@OP – I have a CEN Soul and am very happy with it. I can’t advise you on alternatives because I didn’t ride any. I decided I wanted a new Ti HT, settled on a Soda, decided they were too expensive and bought a Soul. There’s enough momentum behind the thing, and enough people on here who love them, that it’s hard for it to be a wrong decision.

That’s not to say there aren’t other frames out there just as good, there probably are. But who has time to try them all properly? It’s not even viable really for the average punter to try out a bunch of steel frames on a like-for-like build.

If you’re near Surrey and 5’8″ less you’re welcome to try it.

What’s your set up David, and what do you ride on it?

As 3fish says, that’s the definitive response, and Steve thx I used that page several times.

Brill, we have a tiny trike (with trailer!) for our little girl’s 1st bday at the weekend, I’ll assemble it tomorrow. So looking forwards to it….

Old paintings of the Tower clearly show it standing alone on a cleared heath, not surrounded by trees.

It was a bit of a shock when I rode SL a few months ago, having last been there a few years ago when it was forested, but it shoud be what it should be.

Us bikers are but a blip really.

And there’s plenty of forest too.

(Surrey Hills are magic).

soz for the hijack I made a new thread instead: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sram-2×10-to-1×10-how

ok then, side question: I run SRAM 2×10, in big ring on the front I can’t get big sprocket on the back, the chainline simply won’t do it. To run 1×10 will it work to:

* get rid of the granny
* put my new smaller ring on the front in place of the current ‘big’
* move it inboard a few mm with spacers

or do I need to swap the new ring for the granny and replace the current ‘big’ with a bash? Tho I’d rather not, I have no need for a bash ring, there are no rocks where this bike rides and the point of this is to cut down on clutter.

ta

Lots of us have ditched them and gone 1×10 – will never look back.

What gearing?

fair enough I stand corrected

as for x9 vs x10 – I am convinced I notice the closer gear ratios and that makes cadence smoother when shifting. But I could be imagining it.

Downside is the chains seem to stretch quicker, makes sense as they are thinner.

On my 3×9 I found I only ever used the big chain ring to put the chain on for descents, to stop it falling off, which happens because it has enough links to fit on a big chainring …

I did a new build at 2×10 and love it. I spin out at highest speed trails but don’t care. I use all the gears so don’t think I’m ready for a 1x, tho I like the idea of it.

@OP – lots of good opinions here. There’s no bad decision here really, go with what you fancy and justify it afterwards. I did.

Fingers crossed for the rider. Donation done. There but for the grace of (your choice of celestial tooth fairy here) go any of us.

John regarding ‘hardtail vs fs’ – my Soul is built light and fast, optimised for where I spend 95% of my ride time which is Surrey Hills and North Downs, ie no rocks, lots of climbs, I call it “XC+”. I have an old Blur Classic that I use for Wales/ooop North/anywhere rocky/Alps etc.

It’s brilliant – best of both worlds, plus I have a backup bike should one have downtime or I need one to lend to a buddy. For you down South, if you have space, that’s the way to do it. If I was having only one it would be the Soul because I love it for where (and how) I ride the most.

I bought a Soul frame only and did a build** because I specifically wanted to break the dependency on the LBSs, and I wanted to spec the parts myself, actually the brakes were re-used from an earlier bike and the forks were 2nd hand from Classifieds too but all is good-as-new.

I’m glad I did, riding a bike I built rounds out the MTB experience for me, I like knowing how everything fits together and that I can service and fix an awful lot without repeating the “take to LBS-fetch-try-it’s wrong-take it back-start again” loop over and over (life’s too short to do that any more).The caveats are I probably didn’t ‘save’ any money and it took a chunk of time (that I was happy to invest as part of the hobby), but repeats would be quicker and cheaper.

** IMO ‘build’ is actually a bit of a grandiose term, ‘assembled’ is more accurate.

I did Chamonix – Zermatt with Ride the Alps a few years ago, it’s an itinerary (guide is part of the package) so you get to see several places and ride absolutely all kinds of terrain, including a bit of hike-a-bike.

It was good value and good fun, and as a ‘journey’ it’s a good alternative to resort based lift-slogging. TMB would undoubtedly be good too.

Home

’83: I got Mud X and Rocket Rons on with a track pump. Do the soapy water trick, it helps make the first initial seal so it holds a bit while you inflate with the pump.

You’ll jump when the beads twang into place, I do every time.

Jon: when I first got mine I tried tubed, I eventually got a Maxxis ADVantage on (after a big struggle) but had to cut it off. I’d never in a zillion years have been able to do a trailside puncture repair.

Jon, you will get a flat, you know it.

