Im running the sunline 745 bars. I found them really comfortable for short rides but as I rode longer I got the same pain. Ive chopped them to 711mm and they are now perfect! I’d suggest chopping them or changing grips to Ergons or similar.

We have a posh school in the neighbouring village. Whenever I drive/cycle past they have all the sprinklers going on sports pitches, cricket grounds, boarding house gardens and on the golf course. This happened during the last hosepipe ban and is also happening now. Does make me wonder how it all works. They get lovely lushes fields (acres and acres) whilst all the local gardens and community pitches turn into dust bowls. We’re not on a meter so I continue paying extortionate prices (that are rising) for using next to nothing.

If he ever heads over to Newbury the guys a Banjo cycles and BikeLux are great! Strongly suggest not going to Supernova cycles. Over priced and poor service.

I see Kate Middleton a fair amount along with Prince William every so often. She used to live in my village so I used to see them on the Sunday morning ride popping into the Spar. Prince William would drop in with his helicopter every so often too.

I’d have a:
Road bike
HT trail bike
140/160mm AM bike
DH bike

Im wondering if the rocket will be available with a XT complete build (as in the pics.). Wonder how much that would be ?

Okay, thanks guys.
Several lessons learnt here.

Okay, I should have taken picture of the frame and bits only but ive been busy with my thesis. It does state what is for sale in the advert. It also states what COULD be included. All it takes is for some one to read the advert and title correctly to understand what the listing is for.

The issues wasnt with where the item is located but the fact that he could have just collected from my house. I didnt have to drive out of my way to meet him at a convenient location (for him) but I did.

Im not asking for peoples reasons as to why he cant read or why he wasnt man enough to pay up. Im wanting a little bit of help to track Ralph down.

Barrel of laughs, ey! Im student so it was a huge amount of effort. I had to borrow a car and pay for fuel, etc. Is there a way of claiming through ebay as a reverse method? Cant imagine them being very helpful (as always).

How about a pipedream Sirus or Scion ?
They are also made from 853 with nice geo & slightly cheaper.
Also more rare to see, if you like that sort of thing.

I think budget is a big question as well.
I’d personally go for a Santa cruz LTC or Nomad C or 9.9 remedy for carbon. For alu bike i’d look at 5 spot or five, Spec. enduro or stumpjumper FSR, remedy 8/9.

I ride;
Lizerdskin lock-on moabs- great grips. Really sticky and well vented. My hands never get hot when riding gloveless.
Funn lock-ons- thin profile and medium compound. Comfortable on my 4x bike and cheap.
Renthal Kevlar grips- these need to be wired and glued but they are worth it. Long lasting, super grippy without being sticky, low profile and british. The colour and fitting isnt for every one though.

My list would include:
Litespeed, transition tr250 and blindside, spec. SX, trek scratch, giant faith, rocky mountain flatline, orange patriot, devince wilson, anciolotti FR bike, morewood kalula, turner RFX, helius AFR and NP Mega.

Ive got some sketches of this idea from a few years ago !!
The difference is that I had the disk fitted to the alfine, belt drive and mine was a 26”. I was going to have it built by Descendence bike but turned out be too complex. Wish I had. Looks lovely!

Anything kenda!
Ive had the small block 8, Nevegal and blue grove on various bikes when I bought them. All have been awful with little to no grip. Im not even sure how they can make a 2.35 not grip ?! They have been sat in the garage somewhere to rot.

Is it a new BB ? On initial fitting its always very tight. Just use a mallet and tap away. Cant imagine the flaking would prevent the fitting unless its very very bad.

Could be a few things I suppose..
Are you seating the tyre and tube correctly ?
When I demod a bike the other day the tyre wasnt seated properly causing a nasty king when riding. Just took it off an refitted. Visibly you couldnt see the kink at all. Seeing as youve tried another set it seems unlikely though..

Did the LBS guy say anything about a flat spot in your rim? Flat spots sometime manifest themselves in odd ways that can look like the wheel is out of true.

I’d just fling it all together and go for a ride. If you can feel it then maybe new rim time? If not, then just ride.

Kingdom Foia V2 if you have cash to burn.
I absolutely love mine.

Something more reasonable would be the stanton slackline, one 456 evo or SS.

Horses for courses. Every wheel size has its own application. I own 29ers and 26ers.

That XC course is P’burg was a great watch. They carried some good speed through the rock gardens and drops!

Whoops.. i dont normally check out the front page!
Thanks for that guys.

