I use a Deuter Essential Bike – here[/url] which is excellent! Attaches firmly to a rear rack in the same way a pannier does, but unclips in seconds, and off the bike could pass for a briefcase. Is divided into three sections to keep everything tidy, lots of little pockets for mobile phone, keys etc, a zipped expanding portion, and even has a waterproof cover tucked away in a little zip pocket!

Only trouble is – they seem to have been discontinued! Maybe you could still pick one up at a shop that has old stock…

One of the main reasons I stick with SRAM rather than Shimano chains is that you CAN reuse the same pins

Hmmm… Thought I read somewhere that it was unwise to re-use pins on any narrow (9/10 speed) chain these days, as the narrowness of the plates means a good fit between pin & hole is critical, and driving a pin out widens the hole a little, so it now becomes a weak point in the chain?

Not saying it can’t be done, just if you have a Powerlink handy, why would you risk re-using an old pin/outer plate?

Edit: Ah yes, found it now – quote from Zinn and The Art of MTB Maintenance, “Never use the same pin (except in an emergency out on the trail) on a 9 or 10 speed chain”

The big/big +2 rule of thumb is good for triples, as you rarely if ever use big/big on a triple, and it gives you a good compromise between being too tight at one end of the spectrum, and too loose at the other.

But on a double or single you’ll use big/big a lot more, and I agree the big/big +2 rule puts way too much tension on the RD cage when in the largest sprockets! See my thread running here for me making just that mistake!

In fact even SRAM say in the instructions that come with a new chain to use big/big +4 for doubles (and I’d assume the same goes for a single) – but who ever reads the instructions…

could be cheaper ion the long run if it lasts well though

Yeah – that was my excuse :wink:

Bought my Saint from a German mob and paid 67 Euros, which is about 55 quid is it not? Bout the same as an XT from CRC.

I have SLX, XT and Saint. All perform flawlessly, as I’ve come to expect from Shimano at this level. The XT and Saint look more bling, have ceramic sealed jockey wheel bearings rather than the usual bushings on the SLX. The SLX parallelogram is partly steel, whereas the XT and Saint are all alloy, making them slightly lighter. The Saint is stronger.

For my money, the XT and SLX are much of a muchness, just get whatever matches your cranks. The Saint, on the other hand, is a different animal – both in looks and toughness (and price!), and may be the way to go for the style of riding that suits a double & bash up front.

There’s a small aluminium piece that’s attached to the mech by two small screws. You leave this on for close ratio (DH or Road) cassettes, or take it off if you’re using a wide ratio cassette. As far as I can see, all it does is allow the mech to swivel back a few degrees more where it attaches to the derr hanger. I’m sure the tech doc referenced above gives you the same info, but I couldn’t be bothered to read it!

I cant fart whilst pedalling

Isn’t that what the ‘valley’ or hole in the middle of a racing saddle is for – or have I got that wrong…

At the risk of stating the obvious – why not just add another complete link to the chain from the bit you cut out in the first place? You do still have it I assume?

Well yes, that’s what I’m trying to do in effect, but I have to join it to the rest of the chain somehow, and that involves either inserting a special rivet if its a Shimano chain, or using a powerlink if its a SRAM one, as you can’t re-use the rivets you took out these days.

so how come my kids can shit in the bath then?

Pressure is a function of depth, your kids probably rise to periscope depth before firing their torpedo, others prefer to launch their polaris missile while lurking at depth and let it float to the surface under natural buoyancy, and that’s when the water pressure becomes a problem :D

Maybe its something to do with the low air pressure at altitude – you know, higher pressure inside bird, lower pressure outside – out pops egg!

Kinda the opposite effect of when you’re trying to have a crap while swimming (go on – I know you’ve all tried it at some time in your life)but the water pressure won’t allow you to pop that log out!

