Er..um..yes Trail Rat, I am familiar with excel as I’m an engineer. I could also maintain my own car, but I choose to pay someone else to do it because I’d rather be doing something else (bike is a different matter – I always work on that myself – it’s half the fun). But with excel- if someone else has put together all the features that are useful, has ironed out the bugs, will send me an update every few months with the latest tweak, then maybe he deserves ten bucks, and I go riding instead!

That’s how the shadow mechs avoid 180deg cable loop – idea borrowed from SRAM I think, but works great!

Fair point TooTall, but for US$10 I thought it might be worth it for someone else to have done all the hard work! And you never know, I might get to like the extra features like calculating how much per km your tyres or chain cost!?!

Nope – 1.6″ is the biggest that’ll fit on the front. If I need anything more serious than that I use my MTB.

Got nothing against 29ers, just bike shop punks that think nobody’s ever ridden big wheels off road before…

Yep – 29 is 700c. Had to point this out to a salesman in a bike shop determined to sell me a 29er. Told him I already had one – just it used to be called a hybrid…

Tried to do everything with a hybrid and two sets of wheels for the last three years, but found it was really limiting the kind of trails I could tackle off road – just too stable and limited tyre choice. Now keep the hybrid just for road and have a hardtail to complement it, and gotta say I’m having way more fun off road now – though the MTB sucks big time on tarmac! Never felt the need for an ultralight roadie…so I’d say two bikes is the sweet spot for me.

As a far too regular user of CRC & Wiggle, I’ve noticed them both using cheaper and slower postage methods lately, as well as reducing the range of items they sell and concentrating on the more popular (and presumabley more profitable) lines. I guess it’s just a sign they’re growing up and getting more serious about business… Oh, and they do just get busier this time of year as everyone makes purchases ready for the summer!

Andytherocketeer & Roper – thanks for those suggestions. Guess I need a trip down to the LBS with all my kit to try a few on and see if I can fit everything in. I just hate to do that to them when I’ll probably end up buying it online…oh well, I did get a new bike from them a few weeks ago, so I guess that buys me a bit of ‘tyre kicking’!

And….just noticed that on the Camelbak web site the Octane doesn’t make it into the 24 different models designed for cycling – they’ve put them in the ‘running’ category. Am I missing something here – maybe those nifty low down side pockets have some disadvantage on a bike? Anyone??

Eeeek! Do the Camelbaks have aforementioned nasty hard filling spouts?

Nice one Smuzzy. Looks like the Octane has the side pockets on the waist like the Wingnut and Hyper that others have recommended. Am thinking this could be a distinct advantage in keeping weight low and being able to access stuff whithout taking it off?

Thanks guys – you’ve certainly opened my eyes to a wider range of options.

Interesting no votes for the actual Camelback brand yet – any fans lurking out there? I was thinking of a Camelback Lobo – anyone had experience of that?

Thanks Andytherocketeer – thats reassuring that I haven’t sent all my personal info to a fraudster! Still, I’d rather cancel the order than send them an image of my credit card – it just shouldn’t be necessary.

Ah – that explains why my bank cancelled my credit card a couple of weeks ago! No amount of pushing would get them to reveal the reason – but now I’m confident it was CRC that was the leak! Lucky my most recent order went to Wiggle instead…

Doesn’t need much head tube space as I remember, the bracket is quite shallow, but as others have said it won’t fit the oversize head tubes on some bikes. You’ll need to try before you buy methinks….

Nice one – thanks!

