Cheers.

She’s only 4’2″ at the moment but got a few months/summer left on the 20″ Islabike.

I’ll have a think about wheels, if 24″ come up that’s what I feel would be best but if I can’t find a decent/lightish set then it’ll be out of the question.

The Hotrock looks great…forks look ideal to. Hopefully it’ll be light.

The cranks will be the major PITA…not sure on length. It’ll be a case of either sinz BMX cranks or calling Islabikes see if they’ll sell a set.

Shame as used XT/SLX would be a cheaper option.

Kilo – no worries, to suit you…I’m at the start of this project.

Junkyard…ill take a look BUT my daughter isn’t going to need any suspension yet and I foresee the rigid forks to be lighter and cheaper not to mention won’t need servicing and there is little to go wrong. I’ll get SIDS or Reba forks once she needs them.

Light weight is a major priority.

kilo – that’s very kind but I’m in the Midlands. Would you post if I covered it?

If so can you send over some photos?

nwill1 at ymail dot com

Just to add the 17″ user to be rarer than the 16″ and 18″ but there seems to be a lot more avaliable now as people move to bigger wheels. There is an Orange Riders group on FB could always ask on there, there is a lot of buying and selling on there offen cheap to.

I’m 5’9″ and I like a smaller bike but wouldn’t want smaller than my 17″. As you may be aware the 17″ had the same TT and reach as the 18″ with just a shorter seat tube. I’d personally think the 16″ would be a bit short but from memory the older Traces were very short in the TT!?

I do to…I have a Five…it is a joy, takes 10 minutes…quote therapeutic.

Having now been to the Chesney dealer and looked at them closely including one burning I’ve decided I’m going to give it a bash.

Looks good, appears to work well looking at demo stove, which happens to have been in situ for 6 years and used everyday.

Fingers crossed!

I’d seen some very very nice looking builds on PB…I was shocked when I saw the price as I thought they were some neich premium brand.

Looking into them I see they use cheaper tubes than the likes of Stanton and Cotic which appears to be reflected in the weight.

Saw one up Cannock in the flesh, nice looking frame.

**this is my opinion NOT financial advise!

Yes rates are at an all time low and can only go one way BUT if you are saving £80 per month for 2 years and rates do rise effectively you’d need that rate rise to equate to £160 per month for the next two years fixed to make you worse off (assuming your looking at a mortgage with no arrangement fees)

Rates will rise at some point however I feel that when they do they won’t rise at a rapid rate…the market is sensitive and any sudden rise could throw 100,000’s in to financial turmoil and the Bank of England would carefully consider the impact to both borrowers and the economy when consideringbrake rises.

Companies would not be offering such low rates fixed for two years if they felt it would be leaving them out of pocket.

Seconding although inflation has started to rise there are potential uncertainties about the economy surrounding Brexit. Predictions are that there’ll be no rate rises until at least 2018 and even then they’ll be fairly minimal.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1607881/When-UK-rates-rise.html

So my current decision has been to do a two year fixed on the premis that even with rate rises I’ll still be better off ‘net effect’ in 5 years time.

In saying that if you like the idea of knowing where you are for 5 possibly 10 years fix it up and you know exactly where you stand with the certainly…the trade off is that 10 years at £200/month is £24,000…IF rates were to not rise that’s a reasonable chunk of money you could have paid off your capital.

All just food for thought…if any of this was certain and anyone had a crystal ball decisions would be much easier.

Anybody know if the messages service send an email to let user know they have a message? She’s not been active for some time.

Thabks

??? Didn’t realise there was one!

See if I can find it thanks!

Seems to be real mixed opinions on the Chesneys…I have no concerns what so ever about the Stovax but as I said prefer the look of the Chesney! #confused

Read this with interest…currently in the market…the dealers we’ve contacted do Stovex and Chesney (there are others but none that appeal).

Not seen anything negative about Stovax but a bit online about Chesneys…however we’re leaning towards Chesneys as we like the look (Shorditch 5).

Not sure whether the negative reviews (very few) are truly representative or just the unfortunate couple who’ve whined online!?

They’re not cheap though so want to get it right!

As others have said made in the UK is few and far between although there are some.

My recommendation would be to look into Stanton bikes.

