Best for what? You could choose from a 4 Cross or Slopestyle frame or a lightweight XC thing and have two completely different experiences.

I wouldn’t worry about weight too much, it’s not the weight of the bike that is slowing you down. With your forks wound down to 115mm it should climb reasonably well for what it is.

Draggy tyres are usually noticeably worse on tarmac, so maybe there won’t be a massive benefit to climbing off-road, but I haven’t ridden either of those tyres.

It sounds like you know how to pedal it so the rear end isn’t sapping all your energy, sounds a lot like my SC Bullit to be honest, you can’t stand to climb that at all!

What’s your fitness like? That’s probably the best way to improve the way the bike climbs.

I’ve got a hardcore hardtail – 456 Carbon with Lyriks – and while it is quick, it’s not on the same page as the Bullit for DH type stuff. The thing with the 456 is that if you hit something a bit too hard with the front wheel, you’ll get away with only being slightly out of control, until the rear wheel then hits it and you end up in trouble. With the full-sus the rear end will behave much more like the front, so if you can get the front through it, generally the rear will play the same game without trying to kill you.

Both are really good and fun to ride, but the difference between front and rear wheel performance on the 456 is a big consideration with how fast you get through stuff, there’s much less room for error I guess is my point.

I use a Santa Cruz Bullit for general trail duties, it’s built pretty tough and with U-Turn Lyriks it still climbs pretty well. Weights about 37lbs or so. I find it only really struggles if you try to hustle it on flat ground, apart from that it’s quick enough. I paid £400 for my frame, with a set of 888s that can swap on in 5 minutes for DH tracks, and a few other bits.

If money was no object I’d probably look at the Trek Scratch or the new Cannondale Claymore for what you’re after as they’re both very light and the Claymore is very adjustable for getting up the hills in the first place.

“the run down to Force Crag mine is nothing special.”

I really like that one! The top section is one Scandinavian flick after another, then it gets pretty fast and rocky. I also like the run off Grisedale Pike to get there.

There’s a few listed on this thread I need to try out though.

mimi123 – Member

Generally speaking women don’t want to ride bikes. Who are we to try to tell them they’re wrong?

What makes you say this? Bit of a sweeping generalisation there – I actually know more men who would rather not bike than women!

Bit of a generalisation? You mean like I said, the clue was “Generally speaking”.

It’s true and it’s true of most other sports too. Look another generalisation. What’s wrong with generalisations anyway? The question can’t be answered any other way.

Do you really believe that the reason women do less sport, including mountain biking, than men is for any other reason than that they generally are less inclined towards sport?

Why do you think sport exists and why do you think both sexes should be equally interested in it?

Audi A4 08 onwards wiring kit:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/7-Pin-Specific-towbar-Wiring-Fits-Audi-A4-Avant-08-/230498939631?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35aaceb2ef

If it’s a car in warranty then it’s probably Can Bus, so hacking about with the wiring is only going to break things. You could of course check to see whether you simply have to buy the right connector and plug it into the tow bar socket on one of the ECUs?

Even if your car isn’t Can Bus cutting into a few wires might invalidate the warranty on those wires, the rear lights at a push, but if the engine explodes they’re still going to sort it out! You can only invalidate the warranty if what you’ve done to the car has caused the problem in question.

Seriously, just look on ebay, there’ll be a kit on there for your car that won’t void your warranty.

Generally speaking women don’t want to ride bikes. Who are we to try to tell them they’re wrong?

@Chainline – Ok, I asked about your bike because if you were on some daft skinny tired xc hardtail it would be fairly taxing in any conditions. You should be able to smash down it on that bike in the dry though. I didn’t in the dry, so not sure how different it would be in the wet. You don’t have a lot of line choice so you’d struggle to correct any slides without falling off perhaps. There were a few tight corners that required an endo turn, overall it was fun, but probably not really worth the purgatory that was Langstrath and up to the top of Stakes Pass.

You can’t ride the top section of that line off Grisedale Pike, the bottom section all the way to Braithwaite is good, but it’s very fast and not massively challenging, so while you will enjoy yourself, you’ll spend the climb back up to Whinlatter wondering if perhaps you should have come off a different way that would take longer and tax you a bit more.

That line on Grisedale has two very distinct sections in either direction, you can ride up and down it to a point then you’re straight into carrying your bike.

If you mean the obvious line down to Whinlatter, straight down the wall, again it’s good, but steep and fast and not enough of a challenge. Will get your brakes nice and toasty though!

You saw a line off Fleetwith from Whiteless? Are you sure you just didn’t see a spectacular way to kill yourself? It’s pretty much steep as **** all the way down from that angle isn’t it?

I’ve got two weeks off at Christmas and will be back in the Lakes; if you could arrange for there to be no snow/ice/rain I’ll be up for doing some riding with you chaps please.

Did Stake Pass into Langdale a while ago and really enjoyed it, it’s a little different in that it’s all pitched stone, but it was good. I did think it was going to be rubbish, but it turned out to be really good. What bike were you on? I wouldn’t want to do it on any sort of xc weapon!

Come off Skiddaw down either Carl Side or Ullock Pike. Causey Pike is **** ace too. Barrow is really good for an hour blast and the run off Grisedale Pike down Hobcarton End is brilliant too.

A great ride would be from Whinlatter, do the South Loop climb, turn right at the top and get onto Grisedale Pike, then head down to your left to Coledale Hause, then left and down into Coledale. This is all mega-tech and some great switch backs. Then head up the road towards Newlands Pass, left up the track between Barrow and Causey Pike, onto Causey and back down to the road. Back up that track, but right onto Barrow and back into Braithwaite.

At this point, hopefully you’ve brought a mate and they’ve left their car in Braithwaite to get you back up the hill to Whinlatter, if not, you might as well head up grisedale Pike again and do Hobcarton End.

