Should i just swap it for a dual ply ST minion in 2.5 or 2.7?

I do have time to change it…

only ordered this minion this week from crc? the advantage came on a 2011 orange…

I have a small head ( wear xs or xs ski helmets ) and used to have a hex, ok fit but looked a little bulky. I now have a feature and it is lovely, def more snug! I’d say get one!

Also my boys have a new small fox skate style helmet, surprisingly good fit and not that bulky if that is your sort of thing.

Hath Simone

All cars are different and sometimes a large car does not have as much space for fitting car seats in the back than a smaller one.

We had a vauxhall omega estate, this very large car did fit 3 car seats in the back (the ones we had at the time).

However, so did our honda jazz!! This car is very small on the oustide, but a bit like a tardis. Also, the rear seat is one flat bench (not fancy moulded seats that can make fitting seats more difficult). I do suspect the inside of the door was much more “space saving” than on the omega. I was very surprised this fitted when we tried.

We now have a zafira, not bad and may fit 3 car seats in the back, depending on the seats.

Make sure you dont squeeze in too many seats and get one seat potentially interfering with the buckle on the one next to it.

Cheers rickos, my 9 year old is a wuss, so front hole it is!

…mmmm so still not sure what i should use, may just stick with where it was originally!

This bike will be used in the alps by my 9 year old for some lift assisted riding. Bit over the top, but it was a bargain!

thanks for the advise so far, may just use the little 32t one.

b r, we also have a b line 24, great bike but not light (even after a severe diet!). Both are now stripped to the bare frame and i’d say the b line frame is a fair bit heavier (and bigger) than the stinky 24.

Our be line was a double and bash set up and no trouble with the chain falling off either, now changing to single ring up front though..

cheers
Simone

Anyone?

Mine is 2011 and iscg old

cheers for your advise guys. I will run a chain device, does this help with taking up the slack?

still not sure on that, but does this mean i cant use my 12-32 cassette with this mech?

what does max total capacity of 29 mean? Sorry, new to this gear stuff…

like the sound of the hans dampf, but would prefer just to change the front.

How about this one:

linky

or will i need the super tacky compound? Sorry, this is all new to me!

we will be in, morzine 9-17 aug. It may be dry, so will the minion be ok for wet and dry?

Cheers

what about overloading the car? the c4 is not huge and i presume it has a total weight limit (whatever that is called)? With 4 bikes and the carrier on the back and a full roof box, family and luggage you may well come very close to this limit…

They weighed a car once on breakfast tv, roof box and few bikes on the back, family of 4 packed for holiday. I think it was near or over its limit (not ever 4 bikes and small kids). Insurance companies will try and get out of paying…

Perhaps get a bigger car? No roof box and bikes on the roof (again, watch the weight limit of the roof), sorted!

I used to drive an old vauxhall omega, those were the days! Stick it all in the boot! had to get rid at 19mpg in town.

Remember to not overload the roof, I am sure it will have a weight limit. I think we were just under the weight limit of the roof of our zafira (not the weight limit of the roof bars) with the roof bars, cycle carriers and 4 bikes (1×160, and 3 hardtails). Maybe this year we will have to start removing bits from the bikes to stay under….

In winter we also have to make sure not to overload the roof with a large roofbox full of stuff, we tend to fill it with bulky but not too heavy things.

I remember some time ago they had a feature on breakfast tv about this very subject and put a family car packed for holiday on one of those weigh bridge thingys (2 parents, 2 kids, roof box and rear cycle rack with 2 bikes i think) and it came very close to the load capacity of the car (or just over, cant remember).

I think the car would survive (although the last service incuded a new spring for our zafira), but i always worry about the hassle if you have an accident and the car is overloaded like crazy…

I should be glad my kids weigh 32 kg each! (at 9 and 11, bless).

Isn’t the weight the ‘allow for’ per person in a car only something like 75kg?

Anyhow, use common sense! just pack a pair of pants and a toothbrush and you will be fine.

We had a bike seat made by bobike the BOBIKE JUNIOR, bought in holland, espacially made for older kids, 5 to 10 years, 20-35kg:

It was great, folds flat to become a carrier (I think they used to say it holds a crate of beer folded flat, how Dutch!).

I think you can buy the seatbelt thingy and spoke guards to protect little ones feet seperately (as many Dutch kids this age dont need them).

Great seat, I used it for my boys to take them to school on the way to work, untill the bike with it on got nicked 😥

HTH

Simone

Dog tag seems good, not had to use them though..

Advice to mrs warton:

What to do when you have a mishap in the car:

1 tell the other half ASAP when he is still at work and when you are still upset. (he can now do all his moaning at someone else)
2 make sure to exaggerate the damage done, very important.
3 dinner should be on the table (his favourite) when he comes home.
4 kids to bed early and ‘special treat’ for other half, put in plenty of effort.

After all this, it could have happened to anyone…. and damage is not that bad.

It works!

I don’t think Annie leibovitz sells officials prints of her work, but I could be wrong. I have looked before and never found official good quality prints.

specialized have great small frames, we built up this 13.5″ rockhopper for my 9 year old. It is lovely and he has really come on a lot with his riding since having it (came from a 24″ hotrock a1 FSR).

We put on 26″ wheels, seems to work. Saddle is higher now, nearly as it should be for a “perfect” fit. Short stem and short cranks, sorted!

