I put a sales bin Race Face n/w ring on middle of an old shimano 3x crankset, with Microshift AdventX for the rest. Cheap and all works perfectly, I’d get Microshift again

I put Microshift AdventX 11-48 cassette on my old hardtail, which I’d previously bodged from 3×9 to 2×9 22-36 (still on original Shimano triple crankset).

Very happy with the Microshift stuff 10 gears and the range from 11-48 is plenty.

64kg, 5’7″ 29″ waist, wedge shape here

Rapha ProTeam long sleeved mesh base layer fits perfectly

Could be worth having a look at clothing aimed at climbers as well; some of it can be generic and boxy but the better brands do technical stuff designed specifically for folk who are inverted triangle wedge shaped. The tops don’t have drooped rears but are usually plenty long in the body so they don’t lift out of harness when stretching arms overhead. Apart from that Rapha top I mentioned I pretty much always use old climbing tops on the bike and they’re all great.

“Thanks, two more Hillbilly Trail T9 ordered – amazing front tyre at any price, even better for the money, even better with a BOGOF!”

Yeah, having been so impressed with it I thought I’d get another at bargain price of £40, so couldn’t believe it when I found them at £27 each. Slightly puzzled as to why Specialized are doing thus, makes me wonder if planning to bin 27.5 front wheels/tyres completely. I hope not.

Thumbs up from me for Specialized.

No concerns here about mixing brands so 2.4 Hillbilly Grid Trail  T9 front and DHR2 2.3 rear (MaxTerra Exo at the moment, equally happy with dual compound).

Hillbilly probably OTT for your use (I got it for this…https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/winter-front-tyre-25mm-rim-calderdale/), but I’ve been really happy with it; works a treat in the grot, has been fine as things have dried out and has also worn really well. I’ve just bought two more of the same for £54 delivered from Specialized website with view to just running the same tyre year round.

I had older versions of the butcher and purgatory years ago and they weren’t anywhere near as good, but I’d say the new Hillbilly is easily equal in quality to the Maxxis I’ve tried.

At RRP I’d give the Butcher and Eliminator a go (T7 if you’re not fussed about max grip in winter). If they’ve still got the BOGOF deal on I’d get them ordered ASAP!

Edit…  if price not a concern or you’re unsure about Specialized then 2x DHR2 also a good option, I’ve liked 2.3 both ends (MaxTerra front, dual compound rear) for all my riding except steep slop; haven’t tried the 2.4s, apoarently they have bigger grippier tread but slower

Looks like you’re pointing the wrong way there; that’s better as a climb, unless you take a cheeky right when heading down!

Edit:

Commuting to Leeds or Manchester BY CAR would be a time-wasting nightmare

Another vote for Hebden Bridge / Upper Calder Valley.

Following up on some of the earlier comments…

There is fantastic riding straight out the door if you’re fit and keen, but it’s a crap area for friendly, easy family riding with young children or unfit partners. If you’re not fit you’ll need to go elsewhere, get an ebike or be happy to walk and push at times (no hardship with the nice views round here). I’ll stick my bike on the roof if we’re going away somewhere, but 99.9% of my riding is from home. Mid-week riding is better than weekends if you can do it, quieter and fewer issues with other trail users (there’s a fair bit of trail conflict round here, the area’s become a victim of its own success with too many dicks about on mountain bikes).

Job opportunities very dependent on your line of work, but loads of commuters use the rail links to Leeds and Manchester. Commuting to Leeds or Manchester would be a time-wasting nightmare, friends have tried it but they gave up and moved elsewhere.

Culture wise there’s more going on here than you’ll find in most small towns, and the big cities aren’t far away (about half hour or forty minutes on train to centre of Manchester, Leeds a little bit more). Hebden, Tod, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd all got different character (and house prices). If you don’t know the area then worth a few visits, or renting until you find what you like best. Personally I wouldn’t want to live right in Hebden itself, but it’s a great spot to have right on the doorstep.

The Rjukan / valley fever factor is definitely something to consider. If at all possible you want to avoid living on the dark (south) side of the valley unless you’re high up, the valley bottom where it’s narrow is gloomy and depressing. If your job / commute allows and you can actually find a suitable property available, then I’d go for one of the hilltop villages where you’ll get hours of extra daylight every day, especially in the winter. The flood risk is usually a lower up the hill as well.

