When planning riding in the area, few routes we considered which may be helpful for you (or not LOL).  I think they’re all public;

MBR Magazine Killer Loop (not rode this myself) – https://www.strava.com/routes/2845070642537254196

STW classis ride (thought this was a superb ride and would recommend) – https://www.strava.com/routes/2845070808275161396

Cadair Berwyn Loop (from Flat Tyres, super enjoyable, super tough day in the saddle) – https://www.strava.com/routes/3031322095335978076

Another couple from Flat Tyres which we haven’t yet done;

The Beast of Llangollen – https://www.strava.com/routes/3031299224601076544

Already mentioned Wayfarer – https://www.strava.com/routes/2989206266985331406

Couple of rides from One Planet;

Worlds End (this is the one we did from One Planet and finished with the OP Blue Route rather than slogging the red/blacks.  Was ace) – https://www.strava.com/routes/3176591901886760522

Llandegla Moors (haven’t done this but it’s out round the mast) – https://www.strava.com/routes/2845070989183919412

Flat Tyres would be my go to for ride planning;

Home Page

Drop Colin a line, super helpful with advice.

We’ve stayed within 30 minutes of Llangollen and done some cracking rides in the area.

I think CC ship to US and Canada only.

Got mine from R2 Bikes, got a friend in Germany who posted it on to the UK.  Bloody expensive Fender tho.

If I could disable people giving me Kudos I would, too close to Facebook for me.

I do use Strava but all my exercises are private as I find the Kudos culture all a bit too much.  Weird I know.

Next step is to stop using it.

Take a look @ Wrapdirect.

https://www.wrapdirect.com/bicycle-paint-protection-film-clear-shield/

Recently wrapped a new frame and no complaints on the quality and a fraction of the price v’s others.

Thanks everyone for there support and ideas on this.

I decided to take the derailleur off and start again.  This quickly flagged my error and stupidity.

Simply, I had the stopper that is part of the derailleur for the B Screw not sitting in place.  So the B screw was hitting the frame stopper and not the derailleur stopper.

All good now and a step closer to riding.

Thanks again for your help.

Yes, it’s a long cage, I bought the 1×12 upgrade kit here;

https://r2-bike.com/SHIMANO-Deore-XT-Upgrade-Kit-M8100-1×12-speed-Cassette-10-51-Teeth

Yes, the chain is sat on the chainstay in the highest gear :-(

Thank you, shots of highest and lowest.

Made the same move Mad Bill, XT > E4’s.

Got fed up with throwing away the XT’s and replacing.

Not intending to put you off, as I’m now happy with my E4’s but it’s been some journey.

I sort of treat the E4’s like XT’s as in install, pull brake lever, tighten bolts and off I went.

Howled like hell, they’ll bed in I thought, nope, no they won’t.

Spent what felt like months, watching youtube videos and trying different techniques to get them working right and quietly.

I think I’ve finally got to a good setup.  My advice;

– Don’t ignore people that say set them up properly.

– I guess you’ll need to shorten the hose so buy a bleed kit and make sure you bleed them properly.  I’ve found calliper up to be more effective rather than the lever down technique that Hope recommend.

– Make sure the callipers are lined up correctly with rotor running through middle.

– Make sure the pistons come out equally and engage rotor at same time.

I’m a seasoned fettler which may be part of the problem I’ve had i.e. of my own making.  But I’ve had these brakes absolutely howling, squealing, squawking,  chattering and now almost silent.

Sign post you here if you’ve not seen it;

Hope brake fanbois, you won’t want these

Realised on the THIRD ride, honestly thought my hips were the problem due to old age.

It’s a tiny thing but I always forget to remove the plastic preload thingy when I’m taking a crank off and wonder why it won’t move.

I took a soft hammer to the crank arms, took a couple of good whacks until I realised my stupidity.

I’ve read quiet a lot about ‘long leaver throw’ and it being down to ‘poor bleed/air in the system’.

Some users have suggested rather than a traditional Hope bleed, a reverse bleed (from the calliper up) is better for dislodging air.

Any views or experience here?

And if you guys would recommend a reverse bleed, what process are you following?  Same as I’d do for Shimano?  I have the Hope bleed kit.

Cheers!

Was it Amy (Cycling Adventures)?  If so, I watched the same video and can relate to the nerves.

