@el_boufador how did you do this on your solarismax? Curious to convert mine for an experiment in punishment but as it’s not a ss specific frame just wondering what your setup is? Some kind of tensioner? I’m completely ss clueless btw…

I’ve got one in orange, it’s lovely. Though it would be a harder choice now with the new additions. The purple certainly catches the eye…

I ran a 2.4 dissector on the front for a little while. Didn’t see much point of it over a dhf so switched back. Wasn’t as confidence inspiring in technical terrain as a dhf but didn’t make any noticeable difference to my feeling of speed. I know you want to stick with maxxis but I prefer a bontrager xr4 as a lighter weight trail tyre up front. Brand aside it’s perfect for what you describe imo.

@4130s0ul what size? Large solaris max in classifieds at the mo..

I was going to say you might be better off swapping to an E4 as I think the V4 is based on a thicker rotor. I’m no expert and there may be a way around that with the bleed but you know the E4 will work fine (i also use them with centerline rotors and they work great)

Thanks for the input. I’ve picked up a minion dhf/dhr pair second hand to try and also the new nobby nic in super trail on an offer which I thought might make a faster but substantial enough rear. Was just thinking of trying the mary on the front over winter as its supposed to be better in the mud than the dhf, though I’m not sure if that translates up to plus size (and I understand most people don’t rate plus in the mud in any case but it’s fun to experiment!).
My only experience of schwalbe is a snakeskin rock razor which when compared to an exo aggressor feels a bit fragile but that could be due to the aggressor having a bit more rubber on it – but hence my question about snakeskin.. I don’t think I can stomach the weight gain of the current supertrail Mary so will either get the snakeskin one or just stick with the dhf.

I’ve got a little used se4 (xr4 with tougher protection) in 2.6 that I might move on. PM me if interested.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vittoria-Terreno-Graphene-29×2-1-Mountain-Bike-Cyclo-Cross-Folling-Tyre-/265380726785?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

?

I just bought a pair of the 2.25’s. Only used once so can’t really comment other than it’s obviously pretty quick. Could pair with a mezcal/barzo up front for a bit more grip.

My understanding is the Sherpa with a 130mm is more the down country bike

This is the problem with ‘downcountry’ – nobody even knows what it means 😄

Tbh I can’t remember, but I wasn’t worried, and we have mud. And the se4 was quite a bit more voluminous than a 2.5dhf if that helps

I think there’s a guy, @reeksy ? who I think has an smax and a swith9er who could give you a bit more info. I think he had a comparison write up a while back. Could be worth a search..

I’ve had a 29×2.6 bontrager se4 in my smax which fit fine but haven’t tried larger.

Ah, at least I’m not missing out too much :)

Not that you can get one, so this is a rather pointless question, but… those with sodamax’s, what are the noticeable differences, apart from it being a bit lighter?

+1 for cotic having the most comprehensive and well explained geometry table I’ve come across. Some other brands give no clue as to whether theirs is at sag or not. In a perfect world cotic would also include a table not at sag as while I understand it’s good for comparing to full suss numbers, it seems that alot of other brand’s hardtails are given unsagged so it’s a bit more difficult to compare. But, y’know, you can’t have everything!

Kelvin – That was definitely a bit of idle speculation on my part… but would it be the case that if there weren’t any cost implications that cy/cotic or any other manufacturer would keep a consistent chainstay length through their whole size range? Or is it a compromise across all sizes that can help frames (understandably) be built to a budget?

I wouldn’t say I’m complaining about the chainstays, I’d just be curious to try them shorter to see how it affects the bike (and my ability to manual!)..
I get that it’s added weight, faff and things to possibly go wrong with some sort of adjustable system but I like the idea of it in theory. One other thing on chainstays is that it makes alot of sense to increase them as the front centre increases to maintain front/rear proportions. But this is extra headache and cost for manufacturers. I reckon you probably get a chainstay best suited to the size of frame the designer rides and then it’s applied to all sizes. Cy’s tall, Dan less so?!

I’ve heard elsewhere there are no sodamax’s on the horizon, Kelvin. Shame but I haven’t got the pockets for one anyway so probably for the best!

6′ on a large smax. Perfect seated and standing fit for me with a 35mm stem. Definitely wouldn’t want it shorter but neither longer. When I looked at the stanton options they all seemed to have shorter ett for the same recommended size which was a deal breaker for me as I hate feeling cramped sitting down and didn’t want to have to slam the saddle all the way back. As yourself and ahsat said, I think the proportions of the various parts of your body are as big a factor as overall height for bike fit tho.
Other thoughts on the bike – love the short stem on it, nice quick steering and the feeling of being behind the wheel when descending not going over it! Definitely confident downhill but the enjoyment definitely not restricted to that at all – a great allrounder imo. I’m constantly fiddling with tyre set up which changes the character quite a bit. The only thing I’d like is sliding dropouts so I could a) try single speed at some point and b) shorten the chainstays to give myself the best chance of learning how to wheelie and manual. The slightly longer stays are my excuse as to why I can’t and I’m sticking with it!
Come to think of it, a sodamax with sliding dropouts could be my perfect hardtail. Kelvin, seems you’re the man to talk to to get that arranged!
Definite plus for the Stanton is you can swap the dropouts I believe.
Good luck :)

Love the colour too. Very similar geo to the 2020 stage 5 I’ve got which has a 150 fork 135 rear and similar angles. They only ran that model for a year so they must have had this in mind when they dropped it for 2021.

Enjoying my stage 5 and personally love the look of the oranges. Reckon that stage evo would be ace. They’ve been great to deal with too.

Is there any off piste stuff in cardinham?

