I do 10 miles each way on bridleway, green lanes, back roads and main roads.

2011 Genesis Vapour with Aksium wheels proving pretty bloody good 😀

Don’t find M&S insurance restrictive either considering our premium covers 4 bikes and covers them away from home etc etc. Still cheaper than a stand alone policy.

Each individual bike is covered up to £4k.

Looks lovely….we did a lap around Blackdown this morning followed by fish & chips at the Swan Inn in Roeberrow.

A perfect day-off 8)

5’9″ and just ordered a medium Helius AM.

Can’t wait for my Helius AM….clearly the looks appeal to me as i have had 2 Orange 5’s in the past! I think they look great against all the ridiculous swoopy hydroformed nonsense thats so fashionable right now. Plus, Nicolai’s never seem to look too dated IMO.

Just a Cove Handjob here but about to be replaced with a Nicolai Helius AM!

Very fragile in my experience. Shan’t be bothering again thats for sure!

Coatesy…that would indeed suck, if you had paid retail on a Stans rim 😉

Don’t disregard Stans rims. I’ve just laced a Flow rim onto a hub i previously had an XM819 rim on. I dinged the XM819 rim so badly that when i tried to straighten it, the rim cracked! So i thought i’d try a Flow rim.

I thought UST rims were great until i tried the Flow. One layer of tape, poked the valve through and the tyre inflated quicker than the previous ‘proper’ UST set-up did. Can’t comment on longevity of non-eyeleted rim but not heard anything negative yet.

As i understand it the longer stroke should work better with air shocks which would make sense and thats what i’ll be running.

ISCG mounts i am getting as i run a double/bash/guide set-up. Shan’t bother with a bolt-thru set-up as it was, by far, the stiffest frame i’ve ever ridden.

I’ve got a awhile to decide about forks although i too had wondered about a spacer below the lower headset cup…..i will probably just give in and go with some 36’s or Deville’s (if i’m feeling really rich!!!!!)

Not so worried really…..i am hoping to get my order confirmed for the early November production slot so hopefully won’t have to wait as long as some have.

Geetee – Interesting stuff…having never owned 36’s before (or indeed any other 160mm fork!) i think i will probably run with the 150mm 32 i have, for now. Got my eye on the BOS Deville though!!!! Seems the only drawback to the 150’s might be th tuck-in issue but whilst alot of my riding can be steep it doesn’t involve alot of tight turns (except the annual Alps trip!) plus i’m no heavyweight (11 stone) so don’t anticipate the fork wanting to dive too much.

I read about the colour mis-match over on MTBR….i would have been annoyed if it had been me. Ano Black with Silver ‘Extra Love’ parts and Chrome decals can’t be that hard to get right…can it?

Mine will be Ano Black so hopefully no confusion over colour choice should occur…..i gave up trying to choose any other colour, the choice was just too much!

Geetee – Thats great info. I was just looking at the new 2011 techsheet for the AM and i noted that fork referencing length was 545mm. Where did you get 565mm from? HA is 66.5 degrees with 545mm fork. I’m in a real dilema regarding fork choice. Should i just stick on my 2 ride old 32 150mm’s or go for 36 TALAS????? I’m after a fork that matches the rear end stiffness really.

For whats it’s worth, the rest of spec will be XT drivetrain, E13 Heim2 device, Pro2/XM819(F) & DT440/Stans Flow(R), Hope Mini Mono and RP23BV.

Right…that was helpful.

TLR – Meaning?????

We have one in our store….Bike Bristol….not near you though.

It’s our Post Office bike 😆

HTH

In all seriousness, the Croix De Fer is heavy for longer commutes and rides in general. If you’re not riding in much mud then i think the advantage of disc brakes is lost. Most we have sold have been fitted with slicks which makes the addition of disc brakes a dodgy mix IMO. They also just look odd too. They’ve proved a popular choice on the various cycleschemes but i think we’ll now sell even more Vapours as they’re under the £1000 limit whilst the Croix De Fer is now £1100.

Good point 😆

Supply can’t be the issue as we’ve had loads of Hope stuff through too…including Pro 2 hubs and wheels.

That great price doesn’t mean jack if you never got them!!!!!!