You see what I did there – cleverly weaved together the bird/egg thing with the sh!t theme…

Thanks guys! Reassuring to know my chain isn’t gonna explode into a thousand bits and pepper my legs with shrapnel…

I use the XO grips on my Attack shifters – much chunkier than the poxy ones that came with them. And yes, I know XO is for SRAM and Attack is for Shimano – but the grips themselves are interchangeable…

Chain Reaction have them, or at least will do when they’re back in stock later this month…

XO Grips

I’m an Aussie living in the UK and I think you guys are incredibly lucky with your extensive and quality bridleway network.
Despite the size of Aus, there is very little riding in comparison, and most beautiful mountains are either on private land or in national park with forbidden access to mtb’s

I’m a Brit living in Oz, and I can’t speak for the mountains – not many of them around here – it’s all too blinkin flat :( , but I’ve gotta say the Ozzies have a good attitude to coastline access.

Many other places I’ve lived/visited in Europe (tho’ not the UK – before anyone jumps to its defence!),Asia , and the US, allow rich individuals or hotels/golf courses to effectively, if not legally ‘own’ some of the best coastline and prevent the rest of us access to it. Here in Perth, there’s lots of public parks/open access along the coast, and anyone with a picnic blanket and a portable BBQ can have the prime spot on the beach, and the big houses with their swimming pools have to take second best!

Could it be you need a reasonably open tread for the gravel

Yep, open tread + large side knobs seems to work best on pea gravel. Most major brands offer a tyre that fits this description in their range – take your pick. I’ve had good results with both Maxxis Ignitors and Kenda Nevegal on the front. I also find low pressures (<25psi) and leaning forward to weight the front wheel helps with cornering in gravel…

any idea how long madison take to post items

Madison is the distributor, and won’t sell direct to the public. You need to order it through your LBS, and how long it takes them to get it in usually depends on their normal ordering/delivery cycles. If you want them to rush a one-off order for you, you may have to pay extra…

Not to worry, after about four months without any rain and temperatures sometimes reaching the low forties (centigrade!), winter finally arrived in Western Australia this morning as I took my morning ride at Jarrahdale in the drizzle at a chilly 15 degrees. Reminded me of a summer’s day in Wales!

Get a Saint RD next time, that bracket is twice as thick on the Saint, and I’d challenge anyone to twist it. Mind you, weakest link and all that, something else will just give instead…

PS: the 2013 Shimano lineup is doing away with that bracket, and mounting direct to a swept back derailleur hanger direct mount RD[/url] , so they must have realised its a weak link. Not much help to you before Thursday tho’

(Edit: just realised you’re 10 speed, and Saint is only available in 9speed, for now.)

Should’ve seen that coming :roll:

:lol: The WA thread morphs into a “what tyres” thread – is nothing immune!

Anyway, if you can’t beat ’em…

Crossmarks are ok on the back, but you need something much grippier on the front for the dreaded pea gravel IMHO. Many round here run Maxxis Ignitor on the front, and I even go one step further and run the 2.3 version.

By the way, you can often pick up Crossmarks/Ignitors at TBE for $40, which is about what you pay for them on CRC. It’s one of the few items that seem to be reasonably priced locally – weird!

Fleet doesn’t seem any different to me

I might be being a bit tough on them, as I caught them soon after the new owners took over, and they hadn’t received much stock, and the sales people didn’t know anything about the bikes! That was middle of last year, so hopefully they’re up to speed now…

Hi Rich, I’m gonna miss the 4hr this w/e as I’m nursing bruised ribs from a spill a couple of weeks ago :(

There’s some good stuff around Pemberton. Of course there’s the Pemberton trail itself right next to the town, but also check out the trails near Northcliffe half an hours drive away. There’s two in particular – Aroundtu-it, and parts of the Karri Cup course that are well worth doing. They’re both covered in Travis’ book.

You’re both kinda right – Fleet cycles changed hands, so its still there, but not the same, and the new crew seem to be going up a steep learning curve is the most charitable way I could put it!