Bite the bullet and get rid of the tubes. You started this journey so finish it.

top tip is get someone else to leave the pub first so they can get the fire started before you turn up

How many bikes are there in Denmark? 5.5 million population, everyone has one, so that would be 1.2% or one in 83. An average bike has a 1/83 chance of being stolen in any 1 year, though perhaps thieves don’t target average bikes.

oops double post

I’ve never ran tubeless before so I’ve just ordered a pair of UST Rocket Rons to go on

So here’s the thing (& it’s not clear from the marketing) – the point of Crests is they are designed for running ‘ghetto tubeless’, ie a regular tyre with Stan’s tape set up as tubeless, NOT UST tyres which will come up damn tight. Crest is not a UST rim I believe.

I’ve done 2 rooty singletracky XCish rides on my RoRos, they’re fast as a very fast thing (lightest front wheel I’ve ever had) and have held up fine.

Rocket Rons from On One went on lovely tubeless tho took a day or 2 to seal, see my forum history from last week.

Bontrager Mud X went on fine tubeless too.

Personally I wouldn’t bother tubed.

My understanding is if cranks are longer than optimal the rider looses power at th top of the stroke because the knee comes too high.

Seems to me that’s valid for a geared bike.

I have 170s on my Soul and 175s on my Blur, it feels like the Soul spins up faster especially in fast power moves (eg up a steep muddy bank) but there are so many differences in the bikes I couldn’t swear it’s to do with the cranks.

Fair point that when Strava is gpx driven, it’s just going to show what the imported file says. T & L are in effect in agreement, the difference couuld just be a lap or 2 around tthe car park.

There’s no evidence from S’s trace that he lost GPS any time in the ride.

There’s a bit of a debate amongst us whether it’s worth shelling for a Garmin or making do (‘putting the cost towards’) with iPhone. The best bit of Strava is the segment leaderboard, and it probably makes less difference then.

I lean towards iPhone because I don’t take Strava that seriously anyway, and having 1 less device to charge/synch/lose is a benefit.

(Making do with an iPhone – a first world problem!)

Another result in, L rode 18.3mi, 1745ft. Same model Garmin as T, same result (different model to A).

Did you get KOM?

ian – superglue in case of a slashed tyre? What kind of terrain do you ride?

No rocks where I ride, and I’d be a little nervous about going anywhere ‘backcountry’ on tubeless at the mo, but I don’t know of that fear is justified.

lol yeah I’ve been caught out by the ‘more than one hole in 1 flat’ trick too

dem Surrey trails are dead cheeky!

Tubeless?

I rode SH all winter on tubeless – not a single flat, and I must be the only one of my riding crew to do that. I took the tyres off a few days ago and found a thorn that would defo have flatted a tube, perhaps there were more.

Doh, there were two punctures!!!

Did you check the tyre in case there was an sneaky Surrey thorn still in there wreaking havoc? I’ve done that a few times.

@OP – DIY. In the time it takes to package it and trot down to the postt office, you’ve done the job. I changed the pistons and seals on my Mono Minis it was a doddle. When I did my M4s I changed the pistons because one was scored, I didn’t need to change the seals at all.

The only specific tool you need is the piston cover remval tools, a few quid from CRC then you got it forever. If you are near Dorking you can come and borrow mine.

Before you start, read through the page I linked, visualise each step, break it down. That page has a lot of detail, the job is easier than it looks once you get it straight in your head. You will need a well lit place to work with some clean space for the bits.

It’s only a casting, some pistons and some rubber seals, it’s not rocket science, it’s not a dark art. It’s a good thing to know how your bike parts work, you’ll have confidence to do more in the future, and you’ll diagnose problems qucker and more accurately.

Servicing my M4s (which I did because neither of my proper-mtb LBSs fixed them properly when they were grabbing and I got fed up with taking the bike back and forth to them) set me down the path of building my own bike. It’s a whole new world!

ps no it shouldn’t

replace on the trail to keep riding, keep a box in the garage of the punctured tubes and now again (usually a sunny at-home day), sit in the garden and fix them all

anything that doesn’t stay up overnight after a repair is recycled, life’s too short

new seals probably

It’s not as hard as it initially seems, I did it and am totally inept at anything requiring dexterity.

Hope Mono Caliper Overhaul (Mini/Trials/M4/V2/M6)

They stayed up, 24 miles. I made it home.

**** me they’re fast.

awright, I’ve juiced ’em up, puffed ’em up and shook ’em about, if they’re good in 90 mins time they’re going out on my night ride , I’ll take a couple of tubes and a gas-pump too

hands up who’ll pick me up from somewhere in the Surrey Hills if I get stuck?

ok ta I’ll give it a go

@chives you persisted and it sorted itself out?

Nah with a bit of riding, or even warming up in the sun, these keep springing new leaks in the sidewalls. They’re not up to the tubeless job.

& I don’t see a tube surviving in these wheels with the yellow Stan’s tape.

I don’t want an 8 mile walk home on my nigh ride so I’ll move these tyres to another (tubed) bike and look onwards …