Eldest took to the balance bike and then on to normal bikes with no problems.

Youngest never liked the balance bike… wife put him on stabilisers which he loved but it’s taken ages to get him to go a normal bike (which he now loves).

They are very different little personalities… oldest was walking at 9mths but it was 18mths for the youngest… I think the youngest struggles with difficulty/failure so tends to wait until he is confident that he can do things before trying them. Relax and let the kids go at their own pace.

Macavalanche two weeks after mine. Wish I had taken the stitches out earlier than three weeks as that was the only bit of real discomfort as they had grown in rather than disintegrated as they were meant to.

I’ve got a 17 year old Kona Explosif with a worse looking dent that I made in it when it was two weeks old… and it’s a sub 4lb steel frame. The Pig will be able to live with that injury.

Bleed kit from epic solutions when you need is much cheepness (compared to the sram kit).

At six am it was…

Have you seen my growler?

Loved my Ragley Mmmbop with a 130mm fork… second hand only but cheap and light.

Quick work from Hope… a few months ago they said via email they had no plans for an XX1 compatible freehub body… but here it is…

Ooooooh 8)

EDIT – Yes, I know this is one of those plastic or whatever solid model things but it shows they are working on it.

This works great for me.

As requested by cheese@4p

I hope the OP kept some nettles for later use

WARNING… DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU ARE A BIT SQUEEMISH OR ARE THE KIND OF PERSON WHO LIKES TO WHINGE ABOUT SOMETHING YOU’VE READ AND FIND UNPLEASANT… IT CANNOT BE UNREAD.

The following is based on experience. It is clearly not suitable for any one allergic to stinging nettles. Arm yourself with a pair of thick gloves. Cut down a good quantity of fresh nettles. The best ones are young with pliable stems. A shopping bag full is about fine. Take a nettle and brush it against the head of your penis. If you haven’t got an erection so far, this should bring one on. It doesn’t hurt much, the sensation is rather good in fact. Brush some more nettles against your penis, the shaft as well. Gradually a rash will appear and little bumps. Keep going. The more you do, the greater the numbing effect so the next bit will be easier. Take a handful of nettles and crush them hard onto your penis. This may hurt, but rub them in well.
You can also take a nettle stalk (which is also covered in stingers) and wrap it around the shaft or behind the head. This is a good way of getting the poison in. Keep going with more nettles. As the poison gets in, the small bumps will join up. This is the desired effect.
As you keep on, the bumps turn into a large all over swelling. The more you do, the greater the swelling until your penis will be stretched real tight, bursting against its skin. I find an increase of about 50% in girth over a normal erection. The sensation is now between pain and pleasure. The nettles hurt, but the penis becomes super sensitive. As you go on the sensitivity will increase. Eventually you will reach the point where the sensitivity takes over from the pain.
Now your penis will start throbbing, but each throb will bring you closer and closer to orgasm. You can try to resist it, but it can be hard because chances are you will come without even touching your penis, the throbbing doing the job for you. The orgasm is intense – as much pain as pleasure. After orgasm you may remain quite erect, and a second spontaneous orgasm is possible within a very short time.
When finally flaccid, the penis will retain its girth but shorten, creating a massive, heavy weight swinging between your legs. The sensation will have gone, leaving your penis very numb to the touch.
A really weird feeling. Gradually – very gradually, the swelling will go down, but a huge lump may hang below the frenum for some time – a day or more. Now the skin has been so stretched it is very sore, and the sensation may make sleep difficult. Over the next few days the skin may start to peel off in a thin layer, leaving a new layer of soft skin underneath. Whether there is any permanent increase in size I couldn’t say, but I guess the effect should be the same as a pump, if from the inside rather than the out.
Rubbing the stinging nettles into the scrotum and the anus can produce a good feel, but there is no swelling in the same way as the penis. You can also try filling your pants with nettles and taking a train ride. To do this, wear two pairs of pants, slip penis and scrotum through the fly of the first, and wrap over them a plastic bag full of nettles tied on loose with a rubber band. Try keeping a straight face as you walk, jog, cycle or ride a bumpy train.

