Ah cool, all going well my LBS will have one.

That mbr link shows the wrong info, i was chatting to a SRAM mechanic at an event this year and he told me not to compress the forks before attaching the footnuts.

But i doubt thats your isdue anyway dan. My pikes took a LOT of fiddling to get right. I eventually had a FAST damper fitted as i had some spare cash one month and it made a big difference to how they run.

Its gotta Ben Lomond for me, a fair old hike up but the descent is about 95% rideable and it s bluudy brilliant.

Ace news, thats the kind of customer service that you remember for a long time.

If you put aside failure rate because that argument seems to divide opinion, then think about what else you want from a dropper. For me it was getting rid of that stupid Reverb remote and fitting a southpaw lever. Also having cable instead of hydraulic action for obvious reasons.

I had a Reverb. It worked faultlessly but i broke 2 levers which were pricey to replace. So far my Lev is still working well a year in and i much prefer the southpaw lever.

You are all wrong 😀 Maxxis DHR2 is the answer.

I cant see past flows to be honest, i have absolutely hammered mine these past few years and they are still going strong. An absolute doddle to set up tubeless and they just don’t mess you about.

What puts me off carbon rims are the high proportion breaking from rock strikes, and i mean this from first hand experience from people i ride with and have met on races walking home.

Its an amazing place and the riding in the area is on another level. Been out with doug from basque mtb the last couple of years and currently trying to work some dates for next year.

I had a couple of older hope freehubs that were chewed up, these were the alloy versions. Had a hope xd driver on now for 2 years, recently changed the cassette and if in perfect condition. Very chuffed

They don’t come with bladders, i have one of the FR Trail 20l jobbies. It has an internal pocket that you just slip one into, snarf snarf 🙂

I actually never use mine as i have an Osprey pack that suits me a lot more.

Great pack IMO.

Hey Shackleton, I finally bit the bullet and went for the MRP Stage fork, thanks for the help with that one.

I used an Inline on my spitfire Trans Provence and EWS this year along with lots of other riding. Absolutely no issues at all. I think it is like anything, if you get a god one it will be fine. There was obviously a run of these that were not up to what was expected of them though.

al – Member
A lot of shocks on Banshees seem to wear prematurely. It’s not alignment, it’s flex.

Where are you getting this information from? My inline is running fine on my spitfire and its fair to say i dont treat it well.

Fair one that they could actually be bothered to respond to your blog. A lot of companies would not gove a s**t.

My first Inline died within a week when oil started leaking out the rebound adjuster. TF Tuned worked some magic and sent me another ASAP as i was racing a few days later. The second one has been absolutely faultless. It has taken some serious abuse and is still going strong.

Bullroar, i have a set of 26 dropouts on my spitfire that i wod be happy to swap for 27.5.

I am changing some kit out bit by bit before a probable frame change next year so if you want them drop me a line.

Cheers

Awesome, thanks guys. All appreciated 😀

Cool, thanks guys. Had this bike for about a year now and its has some proper abuse so I am expecting it to be a bit tricky. I’m happy to get the right tools for the job.

Download a free VPN, or a cheap one. I use VPN one click. You then pick whatever countries server you want to go through. Its a great way of getting loads of different programs from Netflix as they show different programs in different countries.

The new Turner RFX. And on that note i will be ordering one very soon. I think i will cry with joy and then pain when i see my bank statement. 🙂

I fitted a 32T which the Absolute Black site states suites someone who runs either a 30T or a 32T normal.

This appears to be right so far. Oh and do not expect to suddenly find your local climbs 10% easier, i was not sure what to expect and i have a very open mind on the benefits / drawbacks of the oval chainring but so far i am pretty impressed, but not 10% impressed. Certain climbs in certain conditions i know how far i will get but so far i seem to have a definite improvement on most.

They do suit a smoother cadence on climbs though.

Currently i am running DHR2 in 3c up front and 60A rear. Absolutely love them. I am quite curious to see how they handle the mud and gloop over the winter. I was about to get a shorty for the front but ill give these a blast first i reckon.

And nobody has mentioned Clenbuterol yet 🙂 Joking!

sparkyrhino – Member
be thankfull you didn’t get the hubs!!!

Right on, i had 2 sets destroy themselves on me. The first cracked completely across the shell. As i noticed it right at the top of Lochnagar its fair to say i was not amused 🙁

After the second hub cracked silverfish did not want to know. Luckily my LBS got in touch with E13 / The hive and they refunded me. I will not touch those hubs again.

mooman – Member
bigjim » gfrew88, please tell me what your job is so I can do it too!
Professional Day-Dreamer is my guess.