The ice in the valley certainly isn’t as good or reliable as the riding, but when conditions are right there’s some good climbing to be had round here!

Home

Great one in Halifax, been using them for years

Another vote for RRP Proguard Max.

Haven’t tried it on 29er, but on 27.5 it’s way more effective than their standard guard or others I’ve tried. I very rarely bother with riding glasses now, certainly don’t need them for protection from mud.

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Damn… that’s even better, I could have lived with the Volvo logo no problem.  Ah well, still got a good deal</p>

That’s great, thanks Kimbers

Any comments on how the new pistons hold up over time either in new brakes or retro fitted as replacements for the phenolic ones in older brakes?

I’ve seen the comments in this thread about how easy they are to push in, and Hope say they should need much less maintenance, but it’d be good to hear from someone who’s riding with them in grotty conditions regularly and doesn’t use an air line to dry their bike after every ride. There’s a lot I like about my tech 3 E4’s but I do get fed up of the sticky pistons on them. I’ve fully stripped and rebuilt the calipers a couple of times, but they rarely go more than a couple of grotty rides without needing tweaking again. Would the new pistons help, or are they just going to rust and stick like the old ones if not dried properly every time the bike goes away?

It felt heavier than expected when I pulled it from the box and the scales were already out from making pizza dough (classic Singletrack answer…)

The differences in rubber compounds is a funny one; as a climber I was much more on top of it but on the bike I just assumed I wasn’t riding anything hard enough to warrant mega sticky rubber that I thought would wear badly. Anyway, if I’m light enough on tyres to run a soft tyre up front without it wearing too quickly I’ll probably just leave it on there.

Crikey, can’t believe it’s been 3 months since I started this thread.

Big belated thanks to all you replied, the real world feedback on comments on tyre/rim sizes was much appreciated.

I ended up getting a new Hillbilly T9 Grid Trail 2.4 for a bargain £40 direct from Specialised (with introductory offer of fiver off). The size and shape on the 25mm rim is absolutely spot on. Carcass size seems only fractionally bigger than the DHR2 2.3 I had on, I don’t have calipers to measure, but with the lugs it’s way bigger. Great to ride; as expected the grip is a big step up from the DHR2 2.3 Exo MaxTerra, and better damped as well. Don’t know how it compares with heavier / grippier Maxxis/Schwalbe options as haven’t ridden them. Once or twice I started to wonder if it wasn’t clearing particularly well, but then I looked at the 2.3 Shorty I’d moved to the back, saw that was clogged as well, so put it down to a combination of vile conditions and me not being good enough to ride fast enough to keep any tyre clear.
I’m not hard or heavy on tyres but roughly thirty hours of Hebden winter has barely done anything to them. Any increase in rolling resistance on the front is not enough for me to worry about so assuming it continues to wear okay I’ll probably just leave it on the front all year round (based on thread comments above I had intended to keep an eye open for sales if 2.4 DHR2 or Mary but now I don’t think I’ll bother). Only slight disappointment worth mentioning is that the tyre is definitely heavier than advertised. My kitchen scales put the brand new 27.5 Hillbilly 2.4 GridTrail at about 1080g, which is noticably more than claimed, even allowing for variation between scales. Has anyone else checked the weights? The only reviews I’ve seen only include claimed weights.

Thanks again all for the quick and good advice

https://www.bearingprotools.com/

Got various pullers and presses c/w spinny handles for hope hubs/freehub and a race face 30mm bb, they all work great. For pivot bearings I use orange’s tool which is also great.

If you don’t see exactly what you need on the bearingpro website send him an email; he’s really helpful and happy to mix and match.

It was good in woods this morning, drier than Friday. If BBC and Met Office forecasts for next few days aren’t too far out you should be fine.

Surprisingly dry in places but other bits wet and big churned up puddles. My bike was absolutely filthy after ride over the pike and playing in the woods on friday, winter tyres going on this week.

Which dhr2 are using nickc? I’ve not tried bigger than 2.3 due to 25mm rim but I believe the blocks are bigger and more spaced on 2.4?

Interesting comment on trails on hebden woods being ex industrial land; not something I’d ever considered really, they just seem like nice woods to me and a lot of folk – rightly or wrongly – don’t like the impact we have on them

Done. Would be interesting to meet up and discuss further, will try message you directly.

What happened to the original frame?
Did you have one that cracked or are you doing a new build / replacing frame from another bike?

