Or my Gary Fisher HiFi Pro 29'er with full XTR and DT 240 hub'd wheelset…

Just need a good bleed with clean oil.

Can be a slow process with that particular brake, but worthwhile!

100hrs of use on a cross bike = 100hrs of intended use!

Try getting any service life out of modern Atacs….. I finally gave up and swapped over from Time to Shimano on all bikes.

Try Stif – they might have some via sister company Jungle (used on Tallboy and Niners?)

Don't knock the marigolds trick – works a treat!

Tights over marigold over neoprene cuff.

Some folks have been riding SS for a long time but don't feel the need to try and ram it down everyones throat… :wink:

2.35 is was only available TLR – now discontinued.

Aye – whatever Rocket…

Forgot my smiley (on purpose?).

They are similar bikes – some prefer the Intense, others the Santa Cruz.
Can't help feeling that some are so besotted by the "boutique" small brand image that Intense have that they're happy to overlook some frankly awful QC, build quality, alignment and durability issues.

I've sold both in the past BTW, and ride neither.

No smiley required this time.

If by better you mean crooked and flexy.

New Madison Tempests are very good – high end feel/fit/features at low end price.

The Mechanix gloves are supplied by Madison, so any bike shop can get you them.
http://www.madison.co.uk/searchresults.aspx?vertical=Cycling&tier1=Clothing&tier2=Gloves+%26+Mitts&manu=Mechanix+Wear&Page=2

Monstercross? Gaylordcross? Dunno.

Exam tomorrow and you're pissing about on here? <tut>…

New job grand – a weight off my scrawny shoulders!

Panaracer Cindercross is nice.

How are you anyway Other Dave?

Any bike shop can order you one – part number is 3SP 9801 for a complete axle/cones/locknut assembly.

They're in stock with Madison right now and Shimano spares are sent post free, so your LBS can order it on it's own with no carriage penalty.

RRP is £14.99 for the whole shebang….

Yes.

When you spin out climbing – shift up – spinning out stops. Usually…. :wink:

Fantastic rear tyre – I use the 29'er 2.1 version, and would love a slightly bigger version.
Not ideal in mud – but that's pretty obvious! That said – I ran one on the back and an Ardent 2.25 front at Strathpuffer and they worked great….

Get in touch with the boys and girls at Glasgow Mountain Bike Club.
http://www.gmbc.org.uk/contact.htm

They regularly ride from Milngavie and know masses of hidden gems in and around Mugdock.

Cheers,

Dave.

Anyone?

Thanks Simon.

I'll be doing ~50K a year in it, and so want it to be as refined and comfortable as possible without going to the Sportline model which I'm trying to not like, but failing….

So – Stable Vehicle Contracts – any experience out there?

Harsh in terms of comfort? No.
Harsh in terms of a lack of handling forgiveness? Maybe….
The 445 fork/CX tyre combo is the most harsh you could manage though – esp when combined with the lack of traction that CX tyres offer!

It should slow down the steering a touch, as the trail figure increases due to an increase in wheel radius. If it's monster-big tyres you might notice… (though it should still be quicker than stock).

Obviously your BB will raise up to closer to where it's intended to be, but will still remain lower than stock with a 465/470 fork, and tour angles will be almost a degree steeper than intended.

What bike is it?

They are a new release for spring 2010, so they should start appearing early March.

DT rock. They're lighter, smoother, less likely to need serviced, and simpler to do when it is finally necessary. The only specialist tool required is the tool to remove the splined seat for the inboard star ratchet ring – you need this to replace the driveside bearing in the hub shell. You might need this once every 5 years…. The bearings last really well (esp since they changed to SS bearings).

Hope are great bang for buck items, but they are heavier, MUCH draggier and need much more frequent bearing replacements.

I've got one bike with Hope and three with 240s, so do have experience of both.

King are beautiful, but impractical, and the rear is draggy.

DT!

Try getting LBS to chase the threads – may be possible to save?

Otherwise, Trek UK may be able to replace the BB insert. 01908 282 626 ask for Gareth or Colin in service/warranty.

My – that's helpful MarkD. I'm guessing you don't sell 29'er stuff?

Ardent is good, fast rolling and cushy. Good on most stuff inc rocks and roots, but suffers in gloop as the tread isn't deep enough, though it does clear quite well. Crossmark is fantastic on rear and suits the same conditions as the Ardent. Bonty Mud-X is great in gloop, though I run a Rampage on the front in gloop as my bikes are mostly rigid, and the mud-X is too wee on the front for comfort and traction in sketchy sections.

The new Bonty FR3 looks interesting as a ft tyre – big and aggro cornering lugs – might pair up well with a Crossmark on the rear…..

Having said all that, I mostly can't be arsed changing tyres, so stuck with Ardent/Crossmark at Strathpuffer. Fair to say that there was a fair range of conditions, and they i don't think I could have picked a better compromise even if I'd bothered…. The long contact patch broadens a given tread design's application range.

Cheers G!

Weird – I just came here to ask the very same Q…..

Forgot to say – Tune are a frickin' nightmare. Mostly as they omit the bearing spacer to save weight, so perfect bearing preload is critical to avoid side-loading the bearings.

DT 240s are excellent. Simple, light, reliable, and easy to service.

Not cheap, but excellent!

Bearings were an issue a few years back, but run on stainless cartridges now, and I can't really fault them.

I've got an MRP 1X. It comes with a spacer to space the cage from the mount for that very reason – can't you put a spacer in there?

Otherwise, a shorter BB – you should ideally be on 47.5mm chainline (standard pre HTII set-up). IIRC RS7s require a 107mm BB to achieve that.

Slight hijack – Gunners, I'm intrigued… My favourite bike of that era was my Trickstar (Candy Blue before a Baby Blue p/coat)…. anyway, I'm trying to remember the Hutch team of that era – Angry Brown, Lee Reynolds, Larry Bull, Efraim Catlow….. oh and Greg Guillotte – I think he was on Hutch for a while… any of these guys you?

Spares issues arises from the fact that these are re-badged K2 bikes (part of the demised Iron Horse group)

Ton – the flex issue is gone for 2010 bikes with the ABP back end and bridged seatstays.

This wasn't by any chance in Edinburgh was it?

You'd never need to use a warranty on a Crank Bros product though eh :wink:

When we got it in for stock, we were told by Juice Lubes that the RRP was £8….

Dickie – that's a 19.5". The seat-tube measures 18" – hence the actual tag, but the bike is laid out as a 19.5 in every other respect. IIRC the TT is 24.1" on a 19.5"