Hi. They are all parts that came with the frameset. Headset was included with the frameset .

Pretty sure the bearing is the right way up as was following videos. The side of the bearing with the angled lip is pressed against the crown race.

So the plastic ring that sits on top of the fork looks too visible to me? Maybe I’m wrong.

Yes managed to upload a photo!

And it’s a completely new build .

How do I create a url for an image 🤔

I don’t think the lower Cup is fully flush with the head tube, no.
I agree a photo would be a lot better .

Thanks

@el_boufador quite possibly, it looks like that’s maybe it.

@wbo she really liked a 2017 / 18 Nukeproof Mega which she rented years ago, but then the geometry changed. She didn’t like them anymore after trying the newer ones.

I’d it to be less than 2 feet anyway, just like the size of a shopping basket but no bigger. The old metal ones, not the newer plastic ones.

Budget, max about 100 quid ish? I’ve seen some tool brands with boxes for about 20 or 30 quid but wasn’t sure if they would be any good.

One thing I should say is that I’m not neat and tidy like the photo above, Id like something I can chuck everything into, but keep the smaller bits like spoke keys in smaller compartments. We don’t have a huge amount of space (no garage), so preferably something that can be put away and not always in sight.

Hard to say how many tools I have.

I have all the stuff like chain whip and cassette remover,
Pedal spanner,
All the allen keys,
Torq wrench,
Spoke keys,
Tool for centre lock disc brakes {the wide one}
Other stuff I can’t remember. A lot of bits and pieces and aren’t necessarily tools.

I’d like to get to the stage where I’m pretty self sufficient and can do most things myself… brake bleeds, crankset removal etc – So that I can build up a bike from a frameset. Will probably be cheaper in the long run than paying the bike shop to do it since my jaw always drops to the floor when I see the mechanics bill.

I’m really overwhelmed by all the help!

Thanks so much @thepilot . Really useful as you’re the same height and had a similar experience. That’s the thing, neither of us want her to stop riding.
She’s enjoying her road bike more these days.

Thanks so much @cookeaa , again – stuff we’ll take on board and work on. I’ll suggest we take both bikes to the bike park next time, and compare. Might help figure out what is going on.
Her hardtail was an XC style Cube but she was shredding enduro type stuff on it, to the amazement of me and others who saw her! 100mm Rock Shox fork, a Reba maybe.

Yeah, more practice definitely needed, but she’s definitely in a love hate relationship with the bike, with probably more hate. I think this is part of the issue with not riding enough.

Thanks, all very helpful so far.
Some stuff neither of us had thought of.

It was always my understanding that the reason for women’s specific bike was that women can often have longer torsos relative to their leg? But I’ve also noticed it looks like not many top level female riders are on women specific bikes.

Joebristol – thanks for taking the time to write all that. I’m passing on all the information. Very informative.

Poah – Ive just looked at the bar and stem thing. It looks like from the side, that the line of each end of the bar would go directly through the stem if you were to draw a line. So could be an issue there?

Bars – just looked at her bars, Chromag Fubars. They measure about 775 or 780 end to end.

Tyres – we are both on Michelin Wild enduros. I loves them, she thought they were a vast improvement than the Maxxis that came on the bike.

Her technique could definitely be worked on – especially trying to implement things learnt. I think part of it is that, as she thinks she is now riding like crap, it means theres more time lapsing between rides as she gets frustrated, so theres a bit of a cycle going on there perhaps.

She does really enjoy mountain biking but I’m afraid the current bike or setup is putting her off unless we can fix it.

Could be that she should go back to a Cube hardtail again, or a Hardcore version maybe. Neither of us keep up to date with current trends very much. Mondraker is still considered long and slack?

@thebunk , are you a female rider too? Just curious.

She says when she picks a line on a descent, the Smuggler doesn’t go where she wants it to go (-she’s sitting next to me now).

I’ve tried to say that with her Smuggler , you kind of need to be turning with your body just as much as the arms . Can’t rely on turning the handlebars like you can almost get away with on a XC hardtail .

I have the 2015/16 Smuggler, hers is the 2018/19. Her original medium felt bigger and slacker than the medium I still have.. but as I said, maybe not big and slack compared with other brands.

She learns by doing , so all the other wording about body positioning would probably be like double Dutch right now.

Hey thanks for all the help so far.

I didn’t mention that she has had a full private coaching day before, on the Smuggler. It helped a lot for a few days , then her riding started to go back to how it was before.

Her main issue is cornering . Most of the time she’s competant enough on straight sections.
She says the HT just went where she wanted it to go on turns, but not this.