@duir we should partner up.

I have Tech 4 E4 with floating rotors. Moved from Shimano XT 2 pots.

Exactly same as you, moved from silent XT brakes to chirping Tech 4’s. I’ve bled, re-bled, centred calliper, sorted pistons. Haven’t used the Hope adapter though….still chirp-tastic.

Jeeze I can’t stop the chirp for love no money. They don’t honk as such just a birdy like cheep. Worse on the front then the back but it totally ruins my riding experience.

Currently on Greens.

Not convinced I’m centralising the pistons properly. The margin for error seems so small and difficult to tell whether I’ve done a good job or not. No rub at all but all I’d say without the pads the pistons don’t come out evenly (should they?) and I can’t get them to….I don’t think it’s an air behind the pistons issues as followed the Hope guide.

My XT’s were simply press the lever, tighten the calliper bolts and ride. I never expected the Hopes to be so troublesome.

From my understanding, it looks like it mounts to the Tech 4’s via the SRAM matchmaker shifter mount

This is my understanding and what I’ve ordered for my T4’s.

When I asked invisframe to use my frame as a template it was £100 fitted with me having to sort shipping (or drop off).  Expected to take a week.

The photo of @vmgscot or their riding buddy going over that broken wall on the Marin (hope I’ve got that right) really put a smile on my face.

Done it half a dozen times, still can’t get my riding buddy to roll it.  To the point he has a full on strop when ‘encouraging’ him.

Appreciate it’s rollable, but kudos for riding as some won’t! :-)

I did at Christmas, got a pair of Hope Unions.

Mainly as it suits the type of riding i’m mainly doing, less gnarl.

We’re off to Wales soon, not sure yet whether I’ll play safe and go flats.

No regrets on my part.

For me, yes.  Next time I’ll be going a size up.

Or….buy 11 and 11.5 and return the worse fitting one :-)

My old 5:10s are an 11 and much better fitting.

I can’t answer the question asked, but in my experience, would size up.

I’m a UK size 11 and they’re really tight with a thicker sock…wish I’d gone 11.5.

Paid £156 for E4’s in Jan.  See same seller is now £215.  Yikes.

I bought my son a bike from Evans with C2W.

Got home and there was a sticker on it suggesting retail price was a bit cheaper than I’d paid.

Called them up straight away and they refunded the difference in full.

– Set a day and time you’re going riding and make yourself do it, think of it as compulsory, like work
– Repeat that for a number of weeks (8-12 perhaps), ideally with a riding companion for extra accountability
– Get everything ready the night before your ride (check your bike, lay your clothes out) to minimise faff & barriers on the day

This is great advice, and how I started the journey back.  I;

Created a Google Calendar, and set out my exercise for the week every Sunday.  Once it in the diary, all rubber stamped by wife and worked around family stuff.  It was happening and I kept myself accountable.

This year I did 30 for 30 to get my going after Christmas.  Simply 30 mins of exercise for 30 days straight.  A bit much at times as the 30 mins was minimum and would find that I’d do long rides, long gym sessions, runs and walks.  If I was tired, I’d reduce the intensity and just do the 30 mins.  Kept me accountable and was a great month and felt great at the end of it.

Can relate, was 50 last October.

I came at it, in a similar mind frame reading your OP.  Fortunately (?) for me I was 49 and at least three stone over weight…which ultimately helped me find the strength to be ‘fit’ and not ‘fat’ at 50.

I hit 50, three stones lighter but October lead into Christmas and old habits of lack of exercise x alcohol + chocolate = weight gain.

It took me 2 further months to kick myself back into gear and now I’m back firing on a fit and slim 2023.  Fingers crossed.

My weight has been a problem all my adult life, it’s been tough but all of my making.  I’m hoping I’ve broke the cycle.

Stay positive @deluded.  Don’t be too hard on yourself, try and find a little time for yourself and to slowly get back into an exercise routine.  Make small commitments each week to your own mental health and you’ll soon be back into the routine.

As others have said, sun on your back will also help and hopefully that’s just around the corner.

Biggest wow moment for me when I got the Fenix 6x Pro was Music.

Being able to run, ride and walk with a playlist from your watch and not worry about your phone is great.

Granted, running is the biggest benefit here as I tend to have my phone on rides and walks.