You can thank me later!

http://www.meetup.com/manchestermountainbikers

I’d do it yourself, there’ll be electric kits on ebay that will sort you out even if it’s Can Bus? I got one for about £20. You can get the tow-bar kits on Ebay too, abut £80, not difficult to fit at all.

After being told by a friend that I had no chance, I got a spare crown race for a Crank Brothers headset from 2Pure within two days. No charge either!

Standover clearance is over-rated anyway, who cares what your bike is like when you’re not riding it?

If you’re considering the Heckler, then get the Butcher I say. But get the Nickel.

Lyrik U-Turns transform my Bullit going uphills, without taking much of the edge of the descents, compared to 888s. Makes a perfect bike for the Dark Peak, where there’s hardly any flat riding to catch it out. What’s not to like?

Yes, the main disadvantage is that they don’t fit your frame unless your frame is supposed to use them, different internal diameters.

I’m using a Cane Creek Cobalt headset which is 21mm, and has run all year no problems.

I’ve been using the DH version of the Crank Brothers one since January, in all kinds of shite, it’s been brilliant. The difference between buying a new set of forks and not.

Not sure what the differences between the different versions are as the DH must be the most over-built, but is tiny and weighs ****-all, very simple design, so I suspect they’re all the same just different colours.

I did a lot of research, I don’t think there is a lower stack height one anywhere, unless something has come out recently.

hora – Member
paulrockliffe I don’t see the point of building a carbon hardtail upto 30lb?!!

Oh really?

What if I told you that it was kitted out with relatively light-weight carbon finishing kit and all the weight was in the tyres, forks and brakes?

Why do you think weight is an issue at all? How much do you and all your kit weigh? What percentage of total weight is 4lbs?

If that’s your position than a deliberately heavy carbon hardtail isn’t for you. Carbon isn’t about weight, it’s about strength:weight ratio.

It’s an absolute **** hoot! It’s as fast as a hardtail can be downhill and quick enough uphill.

Why wouldn’t you want a bike like that?

Spacers under the crown race, or chop the lever off?

Jesus, Ken you’ve owned a few ugly bikes! Even your Bullit needs a good sorting out!

2 words; won’t happen.

Anyone familiar with the cycle lane through Windermere (possibly Ambleside)? The road is about 2.5 cycle lane widths in both directions and generally busy. So there is barely half a cars width left between the edge of the cycle lane and the centre line.

So it’s impossible to drive along that road and not drive down the cycle lane as there will be something coming the other way.

SO what’s it for? I assume it’s to ‘raise awareness’ etc, which it probably does, but it’s also fairly inconsistent with the Highway Code on cycle lanes, so teaches drivers bad habits.

Odd bit of road.

Cannondale Jekyll or Claymore are the two new bikes I’m most interested in at the moment. I expect the luddites on here won’t approve of them though.

(Another thread with plenty of luddites)

I think the solid chainring on that bike is because it’s a carbon chain ring.

Can you set it so the gears maintain a constant cadence? Ie the gears are fully automatic?

Perhaps you could programme a map to give you different cadences depending on how hard you’re trying?

I bet the UCI hate all this!

There are loads of trails that I ride that have gentle descents, descents that would be awesome if you didn’t have to pedal like an absolute loon to get up to the sorts of speeds where they become a proper challenge.

There are plenty of rides I do where we don’t do certain bits because it means 5 miles road ride up the valley and the same back.

Usually faster is better. Actually, always faster is better. For me something like this would come down to handling. I nearly said weight, but then realised my bike weighs almost 40lbs anyway. If I couldn’t feel it, then strap as many batteries on as you like!

What’s not to like?

Magura Blood is brake fluid innit?

Lyrik U-Turns, either find some 2010/2009 ones that are 160mm or get the 170s and wind them down.

I've got mine built up with U-Turn Lyriks, it's absolutely epic. Probably about 30lbs all in if you think weight is an important factor. Fast up, fast down, looks the biz, can't go wrong.

Mountain Bike Cumbria! That was an idea I had in 1999, that never came to fruition. The swines!!

Yeah, but I know too many people with Fox Forks that have seized/pissed oil/worn stanchions/cracked drop outs. Half the price and I might consider it, otherwise, no chance! They do look good though.

It looks like the website I found that had U-Turn Totems was a one-off error as no one else lists it as an option.

Any ideas why they wouldn't offer this? I can't be the only one that wants DH levels of travel on a bike that will still go up hill ok and it would be a fairly easy thing to add?

Buuuuuuuuuump?

I had 4 bikes in various states of utter disrepair plus a Bullit that was/is mint.

I sold all the junk on ebay, it was worthless, but sold for enough to fund a new Carbon 456. So I know have two working bikes, though they're sharing a set of wheels at the moment as I haven'g to round to finishing the ones I'm building for the 456.

Every bloke needs a project bike, so I have a Mongoose Transfer for riding round the streets that is being worked on at the moment. It needs a broken bearing removing from the front wheel, disc brake adaptors, a front mech shifter and new bars.

I have a medium spring from a set of 2009 Lyriks, if anyone is looking for cheap spring to enable the conversion, give me a shout. The springs were £50 to buy from the shops when I swaped mine over.

Cheers

scruff – Member
You cannot ride the fun steppy one down from Win Hill which turns into a short alpine style blast as it is a footpath.

Where is that, so I can take your advice onboard?

Thanks

It interesting that on motoring forums people complain about cars tailgating each other on country lanes because it doesn't leave a gap that an overtaking car can pull into.

Yet on a bike forum when the issue of cars over taking bikes is raised no one ever questions whether cyclists should be tailgating each other.

Just a thought.