Looks like despite the 3 degree steeper effective seat tube angle, the actual angle is much slacker than the old Nomad. Old and new cross over at roughly stem height so anything above that is slacker. Would be good if Santa Cruz could provide the saddle heights used to get the effective angles.

Currently on 4400 miles and 320,000 ft. Slightly up on distance from previous years, more riding from home responsible I think. Still a bit down on elevation due to no trips to real mountains. Not bad at all considering a slow start to the year due to work and diabolical weather.

Can barely tell SC models apart since they went to lower link VPP.

So this must leave the Blur next in line for an update? More interested in that.

Yep, contrary to early reports of the knock’s demise, it’s very much alive. Maybe slightly worse than some older models.

The Evo model without the Brain pedals very well anyway so not sure there’s really a downside to going with that over the XC version. Value for money ain’t good since they put the prices up. Owners manual indicates 8 cartridge bearings for pivots.

Sounds a bit crap. Having the payment go straight into PayPal is quite useful. eBay’s postage site is frequently down and lacks some preferred options so I often have to do it on PayPal. Suppose anyone that doesn’t want eBay paying straight into their bank account now will have to set up a new separate one.

I’m always a bit confused as to why anyone would want a dropper so flawed in design it needs a Revive feature to remedy a problem most other modern posts just don’t suffer from, except Reverbs. All the while they have the gall to make out they’ve come up with something amazing in the marketing and charge a premium for it.

Always found K03S pads and Shimano brakes in general fairly quiet in the wet. Also found every brake I’ve had with Centerline rotors has been almost unusable when wet. I’d be more inclined to believe that’s down to the pads (have tried various different pads BTW) but maybe the rotors bear some responsibility as well?

I’ve had this. Fortunately the only lasting damage from ploughing shoulder first into a tree. Garmin sorted it quickly for free.

Not such a fan of centrelock. Had a couple develop annoying circumferential play despite being tight. Also fixed some mechanicals with bolts from normal rotors, including a shifter bolt that disappeared mid trail.

Main issue with Tom’s article is 34.9 being Specialized’s standard. Didn’t Scott start that one about 16 years ago with the 04 Genius?

Wouldn’t that be because Specialized use proprietary shocks and mounts on some models or because models using a yoke/clevis design put additional forces on the shocks so some aren’t strong enough? I can’t see what the warranty issue would be if I wanted to put a factory tuned DVO Topaz (for example) on a Cotic? Obviously in the correct length, stroke and having checked for frame clearance issues. Can’t really see shock tune being an issue when it’s supplied with a super adjustable Cane Creek, unless it voids the warranty to change the settings as well?

Better warranty wording would be “Frame damage resulting from use of aftermarket shocks will not be covered” rather than a blanket voiding if a different shock is used.

That’s a bizarre warranty policy.

My Cane Creek was excellent, no issues, particularly like the way their Climb Switch slows the rebound and still absorbs bumps unlike a full lockout. Actually got it to replace a Deluxe which wasn’t good at all, failed rebound being the final straw.

I find the dark clothes/cars/bikes obsession in this country very odd. Why do we always get the dullest and darkest colours here when the maker offers brighter elsewhere? Why do pedestrians stand in the middle of unlit cycleways in the pitch black wearing ninja clothes? Not even a torch to see where they’re going. Only reason I missed one guy was the jack russell he was walking.

The really shocking thing is how bad some drivers eyesight is, and I don’t mean the absent-minded distracted daydreaming but can see fine variety. I’ve been in cars with drivers that can’t see a parked vehicle on a well lit street until it’s feet away and they have to swerve. Was just about to report him to DVLA when he moved back to his home country. Way more common that you might think.

Personally I try not to wear dark clothes riding at night, just seems sensible. But I think bright lights, including a particularly obnoxious pulsing rear one make more difference. Got to make sure you have a drivers attention, not just be visible.

I think we need to differentiate between these and older Butchers, which were better, and the 2.8 size, which isn’t the same.

I’ve found the current Butcher has a flimsy carcass, leaky sidewalls and the increased tread depth feels vauge and squirmy. Various reviews including bikeradar and GuyKesTV have said similar. Watch his recent Status or Stumpy Evo videos. I actually think the Purgatory or Ground Control are more secure feeling now because the knobs don’t fold over. Gripton isn’t the worst compound I’ve used but definitely doesn’t grip like Maxx Terra, but does roll better.

