i did that.  been a while since I did but there was more commission on them sellin their finance that selling the car.  Also bought at period end when commission is calculated.  Told them “my own finance would take 5 days” Period end shut in 3.  So agreed to take theirs if they gave me an extra £500 off and refurb’d the alloys which they did.  it was actually the sales guy that offered that deal and suggested the cancellation!!!

Just be careful about cancelling.  they made it painful and they got very semantic over words.  You need to CANCEL under the cooling off period.  Not “I’D LIKE TO PAY OFF”.  Paying off they tried to lump in the interest and additional charges for paying early.  Cancelling was sjust the purchase price.

Surprises me really as we’ve got 2 Rise M10’s and they’ve been pretty faultless once I’d ditched the crap standard headsets.

Mines the H15.  In hindsight all the hype is about the M series.  Everything I can find online about problems (mainly the battery discharge issue) seems to be Hydro version :( Justs my luck.

The headset I havent had to touch!  That’s been faultless!!

My Bird’s bave been the best bikes ever so was holding out for their ethic.  But delays and so on and its still no nearer market.  Wish I’d held out and just carried on being “accoustic”.

I’m going to have that discussion about not fit for purpose but I’ve sunk so much into the forks and other bits as the basic 36 is rubbish compared to my RS Ultimate so had an andreani piston fitted at the same time they did the bushes warranty.  Plus new brakes, drivetrain, and wheels cos the stock were crap!  Triggers broom so not sure what i could actually give back.  Also put a shorter stem n carbon bars on it!!!

TBH, I’ve not had much luck with shimano mechs full stop.  SRAM runs flawlessly but the XT just seems to crap out and give clutch issues after getting wet n gritty.  Way too fussy a design.  Had 3 bikes all go the same way.  Just the orbea went that way about 2 years before the others!!

Charging wise is seriously annoying as I’m so OCD about batteries.  Always used a timer to shut it off at 4.5 hrs.  Backto the shop with it tomorrow so will see what happens.

At lease I have warranty and at least MTB Monster is fairly local to me.  Once thing I made sure of with electirc.  Didnt trust second hand and wanted warranty and didnt want a shop at the arse end of the country cos bike was £50 cheaper.

Still leaving a sour taste.

Well i know this is an old post but my real world experience is turning into why the **** did i get this bike. bike is 14mths old  but due to commitments has just under 400mls on it.  

1) shimano xt mech shipped with no grease. Seized after 2 rides and never shifted properly again. Replaced with SRAM gx and now flawless

2) Rear axle snapped.  warranty  

3) 1 full set of frame bearings and 2 sets of linkage bearings due to the ominous creak. “Consumable so no warranty”

4) Battery wont charge to 100% and charger doesn’t turn off at 100% charge. Keeps going and discharges to 85% ish. Warranty open for new charger  

5) brakes are SERIOUSLY inadequate. Swapped for decent 4 pots. 

6) fox fork shipped with way too much grease so popped and wheezed and clicked from day 1. Had to get it serviced to get it working properly. 

7) fox bushes wore out at 250mls and warrantied. 

8) Charger currently showing red light trying to charge it and bike wont switch on.  Going in for more warranty.

9) power switch regularly sticks down so you cant turn it off without some gentle persuasion with a pick to remove mud etc. 

its an utterly shocking bike. Never had something so unreliable. Got to the point I dread opening the garage door cos who knows what I’ll find wrong with it! 

I had similar dilemma’s this time last year and ended up buying an orbea rise.  I bought local thinking warranty and ease of claiming etc.  I also spent ages mulling over the battery.  I spoke to a guy who’d previously worked in a battery factory and modern batteries are designed to work in far wider range of temps than the UK has to offer. and these days, temp has naff all real world noticeable impact.  The bigger issue is human impact.  Leaving it on charge for 23 hours a day and so on.  Sure, battery capacity declines in colder temps but he was saying you’d never notice the difference.

There doesnt seem to be a general consensus on batteries either despite the manuals.  I’ve been told by professionals to store at around 1/4 charge and top up for 10 mins every 3 moths to keep it alive through to store it at full charge when not using it.  I go for the middle ground.  Store at 1/4 to half full then fully charge the night before.  BAsically dont charge after use, just charge before use.

removable battery is more about convenience.  My rise is internal battery.  Means charge in the garage and if we go on hols I have to hope I can take the bike into the room to charge it or have access to an external charge point.  My mates canyon is unplug battery and take inside.  My bikes a PITA to take away on hols.  His isnt.

