Hi there, I think youll find that reach is a horizontal measurement from centre of BB to centre of top of headtube and stack is the vertical measurement, these sizes are fixed and as such unaffected by any form of suspension or wheel size, they essentially give you an idea of the size of a frame when riding out of the saddle regardless of seat tube angle.

Except they’re not fixed. The tube lengths and straight line distances between points are fixed, but the vertical and horizontal distances change as the bike moves through its suspension travel, as do the head/seat/other angles.

Or just get some CO2 cartridges and a chuck – cheap and handy to have on the trails anyway. Yes, it’s a consumable rather than forking out for something that will do endless tyres, but how often do you really need to seat a tubeless tyre. I can’t guarantee that it will work on particularly tricky tyre/rim combos, but they do the job perfectly with the Maxxis HR2s and Schwalbe Hans Dampfs I run on my Hope Tech Enduro wheels.

My choice with 4 hours would be MBR followed by Tarw Du, then Temptiwr if time permits.

There is a solution to chain growth on the 5. I’ve not tried it on a single ring setup, but it makes setting up the chain on my double and bash 2×9 setup a hell of a lot easier on the 5. The key is to use a lower chain guide. If you set this up so that it wraps more chain around the chainring when the suspension is uncompressed, and the lower part of the chain loop forms roughly a straight line through the guide when fully compressed, then chain growth is negligible.

Ditch the washers, they’re pointless.

XTR M960 for MTB

Dura Ace 7900 for road

That 222 is a thing of beauty compared to the Coyote DH2 abomination with longer-than-designed-for shock that you used to ride Seb!

Get yourself a Gravity Dropper.

The World of Cycling According to G by Geraint Thomas is a very entertaining read. The Race to Truth by Emma O’Reilly is an interesting insight into the life of a soigneur and the Armstrong scandal.

Not tried the Pro SLs, but I quite like my FS 260s. However, my Sportful Super Total Comfort bib shorts are in a different league. You should be able to pick up a pair for just over £100. I wear a medium for the FS260s, large for the Sportfuls – but both decisions were made based on the respective companies sizing charts rather than just sizing up for Italian brands (i.e., I found the sizing charts to be accurate).

I recently bought a set of the new DHB Aeron bibs (tights not shorts), and while they’re pretty good for the money, I didn’t think the pad was the best and prefer the Sportful and Endura pads.

Cheers for the links DT – I think cleat position isn’t helping as I’ve been struggling to get it right on my left foot with the new shoes.

Will definitely have a play about with that and with shoe tightness.

Was hoping to avoid having to pay for a bike fit (even though I know it’s probably worth it). My new road shoes are highly vented (even the soles have vents!), and the problem does seem slightly worse than with my previous shoes (same make and shape) so I’ll try some overshoes. Having said that, my feet don’t feel cold before the numbness sets in. There’s no pins and needles – basically I don’t notice anything until my feet start to go numb.

That was my first thought, but I don’t think that’s the issue. Plenty of toe room and width in the shoes and I don’t think I’m over tightening them – will try loosening them a bit more though.

Thanks again for the tips – certainly helped me out knowing where I’d need to save a bit of energy in advance of the most brutal climbs.

Conditions were perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I had one moment of doubt half way up Tan Hill, knowing that I was only half way round and Coal Road was still to come. However, it soon passed and Coal Road turned out not to be as bad as I thought it would be (don’t get me wrong, it was horrible, but I’d had visions of having to get off and walk). Amazed myself by getting around in 6 hrs 48 min – fast enough for the gold award – chuffed.

Hats off to those that have done this in previous years when the weather hasn’t played ball – it was tough enough as it was.

I’d avoid the STs given that it sounds like you’re not too kind on wheels – not cheap to fix or particularly easy to find replacement spokes, plus they’re not really designed for abuse. I’ve been very happy with my Hope Tech Enduros. Given your spoke-popping history, I’d avoid the straight-pull option and get conventional J-bend spokes.

I don’t have an issue with the system. It’s a high demand event, as anyone who tried to sign up will be well aware, and it is quite conceivable that people would try to buy loads of tickets to be sold on for a profit if it was possible to transfer entries. With a 50% refund you’re really not losing that much money, and there are extra admin costs involved in transfers, although admittedly probably not 50% worth.

