maybe only 99 then….

3 this year so far and counting. Head shots knock them down promptly. Haven’t had the nerve to nibble one yet…they STINK. Mind you the last roe deer I shot was a bit stinky too and it tasted awesome. Planning on a fallow next time and then spit roasting it over the fire pit. Maybe I could spit roast 100 squirrels at once…..

Briefly used the CM on the front before my 29×3 chronicle arrived but loved it on the rear for all winter spins. I can’t think of any situations where they gave me issues on the front but that’s just me.

On the rear I ran them in the low 20s psi with no issues although they were a bit draggy at that pressure. I had them on a Solaris on a P35 rim but the only reason I ‘downgraded’ to a Smog was their width and resultant chain stay rubbing.

Their grip in forestry ‘thick’ mud / wet stone is the best I’ve had compared to all the Schwables. Their durability was also great…the only ‘downside’ would be the weight penalty…but I still need to loose a couple of stone so I’ll not quibble about that one too much and @ £15 a pop I can’t grumble too much.

Just waiting for on one to bring out their own branded 29×3 tyre now…..

Yes, I’ve got one of these and it’s fine (for me) after almost 6 months of riding. As for harshness, I did the Great Glen Way in late summer on a 2.1 Rocket Ron @ 30psi+ and lived to tell the tale. What bike is it being used on…if your weight is very front biased then that’ll have an impact on how it feels. My Solaris is a little front end heavy but the 29×3 tyre is perfect for removing most of the trail buzz.

29×2.1
Great Glen Way Sep14 by Rosscopeco[/url], on Flickr

29×3
29+ Solaris by Rosscopeco[/url], on Flickr

I’d have a pony tail out of my bumcrack

I just can’t get this image out of my head….tremendous reading chaps…..made up for a rubbish day in the office.

That gives me the shivers just looking at it. What would happen if the chain hits a nail or metal object imbedded in the wood? That’s happened to me several times over the last few years…you can at least man handle the saw back / away from the obstruction. Still got the shivers thinking about that vid.

….and that second vid….not even gloves (not that they’d have helped)…I did like his diamond jumper though!

Quicker boil=less fuel=less fuel to carry

Seems obvious now that you mention it. Thanks for educating me…I did ask!

For me…I’m never away bike camping for more than 4 days, and haven’t as yet had the manhood to camp when it’s below 0Deg! Therefore Gas works for me and a wee fire is always welcome on a camping trip.

If all that changes then the Primus will be duly considered. It looks like the westies testies…if I could afford it!

the Brukit didn’t seem to offer any real advantage over something like a Pocket Rocket (or the Alpkit equivalent)

This…

Sold my BruKit burner, kept the pot and stuff Alpkit’s MytiMug, a small gas cylinder and KraKu stove into it. The KraKu stove isn’t supposed to be used with the BruPot but I’ve not had any dramas yet…it does fit although it’s a wee bit shoogly!

Oh, and can someone please explain the logic behind the clammer for faster boil times? Every time I go camping I like to chill so another 2min waiting for the thing to boil is more time to kick back and have another small dram!

How long have you been talking about this frame for?

How long have you known me for?! 😀

your Solaris in a smaller size with a short stem and high(ish) bars may well have been all you’ve needed all along. (far too difficult to say without knowing you or your bike set-up)

Current set up: Height: 5′ 11”, Medium frame size, 50mm stem with 6Deg rise with 20mm spacer underneath, 710mm carbon riser bars in place. Result, still not ‘poppy’ enough and too much hand slap. By that I mean easy front wheel lift and as I mentioned earlier…it needs to be more rear biased to a) remove some of the weight off my hands and b) make the front end easier to lift.

Having had several conversations with at least 2 well respected custom builders, both have highlighted a rear bias as a probable necessity to unweight the hands. I just can’t afford to have a full custom frame built for myself at the moment (new business and all that!)

Aspirationally…yes please. Realistically…it’s a dream so sadly, no!

But thanks for the offer!

Yes, I suppose they are marketed as being different things but IMO they both share some similarities i.e short(ish) chainstays and slack(ish) head angles, especially given that they are both ‘short travel’ frames.

Being more of a full rigid rider I’m beginning to see the benefit of these kind of set ups / geo in terms of your position on the bike, especially when you still need something that’s well planted on the climbs yet capable on the slow techy stuff.

Is there such a thing as a perfect geo / frame? Nah, it’s just a load of compromises. I just need a change to get my mojo back!

letmetalktomark…..Nice build and that colour is very appealing! Interested to hear how the Sherpa handled with rigid forks.

