Nice one, see you there :)

Yo Yo Yo, Bob Haro’s in the house. He wants to know what time the radness starts tomorrow night?

He’s been practising his Cherrypicker ;)

Oh, I’m 40 btw.

Won a day riding with the Atherton’s at Revolution about 18 months ago. Did a run with Rachel riding behind me shouting instructions. I’ve been on a couple of day long courses with good coaches, but I learnt more on that run than I did on all the courses combined.

There’s better & then there’s double the money better isn’t there. Being completely honest I’m probably not going to be able to tell the difference anyway :)

Cheers. Would love the 36 but just can’t justify it :(

Cheers y’all.

Deveron53 – Are there any warranty issues with going 150mm on the forks? Thought it was 140mm max? Who’s ever going to know… I know but just checking!

Wouldn’t you be better with some high rise bars if you’re wishing you’d gone a bit larger? Always found them to increase the cockpit size a bit.

Super excited to get it built up now :)

Thanks guys, all this info is gratefully received. Quick one regarding the Pikes… I believe there are 2 fork offsets available – 51mm & 46mm. Any idea how you select this? I’ve never seen it offered as an option on CRC etc. Is it just a “get what you’re given” scenario?

Deveron53 – I have a couple of concerns with the SB95.

The first is that the reach is a bit shorter than the 575, although stack is considerably more. Have you noticed it feeling cramped at all compared to other bikes?

The second is whether it will be enough travel for the mega. Guess I won’t know that until I get there (never done it before) but I’m thinking the payoff for having more tyre on the ground will be worth it, hopefully will make me a bit more stable. Are you blowing through the travel or is it OK?

Not planning on running a front mech, gonna go 1×10 with a 40T on the back. Am possibly looking for a chain guide though…

No, I’m still at 780, but tempted to go wider for tracks without forest bits, Glencoe etc

You are in fact correct Honourable George, it was a Large Makulu. Spec sheet said pretty large, bought it off someone 6′ 3″, stood it next to the 225 and it was nearly the same length, just didn’t feel that way when I rode it.

Oh, one more thing… anyone looking for an XL Trek Session, I believe Jack Reading is selling his race bike from last season, think it’s on PinkBike.

Cheers

OK… here’s some info from a man who might (not according to his wife) have spent a great deal on DH frames in the past 3 years.

I’m 6ft 6″ & I’ve had:

A large Banshee Scythe – too small by miles
Ben Cathro’s XL Orange 224 – great fit, poor suspension, snapped at the head tube after 5 months
XL Morewood Makulu – Best suspension of any bike I’ve ever ridden. Looked nearly as big as the Orange, felt as small as the Banshee.
XL Devinci Wilson – Current bike, it’s great.

The key things to look at:

1. Reach is the key measurement. On the bikes that were too small it was the cockpit that was too cramped. This resulted in a lot of OTB’s. Wilson has the biggest reach of any production DH frame.

2. It’s not just about the measurements though, I think it’s also about the way that the frames sink into their travel. The Wilson seems to get bigger when it goes into the travel, the Makulu seemed to get smaller. This may be absolute bollocks. Brant??? But I’d try & get a test ride on some steep stuff.

Of all the bikes mentioned I’d say the XL V10 is the safest bet if you can afford it. Despite much hearsay, I have it on good authority that none of the Santa Cruz team ride custom frames. They were all on XL’s last season (Bryceland was on a large the season before). None of the team are anywhere near as tall as me – 6’2″ / 6’3″ for Peaty & Minnaar. Tracks are getting faster & less technical so they want a bigger bike because it’s more stable at speed.

And here endeth the lesson :)

If anyone would like the spreadsheet I compiled before I bought the Wilson which has the measurements for a lot of the frames mentioned above, drop me a DM & I’ll see if I can dig it out.

Ah sh*t. That’s terrible. Trying to be positive… you’ve got your essentials covered so you’re not going to starve – sure there will be people who don’t have that. Try not to let it get you down.

I was made redundant last June. I looked upon it as an opportunity and set up my own business. I’ve worked my knackers off for 12 months but now I’m in a place I could never have reached whilst working for someone else. During the good weather I’ve taken plenty of time off and ridden loads. My advice would be to try and have a think about what kind of life you want going forward and see this as an opportunity to make sure you get it. Everything happens for a reason.

Best of luck.

Cheers Konastoner, much appreciated

Yeah, it seems fine. Just didn’t know if it got completely knackered over time of if fine if serviced.

