Who said it cracked in the same place twice?

Correctamundo… but it was three when i think about it… twice on the front triangle and once on the rear swingarm. It was an early Alpine so had a one year warrantee. Owner got a repaired/new front triangle from orange after six months, but when the crack appeared in the swingarm after 14 months it was time to weld, and again when the third crack appeared in the front triangle.

We’ve also had Giant, Mongoose, Haro and Trek’s repaired locally with mixed results… depending who does the welding… needs must and all that.

Mate of mine has his welded localy… twice. But where we live there are people who weld helicopters and stuff so these guys know their onions.

Rather than re-type I’ll post a linky.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/truvativ-hamerschmidt-qs

I really like mine and I’ve had it for nearly two years with little maintenance… still on the original bottom bracket which is very impresive given my history…

Oooooh, so not good to hear. When I last bought an M960 ring from him last year it turned up as expected. I’m soon going to need to replace my 33t Jericho Suffering so I hope he gets his stuff together rapido…

If you were happy with it before the problem why bother? I’ve had two shocks Pushed but both were on the advice of TFT after I explained what I didn’t like and wanted to improve. I believe much of the change is hype as a re-tune can get you many of the benefits, just that the Push mod increases oil flow and hence improves performance under certain conditions.

I would speak to any or all of the following to get advice but if a simple service will surfice then no need to look at Push – Mojo/Loco/TFT/Stendec/etc.

I’m going to escape early this afternoon. First ride in nealy two weeks due to prepping a house for selling… I realy need this bike ride.

First ride with Vault pedals and Five-ten’s… woohoo!

I have two sets of Hope Hoop Flows – one with yellow tape and one with the rim strip. Both work perfectly. It’s harder to get a tyre on the rim strip set as the strip is thicker than the yellow tape, and I would guess that it’s heavier. But both work so I see no reason to change either for the other.

Top tip. If you do go for the black rim strip option put a wrap or two of electrical tape under it just in case you have to fit an innertube at any time.

Sorry if that came out bad about the other thread, I was using my phone so couldn’t link the picture but could link the thread.

Here is the pic again.

It’s all pretty close tolerance but it does fit with a bit of care… no filing or cutting required… and once set up it’s awesome.

(I know… I’d like a bling gold bolt to replace the rusty one on the SRAM clamp )

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/reverb-remote-mounting

I posted a picture on this thread.

You have just met a kitchen salesman not a designer. We had one of them who couldn’t understand why we would want to cook on a gas hob and not go for the induction hob he wanted to sell us… twunt 👿

Trick for getting the non UST RQ and Baron tyres to seal is to use loads of sealant… about twice what you think is reasonable.

Here is what I do… Do it once with what you think is the right amount, for the next week keep topping it up with air hoping it seals, after a week give up and slurge the same in again… bingo it stays up.

I did have one massive hole on a secondhand tyre so I stuck a patch on it, and I’ve also patched cut sidewalls when required.

Another trick is to wipe the inside of the tyre with meths to remove whatever greasy stuff is left over from the manufacturing process. I read it on here and it does seem to help.

I drilled an aluminium frame about 10 years ago and it’s a bit of a faff but worth it on a cheap old frame. As mentioned above the tricky bit is getting a good angle to get the drill bit or dremmel grinder where you want it. Ideally you want a thin piece of metal near the eyelet and near the chuck to prevent wear and drill bit kick from chipping the paint.
Gently does it etc etc… don’t be in a hurry!

Almost certainly easier to run Gore or Transfil Mudlovers cables… which is what I would do now. With the guides drilled out it’s difficult to make the cables look nice as they tend to droop (unless they are clamped like Ragley/On-one etc).

EDIT – seems a shame to do that to a Soul

Friends with Haven’s have had issues with the freewheel mechanism and the bearings, and when I ran Crossmax wheels they spent months at Mavic for broken spokes, rims, and cracked hubs (old versions of the wheels but I still bear the mental scars of being without my bikes… I’m much happier if I can get the parts and fix my own stuff… or send to someone in the UK who is great with warranty/service).

