Yeah as Paul says the Sumo clamp is solid once set. Wouldn’t be an easy trailside adjustment tho, I can only assume Thomson have a patent on their design or everyone would use it.

Also worth noting the Sumo has a small offset, 6mm I think, may be relevant for your fit.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/chain-length-sizing

1 inner, 1 outer.

Don’t go too short, there needs to be a noticeable bend at each jockey wheel when on big/big.

Can’t see the Sumo 400mm on CRC or Wiggle, but it exists, I have 1! British product too.

USE Sumo, fiddly saddle bracket but rides well.

not to mention the up and coming trend – bar end knobbles

jhw – where? I spent years there …

yeah, between ads ITV is good. They have to pay the rent of course but ad frequency borders on the ridiculous sometimes.

Ta, does Eurosport show whole races/days, or just bulletins at the end of the day mixed in with lots of other junk?

I don’t care about football tennis motor racing etc etc, just cycling. If there’s a dedicated channel that would be perfect.

I find ITV’s TdF coverage to be so ad-saturated as to be near unwatchable unfortunately.

Search the forum and you’ll find masses on here, it’s been doen gazillions of times.

I hat to cut off an ADvantage that I got on with a tube, I never tried it tubeless.

The pre UST Schwalbe Rocket Ron’s work well for me, Bontrager Mud X were fine, a friend said his Kenda Blue Groove went on easy.

Don’t ride anything you couldn’t get off and then back on (with a tube) trailside, else if you get a tyre slit that won’t seal you’re walking home.

Nick’s pics capture Chamonix riding pretty well too – ff and pads, exposure, steeps, views.

Not really my thing (I’m more of a flowy forest singletrack fella and usually draw the line at armour), but horses for courses. Cliffs are ok as long as you’re bolted to them!

Also speak to Ride the Alps http://www.ridethealps.com/ who can put together custom itineraries or possibly provide a guide. I did their Chamonix to Zermatt trip a few years ago, it was excellent. Well worth a chat to them.

I don’t know of any but the places to ask would be:
* tourist information (in the square opposite the back entrance of the cinema)
* Zero G bike shop, the Les Houches end of the main street
* the other bike shop (Legend?) on Avenue Aiguille du Midi
* Hotel le Vert in Les Gaillands.

I know Le Vert do peer group rides at least once a week. If anyone does paid-for guiding, I’m sure they’ll know.

You’ll be able to speak English in any of these places.

Some nice pics Nick.

I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer though, Chamonix is brilliant and you’ll still find a lot to do there

Absolutely, it’s somewhere everyone should go sometime in their lives. And if you have kids take them to walk on a glacier, while there is still a glacier.

I’ve done the walk from the aiguille du midi mid station to the le montenvers de glacé before which would be a good ride. However can I ride up to the montenvers instead of using the tram. Like I said ‘proper xc’ I want a long route.

You could hike-a-bike it, up the route that skiers use to ski down from the Vallee Blanche – start from the bottom of the summer luge. It’s pretty steep in bike terms obviously – I well know to my cost what’s an easy ski down is a damn steep ride up.

Personally I think Montenvers -> Midi mid is a totally daft idea for a bike ride, there’s be a chunk of walking and no flow at all. But it’s a fine walk.

If you want a nice hike go up to La Jonction, that’s the rock spine that splits the glacier in 2 at the top, to the right of Glacier des Bossons. Go up the right side (not the main tourist route – look on the map) and down the main way, to make it more interesting.

ahhh chamonix.

I spent several summers (and winters) there and hiked, climbed and skied all over the place but always thought it was over-rated for biking, unless one wants to do cliff hucks and get-it-right-or-get-broken exposure.

Maybe it was just me!

For the record Hope say the nipple needs a tube of 4mm internal diameter for bleeding.

A customer in my last lbs job wanted 1mm spacers so he could get his TT stem position “just right”.

Worked in a ski hire shop once, had a customer bring skis back “because they wouldn’t run parallell”.

man those things are objects of desire and, fortunately, now shown as out of stock in all sizes

ta. But I’m going to look under the fridge anyway.

As for the Myster of the Missing Diaphragm – when I turned my bike upside down ( 😯 ) to fit the wheel it fell on the floor, I reckon it was restng in cammo on a tyre.