I had a place for this years event but had to drop out due to mini-qtip being due just before the event. I think it’s fairer that my place goes to the next in line on the waiting list, rather than a mate/someone who either hadn’t entered or is further down the waiting list.

The multiple entries thing that they started this year also makes sense to me – you may well only want to enter if you’re going to be there with all your mates.

Finally, as others have pointed out, it’s all stated very clearly in the terms and conditions – don’t like it, don’t sign up.

Last year’s event was fantastic – well organised, a great atmosphere, and a fantastic race. I’ll be signing up again in the future.

Hold the tube up close to the bit between your nose and your upper lip, it’s the most sensitive part and will detect very slow leaks.

Not if you have a manly moustache.

Cheers guys. Coal Road sounds as bad as it look on Google Maps, and I imagine it feels even worse!

Just me then?

I know one thing for sure – I wish I hadn’t just looked at some of the climbs on Google Maps!

I’ve got the long sleeve version. 6′ 0″, 32″ waist, 40″ chest – L is perfect fit.

Didn’t work with my 5800 105 short cage mech, even with a longer b-tension screw. Not enough clearance on 32T cog, and angle of b-tension screw meant that only a little length could be added before it missed the lip on the gear hanger. Bodged it for one ride by adding nut to end of screw so that it caught the hanger, but shifting wasn’t as good, mech angle was weird, and chain didn’t wrap around much of the cassette. Just replacing the cage wouldn’t fix this issue.

20mm Maxle Lite for 32mm forks will be fine.

Does make a difference, in that if you carry them on your person then you don’t need a saddle bag and lose the weight of the saddle bag. Still seems a strange comment though as whatever the OPs preferred method of carrying tubes is, the system as a whole will still be lighter with lighter tubes.

It’s just homophobia by the back door!

Pun intended? I do hope so.

Soft white pencil eraser has always worked for me.

Do Revelations still come in straight steerer? If not, you should be able to find some fairly recent ones 2nd hand. I got some 150mm Revs with a straight steerer – have been great.

Next attempt is for a 100 miles in 5 hours surely

Great, I hadn’t thought of that, but now the seed has been planted – cheers :evil:! Think I’ll hold off on that one for a while though, a lot more training required.

Not half as gutted as my brother when he only managed 239 miles in 12hrs

Jesus! I can’t even imagine doing that.

only way to correct it that is try again and go the extra distance and make sure it’s recorded.

Indeed! Will make sure I do it on the good bike next time rather than the cheapo commuter/winter bike. Should gain me the 58 seconds required to go sub-3hrs :P

Only moderate willy waving? You’re spamming all the forums (all two of them) that I use with it you big show off!

Fair one! Like I say though, I’m pretty chuffed with myself and thought it merited a little schlong-swinging.

Your effort from Sunday was far from shabby – especially given your extensive training regime :wink:

Nice work. I was hoping for a picture of a moderately sized willy though.

Happy to oblige!

Thanks all for the encouragement.

FAIL

I know, right. And 3:00:57 – DOUBLE FAIL!

Definitely road. As has been said, some of the back roads are in pretty poor condition, but nothing that can’t be ridden on a road bike (I can say this with some authority having ridden every single road of Anglesey since September!), and the vast majority of riding doesn’t warrant a CX bike.

Where are you going to be based on the island? I can recommend some good routes if you like.

How does cycling come under Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ?

If I forget to wash my bib shorts between commutes then there’s definitely potential for cycling to come under the remit of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

For me, the best single day of riding at CyB is MBR, then Tarw Du, then Temptiwr if I feel like it (just because I love the Dream Time section of it). I find this combination to be a good selection of standard trail-centre fodder, smoother jumpier stuff, and more natural techy stuff.

Wouldn’t have thought Llandegla was the best place for suspension tinkering – there’s hardly any bumps!

New routes and exploring places you’ve not been before keeps slow interesting.

Also, is NHS not an option? Perhaps your username suggests it is not.

Ok, missed the explanation. Definitely op. You may want to do other sports in the future that are also affected.

Op. Presumably, the op is a pay once fixed forever scenario, whereas you’ll have to replace the bike eventually. Plus, I’d rather be healthy and not be limited by technology. All supposition though given you don’t say exactly what the issue is.