Dirt reviewed it in issue 150, and said that the frame’s geometry and damping is good, but that the reynolds carbon wheels didn’t hold the tyres well and were too flexible. They also said the frame had too much swingarm flex and that the tyre hit the frame a few times. Their verdict was quite good, but replace the carbon wheels with something else.

Maybe try sorting out the root issue instead? Go to the gym, and lift some weights until your grip and shoulder strength improves instead of buying something that will make a pathetically small contribution. If you don’t get on with a bars ergonomics then change it by all means, but complaining of harsh feel with a 180mm fork on the bike? Time to improve the rider, not the bike.

I’d say that by “wicking lining” they mean clothes that have softer, fleecy type fabrics on the inside. I’ve had good results with the wash in, but I’ve only used it on waterproofs that are just the waterproof layer, they don’t have other fancy bits. Never tried the spray on, so I’ve no idea how good it is, but I’ve heard it can require a little more care when you apply it.

Check the chain length first, I was having the exact same problem and was frustrated for hours before realizing what was going on.

You’ll still need sealant to seal up little holes and tears, which is one of the biggest advantages of tubeless. LUST tyres should seal and inflate tubeless more easily than regular ones, though normal maxxis tend to work quite well tubeless anyway.

My commute is pretty short (10 miles total), so I hit the gym and do crossfit 4 nights a week, and yoga once a week. Crossfit is properly full on, lots of heavy free weights and WODs where you collapse afterwards. It’s done a huge amount for my strength and fitness (especially upper body!) and it pays dividends back into my cycling.

In case anyone is wondering about the other suits: DeRosa has hearts, Mario Confente has spades, and Torpada has diamonds.

Ciocc has all four because the legend says that back in the steel frame days he made frames for all of the brands.

I find myself in the clear minority of people who love the new design, it’s so crisp and clean and easy to use. I reckon wiggle and merlin have pretty ugly websites, that don’t really offer any better functionality.

I’ve found riding with a triple to just be frustrating, and I feel like it combines the worst parts of a compact and a double. You either have too tall a climbing gear, or too small a descending gear. There’s not enough steep long climbs around where I live that I ever need a 30t, it’s just uselessly spinny. If my road rides were long touring type rides then maybe, but I’m out for short fast rides. Riding with a triple on the road doesn’t work for me at all.

For that money, why not get a Nukeproof Mega TR brand new? Old wheelsize, but modern everything else.

From the cane creek website: “Factory Neutral: We do not currently have a Base Tune developed for this bike.”

My set-up:
25% sag
HSC: 2.5
LSC: 17
HSR: 1
LSR: 17

Took off the high speed rebound to make it pop more off jumps and lips, and put on a little extra high speed compression to keep it controlled on big landings, and propped up a bit more in corners.

Added a few extra clicks on both low speed rebound and compression just to make it climb a little better and not move around so much when out of the saddle pedalling.

The only downside is that on bigger landings (to flat) it can buck a little bit. My goals were to get it a little more playful, without compromising it over chattery small bumps, and it seems to have worked pretty well.

There’s not really that much difference between them to be honest. It also depends a little on your budget and if you want front sifting as well. To summarise the most oft-quoted differences:

Sram mechs work better with add-on 40/42t cogs
Sram mechs allegedly wear out and go wobbly faster than shimano ones
Shimano shifting has a lighter feel (saint shifter aside) – some would say it feels smoother and more refined, others would say it lacks feedback and that sram shifting is much more positive.
Shimano front mechs are usually considered to be much better
Shimano offers better value at lower prices, deore and slx are better value than X5 and X7

(To declare my biases, I use shimano on all my bikes)

650b forks are (to generalise) slightly longer, but have more offset. So the geometry theory is that you’ll have a slacker head angle but the offset should speed up the handling and “cancel it out”. The end result is a very slightly longer wheelbase. At the end of the day, and talking to people who have done it, you can’t even tell the difference.

650b+, 3 inch fat tyres and similar outside diameter to 29er

(Pure speculation here)

Pretty sure they’re all the same, I mean they all have to fit into a standard freehub, right?

Depends on what headtube it has. If it’s the old 1 1/8th standard with external cups pressed into the frame, then no. If it has integral cups that are pressed into the frame with only a little bit exposed, then it’s possible to fit a different bottom cup that will fit tapered forks.

Can’t guarantee that though, headsets are complicated things.

Next Day Tyres have lots in stock according to their website.

The belt on mine fits perfectly for the small size, but then I have a 30″ waist. I’d assume that all the straps and things on the medium are longer.

Multitool
Chain splitter
Spare hanger, brake pads, and gear cable
Zip ties
Small roll of tape
Chain lube
Quick links
Tube
Pump
Tyre levers
Patch kit + tyre boot

There hasn’t been a ride in a long time that I’ve not managed to fix exactly what’s gone wrong, though I think carrying everything around is insurance enough to make sure things don’t go wrong :-)

I’ve found Weather Spark[/url] to be very accurate, and it gives you a choice of multiple forecasts so you can give yourself a good idea of what’s going to happen. Combine that with an easy to use interface that still presents an enormous amount of data in a readable way, and that’s why it’s my favorite. None of this single icon per hour vagueness, instead it gives you cold hard data about exact amounts of predicted rain, cloud, sun, wind, everything you could ever need.

