nooooo there should always be something pressed into the eye. if ridden like that it’s most likely ovalised. then i’d be asking for a new shock..

funny, was going to say what dave said above.
High Rollers are good but more “advanced” because of the gap / lean angle thing.
for someone less experienced, Minions and Advantages are very confidence inspiring tyres, go for them, if you’ve not used modern tyres you’ll be amazed. normally 60a front and 70 rear. currently running Minion 2.35 front, Advantage 2.1 rear, and they are similar size, maybe Adv slightly bigger because they size differently. i would get the kevlar but not the Exc (more delicate). should find them around £25-£30 if you shop around.

for anyone else reading: don’t unscrew the bolts far. just a couple of turns. you only need to get the thing unstuck. more likely to damage threads if you unscrew most of the way.

yes but you’ll need to pay more for high end cartridge hubs like CK.. maybe consider superstar? wouldn’t go shimano – can be quiet, but usually means they’re failing…

christ i wish. spent most of yesterday installing a headset (Works components angle jobby). so tight was worried about cracking the headtube. i’ve probably stretched it now.
how do headtubes get loose, by changing headsets too much or riding hard?

if you shim, use something very thin. tape won’t stay in place so not sure. maybe coating in some kind of varnish? i would think a loose headset is danger of ovalising headtube.

new headtube? no, a different headset much easier. i can recommend Works for tight ones :) anything with greater insert depth might help

327 are the cheapy ones that came on some specialized pitch.. no compression control, just a blank top cap. mine do have an alloy steerer though and weigh about 2.2kg

never knew there was a 36-22 specific 36. never had the chain drop problem.
but that SLX one is alloy? so i’ll stick with my cheap steel 36t.. shame there’s no steel/composite 36t though.

so is this what all the cool kids have these days? what does it do to your riding?

maybe nice for racing, but i like the shape of my ergons.. there’s a lot of different lockon grips out there, hard to generalise.
if they made this material as a lockon, maybe i’d try it :) no way i’m going back to that hassle.

brilliant thanks greeble. this forum is great for this kind of thing :)

yeah bit repetitive use of the same camera positions? not that i can do any better! i like seeing some distant shots and high up vantages that let you see the trail better. keep going (but don’t get into trouble..)

yeah i really couldn’t ride well with polarised lenses, can’t explain why. i kept running into things though so it was serious.
good for fishing though!
prefer light adjusting lenses for mtb (i forget what they’re called, the ones that quickly go brown or grey or back to clear)

mjsmke, the above requires having a girlfriend. just zip tie around the little notches on the back of arch? took me ages to realise what that was. maybe newer rebas don’t have that.

Hope are like Father Christmas.
edit: lot more replies above so this doesn’t make sense.

Whyte 19?
http://www.whytebikes.com/2012/bike_page.php?ModNo=W-1-010-12

wow the price.. i got an old one very much cheaper than that. new ones are slacker, probably (even) more fun, and stronger. mine’s scary light, feels like a coke can.

bampot thanks, i thought the SLX finish looked better. thinking of changing, not because of that, just i’ve damaged the axle on my old LX and SLX is a pretty good deal.

btw guy on ebay paragontapes i think, has matte finish tape. might look better on lots of parts..

if you unravel it and spin it around your head, you’ll find out.

wish i’d found this thread before buggering up black cranks. not that it matters.
does the finish on SLX cranks rub off btw anyone know?

Tiso.. they cost £44 or ONE HUNDRED POUNDS for the full ceramic.
http://www.subzerobikeco.co.uk/?p=1214
ahh yes.. made in Italy, that’s worth at least £25 right.

btw has anyone worked out how expensive you could make a bike if you tried? (with off the shelf parts) for the £10,000 mtb anyone?

actually they do alloy ones for a reasonable £21
http://www.subzerobikeco.co.uk/?p=59
but doesn’t say if they’re even stainless.. making them no better than the £9 TacX probably.

i have to say Tiso do look like very nice jockey wheels.

sorry i missed the £160 “full retard” option
http://www.subzerobikeco.co.uk/?p=2398
a snip at 10x the cost of TacX ceramics..

just seen price of CK bb grease tool (no point buying CK bb without it) – around £50. can get 2 pairs of hope stainless bearings for nearly this. based on how my 1st hope bb lasted, that’d set me up for a decade. in 10 years, no frames will have threaded bb? thus, no point buying a king :p
Hope again for £60 i think it is.

yes the mt zoom arent ridiculous at £25, if you must have colours, but the tacx ones i mentioned are only £18
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/Derailleur-Spares-Tacx-T4065-Derailleur-Rollers-9-10-Speed-Shimano-Ceramic-Bearings/TACXGRSZ220000000000

also, alloy tends to be noisier than the glassfibre/plastic that tacx use.. but the bb ones i tried shattered.

TacX ceramic from somewhere like ribble. only place i think it’s def. worth getting ceramic.

also looking at the King, don’t like the shape, looks like tools will slip like Acros, or you need King’s own tool? yes chamfers are pretty but hope have the right idea with square edge.

a bb is pretty simple, metal cups and bearings. if you put the same bearings in any cups it should run and last about the same? (unless hope’s seal design makes much difference). lots of people say hope last longer than shimano, and i’m sure they do, but probably just because most people use the bearings they come with.
am i missing something? have to decide whether to replace to replace my Acros (shit, they shaped the cups wrong so tools slip AND SKF bearings rust) with an XT/XTR, or buy another Hope, or try a cheaper stainless like Uberbike. A cheap non-stainless like Superstar are a waste of time, check the reviews..

can’t see hope under £60 right now (£30 of bearings, £15 each cup roughly).

as for King, no clear verdict on whether they outlast Hope, and they’re £90 at CRC.