Complement with a pair of After Shokz and you have the perfect match IMO.

Using Keepa for Amazon and a bit of patience I ended up paying £310 for it.

@singleslack

@roger_mellie

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wXkNyIGNq3doGmEP-xFN1V2FYawh8CVB/view?usp=sharing

does anyone know if the wolftooth light action remote (hope fitting) works on the new tech 4 e4? im assuming the hope fitting made by wolftooth was for the tech 3 e4 (last version) but would assume its the same? any ideas? or any other brands out there that make a direct mount for the wolftooth remote?

I contacted WT a few weeks ago and its in the planning but a date not committed.  I got the bar mount as per nixie’s point.

Apols that the above image didn’t work, re-hosted below and hopefully now OK.

Somewhere in this thread there’s a link to some 3d printed tools to centralise these brakes.

For those that wondered how they work, simply slide over the disk.  Photos below.

No noise coming from mine so far using the purple pads

Have you checked the caliper is centrerd correctly over the disc and all four pistons are moving an equal amount when the brake is used?

Have you checked the condition of the pads to make sure they havent glazed or become slightly contaminated? also has the disc become contaminated?

Finally have you checked all the rotor bolts are tight, if they are floating rotors are the rivets all ok? nothing else in that area that could resonate the noise?

Normally i find a noisy brake is down to one of the above things or a combination of them

Good advice, I’m one ride in with my E4’s and they didn’t honk but had an annoying squeak (like a mouse LOL).

Following the Hope Youtube video to equalize the pistons, easy to do but the pistons just went back to where they started (one pushing out more than the other) regardless how much I let the ‘weaker’ piston push out.

I went back to the old school method of loosening the bolts and tightening them again with the brakes on…..see how that goes.

I may change to the Red pads and use the Greens in the summer.

The BFE Max is a lovely bike.  Went for the Silver and Copper…..although I ordered the Yellow but changed my mind after a couple of days.

Although I’ve had it a year now, I’ve worried since I got the wrong size…..at 6ft 2in, a XL was a natural choice but it’s a big old brute of a bike.

With Alex’s response that he got a Large at 5.11, I think I’m OK.  But then Confused comes in at 5ft 10 and a Medium.  Still think a XL was the right choice.

Hope you all enjoy the bike.

Buy the frame you want, you’ll be happier in the long run IMO.

I run the BFEMax @ 130mm.  No complaints.

I’ve asked Wolftooth of their plans. Their response;

Thanks for reaching out. We do have plans for Tech 4 ShiftMounts and ReMote Conversion kits, but we do not have a timeline for this project yet. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Laphroaig Single Malt Whisky 10Yr 70Cl

I like this one a little too much, thought it was fantastic and currently below £30 (from £40)

https://groceries.morrisons.com/products/laphroaig-islay-single-malt-scotch-whisky-10-year-old-119479011

I’ve asked for some (Trail flavour) from Santa.

First clipless pedals so a little in to the unknown.

You’ll need tech 4 adapters, they’re different to the tech 3 versions. On the plus side there’s now some adjustability on the angle you can set the dropper lever/shifter to.

@ta11pau1 I’ve not seen Tech 4 Adapters for I-Spec II shifters anywhere?  If they do exist can you link me to them please.  Cheers

I did it on Friday from Langsett over to the reservoirs.

Was great, wet on the tops but not too wet.  We’ve had rain since but I’d not imagine it being too difference this weekend to what it was last.

I’m keen on a set.  But have a simple question (for now).

Does the new brakes work with the I-Spec II adapter that I’ve seen listed for the Tech 3 brakes?

Same with dropper side, does the Hope adapter for the Woolftooth work with the new Tech 4s?

Cheers

There’s the Wippermann Connect Chain Link;

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Wippermann-Connex-Chain-Connector-Links_126802.htm

Easy to take apart by hand.  And multi use not like many that come with the chain.

Had one for years without issue.

We stayed recently in Llangollen, Clwydian Hills as fossy mentioned.

First time there but was superb and something different to trail centres.

There’s a singletrackworld classic ride which was a brilliant brilliant day.

It’s close enough to Llandegla which I always enjoy.

A little further to Marin which I really enjoy a lot.  Penmachno I personally enjoy less.

If staying in the Clwydian Range the check flat tyres MTB as thats a superb resource for local rides.