Pro Sport Comfort. 3.5mm thick if I remember correctly.

http://www.bikester.co.uk/pro-sport-comfort-handelbar-tape

Yep, crank braced against the floor with a 780mm handlebar over the allen key. Sounded like a gun going off, complete with smoke. I seriously thought the handlebar or allen key would break first. Stupid design. Although possibly not quite as tight as the DT pawl/ratchet ring I took out.

I had a Rab made from Polartec NeoShell. It stayed waterproof for longer than Gore Tex and with a nicer feel. Slightly warmer and no rustling while moving.

I’ve found some of the cheaper types of Gore Tex stay waterproof for longer than the pricier stuff, and don’t loose much in breathability. Once had a couple of early Active Shell jackets and trousers that I could literally run a tap through the fabric from new. Thought I must be imagining the leaking to begin with. Returned and exchanged for the cheaper version which lasted years, still mostly waterproof after thousands of miles.

Gore are quite long. Way longer than Endura or Altura. I’ve got XL. I tried them on in the shop rather than looking at measurements. They do two fits, active fit which is a bit baggy but still plenty of waist adjustment and form fit which is same length but slimmer.

Comparing newer and older I think Northwave changed the cuff for a looser fit with all the people whining about not getting their feet in. Downside is there’s now a gap for mud and water.

No experience. They look rather good. 18 pivot bearings per frame might want taking into consideration.

Out of what I’ve had, Defrosters. Just be great if they moved on from the current reflective silver colour.

Also got Raptors, comfortable and nicely stiff for pedalling. However they do seem to take longer to dry and mine shrunk. Noticeably more the right shoe and easy to see from the outside. And no I didn’t microwave them. Wiggle were selling off Raptor Arctics for £99 last week so just got the next size up. Looks like a couple of things got changed, stronger stitching, more toe room, but also a different much looser ankle cuff #facepalm. Also ordered Fizik X5 so will see if they fit and return either these or the Northwaves.

Had one for a while, worth every penny. Probably would have ditched the gravel bike without it.

What tomd said. Max 10% of wages per pay period as well. What’s the damage/loss/cost the company incurred to warrant this deduction? Pisstakers.

We’ve had everything from kettles to wind to cooking in neighbouring buildings set off ours at work. Regularly maintained and tested. Thank goodness it’s not connected to the fire brigade.

Where did yours crack? Happened to mine as well. Kona sorted it quickly, just asked for a photo and serial number then sent out a redesigned rear triangle.

Well I had a Hei Hei and several Units. Definitely not great on value for money these days. The 153 got updated for 2021, mostly better geometry, so probably not many out there for reviews yet. Looks like a solid bike.

Bikes and Buddies are good for spares and bearing kits here.

Also any time I’ve emailed Kona I got a reply straight back from someone that knows what they’re talking about, like the designer. Won’t get that from many companies.

Yeah it’s super annoying. I’m surprised it’s not illegal, it should be. Years ago I had problems with Triton over this. In retrospect it was fairly obvious, no way do they have some of the things in stock they claim on the website. They’re currently showing over 20 different variations of downhill frames as “In Stock”. Occasionally I check the distributors website to see if they show stock before ordering from a shop.

In fairness to Tredz the only time it has taken more than a few days extra to arrive a guy rang me every week with an update.

Struggling to see how you hit that weight with a aluminium S150. Helium in the tyres? I had the carbon model, it was 14.06kg with pedals, lighter cranks and bars, ti saddle, no dork disc, converted to tubeless and with 1560g carbon wheels. Most of the time it was more like 14.5kg.

I don’t think the XC market is small, maybe here. If that’s a problem for Whyte it’s because they aren’t available in many countries. XC is way more popular in mainland europe, east asia, south america, south africa, australia than it is here. If you look at Giant or Specialized website for some of those places you’ll see trail/enduro gets cut back but there’s additional XC models we don’t get.

Be great if Whyte did a XC bike. That’s what they started off with.

I’ve seen some that aren’t even whole bikes, they’re an assortment of parts photoshopped together. Often these are so well done it’s hard to tell. Devinci did some fairly obvious ones, rear mechs half their usual size, Fox forks with Rock Shox decals, wheels that are just CAD renderings.

Interesting. I’d like some but previously found they’re not quite long enough. Shame they don’t go up another size like some of Shimano’s summer shoes.