Internet prices are still a rip off – I use PAYG mobile broadband from Optus, and as long as you’re not addicted to youtube you can make a $150 15Gig topup last a good few months. At least coverage and speed is getting better…

MTB scene has livened up since 2009, lots of new riders, trails popping up everywhere, but at the same time lost some of the small community friendliness – starting to see the same kind of fractious arguments about 29ers vs. 26, lycra vs. baggies as you do on STW – LOL.

With teh pound/dollar rate as it currently is, new bikes are about the same price bought locally (once shipping & import duty is factored in), but components are still about half price bought from abroad. Laugh every time I get my regular CRC shipment, as the post van is half full of CRC & Wiggle packages being delivered!

Look forward to catching up in August…

At last, a thread I can actually contribute to, rather than all that ‘where’s a good B&B near Brecon’ stuff :D

Can only echo the recommendations so far – buy Travis Deane’s “Western Australia Mountainbike Trail Guide”, start with the Kalamunda Circuit up in the Perth Hills then graduate to further away places like Langford Park and Margaret River, Pemberton area.

For me the enduro scene is the best way to check out what’s available – you’ve just missed the 100k Karri Cup, but the Dwelli 100 and the four day Cape to Cape are coming up later in the year.

MTB in WA is in a bit of a transition stage. It used to comprise ‘old school’ enthusiasts who’d build their illegal tracks out in the bush and jealously protect them – a bit like the surfing scene. But, there’s been a boom in interest lately, partly reflecting the worldwide MTB boom, but also a uniquely WA thing of guys in fly in fly out mining jobs with lots of cash to spend and a week off in Perth every two weeks to enjoy it, getting out there on rediculously expensive bikes!

Things are changing rapidly – the Goat Farm & Kalamunda Circuit are the first properly developed legal and signed tracks to cater for the masses, and the KC is getting 400 riders a week at the moment. The old school grumble about all the newcomers spoiling ‘their’ tracks, and go off and build new illegal ones further into the bush, but I for one expect the trend to continue and it’ll become more mainstream/commercial like in other countries.

Go to the Perth Mountain Bike Club website PMBC[/url] check out the events & races, and introduce yourself on the forum – you’ll be sure to get a ride…

Sheldon Brown’s web page used to have a good explanation of this issue, but it seems to have disappeared!

Maybe I was thinking of this article instead.

I do like the convenience of proper ‘sports’ foods – much quicker and less messy to get your energy fix – especially during an event. However, my stomach seems to need something more than a sticky rich paste of gel and electrolyte drink to work on, so I usually carry meusli bars and fruit & nut mix to give a bit of bulk/fibre for the gut muscles to work on.

I don’thave an issue with replacing worn chains to get better life out of more expensive components like cassette and chainwheels, but I don’t trust the chain wear checker gizmos anymore.

I used a park CC2 for a while, but started to get suspicious when I was replacing chains what seemed far too often. Sure enough, when I compared an accurate measurement with a ruler to what the chain wear checker was telling me, I found out it was out by 100%, i.e. it was saying a 0.5% stretched chain was 1%.

And I don’t think I’d just got a badly calibrated one, aparrently its an inherent issue with the way these guages measure stretch, by including the natural slack between the rollers and bushings – Sheldon Brown’s web page used to have a good explanation of this issue, but it seems to have disappeared!

So, my advice is to still replace at 0.75% wear, but use a ruler to measure this!

CRC do the Ergon grips in Gripshift length, and I use them on my hybrid/commuter bike. See here but ignore the picture because its of the standard one, they actually look like this.

I had the same problem – ie. creaking & slipping. For me the carbon assembly paste seems to have fixed it for now, but if not I’m gonna look into a double bolt seat clamp.

There’s two types out there – one is just double the depth of a normal clamp and has two bolts so more of the seat post is gripped – like this.

The other type has one bolt clamping the seat tube as per normal, but another with smaller diameter that directly clamps the exposed seat post – see this[/url].

Haven’t tried either of these yet, and would be interested in the experiences of anyone who has…

It’s the flamin hassle and stress this all causes that pisses me off

And of course that’s exactly what these debt collection agencies rely on to get people to pay – just to get them off their backs!

