Buy a singulator

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I’ll have a medium Stevie! My missus wears then to bed, she’s got quite a collection by now!

I joined two and a half years ago aged 28, a lad I joined with was 42 at the time. If I was a single bloke it’d be the best job in the world. As it stands we have a two year old and another due shortly and it certainly puts strain on home life. I work for IOM constabulary and we have to do 2 years 24/7 shifts before thinking about doing anything else. I’ll be looking to move sideways in to CID as soon as I can get my foot in the door not purely for professional reasons but because it will suit my home life so much better, my missus often feels like a single mum at weekends at the minute.

The recent reforms are taking a lot of the old perks away and the old guard will tell you it’s not a patch on what it used to be. But what is? As it stands I can’t be made redundant, the pay is average (i take home about 22k after the raft of deductions) and sometimes the job is a hoot. Sometimes it’s shit but again, what job isn’t? It’s about the most diverse job out there, if your face fits the possibilities are endless.

Do it. What’s to lose?

Attempt number 9 for me this year. Helps that i live a mile down the hill from the finish…the missus will be in the finish field with a beer for me :D. The forecast is pissing it down for the next two days then sunny spells and strong winds on Sunday. North east wind so could be a quick one

Funicular will be shut in from BSM to 1600 but you can get the bus up or drive yourself. Once at 1600 the world is your oyster, endless singletrack all very pedalable right round to the Ponthurin valley and back. Just buy an IGN map from the inter sport at the bottom of the hill and go explore!

Annecy to BSM is about an hour and a half sticking to the limits plus another 20 minutes up the hill

the worst shift is 5 to 4 i.e. moving off the SRAM block onto the General Lee

Same with the Shimano version going 4 to 3 but the hesitation is very minimal

I was in the same quandary a few weeks back but found a fella on here selling a Reverb for spares or repair for £25. The right hand remote was in fine kilter. Here or ebay are good places to start

I found prior with my regular 32 x 11-36 set up that if pedalling alone was the challenge then I would have been able to cope and just stand up and honk hard on the cranks and bars.

However, because finding grip is also part of the challenge, running a spinnier gear like 32×42 allowed me to slide forwards to the nose of the saddle and keep pedalling and finding the grip rather than having to stand up. If i were to stand up the grip’d go straight away.

In short, if traction was available indefinitely then I’d be running 1×10 11-36 but whe I live is steep and slippy so the General Lee is a welcome addition

Just fitted one to my Rumblefish with an XT cassette and a 32t Wolftooth front chainring. I was running a Zee rear mech with my regular cassette but had to go up to a GS cage XT when I fitted the General Lee. I also had to fit a longer B-tension screw to get the top jockey wheel far enough away from the 42t cog on the cassette.

Initial impressions are good, it’s very lightweight and secure on the freehub body when the lockring is tightened down (although it feels a bit loose before you tension everything up).

Shifting wise it’s not quite as slick as the Shimano cassette. There is a compromise with mine when the chain shifts on and off of the carrier on to the next smallest cog from the cassette. I can’t get it to be perfect in both directions so have set the cable tension so that it goes off the carrier (ie on to a harder gear) well but when going in the other direction I have to ‘overshift’ slightly to coerce it up on the 29t cog of the General Lee.

A chap on a different thread has done his own Dremel work on the first three cogs to mirror the ramps of the ones off the cassette and says it works well. I’m going to persevere with mine for a few more rides and see if it beds in before I do anything radcial.

The range of 42-11 with a 32t chainring gives me virtually the same spread as I had with my 2 x 10 so i’m well happy.

Original thread started by me here:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/leonardi-general-lee-shimano-adaptor-availability

If you get one from Germany SRAM UK will honour the warranty as long as you can get a bike shop to send it back for you, which might cost you a couple of packets of biscuits :-)

It will never be as strong again and you might want to consider surgery. I’ve done both of mine countless times, probably in the region of 20 in total. I’ve had both operated on with open surgery which gives me limited movement but keeps them in situ (touch wood). There is a keyhole option too but it’s less effective.

The bad news is that it’s six months recovery from the open surgery. From your initial dislocation this week you’ll feel bruised and it will feel really vulnerable for a couple of weeks until the soft tissue recovers. You’ll need some intense physio to get it strong again and I wouldn’t consider riding again for six weeks. It’ll feel fine after about three but believe me it’s really susceptible to popping out again.

That is, of course, as long as your name isn’t Marc Marquez :D

Strap on a pair of bollocks whilst you’re at it

My set up this morning with a GS rear mech, first ride out shortly. In the stand the only resistance in shifting is when going from gears 3-4 and vice versa off and back on to the adaptor from the Shimano cogs. I’ll see how it settles before I go mad with a dremel :D.

One thing I did notice is that I had to put a longer b-tension screw in to get the top jockey wheel clear of the 42t ring.