And I’m coming to the conclusion warranties are only occasionally useful.
1) Rear XT mech crapped out after 3 rides.  Clutch siezed due to no grease.  Bike shop wouldnt warranty it.  Regreased it.  Shift was still shite.  Regrease again.  Still shite.  So I REPLACEED it with SRAM.  Not warranty.
2) Rear axle snapped.  I did get warranty new axle but that’s it.  No labour coverage so I did it myself.  But the replacement took so long I ended up with new wheels anyway.

3) Fox fork bushes failed after 200mls.  Warranty claim but I didnt do it through the shop.  JTech did it all for me as part of a service and upgrade.  Still had to pay for the service but I got new bushes for free.

4) Frame bearings siezed after 80mls.  No warranty as consumable so not only the cost of the bearings but also cost of labour.  So I did it myself.

Warranties have so many exclusions on wear and tear there’s not a lot they cant wriggle out of.

In short, I dont think I’d worry about buying local again for the sake of warranty.  If the motor fails then maybe I’d think differently but for now the shimano is still rattling on and on and the warranty I have needed has been worthless.

@martinhutch

No fixed plans yet. We were planning on the new Traws Eyri in wales but it looks to have a heck of a lot of roads in it so knocked it on the head for now.

For this we’re still at the “what about….” Whilst out riding.

criteria /aims in no order

• to be able to say we did X and not “we went for a bike ride in the lakes”
• deffo minimise hikeabike although odd section would be tolerated!
• travelling light with a rucksack. Planning on pub/b&b and not camping
• Easy start / finish logistics either dump cars at either end or train and prereably easy off main routes for dumping cars.
• riding mountain bikes. Most likely full sussers human powered. Although not averse to electric if overnight charging is possible. But i’ve a rise, mate a canyon. Latter will be a range anxiety issue so likely human powered.
• more offroad than road if possible.

Shap fell is never pleasant. I dont think there’s ever any weather other than howling and horizontal rain on shap!

Cracking. Great start to the planning. Thanks.

Tis a Dolan RDX so whilst marketed as a gravel bike its very road esque geo.

Spoke to biketart and took a punt on the  madison ridge. Minimalist frame so will see.

Thats my dilemma.  Sods law says buy a new shifter and I needn’t have. Dont buy one and it’ll die at the furthest point from home next ride!

I keep being told go fox – getting hold of parts is way easier than Rockshox and when RS needs parts they’re almost disposable products due to parts availability.

i’ve needed warranty and parts for both my fox fork n shock out the box and latterly for fork bushes. After very little use.

my RS Ultimate forks n shocks on other bikes have never needed any attention other than servicing after masses of use.

Read into it what you want but I’d not fit another fox to my bikes again.

currently on Formula Selva fork. Its so good i’d seriously consider trying one of their rear shock.

I was told many a year ago “It never gets easier. Ever. You just get faster”.

I commute 65km’s a day on my PX Tempest. G-Ones are a nightmare compared to a decent road tyre. I cruise comfortably at 30kph on 32 pro one tubeless but blow out my derrier crusing at 30kph on my g-ones. Get some road tyres. Min 28c and i find up to 32c theres naff all difference between them if you run correct tyre pressures.

nothing wrong with 1x on a road bike either. I run a 1x 38t chainring with 11-42 cassette. Dont spin out till bordering 50kph ish – who cruises at that speed anyway. And climbing I’ve a better ratio than a compact road bike 2x setup.

i dont use a rucksack. I use a restrap saddle bag and an agu frame bag. Need to travel light but fully loaded thats about 14l of cargo space. More if run a stem bag.

i also dont wear baggies so no flappy jackets.

i think you need to look at setup before buying a new bike. Gravel bike…road bike. Put road tyres on the gravel bike and for joe punter there’s hardly any difference in speed.

oh….the biggest change I made – shed 5kg. Avg speed increased notably.

full aero race bike – IMHO you’d be wasting your money for commuting. Dont underestimate the toll of a winter on our roads.

I say snuck in, I’ve just never seen it in the range when looking big cassettes for 11sp as they always seemed to stop at 42T other than sunrace.

i’ve already got SRAM mech n shifter in 11sp and XT mech n shifter in 12sp. Xt is is quite frankly shite in anything but dry weather. Clutch continually sticks and mucks up shifting and compared to SRAM its awful!  Had the mech back 2x under warranty but each time shifting is awful. Has been the same in the last 3 xt shod bikes so reluctant to reuse 12sp on the next build.