Most grommets on my Four went in with a bit of grease, but the brake hose chainstay exit grommet was impossible.

Have they improved the internal dropper routing yet, or is that still a disaster requiring bb removal, small fingers and endless swearing?

Thursday was lovely, icicles and cold waterfall shower a nice bonus whilst slowed down to spot best line out of the tunnel. Hadn’t been down that way for a while, surprised out it how easily it goes now given the increased wear it’s had of late.

Good effort anyway Matt, must have been cold and blowy up there this morning, glad it worked out well

There’s sunshine and blue sky if you look hard enough

@martinhutch
Bits of it do!

We’ve had some beautiful sunrise skies over last week or two; properly dark at 7, nice dark blues and vivid pink starting around 7.30, properly light by 8.

Unfortunately if you’re not local or staying locally then you’re going to be out of bed at stupid o’clock to see sunrise up there.

Cloud had lifted enough for me to see the pike when I saw your post about 7.45 this morning. Conditions up there were vile around 9.30, visibility fine with glasses on but couldn’t even stay on the bike side on to the wind, abandoned plan to head off the front and got blown back towards the col instead.

@ta11pau1
I’m curious about why you say you’d normally need a new one after trimming the hose? I recently butchered an internally routed hope back brake hose whilst stripping my bike right back to the frame, re-used the olive etc with a short cut off piece of hose just to pop the inboard pistons out for a caliper service / seal replacement, then re-used it again after rebuilding the bike with new hose. Also re-used the olive etc after caliper service and hose replacement on the front brake. Both brakes bled okay and seem fine.

I replaced Hope E4 brake hoses recently, just re-used the original olives etc, and all fine.

Not done much Peak limestone but Scoop Wall, Stoney or something at High Tor?

On grit no idea, far too many to choose from.

Meant to reply before trailrat, but in case you’re not sorted yet

Vogue tri wall; I’d planned to get from Nisbets but found them cheaper at Catering Appliance in Kendal, bought mine online and arrived next day. Got one of the saucepan lids through Amazon though as they were about the only place in country that had them all in stock.

Using on new induction hob and they’re great; heat/cool quickly and evenly, solid but not stupid heavy and they look good. Only possible downside is made in china if that’s something that bothers you.

Edit:
The vogue standard stainless pans are good as well

I’ve just replaced the bushings in pair of Nukeproof Horizon Pros and pair of Superstar Nano X’s. Used IGUS bushings from Superstar for both. Can’t comment on durability but all good so far.
Bearings and seals were all fine so not replaced. I needed the tap in the Nukeproof pedal service tool (reduced on CRC at the moment) to get old bushings out.

Neither, split the cost difference and get this one instead

Signature Santoku Knife 17cm

Brilliant knife; had mine for about eight years now, use it loads of times every day, expect to enjoy using it for decades to come.

More generally, Robert Welch probably best value option if you want something functional and attractive. If looks not an issue then Victorinox, Dicks etc with plastic handles are cheaper. Ideally get to a shop and handle as many different knives as possible; it’s pointless going cheap if doesn’t feel right and you won’t enjoy using it. And similarly it’s pointless paying for Global, Whusthof etc if there’s an equally good but cheaper option you like.

Some good info on here:

https://www.harriethead.co.uk

There’s a link there to free document about pros and cons of different platforms (Squarespace recommended).

Limers Gate heading NW from trig and dropping down to Keighley Road, or Limers Gate SE from trig towards Luddenden before heading back up over Dimmin Dale?
I’m up there quite a lot, will keep an eye out for it.

Mine cracked last year, near the bottom of the down-tube.

Orange replaced the front triangle and resprayed the whole frame, my choice of colour. The local bike shop and I split the bill for stripping and rebuilding as Orange wouldn’t do it themselves and wouldn’t pay anything for workshop time (apparently some other manufacturers do compensate shops for this).

The idea of low maintenance single pivot was definitely part of the appeal of the bike as I ride Calderdale all year round in all conditions, but I guess I could have had a lot of pivot bearings changed on other bikes in the same time I was without the four whilst Orange replaced the frame (over a month).

Otherwise it’s been a great bike; I have a lot of fun riding it, like the look of it and it’s nice to support local industry / have a bike made in my home town.

So not an Orange die-hard, but very happy with my Four and I don’t really think about the frame issue. If it happened again I’m sure I’d think differently but for now at least it’s not something I worry about.

I’d say get one if you can find one for sensible money.