yep, faster than a HR and loads faster than a minion DHR.

dual ply wont burp unless you run single figure psi, single ply 60a still fits well, hard to burp unless you are running somewhere below 25psi.

self adjusting head angle = the future!

i always thought thats what helmets were for, first point of contact? :?

i like the beast. i dont use it much as its a bit short and doesnt link in well with my current fave loop. if you acept it for what it is then its great, a fun little trail to try at speed, spot hard lines and nail them. its got some good camber on bedrock that works against you and some sections where the best line isnt always obvious which i really like. some of my mates get stressed with it as they think they are riding it 'wrong' as it doesnt flow, but i think thats kind of the point, you have to beat it in to flowing if that makes sense!

dont recognise that bit either, was nice and dry on weds :D

jacobs as a descent, though the climb up to it is a PITA. doing it that way tomorrow i reckon, making sure ascenders give way to MEEEEE!!!!

i find that riding straight at other trail users of any kind usually gives me right of way as they scarper.

seriously though, if i was approaching a group of walkers id slow in plenty of time, avoid giving us a bad name and all that. if it was bikers id be less inclined to slow down, hoping they had some idea of the fun involved in descending and wouldnt begrudge me my fun.

it looks in great nick but the 5 has since had a few tweaks which doesnt really play to your advantage. rule of thumb tends to be 40-60% of original RRP depending on condition and current-ness (not a word i know!)the great reviews it gets wont hurt in terms of interest from buyers either.

i reckon watch a few on ebay, see what they go for. id be surprised if you got £600 but £450 would be rock bottom i reckon.

on-one 456 might be suitable but quite heavy and possibly too long in the top tube.

i can happily recommend a 'dual' frame from merlin: nice and teeny, really light and builds in to a brilliant little ripper. i did this for my daughter two years ago. she has since had a bit of a growth spurt and moved on to a medium cannondale but its adapted really well. from being 'just' bigger than her specialized 24" wheel up to 'nearly as big' as her medium cannnondale with just stem, bar, seatpost and seat changes as she has grown. you can get a real bargain on them, about £70 quid i think.

im actually selling my daughters if you are interested. havent got pics just yet as im in the middle of last minute sorting for a birthday party but if you drop me an email at kingtomtom@hotmail.co.uk ill sort you some out. its a nice spec; deore/lx/x7, mavic wheels, hayes brakes, magura forks… even got a carbon monkeylight bar on it!

tom

sorry for the slight thread hijack but im considering this shock for my 5. only thing is i currently run my shock quite soft but use the propedal lever to firm things up for climbs or flattish stuff. without the propedal lever, is it possible to set the shock up to give you the best of both worlds or is that asking too much?

cheers.

i had a blur 4x so cant comment in general, though i could flex the back end a fair bit with my twelve and a half stone, only when being a bit daft though.

hopefully matt_outandabout will spot this and give you some tips, he gave me some good ideas. nto used any of them yet though!

the lapierre is a fun bike, i had a really enjoyable demo on it. went for a 5 though, just such a solid little ripper, esp with a 36 fork up front.
as far as changes from the 09 model go, they have just slightly reworked the angles and tubing for the 09 frame and will of course be speccing 2010 suspension and components.
also fwiw id rather have a set of hope hubs on mavic rims than a set of shimano wheels, regardless of which cost more. aside from the ease of servicing and flexiblity with front and rear axles, hopes customer service and warranty is absolutely second to none. shimano are appaling with warranty issues, though spares are still easy to find.

nice bike mister! good on you for choosing the maxle rear axle. i run talas 36's on my 5 and am really glad of the travel adjust, not just for climbs but a lot of flat/traversy stuff feels good at the 130mm setting, hope you get on ok without it. im sure the v2's will be ace, i run the m4's and they are plenty good enough for my meagre speeds.
that looks like a long stem but thats personal choice i guess, your back tyre is on the wrong way round though! (and possibly the front, cant quite see well enough)

great idea! you could call it scenes! oh, wait a minute…

had the chance to get some very cheap 36's, so i did!