For a budget of about £500 I would buy two pairs of Hope Hoops with Flow rims… one for my hardtail and one for my FS… then I can run different tyres and swap the wheels back and forth as I like/need.

Which… funnily enough is what I’ve done. I could go Arch (EX?)on one set to drop the weight further but I’m addicted to big tyres so the Flow rim works for me. I need to replace the front rim on one set sometime as I’ve bent it but at least with two sets it won’t keep me off the bike.

I’m having a bit of a Conti Black Chilli fest at the moment. Last couple of years has seen me change my main two bikes over to various big Conti tyres. I started running 2.4 BC Rubber Queens and loved them. I was running the non UST’s tubeless but I found the rear sidewall a bit delicate so I went with a UST on the back. There was not much clearance so for the winter I went for Baron’s front and back which I also like a lot. They come up much smaller than the 2.4 RQ, almost the same size as the 2.2 BC RQ which I run on my hardtail (again non UST but tubeless). The 2.2 RQ is much lighter than the Baron and the 2.4 RQ which are about the same – the UST is much heavier.

I’ve ripped a couple of sidewalls which is a pain in the arse and they can take a while and a lot of sealant to run tubeless, but I love the level of grip and feel from them all. I like them as they are all so light, big and grippy.

The wierd thing is the tread is grippy and yet it doesn’t seem to wear… all the Conti’s I have killed have gone at the sidewall or the bead. I’ve patched a few of the sidewalls I’ve cut and they hold up fine… but I wish they didn’t cut so easily. I kind of wish I hadn’t tried them as I’ve become a bit of an addict to the performance… but the issues of sealing and damage have had me swearing at them in the garage and on the trail. Who knows… if I ran Maxis/Michelin/etc I would probably be singing their praises as I would be well happy with them as well.

I went from 200/200 Hope V2’s to 200/180 Formula RX, and then down to 180/160 Formula TheOne’s. I was expecting to have issues but even riding stupid mental doonhalls in Arizona has caused the Formula’s no problems. Try it.. it’s only a disc and adapter to change.

Answer Fall Line XC Gloves are good. Thicker and feel better quality than the gloves I’ve been wearing for the last few years (Thor and Royal).

Oh my…

I like the look of the Devinci Dixon… but I’m a Nicolai fanboi so it would be wrong of me not to suggest a Helius AC (or AM).

Good point Scamper – since going HammerSchmidt and 1*9 I’m seeing less chain wear than when I ran a front mech.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/1×9-1×10-peoples

I’ve used one of these for 12+ years since I worked in a shop which had one – I think it’s brilliant.

I change on the ‘A’ side as if you leave it to the ‘S’ some damage is done and the next chain wears quicker.

I’d like to try running two or more chains etc but even I am not that organised/anal.

What I have found is that the first 4/5/6 chains run sweet and last a long time… but there comes a time when the new chain wears really quickly. When this happens it’s time to run it into the ground, change the lot and start again. Problem I have with doing this is when your worn chain snaps in the back-end-of-nowhere and you end up with multiple bodged repairs to get home… as mentioned above the mechanical efficiency deteriorates and your drivetrain sounds like a commuter bike special.

Whether it’s cost effective or not I don’t know… but I like this way of doing things as I know my gears are good for long rides, and I have an excellent idea of how long things are likely to last so I can plan the timing for the purchase of spares.

Are you sure it’s the shock your feeling and not liking?

I was unimpressed initially with my CCDB. A call to TFT and a discussion on setting helped, as did some tweaking. But what has made me really impressed with it is changing my fork. I think the CCDB is so smooth and neutral feeling that if there is an issue with the fork you’ll be feeling it through the frame. Since changing from a Float fork to a Marz 55 RC3 Ti the harshness I tended to feel in the gnar has totally gone and the whole bike feels much smoother and far more evenly controlled.