Cheers guys! Just been for a ride. All working nicely. Great forks actually!

On my AM and XC bike I noticed that I just never shifted up front. I just left it in the middle ring and with 9/10 outback I just didnt feel like I needed more range. Its down to where your ride and how you ride.

I ride in a local wood. Perfectly within my rights as I have permission but I have to cross a footpath to get back to the road. As I leave I notice an old biddy on the footpath. I take the chance to rest and let her by. The next thing I get is a hate rant with cursing and finger waging and then she pushed me off my bike.. I fell off because it was so unexpected.

Once I got myself together I turned on the gopro and cycled along the road next to her. She continued her rant and stopped the next car behind me waving her arms fanatically stating that i’d attacked her! Got me in trouble with the driver who clearly believed the granny over the young man. So I just cycled off. This all happened on a nice sunny morning cycle at 9am.

I have the footage but wont be uploading it for sometime. Makes for a good watch!

Ive got some m711 XT cranks with BB and 34t ring if your interested for £60? Emai; kh306(at)exeter.ac.uk

I wont be trying my local ones. This is half of them, they continue round the corner. My Excuse is that my widebars wont fit :lol: !

Ive just gone back to a Ti hardtail for AM/mini-DH ridding having ridden 5-8” bikes for the last 5 years. Unbelivably refreshing to get back on something so efficient and zingy. Titanium is much more comfertable than alu. Theres no way im going back to a FS or Alu/steel frame for a long time. Plus the zising on this is just perfect. Mines a Kingdom Foia V2. Still need to chop the steerer and fit my XTR bits. The frame isnt that light; claimed 1.67 kg but came in at 1.89 kg (4.2 lbs). Its build up fairly light though. Weighs around 26 lbs. Rides realy well with the Talas fork- 100mm for climbing, 130mm for trail and 160mm AM/Dh. I cant think of anything i’d like to change. For now its the perfect bike.

Yup, the 409 has a steel steerer. Its seen as the cheapest hence the lower number. The higher the number the better the model (on pikes and argyles at least).

Mojo HD, Santa cruz LTC or TRC, Yeti Arc5 or 575. All these frames can be picked up for £1500 or less in the states.

I used to have one on my Enduro. My favourite post to date. Ive also had GD classic and X-fusion hilo but the spesh post is lighter and more reliable than the rest. I like the 3 different travel heights, works out perfect for me. I would buy one again if I could afford it.

Ive got a kona major one CX bike for sale. Bought for £1000 last summer and im only after £325! Scandium frame, Carbon fiber forks, FSA crank, etc etc. Great condition. If you are interested email me at: kh306 (at) exeter.ac.uk

Im selling a 16” HX2 with hope headset! Only a couple months old with only a handful of rides. If you’re interested just message me at: kh306 (at) exeter.ac.uk

Specialized Enduro ’11 with lyrics. Such a dull bike! Like ridding a sofa. Was okay on DH runs but everything else was just so boring.

Giant Reign ’10 was a horrible ride. Really dont like the suspension platform. Could *maybe* see why people like it but not for me.

On-one SS 456 – Just handled like a pig on anything other than DH.

Im in Falmouth as the moment. I presume you’re doing something with the Uni? Anyway, its certainly worth bringing down a bike. Not sure what riding you’re into but its lovely for some XC; plenty of coastal paths, bissoe trail and woodland to ride through. If you like DH theres also some of that in Unity woods and other local bits. Big road scene too, if that floats your boat. Let me know if you want any specific details. Also contactable at; kh306 (a) exeter.ac.uk

Interesting stuff ! I think i’ll crack on but change some parts over to KCNC and Chinese carbon. Those Chinese saddle look awfully uncomfortable. Thanks for all the input guys! Will also try and stick to my original budget. Be interesting to see how it turns out. I’ll post up the final results. Please keep chipping in with info if you have any. Thanks all :D

All great info. Thank you very much! This is my first weight weenie build attempt. Certainly a lot of food for thought. I will need to run flats though (plus ive already got the pedals). KCNC seems to be a clear choice for a lot of people when ive been looking.

That looks amazing! Are you running Alpine wheels? I probably would be running a small.. How does the bike feel to ride? Ive never ridden anything below 25lbs.

iDave- no real reason but if you can, why not? I was surprised how light that came out at for £1300. Tomacs X 29er came in at 16.5 Lbs but costs close to $4000!

I would be. Thought I posted up the final spec idea! Anyone think this is a bit too ambitious?
Also after tyre suggestions.