Yep, any update would be helpful.

Just pulled my Butcher apart and the main pivot axle has badly worn again. I replaced all the bearings and the main pivot axle last Spring as well, paying out £80 for a pro pack. So this will be the third replacement axle for a 2010 bike & will be chasing this one up with SC/ Jungle.

In fairness, it does still tighten up okay without play, but i’m worried that this could become more of an issue as wear increases and no-one wants to spend £80 each year just for this one part!

StefMcDef, Shimano tech doc for messing with hoses (M785 XT but pretty much all new shimano i think)….
http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/SI/DiskBrakeSystem/SI_8JA0A/SI-8JA0A-003-00-ENG_v1_m56577569830750008.PDF

There is a general shimano tech doc somewhere that recommends the OP’s approach, but i cant remember where. Take out the pads first, pump the lever a few times to expose the pistons, then do the hose shorten. When you are done, push the pistons back in. This forces any air to the reservoir, which should be okay in small amounts, and means you don’t have to bleed. You will need a new insert and olive though, but these spares should come with new brakes in the box.

Hmm tricky, sounds like you have stuck to the shimano advised process and like you say, it worked for the SLX’s, so its hard to see what you could be up against.

The difference seems to be that the SLX were fitted, the XT’s werent. The only thing that came into my mind was the height of the reservoir. As far as i can remember, the idea of extending then pushing the pistons back in was to ensure that any air was forced to the top of the reservoir; this would be a lot easier if the lever & reservoir was above (higher than) the calliper, as it would be on a bike.

If it was me, i would try securing the lever higher up on a table or something, whilst trying to gently push the pistons back in, to get any air back to the top of the reservoir (just like the end of the bleeding process)

Just a thought though. Hope it works out.

Witnessed an accident yesterday thanks to a RLJ.

Guy on a fixie (yep, this is london, sorry) jumped a light at a four way crossroads as a guy on a motorbike was coming through on a green light (he had just overtaken me). Motorcyclist swerved to avoid the fixie guy and came off, smeared his bike across the junction right in front of me.

I stopped to help, got the motorbike (a nice sportsbike) off the road, the rider was in full leathers, but was limping badly.

All the cyclist was saying was “is he calling the Police? He isnt calling the Police is he?” which seemed a little odd to me.

So i guess now and then it does have consequences for someone else. Not all the time though. Judgement is key….

What’s your commute like?

I was pretty sceptical of all the the small wheeled folders when i started my central London commute, but went for a 3 speed Brompton in the end. I have been really impressed by it, cant say ive found the gearing a problem (if you buy new, you can vary the gearing by a few %), and my M bars have been the perfect choice (again, if you find they flex, there is a brace kit available for a few quid. I weigh just under 13stone and sprint on mine, no brace, no probs). I dont ride it like my Santa Cruz though, its just not made for it! Or is it…?

Bromptons seem to have the best fold, hold resale value well and are solidly made. Other brands do other things well, and i wouldnt fancy a long rural commute on my M-type. Are any test rides an option?

Lots of advice on the net, this is from http://www.discoverwildlife.com/british-wildlife/how-identify-animal-holes

MOUSE HOLE
Bank voles, woodmice and yellow-necked mice can dig extensive burrow systems, often under tree roots.
Woodmice dig burrows in cereal fields and similar open situations.
The tunnels are generally only a few centimetres below ground, with entrance holes about 3cm in diameter.
Mouse holes are often camouflaged or blocked with debris, such as small stones, clods of earth or twigs. Tunnels – particularly those of the bank vole – frequently connect to runways above ground through dense vegetation.

RAT HOLE
Rats dig holes similar to those of water voles, 6-9cm in diameter. They are usually close to water, but are also found in a variety of other habitats such as hedgerows, rubbish tips and often under cover such as tree roots and logs.
Unlike water vole holes, rat holes generally have a fan-shaped mass of freshly dug soil outside and the holes are connected by well-trodden runways.

WATER VOLE BURROW
Water voles generally dig burrows in banks, with a series of holes close to the water’s edge or even under water.
Occasionally, holes can be 2–3m from the water.
Holes are roughly circular, 5cm–7cm in diameter, and generally have a closely cropped ‘lawn’ within a 15cm radius of the hole.

So yep, probably rats.

