I’ve had a look at the forks again. The axle definitely won’t go in. The 15mm axle adaptors are put in correctly, and there can’t be anything else wrong with the wheel as I’ve been using it on a 20mm pike for a few years. I’m going to call merlin and hopefully get it sorted. I’ll post back up here with how it goes in case anyone else has the same problem.

I’ve not got the disk caliper on yet. I can’t see why the hub wouldnt line up correctly unless the fork legs had been manufactured wrong. The horrible thing is that I’ve already cut the steerer, put on the crown race and the star fangled nut. So I hope Merlin would replace them if they are duff.

Yes, my old forks were 20mm maxle Pikes, with this same wheel. The axle is definitely 15mm, and can slide through the hub when it isn’t in the forks, but as soon as I go to install them on the bike, it won’t go through.

I’m wearing my Icebreaker merino baselayer and longjohns right now. For me, merino is the best stuff in the world, I never find it itchy. But then, I’m fine with even the coarsest of wool jumpers. Trying on a shop might give some indiction of whether it will be alright for you I suppose.

This may sound weird, but buy one of those waxy/plasticy table cloths. They are amazing: resilient, large enough to fit 3-4 people on and slippy! They do make fantastic sledges, I’m never getting another crap plastic sledge again. We were up Queens Park the other day and it was amazing.

Wonderful, thankyou for sharing these. Epic, and proper inspiring, makes me remember some good times from this year, the WHW, Arran. And it makes me think of all the talk and faffing with bikes, and not having time, and forgetting that actually I do.

That World you want is what we all want but it is not going to happen

Call it naivety, that’s fine. It’s wishful, without a doubt. This attitude perhaps explains why it always will be nothing more than wishful thinking.

Backhander, I support some of Britain’s most vulnerable people every working day, and I do it without a gun in my hand, or billions of pounds of military hardware ‘helping’ them.

I stand by my assertion that it is soldiers, politicians and their ilk that cause the problems, not solve them.

But maybe if as a world we decided it wasn’t acceptable to slaughter millions to solve an argument between two arbitrarily constructed countries we’d be better off?

A 17mm axle? what will they think of next? I saw the STW report, it said something about Pro 3 style bearings? Are the Pro 2 bearings alright?

Could I suggest you get some fresh air and cycle? Or would that be churlish?

Great jobs available for fascists.

I’ve been hesitant about getting a straight 1.5″ fork, as stem choice seems pretty limited. The tapered seems like a good idea, but the headset situation is clearly nuts, and needs some genuine form of standardisation across the board.

I was looking at that, but it says “Not for Cannondales” so I assumed I couldn’t use that?

No, it doesn’t have the big spacer. Can I get a headset with a large stack height at the bottom race in order for the forks to clear?

Nah, it’s all about icebreaker merino. I’ve been living in mine for months now.

The notion of “nowness” is quite important I think. The sense that my mind is full of presence when I’m riding is very important to me, it’s a time for unconciously releasing tension and worries and breathing deeply.

It’s never too cold in the UK, as the others have said. As far as ice goes, it’s just a matter of leaving early and taking your time, and not being afraid to get creative with route choices.

I can’t wait for the super cold, beats the wet every time.

It’s been said already, but this sort of rubbish is why we need to educate people that there is a better way: the bicycle. As long as you don’t get run over by a bus, it’s faster cheaper and easier. I dream of the day Britain gets decent bike infastructure, not just a bike/bus/taxi lane (surely a taxi is just a car, it’s called a private cab, it’s private transport!)

Thanks IA, I really appreciate your help. Just to let you all know, over the next few weeks expect to get bombarded with another ton of questions about this that and the other. Suspension’s a bloody minefield isn’t it? 😳

Thanks IA, I’m definitely confusing myself with all this!

I’d also like to ask about this falling rate business. I was planning on getting an RP23 from TF Tuned, so hopefully they could tune it to suit the Prophet, does anyone have any advice about what to tell them to help with that process?

Actually, thinking some more, I’ve had a different idea.