Regards the sizing, she was sold a medium first. She was struggling to get around some corners and even started to say “I can’t turn” , at the end of every descent . After checking the sizing it looked like she was a small not medium. We thought it would fix the cornering , but not much difference. Not a huge amount anyway.

The geometry thing, I have a Smuggler too. Mines an older generation,hers is a lot more slack compared to mine. Both bikes maybe not considered modern geometry in the grand scheme of things.

The stem – interesting about going back to 50mm. We’ve briefly tried different sizes, but our theory would be that shorter is better .

We’ll try get our hands on more bikes to ride.

Can’t believe I didn’t know about these, life saver .

Thanks a lot lads!!

Race Face or Hope okay?

Ah okay, all very helpful! I’ll give it a bash and hopefully do it without the tools.

And how do I know what bolt circle size I need? I see 104 mm, etc.

And can anyone recommend a decent double wide ring for single speed?
Race Face seem popular on CRC.

Thanks!

@imnotverygood , that’s not my experience from being coached and racing for over 10 years, and learning about coaching myself.

Got any questions? Workouts like 2 X 20 minute efforts at 85 % of FTP have huge gains on how you’ll feel during and towards the end of a long ride. Doing volume and longer rides alone helps, but its not enough and not hugely effective if you want results.

I find them to be quite wide around the mid foot and heal compared with other brands. Hard to get a good fit.

I’ve read most replies and here are my thoughts.

1) Average speed is a poor indicator of fitness. Too many variables in the form of weather, road surfaces, what you ate in the last week, how much sleep you had, even what you ate and drank that morning.
If you really want to know you’re making progress, get a power meter, do an all out 20 minute effort. Calculate your watts per KG and FTP, and try and do that every 6 weeks or 2 months.

2) I agree with one of the comments above. A carbon frame with 105 kit will make sod all difference to how you feel at the end of the ride if all the same junk has been put back on. But you say you’d also be getting 50mm carbon wheels which would help.

3) I think aero is definitely more important than light weight unless you want to be fast up long alpine passes . At your price point you are talking about, you can probably only pick one.

4) Short hard rides will make you faster on the long slow rides! There’s a lot more to it than just getting out and riding. Different zones need to be worked on to improve longer distance speed.

5) A nice bike definitely makes road spins more enjoyable, and if you enjoy it more, you’ll be more motivated to go out on it more . Don’t be thinking about am I riding far enough or fast enough.

Well another one, anyone have any guess when the 2022 bikes will be coming in?
I’ve been told possibly December or January, maybe later. Any advance on this?

And yes thanks for the advice. There is a bike I want in stock in my size at one of my local shops, its currently on hold for me!

Well if the prices go up again for 2022 bikes (big brands like Cannondale, Trek, Specialized), can anyone see them coming back down again in another year or two, or will they most likely stay at the increased price?

We have bought Peatys Products and the payment receipt was even signed by the big man himself, very cool 😎 .
I’ll have to try dig it up.

😜😜😜🤣🤣

Why unpadded?

If money is no object why not buy some proper winter shoes.

Tried them before, not enough flexibility when climbing standing out of the saddle. Not performance oriented, didn’t like them. Probably good for commuting though.

I understand the zips eventually go on them, don’t really expect them to last more than one winter .

I would try an ISM .

Interesting, thanks. I probably should have added in that both fork and shock have had a service in about the last six months, with not a huge amount of riding. But just still didn’t feel right after the service – not what I was looking for as you put it.

Okay, so three votes for full suit over the separates. Can you get into more details or give more reasons? I’m a total tech clothing geek for general cycling and outdoor gear, but tri stuff is pretty new to me. Cheers

Enduro bikes in 2015 were not 180mm travel, not sure they barely are now. Like others have said , you might need two bikes. What’s wrong with something like a Transition Sentinel?

180mm counts as trail / DH these days? Crikey. When did I get left behind. I do everything with 140 up front.

Afan Argoed. Train to Newport then bus or taxi or catch a ride up.

I have a bottle in the garage ….used once / on one chain and I didn’t like it. You can have it if you like (maybe do something good with whatever you think it’s worth) My first post so not sure if you can direct mail me your details.

I will send you a personal message seventenths19 , you’ll see it pop up on the top right. Thanks a lot!

Well, I bought 3 bottles from Wiggle and haven’t even started the first yet as I’ve a little left in an older bottle still.

Want to sell one? lol

I’ve used it for years. Brilliant stuff.

Be gutted if it’s been discontinued

Does look like it’s available to buy from the states, if you want to spend 25 quid on postage – with possible import duty too? I’m guessing probably not on something worth that little.
Was just hoping somewhere in the UK might still have it.