Thanks so much for the recommendations everyone.

I was all set for a Pair of Resolutes but they appear to be on short supply at my preferred width. Was sorely tempted by GK SK’s with the Panaracer 20% discount but overnight I noticed that CRC have dropped tan Raddlers to £22 a pop, with free postage it was pretty much a no brainer this time around.

I’ll certainly try a few of the other recommendations in the future.

Sorry just realised that on 700c the max width is 43mm

I’ve been mulling over what you said about the Force equipped Rujo price and the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of a Force equipped Rujo.

So I’ve just bought one – and I’m laying the blame solely at your feet PJay.

Sadly the 10% discount code wouldn’t work, I suppose they don’t further discount sale items.. (although I tried the same on the Rival version and this time it said ‘discount not available on this item’)

Jon will sort you out. Reasonable pricing too

http://www.chickensframeemporium.co.uk/

Used to be a human furnace, people couldn’t understand the permaheat that emanated from me.
Delivering pizzas on a scooter as a 16yo in December with a t-shirt and no gloves.

Now 43 and over the last couple of years if the wind changes direction I go hypothermic.

But in all seriousness, I now find it difficult to get comfortably warm in cold temps. Pretty sure I did go hypo after one training session in late summer. The cold gets into the bones and stings like never before. I absolutely hate ageing.

Edit* am also wondering if being post Covid status has made things worse. Would be interested to hear from others who’ve tested positive and are now struggling with temp regulation like never before

Dirtbomb owner here. Its gonna take something extraordinary to part with it.
Previously owned a Mk3 which I also gelled with instantly, but the Dirtbomb is so good looking to boot

*chefs kiss*

What about a Ritchey torque key

Depending on which thread I jump into they get very mixed reviews when it comes to consistency.
I suppose I’m looking for the highly recommended bargain that has been measured as accurate

Id happily borrow one if anyone local to Brighton doesn’t mind, also keen to have one for the odd occasion I change bar/stem in the future – especially if I hear of a highly recommended design/kit at a price I can stomach

Yes

I like the idea behind their neutral 9deg sweep, should save 5-10mm reach being eaten up in practice.

I’ve run carbon bars for years and jumped/crashed plenty without snapping one but I’ve now hit middle age and am reading too many horror stories to keep the carbon anxiety at bay.
I think carbon will always suffer from stigma, unfortunately

In fairness to Nukeproof, I’ve just dug deeper into their website and found the following:

“Nukeproof Components = 2 Years (lifetime on Carbon Handle Bars)”

This is at odds with the installation instructions listed on their website (and CRC website). So perhaps it’s just a bit of mixed up marketing that has gotten me confused.

As you were

OK.. thanks.

I suppose my point is, if they were widely touted as lifetime warrantied up until a couple on months ago, why the change down to a measly 2 years?

I’m not really fussed about warranty claims at all tbh, it’s more a measure of how much faith they have in their product and potentially how many claims they’ve had to fulfill in the meantime that may have lead to this switch.

Currently buidling up a Bigwig. I got my hands on a Big Al frame initially but it arrived with a couple small dents in the downtube so I’ve gone with the BigWig instead. Have to say it’s marvellous in the flesh.

If the current shortages weren’t so bad I’d have gone for the Big Al 1.0 full bike myself, particularly with that Z2 strapped to it. Great value

who owned Quest until shutting up shop may be worth asking.

Cheers ill check out his Insta.

Thanks for the recommendations folks

BB facing is circular logic bull shit.

Like in said, I disagree. In fact, I find those against facing generally tend to have even less of an idea behind the engineering as those they ridicule.

I read this as ‘anywhere to get shit faced near South Downs’.

Every night is shit faced night during lockdown in the South downs

facing probably won’t be the main issue (as the threads align the BB).

I’m afraid I disagree. Threads don’t fully align the BB as they have tolerance built in, plus external BB shells are soft as the proverbial and deform under torsion. Having to over tighten in order to seat the cup sufficiently (against lumpy paintwork, for example) is enough to cause misalignment/deformation as far as I’m concerned – I’ve read all the arguments against facing the BB shell but I don’t subscribe to many of them.

What BB is it. If it’s threaded it’s fairly easy to check alignment

Hope external (24mm) with Raceface Aeffect cranks.

BB was working fine on previous bike(s). My hunch strongly leans towards thick paint on new frame causing tolerance issue.

TBH, I just want to build the bloody thing so sooner I can face it the better (or worse)

Anyone else able to advise?

