Nw- those supermoto pics are great. I can find pics of lawnmowers racing but it wouldn't mean I'd want one! :mrgreen:

I would not ride a sv – I see them as a great ladies bike though.

I have not ridden the hemlock but owned the 405- good pedaling platform for on the up's and the rear felt very plush. Quite short on the TT I'm 5 11' and had to ride the large with a 90mm stem which was great for xc stuff but I always felt it didn't have the 'chuckibility' that I wanted hence why I changed it. My bike had a fairly bling build and still weighed 29lbs so I was dissapointed with how much It weighed ( I now have a 2009 five AM built with 36's/ tech m4's / saint etc and it only weighs a lb more) so bear that in mind!

Taka – ride the bike for a bit before you change it! You only had that on one you rode round gisburn with us for a matter of days! That pitch suits the kind of riding you want to do. Keep it!

As it's coming up to winter I wouldn't be spending that kind of money yet.

I'd get a yzf600r thundercat and pay around £1500. Then in April (by then you'll prob know if mb's are for you) look for something different (if you want). You then will of had the experience of a 'big' bike which is comfy/reliable and quick + you prob won't lose any money on it. When I passed my direct access when I was 21 I only paid £400 to insure it – I then moved on to bigger/faster and more exotic bikes as my experience grew.

I wouldn't bother with an enduro style bike IMO as you prob will get bored/frustrated. Good fun as a second bike though!

Id say red.

I tried them on my chameleon to speed up my xc rides, took them of after 1 ride as found them unpredictable on most stuff and bloody scary on damp rock. Plus they didn't feel quicker than the nevegals they were replacing.

I would love to be able to get over and make an apperance. Work & distance stops that through the week though.

I couldnt believe what I was hearing to be honest. I was sat in an office so i couldnt vent my anger over the phone.

Ill be popping over on Saturday though!

409 has internal floodgate control (Allen key) the 426 has the little knob that replaces the need for an Allen key.

Lizard skin swingarm protector – about £10

36 talas in my opinion.

I was going to get a alpine 160 a few months ago but decided on a five am with 36 talas and maxle rear it's got a saint gearing, tech m4's and dt Swiss ex1750 wheels. it's built to handle whatever I throw it's way and only weighs around 31lbs. I have never thought I made the wrong choice

Buzz- I'm going red saying this. But Sarah has just reminded me that the chameleon I built is my seventh this year! :oops:

I know everybody likes what they have. And I really like what I have:
2009 orange 5 am (maxle/36's etc & saint groupset) so 30lbs and it will handle pretty much anything I throw at it.
&
2008 chameleon built with pike uturn airs, oro's and trusty xt groupset.

I have been through 6 bikes since Xmas and feel I've now (finally) got the two bikes I'll be keeping for a few years.

Plus my gf has a ibis mojo which is full x0,xtr and float 140's and only weighs 26lbs (on a recent mtbt trip a friend commented " can't we fill her frame with sand as she makes us all look so slow on the hills!") so she is currently in love again and prob would say she has the perfect bike. Horses for courses eh!

What a load of crap

Just bought the gf one. She loves it and I'm slightly jealous.

Seriously though – 26lbs with 5.5 inch of travel. Plus it's a great looking bike(IMO) which is always a bonus!

The courage of the young guy who lost his legs & one arm is outstanding.

agreed

So so sad. What are we doing sending our young men to this fate.

Cheers guys, I've emailed them so I'll await a response.

I'm just hoping the fact it was a demo won't effect anything!

Recently bought a 2008 frame and built up with uturn air pikes/xt groupset and formula brakes.

I wanted a bike to compliment my 5 (which is a am so built burley) been on my first ride this weekend.

I wanted a bike which could be built lightish ( or lighter than my 5 ) I also wanted it to be versitile. I'm 5 11 and went for a large as I wanted this bike to be more xc orientated. Bear in mind mines a large so not masses of seatpost and I'm running skinny winter tyres.

My thoughts are:

it can be built lightish- mines 27lbs
it looks nice
does not seem high at the front(running hope headset with no spacers) and when I wind down to 110mm climbs brill
handles techy decents well- even though I have a large
looks as though it would handle more than I can give it

but the chainstay/toptube design etc do make it seem fairly harsh at the rear( my previous HT was 853) but I'm going to try and eliviate that with a larger volume tyre & maybe tubeless so I can run lower pressure.

Hope this drawn out/boring opinion helps!

Oh and the 2008 has normal dropouts and a ebb.

Lizard skin protector. Does the job and looks ok.

Slight hijack

cheers for the forks Simon – got the bike built up yesterday aft, rode today & they are perfect. Thanks

who is it with?

Well done tom.

& yes the flappit is closed to motor vehicles.

nice build, like the stealth look!

I think I have one, I changed the wheels on my 5 and needed to change back to qr to sell. If you need one drop a email to my add in profile and it'll remind me to look when I get home.

Here's mine with 2009 36's and maxle rear end. Done llandegla and penmachno this week end and it felt great.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-bike-pics-oh-no-not-another-orange-5-2009-am

Matt, as said before he is really cute! Sarah wants another one now though.

Thanks guys, I havnt paid for the forks yet (the guy ended his eBay auction early for me as well) I feel really guilty. I have not paid yet (luckily) so I'll just have to offer to cover his listing fees for ending the auction.

So from Reading commets above I think I'll need a 200mm min to be safe?

Thanks for all your prompt replys as I was just about to pay!

thanks guys, im at that stage where all im thinking about it which bits to build it up with.

lyons – Thanks for letting me know about the coil pikes as they were going to be the fork of choice.

I have a 2009 5AM and it came with a 90mm so I'd expect all to come with a 90mm.

Where abouts in elland is this stuff?

Don't buy specialized fatboys – great in the dry for speed but as soon as it's slightly damp it all goes a bit wrong! I've had some embarassing accidents when I was running the fatboys!

I own both, I had the mule for 3 yrs and was great. My gf now uses the "mule" and I'm sure she will get many yrs use out it.

I bought the nomad last week from stif for £59. I love it, the hydration pack and bite valve are excellent. All the Pockets inside and outare very usable. And it looks great (in my opinion)

out of the two I would go for the nomad.

2009 AM with fox 36's. Love it.

Very nice

We have just bought a 2005 combo to run along side our car. Our car was getting 24mpg with the bikes on the roof plus I didn't like been in a pub after a ride with bikes on the roof.

Now we get an avg 49 mpg for everyday driving and 55mpg on long runs. It makes it easier when we go away with bikes and the dog.

We have the 1.3cdti version and it's ace for what I bought it for. Drives just like a car which is a bonus. Look around to find a decent one- we bought a ex tv production co's with only 58k an fsh for 2.3k. I was told to avoid ex post office as there is slot of stop start driving.

Cheers guys, didn't want a red bike but i think it looks really good with the white wheels. Pleased I bought it.

Its was out this morning for my local loop, felt great. I now need to get used to the bike making so much noise when going downhill! (I was warned that orange's sound like a box of scrap metal being thrown down some stairs!)