Is this an opportunity for me to post my usual article about alternative uses for nettles? 😈

It’s been almost two years since I last posted it

Love it 8)

Awesome as usual… shouting “no way” at the screen quite a few times during that 8)

Freewheel not freewheeling very well?

Oooh… one to watch later 😛

I have a 160mm travel hardtail (Ragley Troof)… it’s a very blunt tool which only really comes to life when the going gets gnar… it takes a particular terrain and riding style to justify such a beast IMHO and MHE etc.

A 130/140mm travel hardtail like the Ragley Mmmbop I had before is a much more rounded entertainer… can do all the beast can but a little slower and with a bit more added mince.

Loads of frames out there to take this fork length… Cotic Befe/Ragley Blue-Pig/NS Surge/Orange Crush/Saracen Zen/Chameleon as suggested above. Ragley currently very cheap at CRC.

Forks with 15 or 20mm bolt through are a good idea… and a dropper post is a wonderful thing indeed for rolling terrain and maximising fun without having to stop to lower the seatpost… so worth checking your frame can take one (seatube of 30.9 or 31.6 for the best ones).

Enjoy!

Messiah will that patch hold even when I pour in sealant?

Take your time and make sure the vulcanising solution is good and dry before your remount the tyre and put in the sealant.

I’m running non UST’s tubeless and I’ve managed to tear/cut a couple of sidewalls… it’s a price I’m willing to pay for the light weight and performance. I’ve managed to repair almost all the cuts.

If I am riding somewhere really rocky I’ll bung a UST on the back.

If it’s really bad put a couple of stitches in it but otherwise a big lump of this on the back works for me… and with really bad ones I’ve doubled or trippled up the thickness and size to cover and reinforce large areas of tyre.

I’m 5’11” with 33″ Inside leg. That there Troof is a 17″. I had a an 18″ Mmmbop before it and wanted a frame to take a bigger fork and be a little smaller with much more standover height.

Picture with saddle at XC height when using spd’s.

With a Domain to go up front and take a 31.6 post you could do a lot worse than a Ragley Troof (like mine).

I really like it 8)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-18-ragley-blue-pig-x-frame-1

Yetiman is about your height and loved his 18″.

He also had a Large Dialled Bikes Prince Albert which was a also much loved.

On ORO’s the clamp bolts are in line as they are on Hope brakes and RX.

Looks to me like it will work just as it does for RX (You might have to widen the hole or use a washer or something to get it perfect but I can’t say for sure).

Hope Matchmakers fit RX levers – there have been a few threads on here about it. If you’ve got R1/The-One levers with the offset bolts then I’m pretty sure your stuffed.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/formula-rx-and-xtr-shifters

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/avid-matchmakershimano-adapter

I have nothing to add to this thread other than the following picture taken from pinkbike… ooof!

Interesting thread this as it shows how different riders requirement can be to do the same thing 😕

I find it much easier to climb the really loose and steep paths round my way with the 160mm of travel available on my big bike than I ever did when riding my XC race hardtail back in the day. Combination of lower gearing, bigger tyres run tubeless at lower pressures, and the supple travel more than make up for the extra weight (to a certain point… I’d still like a lighter bike for the ups).

I like the challange of the ups and riding up as much as I can is an important part of the day out… I’m not into taking the bike for a walk just to get a doonhall (unless it really is the only way).

For the downs I want a bike that I can let loose and enjoy. I don’t want to be “mincing” down a rocky mountain path and getting off to walk tricky bits that I know I could ride on a slightly more robust and differently set up bike. Two years ago I took a retro 24lb steel xc hardtail up a local mountain, I managed most of the ride but it was different… I enjoyed it but I’m in no hurry to repeat.

