The new frame looks like it is a Carbonda CFR-696, which is no bad thing, same as a Vitus Substance and several others.

You can buy direct from Carbonda for about $500US. Custom paint is about $85, decals can be expensive, I was quoted $120 for 5 decals (3 designs).

I was about to buy a 505, had the paint and decals all designed, but I’m now wary of buying without a test ride. I recently did back-to-back test rides on an Opus Horizon (probably an open-mould China frame) and a Giant Revolt Advanced. The Opus was so stiff it rattled my fillings loose, the Giant was super plush. I’ll probably get a Revolt in the new year.

have we had these 3D effect ones yet?

I’ve got one of those – a friend tried to start a bike company a few years back with OTS asian frames. They used to sell them to a few smaller manufacturers round the world, a coupe of Italian companies from what I remember.

It’s not bad, but alignment is poor so it eats DU bushings and has started to creak pretty badly in the linkage bearings now. It’s languishing in the shed since the invention of 29ers….
200×57 shock from memory. Don’t use a high volume can.

regarding importing from US to Canada – no duty on bike parts, only complete bikes. As a canadian you have an $800 duty free limit after 48 hours out of the county. As a Brit, Canada won’t care as the bike is not staying in the country, you are exporting to the UK.

I’m glad that moaning about house prices isn’t restricted to those of us in Vancouver.
Here on the west side of Vancouver a million quid (about $1.8M CAD) will get you a 4 bed house on a 33x125ft standard city lot:
vancouver west side house

According to the news last week average house prices are about 10.4X average salaries in Vancouver…second only to Hong Kong.

Think we’ll be moving out of the city soon, tired of living in a 700sqft shoebox.

Oh you lucky people! No diesels over here in Canada – just picked up a 2002 T4 camper last weekend with the 201hp VR6. Got 23mpg on a steady highway-only drive home. :cry:

Next time maybe I’ll import a Tdi from Europe.

My background is similar to yours – I did an M.Eng at Cambridge (manufacturing engineering which is pretty general) and graduated in ’98. Joined GKN’s graduate scheme out of college and did that for 2 years, moving around different bits of the company, then about 2 more years in one job with them doing project engineering and project management.
Left in early ’03 and emigrated to canada. Kind of fell into more of a product design role here, mostly in LED lighting but also doing some backcountry ski gear and those HUD goggles you may have seen (Recon instruments). I’m now lead product dev. engineer (basically run the mechanical engineering dept) at a small LED lighting startup. I have actively avoided getting stuck in a purely management role and still manage to spend half my time or more designing stuff.
Anyway, my recommendation would be to start with RR. Even if it turns out to be not what you want long term it is really good experience, will probably expose you to several different areas so you’ll see what you like and what you don’t. With most of those schemes there is no obligation to stay. RR is a big company, you may well find a niche you fit into – there will be design jobs in there where you get to design the whole product, without it just being one tiny item – think assembly equipment, test rigs etc etc.
Meanwhile, you’ll make loads of contacts at their suppliers and contractors, which could lead to a job.
Just my 2 cents.
Oh and remember, a job is just something that happens between the weekends, there’s more to life!

I also had a great experience at Bike Newport. Replaced my GF’s bottom bracket while we waited, and she got new shoes from the bargain bin for $25!
The oregon coast route was so well set up for biking. I love the fact that all the state campgrounds have a “never full” policy for bikers.
Definately my favourite tour so far.

Paul

It is many years since I was there, but we used to stay in Kaysersberg on our family holidays. I remember up in Ribeauville there is a campground on the edge of town, and in the forest behind it there was a whole network of signposted singletrack trails, nothing too technical at that time.

Have fun, I love the area, would love to go back.

PAul

Brassneck is right about the term “engineer” being protected in Canada, but I think it varies by province. Here is BC it is protected by APEGBC, the body who manage P.Eng, the equivalent of a charter in the UK(I’ve had both). However, it isn’t really enforced – I am the only “real” engineer in my department of about 10 people!

I am curious about this idea of the brakes being held off my the air, and how cars could roll away if the air was shut off.

I have a 2012 Alu that i built from a frame with Fox 34’s:
http://paulpalf.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/20120722-new-toys/
Best bike I ever owned. I live in Vancouver and use it for everything from epic XC in the alpine to riding the shore.
Only gripe is the bottom bracket is too low, keep smacking the pedals on rocks and roots. Maybe if I did it again I would go for a non-evo and fit an angleset.