@curvature, first impressions mean ****, could just mean worse sealing!

done some more digging, there are 3 companies (other than Hope) doing stainless bbs, all around £30 so half hope’s price. anyone used any?

Uberbike
Wheels Mfg
Pro-Lite (this might be Dave Hinde!)

if they do crap out i figure i can buy a pair of hope bearings for £30 and theyll be easier to change then a shimano bb anyway.

^ up to 34t and blue/red only.
i can’t be the only one who thinks the Hope bash looks horrible?

i know exactly what you mean. instead of enjoying the ride/view, you’re just feeling for it to jam to try not to snap the chain or bugger your frame. no fun at all. buy a cheap steel ring, lube up and you’ll be fine. the wear only has to be slight for this to happen.

this guy http://www.fagan.co.za/Bikes/Csuck/ spent way too long on this, i doubt there is any more that can be said, other than my tip above about flipping/filing.

also.. i think, but can’t prove, that the SLX chainrings are more likely to suck than the cheaper deore, because of their deeper and more shaped teeth.

and avoid alu and ti! there i think that’s it :)

my new FS frame chainsucked the moment i first rode it out of the drive, so i’m touchy about this eh.

as jools said, single ring suck (the kind that doesn’t happen while shifting) is caused by a worn chainring, not a worn chain. if you’re away and don’t have a spare ring, flip your granny around, this got me through a week in the peaks. if you have a file and the time you can try filing the teeth flat too.

i’ll be carrying a spare granny in future because of this, chainsuck ruins your confidence as once it starts you don’t know when it’s going to happen.

the wife probably doesn’t ride as much as you? :)

40mpg, that’s the problem i have with all waterproof shorts and jackets (endura, altura, dhb, and some others so far). maybe something to do with being in a hard water area or my washing machine. i don’t use bio powders. have tried granger and nickwax wash ins. both expensive and last about half a ride if i’m lucky. frustrating. might try the spray on stuff next. “waterproof” material still slightly better as it keeps wind off, but still..

just done this (w/o wheel). yes, but will make cleaning the inside of the lower hard. take front brake caliper off first and maybe zip tie lower to spokes. you’re going to have to get that wheel out soon so why not fix that problem first…

If your Altura shorts start to come apart i have a tip: black duct (duck?) tape. works so well it’s gone through 3 washes so far.

my alturas are great but not waterproof, and get heavy and chafy around the kneees.. how are you guys keeping them waterproof?

any word on the newer angular contact bearing type BBs? presumably stronger, but do they last? do they turn well? are any stainless?

relevant with this weather!

Hope bearings really do hugely outlast anything else with non-stainless bearings – for me. i think my original hope bearings from about 2008 are still running, they are actually wearing out and developing play, rather than rusting out and seizing like the others. because the seals never really work in my experience,they just delay the fail.

anyone else make BBs with stainless bearings then? or just buy the hope bearings and push them into whatever BB you’ve got, Hope have a unique shaped seal lip but i doubt that makes much difference?

For some reason though i’m about to fit a Shimano XT/XTR bb, just curious if they’ve got any better since 2008 i guess.

ones i linked above are now £13.84 delivered for 4 pairs, by far the cheapest sintered Elixir i’ve seen, get ’em while it’s wet ;)
i have no connection with these sellers btw just trying to help.. anyone tried these yet?

he has similarly cheap pads for tons of other brakes too:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/moxietrading/m.html?item=280774917112
and good feedback, i’ll give him a go.

get another Giro and try not to crash. what kind of riding are you doing?

i’ve owned thomson stems, they’re beautiful, but i’d never buy another – they just don’t give the best value any more imho. forged stems are generally the best strength for weight, and value – gusset staff, Pro FRS and similar, i’ve never heard of one failing (?). if you really want a CNC stem because of the looks, look at the on-one Superlight, it’s the same as superstars Zephir (£45) but around £30 (often down to 19.99). And btw the CNC work on the Sunline V1 (£30 when it was on clearance) is the roughest i’ve ever seen. Anyone who called it a Thomson rival was smoking something good. if you could be bothered to hand polish the V1 up it might look good..

These days any 4 bolt stem from a major brand will probably work (not true of XC stems 10 years ago), just pick one you like the look of and is the right size! Another reason to buy cheap, you’re less likely to keep riding one that doesn’t fit..

this is the same thomson that recently announced their faceplates are wear items?

how stiff is a sunline v1 AM btw? it’s a big ugly block of aluminium, i’m guessing pretty stiff, if your bars don’t slip in it.

Elixir Rs are like the new 7 (reach adjust, no contact adjust).
great brakes. (Retail are carbon lever, OE are alloy, usually)

never seen these 4s before.. weird!

thanks deanfbm… looks like my gut feeling that it would help was right.
did you use the Superstar 9mm QR or a bolt on?
i have almost same fork and think i’ll do the same. i’ll be adapting a 5mm front wheel (Hope Pro2) so i’ll be able to give a better comparison, maybe.
also yes the wheel itself may be bending less.

i have a 20mm maxle fork too that’s spare, not using because it’s much heavier and not as plush as my reba.. if i can be bothered i might try that too!