I’m probably what many people would call “overbiked” but if I use that potential once in a ride to make it round a techy corner or launch a drop that I wouldn’t on another bike then I’m a happy bunny… and anyway, it’s not a race and mostly ride on my own so who cares if it takes a bit longer to take the bigger bike round

If it is the joining pin that has come loose like GW suggested you can ignore it, or try denting the rim wall with a punch to lock it in position (risky?), or squirt some foam or silicon bath sealant type stuff into a spoke hole and along to hold it in position (then clean out the excess).

Picture time… on top of a mountain.

Hammerschmidt for huge ground clearance when manouvering round rocks… and good range of gears. I would not run a big ring.
Nice thick 2.3-2.5″ Tyres which won’t tear when treated roughly down granit and slammed (accidentally) into water bars.
Slack head angle with wide bars and a short stem = fun on the gnarly downhill bits.
Dropper post. I held off this for a while thinking one up one down and it’s not necessary… but they are brilliant.
Powerfull brakes are a must… and smaller rotors to avoid dinging them if you can… I ride the super powerful Formula The-Ones with 180/160 rotors.
I’ve got the coil shock on for this trip as it’s worth it, but just as often run an air shock (which can get a little hot to the touch on 20 min rocky descents like this one).

None of this is really necessary as I’ve ridden the same route on a hardtail… but on this bike it’s much more fun 😈 I’ve got a mate who takes his Iron Horse Sunday up here…

For the route’s I like to do a 20lb bike for the ups and a DH bike for the doon’s… other than that almost anything will do. We used to ride the same mountains with rigid bikes, then suspension forks, then full suss, then freeride bikes, then all mountain bikes… no 29er’s in my group yet (but one has been ordered)

I was once advised to get a large size frame so I can put some insulation roll on the tubes and carry it on my shoulders by sticking my head through the middle 😐

As above… depends on your route’s and if you are you there mostly for the downhills or if your all about big days and big long adventures.

Edit – 160mm travel both ends and about 30-33lbs works for me.

I’ve always liked Answer bars but their current carbon bar is only 720mm… but the new one out shortly is a full 780mm 😈

Control Tech do the Venom which is 740mm and only 220g.

Easton Havoc are the obvious choice though.

Mt Zoom 745mm bar is 175g… but would you trust it?

Have you read this thread?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fancy-a-change-nicolai-or-knolly

Would Gore cables (or Mudlovers(?))not sort the issue, they run a full length liner, regardless of where the outer sections are?

Don’t know as I didn’t have a look but from what he said the liners are built into the frame so there is no option other than to run short lengths of outer to link them up… not sure if other Trek’s are the same or if the liners in the frame can be removed/replaced? As I said it’s not mine and knowing this chap the shop involved will probably be trying to fix it for free while he stands in the shop stamping his feet (having bought a £4,500 bike from them I can see his point).

Ooooh… that thread at the top is my old thread from two years ago about this.

Update from that is I kept snapping the Hope Pro2 axles roughly every 2-3 months for the rest of the year despite running the BETD bolt out back.

I spoke to Hope a few times that year and eventually spoke to a chap called Dave who agree’d to upgrade it to a Pro2 EVO for me… for which I sent Dave and the warranty department a box of Jaffa Cakes 😆

Since getting the EVO upgrade I have had no more issues in over a year (and I bought another set of Pro 2 Evo wheels for my other bike)… I’m still very much a fan of Hope and their customer service 8)

The wordy resposes on this thread from the Nicolai owners show you what kind of folk they tend to be 🙄

I am Helius AM owner so here is my wordy response 😆

“Enduro” is one of the new buzzwords we all have to live with… a couple of years ago it was “All Mountain”, and before that it was “Freeride”… all the while it’s pretty much been the same kind of travel that the bikes have, but they have been getting lighter and more “trail friendly” as we move away from the pure “Downhill” bikes on which they were originally based (after we all broke our XC bikes with our rad riding… all IMHO etc).

The Helius AM is (to me) still a proper “All Mountain” bike in that it is designed for the long days in the mountains which include proper long doonhall trails; a bit more winch and drop than all round trail friendly; hence it carries a little more weight and has more DH angles than some more modern “Enduro” type frames. This suits me but might not suit others.

