Get well soon Mark. He is one of the MTB characters who is always very entertaining in interviews and video’s.

As for how it happened… yup, its something we all do…

Hope he makes a full recovery

indeed 8)

Project big wheeled hardtail… let the playing commence.

That’s a pretty dreamy spec there :mrgreen:

Thanks Northwind, that’s my “Nancy” fantasy ruined.

Make the call and speak to Craig about how you want a shock to feel.

I’m not sure how the range of adjustment changes the feel as I did little more with mine than try one click either side and then go back to what was recomended as it worked so well (From running a CCDB I learned how easy it is to ruin the feel of the bike by getting carried away with fiddling… the recomended settings were almost the best). Click wise my Avy was set-up in the middle of what is twenty something clicks. When I was speaking to him about changing my frame he reckoned I could re-use my shock with a few clicks adjusted as the range was good enough (I sold the shock with the frame and have a new shock with Craig ready for my new bike).

Pipiom. LB are in China. Best way to get a response from them is to go on the website and use the “live-chat” option (I usualy get Nancy who is very pleasant to deal with). This way they are very prompt; after a brief discussion and perhaps a few emails of pictures and diagrams they send you an invoice – which you pay via paypal, and they go build your rims. Delivery time has been about two weeks for both my deliveries. One of which I got stung the 20% import duty for so be aware this might happen.

I redid my wheel weight calcs and mine will come up about 1640g with the Hope hubs and DT Super-Comp spokes and alloy nipples. DT 240, Tune or Carbon-Ti hubs would knock a chunk off that (~100g… and knock a chunk from your wallet).

All the LBS need to know is the rim ERD for calculating spoke length – for the rims I have ordered its 589mm but Nancy will send you a diagram.

Very tense when Carl was out on his own. I really enjoyed it.

Gels and sweet stuff make me bonk. I’m much better if I fuel with complex carbs and protein. Anything up to 2hrs I can do empty or with no extra fuel; but if I go over that my performance drops unless I eat something during the ride.

What works for others might not work for you so its worth trying different things to see how your body reacts.

PS – for a 6-pack you need to be doing core stuff like in a gym. Cycling on its own is unlikely to be enough to get “ripped” and risks creating an unballanced muscle build; its worth doing some targeted weights to build up shoulders to offset cyclists hunch.

The KCNC is the same as the Thomson +/- (142g)

For light stem you want the Syntace Megaforce.

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=2050

Although as I mentioned above go 35mm and you might get a lighter bar which offsets the extra weight of the stem.

Since you have a damn nice stem in the X4 and any changes at this level are small I would go with what you have…

Every time I’ve looked for a Fox Vs ‘alternative’ review recently they all seem to perform better!
X-Fusion
DBA
Monarch
BOS

I find this funny too; I wonder how much of this is that a stock Fox shock has been replaced with something better tuned to the bike?

The first place to start with any stock shock is to get it tuned for you and your bike.

I had a tuned Fox Float (Pushed by TFT) which felt/performed (IMHO) like a VIPr, and was far better than a standard Fox DHX Coil I also had at the time. The CCDB which replaced the DHX coil was better again, but they were all trumped by the Avalanche tuned DHX air which is the best shock I have used. Get your shock custom tuned before buying a new shock (unless you have one of those OEM shocks which are not worth tuning).

Before I bought my 5-10’s I was happy with any cheap flat soled skate type shoe from TK-Max/etc (which I also still prefer for BMX).

Last time I was in they had some dirt cheap Airwalk shoes which would be perfect for learning the skills… ie put your foot in the right place and you don’t need the grip of a 5-10.

Tubeless on the rims I had was easy. LB design them to be tubeless and I had no problems. I started out with Tape but changed to Bontrager Rhythm rimstrips which were even easier (From the huge thread on MTBR people suggested the Bonty srips as the best option).

Not sure what I will do with the 35mm wide rims yet… I’ll go and read some of the mahoosive MTBR thread to see what works best :roll:

Northwind – I agree that there are better hubs than Hope available. But I’d rather have two pairs of Hope wheels that I can swap between my bikes easily than one Pimpy set and one cheap set that requires much faffage to swap… and some excess weight in the centre of a wheel is far less important than at the outside.

The Cane Creek 110 headset does look like a very good option, although it makes a Chris King look cheap at RRP. I’m not convinced about fitting 110 bearing to a 40 as the additional sealing between the 110 and 40 models looks a bit different… if the moisture can get in to rust a 40 it could get in and make the bearings in a 110 graunchy (opinion, this might not be the case… but would you risk it?).

If you hunt around you can find ceramic and stainless bearings that will fit the 40… but I have no idea if that is a good thing to do either.

Yes, I built some 26” Light-Bicycle carbon wider rims up last year and gave them a very hard time. These weighed 1500g on Hope hubs with DT revolution spokes.

I eventually cracked the rear rim on the first day of the Trans-Savoie race; and continued to race on it for a further 5 days (hence the gel wrapper stopping the damaged carbon from destroying the tyre… I rode the same tyre all week too)!