Barzo tread looks okay for mud but I found it a bit sketchy for South Downs winter use. I don’t think Vittoria’s compound likes wet chalk much. Somewhere else it’s probably just fine.

Proper mud tyres are great but a bit draggy. I’ve found a Ground Control on the rear and Minion DHF 3C are a good compromise.

come up significantly larger. My feet has spread a bit and the MW80’s had got a bit tight in woollyboolies. MW7 fit with a good amount of space to wiggle toes

In the same size are the MW7 longer?

Apart from the better climbing position, steeper seat angles are one way to open up hip angle leading to greater efficiency while pedalling and less risk of knee problems. I’ve not really got any bikes with very steep seat angles by modern standards, but did go through a few with stupidly slack ones. Seemed to put a lot of strain on my IT band and be a partial cause of knee problems.

There are still many suspension bikes with a steep effective seat angle on paper that in reality isn’t radical at all. Bent/offset seat tubes get slacker the higher the saddle is, some companies measure the effective angle lower than normal saddle height for the frame size, suspension sag slackens it as well.

Also as mentioned above, the popularity of flat pedals and ramming cleats all the back (me) recently has an effect here, pushing feet forwards. A more traditional seat angle was probably intended to be used in conjunction with the roadie belief in placing cleats further to the front.

Worth considering the wider BB/q factor and resulting potential for knee issues. I can’t ride one far before problems arise.

As above, avoid tyres that suffer self-steer like the plague. Been so long since riding a fatty I can’t remember which are the bad ones. Had a WTB Ranger recently that was bad for this, and that was just a 3in plus tyre.

Also the big soft bouncy tyres won’t quite cover up for a overly stiff frame. I thought the tyres would soak it all up until riding a couple of very unforgiving ones that weren’t much fun.

Nevermind, I misread the first post.

I see that’s a Superstar Raptor chainring. They’re a bit soft. Usually knackered and causing problems long before the chain or cassette in my experience.

That’s quite a change in direction from their usual writings. Probably bound to happen sooner or later.

So 750 is “astoundingly narrow”? Where were these people 5-10 years ago? It’s rather convenient when a bike actually fits down the trail.

Specialized and Santa Cruz are horrifically bad examples.

The silly seat tube angle was the main reason I sold my Hightower. Last year I emailed Santa Cruz to ask about effective vs actual angles and what height they measured at. It’s well known they measure seat angle at stack height, which is useless for tall riders, confirmed in reviews/articles online and their own drawings. After 3 months, I kid you not, someone replied, answering a different question to what I asked. So I pointed this out and asked again, then got a reply from one of their engineers. He denied this and even included a different drawing that had no bearing on reality to back it up showing 74 was accurate at my saddle height. Unbelievable. Almost like he thought I hadn’t ridden a real 74 before and didn’t have other bikes to measure it against. The fact that I suck at wheelies but could suddenly do them on a Hightower raises questions about weight distribution for a start!

The thing about Santa Cruz sizing is they only put a 195cm rider on XXL if they make that size. XL apparently fits just fine otherwise. The sizing chart is made to suit what they sell. I’m the same height. For me the stack/160mm headtube is too high on the latest XXL Tallboy. SC already lengthened the head tube far enough to 140mm on XL.

Needs to be anodized orange with classic turquoise sidewall Nokian tyres!

What happened to Ellsworth anyway? Last I saw they had a new range of bikes last year, now all quiet again.

Almost every company is getting full suspension frames knocked up in Taiwan for a few hundred quid then charging premium prices 4 or 6 times that for the finished product with oem shocks that cost them a fraction of what a shop would charge us.

Worse, at shop retail prices end customer paying more like 10+ times the original cost. What we end up paying is layer upon layer of profit and then a load of tax. There are companies now that just charge what they like. Even to the point where Santa Cruz, Specialized and others have been caught out selling bikes for more than it would cost to buy the frame and build it with the same parts yourself at full price. The cycle industry in particular is way overpriced and takes customers for mugs. Margins in some other retail industries are dire by comparison.

Just had a look at their website. Only 1 model left without a battery, and that’s getting old now. Seen a few euro brands going this way. Shame as Rotwild made some cool non electric bikes.

Best to take other measurements than just reach into consideration. The Propain has a very steep seat tube angle and the top tube isn’t particularly long. So the seated riding position may actually feel a bit small.