In my experience if one stuffs too much in to a dry sack then in turn that sack doesnt pack so gracefully into your backpack – leave a little space so your drybag is pliable enough to pack more effectively .. Its more important that your backpack is balanced and packed in a symmetrical balanced fashion.. Nowt worse than a lumpy backpack!

Bit pricey for sure but I feel that xtr are worth every penny – the levers are beautiful … Mine have been a fit and forget component. .. Even with my windcutter rotors the stopping power is firm and reliable and they modulate perfectly… With icetech rotors I bet they would be beasts…

Dont hang it! When down is wet it needs its weight supported in order not to damage the down and thus retain its superior insulating properties – when wet handle with care – cradle it when moving it – if you have no tumble dryer try gently rolling it into a ball and leaving it on a radiator – unravelling occasionally and then rolling it up again exposing the damper sections – this will take a few days – but the reality is there is a reason mountaineers down jackets stink and thats because each time you wash a down garment some loft will probably be lost..

I have more hiking/expedition kit than cycling specific touring kit – I personally.question all this strapping everything but the kitchen sink to ones bike – How much weight do you want to carry on your bike tours? Its pretty much a given you’ll be aiming to go relatively light – under 8kg is really easy to cycle with with just a decent fitting backpack – but I know kit junkies don’t want to hear this right?

That’s not the case that a bivy and a tarp will weigh less a hooped bivy – since when did 1 dac pole weigh more than even the lightest tarp?

Control tech ti mania – they look nice …

Don’t do it – I’ve often thought however it would be a cool little innovation if someone could make a nipple with a brass thread/inner with an alu/anodised outer – fashion with function if you will …

Been researching big tyres and the weight is scaring me more than bumps that come with rigid downhill ! Are Racing Rallphs the lightest? I’m defo going to try some spongy foam grips …

Everything in life is a trade of – I’d sooner have my wrists rattle than my pedals bob …..

For me speed is all relative – 35mph on a skateboard feels faster than 100mph in a fast Car – Rigid Bikes don’t handle bumpy/rocky trails sections as efficiently as FS but it’s sooo much fun and feels fast – plus the climb up is much easier – apriciate all the folk chiming in talking techniques. . I think manualing ability helps riding rigid as it helps facilitate kinetic suspension through your body ..

BMX TALK forum classifieds – pick ups from local BMX track/meets ….

If its for going to the skatepark then a race bike is not as a good as a street/dj bmx .

Opposite side.to the valve try first pushing tyre beads into the centre of rim – in hope that will free up a bit of slack to then get beads seated around valve – try pulling the tyre out as much as you can – this part can take time – but if done right tyres should hold air for a while without sealent – only then deflate and add sealent – this is what I’ve done and can inflate with a hand pump..

Chain tugs.are aesthetic nightmares – deal with a slack chain or ditch horizontal dropout! Seriously though maybe get some super beefy nuts and try cranking the buggers – sort of works! Blue loctite also ….

Peep the Northumberland coastal path – I looked into hiking it last summer – definitely not that epic but I thought it had potential – there’s castles and everything! Its a pretty quiet neck of the woods so I thought it looked decent for wild camping.

Definitely sounds like a scam – go with your gut on this one – I’d be mad as hell- I’d talk to the Gaffa at the bike shop and tell him you want/need a resolution asap – otherwise you’ll be turning up at the shop with the forks – and if he tries to say its nothing to do with him tell him it is pertaining to the use the shop’s account being involved in the transaction – better yet find out when the scammer in question is working – f#@k the softly softly approach..