So, if the collective therapy room of STW has managed to ease some of that pain, then you’re half way to beating them already :D

This in no way should be taken as legal advice – but I had a similar experience with a debt collection agency years ago.

It seems these guys modus operandi is to buy up a large number of cases real cheap, and rely on scary letters and persistence to try and bully a proportion of them into paying. Their only costs are letters and telephone calls, so if a few pay up, they’re quids in. I don’t think they’re really interested in long and expensive court cases, it doesn’t fit with their business model, although of course they’ll use the threat of a court case to get you to pay.

Like you, I believed I didn’t owe any money, so I stood my ground and just politely but firmly stated so. Eventually they gave up and I never heard about it again.

Of course, you should be sure you’re in the right before you call their bluff! Is there a consumer’s advice centre or even a motoring organisation you could get advice from without the costs of full legal advice?

think it might worth getting that double specific front mech.

The SLX M665 is for 2×9, as you’re 2×10 you’d be looking at the XT double FDs like the M785/786

Chain seems tight enough though

I’d still check its big/big plus two links. A lot of doubles I’ve seen have the chain way too slack. What looks normal on a triple because it needs more slack to operate across the wider range of gears, is much slacker than it needs to be on a double.

I run 2×9 on two of my bikes, and haven’t needed a chain device, but then I do XC rather than DH. As advised above, shortening the chain to the right length helps, as does a double specific front mech like the SLX M665, and changing up into the large chainwheel before hitting the DH bits.

are they gonna do a 10sp saint at some point?

Yep, I hear the 2013 Saint will be 10 speed, but single chainring and short cage only :cry: – just another reason to stay 9 speed!

Take a look here for the gossip…

Ive got a med cage one you can have for £42 posted

Thanks, but I’m in Oz, and it’d cost about that just to post it!!

Do you use 1×9/10? If so, you could get a cheap road mech instead

Nah, 2×9. Anyway, not sure a road mech would be tough enough for the abuse I give my RDs?

but they are expensive

Sure are! But I found a German site doing them for 67 Euro which just about brings them into my ‘its only the cost of a dinner out with the missus, but lasts so much longer’ range, but I wouldn’t buy one at ‘normal’ price.

I’m running 2×9 so I’d need the medium, but my SLX was a long cage, so it’d still be an improvement. Do you notice the stronger return spring – does it make any difference to shifting?

Round here (Western Australia) quite a few people fit tow bars to motorcycles so they can tour with trailers. See here for a company that makes motorbike specific tow bars & trailers linky

Once you have a towbar fitted, its relatively easy to fit a standard tow ball attached bike rack like those made by Thule and others. You have to mount the bike vertically rather than horizontally though (ie hang it by the seat tube rather than the top tube , or it’ll stick out too far on the sides. There’s a guy who regularly turns up at my local trail centre with this arrangement.

Have no idea about the legality of fitting a tow bar to a motorbike in the UK, but its allowed here…

Replace heat/dust for grit/salt and I don’t see how that can’t apply to the UK also.

I think a lot of people think they need to move to another country for a different lifestyle when in fact they could just change their lifestyle in the country they’re in.

Agree completely. I lived in Hong Kong for a while, and you couldn’t get a more materialistic place than that – but I lived on a small island where there were no cars allowed, and everybody was equally poor – and it was a great community.

However, I think some countries/cultures put more emphasis on material posessions/wealth/status, and in those it is more difficult to eschew those things for a simpler more rewarding lifestyle. Unfortunately, I think the UK is one of those countries – last time I lived there the dinner party conversation was all about property prices and company cars.

Other countries are fundamentally more equitable, put less emphasis on material posessions, and more on lifestyle. I happen to think Australia is one such country, and from what I’ve read on this thread, Spain seems to be another.

It’s easy to be rich anywhere – but there’s very few places it’s Ok to be poor. As a student supporting a family I’m currently poor, and so I’d rather be in a country where rich and poor get equal access to the things that matter – education, healthcare, leisure pursuits, and of course MTB!!