I really don’t want to make the bike too use specific, I really want an all rounder, master of none. All day marathons, steep up and down, flowing singletrack, drop-offs and small jumps etc but still give my buddies on hardtails and 100mm FS XC racers a run for there money. Currently 28lbs and don’t want to increase that by fitting a 36 series fork.

@ joeegg: That’s what I was concerned about. I guess there is more too it than angles. The angles I’m expecting with the longer fork (as above: HA 68.5, SA 73) sound pretty contemporary and similar to recent Fives from memory, which mags/riders rave about.

@ unklebuck: I do have some spacers under the stem, what are you thinking?

That’s made me question the online geometry calc:
see here[/url]

It has the 32 Floats as:
Travel : A2C
130mm : 501mm (OE fork for 2005 Orange 5)
140mm : 511mm
150mm : 521mm

Are these wrong?

Also considering Revs:
130mm : 509mm (current fork I have, v. similar A2C as Float 130mm)
150mm : 529mm
(source: SRAM website, see here)

Hi Vrapan, I’d definitely recommend a mud tyre for ridding around Herts this winter, in fact we’ve probably ridden together while I had Mud-X tubeless ready tyres fitted. The mud and leaves are epic around there, doesn’t seem to drain very well.

Another option is a Specialized Storm which is a fair bit cheaper and I found v good as well. The 2bliss version is, guess what, tubeless ready. I’d go for the “Control” version over the S-works version, bit tougher and I doubt the weight difference is noticeable when it’s covered in filth anyway. I’ve also ridden with a chap who had Panaracer Trailrakers while I was on an all rounder: he left me for dead on the descents and the climbs while I was slipping around all over.

Edit: I think the Storm tyres might be a bit tougher than Mud-x?

That would annoy me, think I’ll find an alternative. Thank you 🙂

I’m using a Hadley 10mm axle. It’s noticeably lighter (and more expensive, unfortunately) than the Superstar axle. Requires a 6mm hex key, as not Q/R.

I tried an Excentriker and didn’t get on with it. Slipped when I didn’t want it to and locked solid when I wanted to adjust it. The Foward Components is much better, shame it doesn’t fit your frame!

If I was going for for sliding dropouts, I would have a post mount version made. Seems so obvious to me, especially after going to the effort to make something as lovely as the pic above. Would cost a little more, but worth it for the kind of frame that would warrant those dropouts in the first place.

Bike bought. Thread closed.

ooh, get you. Are you saying no-one else can be interested in making this choice other than the OP?

If I’m really bored this weekend I’ll do a video myself.

Would be genuinely interested to see that, in fact any of the current designs: ABP, DW Link, SP etc.

4 bar unaffected by braking? Search “FSR brake jack” on you tube…

Excellent, thank you.

Interesting, thanks. The current five is at the slack end for a trail bike though.

Would only have compared the mmmBop with while standing around in the car park or leaning against a tree, all v. miss-leading of course.

That’s got me thinking, slack hardtails make sense!

I haven’t considered the effect of the rear end sagging as well though 🙄 too late to edit! Surely it wouldn’t be enough to make the head angle slacker than the static figure though?

but, they’re not superslack, they’re about 67degrees – ish.

which is completely average for full-suspension ‘trail’ bikes – and thankfully becoming more common on hardtails.

my pig feels completely normal – because it is.

Not sure I agree with this. Firstly, I don’t think 67 degrees is average for FS trail bikes, more like 69 or latterly 68 degrees. Secondly, don’t most people quote their figures without sag? In which case the Blue Pig is quoted as 65.6 degrees, with an unsagged 140mm fork (67.5 degrees with a 140mm fork sagged by 40mm) which is a common fork length for a FS trail bike. My buddy’s mmmBop with a Pike fork is very obviously slacker than any of the 120mm to 140mm FS bikes in our group from: Orange (not the new 5), Santa Cruz, Specialized, Yeti, Giant, Iron Horse, Trek, Gary Fisher – which is a fairly average bunch of FS bikes.

Will there be a 140mm, non-horst link frame in the new range?

