We now have 1X 11 or 12 speeds that are pretty much back to an 8 speed block with 3 or 4 more sprockets added on.

After two decades of magazines and manufacturers telling us we need more close ratio gears…9 then 10 then 11…suddenly we don’t need those ratios after all!

I’m not knocking 8 speed gap ratios, I have them on a 3X8 titanium bike I built up back in 1990 and I still think actually it’s absolutely fine.

3X is better than 2x for adventure bikes.

You need 3x because you want some gears riding downhill on tarmac to 20-25mph (the big ring, which also gives perfect chainline), a middle ring for normal XC, and a small ring for loaded uphill offroad.

If you go 2X, and you gear range it properly, you will have a big ring for downhill tarmac, a small ring for uphill offroad, leaving you with being inbetween the small and large rings for the majority of the XC riding, leaving you with imperfect chainline and constant front mech changes which is unpleasurable riding.

1X Eagle gives the same range but you get less perfect chainline when using either end of the cassette compared to 3X, and obviously its alot more costly at the minute. Anything less than Eagle, costs range, close ratios and chainline.

For adventure bikes there is no need for more than a 2.2 Race King. It is possible to engineer space for a triple 40/42 outer ring, a ‘normal chainstay’ and a 2.2 tyre like the Race king without undue long bottom brackets which starts to affect Q factor. For the same reason, ‘gravel bikes that can’t take a 2.2 Race King, are badly designed, as there is no reason not to take the chainstays out. There is no need for the 50/53 chainrings that roadies use, which confines them to narrow tyres, off road for normal people with normal non pro fitness. Things should change with the arrival for the supercompact chainset.

1X is a good thing, in that it allows small front chainrings, which then allows wide chainstays, which then allows plus tyre options, which suit some people. It also saves loss of momentum switching rings.

I do agree that many bike magazines show ignorance regarding chainline, speed and range for cyclists with remarks like “3x is only for beginner recreational cyclists now”. Its shows their lack of qualified understanding of the subject.

Were the schwalbes reasonably tight on the rim so that you can inflate with a track pump? I’m using Schwalbe pro one’s. The current rims on my Roubaix look tubeless but the Schwalbes are so loose on the rim, its not possible to get any seal. Quite like to get to tubeless. The spokes keep loosening every ride and there not butted even which is why I’m shopping for new non shonky wheels.

Are yours rs4 hubs or pro4’s? I see the rs4 has 2 rather than 4 pawls to reduce coasting friction and sound i guess. A set with pro4 and normal spokes after discount is £110 front £190 rear at the minute with Merlin. Else its the grails at 345 at winstanleys. My last set of wheels pro3 on open pro’s have held up fine – i cross quite a few cattle grids on a ride…

I sent an email to Hope last night, and they emailed me back at 830 this morning! Excellent customer service.

They say the 20mm internal 20Five rim is rated to 120 psi with tubes. Asked wether I can run higher pressures tubeless 60-80 psi likely with my 25mm Pro Ones, he said that it would be OK. It seems like the rim is a Grail alternative, but with the Pro4 hubs the added advantage of the stainless bearings over a Stans Grail comp wheelset, plus Hope build quality. Buying a set from Merlin who have 5% off at the minute…

Can the new 20Five rim take higher road pressures (85psi etc) rather than just lower cyclocross pressures, when running it tubeless? Is it equivalent of the Stans Grail in this respect? Not many rims do. Can’t find any info anywhere on max tubeless pressure.

Will be using Schwalbe Pro One’s – anybody found that they inflated easily tubeless?

Looking at the Hope/ 20Five (with it’s better stainless bearings) or I’ll go with a Grail comp wheels, both ballpark £350.

Ritchey are producing a flared road bar called the Venturemax. Be worth seeing if eventually they start making a carbon one as they tend to.

https://ritcheylogic.com/venturemax-handlebar

Whats the net effect of having a heavier rear wheel(cassette) and a lighter chainset?

At low speeds my chainset spins faster, so is it beneficial then?

At high speeds and when I stop pedalling, the back wheel spins more, and the heavier cassette robs performance?

In fact I just did Mr Shand.

Salso got my business. I just bought a Fargo frameset today from Pedals Edinburgh. For £699 I’ve got my frameset. Compared to your £1150 Drove frameset, my bottom bracket won’t creak after 4 weeks and gives me a full selection of aftermarket cranksets and teeth numbers, my carbon fork will have auxilliary mounts when my Revelate bags on there, my back will thank me for that extra inch and my hoses and cables won’t be routed under the bottom bracket.