Lots of thin coats. Loads of time to cure between coats and before assembly

£350. Non-boost (suits my wheels, but yeah)

What do you reckon would be the right price for a mint example (unmarked, low use)?

I’d say look at an Orange P7 29er

Fab looking thing. Yes, the wait is a bit long for me. Also feel a couple of its contenders have a few more fine details than the orange when comparing features, but I’d definitely still happily ride one

The Sonder Signal ST I put together for the kid went together nicely

Very tidy! If I wasn’t so impatient I’d probably have bought one myself, the copper looks brilliant and it has to be pretty much the best value out there in an industry of inflated prices.

despite that have pulled the trigger on a Squatch.

I came <-this close-> to buying a Squatch. Please come back and let us know your impressions after yourlve ridden it.
It certainly looks the part, I imagine the paint looks amazing in the flesh and there are lots of really nice touches on the frame design.
My fear would be a squashed cockpit but you can always potentially size up as the seat tube is pretty short

Excuse the mess, or pick holes, i don’t mind.

Love the look of the Moxie, and what a colour

BigWig looks great, nice geometry

Fingers crossed! Seemed like a good balance

Thanks for all of your advice on this topic – was good food for thought.

I actually came very close to securing an *aluminium* frame (Ragley Big Al as recommended above) but after many phonecalls to many dealers I was offered a Ragley Bigwig frame in my size and best colour so it was too good an opportunity for me to turn down.

It’s slim pickings out there, grab what you can!

Pipedream Moxie or Sirius.

Yeah I fell for that pink Moxie but not sure I’m man enough to do a Moxie justice. I’ll double check the geo.

Sirius also looks great, slightly less travel on fork and not sure about this year’s colours, but yeah, worth considering.

Would be good to take a gander at one, I’m near Shoreham, are you local?

Squatch would likely be top of the list.

Was top of mine (XL), but, was realibly informed that it’s more AM leaning and not great for all-round duties due to that steep STA.

I’m 6’1 on an xl signal ti

Interested to know what made you go for the XL? And how does it fit?

Do you happen to have a pic of it built up?

for a custom Marino frame. I got exactly what I wanted for less than anything that wasn’t quite right.

Woah, that prices up favourably! Any further fall out with customers post ‘Sick’ debacle?..

The PX Big Dog was my choice of steel/new geo 29er.

Good shout. Was on my initial list but lack of colour options other than ‘we messed up somewhere along the line black’ plus repeated bad experiences with the company have put me off. Not to mention their absolute nerve of pricing the frames at £700 for best part of a year when they were first selling them for £175.
Sorry, they can Do-One

https://www.bird.bike/new-29-hardtails-2021/

Thanks for link. Looks great, bit concerned by ‘aggressive geo’ and lack of details and time frame tho.
Perhaps one for me to consider if I’m still on the lookout in coming months

Hardtail Party recently reviewed them both back to back and it came out on top of the big wig.

Funny enough I watched those reviews earlier today. I get that the Alu frame might feel lighter on acceleration but I’m very much a fan of steel. Never say never though, the way stock levels are I may well end up going back to the dark side.

Worth waiting for the incoming Bird steel 29er HT?

Haven’t seen that one, how is it looking?
I did briefly take a look at their website but only saw gnarpoons and alu frames

Anyone else a bit gutted that the Mk4 is only available in one size? I know that they can be tweaked with seatpost layback (unless you’re planning on running a dropper, like me) and a longer stem, but however it’s dressed that feels like a bodge to me.
Real shame as I love the new design, especially the fork. None of the new colours do anything for me either unfortunately – looks like I’d be ideal for a 20” Mk3 instead – but gutted to miss out on the updates.

Have been running a 27.2 Brand X for a couple of weeks now and I’m very, very impressed with it so far.
Smooth action, good return rate, never sticks.
Was £99 in CRC ‘sale’, minus another tenner for signing up as a new customer. Its worth £90 new all day long (especially seeing used one sell for £80+ on ePay!)

Teamed it up with one of the ZTTO £15 sealed bearing dropper levers, which is another bonkers bargain, and now feel like the proverbial cream laden cat.

In fact, I used to run a 31.6 Brand X (stealth) on another bike and didn’t like it as much as the 27.2. Much prefer the response rate on this one, but that’s possibly just luck of the draw.

Oh yeah, external droppers FTW for me from now on. Internal routing can do one! So much easier to set up and swap an external actuated post.