Hi CM – yes I wondered about chainline too. The Shimano site says the chainline of the triple SLX is 50mm, and the double is 46.8, which means the two rings of the double are basically in exactly the same place as the two inner rings of the triple. That’s not to say you cant push it out a bit with extra spacers during installation, as you suggest. And I think this would help the rubbing problem. Trouble is I’ve got a push fit BB and it looks like I’d probably ruin the cups getting them out!

Still, the fact that you can get all but the top two gears when in the 22T, means there must be something ‘different’about the M665 36T – the ramps don’t stick out so far maybe? Maybe worth me giving it a try – certainly less hassle (and cheaper) than replacing my BB in the process of adding a couple more spacers!

Back from the shed – unfortunately the deore FD clearance is identical to the SLX. However, did raise the FD up a tad, not too much to affect shifting but enough so that I can now get eight of the nine sprockets without rub on the 36T – which I can live with.

So, remaining issue is only being able to use half the sprockets with the 22T before the chain starts to rub on the 36T chainwheel.

I’m really curious if the smart guys at Shimano have done something special with the M665 double specific 36T chainring to solve this problem. Anyone using this chainring, and can share their experiences?

Hi TJ – interesting point – I’ve got a couple of old deore FDs in the shed, maybe I’ll measure them to see if they’re wider at the point where the chain runs on a 36T.Otherwise, looks like I might be buying the M665 double specific FD – anyone had experience of this?

Hi CM – did you get the M665 double specific SLX? I’m wondering if the 36T chainring on that is ‘different’ somehow, to give extra clearance for the chain when on the 22T? Don’t mind buying the M665 36T chainring if that’ll solve my problem, but would like to know that its going to solve the problem before I spend the money…

Hi TJ, thanks for the post. I’m using an SLX Triple FD, and while the cage is wide enough to accomodate the whole 9 gears on a 32T chainring, where the chain runs with a 36T is narrower. So, adjust as much as I like, it rubs at one end of the travel or the other. I even tried raising the FD up the seat tube a bit, but then the chain rubs on the bottom of the cage when on the 22T chainring! Maybe I should fork out for the M665 double specific SLX FD – this should be designed to have all the correct clearances for a 22/36 combination – right?

Oh – better get the kevlar ones then…. :D

I was happy – picked up a jersey I’ve been eyeing for a while at half price…
I guess the principle is the same as with any sale – only buy the stuff you’d get anyway, and don’t be enticed into buying stuff you don’t really want just cos it’s a ‘bargain’!

b_man I took my parents on a holiday to South Island thinking they might like it enough to retire there. My mother is from Cardiff, and her only comment was, “Why would be want to come here – its just like Wales!”

Take it whichever way you like….

+1 Reading PDFs on a Kindle is a PITA. If you want decent web browsing and PDFs on the move, get an iPad. The Kindle is really good for books, but it’s not an all round mobile device.

I’ve got standard XT on one bike, an’ shadow on ‘tother. Wasn’t expecting to see a difference, but was surprised by noticeably better shifting on the shadow. Can’t speak for longevity as I’ve only had it a few months. Some people say shadow is more difficult to set up, but I think its just ‘different’, and the instructions are in the Shimano tech docs…

As with lot of things – all depends how you want to use it! If you’ll only occasionally be downloading a book, and you’re regularly around wifi hotspots (home, office, library, coffee shop…) then no need for 3G phone coverage. However, if you’ll be out of wifi coverage a lot, and like to surf the web on your kindle (can be done – just don’t expect it to be like an iPad) then you’ll probably want 3G as well. I bought the one with both just to give me maximum chance of being connected, wherever I was…

2orangey4crows, I did a two month cycling tour of NZ a couple of years back – it was fantastic! The scenery is very varied – from palm fringed beaches to fiords and glaciers, distances manageable, people very friendly, and roads pretty empty. My favourite was the south island and I spent most time there, but made sure it was during the summer (Jan-Feb) as it can get a bit chilly otherwise! Punctuated the cycling with some tramping (Milford Track), a paragliding course in Christchurch, and kyaking tour in the Abel Tasman. You’ll enjoy it!

To OP, echo others advice to at least take a holiday down there before you commit yourselves to a complete lifestyle change…

I have the Acer Aspire One like your link to Argos – but not in pink :D

I use it whenever I’m away from my desktop, and just sync them when I get home. TBH it pretty much does anything the (three times the price) desktop does, with the notable exception of the screen being very small, and no CD/DVD drive, but for a kid I think it’d be perfect!