2011 Genesis Vapour with Mavic Askium wheels here….love it and proving superb* on my 20 mile off/on road every day.

*My view may or not be biased seeing as i sell them 😉

I have ridden a fair few full-sussers and nothing has come close to the Nicolai. To me it offered the perfect blend……..it had everything i was looking for. Can’t wait!

DrDom – Yes it was Skyline’s Demo bike. Talas forks were in awful state but it was amazing none the less. So much so i have just ordered my AM frame! Woooohooooo! This bike will definitely be a keeper!

Mine will have to make do with 150mm 32 Float forks for now as my pockets aren’t quite deep enough for some 36’s just yet.

I test rode a Helius AM on White’s Level yesterday and was completely blown away!

Agree with most of what was said in the first post except i found the head angle absolutly spot on! I have never ridden the black loop so fast or hard in my life and i put that down to the bike entirely. It was so composed and stiff to just the right extent.

Weight seemed no problem at all…..guess it depends on how fit you are perhaps 😉

I'm with you Skiboy! Summer is all well and good but i love that first ride of the Autumn when i don't sweat profusely and stay just the right temperature for the whole ride!!!!

I do! I actually got fed up with riding dusty trails this summer! What the hell is wrong with me?

E13 Heim2 on the hardtail, Gamut P30 on my full-sus and MRP XCG Triple on my wife's bike.

All were a piece of pee to fit but only the E13 has been used in anger. Does what it's supposed to do and has made my bike ALOT quieter in the process. A week in the Alps should be a good test for the other 2 devices!

Better go and loctite the Gamut grub screw now as i forgot to do it when i fitted it 😳

Thanks Z1ppy, much appreciated.

Where were you based? Looks fantastic…..bring on next weeks trip!

Really impressed with the 2.2 UST's i've been running since April on my hardtail. Roll quickly and seem to have plenty of grip in all the conditions i've encountered although not much mud yet.

Just swapped them to the full-sus for next weeks Alps trip so looking forward to trying them on the same trails i rode last year running a Minion DHF/Advantage combo(tubed). Will hopefully get no pinch-flats at least!

Iain,

If running UST tyres and rims then the answer is no IME. Put a massive ding in my XM819 rim a while ago and only noticed it when cleaning the bike! No obvious loss of pressure at the time either.

It's UST or not at all IMHO.

Alright Stevo you got me there…..Although technically it wasn't the 'linkage' that was the problem.

Let's see how it copes with the Alps next week….it could all go spectacularly wrong!!!!!

Yawn!!!! I sold my second 5, linkages are soooo much better 😛

'Backcountry' week with either Trail Addiction (Les Arc) or The White Room (Sainte Foy) is what you need. Virtually no climbing, all the hard work taken care of with van uplift and as Coolhandluke says…ALOT of descending.

Returning to The White Room on the 18th for the second year in a row 😀

Why did you fit a rim tape? Surely you wouldn't need it on a sealed rim.

Never needed levers on any of my UST rim/tyre combo's. Oh well.

I have been stunned by how capable mine has been, so much so that i have been questioning the need to own a 140mm full-sus! I have found the Cove alot of fun on so many different types of trails.

Mines built with XT drivetrain, Hope brakes, Mavic UST rims and Fox 32 Float RL (set to 120mm). No idea on weight but not bothered either. Also run a dual ring chain device, to reduce noise more than anything else.

When you say Matterhorn so do mean from Zermatt itself or actually from the base of the Matterhorn? You can cross over into Saas-fee via the Monte Rosa route but not on a bike that's for sure!

I imagine any trip like that will be mostly an epic hike-a-bike!

You could ride from the base of the Matterhorn, down through the Mattertal to the Valais, then along the Valais and up to Champery and through the Portes Du Soliel i guess. That could be great fun.

Vapour is what you want….no heavy disc brakes and heavy cro-mo frame/forks but all the eyelets and mounts for racks and mudguards.

Took delivery of my 2011 Vapour last week and had a fun commute home on my local singletrack. Can't believe how capable the bike was off-road!

So pleased for Gee…..a well deserved overall.

Minnaar and Peaty have had their fair share of overall titles anyway!