Thanks

Will hold on. Can’t be long before another comes around…

Yes that was I D0nk. Cheers :)

Cheers no 44. I am no longer disappointed in you if you didn’t make the climb :-)

Really enjoyed marshalling yesterday, more so than riding. Glad I motivated you to keep going Solar Powered…

Massive well done to Andrew & Jason, thought it was another great event. Defo up for marshalling again next time.

Never realised screaming “You’re not getting off the bike” & “Come on! You’ve worked all week for this” could be so much fun

Oops, just saw your post saying you’d ordered a YT. If anyone else is interested…

Sharkattack – I have a Large 2011 Makulu frame that I’m about to put on the market, only stripped it down yesterday. Amazing condition, looking for £650-700. If you’re interested let me know. Great bike, just a bit small for me (6′ 6″) so I’ve bought an XL Wilson.

They have found her!!!! Had fallen down the embankment off the trans Pennine trail rushed to hospital but alive.

Thanks for reading guys

No Brant, you’re more than welcome. In fact I was about to mail you yesterday and then I didn’t for some reason. I did call Chipps though, but he never returned my call!

Just bumping this up so any weekend STWers see it.

Anymore for anymore?

Cheez0 – trust me mate, you’d be perfect!

Have to say I’ll be slightly amused if no one from STW steps up though ;)

I tweet a lot… think I’m well over 5,000 and I’m full immersed in it and to be honest, I love it. Great way to stay in touch with all my old mates who are spread all over the UK, to get all the football rumours, to build personal relationships with clients, to find out riders views on the world cup, links to all the team videos, sort out rides etc etc etc.

Find some people who interest you, follow them, look at who they follow, follow more people – I follow around 200. Hook up with some mates and start conversations with them, then tweet at some famous people if you’ve got questions for them. You never know, Brant might even tweet you back :)

Aye, then Windham the week after

Rachel, is that you? If so, the answer is no. Well kinda. You see, I enjoy getting out with my mates for one day on a weekend and coming home with stories of adventure and terror. It gives me time to think away from work/home; a bit of a breather. I do enjoy it when we go on little pootles and I’ve enjoyed our trips to Glentress etc but as for every week, probably not :)

Wow, thanks toys19. I think that’s the first time anyone has managed to explain something so technical in a way that I understand :-)

It is a bit of a loaded question ell_tell but not in the way I think you think.

I cracked a frame that had been resprayed once. It’s a prototype Orange and I’d have binned it if I could get another one the same size (I can’t). Anyway, I’ve had it rewelded by BETD and I’m thinking of getting it resprayed and building it up again. When I was riding yesterday one of my mates brought his Nomad along that has been resprayed and now has a couple of holes in it… it wasn’t done by Orange but the company are pretty reputable.

Unfortunately I never met Julian, or heard of his fight, but the spirit of the man is obvious from your post.

Very sad for your loss & wishing you the very best for the future.

G

I would have to say yes. Not in the best situation at the minute – nearly resigned last week – but I can turn it on whenever I want, my problem is motivation.

Thanks. You’d imagine that Orange would be fine then wouldn’t you?

“If you keep messing with that spot you’ll get impetigo.” Mrs Rockitman 15/05/12

I left the spot alone.

I try to just do things that make me happy, so I’ve changed quite a lot. If I’m happy and it doesn’t feel like work then I’m likely to be better at it. At least that’s the aim.

There’s all the politics and BS to consider as well, but thinking about setting up on my own next year.

The one thing I will say is that it will never be “the dream life” but if you’re getting itchy feet it will probably be satisfying to at least explore possibilities. I have the luxury of not having any kids which gives me a bit more freedom.

I’m a big lad on an XL 575. I’ve ridden plusher bikes in my time but it fits me reall well and I like it. It’s done everything from 24hr solos to downhill days – pretty close to the perfect do everything bike if you can be arsed with having a couple of different stems and wheelsets.

Every Saturday or Sunday morning. Then I write it on the calendar. It’s encouraging to see the weightloss from the start of the year

I’m 6′ 6″ and currently have the same issue with dh frames… They only go up to l or the Xl isn’t any bigger than other people’s l.

Personally, first thing with any bike is does it fit, pointless having worlds best suspension system if bike is too small. I ride an Xl yeti 575… Pretty much the biggest frame I could find and it’s single pivot so not the plushest, but i’ll take it rather than being cramped all day. If you can do some comparisons with what you ride currently, the key stat your looking for are the reach and secondly the stack.

What size frame is this jtodd?

2 mtbs at the moment, but not ridden much this year. Off to the BMx track this afternoon, I’ve ridden more there than anywhere else this year. Quick, easy, dry, lots of advantages.