What do you class as off road biking? It’ll always be a compromise, but for 15 miles commuting I’d be looking towards that as the priority.

A Kona Dew Plus is £388 from Wiggle. Perfect for commuting and hard packed trails (nothing technical). Maybe swap the tyres for something more aggressive if you like. Bit of a bargain at the price I think. Hence why I bought one :P

Should add:

Saddles are easily changed.

Suspension is not a must, in fact it’ll add weight and little “benefit” at your price point.

Rigid mountain bikes are available at your price point, and would suit a bias towards off-road with maybe slick tyres for the commute?

Nothing wrong with the saddle, it’s only very slightly nose down, looks worse in the photo than it actually is.

Obviously the bars/stem are a temporary measure to get the fit where I want it with what I have.

Now I’ve found that calculator I think I can work something out.

Just found this calculator

I’ve put in reach = 100mm, angle -6 deg for my current stem. I have put “spacers” as -22mm, as this is the rise on my bars (or drop of the bars in this case. I don’t have any spacers in).

The calc gives me a new reach of 105mm and an angle of -18 degrees with zero spacers (as I’ll have a flat bar in).

Does that sound about right?

Might just have to stick a flat bar in and see how that feels. Probably be ok with the 22mm extra height and what, 8mm closer reach?

Apart from spending money on what is needed (ie new cables and outers, grips perhaps,and generally giving it a spruce up), I’d be looking at a lighter air fork and possibly a lighter and stiffer set of wheels.

Just give my 2001 HT a set of XT brakes and XTR gear cable set, along with a brand new set of tyres. It’s nice to give the old bike a bit of TLC.

They may have changed the design of the drive side seal by now too as I have read a shed load of people have had problems.

A closer look at mine and the drive side seal is weeping grease (as well as the knocking). Can’t have done more than 60 miles commuting on them.

Looks like CRC will be getting this set back as well. Disappointing as my mate has them with no issues at all.

Mine says 2002 in it 8O

If a helmet degrades to a point of been unsafe after 3-5 years sat on a shelf I’d be trusting a different helmet. Seriously. Th only reason they have a shelf life and then usage life is that CE markings dictate that they must.

Hmm, now my second set is faulty, the right pedal is knocking. Only had about a weeks commuting!

Some interestin observations, and some of the reasons why 14 years ago I bought a Ti hardtail and not a full suss bike.

I still ride it now with minimal maintenance or expenditure. 1 set of shifters, a wheel hub bush, couple of chainrings and cassettes, and two bottom brakets. Not really anything else. The forks are due for a service or replacement, but I’ve stuck some rigid forks on for now.

I built it with a very long term view (ie last me a lifetime). You don’t HAVE to succumb to industry if you don’t want to…

I’ve personally gone for the Kenisis Maxlite (Alu) and find them really good. In between your weight range (about 880g), yet take a lot of buzz out (I think it’s more about fork design than material). They flex a bit with my new XT brakes fitted, but are latterally very stiff.

Can’t say I noticed any unbalance.

Did mine on Sunday. Found a nice sharp stanley knife blade did a fine job of cutting them. Bleeding seemed to go ok. Worse case, Halfords bleed brakes for £6 an end. That’s where my Kona/Tektro brakes will be going!

Quite like the look of the Hei Hei if I ever decided to go bouncy. Seeems Kona are no longer “all about the 4-bar” though?

I got brand new ones, one felt tight but I put it on anyway. After about 50 miles/1 week it was worse so I got a replacement. New ones feel fine though.

Perfect timing, thanks!

If the commute is so short I’d not bother with a 2nd bike then. Or just get a second set of wheels, cassette, and tyres/slime tubes and some clip-on mudguards for the commute.

Folding bike for the commute?

There’s a lot of sales on at the moment, so I’d be shopping those for a HT with the best spec for my money.

Or, because 26″ is currently taking a break and 9 speed is dead, check out the second hand market for loads of bargains :roll:

Thought it might be interesting to see what part of IT you work in.

Hows that working out for you? :?

Where do you go?

A bike shop, with cash, and buy the one you like the colour of best.

This generated more responses than I’d expected. Interesting to see that others have found similar, as has some research.

I do think that the “fear” of crossing the white line, while stupid, is real. It happens to me a lot when nothing is coming the other way. Even those that do cross only just cross it when they could actually move right out.

I do like the 3 ft campaign. Even if it isn’t policeable I think it would raise awareness.

For now I’ll stick to thinking everyones out to kill me!

I think the only acceptable reason for not having a dropper post is not being able to afford one.

Or:

Weight saving
Simplicity
One less thing to maintain
Never really felt the need
Lack of availability in smaller post sizes
Comfort (inherently stiffer)
One less thing to wear out/break

I actually like that. No way I’d commute 60 miles though, motor or no motor!

Nice, and who knew – you can get coloured cable ends!

How much haribo? Is it proportional to how much u spend?

A small bag, about 8, so about enough to last while bolting the bars on and fuel a short test ride :P

Why have you photographed it in front of my garage?