Fair bit of air in mine by the way so I did need a bleed, however I did make the error above of not tightening the shroud enough before I first pulled the lever.

I got a bit of hose from the local hardware store for 50p, I dno what size it is. Big up to Cummins of Dorking!

A just-under-brim-full reservoir can take 4 good pulls on the lever before it needs a top-up (just).

Let us know how you get on!

Yeah, I musta’ missed something …

& make sure the shroud is good and tight on the lever assembly before you pump the lever. You possibly get away without a bleed.

& remember the shroud needs to go back on the hose BEFORE the olive

ooh, im hose shortening a set of those today. praps i will check my bleed kit before i start

right I can help with this cos I nearly ****ed it up yday:
* watch the vid! don’t loose the copper washer
* the fit of the nozzle in the hose is VERY tight I had to use pliers and grunt to get it out
* the olive is very tight too, esp to get back on
* use good quality cable cutters and make sure the hose is as straight as poss at the point you are cutting it. This makes getting the olive back on easier (or should I say possible)
* cut a little off the hose and do a dry run of refitting the bits before you do the full cut
* I cut my hose to the same length as the Mono Mini it was replacing BUT ALLOW A FEW MORE CM BECAUSE THE X2 SHROUD IS SHORTER AND THE HOSE RUNS CLOSER TO THE RESERVOIR SO IT NEEDS TO BE A BIT LONGER (1)

(1) it’s OK I got away with it, but another 5cm would have been better

For the record, the diaphragm is the same as the ’07 Mono Mini/M4 levers, part number HBSP193:

http://www.hopetech.com/webtop/modules/_repository/documents/mini2007mcylexploded.PDF
http://www.hopetech.com/webtop/modules/_repository/documents/2012RACEEVOMCylexploded.pdf

Crofts, y if it ain’t 6mm it’s gotta be 4 or 5. OK off to Wickes I go.

(HBSP = Hope Brakes Spare Part ?)

If anyone actually knows what diameter bleed tube I need, that’s what I want to know.

More likely: it’s under the dead mouse that the cat dropped under the car while I was cursing my cack-handedness.

If anyone actually knows what diameter bleed tube I need, that’s what I want to know.

You don’t say if you’re using the race or tech lever with your x2. Either way, I’m pretty certain you spare is not going to fit. Unless you’ve mullered the old one, it can be reused if you’re careful.

I’ve not mullered it, I’ve lost it in the garage. It pinged out of my hand while I was about to refit it, bounced off the car and I can’t find it for half an hour’s looking. GAHHHHHHHHH!

I hope that mental image has brightened someone’s Sunday morning.

I see no Race X2 service kit on CRC by the way.

Ta TJ, already looked on CRC of course – not that I can see.

(Looks like the Mono M4 diaphragms in my spares bin will fit.)

+1 Rio

Agree there is a degree of over-design – I have the current HAWG, there’s just too much of it, it feels like there is more bag than space.

Likewise I don’t see i’ll ever use the Osprey helmet carrier widget. On the other hand he magnetic holder for the bite valve is a master stroke!

Nick I have the 10 here (which I think I will swop for a 13) it’s fairly slim – do you mean for carrying?

thread resurrection – looking at Osprey Viper 10 vs 13 – any opinions?

Hmm yeah I see that. Not what I want either, I run 2×10 and want to stay that way.

how’s this?

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3514&g=262429&p=262433&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=MTB%20Chainrings

Craig this has been asked before – there is no aftermarket in 120mm BCD chainrings yet (or there wasn’t). Yeah it’s a PITA and I wouldn’t have bought the crankset if I’d known!

Someone linked up a site they could be ordered from – if you do a search on ‘120mm BCD’ you’ll probably find it.

– M

Leaving the thorn in doesn’t seem like sound engineering

Fair point, tho you could well have other thorns in there you don’t know about. I know I do, if you pardon the dichotomy. I’ve had 2 instances recently where the tyre lost some pressure while riding but I couldn’t find a problem, so I put some air in and went on my way. I reckon those are thorn flats that self sealed after a bit of leakage. And last time I changed tyres there were thorns I never noticed.