Moon shield 60 for me too – not cheap and the first one failed (but was replaced quickly no questions asked) but the replacement is into it’s second winter and has survived numerous soakings.

Got a cheap one to strap to my pack as a bit of a back-up in addition to this.

Very pleased with my X-fusion hilo so far. It’s only a few weeks old though so we’ll se how it fares through the winter.

A bit of non-slip carbon paste avoids excessive tightening of the seat clamp so I’ve had no issues in that respect.

+1 for Merino mix ….

I like the the Rab Meco stuff (Merino + bamboo).

I really like my Rab Alpine – very breathable fabric with big vents down both sides and cuffs are loose enough to push sleeves up. I can then just vary layers underneath to suit so a long sleeve base plus light fleece plus shell does for pretty cold days out. Still carry a waterproof for if the weather turns nasty.

…. the top rack mount looks likes it’s one of those m-part adapters that are seat-clamp and rack-mount in one bit.

Looks like a pre-Rad tubed Stiffee – the transfer plate under the down tube and the shape of the replaceable hanger are quite distinctive. I reckon it’s genuine although the rack is a bit of an unusual touch!

I haven’t seen one for years – mainly because the head tubes seem to come off after a bit of abuse :o

Loved mine to bits and was very sad to see it go (although the Subzero that replaced it was awesome)

Cue gratuitous bike-love photo ….

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Cove[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Oh dear – this summer I’ve been enjoying my 50/38 up front with an 11-28 block. Now after reading this thread I feel quite inadequate :o

Hope you get healthy soon …. in the meantime maybe some of these pics will help ….

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PB110496[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_6721[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_6864[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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P8080086[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_0580[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_6209[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_6279[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5964[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Liking my relatively new Maxx-d on the bars and diablo on my head. Run times and amount of light is fine for me but what really does it is the lack of cable-and-separate-battery faffing.

Road biking: rarely drive anywhere unless it’s for an event of some kind – got some great little lanes in the Derbyshire Dales

Mountain bike: probably travel somewhere (c. 2-3 hours away by car or up to 5 hours for a long weekend) every other weekend but the other weekends and mid-week rides will be local and from-the-door. Lucky enough to have a commute that can include some nice little bits of off-road too.

Thanks! Got quote a bit of work to do on our place …. don’t you just love older houses :-)

jota80,

What did you go for in terms of insulating material?

Thanks,

Simon.

Roman Road up from Hope

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IMG_5964[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Top of Stanage

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Snowy Stanage[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

On the climb out of Jaggers Clough

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IMG_5982[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Ah well spotted IHN :-)

IHN – totally agree.

You often see comments about better cornering grip and how that’s related to a larger contact patch (shakes head in disbelief)….

Different shaped contact patch maybe but definitely not a different size.

[One of our standard training/interview questions used to be “how do you estimate the contact area of a tyre with the ground?” – some of the answers were hilarious bearing in mind they’d just spent 4 years studying engineering :-) …. my other favourite was “if you’ve got 1 newton in each pocket would your trousers fall down?”]

My commuter has a Maxxis Icon on the back – works really well for a mix of tarmac and dirt. Used Specialized Fastraks in the past too and they were pretty good too – nice and cheap at the time.

Yep – 10 km/h seems to work for an average ride off-road somewhere hilly with a small group of riders.

Works quite well in the Peak anyway just to judge whether you can squeeze one more loop in :-)

The Vertebrate Publishing guides always seemed quite sorted ……

Dark Peak

White Peak

Some photos of mine …

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2012-06-16-107.jpg[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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2012-05-07-077.jpg[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Great value and lots of fun …. there’s another thread HERE with a few more thoughts.

Really rate the Rab Meco stuff – mixture of merino and bamboo. Seems to wick and dry as well as a synthetic but without the smell. Also dry noticeably quicker than a pure Merino. Much nicer feel to them too (IMO). Got a combo of a short sleeved one, long sleeved and long-lseeved with a zip and then mix and match to suit.

“Since Tommy Simpson’s death in 1967, 86% of Tour de France winners have been tarnished or implicated by doping.”
Source

…. although those Rebas on Merlin Cycles look like a good deal ….

Thinking about some of these …..

Similar experience to some of the above …. thorough strip, clean, grease and rebuild sorted them out nicely. Had bought some new bushings but didn’t need to fit them in the end.

A few thoughts on the HR2 compared with Minions ….

Quite liking the high roller 2 back and front – seem to clear dirt more quickly than minions – also maybe a bit more grip in-line for climbing and braking.

EXO sidewall gives enough protection too without having to go for dual-ply which is a good thing.

The sizing is pretty good too – the 2.4 comes up a good size for rocky and rooty trails.

Looks to have a more rounded profile than the Minion but that could just be down to tyre size (Minion 2.25 against the 2.4 HR2).

Grip through bends and off-camber sections is more than adequate – holds a line nicely until. I don’t really see a huge difference to the Minion in this respect.

Recent favourites …

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IMG_6864[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_6721[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Horses for courses I guess ….. that ride has to be one of my favourites in the UK although maybe I’ve been lucky with trail conditions ….

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IMG_0446[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5119[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5143[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5172[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5165[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

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IMG_5170[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

How about a Suntour Epicon and spend the remainder of your budget on a new front wheel and lower race adapter?

The reviews look pretty good!

Don’t know whether it helps but I went shopping for a meaty chain lock recently – the ones ‘for motorbikes’ were significantly cheaper for a given level of security.

Not sure whether the above applies to d-locks too ….

….. oh and here’s an unnecessary photo from me ……

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IMG_4700[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

….. and another ….

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IMG_6318[/url] by Simon_R[/url], on Flickr

Similar height to the OP and I run a 16″ Alpine and an 18″ Five. The Five works well for big pedally days and the smaller Alpine for techy stuff (preferably with a chairlift :-) ). I find the 16″ too short for a lot of pedalling but perfect for chucking about.

ads678 – mine’s perfect for commuting, local rides and stuff where a road bike won’t go but where a full sus would be overkill. Really enjoy riding mine …. don’t think you could do better for the money

Been running the OnOne 29″ wheels for about 6 months now. Still running true and smoothly despite the summer weather ….. think they came in at about £170 at the time and weight seemed competitive without spending considerably more.

Mine is built with on-one carbon forks, on-one wheels, SLX drivetrain with triple rings, hope minis, nukeproof stem, sunline flat ‘n’ wide bars, ardent/ikon tyre combo, controltech post and charge spoon saddle.

All in about 30lbs but that’s weighed using bathroom scales so probably +/-1 lb. Feels like it’s a very similar weight to my Five.

Just under 5’11” (or just over 5’10” :-) ) with 32″ inside leg.

My five is an 18″ frame, 55mm stem and 740mm bars – the reach feels just right. Still have enough seat pin showing to be able to run a ‘standard sort of length’ 125mm dropper post.

I moved up from a 16″ after it cracked at the seat/top tube weld.

There’s always Laggan Stores for trail-treats or the cafe in the Pottery just down the road for that apres (pre?) ride coffee.

Another vote for GP 4-season.

Definitely buy these again although might be tempted to for for 25c rather than the 23c next time.

Think I got mine on a multi-buy from pro-bike kit. They seemed expensive but only an extra £10 per tyre relative to a ‘cheap’ tyre …. not much spread out over a year’s use.

…… still chuckling over the ‘luminous seal’ comment above :-)

Stanton Slackline Ti perhaps?