Did my 2012 XT’s a week or so ago for the first time, it was quite a new process for me coming from Hope, but got it sorted.

Did you get the new Shimano bleed kit bits, the yellow funnel? apart from that its just a syringe and tube, so its unlikely you’ve gone really wrong anywhere.

It did strike me that the process was quite fiddly, lots of little parts of the procedure which seemed a little fussy to me at first (tapping the caliper, adding fluid from the bottom of the system at the caliper, then from the top etc), but i did all the little bits in the instructions exactly and it worked fine. Try again from the start, if you haver enough fluid?

Sounds like a bit of a bargain, any catch?!

VPP bikes accelerate well, i’ve ridden a few and always liked that about them. So that will be a plus. Going from coil to air shock on the back will probably take some careful adjustment of shock settings to feel right for you and may be a drawback initially on descents, but you will save weight. If you worry about the geometry, maybe offset bushings could be the answer, once you have tried it stock. If its the amount of travel thats the concern, tune it carefully and make every millimeter count.

If its not the right bike for you though, £950 is still a fair bit of cash. Oh, and hopefully they have your size!

EDIT: Congratulations, new bike on a Friday, happy days…!

I had a Mk 6 GTI for a couple of years (09 reg). I had heard that the Mk5 had some questions over 95 fuel, but it never gave my one a problem, probably best to check it out on the VW forums though.

The Mk6 was supposedly more efficient than the Mk5, but with hot hatches and current petrol prices, thats all relative. A full tank would rarely register over ‘300 miles remaining’ on the trip computer, so not one for long commutes, unless cash really isnt a problem at all.

On the plus side, lovely car (i think the mk 5 and 6 are very very similar performance and interior wise) and the five door i had did a great job of being a toy and a ‘family car’ in one. There was a special edition MK 5 at the end of the run, (Edition 30?) that was a bit pepped up if you want more oomph without going to the R series.

Is the Blur the only option (this particular deal must be pretty good if so…)!
Another Santa Cruz option would be the Butcher, love mine and cheaper than the Blur generally. As well as the geo, I guess some of it might come down to the dampers. What fork/shock do you have on the Heckler? would the Blur come with worse/ less tuned options?

Trailstar

So, to throw it out there…

I am not familiar with/ used the cheaper brands people are mentioning here – but before i spend loads on a new light, i would definitely like to know what they are like. Going from the stuff above, people seem to like theirs. Bit of a no-brainer to look into it.

More difficult to answer; Exposure and Hope (both mentioned above) both support riders, events etc – surely, thats a good thing. These firms seem to be being painted as ripoff merchants in league with publishers on here, so how does that stack up? Honest question (as i don’t have a clue); do the cheaper manufacturers support riders and events in the UK? Shouldn’t we value that as (mostly) UK riders? By extension, maybe a little more coverage of those brands giving more to the sport as a whole is no bad thing. IMO, of course..

Yeah, i guess experience points to a mixed bag.

Had a really bad experience with a well known independent shop; bought a new frame, the frame had slight damage, shop decided to ‘make it up to me’ with free heli tape. When i picked it up, there was a high labour charge – the mechanic said it took a while to get the heli tape right….

On the flip side, recently had a really good experience (and good value) getting some work done at Evans, which kind of surprised me (don’t know why i was surprised really though – maybe i’ve got a ‘chain store’ prejudice, especially on price).

Would like to be completetely self sufficient, but there’s some stuff i just can’t do/ don’t have tools for. Time is a factor too.

Okay,

I am generally supportive of this type of thing (pretty hard to really hate on it eh?) but i think sometimes the type of approach Avaaz and similar websites use is less positive and informative than it could be..

So, a little bit more info can be found on: http://www.coralcoe.org.au/news_stories/coralsea2.html
or, officially:
http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mpa/coralsea/index.html

which seems to basically cover it, if people want to check it out.

Greenham is fun for an hour/ hour and a half, small twisty singletracky stuff. Suits a faster bike and a good pedaller IMHO, not one for the big AM bikes.

It’s very close to me, but got to confess i walk the dogs there more than i ride it! Another local option would be the area around Hermitage if you want more of a ‘proper’ ride with hills and variety (and a little bit of cheeky fun stuff!)