I’ve had mine up quite a few mountains as I’m lucky enough to live near some, but I’ve also had it round the local forests and Glentress/Inners etc. For trail centre’s and forests it’s a bit of a steamroller to crack an egg but it’s still damn good fun… but let it loose on a proper doonhall trail (and if you’ve got the skillz) the bike will not be an excuse. I took mine to the USA last year and rode an XC event in the desert one day, shuttled it and chased fully stormtrooper’d up locals down serious gnar on another, and rode it up a 10,000ft peak the next… a true all-rounder.

I’ve had mine set up everywhere from 30lbs trail mode to 35lbs for the Macavalanche; which is one of the great things about how versatile these frames are. Run an air shock and short travel setting at the back for more sedate stuff, and bung on a coil and big tyres to steamroller the gnar… or just leave it in either mode and just ride it. I’ve not tried a 150mm 32mm stantioned fork on it as I find them too flexy for my liking, but the latest generation of 34mm forks (Fox 34 and Deville) would be a way to drop a little weight from the 35/36 stantioned forks I’ve tried.

I’m currently running it at about 35lbs with a CCDB and Marz 55 RC3Ti forks for everything as I can hustle it along just fine (I’m not racing and I currently have no carbon on it)… but I am really enjoying the big long descents and the extra “feel” I get with the coil vs air shock options. If I was racing enduro or just riding more XC trails it would be stripped down and running the air shocks… and I would probably want a lighter more “trail” oriented frame (and some carbon natch 😉 ).

I break stuff and I’m a bit of a carbon-o-phobe from previous experience. I’ve been riding Nicolai’s for about eight years now and I’ve not managed to break one and that’s reason enough for me to be very happy to be riding one. Mine is two years old now and I’ve tightened the bushings but that is all… how many bearings in a nomad in that time?

A Helius AM is much more like an Alpine/Patriot than a Five, but I think the Nicolai is a bit more versatile because of the travel options; but it’s still probably too much bike if all it’s going to see is trail riding. For enduro racing in the UK you’ll be after something lighter and more trail friendly (IMHO). For the Mega (and Euro Enduro racing) and “all mountain” riding where there are proper mountains then they are probably up there as one of the best tools for the job (unless your aiming for a podium and hence have the skillz to rag a less suitable bike through the terrain 😈 ).

PS… I’d love to try one of those Helius AC frames with or without waggon wheels. I don’t think I’d change my AM for one as when I’m riding tamer trails and forests I like to ride a hardtail, but it would be fun to try one… and perhaps I need to look at carbon again 😳 .

Enjoy!

Messiah- thanks for the info- does your mate have any specific comments about the cable routing?

Hi, just spotted this question… From what he described the problems with the Slash is the way the cables are built into the frame means you cannot run a solid cable (or even goretex jobs) and hence will always have the crap getting through the gaps between the cable sections. We live in the muddy north east of Scotland and not sunny Califonia; therefore any gaps between cables means crap gets in and leads to maintenance nightmares. FWIW… the solid cable runs on my Nicolai have been on there for two years, he is changing cables every two weeks and still cursing it. Maybe there is a way to improve the cabling on the Slash but I’ve not had a look so cannot say.

As mentioned above the double chain guide on it is a piece of crap.

Good mate has a slash he bought to be his enduro race bike. He plans to sell it due to it being a bit compromised… too heavy for what he wants and the internal cabling is causing him problems every few rides. He really hates the chainguide as well… suspension feel is nice though. Wishes he’d bought the carbon remedy… but he’ll change his mind next week.

Sounds like you need a “growler”.

My Brewdog growler is awesome and keeps two pints of epic ale fresh for up to a week.

Hmmm, nope, was no funnier even after you edited.
**slow clap**
**jogs slowly away from the fatty**

Wow… that is one easy to bruise ego. Get well soon.

Just saying.