Glad to have seen this thread. I’d like to get the Fox Brain shock on my 2013 Epic serviced and, if possible, Kashima coated at the same time; may as well get my RS Reba forks and Reverb post done too. TF Tuned don’t appear to service Brain shocks (they state an exclusion for Specialized on their site) but J Tech, who I’d never heard of before reading this, are looking promising.

13thfloormonk
I had to check it wasn’t April Fools, is this REALLY better than just running a front mech?

No.

I’ve done a few thousand turbo trainer miles with an old 9 speed rear wheel my otherwise 11 speed road bike (Dura-Ace/XTR chain) with no issues.

No, you’re not, it’ll work fine.

I got some ‘Rock Bros’ jobs from eBay. They’re lightweight, comfortable and do the photochromic thing as advertised. For less than £15 delivered, you can’t go wrong.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROCKBROS-Photochromic-Glasses-Sunglasses-Polarized-Lens-Cycling-Goggles-Eyewear-/351838458533?var=&hash=item0

Very happy with my Exposure Blaze. I run it on the medium setting as I’m actually worried the brightest may dazzle other road users!

Can you post a pic?

Can you not chuck a tube in it just to get you out for today? I get that the whole point of tubeless is to ditch the tubes, but it gets you rolling in the immediate term.

Meeting up with a few old mates for a group ride at Llandegla on 30 Dec. Thermal tights purchased in readiness!

EDIT: Done some more checking and I have a PF30 BB, rather than BB30. The question remains though, can I shim the axle or fit a 6mm narrower central tube or do I need to replace the entire BB?

I haven’t bought a rear mech yet, but it’ll be a Shimano M8000 XT SGS when I do. Shimano list this as having a max sprocket size of 40t when used on a 3×11 set up.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/deorext-m8000/RD-M8000-SGS.html

That being said, I run short cage M732 XT rear mech on my retro MTB with a 12-28 cassette and 46/36/24 rings and a short cage 5800 105 rear mech on my road bike with an 11-28 cassette and 52/36 rings – both of those configurations ‘should’ have long cage rear mechs and I’ve never had any issues with either, so I may opt for a GS mech.

As I say, the only reason for using the 11-40 cassette is not because I want a dinner-plate low gear, but because that is the smallest Shimano produce in the M8000 group; if they did an 11-36, an 11-34 or even an 11-32 then I’d use that instead.

The triple has already been despatched from Rose in Germany. It was only after ordering that it dawned on me that there may be an issue. :(  I plan to pair it with an 11-40 cassette, and then only because it’s the smallest in the range.  I’m well aware that 1x is the current vogue, but I like what I like.  Some people will no doubt be horrified to learn that I’ve also bought bar ends for it! :D

malgrey, that seems to be the one, thank you!

I confess, I hadn’t even thought about it having been resprayed. The 2012 bike you’ve linked to is an aluminium model though, whereas mine is carbon.

A couple of other questions I have:

Does anyone know the seatpost clamp size? I wanted to upgrade to a Hope collar with the integral cable guide for the dropper post. I originally ordered a 34.9 but, when my friend tried it on the bike, it came up too small. He sent it back for me and exchanged it for a 36.4 but this is apparently also too small!

I plan to, in slow time, replace the drivetrain with M8000 Shimano XT, as the current mix of Shimano and SRAM (not to mention the scuffed cranks!) irks my OCD.  I’ve ordered up a 40/30/22 chainset and corresponding front mech, as the weight difference between the triple and double was negligible. I’m now wondering, however, as the front mech appears to bolt to a fixed point rather than being a band that can slide up and down the seat tube, will it be able to swing high enough to reach and clear the outer chainring?

Thanks for all the replies, definitely a few ideas to go on here.

I’d really rather get something brand new rather then used, although I’d consider something ‘old stock’ in a clearance.  I’m quite liking the look of the Canyon Neuron AL 9.0 and the AL 9.0 LTD; I was initially sceptical about the head angle but all the online reviews I can find suggest it’s still reassuringly old-fashioned XC (and you’re right, cheers_drive, that’s exactly what I want).

The Scott Spark would definitely have been a contender, but I again I think it’s one that’s gone 1x specific.

That looks quite promising, thank you andreasrhoen!

I did look at that one, but I’m not sure about it being able to run a front mech?  There is some kind of tab on the seat tube, but it looks pretty high above the crankset and there’s no 2x build listed in their complete bikes, which led me to think it may actually be for something else?

I recently picked up a used Garmin 25 for £60.