I’m about to ‘upgrade’ my Solaris too, I’ve had it since it first came out but it’s just not hitting the spot for me. I originally ran 100mm reba’s on it but am now running a 29+ tyre on a dually rim on carbon 475mm rigid forks. Given the size of the tyres I’m not far away from the original head angle when I ran the Reba’s. I don’t think I’m much slower on the rough stuff, although there’s a bit off vision blur!. On the very techy slow stuff it feels significantly faster as you don’t have a head angle that bobs up and down, trying to pitch you OTB.

I need something that has a shorter back end, with slacker head angle and ideally offers less weight on the wrists when running rigid.

Help me decide….Stanton Sherpa v Stooge…I just can’t decide.

alpin…awesome audio from the good old USA!

Stoner…you have won the nerdy crown! I salute you!

2 x bikes here with Rohloff since 2007ish. Haven’t used ‘normal’ detailers since….and I’ll not be going to again.

1. Tweaked 29er Solaris with paragon swinging dropouts and 29+ rigid forks.
2. On one 26″ 130mm Inbred with sliding dropouts.

Currently in discussions with Shand for a custom frame 😀

The swinging / sliding rear dropout thing is a bit of a faff but the newish PF30BB with a EBB remove all that hassle.

Maint: a hose down and light oil of the chain is all it needs. Current chains have 8K+ miles and are both still under 1% stretch.
Weight: My own weight fluctuates more each week than this adds to a bike. If your’e after a race bred carbon bike then don’t but if your’e thinking rohloff already then your journey of enlightened is already well on the way!
Usability: Being able to change gear anytime, whilst peddling or not needs to be experienced to fully appreciate what it brings to the ride.
Drag: When new I did notice a little drag but now that they’re both worn in I never really notice anything. In reality, if you use your MTB (as it should be) through the muck and mire then any system will clog up with crap and become draggy when covered in mud. The best bit about the rohloff…even when it’s caked in mud you can still change gear without thinking about it!
Cost: Given the ever increasing cost of the latest bling IMO the cost of a rolloff quickly pays for itself.

IMO it’s the best bike related investment I’ve made and I’ve not regretted it once.

As above….hope you don’t die with the Knard on!

VERY jealous…email to Steve duly sent!

Baa Baa ‘normal’ merino owner here. I bought 3 pairs on a special 5 years ago and they’re still going well despite 3 years of daily 15mile commute and 2/3 times a week out on the MTB.

I use them all year round and just change from a summer shoe to a winter boot depending on the conditions.

WFM

ir_bandito – Member
on one carbon forks which have ‘just’ enough room

Which forks? 29er or Fatty?

I’m running the on one monocoque fork with a Dually rim and there’s maybe 4-5mm each side to spare. It clogs a bit now that the mud fest is here but I’m not too bothered by that. The Chronicle should be here by the end of the week so the fingers are still crossed. In an ideal world I’d maybe go for their new FAT fork or if money was flush I’d go for the Niner ROS9 carbon fork which I believe has a little more room to play with.

It’s a third hand ‘hand-me-down’ Knard so it’s balder than Kojack! As such it’s not the most confidence inspiring when in deep mud but then again I’m struggling to think of a tyre that is. On wet roots / rocks I’ve not had anything that rattled me too much. If it does slip on something then you’re usually over the obstacle and onto firmer ground by the time your sphincter starts twitching.

Slight thread hijack….

I made my 1st Hawthorn gin in early September and it’s coming along fine. Picked about 1ltr tub of lovely red hawthorn berries and ‘fridged’ them overnight before mixing 1/2 tub with 1lt of cheap gin and a couple of spoons of sugar. I let them ‘soak’ for about 4 weeks before removing the now white berries and straining everything through muslin. Out of two 1ltr batches I’ve got maybe 1.5ltrs of good mix. It tasted like cheap gin when I bottled it but I’m hoping by the time the New Year comes in it’ll be a bit better. Hadn’t thought of adding sugar to taste so thanks for that one. If it’s still rank I’ll just wait the full year and have it next year!

Here’s my slightly modified Solaris with on one carbon forks which have ‘just’ enough room for a Knard on a Dually rim. I’ve a Chronicle on order and my fingers are crossed…!

29+ Solaris by Rosscopeco[/url], on Flickr

Loving the way it handles.

Running a on one 2.4 chunky monkey on the rear.

To answer running a Rohloff on track ends…I got so fed up with the faff I got the rear dropouts replaced with Paragon swingers which makes it a cinch.

Now planning a full 29+ custom frame with a slightly more relaxed head angle to take some weight of the hands and make the front end more ‘poppy’

What do you call a Russian with 3 testicals

whojanickabollackov

What do you call a Spanish football player with no legs?

Gracias

Thanks Flying Ox….just what the Doctor ordered

1. No
2. No – possibly a bit selfish in that it’s not just about you…but you’re just human…

+1 for above “…and this too will pass…”

IZUMI track chain. If they’re good enough for those Dudes they’re good enough for old feeby legs here! £10 at CRC. Mine is almost 2 years old with over 4K miles on it and its still got less than 0.5% wear according to my chain meansurement thingy.