For Greenham, head up to the car park at the corner of the common nearest Newbury (about 500m East of the big Tesco and Greenham retail park – its easy to ride from the town. There’s a water tower to make the car park obvious. Head through the smaller gate (not the big metal one) and head along the edge of the common. Keep taking right forks and hug the edge of the common, then just work your way around.

The Common has a flat top (former runway) and slopes off steepest to the south, so the best singletrack winds along the south/ south west side of the common. Its mostly follow your nose stuff, you cant really get lost if you dont cross a road!

Hope you find something fun….

EDIT: Looks like Beej has got the details, beats mine!

Depends….

Flood risk isn’t a yes/no situation, its probability based. This is what insurers will use to determine whether to cover you or how much it will cost. Ditto whether it will appear in property searches and potentially put off buyers.

Flood risk from rivers is shown on the Environment Agency website (just put in the postcode). Its broad rather than detailed, but will give you an idea of the level of risk.

This doesnt mean the property will definately flood; models can be wrong, and don’t take all sources of flooding into account (groundwater and surface water are harder to get a grip on). They will give you a probability based around flood zones, but being inside the 1 in 75 year flood extent doesnt mean it will flood one time every 75 years. It might not flood for 100 years or more; likewise it might flood four times.

If you like the idea of living by a river, this is pretty much the downside. Try and get locally available data if you want a more informed opinion on the risk you may be taking on, from the EA or local authority (Strategic Flood Risk Assessment or Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment) but for me if the property is indicated by insurers and the EA flood map to be at significant risk, then yes you are going to be taking on some risks with insurance and resale value.

Or you could pay for property level flood proofing. Pricey though.

Good luck!

Dirt do a ‘letters page’ debate on this sort of thing about once a year… Their view is that for everyone who writes in saying they hate the format/ layout/ text size/ colours etc, someone else writes in saying that they love it.

I know what people mean about Mr Jones’ writing, it can be rambling. I remember one recent review where he spent the article giving the bike a real slating – then summed up saying how great and perfect for the UK it was. BUT he does bring a fresh perspective and speaks his mind, take his swing towards 29ers based on his own timed run testing.

Horses for courses. In any debate, you will find people who like one style, dislike another. Me, I like Steve Jones articles and dislike ones by Jen in ST; it probably isnt just me, but i wouldnt expect everybody (or anybody!) to see it the same. The beauty of choice.

How much eye gunk are you finding?

Our springer gets a fair amount of dark couloured ‘sleep’ in the corner of her eyes, which we pick off her (daily, as and when) and she will often try to eat it(!)

We also have a Basset x spaniel though, so don’t find weeping unusual! As others have said, if its a new and very obvious thing or seems to be causing discomfort, a call or visit to the vet would be my approach.

Back in November, TRL (transport research laboratory) published a pretty good review of the available information and attempted some conclusions about what could be done to reduce accidents.

There was a pretty intersting finding on segregated cycle lanes not always being a good option, as they created additional conflict at the start/ finish.

The summary was….:

Overall, it proved problematic to draw definitive conclusions from the literature. Taken as a whole, the most significant infrastructure-related risk factors for cyclists in single vehicle incidents on highways appear to be; slippery road (due to weather), and poor or defective road surface. For multi-vehicle collisions the infrastructure risk factors appear to be; posted speed limits, and encounters with other road users at junctions.

report is on http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/infrastructure-and-cyclist-safety

All year round for the South Downs? Probably quite tricky as that has to cover slick greasy clay mud as well as hardpack and summer dust.

I ride the area a lot, but i switch tyres a lot too. Spring/summer i like the maxxis ignitor (2.3 tubeless in my case) as a great bet for a grip/ speed compromise. They dont cut it in the local mud though – my winter tyre setup is a maxxis high roller rear with a maxxis 60a swampthing front, great for fun, bit slow on long rides though.

Maybe two highroller style tyres (big side knobs, widely spaced tread, harder compound) might cut it if you find you slip out too much?

I am going to keep an eye on the answers to this one, my 2009 Crossmax SX has just gone back to Mavic for service, via the LBS!

I wanted to replace the bearings myself, but couldnt find the info on how or what sizes/ bearing types anywhere, even when you use the ‘dealer’ section of the Mavic website to get all the technical info.

