Now I’ve got my Bud and Lou, I’m struggling to work out what use my BFLs are except for road riding or touring/fatpacking.

Well if it is a mistake then they are well protected in the T&Cs:

6. We reserve the right to amend technical or clerical errors in any order without notice. In addition, you shall ensure that all details contained within the order are correct and we shall not accept any liability for any error or inaccuracy in any order.

7. After placing an order, you will receive an email from us acknowledging that we have received your order for the Goods, and the delivery services you have requested from the delivery service provider. Please note that this does not mean that your order has been accepted. Your order constitutes an offer to Evans Cycles to buy Goods. All orders are subject to acceptance by us, and we will confirm such acceptance to you by sending you an email that confirms that the Goods have been dispatched by the delivery service provider (the “Dispatch Confirmation”). The contract between you and Evans Cycles will only be formed when we send you the Dispatch Confirmation.

8. The contract will relate only to those Goods whose dispatch (by the delivery service provider) we have confirmed in the Dispatch Confirmation. We will not be obliged to supply any other Goods which may have been part of your order until the dispatch of such Goods has been confirmed in a separate Dispatch Confirmation.

Worst : had a stroke during a mtb race, aged 33. Lost a big chunk of my vision on the left hand side. Probably never be allowed to drive again.
Best : stroke was caused by hole in heart which is now fixed. Feeling better than ever, fitter than ever. Switzerland has the best public transport system in the world!

I’ve put some miles on mine in the last week. Very happy with it so far. It’s great value for £65. There’s a technique to using it which needs to be learnt. The pin engagement was a little tricky at first but it seems to have worn in nicely and is less clunky now than it was originally. Screw out the spring tension bolt in the bottom of the post a couple of turns if you’re planning on fathering (or mothering) any children in the future. Alternatively screw it in for a quick trail side sterilization.

Surly MWOD but 20T rings are pretty widely available. Middleburn do them for example

Edit : need a 5 bolt crankset

Of course it’s possible. I just put a 20-33 double on my fatbike today. A crawler gear for deep snow and for climbing impossible stuff is ideal.

Hairspray, match, check eyebrows, job done.

366 days since my last drink. Was a nice glass of Pauillac as far as I remember.

Keep whatever bike you already have and get fit. The biggest advantage you can possibly have is arriving at the top of the special stages fresh enough to do yourself justice on the downs. +/- 40mm suspension won’t make the slightest difference unless you are competing in the top 10.

Not going to be able to weigh mine until tomorrow night but the Taiwanese seller claimed 659g including remote for the 27.2mm 425mm length. He was spot on with all other information so I don’t have any reason to doubt him.

OK Charlie, I’ll give you another go for my next fatbike purchase. Heard so much good about you – was a little disappointed to not get a reply 🙁

Any idea when you might be able to get hold of the Surly OD crank?

Cheers
Schweiz

I sent him an email and he never responded. Maybe he’s best on the telephone…

Shame really as based on the prices on his website I would have spent a few grand with him if he’d responded to my questions about stock and postage costs. Ended up saving a little money by importing from the US but waiting longer and will have much more trouble with warranty if it ever becomes necessary.

OK, I can confirm that it’s a 110mm drop and the dimensions in the pictures on the ebay link that I posted are correct.

I can recommend ebay seller hotcrazybike2011 from Taiwan. I had it within 1 week. Low customs value declared so no additional charges. He’s £65 with free postage and the new UK seller is £67 + £5 postage.

Not sure when I’ll get round to installing the post but I’ll give you some feedback when I do. I’ve got a Joplin, KS-i950 and Reverb so I’ve got plenty to compare it against…

Grand Raid sounds like a fantastic challange – im just not sure mentally I could cope with the down-hill-on-fire-road-in-the-Alpes side of it.

Believe me, after 5000m of climbing, you’ll be happy that the DHs are not too involving. Having said that, it’s certainly not all fire road and even the fireroad is loose and rocky and requires a hell of a lot of skill to ride fast.

You are right though – the Grand Raid is not a holiday.

dantsw13

Not sure if collar to rails is the key measurement in question here. I thought we were trying to confirm the travel of the post. Anyway, I’ll check both tonight and update you.

Ironically, I will be looking to modify my post to reduce the travel. My fatbike has a very large frame and I have limited exposed seatpost. I will most likely only use the halfway position and the fully down position. I’ll try to implement a mechanical stop and possibly add another position to the travel if needed.

By the way, there’s a new UK based listing for the post which has photos with measurements of the 3 positions which essentially confirms it’s 110mm travel:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TMARS-REMOTE-ADJUSTABLE-27-2mm-DROPPER-SEATPOST-3-REMOTE-HEIGHTS-/251192301320?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item3a7c3a5708

I have the new 27.2 T Mars post at home. Haven’t fitted it yet. It was sold as 110mm travel – I will confirm tonight but it looked that long to me. Feels pretty weighty compared to reverb but looks well made although far from pretty. Clamp is somewhat industrial looking but bar lever is nice.

Paid £65 delivered.

Grand Raid is point to point but with easy transport options to get back to the start or to Sion.

