If you do swap, it’s also worth noting that there are two different types of double front mechs, the SLX you’ve pointed out is for a triple minus outer ring, the XT is for a double specific design, neither will work as well on the other system.

If I remember correctly, in 9 speed Shimano only did a double FD in SLX, as they only offered a double specific chainset in SLX – the M665. But in 10 speed there’s double FDs in SLX and XT. So what’s the difference between the 10 speed SLX and XT 2x FDs that makes one a double specific design and not the other?

I use a lizard skins neoprene shock boot, but cut in half as I only want to protect the exposed shaft, not the can body, and that way I get two for the price of one!

However, I do only ride in dry and dusty conditions, I have no idea how it would stand up to wet and muddy.

I did worry that it would have the opposite effect to what I wanted, and would just trap grit and rub it against the shaft (oo err missus!). But, it seems to keep the dust out very effectively. I do wash and dry it and re-lube the shaft every couple of rides tho’, so its not a maintenance free solution. But, there’s no scoring on my shaft after a couple of years use, and the Giant rear shocks are very badly placed for copping sand and grit thrown up from the front wheel.

Yes, double specific mechs have a smaller cage, and aren’t that expensive so are the best option if you’re set on a double.

However, a triple with the limit screw wound in will still work fine (ask yourself – if it shifted well between granny & middle before, why would it be any different if I just don’t shift into the big ring anymore?), but don’t lower it as that will stuff up the shifting, as the shifting ramps & gates will no longer be aligned with where the rings are!

Yes, a triple mech looks silly sticking up there when there’s no big ring, but if that bothers you then see first sentence above…

Sounds like a plan…

Meanwhile, I’ve ordered a new bushing of the right size for my Trance. Yes, I know its only 1mm, but now I know its the wrong size it’ll bug the hell out of me until its changed! 😡

Yeah, that 20.83 doesn’t sound right does it – maybe I put the wrong size in there 😳 (adds ‘change shock bushing’ to list of things to do next weekend!)

Anyway, just measured the new 5 piece bushing that came standard on my 2013 Anthem and it’s 6mm x 21.84mm, so you should be right with that one.

I’ve got the Anthem. It’s a great XC race bike, and really shines on all day enduros and fast flowy trails, but I find myself drifting back to my 26″ Trance for more technical, twisty/turny, jumpy/rocky type trails.

That’s not the fault of the Anthem – its a race bike, and a damn good’un, and not designed to be an all rounder. So, I guess it depends on what you’re going to use it for…

Haven’t tried the Epic so can’t compare.

Yep, that’s the one. My Trance took the 6mm x 20.83mm size (which I don’t notice them offering on that site), but can’t guarantee the Anthem will be the same.

Here’s where I got mine if its any help – New Fox bushing

DT78 – couldn’t notice any difference in feel – the thing just works, but I’ll sure notice if this one lasts longer than the 9 months the original DU bushing lasted 😀

Maestro suspension is known for wearing out that DU bush rather quickly – something to do with rotational force IIRC.

3rd party bearing suppliers like TFT & RWC stepped into the gap and supplied something better suited for the job. However, for the 2013 models Fox (assuming yours is a Fox shock) have caught up with the game and supply a new “five piece flanged bearing” as standard instead of the DU bush. They claim it has 50% less friction and lasts 10x longer (you’ll notice a couple of O rings in the picture, which might have something to do with it!)

One came on my 2013 Anthem just as the DU bush was wearing out on my Trance, so I ordered one for that as well. Only place I could find one at the time was from one of the German online sites, but I think they are more commonly available now. You still need a DU bush removal tool (I picked up one on Ebay for ten quid here) to get the old DU bush out, but the new bearing doesn’t need a tool to fit/remove.

Or you could still go the 3rd party route…

Interesting thread, and solved something I’d been wondering about for a while – what was the point of that 2/3 switch on the new 10 speed shifters, as once you’d wound in the limit screw in the mech it couldn’t shift to the third position anyway. Now I know its because they want to force you to use the 2/3 position rather than the 1/2, but still don’t understand why? Variable pull ratios in a front shifter… hmmmm…

Definitely not Australia; it’s where they store dust.

