I’m sure I read an interview with Nico Vouilloz in DIRT where he comments that he is using a large (Lapierre Spicy?) rather than a medium for enduro racing as he finds it’s more stable on the descents.

Nico is a god so it must be true… but as a above ride what feels best 😀

Hairy Bikers make Butteries – Recipe etc

Now… where to add the sheeps puddins?

Those Wider Carbon rims are $150 each. Add $50 for postage so $350 which is £220. I had import duty on top which was £30 I think… so £250 all in which is £125 per rim.

These Wider Carbon Rims

Huge thread on MTBR with some +ve and some -ve… but show me any product which has never been broken?

Using my old hubs it was cheaper to try these than buy any new wheelset.

I’ll buy them off you for cheap

What do those rims actually weigh?

363g each. Assuming a Flow weighs 480g (as per spec) then the Carbon Flow-a-like will actually save 120g per wheel 😀

I think rim width is really important when running big tyres for AM type riding. I had some Mavic 317’s I ran for a while beside the Flow’s and they were wibbly-wobbly-burp-tastic at the same 28-30psi with the same 2.3/2.4″ tyres. Not sure of Crest and Arch width but I would not be willing to lose much width from a Flow to save weight.

I’ve currently got Hope Hoops with Flow rims. The pair weigh in at 1860g.

In the workshop ready to build up I have some of those wider carbon rims which Rorschach linked to. On paper each carbon rim is 100g lighter than the Flow rims and have the similar width and ECD; a straight rim swap will get my wheel weight down to 1660g.

My wheels are a couple of years old and both rims are a bit damaged so I’m going to change the spokes while I’m at it. If I change the current DB spokes and brass nipples to DT revolutions with Alloy Nipples I can shave another 100g from them… although this will probably reduce the life span of the wheels; my experience with DT Rev’s and alloy nipples in the past was that I got two years out of them… which is the same as I got out of the Flow rims anyway so probably worth a punt.

When I get round to rebuilding the wheels I should end up with a nice wide AM capable wheel with a weight of 1560g or thereabouts.

Rubbing fresh catnip into the cats toy always brings joy in our house.

I’ve some of those rims in my workshop waiting to be built onto my Hope hubs.

If I only I didn’t have a kitchen to paint and eight chairs to sand before I can get round to building them (it’s winter… I’ll get round to them before the spring comes).

If Crank Bros were to make them they would come in a very pretty box.

I’ve never broken a Ti frame… but I’ve never owned one.

I keep looking at those Brodie’s and I’ve nearly bitten a couple of times. The only logical reasons I haven’t bought one are that I want to stick with 1.5″ steerer forks (or go taper; I’m not going back to 1-1/8″), and if I was spending that much I want it to be able to take a full 160mm fork like my Troof did. I still love the look of the Holeshot though and if I was happy with a 140mm fork and 1-1/8″ I would probably be an owner.

On-One and Ragley both 1-1/8 steerer and designed for shorter forks and hae no ISCG – old on-one 456 geometry not so clever with long forks (IMHO etc).

Pipedream – I don’t see anything there that interests me. Geometry looks like an old skool XC bike with a long fork shoved on the front (see also Whyte 19 Ti).

New On-One 456 Ti EVO is due shortly and should be of interest – there is a thread on here about it somewhere with some pictures (usual love/hate looks).

Kingdom are working on something to replace the Foia which should be very interesting… but probably not as cheap as On-One etc.

Stanton – get these rave reviews but when I look at the geometry I don’t see anything different to what others are offering. Not to say they are not “brilliant” but I just don’t see how the geometry can work with all the fork lengths they say it does… in the same way that long forks mess up many a hardtail frame geometry IMHO/IMHE etc.

So… buy the Brodie (if you can find one) or wait to see more of the On-One EVO, Stanton and Kingdom.

If the spring were made of Titanium the effect would be betterer.

Excellent find trail_rat… 8)

I’ve ridden a BFe and had issues with the handling with different lengths of forks. The same issues I have with my Mmmbop forks so I’ll tell you the story about it.

This was my first Mmmbop with 120-150mm U-turn Revelation Team forks (32mm legs like a Fox 32… but allegedly stiffer/better with the 20mm maxle).