Forks are great, rockshox duke (£50 from here), they are easy to set for his weight and work lovely.

My son is now 140cm and 33 kg if that helps.

Spesh hotrock A1, a much nicer bike than the normal hotrock. New suntour forks quite pants though, the used RST few years back and they were better. We had a hotrock A1 FSR and that had a rear shock too, lovely bike and I have seen it being used in the alps. They dont make these anymore though, and hard to get hold of used.

I teach cycling in schools and see a lot of the carreras, they seem really nice especially for the money.

Also, if she is now 135 she will soon outgrow 24″ especially if you choose a small frame. My son had outgrown his Hotrock A1 FSR (12″ frame) at age 8, but he is about 140cm with an inside leg of 70cm!!

My sons now ride 13″ framed 26″ hardtails and we have a norco B line 24 for the downhill stuff and alps (these come up large, much bigger than a kona stinky 24).

Good luck

Simone

My boys have grit scooters, great quality and you can buy different bars etc…..

They broke a fold up one, and my oldest only weighs 30 kg!

Isx, bell and fox seem quite narrow, especially bell. Perhaps try their new ff helmet. I think the remedy would be no good.

Good luck!

I think you can’t always go by the size they state. I believe on paper the bell bellistic in a small is bigger than a giro remedy in small, but in real life it is the other way around. We found this when buying ff helmets.

I found the giro remedy comes up big, bell comes up small. Fox seems to be somewhere in between. How about a fox rampage in medium? I tried the small and they seem to come up quite small as that did fit (small remedy I too big). My husband got the isx from crc in a medium for our alps trip. Seems a good fit and he is a medium in a giro hex trail helmet.

Hth
Simone

dont go for atera! We had some and they would just come loose, the mechanism would come undone. We now have thule, but we get them from the roofbox company, cheap (usually the same as used on ebay) and great service (they let us return the atera ones after a year and swap for thule).

Some of the cheaper carriers are good, but not as easy to adjust. Also, we had to get all new carriers and bars as the old set was much heavier. We have 4 bikes on the roof and have to stay under the total weight limit of our roof (75kg).

HTH
Simone

Make sure you haven’t brought any of those bad bugs home!! I read something about isolating all laudry and clothes you are wearing and wash hot. Even read about people getting rid of suitcases/bags.

But then, not from personal experience (so far, fingers crossed it will stay that way).

take care…

no

How many children do you need to transport? I had a Dutch mothers bike with one child seat on the front, one on the back and panniers. It also had a buggy carrier! The big bakfiets type bikes are great, but in holland usually used for more than 2 kids, or nurseries. They are also heavy!

My friend moved house with a large old bakfiets he hired, the good old days as a student in holland!

Where I come from, in the Netherlands, lots of people rides bikes every day. Position is totally upright and no special clothes required. Never had any problems, and i did ride a bike all the time. (yep, with an umbrella when it rained whilst carrying my shopping on the handle bars).

My road and mtb here is another thing, i have had no end of saddles and wear shorts.

Position seems key…

my son on his norco b line 24 in les croset:

I also think the minimum tyre tread is not as low in France as it is in the uk?! So you could be legal here, but not in France. Also if you travel in winter in some countries it is compulsory to have winter tyres ( Germany and Switzerland, maybe others too). I think in France you have to have tyre suitable for the conditions ( so presume a summer tyre in winter would not be great ).

Also child seat law may vary, especially on who is allowed in the front. In Switzerland kids up tp 150cm need a car seat (135 here), so my son who is 11 will be on his booster for a while to come, bless.

Presume you are getting just te frame? I have seen some really good deals on the diva frame only.

I thought it was really small with the short being for people under 5″. I tried the long but went with the 16″ as I am 5″5. Love it though, so go for it!

My son was eying up the 14″, and the short would be perfect for my 11 year old, but he is not getting one of course. Still, it would make a great junior bike!

Have a search for the frames, especially if you want to change the spec. I have the pro ( bought used) with the 140 foxes, it feels nice. I will put on my 36″ for the alps.

Go on, get one!

So I just need a new cassette? Or can I leave the 9 speed one and get the indexing sorted?

Cassette looks pretty new, and it currently has those shifter/brake combos in 7 spd.

That sheds some light on it then :wink:.

If I get a 9 spd shifter i will also need a brake lever as they are together at the moment. I suppose not too expensive, but I was hoping to work with what’s there.

The deore mech seems to work ok and shift ok, it just keeps slipping when on 7th cog.

So can I just fit a 7 spd cassette and leave the 9 spd mech?

thanks! Cannock or sherwood it is then.

Mmm, I think we may head to Cannock chase? Both my boys ride Thetford black (which is easy) and my oldest enjoys the red at Sherwood he also likes the dh trails there ( and manages the wall ride, little bugger!).

Perhaps bedgebury is not worth the drive?

… I don’t think the Dutch care, they mostly call the Netherlands ‘holland’ themselves (check the banners at world cup etc.), sounds better, also in Dutch.

Yes ‘technically’ holland is only a part of the Netherlands (well there are 2 ‘provincies’ called ‘holland’, noord-holland and Zuid-holland), but the terms holland and Hollands are used a lot….

Still not too sure about the anti German thing, and my grandad shaved the Germans during the war! (he was a barber). We do like to beat them at football though…