The Shand Drove isn’t right. You need to get rid of that road PF bottom bracket, and put a standard one in, you need to put mounts on that carbon fork to make it at least look more custom that I’m getting something more than a £60 decalled and lackered chinese one, the 58 size one needs another inch of stack height and you need to tell me that it can take a triple. I am your market, we’ve got/ had 4 Fargo’s in the family plus several other Surly and Salsa fat and road bikes. To buy your frame it needs to be better or cheaper than a Fargo, and at the minute I see it as neither.

Mr Shand,

How much is the raw tubing frame cost from someone like Reynolds or Columbus for the frame not fork part?

How many hours is it for cutting and welding etc before paint, if your doing a batch of medium Drovers?

Genuinely I’m ignorant of this. Furnish me with some ballparks…

The Shand Driver is their Fargo copy, steel frame/ carbon fork and they’ve price matched it to £980 for the frameset.

No, but I do have my own business. The person starting the business needs to be a young framebuilder doing it in his garage with no overhead.

How many hours does it take to weld a frame to a standard dimension, not a custom job, when you’ve geared up and say going to do an identical batch run. Ballpark?

Whatever the pricing policy of Salsa, combined with Brexit et al, a 2017 Fargo frameset is now to cost me £950.

I’d imagine a Reynolds tubeset (and they still make tubes in Birmingham) lets say 631, I reckon must cost £50-£100 ballpark.

At what point is someone in the UK going to start welding these together, with the same geometry, lets say £300 for labour plus VAT, lets say ballpark £450 and have a business..in the Fargo’s case a simpler bike than the 2017 without boost, able to run a triple and normal 2.2-4 29 tyres is still all it needs. Still import a cheap £60 carbon chinese fork.

How much would Reynolds in Birmingham charge me for a 631 tubeset dimensioned to a Fargo as a ‘raw material for framebuilding to a mid sized company in the UK?

The rise in costs of the raw materials to Reynolds, still in absolute terms to me is manageable for the final product price because the greatest added value hasn’t been added yet.

If we take recent events to their conclusion, and we are lucky enough to have the greatest worldwide steel tube manufacturer in our country, will Cotic, Stanton, Stooge look at building frames here?

The On One carbon fork has straight steerer option and QR. 450 or 470 a-c. I runthe 470 tapered one on my 456 Evo carbon and love it. Better fork than the Reynolds one on my Swift. Absorbs more buzz and trail noise. About £100 at the moment with 25% off, its properly in sale and a bargain.

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FOOOSCF4709/on-one-monocoque-straight-steerer-carbon-fork

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/WBAMEXLIZE/ambrosio-excellight-700c-rim-handbuilt-on-ambrosio-zenith-endurance-wheelset

These should be good…Ambrosio Excellight rims on Ambrosio hubs, DB spokes. In 32h guise easily serviced/ parts replaced. Hand built £187.50 after 25% off.

Wearing the boot has likely tilted your pelvis which is now affecting your hip because you’re ‘short legged’ on one side. To get yourself straight again you need to find a good chiropractor not a physio who will realign your spine and pelvis back to straight, then your hip and muscles will be able to function properly and not need so much attention. Expect to pay £35 per visit and go 3 times a week for a few weeks reducing. If they xray that’s a good thing and pay for it, though they can see if your tilted in seconds.

Quick correction they raised the BB a bit from 70 to 65 drop.

New 2017 models fix the short reach issue.

They are longer in the reach and eTT by about 35mm, BB a bit lower and the wheelbase is longer. They’ve also made a 19″ size instead of the 18 or 20″. 140 forks and angles the same. Triple butted steel. Now boost rear bolt through.

19″ is now 455 reach and 637 eTT on a 483 seat tube. 66.5/74 sagged.

A 36h hot forged Shimano Deore hub with quick release that could take you around the world is £14 from a shop including VAT after shipped and import duty from the far east.

456 Evo carbon. Ride mine rigid with Lurcher forks. Much more fun than a 29er (Singular Swift) and a softer all day ride. Its the best bike I’ve ever had. Its miles more comfortable for all day riding than he same set up in all titanium. Wont drip rusk streaks like a steel frame, be miles lighter and be stiff in the downtube, bottom bracket and chainstays where it needs to be. Not found a better all round bike in 30 years. Fattys, Mountvisions, Stumps all come and gone. Not ridden it with 140’s though.

Swapped in a set of ‘chewy’ Knuckleball and I felt alot more vibration.

Swapped back to Truvativ Noir T40 carbons and much happier again. Much better ride on XC stuff on my wrists. Quite a big difference. My bike has a carbon frame (456 Evo) and solid forks (Lurcher) and I ride XC with alot of high speed gravel.

