The Kiko looks fab but at a price!!!!

My wife likes the look of the B&W A5 system. On first listening the sound quality seems pretty good and it fills the room nicely for a small box as long as you keep away from high volume. It looks quite understated rather than discete.

I’m hoping there is going to be somewhere in the living room I can hide a pair of these.

Alternatively if I win the lottery she might let this in the house

I think when people repeat that phrase“it must bottom out once a ride” they mean getting full travel in a nice controlled way rather thunking metal on metal and breaking something. 🙄

You sure? The RO has the oval pistons and the R1 doesn’t….kind of thought the whole point in that was that you got a bigger surface area and more pad contact? Seems a bit daft to ovalise pistons and run the same pads (since you’ll be getting less force for the same lever throw).

Yes I’m sure,Check out the exploded diagrams of each brake to see what the oval piston means and that the brake pads are the same across the range

Pinkbike Tech Tuesday on why air is now better… especialy for up-selling you new bikes and stuff.

So much depends on how the shock is set up. Many riders go from a poorly sorted air shock to a well sorted coil shock and then proclaim for all to hear that coil is much better… however a well sorted air shock may have have given them the same benefit. I’ve experienced how a well sorted air shock was much better than a poorly sorted coil shock.

Wear to chainring?

Anyone know where to get replacement pads for the RO? Just tried looking on the usual suspects and can’t find them anywhere!

R0 uses the same pad as R1, Th1 and RX etc.

Diamond Back Mason if you can find one.

Get yourself up there and have fun. If your worried about falling off a poma or Tee-bar have you considerd taking up another hobby?

edit jersey pocket would be better (if possible) obviously, taking your pack off for a mechanical can lead to problems.

This.

Wear old roady jersey with back pocket under other clothes so battery and cable have even less chance of snagging on anything when removing pack or jacket etc.

Nipple washers?

Chap i worked with used to pay himself one large dividend at the start of the year into his offset.

Most times when the wife is out and I open the record box of doom I reach for “PAILHEAD: Don’t stand in line”. A truly epic industrial track.

Great topic for a thread by the way… loving it.

Pink Lambrusco.

Who gives a rats bottom? I’ve got XTR, Formula T1, Reverb, etc on a secondhand Mmmbop… and it’s fantastic to ride.

Growler full of Brewdog Hoppy Christmas for the weekend.

Glenfiddich 15 is the new (same as) the old Solera, and what a fantastic drop that is. It has the honey like mellowness you probably like from Jura but with a more solid wood/sherry influence; so I would highly reccomend this.

Springbank tends to be expensive but they are special (also goes for Longrow).

The other thing is to step away from your comfort zone… gently.

Old Pultenay is a favouite of mine for it’s salty like tang.

Glenfarclas and Aberlour are often overlooked but are fantastic with a bigger body than some other Speysiders. Especially the cask strength and 15+ versions.

Talisker I love for it’s peppery-spicey-ness.

Highland park is always good and I’ve enjoyed a Scapa if you can find one.

Laphroaig/Ardbeg/Lagavulin as mentioned because they are what they are… pure mental for Laphroaig.

Benromach organic is more like a Bourbon than a traditional Whisky because of it’s use of new oak. One to try for sure.

Thanks for the information folks… I’d never heard of soundbars before 😳

More discussion last night. She is happy to have a pair of speakers if they are “attractive and/or small” rather than the Monoliths I have (Dynaudio’s on lead shot filled Atacama stands).

She wouls also rather it did music well than movie sound so need for a full AV package 😀

There is hope that I can keep it HIFI

Dave Lloyd CATS WISKAS I built up a few years ago. It was more fun finding the parts and building the bike than it was riding and breaking them. Sold to fund a more sturdy machine… which I also broke 🙄

I used to work with a guy I new as “Paddy”… his father was “Paddy”… his grandfather was “Paddy” etc… but none of them ever had Paddy or Patrick etc as a name. Great fun when your trying to find out what room he is in at a hotel/etc when you don’t actually know his proper first name.

Machete

My expectations were low but what fun it was.

How do you set up the Shimano spline versions like this?

EDIT… I’ve just seen it says “align crank arm here” down at the bottom of the mahoosive picture 😳

🙄

Like many “long travel” hardtail frames of the last 8 years many were designed for 120mm, then okay for 140mm, etc… but just because you CAN fit a long fork does not mean the bike will ride well with one. Whilst the resulting slack head angle from a long fork is a fun thing, the high bottom bracket, high top tube and slack seat angle are not conducive to a great ride (all IMHO & IMHE etc). Better geometry and hence more fun long travel frames are available.

I was speaking to Kingdom Bike[/url] about my requirements and they send me diagram of a good looking 650b prototype a bit like the Brigante…

Which had almost all the bells and whistles I wanted, and all the lessons they learned from overbuilding this prototype.

I’ve asked him for a 26er version but Chris has been very busy of late redesigning the website and other stuff.

Local optician is “I Straine”.

How long until a new integrated standard appears?

Do you mean like this?

Send your frame off when it needs a service… or remove it in it’s sleeve which means it’s actually just like an… er… normal dropper seatpost 😉

Two Mk1 Reverbs went back within weeks and have been purrfect for 18 months since… prize them from my cold dead fingers only.