Pretty impressive speed on a bicycle

Most likely to be the bottom bushing on the shock, the end that attaches to the swing arm. It'll get worse reasonably quickly, so that'll help you decide which one it is! Jam your finger against the shock shaft and the bracket on the swingarm and you should be able to feel the two moving independently (play). At least that's what happening on mine just now!

This is the stuff you need, I'm sure other places sell it too, but the info is v. good on JRA, have a look around:

Stan's yellow rim tape

Stan's valves

If you want XTR anyway, then go for it, you won't notice any difference (except possibly in re-sale?). But by the same token, if the only reason to buy is to try the longer length, don't bother, you won't notice any difference.

I rode a 170mm crankset for a while, couldn't tell. But 165mm, that I could tell and went back to 175mm.

Use the "IMG" button instead of "URL"
Assuming you have the pics hosted on a suitable site. TinyPic seems OK to me, plus it gives you the complete code with the IMG bit ready to paste straight in to a msg board etc, so no need for the "IMG" button.

Avid Elixir CR Mag £280 for both ends on Merlin, bargain 😉

Wasted some time looking into the chap (for fun):

The paypal account is in his "mum's name", but it does match the surname of his email address. Googling his email address brings up a freelance industrial designer in Sydney. No obvious link to the yachting sports wear company he asked the wheel to be shipped to.

Think I'll refund the Paypal payment of £83. Thanks one and all.

My concern is chargeback, I don't think emptying my Paypal account will make a difference as it's directly linked to my bank account. From Paypal:

A chargeback happens when a buyer asks their credit card issuer to reverse a transaction that has already cleared. This can mean that a payment you’ve received in your PayPal account could be reversed, even if you’ve already posted the goods – which can of course be frustrating.

PayPal will help you as much as possible if you wish to dispute a chargeback, but the final decison lies with the credit card company. However you can also get covered by PayPal's seller protection.

WHY DO CHARGEBACKS OCCUR?

There are a few reasons why a buyer would request a chargeback:

An unauthorised payment was made with the buyer's card
The buyer didn't receive the item that was paid for
There were errors in processing the transaction
The item does not match its description
The maximum time a buyer has to file a chargeback with their credit card company is typically 120 days (or 180 days for a buyer outside the UK). Certain exceptions may apply.

So maybe not quite end of 😉

I'm selling some carriers in the classifieds – fitted my 5 OK……

Oh the irony 😆

Have a look here

Ishouldbeworking: that's kind of what I was thinking. I got a shock when I checked prices. OK it was a Sydney bike shop I was in, but $240 for a camelbak Mule and $80 for Maxxis tyres!

Perfect, thanks Jason. It all seemed good on the limited walks around there I've managed. I was just having a few last minute doubts. Waiting for approval before I can post on Trailflix. I'll have a look at rotorburn too. Hope to see you over there!

Maybe, but IME there's more fashion around full sussers 😉 Many more over-biked full suss victims around than singlespeeders – surely they just give up when they realise it's difficult! I would really miss riding the SS, but I have to be rational (ish).

The floodgate can work when not locked out too (despite what the manual says). This guy has some interesting things to say:
clicky

Made me giggle^^^

"The High Roller's tread design translates well to all mountain bike disciplines, including downhill, cross country, and freeride."

I have Elixir CR Mag front and rear – look the same as the XX to me, just minus the floating rotor and some graphics. Excellent brake, light and very powerful with enough adjustment to set them to my preference. Picked them up for £270 the pair from Merlin Cycles, which seemed a bit of a bargain. Also swapped the rotors for the Ashima Airotor (for less than I sold the G3 rotors and 185 adapters on here) which knocked of ~30 grams each end, so now very similar weight to the XX anyway.

Have a look at The North Face and Columbia (plus others I'm sure) for shirts in technical fabrics.

Oh well, thanks for the help.

another option

This isn't the same but close[/url]

I googled "bicylce racks for inside vans"

My friend's rack is similar to this but takes three

Friend has a Hilux, he uses a rack that just drops into the tray and fastens bikes by the front dropouts, takes three I think.

Cheap ones here:

Tenner on ebay, very nice chap to deal with too

+1 for the Eclipse kit on a 317 (and a 717): has been fine for me too, for 12 months (no punctures either).