50t ran fine with gx 11sp mech & b-scew to spare and chain tension ok so another tooth shouldn’t make too much difference should it?

Blind bearing kit did it. Tried grips but it either crushed or slipped.

blind bearing kit smallest expanding collet went in to the axle virtually all the way through to the freehub so plenty of grab.

bloomin tight.

just gotta source a new axle n free hub but at least i know its chosen. Merlin deal with them so might source if my LBS cant sort me out.

panic over. Secret n+1 bike build already into testicle loss territory with my money siphoning!!! A new set of wheels i dont think i could cover without body part loss.

Obvious that one…..should have thought of it!!  I’ve a blind bearing kit. Will see what that can do.

Its pretty similar in design to some other hubs I’ve had. Should have been shimano on the rise but it looks a lot like a Chosen hub.

I need to get the freehub off to tap it out as the axle pushes the non-drive side bearing out. But i cant get the freehub off till I can unscrew the drive side end cap and no way to grab the axle now.

cant believe it was so tight.

Looks like its a new wheel 🤬🤬

Replacing the 12 bearings on my eBike that LBS fekked up by presumably using a socket set to press in.

Then new gear cable n outer for the hardtail

that’ll teach me to be lazy and put faith in LBS….when i’ve had a feeling for ages i’m better at mechanicing than most bike shop mechanics.

Give SJS Cycles a call. They have spares you wouldn’t even think even you’d need.

No vids sorry buy my technique to stay straight is Keep paddle close to board then a gentle flick out board / away from the board at the end of your stroke.

keeping paddle close in reduces turning effect and the gentle flick at the end can be varied in strength to counteract any turn from the main paddle stroke.

10 speed rings will work fine on a 11 speed chain afaik

correct. But not the other way round. Inner chain dimensions are the same but 10sp chains have thicker plates so foul 11sp cassettes

Possibly stupid answer but does the axle end unscrew?

not familiar with the mavics but across my road and mtb fleet you have to use cone spanners to take the end of the axle off before it’ll go through the hub. Otherwise the axle would never stay in place!

fromJRA re: swapping my freehub and its similar to loads of wheels i’ve done bearings and freehub swaps.  If that doesnt work then it could just be stiff going through bearings so a bit of grease and gentle persuasion

”Yes, you are correct, the M type is what you need for the Boost hub. You need to unscrew the axle with a 17mm spanner on each end, and then the freehub will come off with the axle. There is a spacer between the freehub and main freehub, replace it with the one which comes with the new freehub because there are 3 different thicknesses (1,2 or 3mm) and you need to use the correct one with the freehub. Also replace the rubber seal on the axle with the new one supplied, the XD one is smaller than the Shimano one.”

In answer to original question, possibly yes. But through no real fault if your own.

75% worn chain is part if your problem.  Both me and and my riding buddy have snapped sram chains with the same bursting open at links.

in both cases shifting under load into big rings on a climb.

snapping once at that wear its bin it time. Repairing and expecting it to live on is i think a bit optimistic. Granted I’m ocd about stuff but i’ve only ever have chains snap once at that level of wear.  Because i repaired it to get home then binned it for a new one.

Rode there earlier this year.
thought the red run was awful on a hardtail. Seemed like it’d been trashed by eBikes and was so rutted and so many exposed tree roots it just didn’t flow at all.  Fekin good workout though!!

blue run is superb for a quick easy blast if you’ve kids or family in tow. Also if you park up near Canop Ponds i think it is you’ll bump into loads of locals riding local trails around the outsides of the trail centre and perhaps gain some “insider info”!!

@davros let me know how you get on. With blue seal. I’ve used them before and till now they’ve lasted longer than enduro in my BB’s and Hubs.

they did feel very very tight in the frame compared to the enduro ones but then the one I did actually get the aldi verniers on seems right outer diameter.

The enduro ones however were snug rather than tight and just slipped in with the press!

Exactly as mine is now!  Sounds like nothing to worry about. Thanks

If your bearings are anything like mine then prepare to!  Lasted 10 rides and 280mls before half of the linkage ones had siezed.

and dont bother with Blue Seal. Had the LBS fit em and every one is out of tolerance so notchy or siezed when presses in. Fine when out. And dont order from orbea. decent price but 2 weeks and still no joy!  Enduro from Wych Bearings went in and smooth as silk.

