that chumba looks good, think its the chrome rear end, seatpost and stem that really work. like the dale too.

im 6ft and ride an 18 inch frame with a 50mm stem and 30 inch bar. i do like shorter stems though.

you should definitely test the intense if you are considering one, vpp is great and all but like every suspension system it isnt for everyone.

ive recently bought a 5 with talas 36's. its noisy in rocky stuff, looks a bit agricultural and rides different in terms of rear suspension and geometry to my old bike which i loved. despite (and also because of) this i love it and dont regret the change at all. for a lot of xc stuff its more bike than you need, but if you like to give it some when the trail gets a bit lairy then id wholeheartedly recommend it. you really need to try them out on your own trails though i reckon, just cos mbr give it ten doesnt mean its the bike for you!

the maxle option is well worth it too IMO.

if you are buying new hubs too then its definitely worht going for a hope hoops with stans flow, so much cheaper than the sum of the parts and build at £285. if you are using hubs you already own then id still prefer the stans, nice and light for the size, strong, really easy to inflate with either ust or rim strips. not cheap though and theres nothing wrong with 521s, just a bit heavier and not as simple to set up tubeless.

looks like a good n proper mountainbike that. have my eyes gone funny or is there a ring/bashring missing? the seat looks a bit tipped back and quite far back on the rails- intentional or quickly put together for pics?

rims look big, what are they?

you need the tool to snap the seal back i think. the hope website gives a simple walk-through video in the technical section.

its a standard single ply kevlar 2.35 60a using stans flow rims, rimstrips and sealant. sensible pressures too. its definite pinch flats too; always on rocky stuff, nice gash in the tyre tread to prove it.

ive switched to a wtb prowler mx for now, just because its what i had in the shed so ill see if thats any better. if not ill probably go for a dual ply high roller, just wondered if that might be overkill for general trail riding and if there were tougher single ply or lightish dual ply options.

did you do the red or black run stuart? never did get that bike up to the fort, wish i had though!

what al said, bash it on to the rim and split it. its a pain in the arse!

no longer mine…

spend the 100 quid on a maxle rear end

jfeb, an orange 5 with maxle rear end and talas 36’s.

hi loulabella,

a couple of things; four is still really young in terms of the time you have had to get your heads round your sons diagnosis and what this means to you all as a family. its a constant learning curve with all sorts of challenges but plenty of highlights too. autism or not, kids are at their most receptive when they are enjoying themselves so if he likes the whole bike thing then stick with it, it could lead all sorts of places.
on the specialist bike front, try contacting your local university. my son has brain damage which also has physical manifestations and up until now Ive just adapted tralier bikes but he is getting too heavy. by a friend of a friend type contact ive been put in touch with a professor of design and technology who is going to get his final year students to design and build a bike specially for louie, free of charge! apparently they have funding for this kind of thing.

hope this helps

as an ex- blur 4x owner id agree with those above who really rate it as a trail bike. the long wheelbase, low bb and slack head angle really make it fun pretty much anywhere and amazingly capable when things get nasty.

my only changes if speccing custom would be to lengthen the top tube a bit as it gets too cramped when you have to use the seat at a pedalling height and it wouldnt hurt to have a bit more cockpit room on the downs either, get a maxle rear end and iscg05 mounts, and lastly not use vpp! maybe the 2nd gen is better but i think for a bike like the 4x a good 4 bar or even better a single pivot would be ace.

some little brand should just steal the 4x geo and stick their own back end on it, id buy one again!

i get on pretty well with high rollers, i dont find them draggy and think they are a good fit and forget tyre.

i run 60a kevlar single plys with a stans rimstrip on flow rims and my only gripe is i flat them quite regularly. im not sure if i pinch them, or burp some air out then pinch them but whenever i cane them through some rocks or whatever i seem to get a flat. i dont think im being to clumsy or whacking them, just getting a bit lairy maybe. i seem to either be tearing the knobbles or causing a small split by pinching but its hard to tell, does anyone else do this? i used to do it loads when i ran them sub 30 psi, now i do it less often at 35 psi. im 13st BTW.

twang, you only want to bivvy cos you cant put up a tent one-handed! im off to do snowdon again this weekend, sleeping in the biggest tent in the world! get well soon fella…

thanks!

in answer to your question, all the new ‘tech’ brakes share the same lever. this is a love it or hate it item depending on how you set your brakes up; if you like to run them quite inboard and brake one fingered with your index finger then they are great, if you run them closer to the grips then they can be a bit tricky to set up next to shifters. the hope website shows you how to do it though. the x2 caliper is like the old mono mini- great brake for xc, good feel, maybe a little underpowered. the m4 is a 4 pot caliper with a bit more grunt at the end of the stroke, still lots of feel though. i loves ’em. the v2 caliper is the big boys brake, dh type thing. last time i looked merlin had the best price but that was a few months ago now.

hey stuart, bet you’ll be changing that rear tire if you ride this week! meant to ask, did i give you the allen key that fits the bearing tool? its a funny size so dont lose it!

