Thought so, thanks coatesy.

Cheers. 🙂

OK, that lays my fears to rest a little. How tightly do you mean when you say “*very*” tight though? Will I struggle to get the required torque with a multi-tool?

http://pondering-panda.blogspot.com/2008/09/tutorial-fork-service-rockshox-pike-426.html#links

Cheers for the responses. Sounds like 2.35 is going to have to do for the five, but 2.5 should be OK on the Lyriks.

Its WD40 with teflon … isn’t it?

I’ve has a Deuter ‘cross bike’ rucksack for about two years and use it for everything. Goes with me to work, biking, walking, swimming – everything. Still in one piece and works like a charm. I would definitely recommend Deuter.

Cheers for all the responses.

I used GT85 (similar to WD40) for ages and was wondering why my transmission wore out so fast. Those solvent based lubes are no good for chains in my experience.

I would never use a pressure washer on my bike as i’m afraid of destroying my bearings as “thisisnotaspoon” says.

I know it sounds obvious, but lower back ache could be a symptom of a poor saddle angle. Definitely have a play with the bike adjustment before simply throwing money at the problem. I rode a loaded Carrera Subway from Lands end to John O’ Groats without any real discomfort.

Its a beautiful thing.

One or two chain tugs should do the job nicely. Got some 10mm ones from eBay a while ago like these and had to file them down at the ends so that they would fit far enough forward in horizontal dropouts but other than that they work a treat. No problem when getting the wheel out either.

I’ve heard of people using shimano saint 10mm axles with a track nut for a properly secure fit for single-speed. But never a 6mm threaded bar. Can’t imagine it offering much more than the bolt-up type skewers. Mind I suspect that with some chain tugs that what you’ve got would be sufficient.

I have worked in bike departments at three Halfords stores in the past and I agree with ‘angry-pirate’. Some stores have loads of really good staff and a few muppets where as in other places you have to explain to the bike staff which way round to put forks on. Halfords tends to rely on the price of its product to attract customers. They hope that cycling enthusiasts will be attracted to the job to ensure standards will be maintained. There are two problems really.

1. Lack of consumer knowledge as to what use the product (bike) is fit for. I don’t blame Halfords for selling cheap bikes, I blame the sales assistants for not making clear that a lot of the bikes they sell look nice on Christmas day but are essentially disposable items rather than a long-term easy efficient transport solution.

2. Halfords does not invest in its staff. For starters they believe that all people employed there are cycle enthusiasts and this simply isn’t true. They need to put ALL there employees through cytech to at least level 1 before letting them loose on a customers bike. Those who are bright enough not to make a mess of the job won’t stay because they aren’t paid enough. That is why I’m now an environmental consultant and don’t work at Halfords any more.

Halfords appeal to the low end of the market but no one within the market at this level whether it be consumer, mechanic or sales assistant can be relied upon for adequate knowledge to ensure that all parties are left happy.

SUMMARY: Its all about lack of knowledge.

I’ve only got a masters, so I feel a bit like this.

🙂

I think most people who are motorists as well as cyclists will appreciate the importance of having reflectors on a bicycle. I don’t have any on my mountain bikes, but the commuter keeps them.

Not so much doing alright, just too impatient to get my new bike going with minimum faff. 🙂

The condition is that it has been pre-fitted (obviously) but is in mint condition. It is on my XC hardtail which dosn't get ridden much any more so it hasn't taken too much use. I need to remove it first, but thats not a problem as I am friendly with the LBS.

Yep, 44mm diameter. Looks like this…

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/Original/18084.jpg

How does £30 posted sound? Can take it out this weekend and post some photos if you would prefer though.

Wrote this a while ago. Hope it helps.

http://pondering-panda.blogspot.com/2008/09/tutorial-fork-service-rockshox-pike-426.html#links

… on the other hand, if you want to make me an offer for a Hope zero-stack headset. 🙂

Sorry Dave, got my Chris King inset yesterday.

My first SSUK too. … but not my last!

Before hand I just used to single-speed to avoid breaking things in crashes. But the people who do it are just, more relaxed and generally cooler. It seem to me to be more like a way of thinking than a mechanical oddity.

On that note can I just give a shout to the organisers for a top event! Cheers peeps!

Cheers for the suggestions. It seems that Hope, FSA, Cane Creek, and Chris King all do appropriate headsets, although finding them is a bit harder at the moment.

