allright that’s half a grand (a monkey?) towards your Italian takeover, cheers guys.
i expect if it does turn out to be too much bike i’ll be able to sell for around £300-350 in good condition?

superstar is fine (or fireeye from CRC, same). despite the plastic bush bit.

brant, thanks. do you say that based on my height, those lengths, or the small is really small? 🙂

also if you had any medium alloy FTMs i may get one instead, any more of them coming? thanks!

ah you got me.

yeah just measured, my old full suss frame (medium) is 585mm TT (right between small and medium gaupo). my old seat tube is only 400mm (less than a small Guapo! Trek “virtual” sizing there) and 440 on my hardtail, wouldn’t want any bigger.

i’m measuring TT horizontal, from centre of steerer to centre of seat tube line.
ST from centre of BB along tube to top. anyone with a guapo around to confirm how they measure please?

not sure, can’t ring On-one as will have expired by Monday.. bugger. erm. i’m leaning towards small as easier to chuck around, but may bash knees? small doesn’t have that bracing tube to top of ST, i’d prefer medium with that.

if you’re 6 foot and i’m 5 10, medium should be fine.. but this years is 10mm longer (in all sizes i think), you have older one? gah. difficult.

btw does EG frame have bottle mounts on down tube?

lol at hammer and dropper hose.
a plastic mallet for putting cranks on, please 🙂

why the hell aren’t these Guapos selling at £540? they were hot at £800 earlier this season. only thing close to that i can see is the Nukeproof Mega from CRC at about £630 to £660
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=75355
both with Monarch RT3

any comments on whether small Guapo is too small for someone 5’10 – 5′ 11 with long legs ? i’d normally be medium but the sizing looks big on paper.

yeah but on-one stuff is already really cheap, wiggle etc not so much.

anyone spotted any other bargains? 🙂

ok cool so using a straight fork def. not a problem on new frames then?.. i’ve read some conflicting stuff and don’t really understand headset sizes.

@Brant, Hope 2 D is correct?

How about this?
http://www.workscomponents.co.uk/15-degree-ec44—zs49—tapered-headtube-reducer-eg-old-giant-glory-1-99-p.asp

ok thanks so.. um
is that not a common size? can use e.g. Works Components angle sets?
Titus were using direct insert bearings sounds like they’ve stopped doing that (good).

thanks for tip on price also 🙂

and for a straight 1-1/8 steerer, what sort of headset please?

any comments on Guapo vs FTM carbon for £90 more? FTM might be more suitable for me really hmm. obviously lighter and less travel, but is it really a good allrounder? not really keen on carbon anyway… raw Guapo would be less worry for damage.

any weirdness with sizing on either bike?
595mm seems a bloody long TT, my current bike is 560. that’s a big difference, like it’s for 0 length stems or something. any owners please. or is it measured differently, i go centreline of headset to centre of seat tube.

btw if anyone wants a Large they have a one with a paint chip for £495 i think.
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CZ1339/titus_el_guapo_frame_and_monarch_shock__large__orange

i’m 5′ 10″ and ride.. a bit of everything, but no dj or anything too extreme. like to go up and down. have almost new Revelation and Hope hoops flow or crest ready on donor bike.
so someone tell me why i shouldn’t get a medium Guapo with RT3 for £540. thinking Raw or White (shame Monarch isn’t white!).

only reason i can think is if i want a 29er (meaning new wheels and fork and frame wont be this cheap either).. which i’m not sure i do. and that i haven’t ridden the Guapo. and that it may get stolen for looking.. so damn sexy 😀

10% off everything this weekend guys! bloody tempting to get something. not sure if EG is too much bike..

edit: so shock length is 216mm, what’s the Monarch tune please?

ok, nerd alert!

if you use mount hardware that’s too short, what may happen is: the mount won’t be held tight in frame, so the whole mount rotates against the frame instead of the bush rotating around the mount. this is bad for your frame and can stress the bolt (the bolt is only there to hold the mount together, it’s not supposed to take the load of your fat arse). why i said let the air out compress and look, or take the other end of shock out and rotate shock by hand to see which bit moves (if mount is held still, don’t worry about the difference? frame tabs may bend enough to take up that slack? not sure, might be bad for frame). if it slides in real easy between the frame tabs, mount is probably too short.

not sure 22.2 is common size?
http://j-techsuspension.co.uk/pages/products/mount-kits.php

looks like it is yeah. they have tables of frames somewhere:
http://enduroforkseals.com/id275.html

.2mm can make a difference yeah judging by enduro’s tolerances to 1/20th of mm 😯 you just need to see if yours is held firm or not.

well, shock will feel different obviously. see if anything is rotating where it shouldn’t be (cycle the shock without air?) and if so, find two .1mm shims. like tin foil almost. i think Enduro do them and maybe others.

cranks are a bit like stems.. you need one that fits, but people seem to care a lot how they look. one of the worst value places to spend money imho! on the other hand a good set will last forever so..
deore is really good value btw now it’s HT2 nothing comes close afaik (but Deore bbs are cack, for dry use only!).

anyone put cranks on a test rig to see how bendy they are, and how the hollow ones compare to others?

easy to make something yourself Shirley.. couple of bits of wood and a velcro strap? or inner tube. light mount bracket? the block that forks come with.. plastic plumber pipe clips.. lots of ways, i wouldn’t buy anything.

i have a question… if stems have rise, is length measured along the stem, or 90deg to the steerer? makes quite a diff with high rise stems.