They have 3 bikes in their current line up…

Swithback…full in hardcore…lots ride them all day but they really are capable of some abuse. Think DH HT/Enduro/Trail ridding. (27.5″ Or 27.5″+)

Slackline…trail HT…all day bike, not as knarley as Switchback but still very strong and very capable. Think Enduro/trail/XC. (27.5″ or 27.5″+)

Sherpa…trail/XC HT…all day bike, very capable 29er. Think Enduro/Trail/XC. (29″ or
27.5″+)

All three models come in Steel & Ti. Also all frames go through the full testing on one frame so they’re very strong products. I’ve only ridden the Slackline & Switchback which are sorted, apparently the Sherpa is to, I’ve very very tempted to trade in my Slackline for a Sherpa.

There’s a great ‘Stanton Owners’ group on FB, if you want to see/find out more.

If you shop wisely £1000 will buy you a nice specced VGC used steel hardtail.

For what you describe if look for a used Stanton Sherpa or Cotic 29er.

Capable of the miles but when you get the bug for steeper/rougher stuff it’ll see you through

I’m all in on 26″, I have 3…the jump bike/4x bike is the only one with a straight steerer but also worth very little so not worth selling, also 26″ is best for that type of bike IMO.

I bought them my other two bikes (2013 models) for a great price in 2014 just as 27.5 was starting to take off.

I love them and have no concerns, you’ll be able to get 26″ rims for some time, maybe not the latest and greatest (although I see Stans have included 26″ in their new line up) but as for forks you can just run 27.5 forks just increases their A2C by 10mm.

If I wanted to go out and replace my to trail bikes (Ti HT & FS) to an equivalent spec brand new I reckon I’d be looking at about £8-£9k…how much better would they be…negligible!

Saying all that my mates ride 27.5 but I’m quicker so I have to wait for them anyway

The Geo was sorter further between 2010 and 2013, slacker HA, tapered head tube, maxel rear etc so I think the 2013 is quite a bit better than the 2010!

Zippykona…yeah but that’s £1250 with very much entry level components, wheels, bars, stem, forks etc not to mention the frame IMO is no were neer as fun (not to mention the simplicity and ease of servicing the Five’s bearings!).

It’s like saying you can get a new Ford Focus 1.3 for the price of a 2 year old VW Golf GTI mint with low mileage for a bit more!

Apples and Oranges, that Giant is entry level compared to a bike that 2 1/2 years ago would have set you back about £4K!

That’s very interesting Roverpig…gives me confidence in my decision to keep my Five as I live it! Thanks.

Sorry OP only just checked back…

I’ve seen 2012/13 (last generation) going for between £850-£1100.

At the middle to top end of that range you tend to be talking about a bike kitted with Pikes/Reverb, Hope Hoops/brakes, CCDB etc in very good condition.

I always keep an eye out and my fave was one that went on eBay for about £1120…it was mint and have an almost brand new CK wheeler on. I offer to buy/part ex the wheels…he was having none of it but I bet he wished he had now…he would have probably ended up with more £££.

Love mine…great bike. Given what they’re currently selling for absolute bargain!

Get a CCDB on there and some offset bushings!!

We had a new kitchen back in November. Was looking at Neff, Bosch, Siemens and Samsung.

Neff, Bosch and Siemens are all made by the same company and are pretty much of a muchness. All reviews are similar so we went for the ones with the functions required and liked the look of best.

Ended up with a mid range Neff (didn’t need/want the steaming function).

If you shop around you can get some great prices. Our oven with Slide & Hide was supposed to be close to £800 I got it from John Lewis for just under £600 with a cash back offer, the oven microwave was meant to be over £1000 we paid just under £700 again from John Lewis. The Hob is a 5 ring induction with the twist thing again in the UK was over £1000, brought it from ComWales for less than £600. I was really worried about the supplier as I’d never heard of them but the first one had some cosmetic defects but they exchanged it very quickly no questions asked.

So far so good, looks great and functionally great.

Miele are highly regarded to but a jump up in price!

Love Renthals personally. I find 740 for the lites just a little narrow. I’d go regular Fatbar and chop it down.

I go between my HT & FS…I don’t think it’s about re-learning more a case of being less lazy.

I’ve spent so much time on HT’s that I ride my FS like its a HT which keeps me sharp as pick clean lines.