I already have a Hope 1.125" zero-stack/internal headset so I may phone them up and ask if they can provide me a lower cup, bearing, and crown race for a 1.5" fork.

Well spotted! Didn't notice that. Good old hope to the rescue again. 🙂

Otherwise its a call to Orange.

Cheers. 🙂

Nice work.

Will keep an eye out for you. 🙂

I don't know if that would work. I think you need both upper and lower cups to be designed to zero-stack specifications.

Do you know where you can get a Double XX lower race?

Unfortunately, Chris King don't do zero stack headsets. In fact they have a bit of a rant about it … here

http://chrisking.com/tech/int_headsets_explained/int_hds_explain_5

I was surprised when I measured it too. Internal diameter of the head-tube is 44mm upper and 55.9mm lower (zero stack standards).

The stock bikes with tapered head tubes come with cane creek ZST25 headsets, but I can't find a stockist for them.

I've had mine on my single-speed hack-bike for about 2 years and the bearings are still smooth as the day I got it despite using the bike for Downhill, Dirt Jumping and XC in thick mud.

For reliability, it seems to be top.

Is it worth it? … Well, it is very expensive, but before my hope BB I had seized 3 shimano BB's in about the same 2 year period. So, yes. I think they should last long enough to outweigh the cost of replacing cheaper units. Combine this with the hassle of changing the things or a BB seizing the day before a race and it makes them a bargain!

Nearest you'll get is a solid 9mm axle.

A bit like this.

It provides me front-end stiffness that is as good as my pikes. The only problems is you have to remember a 15mm spanner wherever you go!

Check this out.

http://www.sram.com/_media/techdocs/2010%20RockShox%20SPC_Rev%20C%20(Rev%20C%20price%20list).pdf

Find the part number and take it to any bike shop that is a Fisher Outdoor stockist as they are the UK importer for SRAM stuff.

The hard part is trying to explain to your bike shop sales assistant what you want.

… and paying for it. Spares are extortionately expensive.

Cheep generic. And go with continuous outers (not that you get a choice with a five). Plus a drop of wet lube in them and they will run sweetly for ages.

I've never used gore/XTR though. But I don't see how it can be worth it when an XTR kit can be twice the cost.

IMO wheel building is not something to take lightly. It took me 2 or 3 old 'practice' wheels to get it right. I would STRONGLY recommend you have a swear at an old wheel before trying it on your new bits of kit.

… also refer to Sheldon.

Thanks peeps!

What "James" said. But louder.

You may be able to bodge something, but personally I would always be wondering if I could trust it!

Boardman's have always been good value for money.

I'm sure its fine on a shiny new computer, but when you have something thats 5 years old running a celeron processor and 512mb ram then I find that recent iTunes versions takes ages to start up and close down – which is silly considering that all it really need to do is play a few songs and move some files about.

I guess I should stop winging and buy a new computer! 🙂

I think that the OLD of 20mm front hubs is 110mm.

Yes.

But mainly it's if I want to change frame in the future.

I could never get iTunes to run through wine. I am therefore resigned to thinking that nothing Apple works with Linux … or at least not well. To use a biking metaphor, its like shimano and their center-lock rotors. They just wanted everyone to buy Shimano hubs as well as brakes. Same with apple. Besides, even on windows, iTunes is ludicrously demanding of system resources.

Therefore, my opinion of Apple.

Hardware = good
Software = bad.

Good cables (Avid/Shimano/some Tektro … to an extent) can be as powerful as many hydros on the market, but don't have the modulation – although most riders probabbly won't notice to be fair. Cheaper ones tend to need lots of adjustment to keep them bob on and even the expensive ones need a tweak here and there to keep them running sweetly. Hydros tend to be more of a set up once and forget about affair, even if the bleed process is a bit more of a faf than routing a fresh cable.

I would heartily recommend Avid BB7 cable discs for any MTB application except DH and alpine riding (long, sustained use). Their only real disadvantage (as with all Avid breaks I have come across) is that the pads are a little tricky to change.

+1 for inner tube and zip-ties.

I used to have an Orange MsIsle (16") which also did very nicely for this sort of thing. I got it because I wanted a bike for everything but mainly used it for XC. Now I have replaced it with an Azonic Steelhead because I wanted something steel.