With the fork at 150mm the head angle is nice and slack giving confidence for DH, but the seat angle is too slack for techy climbing and the extra bottom bracket height leads to flip/flop steering. Reducing the travel to 130mm fixed most of these issues and was how I liked the bike best… although I would have prefered a slacker head angle and a less flexy fork. The Rev’s were fine most of the time especially when the trails were dry but I ride a lot in steep, wet, and muddy trails; wrestling the Rev’s down deep rutted sludge got scary random at times. I was going to try an angle set to slacken the front a bit but after a particularly scary muddy ride I decided to ditch it completely (and I broke the U-turn on the fork).

To replace this I bought a Troof which I ran with 160mm 36 forks from my big bike – great frame but it broke 😥 . Proper slack low slung DH weapen of a hardtail… but perhaps a little too single minded for all round use.

This is Mmmbop two (smaller) with the 36 forks from the Troof reduced to 130mm of travel.

This is a great fun little bike as the 36’s give the front a directness which was missing from the Revelation forks. The reduced travel 36’s keep the geometry sweet (as designed) and really allow me to throw the front end into things without wondering where it’s going to end up. In an ideal world I would still slacken the head angle a little more but I would not do it by lengthening the fork as from my experience the handling becomes too compromised.

Summary – IMHO/IMHE… for a hard hitting hardtail it’s better to have a burly feeling fork which keeps the geometry as designed than to compromise the handling by adding a longer fork (especially if it’s a wet noodle of a fork).

My 40th Birthday present to myself, and where I take it some lunchtimes.

For a street/park BMX at 6’2″ you need one with a long top tube.

How many did you break pre CEN?

Quite a few over the years 😳

I’ve only broken two so far.

Well… that’ll be me disappointed.

Revelation CSU is about £230, add £60 minimum for a service and swop, or DIY with a seal kit for less. Almost certainly cheaper to pick up another secondhand fork which sell for a little more than that.
Bizzarly I’m one of the few idiots out there who likes 1.5 steerers and could be interested in buying your fork.

What is the bottom bracket height (or bottom bracket drop) on the Evo frames?
I find on-one’s geometry charts a lottery as to which info is given and in which format 🙄

Not holding my breath but hoping to be lucky… if not I’ll just need to go somewhere else for some mental riding.

Good luck!

More than last years pitiful effort for me… I’m never moving house again. This year will be different and I will be back in the hills where I love to go.

Salted caramel truffles.

Year of the Reverb.

Machete… really enjoyed it.

Man size Pillar Drill… now I can go the man cave and make big straight holes in stuff.

I’ve seen it on a plane and would buy it for a fiver. Really enjoyed it… mental fighting.

Finishing yesterday’s 2007 Omrah Pinot Noir… smooth she is.
Next stop is the 1994 Quinta De La Rosa Port… lush.

Replace my 16 and 18 Mmmbop’s with something that fits better… and wont break like the 17 Troof. Hopefully break my Explosif… 16th year of trying.

Nicolai Helius AC

Big hills and good friends.

For more skate park type BMXing I’ve just built up a Cult Juvi 16 for my 5 year old. Nice Alloy frame and components to suit little people, and very much lighter than the Mongoose Program 16 we bought for his big brother. At 7 the 16 Program is still good for the older boy for a bit yet but when he grows out of it I’ll probably be looking at the Cult Juvi 18. He can ride my 20″ wheeled FIT now but it’s huge and he looks stupid. For a bike they are happy to throw about a bit it does need to be small.

I’m very impressed with the Cult Juvi bikes (except for the saddles and seatpins which are junk but easy swapped for a pivotal).

Safe as it can be tucked in here like this.

… and it’s not even April the first?

Turn corner, bag goes into front wheel and jams against the fork… over the bars and under the bus. The poor bereaved family will rightly sue their ass for such a dumb idea!

What is the bottom bracket height (or bottom bracket drop) on the Evo frames?

I find on-one’s geometry charts a lottery as to which info is given and in which format 🙄

With 4 wheel drive, 240bhp and 400+lbft 8)

A few years ago I built one of these up with a wishlist spec from back in the day (and a few modern bits).

It was a fun project but after breaking a few forks and wheels I realised I’d rather be riding/breaking modern stuff.

Is 200hp through the front wheels still seen as the figure it gets a pointless?

Oooh. Farclas 105 is a wee fire cracker

Wallop : Tyrconnell is a lovely smooth single malt Irish Whiskey. About your budget too.

BrewDog Jackhammer
Brodies IIPA
BrewDog Paradox Jura (pudding)