When I spoke to Light-Bicycle they warrantied the rim and sent me a 33mm wide version which is of a later “stronger” generation. I ride hard and break stuff, before these I ran Flow rims and these would last me anything between two weeks and two years… no components are “bad luck” or “bad-riding” proof (another chap cracked an ENVE carbon rim in the same stage of the race… £700!). I’m not in any doubt as to the strength of the rims and that is why I am happy to buy more, and at £150 a pop I’m not as paranoid about wrecking them as I would be on £700 ENVE or Easton carbon’s).

This bike (which I demo’d) has 35mm wide Derby Carbon rims with 2.4” Hans Damf tires – awesome thing to ride and I think the wheels and tyres are part of the reason why.

Derby Linky

The rims I have ordered from Light-Bicycle are 35mm wide like the Derby’s and hookless as I believe the hook weakens the rim right where you want some impact strength. It’s worth a read of the Derby stuff about wide rims feeling good and protecting the rim as they prevent the tyre deforming so much on impacts.

Light-Bicycle Linky

As I said; I’m building these up on Hope hubs with DT Super-Comp spokes and expect to get a weight under 1600g, hopefully nearer 1500g again.

Cost wise – the LB rims are about £300 for two delivered (inc VAT etc). £200 for hope hubs + £80 for spokes = £580 for the wheels (I build my own, I’m not sure what an LBS would charge to build wheels like this?).

I’ve been looking at the same for my new frame. In my experience headsets with non stainless steel bearings start to get surface and internal rust quite quickly. This inevitably means stripping, cleaning, and adjusting them becomes a regular occurance… until the bearings seaze and they (or the whole thing) need replaced.

Fitting a headset with stainless steel bearings is the obvious solution to longer life. The Hope headset has stainless bearings but my experience with one of these is that the sealing is Hope-less(c); so although the bearings didn’t rust they still needed cleaned out when they became graunchy.

The only true fit-and-forget headsets I have used have been Chris King (I have only used the 1.5″). Stupidly expensive and heavy, and you hear reports of the older CK’s scoring steerers but it was not something I experienced with 1.5 steerer tubes. Much as it pains me to spend over £100 on a headset I’m pretty sure its the road I’m going to go down again as looking forward to a ride and wheeling the bike out of the shed to find the handlebars won’t turn causes much swearing; and its wrong to swear in front of the kids :mrgreen:

Other headsets with stainless bearings are available. Cane Creek 110, Acros; but they are all around £100.

I’m building Light-Bicycle 33mm wide carbon rims on Hope hubs with DT Super Comp spokes. These will be less than 1600g, and perfect for big tyres.

Lighter hubs could easily knock off 100g… DT 240s or American Classic etc… but I’ll take Hope reliability (in my experience… others experiences are available).

The Nicolai Ion 15 I demo’d had a CCDBAIR on it. I liked it, but it felt like a CCDB… which is to say they feel good at speed but are not lively. With a CCDB on aim for those little rocks beside the trail and they get swallowed rather than used as booters for a little air tomfoolery.

Float X and have Avalanche revalve it?

This is what I’ve done. I had an Avalanche tuned DHX before and it was the best shock I have used. Like a CCDB at speed but lively and only uses the travel it needs on smaller or slower stuff. I bought the Float X off Pinkbike and had it shipped to Avalanche, cost will be on par with a CCDBAir. I’m looking forward to riding it when my frame comes in April 8O

Yes – and there is a stickyness to the movement of the mech when you push it forward, like a hesitation and then it moves. I think this hesitation/friction means the chain is not pulled off the chainring teeth cleanly causing the noise and unpleasant feeling.

Both of the ones I have used stopped doing it after greasing the roller-bearing as per the link.

Word of caution – the roller bearing cap is plastic and easy to crossthread when re-fitting… you don’t want to tear out the threads.

Narrow/Wide do pick up quite a lot of debris which can cause some issues so its a good idea to clean them regularly.

Are you sure its the chainring though? If the clutch/roller-bearing in XX1 rear mechs gets stiff it makes the noise you describe. The roller-bearings are not well greased; the two I have had required the bearing to be greased once they started making the noise you describe.

Linky

If it really is chainring wear you should be able to see it, and if it has happened in the that milage I would be returning it to SRAM. Mine is fine with more milage on it.

I loved this so much I’ve ordered one.

Nicolai Ion 15.

Not the lightest option but in 10 years of riding them I’ve never broken a Nicolai… the same cannot be said of almost every other frame I have had.

XX1 is awesome. I’d be tempted to get the RaceFace Next SL Spiderless cranks rather than the XX1 crank (RF Next SL is the lightest crank available).

Reverb Stealth; Right Hand Lever mounted under the bar (upside-down) on the left. Saddle is personal but the Selle Italia SLR suits my bum and is 135g).

The Crossmax SLR’s will be great unless your gnar-to-the-max (been discussed before).