The Truvativ look thinner walled to me and more XC for people who go ‘mountainbiking’, the Knuckleball’s more beefy for people that use ‘trail’ and ‘enduro’ in their vocabulary and perhaps need the wall thickness. Good product though. You can get the Truvativ discounted at the same price, but not as wide, if wide is your thing.

In Wiggins case if he was suffereing with asthma, he would have been at a dissadvantage to others because he would have had narrowing of his small airways and thickening of his small airways with inflammatory cells and mucous which would have reduced his VO2 max and thus his peak output. Alternatives such as taking a ‘puffer’ is either a short acting drug to open the airways (salbutamol) which is a banned substance (unless on a TUE I assume) as it increases muscles and reduces fat as side effects, or a corticosteroid inhaler (a preventer puffer) which reduced the inflammatory cells in the airway.

As to advantages, I assume people abused corticosteroids to

1. Increase the blood glucose levels. Corticosteroids are stimulate a process called gluconeogenesis. This allows the body to produce glucose from non sugar sources. It’s a mechanism to keep you alive in cases of extreme starvation. In normal patients after corticosteroid injections this side effect can mean that a higher glucose level has to be combated with a higher Insulin level (to keep the glucose level in the normal range) and can lead to pancreatic exhaustion and diabetes (an insufficiency of Insulin). Which is bad news.

2. They would reduce inflammation. Speed recovery? Not sure – you’d feel less stiff the next day, but the repair processes wold be hampered and would lead to weakness overtime. Long term muscle atrophy and weakness occur. You might get a somewhat similar effect from taking a non steroidal anti inflammatory (like Ibuprofen) in terms of feeling better the next day. Triamcinolone is one of the weakest corticosteroid injections (we use a similar strength one called depo-medrone for treating allergies in cats and dogs).

3. We see an effect in animals where you get a change in position of fat. Yo get less in the legs and more in the abdomen. Overall weight gain, but i could see how having less weight in the legs might improve leg speed.

He would have been very easy to confirm asthma by looking at his VO2 readings and power output, he would have spent half his life connected to those machines in training. Being exposed to allergens and pollution cycling a bike his life, it would be reasonable to expect asthma in pro cyclists to be something of an occupational disease with risk exposure being higher than average.

The drug Triamcinolone is a relatively weak corticosteroid. The press are overblowing its strength. If athletes think it ‘strong’, well there are much stronger corticosteroid injections available. Most would be stronger. Dexamethasone is 8 times stronger for instance and lasts days not weeks.

There is a trade off between strength and duration of action with cortcosteroid injections. This is a (relatively very) weak one.

I’m not a doctor but we use similar drugs in the veterinary field all the time, and this would be regarded as suitable for long term allergies as it’s ‘strong enough’ for asthma or skin allergies and whilst having the longest duration of action (a few weeks).

It’s not all good either, corticosteroids cause muscle weakness, increase abdominal fat and increase appetite, make you more prone to infections, or skin infections from cuts and increase risk of diabetes.

I can imagine that breathing in alot of allergens and the essential nature of having a functioning respiratory system, it would not be unreasonable for someone with asthma to need treating before an event.

That this was done, all correctly as far as I can see to the book, would indicate there is nothing to see here.

Team Sky home made rice cake recipe.

http://pages.rapha.cc/team-sky/rice-cakes-a-recipe

Forgot to say that if you want UK handbuilts, Spokesman Wheels has a selection, like 771/772 with Grails or Stans Alpha under budget.

Also can’t see why Hope Pro4’s on Hope XC hoops wouldn’t be about right if running cross tyres or 28’s: seem to be the dimensions they are running at for aerodynamics: 19 internal/ 24 external. 390g rim. Could also use them on an XC 29er for a usefull set.

Just bought a Roubaix SL4 Elite Disc in the sale and been mulling over the wheels after being described as ‘heavy’. The rims are good though. The hubs are relatively heavy but that doen’t matter so much.

Measuring and looking at the assymetric profile I think the Specialized Axis 2.0 rims use the new Alex Draw 1.9 S asymmetric rims which at 410g and 17mm internal/ 23-24 external are good. They are tubeless ready (have a big groove and click tyres on) and I’m pretty sure it’s the same rim used on the Cosine. Genesis use the same rim on the Croix Anniversary as well as a few other manufacturers for their cross/ road/ disc bikes.

My spokes are not butted like the cosine’s so some extra weight there, and my hubs appear to be cup and cone Formula RX-25 and RX 26-11 looking at them, compared to the lighter Novatec 771/772? with sealed bearings that appear to be on the Cosines.

The Cosine’s are extremely good value for money. Only the spokes might really be improved.

