suspension oil is a different blend with additives specifically for the need of suspension units.

ok i’m not being cheap, i’m trying to keep my forks supple after i had problems with stiction in a reba. 15w damper oil isn’t designed for lubricating bushes either, it’s made for damping (anti foaming etc). afaik fully synth oil like Mobil1 is a better bush lube and shouldn’t contain seal swellers etc (do not use semi-syth oils!). i had this recommended specifically by someone in the industry who should know what he’s doing.. only advantage i can see to using two weights of damper fluid is if the two areas leak together they’ll be compatible, but that shouldn’t happen anyway? i dunno what this and damper stuff do mixed, never tested.

have you ever tried it? :)

George sorry i misread, yes you can put air spring lube straight in the top, no more than a few ml or you’ll affect spring rate a bit. you want something really thick for this like fox float fluid (85w approx?). probably should clean out grease first though which really needs a dismantle to do right. the oil gradually works its way through to the negative side so may need topping up (and releasing from negative, but you should be servicing the fork before that becomes an issue i’d think?).

Loco. engine oil. what’s your take? seems good to me.

that’s a combined light and hooter?

photoshop some snow and tinsel in there, xmas cards for us all next year.

yeah that’s right fill ‘er up george and enjoy all that travel. :twisted:

good tip Loco, how much would you put in? i’ve run out of oil on my rebas and revs before, luckily revs think i caught them before damage (not the rebas :/).. wish RS would redesign the forks to take much more oil, but i guess they love selling CSUs too much? ;)

Also what’s your take on using synth engine oil (Mobil1) instead of shock fluid in lowers? seems like a better tool for the job.

funny you ask! i discovered yesterday and was going to make a thread.. they are very good on wet roots indeed. shreds rotten slick wood where any rubber just slides sideways.
i have the cheaper Schwalbe ones about 1kg.

get them from Germany.

i’m going to die when i go back to normal tyres :D

i wouldn’t normally like a bike with that much welding, but the proportions are right, so it looks great. silver helps. classy photo too.

that frame and that fork don’t belong together at all. look like they’re from totally different bikes. imho.

and Rusty Spanner?

your last point, yeah a bigger back tyre has this dragster thing going that’s just wrong.

ah so British. no one made the time they wanted, but everyone was glad they went and hoping to try again next time :)

the guy trying to make his speed run with serious gut problems.. massive constipation basically? just wow.

Pt2 on now i think. BBC HD

^ yes jive, reminds me of some Hepworth sculpture

The Kleins unfortunately, remind me of this

Some people seem to be confused what a mountain bike is. It’s easier to make a bicycle beautiful if it doesn’t have to work off road?

agreed Snapierre look good. especially the dropouts. i just find it hard to separate what it does from what it looks like, so always thinking how well a design might ride, not as an art project.
to get ****: a bike should have feminine curves, but also some manly straight lines.

things that look good to me:
blackwall tyres on black rims, air shocks, long parallel looking forks and seatposts, stems that point up, low riser bars, metal bar end caps (do not underestimate them!), adjustable seatposts that don’t have boots on (it’s to do with the balance of a fork stanchion against seattube stanchion), brown leather saddles/grips, muted colours and bare metal, square fork arches.

try not to mix forged parts with CNC parts, one or the other. particularly applies to stems and brakes.

wow that got really specific. i need help.

haha labradors shitting yeah. neither those nor retro frames look good to me. i like the look of modern FS bikes. hardtails can look ok if they have modern geometry, taper headtube and lots of hydroforming. but no big gussets or extra tubes please. so yeah everyone is different i guess.

plenty of previous threads cover this.. for most people i’d say buy the Monarch and spend the £200 on something else like a dropper post.

magazines are weird. mainframe flex? hmmm. never seen owners complain of that.

try this list compiled (by moi) from owners on mtbr:

http://forums.mtbr.com/titus/guapo-v4-wishlist-ideas-805110.html

(note you can ignore any bb height stuff, if you buy now you should get around 13.3″ BB with recommended forks).

oh yeah. it’s def. interesting. but yet another knob to think about? let’s lower my post, adjust my shocks, and lock my cranks, and remember they’re locked, and of course gears. 8O i guess if you’re the kind of person who can really use this, you’re probably co-ordinated enough to cope with it.

imagine the fun when this thing starts engaging randomly say.. during a race. or pedalling granny up a short steep hill. it’s like a “push to fall off” button.

that’s fine, better. same thing but should last longer.

damn Paulio, that’s almost exactly how i was planning to build the green scandal. white/green/brown def. works. real leather saddle and grips? ;)

this is a vintage bike (1930s, same seller, about £600).

those 80s and 90s mountain bikes are just crap old mountain bikes aren’t they. find them in the backs of sheds around the country, no one rides them except as pub bikes because they’re not good for anything.

£15,000 for the Gary Fisher Procaliber with “aggressive race geometry. Other features on this Procaliber are EVO headset sizing”

ok, funny. so EVO has been around for 20 years. price is a typo right? could just be me but the old 26″ mtbs don’t even have any visual appeal. what’s going on.

haha. right. it’s not just riding a bike, it’s a whole lifestyle/experience/dream.
how do you feel about people filming themselves with cameras on long poles?

i have a week in Wales cut to this

suits my riding i guess?

hmm i never realised the front reflector bracket was also to catch the yoke! by the time i got a proper mtb (purple rigid trek!) in the mid 90s, LX had changed to a link.
anyone wondering, i read about this being a safety thing here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html#yoke

so about mudguards: don’t use one with loops around the wheel? you want two separate pieces of wire i think. whether you have legal case i’ve no idea. i’ve heard of sillier. most likely they’d argue it’s safe if installed properly. caveat emptor?

looks like an inherently dangerous design / accident waiting to happen. reminds me of the old front brake yoke problem (single wire, in all later canti/v brakes replaced with a link so if it broke you got an open brake, not a snagged wheel).
use http://imgur.com// to post pics.

not really my thing, bit too geeky, but did anyone catch Prof Cox taking the piss out of the show? near end. awkward.
CGAF about that bent wire eh. nor could i really. i like Cox (hmmm :|).

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FRTIROCKC/titus_rockstar_carbon_29er_frame

£1000 frame apparently until tomorrow then £1500. hmmm not sure what to make of that! *

so Q how does it compare to Guapo29er.. this is more an XC bike i guess with 70deg HA?

as for looks … it looks like most modern 29er FS, looks nice imho. i wouldn’t buy carbon because it’s carbon (just me, don’t like the worry) and 6lb doesn’t seem that light either? as nuke said. this could well be a nice all day bike but at that price it’s not the instant grab the EG was to me. i dunno, what’s the competition?

i like that you’ve stuck with normal parts, threaded bb, 135mm wheel etc. no funny stuff. no colour either.

*(if i were being cynical, i’d ask if on-one are paying early adopters £500 to beta test it :p )

really enjoyed this.

fav. moment (paraphrasing):
(off camera): you think there’s a woman out there for you?
hairy bike man: bloody hope not, unless she’s good at welding.

great characters, great talent. much better than the Anthony Hopkins film!

as for the actual salt flat racing, my comment was it doesn’t appeal, it’s either a kinda boring straight line or something goes wrong and you’re dead. not much in between fun?

how have i never seen the guy on a bike in his swim shorts ‘cos he thought his suit was causing drag. and set a record? that is amazing. this guy:

In perhaps the most famous picture in motorcycling, the legendary Rollie Free, wearing only swim trunks and sneakers, broke the world motorcycle land speed record in 1948.

yeah, raindrop disco.
it’s only low range because it’s so bright up close, if that makes sense. needs a flip up hood to protect drivers’ eyes on roads. anyone make hoods or lenses? or i’ll have to rig something up.

buy a spare battery for about £25. and an extension lead so you can put pack in backpack.
if it was a wee bit more focused it’d be perfect. on your head it’s very nice in singletrack, just needs a bit more throw for going fast.
anyone do lenses for these?

hot! no pun intended.

http://www.ebuyer.com/364223-led-bike-light-mj872

didn’t know ebuyer did bike lights hmm.
17 in stock.

as i’ve said before, 2 negatives for this light imho
1) the strobing on dimmed modes, if your eyes are sensitive to it
2) not much throw, very spread beam.

at £30 you’ve basically bought two sets of brake pads and some shimano mineral oil, then got the calipers, levers & hoses free. Freaking ace.

hmm i’d think of it more as getting the pads and oil free but whatever. Superstar S2 for these btw. yeah rear comes with adapter not sure what for though.

anyone who’s ridden good brakes (Elixir, Formula, SLX/XT) report on these? are they wooden, do they fade, do they stop?

current bike should be good. try riding with -22mm – ratchet cranks anyone?

ah ok different kinds of wobble i think. i’ll take mine apart some time and have a look. not something i like messing with ‘cos obvious bad result of fail.
nice how almost every bit seems to be available for elixirs :)

nope never taken it apart. only put some lube in a few times when they get squeaky. had them 4 years, so wear and flop. i guess the rubber will fail at some point but i’m cheap.
do you have to replace the pushrod or is it just if that’s worn? only thing wrong afaik with mine is they flap up and down a lot now (i mean perpendicular to the lever’s travel). action is ok.

@argoose

sorry did you link to wrong item?
kit for about same price here includes those parts and the others:
http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k615/a77668/lever-internals-service-kit-elixir-cr-r-5.html?mfid=3
it’s just the bushes i need i think, maybe we’re talking different sort of floppy. either way your link looks worse value!
if you really want just that it should be much cheaper e.g.
http://www.bikegoo.co.uk/product.php/977/0

anyone mind measuring the bushes please? with 4 to do don’t fancy spending £80 on just this.

edit: found them!
http://www.bikegoo.co.uk/product.php/984/avid_lever_pivot_bushing__elixir_r__cr_
still bit overpriced but way better :)

floppy lever, i got this. anywhere less than £20 per lever in stock? seems awful expensive like. some standard bushes maybe? don’t need the cylinder part yet.

this training till you puke thing.. heard Chris Hoy talk about that after the olympics, is it really good for you? i mean generally, apart from winning races. i’m always worried i’ll have a heart attack or something catastrophic like a burst eyeball or knee. what is the risk when you really push going uphill, for an otherwise healthy person?
1/100. 1/1000. how often do people just die on their bike from trying too hard. to get a KOM or something.

anyone run one with 150mm revs and an angleset?

revs yes, angleset no. plenty slack enough, or did you mean in reverse to raise it up? i was considering.
we’ve been over this well on mtbr, fork length makes only a small (few mm) difference to bb height, real issue was early v3 frames were well out of spec, approx 20mm drop when it should be 0. this would need, i forget, roughly a 220mm imaginary RS fork i think to counteract!
revs are great btw, makes for a great climber and probably not too flexy unless you’re big and doing big DH.
monarch is also great, i’d say as as good as an RP23, but the way the lever works doesn’t give any lockout (not really low speed compression as in ProPedal). can’t comment on CCDB but what i’ve seen from people with all the shocks to try is the CCDB doesn’t particularly suit this frame either (maybe that’s pre-modification?). Monarch Plus might be the way to go? check mtbr forum for more info.
another + for this combo is it’s user serviceable.

What are these like for an all day bike?

very good. comfy and climbs well…

oh yeah, my very first complaint: no bottle cage mounts. room for one on downtube but isn’t, if you’re handy with rivnuts or strap-ons maybe :p no room in middle of frame.

it’s a bike that can be built to handle almost anything i guess but it is looong, and also low if you’re on an early v3, but i think they raised it up to 0 drop now.

4 rides now (mars one from ebay)

lovin’ it.

only not sure about stop positions.
top, nearly down, down.
i’d maybe prefer top, down a bit, fully down.
as i only seem to use the first two.

hmm – ?

What are these like for an all day bike?

very good. comfy and climbs well. only thing i miss is not having a lockout on stock shock(s). mine’s around 30lb with no real effort to be light (pro2 flow etc).

Sunday at a top secret hampshire location ;)

giving it some guapo. actually mincing, real slow. but looking fast (that’s what matters right?). cheers Tristan, Scott, Paul and co. couldn’t ask for a better last ride really..

Good year trailbuilding, anyone in range of QECP should sign up. lots more to do.

Happy ’13 all at STW.

for the workshop/garage/home, this and some good handles

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-38716-33-Piece-Security-Bit/dp/B0001K9U46/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356816927&sr=8-1

also lets you use torque wrenches, just a bit holder or anything else

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-228527-Inch-Screw-Holder/dp/B000LFS0J2/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1356817073&sr=8-9

not ball-ended

edit: somafunk got there while i was checking amazon links.