I think my Float fork chokes on it’s oil when really pushed hard no matter where I have the settings. Feels fine in the car park but on the trails it’s never quite right… and I find my Pushed Float rear similar. My CCDB and Marz 55 RC3 Ti is a lush combination. If I introduce either of the air shocks I get the harshness and consequent reduction in performance/fun/giggles… but the bike is lighter 😆

I enjoyed that despite all the euro-rear-wheel-hopping. Clever camera angles 😉 .

Local kid came off his bmx near here last year. His unstoppered bar core-sampled his liver. Touch and go week in intensive care and he will probably never recover fully…

Other than that it looks interesting.

How much freewheel/back-pedal drag do you get with a king hub? I’ve tried a few but can’t remember how it compares with a Hope. I’ve found with the HammerSchmidt that you want a really free rear hub or the chain can have a tendency to go slack when freewheeling fast over very rough terrain and drop between tyre and chainstay (with the 22/24 ring it sits close)

I like Hope hubs as they are simple. To make them freewheel/back-pedal better scoop out the blue grease and replace with oil… double bonus is it makes them quieter

MMX clamp works just fine on it’s own…

Reasons for the swoopy downtube to bottom bracket junction.

Stolen from the bottom of this page from Brant.

http://www.shedfire.com/tag/mmmbop/

I agree with Loco that too much sag due to over soft srings is bad… but 10mm of travel, assuming 30% sag means the fork is only 6.6mm longer. If your frame has a 1.5″ head tube you could run an internal headset and run the 170 fork?

I didn’t want a fork longer than the 160mm Fox I had… so i bought a 2010 Bomber 55 RC3 Ti ( it helped that it was cheaper… I love cheaper ).

I bought some 2010 55 RC3 ti with 1.5 steerer from CRC a few weeks ago for £350… bargaintastic.

For the weight weenie they were/are 270g more than the 2010 Float RC2 36’s they replaced (now moved to my hardtail).

What can I tell you about the performance… they are smooth… very very smooth. With the Float’s on my FS there was always a certain amount of harshness/feedback no matter if I was running an air rear shock (Push Float R) or a coil (Van or CCDB)… so much so that I tended to run with the Float rear and didn’t think the CCDB was that special. With the Bombers on this changes… the bike now feels much better with the CCDB and the Float R rear makes it feel more harsh.

I’ve also ridden a Deville back-to-back with my Float. The Deville stands up more than the Float and is less prone to dive (I wrote a piece on here about it). I find the Bomber very like the Float in that it dives a bit as part of it’s smoothness… which I like. I did like the Deville… but a friend of mine who is a very hard rider bought a Deville and didn’t get on with it… which worried me a little… it didn’t like the 12ft drop in the local forest 😈

I’m a bargain hunter so when I saw the Bomber at that price I stopped saving for a Deville which I wasn’t 100% sure about… I’m in the honeymoon phase but I’d rather carry the extra 270g of the Bomber than put up with the Float (and if your looking at 2012 36 Floats the 160mm travel has a worse damper than the 180mm, but if you were to reduce the travel on a 180mm to 160mm it would weigh the same as the Ti sprung Bomber… go figure ).

I’ve not really tried Lyrik’s.

I have one of these on the shoulder strap of my Camelback. I don’t like having anything rattling about on my wrist when hurtling down the trails.

Hi Alistair, I nearly bought a second hand Argon FR six+ months back but bought an Mmmbop instead… which morphed into the Troof. I just wasn’t sure about the angles on an older Argon FR with the forks I planned to fit. The Mmmbop was cheap and it was an experiment I’m very glad I carried out as I don’t think I would have got on with the Argon… and it would have cost so much even second hand that I would have been reluctant to change it in the way I did with the Mmmbop.

What exact Fox fork is it you have and whats the travel? This makes all the difference as to what frame will take it and not ride like a total dog.

I’d still love an Argon FR but I would be wanting custom geometry from what I have learned from the bop and Troof…

I really must get some better pictures of the Troof – it’s not a bad looking bike, and it rides brilliantly (for the way I ride etc etc).