Just back everything up on an external drive regularly, as sooner or later she’ll either drop it or lose it….

“Dry sand, gravel, rocks” just about sums up the conditions here in Western Australia, and the preferred tyres are Maxxis Crossmark, with maybe a Maxxis Ignitor on the front for a bit of extra grip. Where are you heading glen815?

I guess I should’ve, but I’d already waited a couple of weeks for it, so I just bent the pin straight with a pair of pliers and re-applied the sticker.

That’s cos he lives in Perth now – Fremantle to be exact…

Both the SM-MA90-F180 P/P and SM-MA-R180 P/S in stock at CRC – just don’t use your credit card!

There’s three from Shimano out there that’ll do the job (front I’m talking about), and many from others, like Superstar, Ashima etc. :-

Shimano SM-MA-F180 P/P – the original shimano one which offsets the caliper from the original mounting holes

Shimano SM-MA-F180 P/P2 – the new one from Shimano which uses the same mounting holes

Shimano SM-MA90-F180P/P – the XTR version of the P2, and the one shown in your link to Ebay.

Take your choice…..

Which in Shimano speak is an SM-MA-F180 P/P2. Just bought one meself from Wiggle, cost about seven quid…

After working for 20 years I went back to university to study and the wife gave up work to spend more time with our daughter. Sometimes its no fun living on a student budget again, but the experience of learning something new and being around enthusiastic young (and yes, sometimes a little naiive) people again is thoroughly refreshing. I’ve also realised how much of the ‘stuff’ I used to crave just isn’t really necessary, and cliche I know, but that family and friends are more important than a new car or expensive holidays.

What money does give you though is choice, and I don’t want to still be on a student budget as I get old and health deteriorates, so it has to be a temporary thing for me. However, when I do get back into the rat race I hope I’ll have my priorities a bit more sorted, and will have learned to do without so much stuff!

Quote “So – you get an email when the item is sent?”

I got an ‘order confirmation’ email the day I placed it, and then nothing until two weeks later when I got notification of ‘part shipment’. Though from the experiences of others here with Evans, I’m happy to conceed I may have just been unlucky!

I’ve got parts on the way to me from six different internet bike shops at the moment (don’t ask!) and its been an interesting survey into customer service. All seem to be running into stock outages at the moment, but Wiggle has been the best at keeping me informed of what’s going on, CRC and Evans the worst, and the rest somewhere in between.

I learnt to sleep on my front – well actually more like the ‘recovery position’ if you’ve ever done a first aid course – one arm and one leg bent. Took a while, but now I actually feel more comfortable, and ‘apparently’ I don’t snore anymore. Helps to have a thin pillow (so your neck isn’t stretched) a firm mattress (so it doesn’t sag in the middle) and be able to put your feet over the end of the bed – ie no footboard (so you’re not standing on tip-toes all night!)

I have a similar sized hatchback, and go off camping at least twice a year with the family. Best thing I bought was a little Erde 153 trailer from Halfords to get all the gear out of the car – you can even get a lockable hardtop and luggage bars to put the bikes on. Depends how far you have to drive of course (our latest trip was a two day drive), but it has made a real difference to have a clear car, so wife & kids can move around, lie down for a nap etc., not to mention getting the weight off the rear axle of the car and onto it’s own set of wheels. Haven’t noticed any impact on fuel consumption as these light and small trailers just sit in the slipstream. And when you get to the campsite, they become storage/workbench/pantry rolled into one.
Handy for taking stuff to the tip & collecting furniture between holidays too…

Funny you should ask….
I ordered two shirts and two water bottles two weeks ago, all listed as ‘in stock’. Practically ambush the postman every morning expecting him to be carrying goodies, then….
Today I get an email from Evans saying the two shirts have been dispatched today, and they’re waiting for stock of the water bottles.
In other words they did nothing for two weeks.
Not impressed – back to Wiggle for me…

You’re right of course – the enduring shame of having a faulty fork doesn’t bare thinking about – if I was at home I’d just blame the dog, but I guess on the trail I could just shoot an accusing glare at one of the other riders….

Hi mintimperial, do you happen to know if your squishing noise happens on the rebound stroke? If so, maybe this is a ‘feature’ of RS shocks and I’ve nothing to worry about. Anyone else get the same noise?

Sounds like you may have the same LBS as me – how come they’re all over us until we’ve bought the bike, then they just don’t want to know you? Don’t they realise the actual bike is just the start of a serial purchasing habit…

Hi LoCo, thanks for your feedback. Followed up on your suggestion it might be the damping oil, and lo and behold, if I wind the rebound adjustment right out, there’s no ‘wet fart’ anymore! So, its nothing to do with the air side of things then, but I guess the question has to be – should the oil dampening be making this noise? Oh, and I’ve also realised it makes the noise on the rebound, not the compression stroke.