Depends on brakes but assuming they’re nicely powerful I usually run em so my index finger rests on the brake level end where it kicks out.

usually ends up a thumb length from grip to clamp.

gices plenty of room for dropper and shifter if separate clamps but decent clearance and still reachable shifter and dropper is integrated

Use an awl / pick on the chainstay retaining clip. Mine came out easy with on. Uses a cureved pick. Just remember to cover it with your other hand – comes out like spring unleashed!!

not overly impressed with the bearing situation. Great bike when it’s working but from new the fox forks had to go back. Now bearings lasting 250mls / 8 rides and a new set with notchy and seized before even using them.

my commencals and birds before were half the price and way more reliable.

+1 for just ride.

Also of late I’ve been doing the water and rub together for a couple of minutes. Works perfectly.

Some after market pads are just rubbish though. No amount of bedding in can polish those turds!

I think £135 is the limit before getting hit on duty and fees.

Biketart and MTB riders seem to be the main players for PNW when i was looking at seatposts.

Not really fit n forget but if you ride in the dry then not far off!

The whole point of the wheels screw together is to eliminate the creaking normal PF bottom brackets are prone to.

But bearings are bearings. You’ll have to replace at some point but can knock out and replace just the bearings rather than the whole BB. If it went in properly and with threadlock on the shells i seriously doubt it’ll be the BB shell.

Squeak could be anything. And noises transfer! My MTB pedal bearing seals squeak until i squirt em with silicone spray. My road bike plagues me with a click in BB area that turned out to be a loose rear mech.

Highly unscientific but for my bikes bb shells normally creak, bb bearings click and feel grindy. Squeaking is normally something else.

Thanks for that.

Yes i do need it….195 mls and creaking worse than my mates 15 y/o never maintained 26er.

Well p’d off.

195 mls and it sounds like an old clunker!!! Easy enough fix but found the 2 non/drive bearings at the back of the linkage are rhubarb’d. Pretty shocking given the light riding its had

Internal dimensions of 11 & 12 speed chains are the same so 12 will run on 11 no issues.

12spd chain is narrower on the outside so 11 spd chain is too wide for the 12spd cassette but fine for chainring.

I found 12spd chain on 11spd way nicer as the narrower chain made it all that bit quieter!

Flipside is to get narrower outside means thinner plates so technically not as strong.

Alpkit with their exo rail.

Its normally used every week but before this ride for one reason or another yes, standing upright and unused for a fair while.

Suppose i need to store it upside down!

So.. finger between the arch and play is negligible at the seal area.

Also I left the bike upside down and the knock has gone. Not ridden it to know if its cured. It started mid ride last week so not sure why and wherher it’ll just start up again.

Does leaving upside down just relube the bushings and the name i cant remember lubing system via the small grooves. Or does it diagnose the problem as being with the bushes if leaving upside down makes the noise go?

From what i found 27.2 i can get. External route i can just about get. Shortish travel possibly but put it all together and you dont have much.

That Level post is cheap! And i do have a V1 gravity dropper from yonks ago. Too long to fit as the collar/mechanism is massive. It did put me off under seat lever faffing though.

Went with PNW pine. On offer at mtbriders so not a huge amount more than brand-x. And its only slighyly too long so will just live with not going to full extension on the rebound. Or buy a seat with shallower rail/saddle than current.

I had ultegra cranks on an sensa gravel bike. Before GRX came out. It Came with 36/46 rings. I converted to 1x with a 48t and have about 2mm gap to the frame after spacing the cranks out via a 1mm BB shim. Runs no issues but you wont get a standard ultegra set up on. It’ll rest on the chainstays.

Been a while since i ditched hope brakes from the fleet but used to regularly use silicon spray, pistons in and out a couple of time, bit more spray then job done.

Might be worth a try to save some time.

Bigger services usually at pad change time I used to paint my RC car pure silicon shock oil on the pistons. And worked a treat. Only because I had it in the garage. And its silicone.

Silicone is silicone.

Reverb AXS XPLR

You know it makes sense. Do it.

“Snip snip” go the BIG scissors as I hear them leaving the house and getting closer to my man cave at that level of spend.

Perfect sense to me. But alas not to everyone in my household 🤦‍♂️