I chose a GIA triple X in E (the jeweller tested me and unlike most I could tell the difference between E and H for example) , S1 (feather) and it sparkles like a very sparkly thing indeed!

As he said (up) Cut, cut and cut is what gives a stone fire and general "look at me" ness :)

I spent a year or so looking for a ring that was the sort of thing the mrs likes.

I would suggest not going for merely the biggest centre stone you can afford – big, low quality stones look horrible in my opinion.

Get the best cut you can afford, then colour and then clarity (clarity being a slightly mute point as most half decent stones have imperfections only visible under ten times magnification)

This is the advice i got from a qualified diamond grader and the mrs's ring is damn sparkly!

i think so! Need to look into all this stuff . . '

I ride my skinny hardtail down extremely rocky descents faster than mates on 6'' bouncey bikes – it's fine!

Most bikes will take a lot more than most of us can dish out!

erm the splines look knackered and nearly identical to my race face evolve cranks shortly before they were binned!

As for warranty – I'm fairly sure that the lifetime warranty doesnt apply to the evolve range or lower, still worth checking. .

you probably wouldnt get that much for it yet building something new for the alps would cost a wedge of cash!

I'd keep it and take it to a DH track so that if you do go to the Alps you'll know how to ride big terrain properly! :-)

Congratulations!!

:-)

Well you say that but my old 6'' reign didn't feel boring and tbh my average XC route has lots of gert big rocks involved so the 6''er was always fun..

just wondering how much difference the extra travel makes.

re hardtails.. mine isnt really the sort of thing you want to DH on (steel frame with rebas) and Wharncliffe does warrant some squish to be enjoyed at anything other than a plod imo..

How does 6.7'' travel feel though, on "normal" all-day rides e.g. trail centres?

Does it just iron everything out, make it a bit boring etc?

yeah i can see what you're saying – thing is i really need something capable of xc but also the odd dh day and the standards reign's forks are a bit too wimpy and it's a bit steep . .

ooh very nice zangolin! .
What size is that?

Do you use it just for dh then? What made you choose that rather than a faith, for example?

there are always trails out there that warrant big squidge – you just have to find them!

I guess it does rather depend what you ride most often?!

A big but light bouncer can be huge fun in dark peaks, lakes, scotland and on uplift days but i wouldnt want one for swoopy singletrack or south downs style riding . .

I think it's 5 years now . . . . It does seem though that a few manufacturers are having trouble with the balance between weight and strength on the new breed of do-it-all bikes . .

. Remedy, tracers, reigns and a few others . .

ah yes. . Just read the thread on mtbr about some linkages snapping. .

. I'm mildly put off now!

anyone else? Ta

Well I used to use my old 2005 Reign for all day rides and it was great…

it's not so much the weight, more the pedalling soggyness if any (not that my old one was mushy)

ooh cheers guys, i had no idea we had so much bog knowledge on stw!

Tis just an old bog with a normal lever as opposed to fancy buttons etc!

I shall have to take a closer look tomorrow . . . Seems a typical thing to do on a bank holiday!

erm type of toilet?

Er . . A white ceramic one.. . That's about all I know! i'm thinking surely it must be home-fixable?

Wickes do spare bog parts I think . . Just got to figure out what bit to get?! where's the diaphram live then?! ta

Yeah when you flush it no water comes out. . . i'm going to have to google 'anatomy of a toilet flusher' :-S

I did it and it makes a suprising amount of difference to the feel of them…lovely forks though and reet neece on me steel hardtail with 120mm at front…

I agree with the "landlords are either cr@p or great" sentitment.!

Seriously though, I think most landlords will be flexible if you're experiencing genuine problems and talk to them as opposed to hiding behind the sofa etc…

. . . And for the record I have owned a reign and also a foes fxr so have some point of reference ish!

I've been pondering a similar thing . .

It's hard to see for example, how with the quality issues of late in particular, how a tracer is worth about 700 quid more than a giant reign x 2010 which is about the same weight, has superb suspension qualities, is well built and stiff too!

I know it's somewhat missing the point of a handbuilt frame but based purely on functionality I think it's hard to argue with the big names like Giant (especially as the entry level full bike reign x uses the same frame as the frame only option!)

I'm deeply hurt by your insinuation that my face resembles an erect penis

floppy p£nis then?

And to clarify, I wasn't objecting for the sake of objecting I was genuinally a bit like "woooaaah doood" at the apparent like dissing like of Boot's sales assistants and the derogatory use hence of 'em..

However, I see now that that was not what was intended and hence apologised.

And as for feeling foolish… not any more than usual old bean..

Get over yourself

Phallus off phallus face :-)

Oh and congratulations on being the first to use an abusive word, your a hero to the the world.

Thanks, is there a prize?

My concern is more to do with the fact that being a "Boots sales assistant" was implied as a derogatory term.

Maybe you didn't mean it like that, in which case I apologise for calling you a phallus.

peas out.

she looked more suited to a boots assistant.

Unbelievable

N0b

I'm a fairly large chap (220lbs) and the bestest ever chains for me are KMC.

(I once had to single-speed my reign around CYB in a very tough gear after my mech got smashed off)

..must have been quite tough on it as it had to cope with the chain growth from the suspension trying to stretch it as well as my lumbering pedal strokes.. has lasted ages too

#shameless plug#

My 2007 FXR 2:1 in Large is now for sale in case anyone's interested…??

#end shameless plug#

steve?

steve foes steve foes foes foes steve

ah right, good point!

cheers guys, I might stick it up at a buy it now price and see if there's interest..

(out of interest what sort of price would you value a 2007 frame in good nick, serviced shock etc…rrp new about £2.2k – £2.5k … foes fxr)

Hmmmm, I guess I'm terrified of it going for 99p or indeed half what it's worth and to my mate the only bidder!!

Oh righty, I might give it a go then.

Have you any tips on whether to put a reserve price on there, what starting bid to er..start at etc?

Presumably there must be a preferred "strategy" with all that!?

ah where's you gone steve… ???

ah right cool, cheers. . . Tricky to see just how bad that damage is tbh – not sure if it would affect how well a chain device would fit, or not?!

DINO – hope you don't mind me asking but did you buy the Tracer that mtbmarkymark was advertising?

I know you were looking for one and responded to his previous adds..

….just that he's not responding to his add or emails and I was wondering if it was still available!>?

ta

anyone else bumpety bump bump . .

yeah I think the whole performance thing is a bit subjective, however I don't want to go for the Tracer and be disappointed in how it feels..

yeah its a shame because i love the look of the tracer and it seems to get good magazine reviews etc.

I used to love my old original Reign so maybe the new Reign X is worth a look – any idea of the frame weight?