Take it apart carefully to avoid damaging the plastic “top hats”, then go to bearing shop and buy replacement bearings… or look up Kaesee on here as he has them and replacement top hats.

good enough for Sam Hill to be paid to ride them…

😉

Hi Geetee.

The Troof was near perfect but no more frames were available so I went for a refund.

Argon FR’s have dated geometry so for me they are out. The AM is tempting but the cost is high and although I like the little alu Mmmbop I’m not sure I want a harsher frame… weight’s I have seen for the FR and AM are all over 5lbs which is a lot of material for an Alu hardtail!!! Good enough for Shneidi in the Mega though 😯

Have you considered doing a Spanner Bikes[/url] and getting a Ti hardtail frame to your own specifications? I’m thinking it might be the way to go for me as I know what I want but nobody is building it… although the new on-one 456 Ti would perhaps have tempted me if it could take a 1.5″ steerer and 31.6 seatpost.

First and only. Owned since new. Bodged singlespeed 7 years ago with a home made tensioner… until the chainstay snapped and then modded localy (Alves).

Does the job.

I was so hoping the Ragley Troof I had was going to be my equivalent of what I think your after… but unfortunatley the frame cracked after less than six months (before I had even bought the 135×12 dropouts… luckily!).

I’m still looking for the same – I want it to take all the parts from my Nicolai; dropouts to take 135×12, full 1.5″ headtube, 31.6 seatpost, ISCG… and be singlespeedable… and light.

I’m currently running a little Mmmbop as my hardtail and it does some of these pretty well. Although I would change it tomorrow if I find something else.

To run the 135×12 wheels in it I usualy change the (Hope) end caps but I also have an axle like this 135mm Axle at CRC. It’s handy for trueing wheels as it’s a straight shove in quickly and go ride/fix. Mine is made by Nukeproof from parts of the Forth Rail Bridge so I tend not to take it out on the trail.

The only way I can see to tick all the boxes is custom; Chinese Ti, Nicolai Argon AM, BTR Ranger etc… but as it’s my second bike I’m not that bothered (until I break the Mmmbop 🙄 ).

Best would surely be SRAM XX1 at the moment? No rings to sell and no need to buy a £100 chain guide… if the stories of the “magical” chainring are all true.

I like them on dry rocky trails but in the slime of my local forest I need a skinnier tyre… like the 2.2 😆

Combo of grease and oil in Pro2’s keeps them quiet for a few months at a time.

spev… If your willing to drop the 11 then it would be far simpler to run a smaller front ring. The benefit of the 38 or 41 is to get a bigger spread of gears off the single ring.

Post lunch update

Wild Beer Co’s Ninkasi is a lovely light and frothy Saison style beer with apple juice and champagne yeast. Very nice.

Summer Wine Brewery’s Barista was nice, very coffee flavoured dark beer which was a bit like drinking a cold coffee (in a good way… a very lovely cold coffee).

Brodie’s Milk Chocolate Mocha-Port Barrel was the absolute stunner of the day. Beautiful smooth full flavoured imperial stout style beer with loads of coffee and milk chocolate with a hint of spice from the port barrel… the growler was filled for this evening and as my wife is out and kids will be in bed I shall be drinking this and watching The Return of the King on DVD. There is some of this in a rum barrel which should be equally interesting in the next few weeks… thank you for the amazing beer Mr Brodie 8)

I tasted the BrewDog/Beavertown Catherine’s Pony collaboration and liked it, but they expect to have it for a few weeks so the beer’s above which were ending soon or limited supply were what I chose to sample.

It’s a hard life.

jairaj Where do you want the stiffness in the fork?

If you want torsional stiffness then go for the 20mm option.

If you want fore and aft stiffness go for tapered steerer. The axle won’t effect this so will be fine with even a normal QR.

I’m going to test this theory soon. I had some 1-1/8″ 20mm Rev’s but I found them a bit flexy/twangy. I’ve just bought some with a 1.5″ steerer to see if that’s any different… wish me luck!

Hora… you can’t ride a bike without forks so just buy something and enjoy the honeymoon new-kit-period before worrying about innevitable upgradeitus. If the Sektor R 20mm really is the same as the old Pike then they are great forks… the dual-flow/push updrades and all that only came later when people realised the limitations of the damping… but the old Pike still has an almost cult like following despite the often discussed limitations.

Sektor R 20mm FTW… get it bought and get it ridden 😆

A couple of small somethings from the following list with lunch and perhaps I’ll fill my growler for tonight.

Catherine’s Pony!! This BrewDog/Beavertown collaboration gives you an Imperial Smoked Porter sporting a berry nose and delicious notes of chocolate coffee beans fused together with a vibrant hoppiness.

Brewdog – Dead Pony Club, 5AM Saint, Punk IPA, Libertine Black Ale, Jackhammer, Dogfight, Cocoa Psycho, and Paradox: Isle of Arran.

Guesties: Summer Wine Brewery’s Barista, Brodie’s Milk Chocolate Mocha-Port Barrel, and Wild Beer Co’s Ninkasi.