thats my old bike that is!

if you dont mind sweating a bit on the ups and clipping the odd pedal then its as fast as you dare on anything that slopes down. the scarier, steeper and more rocky and rooty the better. its good fun in the singletrack and if you give it some muscle the slack head angle doesnt hold it back on switchbacks and the like. if you are a smooth, flowy, pick your line type of rider then it might nor be ideal. that said it might change you in to an aggressive, ‘pedal at the scary lookng bits’ type of rider that it seems to suit.

mine started off looking like this:

i tried to lighten it up a bit, got it from 32.5lbs to 29lbs like this:

then got fed up of braking light brakes and my forks being flexy and went back closer to the original build at 31.3lbs like this:

ive owned both. i personally prefer the 5 for the riding i do but from what you do id say both would be worth a demo as they are pretty well matched. i ran 150mm forks on my yeti and run 160s on my 5 but both are good all dayers with a 140mm fork.

depends a lot on how much travel you are looking at i guess but im pretty chuffed with the maxle rear end on my five which stiffens stuff up pretty good. not sure how much pressure a rp23 can take, i run mine at 180psi and im about 13 stone. i reckon that might be a good excuse to go for a cane creek shock on a five or possibly an alpine 160.

i had a blur 4x which was tough and stiff but i found it a little too short and the seat angle was pretty slack. im 6ft so if you are as tall or taller than me i wouldnt go for one of them.

maybe a nicolai? they are pretty over-engineered arent they?

peep show. always peep show.

what a bunch of long haired, greasy, doc martin, drainpipe jeans, grubby black t-shirt wearing old man rochers you all are! cheers for the suggestions though, quite a few are now on my ipod.

a bit more diversity anyone?

(cheers for the zappa suggestions, my old man is a big frank fan havent heard any for years though)

thanks, think ill follow the herd and buy some if i need them.

now, does anyone know the bike weight limit for easyjet? cant find it on their site and was wondeering if it was worth sticking some of my kit in there too…

i was going to take them cos setting up tubeless without can be a pain in the arse. ill just pick som up if i need them or run tubes. hopefully wont flat though!

the pure racing one is good if you give it a service regularly. only takes 10 mins so no big deal. works well, cant fault it really.

bmx is my daughters reward for her exams, rocky ridge is my wifes cycle to work voucher, five is my cycle to work voucher (plus a bit of pocket money)

from a chat i was having last week in leisure lakes when i ordered mine hope were in the process of switching from dt to sapim so you could end up with either. maybe if you get them at £285 it will be dt’s but if you pay the new increased price they will presumably have to charge after stans rims have gone up they will be sapims? i dunno…not much in it really anyway IMO.

i remember the technic test car was THE set that all the kids wanted. my parents tried ot fob me off with a smaller version but i stood firm and got the real thing. the gear box was beyond me though, gutted!

Specialized can’t be pleased, as on a Iron Horse Sam Hill was winning everything.

did you follow 2008 WC?

thats not what he said afterwards. peaty’s wasnt perfect either, looked a bit sketchy in the fast top section and a few other moments too. peaty deserved it, he proved it was no fluke by taking quali and the finals. no doubt sam will return the favour before too long. hannah is stirring things up though huh?

that must be his first WC win for over a year, possibly 2? mega chuffed for him, maybe not the most exciting rider to watch but so smooth and accurate with his lines. obviously sleep depravation hasnt hurt his speed much!

ride it twice then sell it and buy a rigid ss 29er. then sell that. its the stw way.

IMO you would be daft to go for the 5.1 while hope still have their pro2 with stans flow build at £285. lighter, stronger, better for tubeless and only £25 quid more than buying the rims, spokes and paying for a wheelbuild would cost on your own hubs. id hurry though cos once hope run out of stock and have to order some more rims their prices will have to go up. rrp on flows is now £90 each!!!!

leisure lakes have the maxle ones at £400. or they did last week…

ive had rc41’s and ridden a 5, i reckon they would be a bit weedy for it. from the test ride i had i dont think you need an adjustable fork for climbing unless you are going for a 160mm fork. get something bolt thru and get the maxle rear end. nnyyyyeeeowwwwwmm!

i was starting to go off stw with all the current negativity floating around (and i dont know who anyone is since all the name changes!) this thread has reminded me of why i stick around.

if you are going to do snowdon the best descent is the rangers path, much more technical interest and much less popular with the walking folk. theres a route on the ‘trail guide’ tab up there ^

i damaged it myself so dont expect it will be under warranty

having been 3 years ago and returning for the first time in a couple of weeks i can say im glad theres a bit more cheating on the climbs. i thought the descents were more than rewarding enough for the climbing we did but ive gotten lazy since then! i really like the way it felt like you were on holiday with your friends rather than my previous experience of guided riding which felt like we were causing them an inconvenience by wanting to ride when it was cloudy, not wanting to do the same ride twice etc. see you soon sam and co!

tom