Don’t worry, we’ve worked out a way of selling our ‘dust’ to the Chinese for $150 a tonne, so we’re set for oooh.. the next fifty years or so 😆

But back to the OP, no definitely not Australia, we’ve got enough eurobums hanging around here already…

“Welcome to Western Australia. The time here is 1983”

😆 That’s probably why I feel right at home here…

Hi Zokes, don’t want to get into an east-west war here – I spent a year travelling round Australia, and it all rocks! The biggest problem is that the distances are so vast that you can’t really take in much of anything in a short holiday. I’d wholeheartedly suggest to anyone to explore as much of Australia as they can – my personal all time favourite is actually the NT – the Kakadu/Katherine/Lichfield triangle – just magical!

However, I think the point here tho’ is that the OP wasn’t asking where to go in Oz for his holidays. Rather he said he’s coming to Perth for a couple of weeks and wanted suggestions of what to do while here. For you to then suggest he gets right back on the plane and heads over east cos there aint much to do and …

the East is a much better place to spend two weeks.

and…

I’d be wanting to see the much better stuff in the east

…is kinda missing the point, and TBH is a bit of an insult to what my adopted state has to offer.

That’s all.

LOL at the guys saying there’s not enough to do in WA for two weeks – I’ve been here five years now and I still haven’t seen half of it, and that’s despite chucking a tent in the car and heading off for weeks at a time every chance I get!

Anyway, maybe the OP just wants to chill with family and friends on beaches and parks for a while. There’s a lot to be said for relaxing on your hols rather than packing in as many sights as possible, and then jumping on plane to the next destination – especially if you’ve got kids in tow!

Trouble is a lot of the best expereinces in WA are a long way from Perth, so most tourists (and an amazing number of the locals) don’t get to see them. Unfortunately it’s actually cheaper and quicker to jump on a plane to Bali than it is to drive to the Kimberley!

Also, I’ve found friends that come thru tend to only allocate four or five days to ‘do’ Perth, which is OK if you just stay around the city and do Rotto, Freo, Mundaring etc. But then they see our pics of Esperance, Ningaloo, or Karajini and are blown away by it and want to go there. So, I have to tell them they are all a two day drive away – in opposite directions!

So, in two weeks you could have a very relaxing time of it in and around Perth itself, with a side trip south to Margaret River, or north to Kalbarri. Or, its enough time to fit in a longer adventure to the south coast around Albany & Esperance taking in the southern forests on the way, or north to Cape Range and Ningaloo, stopping at the Pinnacles, Kalbari and Monkey Mia on the way up.

Still not enough for you – then how about a 700km four wheel drive safari of the Gibbs River Road, a week cruising the hidden inlets of the Kimberley, a live-aboard dive holiday at the Abrolhos Islands, or walk the 135km cape to cape track in the southwest. Take your pick, but if you say there’s not enough to fill two weeks in WA, you’re just not trying hard enough… 😀

Got in late to this one, so most of the touristy bits have been covered, but I can’t believe no-one has mentioned cycling yet – this is a cycling forum isn’t it!

Perth has hundreds of kms of cycle paths skirting the Swan river and the beaches up and down the coastline – not to mention being the start point for the world’s longest continuous off-road cycle trail.

Hire some bikes from About Bike Hire (they even have trailers & tag-alongs for real littleuns) and spend a fantastic day riding and stopping at the beaches, cafes, parks & playgrounds. And Easter is the perfect time for it as its not too hot then, but before the winter rains come in.

Then get yourself up into the hills and hire a decent MTB from Kalamunda Cycles[/url] and hit the Kalamunda Circuit, while the family has a ride of a different kind at Kalamunda Camels[/url]. If you want more off-road experiences, there’s plenty more trails south of Perth, and the WAMBA Website has all the details.

Perth is a great place for cycling, so you’d really be missing out if you didn’t spend at least a couple of days on a bike!