Surprisingly good little documentary, didn’t know anything about her before, she seems nice but quite immature.. hope she does well at the Olympics.
Can’t quite see why it was necessary for her other half to leave the team.. were they jealous or something 😕

have an old Marin in concrete/flouro colours also… anyone know any short forks that won’t ruin it? it’s way too slack around 65deg the steering feels crap!

amazing how many of these 90s Marins/Konas survive, and it has an 1-1/8 headset, so ahead of its time 😉

ok narrow rims so anything above a 2.1 advantage or 2.1 kenda is large (but a 2.35 minion would be ok weirdly!)

also consider that Maxxis tyres way outlast most others, i find.. might be worth paying £25 for them if they’re good and last. don’t get anything softer than 60a, and avoid the exception ones.

under £20 for wire advantage
http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3595&g=245369&p=230009&c=215
it’s an excellent rear tyre imho, long lasting, ok in all conditions, allows some drifting too.

advantage 2.1 70a makes a great rear and should last a while (70a is quite sticky too surprisingly, not hard at all).. you should also find it rolls a fair bit better than a Nevegal. i only really rate the Nevegal as a front tyre weirdly; can’t comment vs BlueGroove never tried it. similarly (or opposite), Advantage is not a good front tyre imho, can wash out at some angles, scary! Minion 60a 2.35 is about the best front tyre in general imho.

if you only ride trail centres you can probably get away with a fair bit less tread than any of these though.. umm was going to recommend Schwalbe but they don’t last nearly as well as Maxxis.. try Nevegal front, Advantage rear? maybe Ardent front, Adv rear.. hard to say depends on your style eh. you don’t say your weight or rims either so hard to recommend sizes!.

Mud-X? They’re better for natural and soft stuff imho. XR4 looks like it might be a decent all rounder but don’t buy from allterraincycles.co.uk …

that was haaaaard. but good work on the course guys. 8)
shame only really good riders turned up 😳

imho (just ho) there’s a lot of bollocks talked about longer forks messing things up on FS bikes.. it’ll feel very slightly different, whether better or worse is up to you, just as likely you’ll prefer it. then make adjustments with stem, bar, sag, angle-headset, tyres, bushes, spacers in fork etc. i would do the spacer thing last though as extra travel is nice and it’s easier to change everything else (except headset, that is a pain).

(i just made a much more extreme change than +20mm and love it).

remember the particular angle you get any moment is largely a result of suspension travel and ride position, the terrain etc, not what it measures stood flat anyway.

edit: exception would be if you really don’t want to change your current steering feel at all, then maybe just space when you get it! even then you’re likely to get different axle to crown or trail or something, plus fork will feel different!

I would not use offset rear bushes to raise the rear end to compensate, not likely to work imho and raises your BB, see threads about this. use an angle headset if you need to, they work.

sandy, humpy AND splashy?! 😯 I’ll be in heaven then 😀
(also some rooty?)

any pics of the course? is it like longmoor i.e. sandy and humpy?

christ. for anything bike related i’ve found the stanley fine. you aren’t dealing with anything big enough to need those huge bench vices.

^ yes i use it for exactly that, many times, you’ve got a bad one or not tightening it enough.

that stanley is exactly what i use (was given it) and it works great. wide enough to get anything bike related in.. use it to press bearings, hold the whole bike, hubs etc etc. you can lock the jaws in any direction and put whole weight on it, doesn’t move.

ah is this course quite.. non-technical? more of a hardtail course?

they seem good to me.. never had a Hope stainless rust or seize. unlike others.
other stainless bbs are available 🙂

you could probably regrease bearings and get them moving.. but in this weather, you want a stainless bb really.

went with original idea, nail varnish.. seems like magic stuff, makes pits disappear 🙂
will take grips off in a month or so and see what’s going on.. if nothing, great, if worse, new bar time with maybe something tied around inside edge.

ergon grip owners, if you haven’t taken grips off in ages might be a good idea to check.

Nice logo, Dr Semeru

beware ball end allen keys btw.. can round heads out. don’t recommend.

hadn’t thought of trying to seal it.. hmm yeah maybe. probably moves too much though.

don’t people paint nail varnish on fork stanchions? just remembered where i got idea from. so guess it’s alloy safe then, and slippery.

cosmetic now (i think), could become functional if it carries on wearing. it’s the functional part that bothers me, you can’t even see this when installed.

maybe, don’t think insulating tape would last though.
like the idea of stopping the grip moving too, thing is, unlike normal grips, the ergons have an inner tube that’s quite hard and loose.
guess i could paint the whole area in varnish and tighten it up that way.. hrm.

correctomundo. it’s the ergons what did it. 🙁 do very much like the grips otherwise, they cured a slight nerve problem.

better boycott shimano then too (crank bolts etc), more and more torx is being used on bikes, better get used to it 🙂