I like mine. I run it with a HammerSchmidt so same as 1×9. On my other bike I run an SLX 1×9 (with a short cage XT cage fitted instead of the long cage SLX – any easy fit if you have a broken XT). The differance between the two is the strength of the return spring in the Saint which helps stop the chain bouncing about quite as much. I bent two XT mechs in a short period of time and figured the shadow ones are a bit weak hence buying the Saint. I’ve heard of Saint main pivots going slack but mine have been fine and I’ve seen a friends bodge which is easy if mine ever go. My Saint has been on nearly a year so for me it’s worked out well, I think it’s stronger than an XT and it’s definetely tucked out of the way nicely… it’s also no heavier than an XT.

I’d probably buy another if I damage it or the SLX again…

I can’t use a road mech as I use 11-34 cassettes.

Pics here – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/15inch-frames

Hmmm, perhaps I remember it as a scramble because I’ve tended to do it in the winter or early spring so your limited as to where to climb out via snow or cornice…

Kilbo is epic.

Did you go up Bachnagain/Skellies and Pass Loch Esk to Jocks, then up Corrie Fee to Mayar/Dreish, then out via Kilbo?

Noice 8)

It was enjoying riding Yetimans 18″ Piggy that made me buy this… 8)

… I bought the cheap Mmmbop as I thought it might be a bit big (and I wanted to try Alu)… and after extensive testing I come to the conclusion that it was too big… not by much, and only when really in the gnar did it bother me, but it did bother me enough to make me want a 17″.

I also found it worked best with forks at 135-140mm and not the full 150mm I had… and that I really didn’t get on that well with the flex of the Rev’s so wanted a beefier fork.

Hence this 17″ Ragley beaut with 36 forks (the Alu bit did not bother me so I stuck with it).

You do realise there is a 17″ Mk2 Blue-Pig (Mk 1 is 16″ and 18″)

Speak to Richard at Gravity Sports about your Nicolai requirement, he tends to know about these things 😉

http://www.gravity-sports.co.uk/

He helped me get mine at a good price, and while I waited for the frame I picked up all the other bits cheap… scary cheap for some of them.

You mentioned the Argon FR… which is a hardtail, I guess you meant Helius FR or AM… like mine.

Both my bikes have 1.5″ Headtube.

So I can swap the forks about (both are also 31.6″ Seatpost too which is a bonus).

Lovely bikes…

What a confusing post Sanny. Did you go up Corrie Fee? If you did then you’ll be well placed to figure out what kind of down it would make surely?
I’ve walked it a few times and the top of it is very steep and hence a scramble IIRC.

I’m very jealous… all I managed over the weekend was hrmmmph-hurgh-harrumph

18″ is for 6ft plus in my book… I found the 18″ too big and I am 5′ 11-1/2″
You would be 16″ or maybe a 17 IMHO.

Oh look… some of the Ragley’s are cheap too 8)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58688

Even the description is almost the same.

All part of the CRC empire so they can price as they want… perhaps they haven’t sold as many as they expected, or a new batch with next years colours are on the way.

No idea if they are any good but I suspect that they are seeing as the days of “experimental” carbon bars snapping for almost no reason are behind us.

I’m like a fly to a lightbulb with that website… I keep going back to see if the products are really that bland and un-innovative… all I see is “lifestyle” branding of stuff we can buy from elsewhere, most of which is better suited to strutting around an alpine resort than being used on the trails… like snowboard gear then 🙄

Is it really not possible for companies to come up with something original to join the MTB party with?

Dirt jump lid – same as everyone else.
Full face Dh helmet – same as everyone else.
Knee/Elbow/Body armour – same as everyone else.
Lifestyle cut jackets – same as everyone else.
Jerseys – same as everyone else.
Shorts – same as everyone else.

The only vaguely original is that carbon Enduro/AM lid… and even that looks like the Urge Enduro lid made to be super expensive out of carbon to match your $4000 bike.

We should expect more snow companies to follow. POC have done well by entering the market with obscene prices and an “awesome reputation”*.

* Note – POC made up this “awesome reputation” themselves in all their marketing bumf… and the MTB world lapped it all up in much the same as we did all the fantastic crossover stuff from MotoX over the years.

A 350E helmet… WTF?