crap out of me on rough descents. Dropped to 28psi and still found it hard on rougher descents, but it climbed lots better on technical ascents. However, it was noticeably more draggy.

So, happy with out and out grip from both. Not so sure about drag (coming from light weight Continental XC tyres these are a noticeably more extreme). Still playing with pressures. Remember, I am riding a Ti rigid bike.

However, I have ridden more difficult lines, in wet conditions, with more confidence than ever before 8) I expect I’ll be keeping these tyres for regular trail centre bashing and perhaps getting something more XC race biased for XC/longer days

Saints with reflectors anyone? Work for me with whichever pair of trainers I want to wear that day.

I do use SPD’s on the mountain bike though.

Don’t forget, you’ll be arriving at work pretty muddy, and your bike will need cleaning every night to keep it running well…I’d stick to the road.

So are you saying it does break? Or do you have a different point? ’cause it ain’t that clear what it is…

Had a first ride out on Specialized Purgatory 2.3″ the other day (as a front) and it has LOADS of grip and lots of volume.

Still messing with pressures as tubeless is new to me, but didn’t take long for me to realise it was better than my old 2.1″ Conti Explorer Pro’s (at the trail centre at least).

Would something like this do the job?

Nope, they are rubbish. Got a pair myself, sat in a box. The beam pattern is poor, the build quality is ok, but the beam pattern is no good for road use.

Seriously, wouldn’t bother when something like this is made for the job:

Smart Lunar front lights run on AA’s

Not everyone needs multiple bikes and I am actually more content just having one and then concentrating on riding it.

Agreed.

You can’t gauge level of interest in money some one wants to spend.

Agreed.

Time spent on the bike is what counts, not how much it cost you.

If you think an hours drive and long but easy climbs are an effort then no, it’s not worth it.

I’ve only done the blue and red routes but it makes for a decent 2 hour loop at plod.

Just go and explore, it’s not that far a drive and it’s somewhere new.

Hope you rescued the bike, gotta be worth a packet of haribo in the classifieds :wink:

He said that when you ride with SPDs your ankles go stiff and that loses 4inches of natural travel in your leg, riding with flats will help to get that back and that then helps your position on the bike, also stops you getting lazy by relying on the fact you’re clipped in too.

Interesting. I did switch to flats for a while but didn’t like them. Still use them on the commuter bike, but off-road I didn’t get on with them. Haven’t noticed any of the above (and riding rigid, I’d have noticed an extra 4″ of travel!). Will take note of the ankle thing though, see if I can see a difference.

Thanks, will try putting some het into them and check for contamination.

Sandstone Way, Northumberland? I’ve not done it yet, but on my list.

Have you updated the firmware to the latest version?

Is it the cassette of the hub? My Crossmax play was because of the hub bush.

Try the Hub Doctor

the guy suggested was riding flats for at least 20% of my rides would benefit me greatly. I’m inclined to believe him too.

Why?

Thanks all, seems it might be me that needs to adjust then :D I did adjust the free stroke screw but found that made little difference.

I’m running 160mm rear and 180mm front. Both rotors and pads are the same F&R.

I’ll double check everything is tight as well. It should be, unless something has worked loose.

Thanks all, will just ride it more :twisted:

Nice and short survey, not sure it’ll tell you much about material science but should give you an idea about buyer preferences.

Oh, and the answer is titanium 8)

do i enjoy myself/grin any more than I did in 1994? I don’t think I do actually

This. Sums it up for me when folks talk about anything bike related. I don’t see how it’s possible to have a bigger grin on my face than the one I have after nailing that perfect piece of singletrack. There isn’t a “n+1” for grin factor (no matter how hard some folks try and justify getting there).

The best days riding I’ve had weren’t because I was x seconds quicker that day, or riding with suspension forks or rigid, or even with my seat at max height/min height. The best days I’ve had are the ones where I don’t remember what tyre pressure I ran, or anything about the bike. They are the ones where I was with mates and finished with a pint, or epics where I was out alone, got totally lost but made it back broken and grateful. Or the time I rode down Snowdon. Or the week we hit every trail at every centre in Wales. Or taking my first mtb (Specialized Hardrock) and getting on a ferry to cycle in Ireland for a week.

None of the stories involve talk of the bike or components or geometry. And none of them would have been improved by changing or upgrading any of them.

Right, best go finish bleeding my new XT brakes and checking my new tubeless tyre set-up are still inflated so I can get out and ride this-afternoon.

Thule ride-on is the best option then. You’ll need a towbar fitted, but then it’s a simple case of drop on and plug in.

The racks above need light boards attaching, and by the time you have messed on with the straps etc it’s just easier to drop the seats!

I’ve had boot and ball mounted racks, and would only get a ride-on rack in the future.

Anyone found a correlation between tyre size and bar width?

For example, a HT running a 2.1″ and then a 2.4″ front tyre, would there be any difference in the tyre that may make the use of a wider bar more preferable?

Just wondering if wider tyres require more steering input for example.

My XC bike has a 580mm flat bar. My town bike came with 620mm risers. Don’t get on with them, don’t need them, 580mm flat on the way!

Happy for everyone to tell me how slow and rubbish I must be 8)

Things mountain bikers say: “is that 27.5 or 27.5+?” “You deffo want + on here, the larger contact patch really shaves time of the dusty patch when your not pedalling.”

You know what would have been even faster? My 26″ HT, from 2001.

HT

Nice response Dave. Always worth waiting to hear the full story. I wonder if the OP’s friend even knows this post is going on?

Will be interesting to see if the fork does actually get sent back to us or if the one supposedly coming from Merlin turns out to be imaginary and so he decides to keep it.

The forks from merlin got dispatched yesterday and should arrive today…

So, did they arrive yesterday?

Spotted that lot earlier, filled my basket with lots from SPD’s to front racks, lights etc. Then found none of it was in stock anywhere within 30miles of Lincoln, Durham, Keswick or Hull.

I like that Ritchey bar 8) Bit pricey though, the bike only cost £388! Will stick a £5 flat bar on it and see how that feels. Reckon it will be ok and there must be loads of unused ones kicking around these days.

It does carry the shopping VERY well. Had it loaded up yesterday and it rides nicely, no wobble I’ve had with previous bikes. I just prefer flat bars on any bike to be honest. Doesn’t have to be nose down arse up, you can flip the stem, put some spacers under and still use a flat bar.

Anyway, calculations done, flat bar on way. Will take a photo of it when properly finished and try and avoid the distortion.

Theres a fair bit of distortion in the photo I think, teh levers aren’t quite that steep. But yeah, they are comfortable, that’s why they are there :wink:

Not everyone wants zero stems and 800mm riser bars.

This bike would have been perfect out of the box with flat bars IMHO. I guess even Kona are slaves to fashion :roll: