my ergon grips have neat little rubbery flanges that the bike stands on when upside down. unexpected bonus feature.

@deanfbm i don’t think you’re going to get an answer, no one really knows, and it’s subjective whether something is good enough for you.. if you can try 9 cheaply with your wheel i would, but if you really want stiff you might be wasting money, go straight to 20.. a well serviced reba is a decent fork unless you’re doing DH.

no one’s denying 20mm is stiffer than any skewer. the question is where does 9mm skewer fall on the range from 5 to 20. this isn’t obvious at all, we’ve got responses from an engineer saying no better (!) to users saying loads better. it’s also about value, you might be able to go from 5 to 9 for about £20, but a whole new wheel and fork…
or what about 15mm, if i was buying a new fork i’d get that.

@TurnerGuy, i doubt chunky alloy hubs are bending. it’s mostly the “parallelogram-ing” between hub and dropout that i was talking about before: /||/

i would not do it in this weather. not so much the ground as the sideways rain. had some mates do it in this sort of weather last year (unlucky) and i joined them for last leg which was fun, but their first two days were horrendous. it depends on your fitness and attitude whether it’ll be fun in these conditions. mainly i’ve done it enough that i would only now do it “for fun” on a nice long summer day…

bought some ergon grips from DX they were def. fake.. so i don’t know about these but probably fake, i wouldn’t take chances with handlebars.

i wanted to add to above, even open 9/10mm dropouts are quite thick/wide on alloy and magnesium frames and forks. maybe less so with steel, so whole thing less effective there. just not sure if you engineers above were factoring dropout width into this, that’s probably key. i mean length of each dropout along axle/skewer, not span between dropouts.

deanfbm is surely right. imagine a thread of kevlar put under huge tension, being used instead of a metal skewer. same force holding dropouts together, obviously less stiff though. perhaps some are forgetting the benefit of simply filling all the dropout space with a single piece of whatever – the drop-outs cannot move as much relative to each other without bending said piece, so if you’ve used something that is itself stiff like a steel tube… job done right?

the 9/10mm is substantially stiffer in practice than 5mm, you can feel it. also worth noting that it’s cheap (if you already have suitable wheels + superstar QRs) so imho a great value for money upgrade, if you want to keep your old frame/forks.

that’s Bolt-in.. not sure it’s better than bolt-through through for stiffness.. (cue mass-debate). def. not for convenience (have to undo both sides to get wheel out!).

the 9mm superstar axles are steel, and pretty thick tube. 10mm helped on my back end, think i’ll try on front too. i get that back/forward twang but what can you do..
what i don’t like is they are slightly loose in the hope adapters. seems silly.

edit: no GW is right i think. a normal 5mm QR basically just holds the dropouts onto the hub. a thicker axle has more of its own strength to prevent the hub “parallelograming” between the drop-outs like this |//|

good news, Saar (my link above) is still making them, he’s going to have some more in approx 2 weeks.

i meant to say “severe” not sever, unless you’re carrying a saw on your pocket :p

i think there were two guys on here who broke their legs after falling with something in their pockets. sounded nasty. not sure, i don’t know them personally but i know keys etc can really hurt and tools.. don’t risk it.

also weight on my back helps me ride, something to shift about.

yes there is nothing wrong with the instructions on that site, except for “substantial” being exaggerated imho and i would not try to use these to extend a shock, has anyone done this successfully, they didn’t try to rotate?

there was a UK guy who sold modified ones of those for MTB use with nice warranty etc, anyone remember? i could do with one to go with my bar mounted MJ872 for an enduro..

hmmm good Q.
saddle bags rattle annoyingly.
stuff in pockets can cause sever injury when crashing.
some kind of tight frame bag maybe?

i use a small camelbak for short rides but it is nice to have nothing on, so to speak.

another way to look at it if anyone still confused: you take a bit off the beginning of the travel, and add back the same amount to the end.
(only a few mm so not a problem on most frames).
your geometry then is exactly like running more sag all the time, but without losing travel or changing your shock action.
to work out the height drop you will get, take the bush offset(s) and multiply by your linkage ratio (ignoring that on a single pivot it’s an arc not a straight line up and down but close enough).

yeah i’m not sure he’s still doing them :/ waiting for reply..
Works probably will but only -1. both around £70.

yes it will, i have one. -1 from a UK company (Works) or -1.5 from a guy in Israel. he can to -1.7 but prefers not to as weaker. need to dig out link.
edit here: http://www.ofanaim.net/prodspec.html

get a normal Top Fuel 26er (under £100 probably) and put a reverse angleset (-1.5 for 1 1/18) in it? i haven’t done the math to tell you what that’d do to geometry. the normal 26er is pretty steep at around 70deg, not sure what 69er was specced at.

yeah you aren’t pushing the front into corners like you do on smooth berms. on rough stuff like that, you’re sorta twisting the bike with your hips and legs. at least i am.
also, more speed helps, above a certain speed things smooth out nicely ‘cos the bike isn’t falling into every crack. i had this down one day, then was rubbish the next because i was tired and tensed up.
i would not go back to spds, that just teaches you bad technique.