Nope, i have an inkling we are in the same game 🙂

You are only 21, bloody hell mate. A baby 🙂

The geometry looks very similar to my spitfire, maybe i am looking at the numbers too simply but if they are then i doubt it would feel too short.

There was a thread on this a while back. Think the culprit might be the B screw but might be worth doing a search for the thread.

Try Jungle, they are the importer and seem to have every pair under the sun in stock.

I really like mine, it has a snappier feel with the southpaw remote and there is no faff with hydraulics or that ridiculous reverb remote that just begs to be broken.

I think i have run mine for about 6 months with no issues. I have some slight oily marks on the stanchion now and again but as nothing has stopped working yet i am not too worried.

Banshee, all their bikes have interchangeable dropouts so you can run either 26 or that other one.

That’s good to know hob nob. I thought jungle had all the servicing and repairs sorted now for BOS?

Yeah I have used them before and really rated them. I can get the fox 2016 from my lbs at a good price along with the DVO. I have a really good relationship with my LBS and would like to support them if possible. They can’t get me the BOS unfortunately

This is my Vivaro conversion thread >>HERE<<

I have a table to fit and a captains chair fitting for the passenger double seat when i get home.

Trust me, it never ends this conversion malarkey 🙂

Haha, well i bit good and proper 🙂

What I don’t get is the narrow-wide chainrings as the bash guard is then lost. Even just hopping the bike over a typical horse step gate thing risks trashing the ring and chain, let alone proper riding?

Blackspire bruiser, protects the chain and front ring.

ok for trail center stuff that the blokes who like it ride. places like the lakes where proper mtb riders frequent, it is nigh on useless.

Pish, complete and utter pish. Whoever wrote that need’s to have a long hard look at themselves. Stop generalising. There is no getting away from the fact that we all like different types of kit and not everything is one size fits all. As i stated before my thinking is that if you ride in the mountains nearly all the time then 2 x 10 with a clutch mech is the ultimate solution, but 1 x 11 is very very close. And thats not just from my experience but from a lot of very capable riders i have met on my travels.

Plus the cost is crazy and those posh cassettes don’t last two minutes, or so I hear. So what’s the deal?

I was on the verge of heading off to do something more productive but i thought i would reply tho this one.

Posh cassette 😛 i will admit to spending a fair whack on a complete X01 drivetrain with no real expectations on how it would perform. I had the money to burn after a refund from a set of carbon hoops that kept committing suicide on top of very high mountains.

So 18 months down the line this is where i am at, i am still on the same cassette. I am on the 3rd chain and the second front chainring which i dropped down for hitting the mountains this summer 🙂 yea i know.

In that time i have ridden shed loads. 2 week long holidays. 2 week long multi stage events with trans in the title. and lots and lots of normal riding. I dont have the exact figure but its lots 🙂

On that basis alone i don’t think it is fair to say they last 2 minutes. If you take care of the drivetrain it will last. It really is not rocket science. And change the chain out before it really trashes the cassette.

Oh and before i forget as i said i was very open to accepting the disadvantages and advantages of the system, for the riding i do its pretty much a perfect solution. Simplicity it where its at. If you ride mountainous terrain all the time i think a 2 x 10 may benefit you more but for me i see no real disadvantages to 1 x 11

Right what am i missing here, even with the cost of replacing my freehub these are still Cheaper that X01 cassettes.

Have a look at http://www.basquemtb.com. We have been out a few times and Doug and Antonio make sure you will have a great trip tailored to your riding ability and what you want.

Plus the food and drink had to be seen to be believed. I love the place and the riding obviously 🙂

Done both the Trans Savoie and Trans provence. Dont put yourself off thinking that you cannot do them. If you have done a few enduro type events and are hapoy with the crazyness that is blind racing then go for it. Some people go with the attitude of enjoying the experience and getting through the week. Although they are billed as amazing races the thing i took from them was spending time in the mountains with really good people who loved to ride their bikes as much as me.

6 days does take its toll though, but finishing trans provence near the beach in menton with a bunch of guys i had been riding with that week was a very special feeling,

Go for it, but do prepare. Get mountain fit, make sure you are happy with blind racing on some pretty mental trails and most of all enjoy the experience.

Sazter, there is a blog I follow from a guy who did very a very similar thing. Vandogtraveller is the name. He has an eBook that documents the whole process of his van conversion. I didn’t expect to get much from it but it is a goldmine of conversion info.

Oh and good luck with following your dreams. Can life get any better than parking up beside a beach and when you open the doors in the morning that is the first thing you see.