My fingers were perfectly designed for Formula brakes so I would Run R0 (or R1 for weight weenie don’t ride mahoosive mountains). Definately upgrade the discs to the Formula (R1) Two piece rotors as they look brilliant. Formula MixMaster mounts the XX1 shifter to the brake lever… very neat. R0/T1 are so powerfull you can go down a disc size.

Thomson/Easton used to be the default Bar and stem choice but these days there are many more; especially if you end up wanting a really short stem or low rise bar. For my first build on a new frame I go with what I have or try a cheap stem and bar which are close to what I think will work; then I upgrade to the perfect option. I’ve picked up a cheap 35mm stem for my new build and will try it with my current 750mm Havoc bars. From the test ride I liked the 800mm bar and will probably get a wider bar eventually, but my frame will be slightly different so I want to see how it goes with my old bar first to figure out what rise I want on the bar.

Renthal Carbon bar and Duo stem look good but the bar is only 740mm wide.

How about something with the new 35mm stem/bar interface? Easton’s sizes are a bit limited but the new RaceFace 35mm SIXC bar and Atlas 35 stem are available in loads of sizes and look good (IMHO), and be matching collar/cuffs if you get the Next SL crank!

If you want a flat bar the Niner Flat Top Carbon RDO is the one you need.

You can tell I’m looking at this can’t you.. *geek*

I like mine. Wide and light.

WFO Gnar…

Love it :twisted:

Previous post I commented on.

No idea about VPP, not a system I have experience off.

PS. I have a Float-X and Pike at Avalanche currently which are destined for my new bike :mrgreen:

Argh… I so want to do this some day!

Messiah, that looks pretty familiar terrotory Angus glens by any chance?

I can see Angus from here.

XX1 gives me the gear spead I need for the mountains I ride; it would either be this or back to the HammerSchmidt as I don’t like front mechs.

Munro bagging with XX1

I tried running 1×9 when I ditched the schmidt and it proved to me that 1×10 was not enough of a spread.

Gear spread shot from Art’s Cyclery Blog[/url]

Buying into XX1 was not an easy decision due to the cost and my distrust of SRAM after an issue I had with X9. Having bought XX1 I love it, but I will only run it on my big bike. 1×9 is good enough for the bike I thrash round the local forests, my XX1 is for the mountains.

Oh look, another Munro

Re the cost thing… if you NEED a whole new drive train and wheels anyway then its not quite as scary as if your trying to justify an upgrade.

28lbs is a good target for a Carbine build. I’m wanting to get under 30lbs with my Nicolai Ion 15 build with big rubber (2.4″ Hans Damf).

Post up pictures and let us know how it goes when done :mrgreen:

XX1 1×11 etc is not for everyone. It’s a drivetrain option which suits a certain kind of rider (one thats willing to spend the cash, and wants more gears than 1×10 without having to run 2×10… there is always a compromise).

XTR is stupidly expensive, at least with XX1 you are getting one more than you could get with XTR over XT/SLX :wink:

PS – All that XX1 not needed stuff has been done to death on many other threads like this one.

A1…. your Crossmax SLR wheels will be fine unless you want to run really wide rubber. Mavic reckon the 21mm internal width is good for tyres up to 2.3″; my preference would be for a wider rim with wider rubber especially if your running tubeless at around 20-25psi. If your planning to really throw the bike around you might want stiffer or stronger wheels; you may find that 20 spoked wheels are not stiff enough.

Q2…. When I went XX1 on a 26er I thought I would need a smaller chainring than a 32 for the big mountains. I was wrong, the 32 was spot on for my needs. On the 29er I tried the 28 fitted was great (its very hilly and techy where I rode it). If I was you I would try it with the 32; the 10t at the back makes a big difference over 1×10 gear spreads.

Well done, I love doing things like this 8)

I used to have a lovely dark green Flite, and very soon I will be doing a 135g SLR that is looking a bit tatty; but what colour? :wink:

Some people don’t want advice they just want sympathy… “there there, feeling any better now luv?”

More like this…

From this.

Agree. I liked using a proper stand and at £80 its tempting, but I will only use it a couple of times a year so impossible to justify.

I currently use an old fork and a broken frame for wheel building so the proper wheel trueing stand is not a necessity.

I’m leaning towards not buying one and continueing as I currently do.

The Park is £190 at CRC

I@m 6ft. I liked my medium Mmmbop despite it being too small…

but my large Blue Pig rides a lot nicer.

I would take the steel pig over the alloy Marley just for the feel of steel (of which of course there is no magic feel of steel and its all in the riders head etc :roll: ).

First ride after a month off is always horrible… the next one will be better… and so the process continues.

Get out and have fun.

BMC Trailfox would be top of my list to try… if I didn’t have a Nicolai Ion 15 on order after my test ride :mrgreen: (very similar geometry, slack head angle, low bottom bracket, short back-end).

Pinkbike review

From this review I think it would work quite well with 140mm forks as more of a trail bike; perhaps putting the 160mm forks on it and pushing it towards AM/Enduro is removing it from it’s more natural home?

Nice dilemma to have… you can always try it with 140mm and if you think you need more change the air-spring in the Pike for a 160mm.