i had a long, drawn out warranty claim on a set of raceface cranks. it wasnt the bb, i broke the arm from the axle on a set of atlas am's. never did get anything despite local bike shop and an engineer at local uni being certain it was a product fault. i wouldnt put too much faith in the lifetime warranty in other words. shimano's rep isnt much better though!

my metal shed leaks like a right b*stard. you could break in with a tin opener too. lots of big chains is my solution, i couldnt afford a decent timber one in the size i needed at the time.

which one do you use knottie and for what riding? im considering one of the dual ply 60a 2.35 ones as a rear tyre.

kramer, tend to ride weekdays but could prob arrange something.

thepodge, i was thinking either edale or somewhere around ladybower?

bit far for me unfortunately, im in notts. cheers though!

to stop falling left or right just do what you would do if your front wheel was on the ground; use your body weight to keep your balance i.e. move at the hips and knees.

our gorups current wheelie challenge is the length of the ladybower dam. its a nightmare when theres a crosswind! got it on monday though, first time for about a month.

are you ok with wrecking the seatpost? if so, there is a way that doesnt risk damaging your frame half as much as some of the above methods:

saw through the seatpost roughly an inch above the seatclamp.
remove the seatclamp.
file down the rough edge of the seatpost if you can be bothered, it saves your hands a bit.
saw a vertical line down the seatpost, going in to the split where your seatclamp was (the bit that your seatclamp pinches together).
once you have gone right down to the bottom of this split, stick the saw blade down in to the frame and continue cutting the seatpost, following the guide you have made with your vertical cut. do this 2 or 3 strokes at a time so you dont cut your frame. the seatpost will come out easy once you have cut through it.
check the insude of the post for scratches and give it a fine sand or whatever it needs.

hope this helps!

yep it is, we were talking about the fire road climb that str and myself recommended

you watching bromont twang? youll be riding like that when your hands fixed!

its a footpath that rangers drive their trucks up and say hello if you see them. not that naughty really!

lockerbrook better than hagg? you cad!

screaming mile has been resurfaced at least the lower bit. i prefer the climb just past the first cattlegrid once you pass fairholmes roundabout.

lockerbrook has had a few heavy vehicles in places but not sure if its on the actual descent as i havent ridden it in a while, enjoying hagg farm descent a bit too much!

still shouldnt be sitting down!

pretty bike. that stem looks mahooosive!

id love a dh bike to play on. nothing posh, just decent angles and suspension and id be made up.

its worth getting the pins IMO, well designed so you arent going to break, bend, strip or tear them out. bloody grippy too.

isnt it frustrating that our sport looks so slow on helmet cam type footage? it really flattens out the terrain too, making us all look like sherwood pines pootlers!

tell your mate off for descending sitting down too, thats not what FS is for the lazy git!

speaking of your pedals, do they squeak? one of mine makes a right old racket and they are still pretty new. i really like em, especially once i got the number of pins right.

pedals dont match! the grips look good tho :wink:

did the bnp get a seat in stw too?

are you talking in general or dh? its bound to slow you up when its about pedal power but trying to ride dh as fast as in the dry is wicked, really wakes you up and builds some skillz. just dont be surprised if you crash a bit more than usual.

there's no way I'd take my FS out there at the moment!

bearings/ drivetrain are way cheaper than a bad weather bike! i love thrashing a fs round in the mud in the peak, pretend im a pro downhiller at schladming or something neeeeyowwwwmmmmm splash!

rigid would be fine im sure if you are already used to it, think it would make me cry though!

i tried both, went for the 5. i liked the heckler and have had good experience with santa cruz customer service but i wanted to run a talas 36 and i like the way the 5 rode with a bigger fork over the heckler due to it having a slacker head angle, shorter head tube, longer wheelbase, steeper seat angle, longer top tube (so i could run a shorter stem), shorter chainstays… i went for the maxle too, though the heckler being qr only didnt put me off it. its purely down to personal choice i think, theres not much in it really IMO as all the above are just numbers at the end of the day, its about what feels right aint it?

hope this helps.

and a pic, sorry dont really take many so this is what i have.