Head over to On One and get some Chunky Monkeys for £20 each. Heavy but arguably as good as the Nobby Nics they replaced…

Awesome.

I’ve a couple of pals who back on 2008 who ‘overhanded’ from Cape Wrath to Cape of Good hope with both their kids who were 3 & 4 and they still go on about it.

Time to start planning….I wish!

Swchalbe Racing Ralphs with Snakeskin pumped up to 30-40psi. I did the GGW last week with these and they were perfect. The WHW is a bit rougher in places but as above, there’s not much rocks. You just want something that rolls very well or your head will explode with depression after 10+ hrs in the saddle with slow / draggy tyres. 😀

Its a long time since a bike video gave me goose bumps….that was very impressive. I’ve climbed the Black Cuillin ridge many times so this was properly impressive in my books. The exposure on some of those ridges is very ‘squeaky bum’ on foot, never mind on a bike.

Video of the month for me.

In total I cycled 81.7 miles and climbed 7,148ft but that includes cycling beyond Inverness and out to my pals in Munlochy so take 9ish miles off that total and a few hundred feet of climbing.

Murf…now that would be a hoot. I may be up soon again to help a cousin build his new house in Adriachan so I may be tempted to give that a whirl. In saying that, I had serious vision blur with the rigid forks on the way down to Inverness so me thinks some bouncy forks would be required for the Drum plummet!

Overall, it’s a really nice route and considerably easier than the WHW in my opinion!

I did the Ben Lomond loop yesterday with a pal which eventually took us down the path to just short of the Inversnaid hotel. Didn’t see / feel / observe one of the critters. It was a glorious day, with zero wind…normally idea conditions for them.

[/url]
Top of Ben Lomond loop[/url] by Rosscopeco[/url], on Flickr

These ones are the ticket….a pal has a about 30 of these through his house and is well happy.

That’ll be 10 (TEN) for £16.99 😀

Fair point re the 140g weight penalty…however…what’s the ride like in terms of the comparison between carbon / steel?

I’ve always had bouncy forks but I really want to scratch the rigid itch. I’ve gone up to a 2.4 Chunky Monkey tyre which is the largest my Reba will take. If I went to a rigid I’d be in the (long) que for one of the Surly dirt wizards that are supposed to out any day now.

Trail_rat….I was kind of expecting someone would reply with something like this experience.

Whilst I take my hat of to the carbon builders over yonder the overall quality / perceived failure etc etc of their products seems almost inevitable…or is this an isolated incident?

So the question I have is really….if you had the choice between said Chinese carbon and lets say On One’s carbon 29er fork, the extra £50ish would be worth it as opposed to taking the risk?

Any idea how they compare to the ‘better’ high quality forks out there or is it obviously…’you get what you pay for’?!

Heilan coos can be vicious BTW. You can give most coos a shove or pat on the head (!!) but a Heilan coo is another thing altogether. I’ve seen guys trying to put their hands on the coos head only to have them swiped away by those horns long before they get their hand near them. I’ve helped out on a pals farms many a time and we all give them a wide berth….very very tasty though!

Re the yak video, it can’t for the life of me imagine how one ties the legs of a cow together without loosing all your teeth and your bollocks! 😀

…and for those who’ll be voting no…..

Alex Salmond was visiting a Scottish primary school and the class was in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asked Mr. Salmond if he would like to lead the discussion on the word ‘Tragedy’.

So the illustrious SNP leader asked the class for an example of a ‘Tragedy’.

A little boy stood up and offered, “If ma best freen, wha’ lives on a ferm, is playin’ in the field and a tractor rins ower him and kills him, that wid be a tragedy.”

“Incorrect”, said Alex, in his best trying-not-to-sound-too-patronising-Scottish-accent, “That would be an accident.”

A little girl raised her hand, “If a school bus kerryin’ fifty children drove ow’r a cliff, killing a’body inside, that wid be a
tragedy”

‘I’m afraid not’, explained Alex, “that’s what we would refer to as a great loss’’.

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Alex searched the room. “Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?”

Finally, at the back of the room, a wee lad raised his hand and, in a quiet voice, said: “If a plane kerryin’ you and thon Sturgeon wummin wiz struck by a ‘freendly fire’ missile & blawn tae smithereens, that wid be a tragedy.”

“Fantastic!” exclaimed Alex, “and can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?”

“Weel”, says the lad, “it has tae be a tragedy, because it certainly widnae be a great loss, and it probably widnae be an accident either! ”

Cheers faustus…nice blog too!

I suppose the only down fall of the bluto is it would necessitate a completely new wheel build to accommodate the wider hub. My current P35s will fit a 3″ tyre now.

Any other forks out there that can take a 3″ tyre?