just rode the peaks on flats and didn’t have this problem. the first day i was bombing the rocks all relaxed like too (on a short travel FS bike, hardtail may be trickier..). doesn’t help sorry.
maybe not grippy enough shoes.. with AM41 and Kona WahWahs, my feet cannot slide, have to be picked up to move them.

for this weather, the cheapest sintered you can find.

maybe these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avid-Elixir-Disc-Brake-Pads-Metal-Sintered-Spring-/150796868206
£5 delivered

or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-WESSEX-BIKING-BRAND-4-PAIRS-AVID-ELIXIR-SINTERED-DISC-BRAKE-PADS-/280774917112
cheapest for 4 pairs i can see

more new “brands”, not tried them. (plasma! carbon! ceramic! just need nano particles in there and we can all play bullshit bingo)

about thickness.. i’d rather have thicker pads with more material and maybe let some fluid out, than thin ones that won’t last as long.. i had no problems fitting the really cheap ones though (Elixir R 2010)

http://slamthatstem.com/

was not expecting this to be a real site..
can someone please explain? i almost want their t-shirt ‘cos it’s so … nonsensical.

well, it’s a slightly less good a deal than it was, he’s removed all but the one pad listing.
2.99 is still pretty economical imho..

wore my first pair out but that was in the peaks in the wet, any non-sintered would have worn out there.
haven’t fallen apart.

thumbs up so far for me.
possibly a bit less powerful than some pads – ? but good feel.

anyone else?

yes. best to use the spreader that came with your brake as 1) plastic won’t damage anything 2) should be about the right width.
if you can be bothered, clean around the pistons and apply some red rubber grease BEFORE pushing them back.

if avids you should have the red pad spreader. use it, the fat end to push the pistons (wiggle it around a bit) then insert pads, then the thin end, then insert wheel, then pump lever.
i’ve never needed to bled them just to change pads. i have to change to thicker rotors, or thicker pads though (just let some fluid out).

just wonder why they only went from 32 ish to 35… should have gone further – ? engineering reason, or just so they can sell more bars (and stems) in a few years at 38mm-40mm?

don’t mind riding in the rain, it’s all the cleaning up afterwards that bores me. when dry you can just stick bike in garage and kick your shoes off. when wet, short rides sometimes don’t feel worth the hassle as you seem to spend longer cleaning up (yourself/bike/kit) than riding, and that part is unpleasant in the wet also. and everything on the bike wears out so much faster. basically, if i had a butler to do all my cleanup, and sponsored brake pads and chains, the wet would make no difference to me.

also: wool clothes, get some.

Taff, last month that was so easy you could just pick any line up there and go. i was running crossmark/aspen and laughing ‘cos it was suddenly so easy to clear. all of it, whole trail is massively easier dry tbh. in general, QE = scary in the wet, but good for your skills. some ways this is nice because it’s different every time you go. but only when dry can you really let rip in there. maybe it’s just me and lack of balance/skills.
as i live here i have the opposite problem – learning to trust the tyres more when i go to Wales! you guys have some magic grippy wet rocks.

haha you’ve really got to watch your tyres in QE, and then slow down some on the hard chalk. something tacky for the wet, but not spiky (just skates). Bonty mudX or 42a minions are good choices.
When’s next dig Scott? end of the month?

what with? a blowtorch? an oven? a toaster?

dat haircut.
(is it the haircut that causes crime, or the crime that causes the haircut)?

like how the police are using decoys though. niiice.

not sure about this “following from the trails” thing.. more likely they’re hanging about the streets. with that haircut.

what on earth is the point of coating this part, except to make it it “bling”? nothing touches the air can except air.
edit: no wait, the seal slides on the inside. so the inside is coated. brain fart sorry! still doubt it’s noticeable, i’d get the cheaper can.

yer if you’re on bolt in i doubt you’ll notice much difference going to bolt through, except easier to get the wheel out..

but… hey belt drive!

white stan’s rims weigh more and cause your bike to get nicked, apparently.
i have 2 silver bikes with black rims, but you can’t see ’em. also i think black spokes are silly for the same reason white rims are silly. get some black rims and silver spokes, keep it traditional. ymmv.

go orange. opposites on the colour wheel.

SS are out of black 10mm QRs and anything else costs loads. btw.

btw.. best value upgrade i ever made to my bike, even if its blue, i cant see it back there.

well SS is quite a dark blue… not the same as fox or acros or RaceFace blue. no blue hope bits sorry not very helpful.

edit: yes can’t believe i bothered replying to this.. waiting for the rain to stop :p. only got blue ‘cos no choice on those bits btw before someone calls me a hypocrit.

not Sporty Spice then?

erm Jude Law and Josie Dew also. i’m not very observant either.

extra points if the “celeb” is on a bike too?

yeah actually i take that bit back. most of london could be fine for bikes with the right policy, and this applies to many UK cities. what about bike/pedestrian only streets though? i can see that being as popular as congestion charging. the barclays rental thing seems to have worked great despite all this which probably surprised lots of people (still no fatal accidents so far?)