46.0″ nukeproof mega AM in medium

It definitely takes some body language and creative line choice to get it around uphill switchbacks, but it’s brilliant on the way back down

Before swapping the bars, try adjusting the angle they are at, or possibly reducing the length of the stem to bring your weight further back. Also check your brake lever position – they should be in line with your arms and wrists when you are sitting on the saddle.

low on money

looking for a project

These shouldn’t go together, there’s no such thing as a “project” that doesn’t involve throwing cash into a bottomless pit :)

Here’s some advice about the cottered cranks. Personally I would get them out and replace the whole lot with some shimano HTII cranks, or something square taper if you like the old fashioned look.

The headset looks like a standard 1″ threaded, but it doesn’t look like it has a standard threaded race. You’ll need a spanner to get the top locknut off to have a look at the rest of it. Measure it to see the size you need – it could be 30/32/36mm.

As for the seatstay bridge, the bike probably wouldn’t collapse to pieces and kill you if you cut it off, but that’s just a guess, hopefully someone with more experience about these things can say for sure.

It would be great if you post what hotlines say – I’m after a new mech hanger having bent mine enough that the chain won’t go onto the smallest sprocket.

You’ll need to say what width, rise, sweep, and weight you want – and at what price. Otherwise you’ll get a thread containing everything from Mt zoom ultralights to truvativ boobars.

Since we might as well just start listing the bars we all currently use because they are obviously the best ever: Thomson Downhill bars.

Surprised that you can’t find an old orange 5 frame, I would have thought there would be loads around for cheap prices by now.

Nukeproof mega TR if you want a new frame though, and decently priced in the sale.

Course map for the EWS – is this what you’re looking for?

The CRC twitter feed did say they were having some problems earlier, and no mention of it being fixed yet

Grease and torque all the bolts to the specified torque?
Check the maxle is done up tight?
Make sure it’s not coming from the wheel (spokes or bearings)?
Undo the shock and cycle the bike to make sure everything is smooth?

I’ve just finished building mine and it doesn’t make any noise at all, but that doesn’t really help you out.

Hopes are heavier and narrower, but probably have better dent resistance?
Stans are lighter and wider, but lots of people complain about dinging them easily, and that they aren’t eyeletted.

Personally, I’d pick stans, but I’m a light rider and rarely damage my wheels. If you regularly dent yours and like battering through rocks, hope might be a better choice.

Loco, Mojo, TFTuned, or Flotec if you’re in Scotland. Pick whichever suits your budget and location. That said it’s not too difficult to change oil and seals yourself if you have all the right tools and you read some guides first.

Is there anything in the US (or the UK for that matter)that mediates in these cases and decides whether they have any merit, or is it al about bluster and bluff calling?

In the US suing someone is as simple as going down to the courthouse and paying the filing fee (usually about $25). Then the case is looked at by a judge, and they decide if it has any merit – they have the power to dismiss the suit so it doesn’t go to a court case. Filing a counter suit in this kind of situation isn’t unusual, as mikewsmith says. Pretty sad situation all around.

Gotta be worth at least attempting to fix before you buy a new one! Above method is the standard way.

Maybe, but it also might not work at all. Just buy a deore brake instead.

I used to use alu ones because they came in shiny matching colours, but they just kept shearing. Not sure if it was crappy bolts or my ham-fisted spannering, but I’ve had zero problems since switching to steel ones.

Front and rear ones are different, you need a PM-IS R160 (in superstar’s language).

Order some to collect from evans, try them on in the store, and return any you don’t like then and there. You won’t find anything other than the cheapest 661 FF in any of the shops in Edinburgh. The only place that might have some good ones would be alpine bikes down in inners.

Be aware that they have less back and upsweep compared to most bars. They’re 4 degreees upsweep and 6 back, typical numbers would be 5 up and 9 back.

Personally, I love my thomson DH bars. Perfect understated finish, the geometry felt a little strange at first but I grew to love it very quickly. While I’m sure carbon would have been lighter and probably stronger as well, mine have enough scratches on them that I’m happy they’re aluminium.

I guess being resin and not metal they might not stand up as well to abuse over time? But I don’t tend to smash my road bike pedals into things and at that price…

Here is shimano saying exactly what the free stroke does, and more importantly how to set it – it’s not as simple as just turning the screw!

Shimano: Free stroke is defined as stroke of the lever before the pads start touching the rotor. The free stroke screw simply changes the starting point of the master cylinder piston. If the screw is all the way in, the master cylinder piston will be all the way in, and the free stroke will be the shortest. Turn the screw out a bit and the master cylinder will start further out. Because it has to travel further before it closes off the reservoir port, the free stroke is longer. In the picture of the clear brake posted above, the free stroke screw is turned all the way in.

I’ll admit that it is confusing because it seems to have the opposite effect when you turn the screw. The stock position is all the way in and that’s where most people like them. If you do nothing but turn the screw out, the pad contact point moves out. So it feels like you’ve made the free stroke shorter. The problem is that turning the free stroke screw also effects your initial reach adjustment. The pad contact point came out, but the starting position came out more. So it’s always at least a three-step process. First set the reach adjustment so that the lever starts where you want it, then adjust the free stroke screw to get the amount of free stroke you want, then turn the reach adjust knob to put the lever back where you wanted it.

I would personally like to see a lever that allows for an even shorter free stroke adjustment but as it is, when the free stroke screw is all the way in, the master cylinder is right up against the reservoir port. So really the only way to give people less free stroke would be to sacrifice clearance between the pad and rotor.