For me… going back to Uni as a “mature” student, and actually being interested in learning something rather than just getting pi$$ed and laid like the first time around.

The oil migration issue, was mainly with the newer spring assemblies, that had the foam ring fitted below the air seal on the piston, these are replaced with scraper/lip seals.

Loco makes a good point here, and its worth reiterating in case anyone missed it.

There was a batch of Fox forks from 2010-2012 which had a design fault. They added a foam ring to the air spring piston to keep the seal lubed and running smoothly. Here’s a pic of the air spring showing the foam ring (yellow) and rubber seal (black)…

However, over time it had an undesireable side-effect of promoting the transfer of oil from the lower fork leg to above the air spring. This had two results – 1. Eventually leaving your lowers in that leg dry, with no lube for the bushings, and 2. Oil being uncompressable, the performance of the air spring was degraded and travel reduced. However, it happened so gradually that it was hard to notice until one day you suddenly realise you are only getting an inch of travel out of a 4 or 5 inch fork.

Fox never really admitted to the problem (I’m guessing American company + lawyers = liability issue), but did quietly tell their service agents to replace the foam ring with a rubber scraper seal anytime one of these forks came in for a service. They were also happy to send out the scraper seal FOC to any DIY maintenance owners who requested it. However, there’s undoubtedly a large number of forks out there still with the problem if they’ve never been professionally serviced, or the owner never noticed the issue. For example, take a look at this thread here

So, if you’re going to pull one of these forks apart yourself, take careful note of how much oil is above and below the air spring (should only be 5cc of blue float fluid above, and the Fox oil volumes table will tell you how much oil should be in the lowers). Then have a look at the air spring itself, and if its got one of those foam rings on it (not to be confused with the foam rings under the dust wiper seals!) then contact Mojo and get them to send you a rubber scraper seal to replace it with under warranty.

22mm socket? 26mm isn’t it?

Yep – 26mm, sorry!

I was a SAHD (Stay At Home Dad) for three years, and it changed me for the good (much less selfish, and firmly put my priorities in order), and I genuinely believe it built the foundation of a much better relationship with my daughter than if I’d been the typical working Dad, but… I also feel its my duty to balance some of the rave reviews the lifestyle is getting on here by pointing out some of the downsides as well…

1. Infants between the ages of 0 and about 18 months are all take – its a selfless task to be a slave to their biological needs with no real appreciation in return except that it’ll all be worth it in the end. It takes a certain kind of personality to not get worn down by that, and remember, women have the hormones on their side, and they still suffer from post natal depression, so what makes us think we’re gonna do any better at it! From 18 months onwards they start to become little people, and the rewards start to flow in the form of smiles, first words, achievements like walking etc, but before that you’d have to be a saint not to get fed up.

2. It’s incredibly isolating. Moreso for house husbands because we don’t have such easy access to the support systems stay at home mums do – like mothers in law, mothers groups, ante natal clinics, or just hanging around in the park with other Mums. Say what you like, but its just weird, and you’ll need to build a group of stay at home dads of your own to hang with. It’s especially bad if you were formally the kind of person who’s social life revolved around ‘the boys’, as they will mostly desert you in your time of need, and you’ll have to find a whole new group of friends who understand the way your life has changed.

3. If you were the kind of person who defined yourself by career achievements, it will be particularly hard, and the poeple you most crave respect from (other ambitious career types) will make you feel worthless. Likewise, it can also be difficult to break back into work after an extended break which no employer values, and most still eye with suspicion – it doesn’t look good on yer CV!

Sorry if it all sounds rather negative, but you need to know what you’re letting yourself in for. Having said that, given the same circumstances (me – natural career rut, wifey – regular job with all the benefits from a big company) I would still make the same choice, and I haven’t regretted it, and I do have a wonderful relationship with my daughter who is now eight!

As we’ve established they’re actually the open bath model, then yes its a pretty simple procedure. Just get yourself a 32mm dust wiper seal kit, a bottle of Fox 10wt green oil, and have the following tools handy:- 22mm socket, 10mm socket, seal pick, plastic faced hammer.