I’ve been running these for a couple of seasons with no problems at all.
Those are short (170s) if you want that, and compact.
Probably cheap as they are old school BB (mega exo) combined with the short and compact makes them the least popular combo.

Paul

I’m with markgrayfish on this. Been in Vancouver coming on 10 years now, and hardly ever ride the park these days.
#1 it is too expensive
#2 it is a matter of time before you get seriously hurt
#3 Whistler is full of ass-hats.

This year I sold my big DH bike. I ride my 29er on the shore, and much prefer the local pedal-up trails to the lift-served. If I do fancy some lift-served, I would rather go to silverstar, pay less, have the place practically to myself, and not have to deal with the attitude. I do my best never to ski whistler in the winter for much the same reasons.

A word of warning to all of you looking to emigrate here….compare your salary expectations to the house prices before you make any decisions, this is not a cheap place to live!

Paul

’90 Eldridge Grade, in “gate” size, must have been about 22″, looked like this:

That was my 4th MTB, after destroying a ’90 Lava Dome like this:

an ’88 Hardrock:

and starting out on a POS Falcon Sierra:

We used to have a fake Oscar-type award with “loudest phone-talker” inscribed on it. Usually got the message across.

Paul

This happened in Vancouver two years ago, there were all these dire warnings then traffic was quieter than usual most places I went during the games. A lot of people were either avoiding the busy areas/times, or had taken vacation so rush hour traffic was much reduced.

Got one for my commuter, and love it. Not light though, but disc brakes on a road bike are the mutts nutts, at least round here where it rains a lot (Vancouver).

That is a 60cm, I’m 6’2″. Running a 120mm stem, fleegle pro bars and a Velo Orange long setback seatpost to get the reach right (I would have a 58 with drop bars).

Thanks Bearback.
The Shinobi is too heavy for what i want, and yes, too Norco. Those guys really need a new industrial designer. I’ll check out the scott.
I rented the Stumpjumper down at Galbraith yesterday and rode it pretty hard (for me), including some jumpier lines like unemployment line, and was amazed how well it descended. I also found myself less likely to go over the bars with the wagon wheels – i rolled through a double a bit too fast and got away with it where I might have gone over the front on my 26er.
A friend just got a (stock) Tallboy LT with a 34 on it that came in just over 27lbs, very impressive, but $2800 for the frame is stupid money.
I think I will go for a fox 32 120 with a QR15 axle, save 1/2 a pound over the 34. Still leaning towards the Titus just for the value for money, but keeping an eye on the classifieds.

Brant – the carbon rockstar/racerX is going to use the back end off the Rockstar, right?
El Guapo is a bit too much bike for this build, looking to go lighter.

Spearfish is on my radar, but what i really want is half way between the spearfish and the horsethief…

@stevewhyte
Yes, grouse is one of the main centres of shore riding, the front side is Fromme, where a lot of the classic trails are. The side with the Gondola doesn’t have any riding.
Vancouver is good and bad – interesting city, amazing access to the mountains, 2nd most expensive city in the world to live in after Hong Kong. I have a good job and live in a shoe box, there is zero chance of me ever owning a real house here unless I win the lottery.

jota180, how’d you like your Rockstar? V1 or V2? sounds like you no longer have it?

try the mtbr.com classifieds, and most major cities have craigslist, but watch out for stolen stuff.
You should be fine bringing it back into the UK, definately if you leave with a bike too, just make sure it looks used when you come back!

Can’t see how that Attack can work with both. I just bought some and it works with Shimano. You would have to change the cable pull to make it work with SRAM and I don’t know how you would do that.
Other gripshifts (X9,X0) only with with SRAM mechs, but watch out the new 10 speed SRAM mechs (anything marked Exact Actuation) are slightly different and don’t work with 9 speed shifters (been there, done that).

When I tour with my girlfriend I have a bar bag and a trailer, my girlfriend has a bar bag and rear panniers. We each carry our own clothes and sleeping bags%pads, I carry the tent, stove and a larger portion of the food in the trailer. We have found that this nicely evens up our paces on the bikes, making it more comfortable to ride together with neither of us getting more tired than the other.
To get around the flying problems I have a bob-esque trailer from TW-bents that folds flat. I can then put it alongside the frame in a nylon bike bag.