I live in Hebden and ride year round, definitely take a bike!
I’d offer to show you around but I’m away for Christmas. There’s quite a bit of good stuff, some of it’s legit, alot isn’t. It all involves steep hills!
Plenty that’s doable in any weather. If you’re lucky you’ll get snow, then it’s magic.
I’m happy to make some suggestions if you pm me but nothing beats being shown around. Mind you I’m not on strava or anything like that so don’t know how useful that could be..

Does anyone know which size, 2.4/2.6 magic Mary’s is closest in size/volume to a dhf 2.5 wt? Don’t really want a massive 2.6 but I know they can vary a bit brand to brand and like the dhf 2.5 size.

Not too far from Grogley, Bishops and Hustyns woods. Only been a couple of times myself so don’t know it too well but some great trails.

I had one on a 2017 Fuel ex and it had a knock getting in and out of its travel. Apparently quite common with them. Doesn’t affect performance supposedly but a bit annoying. Might be why there are several on ebay.

Ignore the last bit, just reread your original message re the rigid fork 🙄

6ft on a large here. Running a 130mm fork, 35mm stem with probably 20mm spacers plus a 45mm sq labs riser bar which has 12deg backsweep. Really like the feel of that bar shape and the bar height now. Fiddled with my bar height setup for a while, found the taller I went the more comfy, more confidence inspiring on the downs and easier to loft the front wheel it was until it became a bit tricky to weight the front on climbs, so that’s personally my balance point with bar height. Very personal tho..
Have tried 29er chunky and not so chunky tires, like both for different applications, and am building a set of plus wheels to try which I’m hoping will be fun.
As has been said very versatile bike.
What rigid fork are you running btw? Had half thought of getting one too to play around with.

Anyone know which out of the 2.4/2.6 new style Mary is closest in size/volumne to the dhf 2.5WT?
Liking that on the front but sounds like a mary will deal with the impending mud better. Don’t want anything bigger than the dhf.
Ta

Likewise say hi. I’ll be on an orange cotic.
Weather looks perfect👍

Rich

I’m doing it as it’s local. Does miss the more interesting riding in the area from my experience but most of that’s not legit anyway. Hopefully it’ll just be a nice ride if stenuous in places. I don’t know the whole route so it’ll be nice to see a bit more of the area.
I’m doing it on a hard tail with 2.4 tyres. I’m sure you could do the route on a gravel bike but it’d take any fun out of the rocky bits in my opinion but then I like a bit of comfort!
I went out last night, trails are running pretty good. Tacky mud and puddles in places. Looks like possible rain tomorrow but nice for Sunday..

Great I’ll stick with dt swiss driver for the whole process then 👍
Spokes arrived today, looking forward to learning something:)

Thanks for the advice Ben. Couldn’t stomach £30 for the depth gauge tool so I just bought the standard squorx driver. Was going to thread each spoke up to where the thread dissappears as my base setting so that will give the same result as you’re suggesting if a bit more time consuming. Am generally going to follow Roger Musson’s book except he advises to measure the true erd using 2 cut down spokes but I’ve just used the dt swiss calc dimensions for that rim as I didn’t have any spokes to measure with.
Out of interest, once you have your base tension setting do you use a normal spoke key or the dt squorx driver to bring up to tension? Any preference? Cheers

Yes I looked at it again last night and figured they were rounding up on any decimal point for the squorx vs rounding up/down at the .4/.5 threshold on the 12mm pro locks. Like you say probably because there is extra room in the nipple. I don’t know what the tolerances are like as I haven’t built a wheel yet but I assume this would give a slightly different base tension using the technique you described with the dt swiss driver with the depth pin
thingymajig?

Useful if slightly confusing thread for me as I’m just about to build my first set of wheels using dt swiss hubs and rims. Contrary to what you’re suggesting @benpinnick I found that using the dt swiss spoke caluculator it did change the suggested spoke length very slightly if I changed the nipple used from the pro lock 12mm to the squorx 15mm.. The precise measurement remained the same but the suggested rounding up or down changed. I went with the suggested lengths using the squorx nipples (as that’s what I’m using) even though the rounding wasn’t as mathmatically accurate as for the pro lock calculation. Has anyone else found this inconsistency using the calculator?

Not enduro, but an event in the north happening this weekend!
https://the24th.org.uk/cmbm/
I’m doing it as it’s on my doorstep. Would like to try my first enduro type race next year so am also following with interest..

Certainly not disappointed with mine either.
As above, I just asked Cotic to press in the headset when I ordered the frame. Great people to deal with.

Also based on the bonty xr4 I tried an se4 in 2.6 up front but it came in heavier than the 2.5 dhf, felt a bit more balloon like and cumbersome and so for me just wasn’t worth it over the dhf.
I also looked at the new nobby nics but they’re bloody heavy compared to the xr4, prob 200g heavier (actual weight, they were consistently well over the stated weight so I sent them back.)

I’ve been tyre fiddling this year.
Currently on dhf/aggresor on one set of wheels. Love it but prob a bit draggy for what you want. Trying xr4/rockrazor on the other. The rr is fast and feels ace for any road/canal path sections but did scare me in the steep mud in the woods – absolutely no straight line braking traction! The xr4 in 2.4 is light (and reasonably priced I think) and feels pretty good, I ran it on the back for a bit and gives good traction and seems to roll reasonably so xr4 f/r would prob be a better set and forget. Similar to a nobby nic setup I’d imagine.

Thanks for the info Phil. Sounds like you really got into it. I can see wheel building being a meditative process, as long as it goes ok!

Go get Roger Mussons Wheel building e-book

Have heard of that book before, will get it now I have a reason to use it 👍