Continental cross country 1.5"

Few others out there around 1.7-1.9 might be good as well.

clockwise

Stans are great and worth the money.
Even if your running tubes now, they give you the option to go tubeless with a minimum of faff.

I'd also go for 355's with a 2.35" tyre.

KMC

And for those who haven't been for a long time and are reaching for their willies to start waving – it's way the hell harder than it used to be and gets harder each year.

Actually your wrong.
It used to be harder than it is now.
They changed the last singletrack section before the "freeride" section. It used to go up steeper and over a series of roots which were much tricker than the rock step there now. Also the concrete climb has not always been concrete.

Still a tough climb with a few tricky sections though.

small typo in steveh's link. Try here:

http://www.aistoncycleracks.co.uk/

+1 for ainston racks.

Much, much better than the Thule ride-on it replaced.

I'd go for the Durins.
Got some Fox 120's on one bike and 100mm Durins on another.

The fox's are OK, but prefer the action of the Maguras and they don't need as much faff.

Didn't work with me… another waste of an hour?

Should be fine, unless your particuarly heavy on parts. Seen people ride some technical/rocky descents with them.

I want to ride that :D

Re the Bontrager Hardcase, I've tried them – heavy, not very puncture proof, horrible wooden fel to the ride. I wouldn't but again.

Strange. We all used to use them as couriers and suffered far fewer punctures than other tyres tested. Virtually every other suitable tyre tried, most would puncture within a few days or a week. With the hardcases I wore them out (6 months, 10k miles) without getting a single puncture.

Schwalbe Marathon slicks were the worst. They really should not have given that tyre the Marathon name!

Schwalbe Ultremo DD's are quick and grippy. Not the longest lasting though.
Bontrager Hardcase are very durable and have good puncture resistance, but a little heavier than most road tyres.
Conti Gatorskins are a good all-round choice and quite cheap.

600mm flat bars for me. Quite happy using anything up to 650mm, but anything over that just feels horrible. Probably due to my shoulder width.

no picture but the view across the valley to the waterfall at Cwm Rhaeadr is awesome

Yep the view is really nice up there.
Afan is nice from the high point on Skyline and Cwmcarn has a nice view over the Bristol Channel on one side and the Beacons on the other.

Scots quick one in the packets – cos I am lazy/short on time. 2 packets most of the time.
With milk and a tablespoon of local honey.

Not had any problems with mine. Do a bit of preventive maintenance like cleaning and oiling the bushing and keeping check on the bearing adjustment.

That's worrying, my black Nokons looked absolutely appalling after about 2 months!

Did they flake, or just dis-colour?
Either way, not worth the hastle IMO.

Silver are the worst colour for flaking, black are the best but they all creak.

They are OK, but not really that light. I-links get far better reviews, but not tried them myself. Prefer to use standard cables replaced more frequently.

Trying to be funny?

I'll give them another look if that is the case.

matt look at what inov8 have to offer

Had a good look at those, but the bladder is only 2 litres, even in the big packs. Your limted to thier bladders then as well. Otherwise exactly what I am after.

Not interested in Wingnuts.

Anyone with a Deuter speedlite able to tell me if a 3 litre bladder would fit?

Rural mid-wales mostly, but also other places where I don't know where water is available.

Why do people need a 3L bladder? Are you really doing full days out in the hills with nowhere to get water? I'd think carefully about that one before wondering about shaving a couple of hundred grams off the weight of the pack you're putting it in.

Yes, long rides, 6-18hrs. Need to keep stops to a minimum and taps/water not always available.

Wingnuts look interesting, but not suitable for what I need.
Blowfish is heavy compared to the others I'm looking at.

Either yellow tape + valve stem
or Yellow tape + olympic rim strip

Which one depends on what tyres you have to an extent and also how often and where you change your tyres. Using the rimstrip adds 30g but usually makes tyre changes much easier. Some tyres go up really easily with just the tape + valve stem though.

KMC X9.93 for me.
X9SL is great becasuse its so light, but thats the only advantage over the cheaper one.

however some are still very optimistic (stand up and take a bow, FSA)

I find FSA are quite accurate. Within a few grams of (or bang on) claimed for K-force seatposts, bars and OS99 stem.

Selle Italia make bold claims and even put the claimed weights on the saddles. Never had one on weight or under.

My 6" bike is 28lbs

Oh, that's with a huge front tyre, lock-on's and heavy Hope Tech M4's

Quite possible, although I'm guessing a very light frame, like an Ibis.
These threads are quite ammusing. Usually the same people saying the same things :)

I like a light bike because I'm fairly light myself, so its more important. But I don't go to extremes.

Did anyone know that Julian Absalon only uses 3 bolts on his chain rings! – I'd so laugh if it broke and he lost a race because of it!

I am sure he is 100% happy that it is safe for HIM to do that. No doubt he has tested is lots of times and had no problems. If he thought that an extra 5g would cost him a race, then he wouldn't do it… but if your sure it wont break then why not?

Bought 5 litres of the FS1 a while back.
Great stuff and lasts forever!

5 litres of FS1 makes 50 when diluted.

Salisbury Plain Challenge is usually early Jan.

@mtbmatt – err the above are all carbon so FBK is looking for a carbon frameset I think! So the Easton Frameset is out I think maybe.

No mention that it had to be a carbon frame by the OP. Just this:
I'm looking for something not too "head down Arse in the air" racey that would be comfortable enough to do the odd Sportive ride.

And I know the Kiron fits. Easton Alu is known for being very comfortable and the geometry is more sportive than race.

Kiron MTL Blade?[/url]

Ordered mine from the US.
Not sure if there is a UK distributor any more.

They are great in thier first use. Lighter and stronger plus they won't stretch.

But, like njee20 says they do split when clamped as instructed, so if you need to re-position the cable, clean the inner/outer or swap them onto another bike then they are a real pain and pretty much useless.

So if you get a year from an inner cable, then they might be worth it? I'd use them again if I felt I'd keep them in place long enough.

update…

Meet Oscar, our 9 wk old Beagle.

Settling in quite well so far, although I think he is finding it hard coming from a farm with so much happening to our fairly quiet house :)

He has a potentially expensive taste for chicken breasts!!

I'd say its the grippiest fast tyre out there in most conditions.
Hard to define fast I guess.

Great event. Good course, fun atmosphere and nice mix of "racers" and "riders".
Good lap distance/time which gave us something to think about with tactics.

Disguised Ferrari F50…

edit – actually, its not.

The BBB wrench is calibrated. Comes with a certificate.

I've got one and really happy with it.
Also got a Park Tools with the swing bar type measurement.

I use the BBB for anything up to 25nm and the Park above.
I've got found anything cheaper for the money, but Norbar are good and worth a look.