On the bushings, have already mentioned it to the LBS where I bought the bike, and their knee-jerk and not very credible answer was that it is ‘normal’, so I’m just trying to get a broader opinion before I tackle them headlong on the issue at the bike’s first service, due in a few weeks.

+1 to chipsngravy.
My daughter went to Montessori from 3-6, then we transferred her to mainstream school (I went back to study & we couldn’t afford private education anymore). I believe the Montessori gave her a good head start in confidence, social skills, and an interst in learning, that served her well when she transferred to ‘normal’ school. Montessori kids do turn out a bit precocious (the headmistress said it – not me!)so the longer they’re in the system, the harder it might be to transfer over, but my daughter didn’t have a problem. We did find she wasn’t stimulated as much in her new school, and was a bit ahead of her peers in the three R’s, so managed to get her advanced a year.

Having stuffed an auto transmission by towing, and the car just months out of warranty, I’d suggest the OP does what Merc tells him, whether others think its ‘necessary’ or not. I count myself lucky that Toyota agreed to give me a new transmission, and I just paid the labour to fit it.

Get the cheapest one you can find, as the novelty of adjusting the pressure before every ride will soon wear off, and it’ll become a once-in-a-while check thing…

I’ve still got XT Hollotech I cranks, and they have a self extractor thingy built into the crank. You just need to back them off with an allen key of the right size. IF they are stuck fast, then the soft alloy self extractor can get mangled, in which case you need to take them out(one of those two pronged tools needed here – I made my own with a couple of nails in a bit of wood!)and use a traditional crank extractor in their place

Watch out for those bottle mounts too! Mine’s a conventional frame, no fancy suspension or forks, but I had to get a topswing simply because the bottle cage mounts were right where the bottom swing band would go.

Why do you say that billyboy? I have 9speed ‘conventional’ XT on one bike, and shadow XT on the other. I really wasn’t expecting to notice any difference, but I’ve got to say the shadow shifting is much crisper…

Nice one timmys – and stainless too! Thanks.

So, the story so far…

M510 36T deore chainring form CRC 12 squids; cheapo bash ring 8-15 squids; don’t need to change the front or read mech, just take a few links out of the chain..

All going so well, then wham! Longer chainring bolts needed for bash guard – that’ll be 15 squids please! Why is it the small things cost so much?

Any cheaper options than the E-13 15mm bolts?

Ok, just been checking out Deore 36T chainwheels on CRC, and there’s three labelled deore – M510, M532, M590! As far as I can see they are all steel, PCD 104mm, mega 9 compatible, and price is pretty similar too. So which one should I order to go on my SLX M660 – will they all fit?

Hi Rickos – actually was hoping to avoid spending too much, and the suggestions here of deore chainring, cheapo bash ring, and no need to change FD are spot on!

Thats great advice guys, thanks. Especially like the suggestion of getting a steel deore 36T instead of the aluminium SLX 36T for twice the price and half the lifespan!Fair point about the bashguard, but although I haven’t trashed the big ring yet, that’s cos I’m avoiding the big stuff precisely because I don’t want to bottom out. I’m thinking with a bash guard it’d give me more confidence to take on a few more logs and rock gardens!

I’ve read elsewhere that by going to a double I should shorten the chain, and even go for a meduim rear mech instead of the long cage. Now if I have to get a new rear mech as well, its getting way too expensive! Is that really necessary?

Hmmm, didnothingfatal, if its buggy, then maybe they don’t deserve my ten bucks afterall! I’ll check out the free options others have suggested above… and yes, trail rat, just to make you happy I might even see if I can write one myself – lets see.. a few nested if/then loops and a bit of boolean algebra should do it…

Count yourself lucky lucien – I ordered a bunch of stuff on the 24th and its been stuck as ‘processing’ ever since – no email, no explanation, no voucher, and no goods!

CRC are obviously having serious problems at the moment, what with all that credit card fraud thing (yes I got caught in that too). However, as much as we moan about them on here, I really hope they get themselves sorted out rather than go under, as a lot of us would really miss them – remember when you had to buy whatever the LBS happened to have in stock, at exhorbitant prices! Yes I know there’s Wiggle and other options – but competition is good for us punters at the end of the day – so maybe we should stick by them thru the bad patch – eh?