When i spoke to bike shops, I was told “oh yeah, Mavic don’t want people doing this themselves, they either send us parts directly or the wheels go to the service centre (Camberley)”

Now, i don’t know how accurate that is (although i have heard it in a few places) but i have to admit i gave in and took my SX to a Mavic dealer. Still waiting to hear how much it’ll cost, cos in my technical opinion, it was “stuffed”.

Salomon Sentinel?

Yeah they work well, lots of power, no fade issues.

Obvious downside, they are heavy and its large rotors only.

Big thumbs up for the Tech levers though, easy to replace parts and easy to bleed.

If you don’t need big alpine brakes but like the V2 look, it’s the X2. The M4 is inbetween (i think…)

I run exactly the same on my Butcher…

Where abouts you are riding and whether you are new to the whole single ring thing might help narrow your options.

But, generally i would say as you already have 11-36 on the back, your choices are 1) put a smaller chainring on the front, 32 or 33T and lose your higher gears; or 2) go with a double or triple set up on the front and all the faff/cost that will entail?

Well, good luck!

I’ve messed around with this a little bit, it’s good fun so i guess maybe go with that in mind rather than relying on a catch for dinner, cos its quite hard, compared to spinning for mackeral.

B.A.S.S is a good place to go for tips on catching them in general (ukbass.com).

I would say, as a rule match whatever fly you choose to the weight of your rod and line weight (you won’t chuck a big heavy fly a long way with a soft flexy rod). Silver coloured small fish replica flys work well for most species, including Bass, but clever guys use things like crab or prawn flys, which are a bit specialist.

My tips would be: Dont bother if its windy, especially onshore wind; Dont forget eye protection/ sunglasses for fly fishing (seriously, google the photos….); and look for ‘rough ground’ to fish over – Bass hunt in rockpools, especially on an incoming tide. You cant cast anything like as far as normal sea fishing, so dont try – fish in shallow water over rocks, as this is the best trick of fly fishing (you dont get snagged as much on weed/ rocks as other styles of fishing). Big bass will hunt in shallow water, less than a metre deep looking for crabs, prawns, small fish etc so thats your best shot.

Hope you get some dinner – there is a minimum size for taking bass, to ensure they have had a chance to breed (40 cms i think) so maybe watch out for that if you get a tiddler!

SC Butcher owner, since August last year.

I have ridden Swinley quite a few times over the years on different bikes, including the Butcher. Its also been to the Alps twice (DH one holiday, XC the other) and done quite a few Wales trips.

Its the RP23 version with the shock tuned by TF, I was originally running Fox 36 160mm Floats on the front, now running Marzocchi 55RC3’s, again 160mm forks. KS dropper post, short stem and single ring, so mine is on the more ‘fun’ side of the build options.

Got to say I love it. The angles and sizing of the frame are just bang on for me (its an XL, im 6’2″, they generally come up a bit small) and the back end just gets on with its job nicely. It is a really fun ride but likes a little bit of agression thrown at it and its hugely confidence and speed inspiring. Paint and decals holding up well so far.

On the downside, the rear axle/ dropout would benefit from having a bolt-through option or wider spacing than 135mm for this type of bike, a standard ‘open’ dropout seems a little simplistic compared to other manufacturers options.

All told, i would recommend it, but it does seem to work well as an agressive all mountain bike, not sure a lighter build with smaller forks would be as satisfying?

Good luck, its a nice list of bikes to choose from so i’m pretty sure you will be happy whatever!

So, what would a ‘perfect magazine’ look like? I don’t actually know, but as a starting point it should:

1) Make me want to go and ride my current bike, not just buy a new one.

2) Broaden my biking life by introducing ideas/ technology/ riding locations that i wouldnt get in my own riding group.

3) Help me to feel part of mountain biking, through honest industry opinion (a la blame the dog), opinion pieces (which make me feel better about my own rants)and just that good old community feel.

I actually think ST is doing pretty well, but it won’t upset me if it trys new things!

Is there a particular gear ratio it seems to happen in, or maybe more on one chainring than others?

You mentioned it happens when you climb, so i’m guessing smaller chainrings/ bigger cogs on the cassette? Most of my problems like this have come from the chainline being a bit out, might be worth exploring?

I’m another ST and ‘Dirt’ reader. Probably says more about the type of riding i aspire to than the quality though. MBR is the best for price comparison ads from major retailers……

I thought Benji’s last article was great and i would love more of that opinion style, whether i agree or not. Guess it was a real ‘marmite’ one!