I find it delightfully simple to use, it syncs automatically to Garmin Connect on my phone by Bluetooth (which in turn is configured to sync forward to Strava) within seconds of finishing a ride, it also syncs to my HRM and rear hub-mounted Garmin speed sensor for increased accuracy and the battery easily last a ride of several hours or a week of commuting.  It can apparently be configured to do simplistic ‘turn by turn’ nav, but I confess I’ve never tried that out.

All in all, I’m over the moon with it and wish I’d bought one years ago.

Kona Velocity 135mm x 0° stem, X-Lite Xpert 600mm flat bar and X-Lite Enduro bar ends.

A free fork plus the minimal cost of having the lowers powdercoated is still a bloody cheap deal, no?

Thanks z1ppy, I’ve reckoned to have a look through the catalogues but none of the years’ models seem to match it exactly, leading me to think a previous owner has upgraded some parts at some point. I haven’t actually seen the bike in person, the only reference I have is the photos posted here.

Cheeky bump now there’s more people online!

Apologies, I was trying to upload the photos from my phone to Photobucket then post them here, I gave up in the end after being utterly bombarded by pop up ads on Photobucket. The car is mine, clearly the one link I did manage to grab was the wrong one! Proper pics are here.

Never had discs on a road bike, but I imagine I will next time I buy a new one. On mountain bikes though, I’ve only ever run the QR levers on the non-drive side, lined up nice and neatly as PJay said; the OCD part of would never abide anything else! I have to say though that I have never, not once, burnt my hand on a disc.

DeKerf SST. Pretty much bike porn!

If something was good then, assuming decent condition, it still is as good as it ever was. Something doesn’t suddenly degrade or become less effective than it once was, just because a new and improved model comes along.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Speed absolutely isn’t an issue, I’ll be pootling along at the pace of a slightly asthmatic 10 year old, I just want to do so without shredding tyres or bending my wheels. You’ve collectively set my mind at rest on both counts.

fifeandy, what do you make of the Schwalbes I linked to in my first post? Any cop?

I don’t think the comfort thing is going to be a major factor, as we’re talking very slow pace for probably no more than an hour or so, no doubt with an obligatory ice cream stop somewhere along the way! My concern was more punctures and that I might damage the bike, but the replies in this thread would seem to suggest that’s not an issue.

Thanks for the speedy responses. The bike is fairly old (2010), dovebiker, I should probably have mentioned that. I have to confess, I didn’t even consider the clearance on the brake calipers, I’d only thought about the clearance on the frame itself.

I’ve got a ’94 Fire Mountain restoration project on the go and a pair of VGC X-Lite bar ends were one of the first things I sourced for it.

I run a Contintental Hometrainer rear tyre (700cx23c). Done 200 miles on it so far and it still looks brand new.

I suppose I’ve always imagined it to be a bike beyond the financial or practical reach of Joe Soap. A pro racer’s factory ride or something that has been built with money no object, to be the fastest/lightest/strongest etc it can physically be.

Interesting to read the posts about catching and bending/breaking the big ring on rocks and logs. Never, in over 25 years of riding, have I ever once damaged a chainring in this way.

I like triple chainsets and see no reason to ditch them. I’ve always had one, ever since my first mountain bike and something that serves a purpose doesn’t suddenly cease to serve that purpose because something new comes along. I’ve never personally had a problem with the way a front mech functions. It’s basic, sure, but it works. There’s the aesthetic consideration too; whatever the technical advantage, I hate the look of the new kit with a tiny chainring and chainring-sized sprockets on the cassette. I’m probably in a minority there but you like what you like.

My new project. It’s a ’94 Kona Fire Mountain, impulse-bought as a very belated replacement for the ’96 Fire Mountain I had stolen a few years back, having owned it from new. Whilst that one had been heavily modded with discs and Fox forks etc, this is going to be a classic resto job. The frame, fork and stem will be going to Argos Cycles for a refurb in the original colours, then it will be built up with an early 90s XT groupset that I’ve been slowly accumulating over the last few years, along with period-correct finishing kit. The basic idea is to end up with the kind of thing the teenage me would have wanted but could never hope to afford at the time.

I bought a bike in October after several years off and have covered precisely 200.0 miles on it to date. Small – nay, tiny – fry compared to pretty much every post in this thread, but I’m chuffed to bobbins with it.

Save for sitting on them to make sure they were the right size, I don’t think I’ve tested any of my bikes before purchase.

Another vote for a Mondeo estate in TDCi flavour. Tons of space (especially compared to your Corsa), Fords are well built cars these days and they don’t cost drug money for servicing or routine repairs.