Hunt’s 4Season Gravel disc/ Dur Disc wheelset at £250-£350 appear to use a similar rim and Novatec hubs but with better spokes. The Aero set uses a slightly more aero rim with Pillar aero spokes similar to CX rays.

Since disc road bikes are using rims similar to narrower old school 29er rims, you might be able to use the Superstar deals, they have BOR 333 rim wheelsets for well under budget. Just wasn’t sure if the rims are designed to take road higher pressures or not. Notably they also have 29er XC Carbon rims for £100 each, and I think they are 17mm internal but again not sure about max pressures for road v mtb use.

If you want light, Light Bicycle can put their rims on Novatex 711/712 hubs for about £350 but with shipping and maybe some import tax it’s abit over budget, but you can get some 280g tubular disc rims there and a tubular tyre to really get some fast spin up. Other rims, with deeper sections too. Or just buy the rims at about £100 each with the righ hole count and pay less import tax and relace them onto your existing hubs with some light spokes for a fast set.

Going to try the tubeless Schwalbe Pro One next on my Axis 2.0’s as I think if I change the rim strip for some Stans strip and valves they’ll be good to go. The Alex Draw rim is not welded but plenty of people seem to get this type of rim running tubless and it’s advertised by Alex as such. See how it rides. You should be able to do the same on the Cosine’s I think.

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I hope people dont drop metal and wire into those fields. I’m a small animal vet, but as far as i recall from my college days the cows on that farm will get chest infections and pericarditis if they swallow metal spikey stuff left in the grass. Their strong stomach contractions pierce it out of the lining forwards. He loves his farm, i’m guessing they must sweep and metal detect it after. Interesting to know if they get any bovine problems with that.

John I’m riding a Swift SS that I built up this winter, and just put the stooge bars on. Currently running Race King rear 2.2/ X King front 2.4 Protections. In part coz they’re only about £23 at the minute. A bit slower and heavier than thunder burts bit a bit grippier in gloop. Honking a ss uphill i think a slightly grippier rear tire is a good call. Pleasantly suprised by the roll of the X King on tarmac to the forest. Run 32/17. Halo fat foot with a 1/8″ stainless Inox chain as I sometimes ride on the beach. Mines a large and I’m 5’11 with a 90 stem and some spacers as I’ve got a bad back. I’ve got the cream edition one. Most suprised how well the bike climbs. Maybe the 29 contact patch, but the EBB gives it alot of stiffness in the BB. You can get XT trecking brakes cheap from CRC, and they’ve got manly levers. I’m looking for some new wheels too. Winstanleys are doing the older Crest Stans SS wheelset for £250. Think i’m going to hold out for the new wider and lighter Crests that are imminent in stock on Deore hubs though. Maybe a hope front so i could stick a sus fork on if i felt like it. Otherwise for more trail, the WTB Kom’s seem where its at for wide, light and tubeless. The conti protections fit the ust beed too. For a wider rim, beside the scraper, the wtb i35 is a bit lighter 550g and seems to be where alot of people like the balance with speed, weight, width etc if you want speed not just tyre support. I gather the Easton arc’s are coming in even wider versions too. Quite fancy sticking a scraper/ bombalini 27.5 or 29 3″ too to try, but its all fast xc in the new forest, so light 29 is probably the most ruthlessly efficient. The other advantage with a ss version is if younwant to try drops there is no drop bar gear levers and rear derailleur to get to work together too, just a downgrade from hydro to cable brakes.

New swifts look a bit slacker and have fork and rack mounts.

With 2.8 you might want to also check over wtb asym i35, cheaper about £50 and 545g with a good wtb tubeless bead and 35 internal. Also they are supposed to be bringing out wider Easton Arc rims soon.

I spend most of my mountain biking on gravel in the New Forest. My riding seems to have drifted that way, as I seem to like the speed, getting about, and there is so much of it.

Some conculsions.

1. I actually prefer a slack head angle. The bike (an On One 456 carbon 26″ with carbon Lurcher forks) will seem to just run straight so I can concentrate on pedalling and enjoying the view. My recent Swift has a sharper head angle, and its a good bike (I’m splitting hairs) but it’s more normal but nevertheless faster handling, isn’t needed when your riding gravel compared to singletrack – the road is straighter and your travelling faster.

2. I rate the Lurcher carbon forks better than the steel Reynolds Swift ones. They absorb more trail chatter. They are very good and lighter.

3. I rate the 456 Evo carbon highly, if your heads down, riding hard and fast on gravel, or singletrack, it absorbs alot of trail chatter generally. It’s 26″ but it’s significantly smoother than the Swift with 29. It’s also much lighter over gates. Lighter with a 3×10 than a singlespeed Swift.

