Two bodges for the price of one :D

Horizontal dropouts on a 95 Kona Explosif after the chainstay snapped.

Bodged 18t sprocket onto a Hope Splined disc hub to run as a flip/flop fixie/free.

http://www.aura-cycles.com

http://www.kingdombike.com/

Yep… Ark required today.

Ti is a frame material I’ve never broken…

it’s also a frame material I have never owned :lol:

http://www.ecurieneep.co.uk/

http://www.cycle-world.co.uk/

Some of the best riding in the country (IMHO) – although at this time of year it can be a struggle.

Thinks have moved on a lot in 15 years…

-4 and frost on last nights ride… add in a windchill and it was enough to have lights failing at the top of the hill.

I should probably add that I live in the mountains of Scotland… I like my hardtail for foresty stuff.

I used to kick arse on my hardcore hardtail, but then fs trail bikes caught up and in many cases now work out better and lighter; I was struggling to keep up. So I joined the club with 6″ am machine which is lighter than my hardtail was. I am currently still in the honeymoon phase but so far no regrets… the fs is the better bike and I am back at the front of the pack.

Motorhead on Monday night brought it all home for me. Nothing better than bouncing about and showing your appreciation. A few youngsters got a bit punchy and messy but the older rockers kept it together… brilliant fun, as it was 28 years ago when I first saw them.

BullSh*tter

My local trails are 4 miles away. Four miles up… getting to the trails is always hard work, but warm work. Once in the trees and out of the wind it’s very easy to build up a lot of heat and sweat so by the time I head for home I’m usually soaking wet.
Perfect for getting cold or even hypothermic on the run back to the house.
Solution = more kit. In my pack on cold nights/days I now carry… fresh dry warm (ski) gloves, a new warm hat (balaclava), synthetic down gillet, and a windproof or waterproof jacket. All pretty light and small packing stuff which goes in my camelback mule. Quick change at the top of the hill before the 20 min scoot back to the house. No more pedalling to keep warm – with my new toasty clothing on I can enjoy the views instead of thrashing wildly at the pedals trying to keep warm while cursing my stupidity for heading out.

Tights/leggings/whatever you want to call them are the best to ride in by a huge margin. To wear anything else is a compromise to fashion.

As with Lycra shorts… bibbed ones are the best as there is no slipping down or tightness at the waist – for the ankles foot loops are good and zips there are prone to breaking (= very annoying).

Only in the very worst of wet conditions do my waterproof 3/4 length trousers come out – I dislike the tugging/pulling sensations around the knee/leg/butt when peddaling, but they have a place in the wardrobe for those days I really should know better than to go out in.

Summer shorts (with no pad) over the top for the fashion consious.

ISCG?

Thats not sped up – those bits in the middle are really smooth so the speed does pick up quickly. From memory about 25 mins to ride and walk up for about 4 mins to get back down… very worth it :lol:

It’s a nice ride up.

Handed in my notice on Monday. One Month to work and then off down the road for twice the pay and none of the Bullsh!t… really looking forward to a new start and new challanges without the hypocritical talk of “honesty and integrity” from the management. Bunch of liars.

But none of this I shall voice to them as who knows what the future holds… maybe I will back in a few years… but only if the money and terms are right :)

PS. I would have bought the alloy 19 if I could have.

27.2 post means you get a cheap & nasty qr instead of the nice Whyte one. I would like a little less flex from the seaport area, but I find the steel very comfortable and its certainly lively… not dead feeling at all.

bobster – I’m kind of between sizes with the geo – I’m on a Medium and would like a little longer top tube without going to a large.

The adjustable dropouts are fun – in the dry summer stretch them out for super speed stability, but in the winter you need them medium for back end grip when slipping in the mud… or leave them medium all the time as it’s the best comprimise.

For really silly gnar I would like the bottom bracket lower and to be able to drop the seatpost futher (seattube bottle bosses)… but I really should take my Nicolai Helius AM for those rides – better to take the correct tool for the job really.

I really do like my Whyte 19 steel… the geometry is as close as perfect as I’ll probably get without going custom… ie tweaking it a bit.

As I’ve said – magic XC and long rides but a bit out of it’s depth in the gnar… which it probably should be when you think about what it’s designed for and the build on it. That said… it can really tempt you into attacking the silly stuff and if you drop the saddle it’s like a little BMX and does put on a bl00dy good effort as a hooner.

Another point against the steel is the 27.2 seatpost (not what it says in the catalog but its what the frame has).

I used mine at SSEC2010 after my other bike suffered a rim failure. It’s a very versatile bike, able to race or take on long days, its not quite as capable in the big mountains as i would’ve liked… but much of that is possibly component choice.