Then, follow the instructions here

Wow, thanks guys! That’s service for you…

So it’s safe to surf again without risk of awakening my Oedipus complex!

Actually feel slightly guilty for making such a fuss and you losing revenue over it 😳 … but I’m sure that feeling wont last for too long 😀

Oooo! I know this one…

I’ve got exactly that F125 on my Trance, and had occasion to talk to Fox Tech in the US to get a spare part for it. I suggested it may be just the 130 with a spacer, but after checking the serial no they said no, it was a custom size made for Giant. The internals however, are just standard, aparrently.

Not to say Giant don’t have special tuning on some of their higher end models, and I’m sure people like Specialised do play about with the suspension more…

The FIT cartridge is the compression dampening and rebound side of things. The air spring is in the other fork leg.

But that’s about as far as I can help you, as both my forks are open bath, partly because I’m too cheap to buy a FIT cartridge fork, and partly because I’ve heard the FIT cartridges are beyond most amateur bike fettlers capacity to service.

I do Ok servicing my open bath forks, but I’ll let someone with more expertise tell you how difficult it is to do a FIT cartridge…

Not all the ads are targeted on browsing history.
Some are targeted to the demographic of the website itself.

Breathes sigh of relief! So I don’t have to worry that Mrs Perth has secretly been organising threesomes with mature ladies and gym hunks afterall…

It’s just that the average STWer (ahem, not me of course) is slightly pervy that I’m getting all those ads…

Looking at the ‘dating’ category on our Google Adsense report I should probably say that we’ll block them when you stop clicking them

Right you sick lot (you know who you are!), stop clicking on those dating ads so that the rest of us don’t have to endure them any longer! Of course, don’t mind if you keep clicking on the T-shirt ones – I quite enjoy those 😉

Its all real life.

Humans are a social animal, its in our very nature to be driven to interract with others, and to a large extent we measure our self worth by what others think of us (although we don’t like to admit to it).

Internet forums are just another channel of communication, relatively new so we’re still working out the rules, but no less ‘real’ than sending a letter, talking on the phone, or chatting to a stranger in the street.

Of course you will take an insult differently from someone you don’t know than you would from a family member or close friend, but that’s not to say that insults from strangers can be dismissed as harmless. In fact, random and seemingly motiveless acts of malice can be some of the most disturbing, because they go against our innate sense of ‘fairness’, defy our ability to rationalise them, and are the most difficult to mount a defence against ex post.

It’s also why random acts of kindness from complete strangers can be one of the most rewarding of experiences!

True, the anonymity of internet forums gives a certain freedom to express views and display emotions that we might not be comfortable with in other circumstances, and this can be seen as a good thing. But it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for antisocial beahaviour that wouldn’t be tolerated in other media, or to pretend that insults or threats somehow ‘don’t matter’, just because you haven’t physically met the person you’re making them to (yet!).

Just sayin… 😉

“Tubby, Singleton, who likes bicycles”

So, what you’re saying is they’re pretty accurate for 90% of the people on STW…

Hven’t looked at the video, but on all the shimano hubs I’ve had over the years its a case of adjusting them so there’s just enough play off the bike so that when the QR is tightened, they run smoothly without any play.

For those saying the stuff new chains come with is just a rust protectant, I can’t speak for all manufacturers, but the stuff on SRAM chains is Gleitmo, a high quality industrial chain lube, that is applied by hot dipping in a vat of it at the factory so it penetrates into all the internals of the chain where it is most needed. SRAM themselves recommend you run with the original lubricant for as long as possible before adding your own.

However, if you ride in dry dusty conditions like I do, I would recommend wiping off most of the exterior coating as it does tend to attract dust and quickly turn into a very effective grinding paste!

Think its only the Shimano 10sp chains that are directional…

unfortunately, at 48, it looks like i only scored around 40 points in the self test, 60 needed. looks out the question for me then…. :-/

I’m in the same situation at 49, but even if you fail on the points test for independent skilled migration, you can still get in on the employer nomination scheme if you have job skills in demand, and you can find an employer willing to sponsor you.