Epicyclo, reallly you should get some Thunder Burts, they are supreme – almost zero road noise and very supple. Half the tyre weight than you got there.

4. All things being equal carbon is better than Titanium. My previous bike was a top of the line double butted frameset with 6/4 dropouts etc, and its very responsive, but the carbon 456 evo is much much more compliant and in a different league as an all day ride. The bikes were built exactly same – one has titanium everything (forks, seatpost, bars etc) the other carbon everything.

5. I’ve ended up on X kings 2.4 .They grip a bit better in the winter, with only marginally less role on road than the TB’s, though I can feel the extra weight a bit. I’d say TB’s summer, X Kings winter.

6. Swapping out a Truvatic Noir carbon riser for an OO Knuckleball chewy was worse. More chatter. Noir’s back on.

Grand day out. A Salsa Fargo/ Cut Throat or a Deadwood would suit you, if you can ever find one.

I agree that rebadged cyclocross bikes as gravel bikes is cynical and lazy by the industry.

With the gearing that is suitable for off road and on road for an average cyclist, there is absolutely no reason to have a 30-40mm limit on tyre size at all. Its just a throwback to roadies with 53 chainrings using it as a winter bike.

With modern drivechains using smaller rear sprockets like 10 and smaller front chainrings, there is absolutely no need for currnt gravel bikes to run such narrow tyres.

In fact there is no reason for cyclocross bikes anymore, at all. Its an outdated deadend limiting standard that gives normal people sub optimal bikes.

On one were so close with the Bish Bash Bosh. Had they put a smaller chainring triple set on, allowed it to take 2.4-3 in tyres and given it a longer fork length. To match a Fargo, and they’d have sold millions of em to bikepackers accross the world as a Cut Thhroat alternative, but they missed the spec.

The big apples are heavy. Try Thunder Burts for utmost speed and good drip or or some 2.4 Xkings/ 2.2 Raceking for more gripand a just a bit slower.

After trying fatbikes and steel 29ers I go back to my 456 evo carbon. Its superlight, fast up and down, manouverable, all day comfortable accelerates better, lighter over gates, and most importantly instantly just friggin fun to ride. Its night and day to me. After riding 30 years I’m not sure if its my brain calibration and sub conscious muscle memory.

Its got a tapered headtube, but just lacks bolt throughs to be fully uptodate. Plan to upgrade it with some wider wtb kom rims, to hep it corner.

When you look on Chain Reaction, now in 2016 there are still more wheels and forks to choose from in 26 than any other size, and its cheaper to boot. You can put a very very good bike together thesedays in 26. I’d be more concerned with getting the 29 bits actually in a few years.

Its important to understand the geometry changes when your looking for a high front. I have a 56 Salsa Casseroll and have a stack of spacers to lift the bars to about level with the saddle. Because the fork isnt vertical its raked at 71 degrees, those spacers reduce the reach by about 2 cm from my saddle, from the standard 56 diamond frame. Thus going tall at the front may require sizing up in my case to a 58 if your going to use spacers. You then have to look for a frame with a dropped top tube, not horizontal, sp youndont lose standover. That or you’ll be swapping the stem for 2cm longer one, or changing the narrow reach bars for longer ones.

The On One Bish Bash Bosh is nice and high at the front too. 404 fork and a 195 head tube on the 58. One advantage of a frameset is the fork steerer isnt cut.

Its interesting to see the large size Ridley Helium SL has a 205 head tube. Stack of 602 on a reach of 400. This is the bike ridden by team Lotto-belisol in the Tour De France, and at one time Gallopin was holding the yellow jersey just a couple of years ago. Superlight fast comfortable frame by all accounts and reviews.

Actually the Spa ti adventure is a good commuter. Frame wont rust and will last, its got proper and adjustable gearing, an old school durable bottom bracket, rack mounts for a pannier, a 36h rear rim for added strength over potholes and for a modest fee they’ll build up the wheels with a front dynohub. Frame will always be worth good money later.

I’ve got a cream swift, and it doesnt have any mounts anywhere for anything, you’d have to buy the new ones that Singular sell for rear rack mounts and fork mounts etc.

Spa cycles Ti Adventure.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3108/SPA-CYCLES-Ti-Adventure-%28Flat-Bar%29

Bedmaker, how does the frame feel? Canyon know their carbon, its got bolt throughs front and rear, a tapered headset and the bb is pf50 which should make it stiff. The rear stays look flatter horizontally to aid compliance. How do you find it, and compared to Fatty?

Did you get one with blutos or the solid fork?