Thanks for the offer andyl, but it’s the 180mm one I’m after, as I’m upgrading the front from the 160mm that came with the bike…

Used the Weeride with my daughter when she was 2/3 years old. It’s great having them infront of you rather than behind (or even further away in a trailer)as you get to talk and point out things of interest, and the table on the Weeride allows them to slump forwards and have a sleep if they get bored. I’d say the fitting is quite bike specific, so try it on your bike before you buy, and even with a large frame (25″ hybrid) I still had to ride with my knees out a bit and would occasionally get butted in the chin by the back of my daughter’s helmet. Obviously does effect the balance quite a bit as centre of gravity is high, but this is offset by the better weight distribution forwards compared to a rear carrier. Only had one tumble with her in there and it proved very safe, but do give them a helmet. A child will also outgrow a weeride quicker than a rear carrier because it is more limited in the size it can take, but by then they are ready to progress to a tagalong/trailerbike.

Thanks bigyin, seems that CRC customer service were right then. I’m not in a rush, so I guess I’ll keep searchin for an RT51M ….

Taking your bike on planes is the easy part. Go to your friendly LBS and ask for one of the cardboard cartons the bikes come in. Depending on your relationship with them it should be free or at a small charge. Take the pedals & front wheel off, deflate the tyres (no pressure in plane cargo hold!)and pack as many of your clothes around it to cushion it.

Most airlines accept bikes packed in this way, but it’ll still count as part of your baggage allowance!

But…..

Travilling with your nice expensive and shiny bike in faraway countries is another thing, you’ll be a slave to it, always worrying about it being nicked, afraid to go off for a day and leave it behind. Not a problem if you’ll always be travelling by bike, but most of us like to take the occasional side trip, island hopping, etc. without the bike.

So, another option is to rent when you get there – you’d be amazed what obscure and undeveloped places offer fully equipped MTB tours these days – the mountain bike surely has reached every corner of the globe! Then you don’t have to worry so much as its their equipment, and you also get to ride in a group, and have a guide to sort out the logistics/translation/acommodation etc.

Not for everyone – but a less stressful way to do it from my experience…

Mister P is right, SRAM rears have a different “actuation ratio” to Shimanos, and so the ‘x’ series which is designed for SRAM rears won’t work. SRAM and Shimano fronts are compatible tho’ so you can interchange changers on the front.

The highest Shimano compatible twist grips SRAM make are the ‘Attack’ – you can get 8 and 9 speed versions from wiggle or CRC. Be warned the ‘Amy’ grips on these aren’t very good for large sweaty hands like mine, so I upgraded them with a pair of chunky XO grips!

Thanks for indulging a newbie, and for all the feedback guys. Based on what I’ve heard I think I’m gonna try the Superstar pads & rotors, and if I do get a problem, well I haven’t wasted much money! Bit worried about Dr_bakes comment about problems with the wave rotor tho’, as they’re the ones I’m thinking of getting – can anyone point me in the direction of more info about this problem – a search of the forum didn’t return any hits.

And, I even got a reply to my earlier email to Superstar – couldn’t have anything to do with me mentioning it on this forum, could it? Anyway, they explained the delay was because of the recent bank holidays, which I hadn’t considered, so I guess I was a bit too hasty in berating them for their slow response.

Now there’s only one thing still troubling me…. what’s with the Octopusses (octopi?!?) guys? I may be a bit slow on the uptake, but I just don’t get it! Someone include me in the joke please….

That’s great stuff guys, thanks, keep it coming!

And to TandenJerry, I tried the search again and found out that a basic search only goes back a month – duh! Have now done an advanced search going back a year and am starting to uncover some of the history you alluded to. Bear with me – its my first day on this forum!

Ok, I’m back. Searched the forum on “superstar” and got 100 hits, but nothing that really answered my question. But R.lepecha, thanks for your patience with a newbie on the forum, your reply was very helpful. Beats hob-nobs and octopusses…

Ok, penny’s dropped! Sorry, this is my first day on the forum and I didn’t know I was dragging over old ground. Will search the archive as you suggest. Thanks.

Sorry – don’t get it. You’ll have to explain?

Thanks Mister P – thats just what I needed to know! So the XTR one isn’t XTR callipers only – it’ll work with any Shimano post mount calliper – mine are entry level M445s?

And as it’s only a quid more than the basic one, I guess I’ll be joining you as a tart!