Will update later on first ride thoughts

Send them back to the point of sale demanding a replacement pair under warranty :D

is it a serious alternative to that 180 quid italian version

I’ve just paid £104 for my General Lee adaptor from bike-discount, never seen them for £180

I’d be using one of these if I were you:

Steerer extender[/url]

Clear stuff won’t look as obvious, GE stuff seems to work well, stinks of vinegar though! It’ll make you want some chips

Same issue with an XTR, just had it replaced under warranty by Madison

Usually just gear cables and dropper posts. I’ve done home made Reverb stealth routing on my Rumblefish with a little help from my old man who’s an aircraft engineer. No issues so far

Works for me on IOS

Got some uberbike ones off eBay the other day, fiver a set, can’t tell any difference to the Shimano ones after a couple of rides

I’ve got these: Sennheiser cx400, come with a multitude of earbuds to suit every shape under the sun and sound quality is outstanding. They’ve never come out of my ears

They also do cheaper versions with the same fit but slightly inferior sound quality

We used to sell it as a bike cleaner in the LBS I worked in as it was a much cheaper alternative to Muc Off. Customers used to swear by it, same job as Muc Off and a third of the price

I’m on my fourth Reverb since April, all replaced under warranty by SRAM in Windsor (I know the address off by heart now!) but fortunately a good mate runs my LBS so they go back through him.

Buying through a reputable vendor is essential in my opinion

I’d love to see Shimano make one, but perhaps the reason they are not jumping on the band wagon is that if they were to produce an 11-42 cassette, would it not make the rest of their drivetrains obsolete to a certain extent?

Good to know, thanks guys

What rear mech are you using with the general lee Robin? Interested to see that you got hold of the 42t version, the Shimano ones I’ve seen only go up to 40t.

I’m wondering whether my Zee rear mech with a stated capacity of 36t will cope with a 40t general lee sprocket. I know there will be sharp intakes of breat at such a prospect but with my current chain length it looks viable.

Thoughts anyone?

If it’s going on a 160 I’d be running a full guide like you said and not bothering with thick thin chainring and cluth mech.

Anything with ISCG tabs are worth using in my book

Deal done, Lyriks on their way

Those lyriks look like a decent deal, thanks guys

Did you just email them then Paypal them the money Johnny? Might be looking at one later in the year. The consensus is that a medium cage will be fine as long as you’re running a single ring up front, think it says so on a couple of places like bikeradar/pinkbike on their reviews.

If you’re using a thick/thin front chainring and doing XC then probably get away with no guide but if you’re riding rougher stuff, especially with short/no rear travel the I’d use a top guide

He’s looked at them but I think they’re a little weighty at 2.4kg.

Anything else?

Give it hell!

A pair of long nosed pliers down inside the axle hole and a bit of waggling usually does it. Spot of spray lube won’t do any harm

These are Pro 2 Evo 135 x QR end caps. Black one on the disc side, silver on the drive side. They just press on to the axle, the same way as the 142 x12 do. I swap mine occasionally to get my otherwise 142×12 axle wheel in the QR only truing stand. You don’t need to even think about pissing about with the axle, leave it where it is. Sometimes need a bit of persuasion with mole grips or in a vice though.

Hope that helps

I never did figure out, is the Zee cage the same length as the Saint one? Because the Saint is pretty damn limited, it can’t deal with a wide ratio cassette even with single ring

The cages are more or less the same length, the Zee are available in two versions for a narrow or wide range cassette. On the Saint there is a switch from DH to freeride mode. In the freeride mode it will take a 36t cassette without issues with a single ring up front

XTR shifters are well worth it, a mate has exactly the same set up as me with an XTR Shadow + rear mech but he has XT shifters but I have XTR. Mine have always felt so so much better, I wouldn’t have anything else now.

If I could afford it I’d have XTR cranks too, just because they look so gosh darn sexy. I’ve just changed my rear mech for a Zee shadow + instead of XTR for 1×10 and the weight difference with both mechs in my hand was almost undetectable.

stevied – Member
If I could afford XTR I would have it because it oozes quality. I do have an XTR front shifter for my 1×10 but that’s it..the rest is XT because it works perfectly and is, afford-ably, replaceable if I break it.

One at the back and ten at the front?!

It was done by a couple of local lads on cx bikes last year without too much trouble. Rumour has it that the one nasty technical climb left from years past (Sleau Whallian) has been taken out this year as its too much of a bottleneck. Replaced by a wide (but hellish steep in places) motorway track ending up in the same place called Barnell.

You’ll lose time through the plantations but probably all in all it will be as quick if not quicker than anything else.

Me? I’m doing it on my 1×10 equipped trail bike with 2.4in 29er tyres and a dropper post….cos that’s all I’ve got!

I rounded off the head of a chainring bolt earlier. Curses to you Mr Shimano!

Seriously, get the lowers off, fill the scratch with araldite then gently rub down with wet and dry with a long thin strip around the stanchion. They’ll be as good as new

Some work to a rule of big + big not through RD + 2 links, others wing it.

I winged it last week and it worked. Fit the chain with the quick link though the mech and see what it’s like. In big cog at back the mech cage wants to be pretty stretched forward but not to the point where it’s horizontal. In the small cog there needs to be a bit of tension left in the chain, ie it needs to be pulling on the mech cage slightly and the chain doesnt want to be loose at all.

If running on a full suss don’t forget to collapse the shock and see if that has any bearing on it and adjust accordingly. The beauty of a KMC chain is that you can fit it at full length with the link then just shorten it by two links at a time until its right