If I were to get a 190x45mm shock, the bike would have a 120mm of travel and be way to low in the FR setting. But If I were to run longer forks like the Revelations at 140/150mm, wouldn’t that jack up and slack out the front end, and raise the BB? SOrt of along the lines of the Cotic Hemlock?

So what kind of shock should I be looking at? I think 200×50 sounds like a sensible option, but what about the boost valve, high volume stuff?

I don’t know anything about suspension as this will be my first FS bike, but does the suspension of the Prophet need a specific suspension tune or anything, I’ve read that it has a falling rate, is that right? And if it is right, what does it mean?!

Bighendo: that looks ace, lovely paintjob.

How low would the BB be if I ran it in the FR setting with a 190×50 shock, would it be super low and feel weird? Have you ever tried that setup?

I was thinking about having some Revelations on the front, or maybe a Lefty Max…

akira, I’ve decided to sell my Simple, as i’m getting a geared bike to save my knees. It’s a black size small with wrap graphics. My email is in my profile if you’re interested, I can send you some pics.

I’ve got a G1, and I really love it. With the 20mm lens it’s really quite tiny compared to my old Nikon D50 that I lugged around the world. I would love to have one of the video ones, as I really fancy making a good little bike video, and these m4/3 cameras are really great for video by all accounts.

The small size and light weight cannot be over estimated as factors in how often you take the camera with you, in my opinion. The G1 has most of the controls I need right there where I need them, not as easy to change them as on my old D50 but not bad.

Yes, I get this too. It was funny when the site changed the other week and I would go back in time to the old site.

A Five for the South Downs?

Wonderful stuff, war and religion. Maybe we’ll all be pacifist atheists one day.

Bloody mental. Absolutely bonkers.

Surely the solution is a congestion charge, a massive investment (though still tiny in comparison to the M74) in comprehensive segregated bike lanes and tell people to MTFU and get out of their cars?

I’m a huge fan of tram systems, though I confess I don’t know any of the specifics of Edinburgh’s. Are trams safer for cyclists than buses? I always imagined they would be as you know the exact route and, er, line choice they’re going to take.

Surely no one actually uses the self service checkouts? I mean, they are clearly just a means of reducing the supermarkets costs so they can make more money and make things harder for the consumer? We don’t have to let them get away with it!

So you want to take the world backwards, when everyone wants to go forwards.

I don’t want to get into an angry argument (maybe this is the wrong thread to post on :wink:) but…

It strikes me that this statement RealMan made is perhaps the fundamental problem we as a species are facing. The metaphor of us moving forward, further along a line of ‘development’ towards some vague and perpetually distant future, things constantly improving, is, I suggest, deeply flawed.

The notions of growth, progress and development will never allow us to stop destroying the planet, never allow us to maintain a population we can feed and house. I wonder if we have to take a step back and reconsider our society.

I’ve been looking at this too cabeaumont, doesn’t look like there’s any way to run a proper chain device. Why do manufacturers feel the need to ‘improve’ their bikes with this sort of thing?

That rigid, carbon Niner…You all know the one….

I don’t want a 29er, a rigid bike, or a carbon bike, but….but it looks so perfect!

Last year a group of neds fired some rockets down kenmure st in Glasgow, aiming for me and my girlfriend cycling home. They missed us by about 5m and exploded under a car. Nearly wet myself, and I can tell you we pedalled like **** chris hoy the rest of the way home.

But the Fuel Ex has a press fit bb so I don’t think a bb mounted chain device will work. I think I’m pretty fit too. I live in Scotland, but I’m sure that’ll be fine.

Around £2500. Coming from hardtails, I’m not looking for something that completely irons out the trail, I just want something fun that I can chuck around as well as go for long pedals in the hills. And something stiff with wide bars sounds like a completely change from what I have now, which will be fun.

+3for Finisterre. I’ve got quite a bit of their merino, and it’s really good stuff.

Just to let anyone interested in this sort of bike know, I’ve found this Whyte T120s that looks like a good un.

Any other ideas about bikes I should try out anyone?