I always photograph my bike in front of a random garage, just in case any thieving scum recognise mine. Sorry :oops:

U-lock added some weight but I like it where it is mounted. Keeps the weight lower and leaves the main triangle free for bottles and frame bag if needed. Speaking of which, the frame is clear of cables and hoses making it ideal for bar bags etc.

Also plenty of heel room for panniers with the longer stays. Was clipping these when fitted to the mountain bike. Interesting to see how it handles loaded, the mtb was a bit wobbly. Might even have room to shift the bags forward on the rack a bit.

Just get a saddle bag. You’ll need something to carry your tools/spare tubes/raincoat/keys/wallet etc in surely?

Got everything ordered I think, just need a p-clip or hose guide for the rear seat stay.

That’ll be until I find the hoses need shortening, I need different mount adapters, etc!

Was up there on Saturday, from Cow Green to HCN. Sticking to the Pennine Way was fine. Not too much hike-a-bike. Decided to return via Maize Beck, honestly wouldn’t bother again.

Once you get to the military zone it’s all hardpack to Cow Green, lovely fast run back!

Thanks.

Just ordered these: Hose Cable Adaptors

Now think I need something for the rear seat stay and I’m sorted – well, after waiting for royal mail to deliver lots of boxes of new bits 8)

m360,do you work for px? Not the first time they have screwed up and kept quiet

Nope, I just live in a world where stuff rarely goes to plan/my way/mistakes are made. It’s how they are dealt with that matters.

Did you phone them before ranting on here? Did they refuse to send you the correct part?

Thanks all. Stans it is and I’ll be seating the bead first as it’s bad enough doing normal tyres this with a tube in on the UST rims. If thats easy I’ll pour it straight into the tyre, otherwise it’ll stay on and go through the valve!

Will watch Stans videos as well.

Cheers.

I recently got some Shimano MT34L’s and whilst they may or may not prove durable, they are pretty good for walking in. Way nicer than any of my previous “race” shoes. And at £45, if they don’t last so long I’m not that bothered!

Thanks, will pick up some Stans on my way home tomorrow. So many mixed reviews for all of the products, hard to know which to use, especially as a lot of the negative reviews are for none tubeless tyres.

So you got sent the wrong part, they’ve realised that the description was wrong and have since changed it, and your problem is..?

People make mistakes, things go wrong, especially when you’re dealing with thousands of orders and components each week. Hardly the end of the world, especially as it’s taken you a month to notice :roll:

I’m calling out m360.That was’nt yesterday,that was 15 years ago (they stopped making coloured 2.1’s and bar ends in 2001).Just missing a pair of Ron Hills

You are right about the tyres, I stocked up on them at the time :) Unfortunatelyy this may have been their last outing as the sidewalls are cracked and tread pretty worn now :cry:

You can, however, still buy Cane Creek bar ends, and my Ronhills were deliberately left at home – it’s August, not December 8)

I have Kenesis Maxlight forks and they are pretty compliant, perfect for XC stuff. Ran them with a 2.1″ tyre yesterday, 40psi, bridleways and bogs, no bother. At trail centres a fatter tyre helps over the fast bumpy stuff.

On yesterdays ride to High Cup Nick, it was the perfect bike for the job. Definitely wouldn’t have wanted full suss.

For £100 budget, second hand possibly which would be the best one to pick up?

Or this: Rollei action cam

Or a bargain when you look at the mounts you get with it as standard: Rollei Action Cam 220 an mounts £70!

Good news, I seem to have found a cure…

Heat mouldable insoles! Had the idea last-night so popped them out of my hiking boots and into my cycling shoes.

Been out all day today and zero foot pain or aches! Gotta be worth a try if you’ve tried everything else.

Agree with Al. Buy the one you can afford and just get out and ride!

The Trail is a better bike on paper than your old bike. The Elite does look like a much better spec though.

If you were perfectly happy with your old bike and the Trail is the same sort of price, go for that. If you can afford the extra and are happy spending it, the Elite would be a nicer treat.

You mean derailleur or shift lever?

I suspect: worn mech, B tension, cable tension.

Shift lever.

Checked everything else and am suspecting a worn mech to be honest. It’s not cable tension, mech alignment, stops, or, I think B-tension screw.

Just a note on the B tension screw though, I had it as close to the chainset as it would without catching and have backed it off gradually and this has made no difference. There’s not much else is there?

Will photograph my mech tomorrow and will need some advice on replacing it as I don’t have a clue what model I need these days (it’s XT 9 speed, that’s all I know!).

Thanks all.

Thanks all, will adjust the cable tension some more and see how that goes. Did try this on the stand but when it upshifted perfectly it was reluctant to downshift off the largest ring.

Does it make a difference if you adjust tension at the mech or shifter? Can’t see that it would.

Also, the B screw was set correctly, but I have tried adjusting this either way with no change.

Cheers, will try tensioning it again and see how that goes on the ride home.