Paul

Unfortunately the matching Brooks saddle bags are $90..and that crappy MEC one was $10. Maybe I’d better get an early letter in to Santa…

There are a couple of widgets out there for charging a phone or GPS:
e-werk
pedalpower+
The Plug[/url]

Thank for all the info.
In the end i got a B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo Plus R Senso! They really need to work on their model names.
The main reasons for the choice being that it was only 60% the cost of the E3 or edelux, and came in a nice fake chrome that matched my new build!
First ride today and I was pretty impressed with the output. Only issue is that with it on the fork crown mount some of the R-nearfield light is wasted as it is blocked by the wheel&mudguard.

@robdeanhove – I would be interested in buying just PCB’s, either bare or populated if you get around to making some, as I have a solidworks license and a friend with a CNC shop, so I would like to do my own housings. I would love a dynamo with a flashing mode – I still think that is more visible to cars than a solid light.

Paul

Is the pic not showing up for some of you? It was embedded in the post and it shows for me.
Try here:
Blog link[/url]
And yes, the headtube is absolutely massive!

And she’s finished!
Couldn’t have asked for a better morning for a maiden voyage and extended hour-and-a-half commute:

Thanks, but not the answer I wanted to hear!

Thanks all, I’ll probably save the $$ and buy the lumotec then.
Do you guys have the “R” optics?
Intrigued to do some home brew too. I’m a mechanical engineer and work in LED lighting, so if i can figure out the electrical part I ought to be able to cobble together something brighter. I would really like a flashing mode too – I think on roads with streetlights where I don’t need to see the road too much it makes you more visible to drivers.

Paul

Hi all,
The alfine box is the generator hub. Drivetrain will be a regular 2×9, gripshift with shimano derailleurs. Only 9speed shifter I could find is a long one that I will cut down to normal gripshift length.

Yes, I did say reflective rims – They are Velocity Dyads with the “Halo” coating. Bit disappointed so far though, they don’t seem very reflective, especially compared to the strips on the tyres which really shine. Tyres are Rubena’s marathon rip-offs, really cheap here from MEC.

Paul

Yup, I was picky about the wheels (reflective rims, dyno front hub) so built them myself. Got them finished on sunday actually, so I have now have a “rolling chassis”…

Norona plugs sponsor’s product shocker. Yawn.

I wonder if there is a Norona filter for firefox, I could certainly use one.

Thanks Tang, but I’m in Canada, probably not worth posting. Maybe I’ll try fleegle’s from on-one USA for now.

Stripping isn’t a bad idea. I just wonder if you strip off the ano whether the bare metal won’t tarnish? I know people do it to frames but I’ve never seen one in person.

Paul

Thanks for all the replies. The time difference means I just go to bed and wake up to a full day’s worth of responses!
To answer some of the points:
I agree that the difference between drop and flat bar frames is 20-30mm in the effective top tube. I probably have another 10mm in saddle travel available, or I could get a 40mm offset velo-orange post, but that would put me far back WRT to the pedals.
Fargo geometry is pretty similar, still a 600TT in the XL frame.
Looked at the Ogre, which would be good except it is has been beaten with the ugly stick. Perhaps a paint job would help, but the Vaya is a much more elegant frame.
An inbred 29er might work, but the rear disc is on the seatstay so rack mounting can sometimes be tricky.
Mcmoonter – the one on sale at Black mountain is a 55cm. I’m in BC, so I can bring a frame in from the states with tax but no duty, but there is duty on complete bikes, unless I can smuggle it through. The only place I have found an orange frame in stock is Portland – Salsa is out and the 2012’s are pre-sold.

So, going to talk to the friendlier shop again today.
Thanks all!
Paul

turns out that max pressure thing only applies to tubeless, you can go higher with tubes.

Watch out if you go stan’s – from what i understand you can’t run road bike pressures in them, they are only rated to about 50psi with a 1″ wide tyre because they may blow off with the less aggressive bead.

I think that the first thing you need to do is check a map.
Whitehorse is about 2400km from Whistler, and would take 2-3 days to drive there! I’d just fly Air North and save yourself the bother. You can send your bike ahead as cargo and they will keep it at the airport for you.

That said, you should go, if only because Whitehorse is a super fun place!
If you can’t make this race, go for the 24 hours of light in the summer, the most fun 24hrs race in Canada for sure.

Paul