Does it matter what materials the rails are made of? Sometimes I’ll see a saddle with ti rails alot cheaper than one with cro – mo … The Chromag Trail master Ltd according to distributor is unavailable for a while – I do think leather is a nice material for a saddle…

40+ cruiser class is no joke – alot of the competion has a ton of experience and they haul ass – think your better off on a 20 inch if your a novice – go on to the BMX TALK forum and find out which clubs are running novice class – great classifieds section also . If you care about winning its a pretty dangerous sport…

Its a long winded gratuitous thread – sorry about that – So I’m not surprised that folk wouldn’t/couldn’t read from beginning – But I wouldn’t have considered the situation thread worthy had I over torqued – the fact that I didnt and bolt still failed was/is the premise all this highly dull nomsense …

I’ve replaced the original alu with deeper headed alu – and want to ‘upgrade’ to Ti …

The bolts have been replaced with M5 x16 aluminium bottle cage bolts – only 3/4 of a turn past finger tight – adequate clamping capacity .. The allen heads are much deeper no chance of rounding out – I think part of the problem with the original xtr bolts was also that they were very flush… Hope I get bike back early next weelk …. I still want the ti though – will use bottle cage again they are easy to oick up and look sweet – Blue ones!

http://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/xtr-brake-bolt-mush-855485.html

Idiots every last one of ’em

With all due respect – it’s quite clear I’m not paying…

The bolts in my xtr brakes are soft – not the first person to state this … I will be replacing with Ti when I.get bike back – cant believe how much hassle this has been !

The brakes have been excellent – other than the soft fastening bolts on the levers – I was under the Impression that Shimano brakes are generally held in high regard …

Yes that is exactly what happened – weekend ride cancelled ….

So the saga continues !
Really wanted this sorted asap – and took the bike to the other LBS in town – the guys in there were super helpful and went for the hacksaw method and sorted it in no time – However as soon as I took bike out of the shop I realised my other lever was way out – as if the reach adjust had been opened all the way out – very strange I thought… So I took the bike back inside and showed them what had happened explaining that it was nothing like that when I bought the bike in for repair – Turns out the piston inside the lever was broken and according to mechanic there are no spare parts available for XTR race brake lever .. They were very apologetic and have agreed to sort it but they have to pay for the new lever which isn’t cheap ..

My only worry about drilling the bolt head off is that when I did this to a seized chainring bolt – I still had to use a rubber mallet to get the chainring to break free – with the brake lever if it doesn’t free up immediately after bolt head is drilled off then I’ll still be left with hinge clamp stuck on the bars – Im thinking in order to do a sufficiently thorough drill job I’m going to be dangerously close to the hinge clamp’s thread ….

Well it turns out that an aluminium brand x bottle cage holder bolt seems to be working just fine on the other lever and I will use the same on the chewed up side if I manage to get it off – does anyone know if the little clamp hinge should release if I cut the bolt between the clamp – ive already tried needle nose pliers between the gap between the hinge and can get no movement – Please understand I put absolutely zero excess torque on this bolt it just seized out of know where – I’m blaming the loctite!

Feel a bit more comfortable going for hacksaw method than drilling out the bolt – it was mentioned that ti bolt replacement a bad idea – because it could potentially damage brake lever thread – is this because the xtr lever is magnesium? – is it safe to say that these levers have a standard thread pitch – compatible with with after market bolts? If the magnesium thread is weak maybe stick with the replacement xtr bolts …

It’s the xtr brake lever clamp bolt – M5 x 14.9 – there’s quite a space between the clamp hinge so im assuming that if I squeeze a hacksaw in and cut then open the hinge I should be able to remove both parts of the bolt with needle nose pliers – I’ll be well f##ked off if it goes tits up !

Wasn’t aware of that Cromag Surface – looks insanely sweet ! Although the vertical dropouts would rule it out for my next purchase – as I’ll still be going SS the slider dropouts on the N92 will be more for me ….. Not that I ever had a bike with sliders – I’d be content with horizontal dropouts just like my inbred – clean and simple – never had an issue loosing chain tension .. if I ever pulled the trigger on a custom I’d go for horizontal dropouts …

Im lovimg the pics ! Looking really lush in black – August is my Birthday so im going to ride the hell out of the inbred all summer and … Damn I think this thread just made up my mind ! Nimble 9 hear we come …
Thanks for German distribution tip ….. I’m liking the forest green

Thanks for the offer of the test ride – if ever Im down that way I’ll message you – £800 is alot for off the peg steel but man if those N9’s ride half as good as they look then maybe it’ll be a bargin ….