In fact, although independent migration used to be the main way in a few years back, when the Goverment looked into it an unhealthy number of independent migrants were having difficulty settling and finding a job. So, now its about two thirds employer nomination and one third independent.

Check out the ENS186 visa stream on the immigration web site to see if you’d qualify, and then as others have suggested above, go to a few job fairs to see if you can hook up with an employer…

Assuming you are fastidiously following the maintenance schedules and doing an aircan service every ten minutes, then a spare ‘O’ ring comes in the seal kit.

I know this because after doing the service on my shock for the first time I had one ‘O’ ring left over, and after much head scratching and pouring over maintenance manuals, and when I was just about to take the whole bloomin thing apart again, I realised it was that one 😳

Ditto about it being a hellofa long way to come for some rather mediocre skiing! And once you’re there there’s bu@@er all else to do because its the middle of winter (obviously).

Better to enjoy the skiing in Europe or the US (which honestly, is better), and come to NZ in the summer when you can enjoy the MTBing (which is world class) and enjoy all the other touristy things (and there are many) in the warm and dry!

This is the camp in the Mara we stayed in for second part of the Kenya trip – it was originally set up by Paul Goldstein who is a wildlife photographer and works for Exodus:

http://kicheche.com/our-camps/mara-camp

+10 for Kicheche. Book direct with them and just stay there for a week. We travelled around for three weeks and stayed in some pretty swanky places, but the constant travelling became a drag, and the simplicity and authenticity of the experience at Kicheche was the best.

Don’t try to pack too much in – the guides want to show you as much as possible, but it ends up being a whirlwind tour. The best day we spent was when, despite the protestations of our guide, we spent a whole day just following one family of Cheetahs and just chilling out when they did, watching them patiently hunt, and playing together – magic!

Glad we got that sorted – was going to keep me up all night worrying about it 😛

Velox it is then – one kit ordered from Wiggle!

No trip to the LBS tomorrow 🙁

Ride instead 😀

velox UST/TUBELESS specific tyre repair kit – now go off and buy one cos they just work

I will obey master

Yippee – trip to the LBS tomorrow… 😀

Yeah, saw those rubber plug types & the braided cord which I think are similar, but like zippykona I just wince at the thought of turning a tiny pinprick into a wallowing great hole!

robinlaidlaw – sounds promising! Did try to rough up the surface with a bit of sandpaper, but didn’t make much impact on the textured super slippery inside surface of those UST tyres. Maybe have to attack them with a bit more gusto!

Put on a new tyre for the mo & to keep me going for the weekeend – but I can’t afford a new one every time I get a puncture!

Yeah chapaking – I may have to relent and embrace the stickyness if this keeps happening…

[/URL]

[/URL]

been there, done that. If you find an employer who has a job for you, you’ll get here on a 457.

Bigrich, I’m in Australia, and going thru the migration process as we speak, and I’m afraid I’m with Konabunny on this one – you’re presenting too simple an interpretation of the 457 eligibility.

Anyway, the fact is that the 457 is only a temporary work visa for four years. And, if you qualify for the 457, since middle of last year you will also qualify for a new category of visa that gives direct residency – the Employer Nomination Scheme ENS 186 class visa. And if you are in WA then its even easier as the whole state (including Perth metro) is now classified as a ‘regional’ area and there’s an even easier path through the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme RSMS 187 visa.

To those who say a migration agent just fills the forms, I’d say this thread is ample evidence of why you do need a migration agent – the amount of dodgy advice and the speed with which the regulations are changing means they are worth the (admittedly rather exhorbitant) fee.

Finally, can’t remember who mentioned about the 45 age limit, but that also changed recently and is now 50 – that’s why I’m now applying for residency at the ripe old age of 49 whereas I didn’t qualify six months ago.

My weekend routine – up at 5:30 (not difficult to do as it gets light at 5am), riding by 7am, finished by 10am. Still have the rest of the day to enjoy (or hide inside in the air conditioning!)

Mind, I’m not up before 8am during the week…