There is a huge number of starters however you should be aware that almost everyone takes it pretty seriously. Even the slower riders give it everything (this is a cultural difference in CH/DE, same for running races – there are no “fun runs”)

Depending on the weather and your fitness, cut-off times can be quite tight.

Organisation is perfect, scenery divine however don’t expect to be riding singletrail all the way – it’s mostly fire road, and be ready for a nice hike a bike up a scree slope at almost 3000m…

Aha, Lagos Portugal does sound somewhat more feasible than Lagos Nigeria

Wow, just wow 😯

(You were riding in Lagos? Is there much riding there?)

Aargau, Switzerland. I rode for 2 hours early this morning without seeing a single human track 😀

Riding in that much powder is a lot of fun with the right tools for the job. It is slow though. Nothing better than achieving “float velocity” when going downhill. Some epic drifting in the corners.

I’m guessing this is an older tyre. The Schwalbe tubeless ready tyres from 2012 onwards are pretty much sealed straight out of the box.

Use some soapy water to identify leaks and focus your efforts of sealing those particular areas (i.e ensure the sealant in the tyre is pooled in the area of the leak)

Were the tyres previously used? Could there be some damage to the bead? Was everything nice and clean when you did the conversion?

Geo?

M6TTF – nearly. It’s Freitag. We have several in our household however when you convert the price to GBP it makes your eyes water… Good bags that will last a lifetime and have a great second hand value should you change your mind

Mark,

Switzerland is non-EU (and therefore VAT free) but typically has the same postage costs as other non-UK EU countries. I suppose this terrible injustice is offset slightly by living in a mountain biking mecca but I am still outraged none the less.

Cheers
Schweiz

Is it a 10sp powerlink? The 9sp ones are a little wider.

Check your chain is fed through the rear mech on the correct side of the guide plate between the 2 jockey wheels. From an engineering perspective it’s a poor design since you can easily get it wrong.

Pedwarpimp

Thanks so much. That’s exactly what I was looking for.

Let me know if you ever need any trail information for the Swiss Alps and I can repay the favour!

Schweiz

Andy, yes – I did think about the bottom-up approach but I’m not sure exactly how they measure the 350mm total length.

Would appreciate if pedwarpimp or someone else could measure it. With 160mm it would just about be OK. If it were 170 for example, it would be a real pain in the ass to have to drop the post 10mm from the full extension to get a comfortable pedaling position. I’ve had KS posts in the past and although you can set them at any height, it’s hard to reliably set a position other than the top or bottom out.

Thanks, but perhaps I wasn’t specific enough. I think you have measured the length of post below the collar.

I don’t have much seat post extending out of my frame, so what I need is the distance from the rail of the saddle to the bottom of the red collar. I will have to run the post fully inserted in the frame and need to know if the extended position of the post will be too high for me or not. I guess the measurement is approx 150 mm (20mm collar, 100mm of extendable post and 30 mm for the clamp) but I’d like to know it exactly before placing my order.

Would you be able to measure this?

Thanks again

Thanks pedwarpimp – appreciate your help and sweet dreams to the little one.

Everyone’s different however for me, the concept of reward is counterproductive. You need to fundamentally change your outlook on alcohol and realise that you don’t need or want it in your life (or at least that you are in control of it). Reward is not a suitable long term strategy to achieve this. It inevitably deteriorates into rewarding yourself for a good day by bingeing the next day.

Remember the feeling of that hangover.

One day at a time.

Don’t try and make long term committments – you will fail – but one day is achievable and when you wake up (feeling great by the way) you’ll be ready to handle the next day.

You’ve got to realise that you are not giving anything up, you are deciding that you don’t need or want to drink. There’s a massive difference.

Get the e-book version of Alan Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Drinking. It’s a bit gimmicky but he has some very powerful ideas which can help you.

Good luck.

Never.

In Switzerland it is advantageous from a tax perspective to have the biggest mortgage possible. You pay tax on the assumed rental income of your property and off set it against interest payments on your loan. The vast majority of people maintain a 60-80% mortgage their whole lives.

I make sure that we will all have power in the future, that we can efficiently leverage our valuable fossil resources by supporting and balancing an unpredictable renewables driven grid whilst minimising the impact on our environment.

s’OK

Loads of rocks on my local trails as well. Hadn’t considered that they might be the work of clandestine saboteurs. Sneaky of them to use leaves to cover them up as well.

Thanks for the heads-up. Ride safe.

Cheers
Jekyll

Ardents, Rampages and Hans dampfs are all excellent and voluminous. I’ve found Nics, Ralphs, Mountain Kings and race kings all far too delicate for my weight, skillset and local terrain.

How are fat bikes in snow? Would they be a significant advantage on winter walking trails (includind some substantial climbs) with well compacted snow? What about 10 or 15 cm of uncompacted snow? What do I need to look out for in a fat bike to ride these sort of conditions?

RRP for the 64GB version may once have been £559 but it’s currently £249 so their “saving” of £430 is incorrect. Still a goodish deal if price is the most important thing to you

Sorry, didn’t mean to inject a somber mood into the thread.

Sore necks are bad and best treated by smearing cake directly on the affected area.