I like my steel a great deal, but if I had the money I would not be buying a Ti. Not because I believe its bad in any way, but because I know from the steel I want something a little different in the geometry. Buying or borrowing any will let you find out if they work for you.

That is lush… enjoy.

Royce are heavier and no axle options.

Clever marketing, nice stickers and bragging rights :lol:

My understanding is the PUSH parts are mostly about increasing oil flow and hence allowing the shock to recover from multiple hits.

Big hits are easy to handle but multiples tend to pack the shocks down and prevent them recovering – especially if they have the Fox patented pro pedal pish installed (a big washer in the piston instead of proper shims).

If your paying for a custom tune with TFT it’s not much more to get a few shiney bits inside and a nice sticker – that was why I went for Push last time.

Probably could have got the same performance with only a custom tune but the sales patter was good… and I’ve been very very happy with the results.

*wave*

Yes – thin latex (etc) gloves are the best investment.

As the kids get older and you learn they routine it’s possible to do just about everything to fix the bike.

Love it. On the right kind of bike there is no downside.

Many thanks to cycleworlduk for organsing this event. There was a fantastic turnout and I’ve never seen so many lights in the forest… I’ve also never seen so many riders in that area at one time either.

Good chat and stovies back at the shop – top night – cheers :)

A suitable item to lust after – Easton Haven Carbon rimmed AM wheels.

My experience and history with carbon make this a really bad idea… :twisted:

Changes to the Pro2 hub to make it like the Pro3 on the AM-4 wheels. Stronger axle and different freehub body. Good changes.

I’ll talk to myself again.

Hope are replacing the axle once more for me. If I break it again they will convert my hub to the new EVO version which is retrofitable with a new freehub body and a stronger axle.

This is one of the reasons I like dealing with Hope :-)

I took the outer air sleeve off a Float-R and put a large piece of plastic in to reduce the volume. Improved the shock but it is still poor compared to a coil.

Bought my eldest a Townsend Alligator 12″ Wheel Boys Bike for £50 when he was 3 – it’s been fine for him and at 5 he is now moving up to a Ridgeback MX16.

The Alligator is moving down the line to his 3 year old brother and he is loving it… but when we bought the MX16 he sat on an MX14 and it would have been better than the Alligator.

I like the Ridgeback’s.

Couple of pics for akira

Ref – TLR’s pedal strike. I have that issue if I run the Float-R rear shock at 30% sag as the shock blows through the mid stroke. I can either run the air shock too firm and live with the poor performance… or bung on the Coil DHX4.0 and live with the minor weight penalty (for much better suspension).

I will get round to custom tuning the two shocks I have at some point in time as there is room for improvement, but at the moment the coil is doing a good job. It’s worth having a chat with TFT (or any shock tuner) about what you want the bike/shock to do… most seem to agree that if your after performance on a bike like this then coil is the answer.

The bottom bracket is not low on my AM – the only time I get pedal strike is when the suspension is poorly set up, either too soft or too much damping jacking it down (as a result of Fox Pro Pedal Pish damping system).

33lbs – 1.5″, HammerSchnizzle, Flow/ProII (12mm), 200mm V2 brakes, Float-36, Float-R, Big Betties and NO CARBON

35lbs with a better/stronger/grippier/heavier rear tyre and a DHX4.0 Coil.

Absolutely love it for everything – especially so now the suspension works properly with the coil on the back :twisted:.

Easy lose weight, remove HummerSchnozzle, a sorted rear air shock, lighter tyres, smaller brakes, Carbon Blingness – but then I would not be so happy to throw it down mountains.

Lite weight is not always the answer :roll:

My last Nicolai was custom but this is a stock medium and it fits perfectly.

Zips bust on mine – the poppers are still there but I would like the zip fixed… any suggestions as it looks tricky as there is not much room to replace it?

Let the lbs or Whyte deal with it.

Emery cloth and elbow grease.

Had a chat with Hope and have sent them the two broken axles to have a look at. If they replace them I’m good to go for another 6 months :evil:

From a chat with the bloke the SP-AM4 wheelset with the Pro3 hub has a different “stronger” axle configuration and this will be incorporated in the Pro2 EVO hub which was mentioned on this site at Eurobike time.

I’m thinking I’ll hold out for the EVO or get some SP-AM4’s… my disks are a little warped after 2 years banging them off rocks so I could do with new ones.

Phone MOJO

Quite common in the group I ride with – Two running Orange Alpine 160’s and myself with the Helius AM.

But your right… we are nutters and the bikes get a beasting. Hope say it’s “unusual” but thats little conselation when your cassette falls off for the third time in a year when you take the wheel off!

Older thread on subject.
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-rear-hub-12mm-x-135mm-for-use-with-maxle-or-maxle-lite