If I ride the FS lots and then get back out on the HT it takes a ride or two to get back to 100%. If I ride the HT lots and then get back on the FS I’m pretty quick.

Just give it some time and sharpen your skills.

I’d be in the camp of sell both and get something between else…IF there’s something that takes your fancy.

If not sell neither…sounds like you think the Shmgler is the better bike but the Five is hardly worth selling at £800 or so and great for winter muck!!

Very interesting…I enjoyed mine and still think back to it often.

About 18 months ago.

To be fair the guy delivering the course had a hostile audience initially but did a good job of winning the room around.

At Llandegla I normally do the Blue route before the Black just for some extra fun I find doing the 3 mile climb at the strat the first time harder than the 2nd, it takes 25 minutes…you’d thinking would be easier with fresh legs but it’s easier after 6 miles of riding!

Love my Slackline Ti…tend to ride it locally and use the FS for rougher stuff.

Keep contemplating a Sherpa though seeing OP’s Ti has really made me lust one…how much fun is it compared to the Switchback you had?

I find it takes a good while to warm up…I often start a ride and think…I’m going to struggle today but after a good 30 minutes 1 hour I can climb much better than at the start of a ride.

Until I got the Thule Roof system I brought a Saris Bones 3 although I never managed to fit more than 2 FS bikes to it. However I’m lead to believe it’s the best tailgate carrier without the requirement on a towball.

They do the Solo which I imagine would be perfect, pretty versatile will fit almost any car…

https://www.rutlandcycling.com/110479/products/saris-solo-1-bike-car-rack.aspx?origin=pla&kwd=&currency=GBP&gclid=CJuq_s-mndMCFcYV0wod-iwFvQ

PS…don’t run one yet for Trail ridding but think I will some with me newer light weight breathable generation.

When does a ride warrent a FF?? When you land on your face? In my experience it could be anytime!

Offs don’t always happen when you’d expect and sometimes the ‘silly’ ones can be the worst.

OP said some didn’t look to be ridding ‘gnarly off piste’…don’t know about others but I ride sometime Blues can be just as dangerous…take Degla for example…the Blue is so so fast and you could as easily take a nasty tumble there at speed as you would anywhere else on the trail!

Fact of the matter is they’re awesome bikes with great features that justify a higher price tag…many pay over £3k for a carbon push bike frame…many buy cars at silly prices, TV’s, clothes, funiture, Apple kit, sound systems, photography gear what ever the hell else at silly prices.

Yes it might put some off but they’ll still sell in good numbers.

It’s a great brand that’s well respected and lusted after by some.

I’m sure if/when the exchange rate improves it will be reflected in the prices.

0% finance has brought a whole other type to the game!

I still ride a 2012 Five, great bike IMO…not saying it’s ‘the best’ or ‘the fastest’ but between the legs of a decent rider that rip and are loads of fun.

I think you’ll get one at a good price I’ve seen Mk1 650b frames going for £400£-450. 26″ is dead apparently so should be a good chunk cheaper!

I’d go for a later model with 30.9 seat tube and tapered head tube for longevity, think that’s post 2011.

I spent loads of time in the pool with my little one getting her confident going under water…I always think that’s key…if they can happily submerge their face the fear goes away.

However she wouldn’t accept me as an instructor so got lessons.

We started with 1:1 as it brought her on quickly them progressed to group lessons once she could swim 5 meters. Now she can do a couple of lengths I’m back on training/improving her!

0% has made a big difference, people get finance and don’t look at the ‘RRP’ they just look at the monthly cost.

I knew back in 2008 when I started ridding I liked the ‘top end’ bikes but could not afford/justify such a cost. However careful buying and selling 2nd hand has allowed me to end up with 3 what would have been more or less top end bikes in 2012/13. Yes I’m still on 26″ but £2 – £2.5k has given me probably what would have been £9 – £10k worth of bikes.

I may not have the ‘latest’ and ‘greatest’ for 2017 but in 2013 my bikes were considered some of the best…not sure they’re crap now just because there are new ‘better’ bikes out!

BJ was great but the sport has evolved 10 fold in the last few years.

He looked averaged at best in his training camp on the countdown show…Rodriguez is a young gun in the new era…I think he’ll destroy BJ quickly!

I was right then #predictable

I’ve got BT…cheap as chips compared to Sky/Virgin plus I get every show…good value if you’re a fan.