I take it that you have already submitted your bid?

It depends which end of the hills you go for. Around the northern end it drains pretty well all year round, bar a few boggy parts. Anywhere from British Camp to North Hill usually stays reasonably dry. This is the busier end of the hills though.

British Camp down to Midsomer Hill has the boggier but quieter trails.

You’re right about the weather on Saturday though!

Sorry to hear that – what was the dream build going to be?

If you’re not sure which air shaft to go for, the TFTuned website will give you the correct serial number, I guess that the SRAM site would too, their Trailhead app will advise you of spare parts for your specific model.

Bikes and boots – thanks for the suggestion on the chain stay protector, I’ll take a look.

@endomick – There’s colour matching maxles out there?…..

It depends on 2 things:

1. How familiar you are with FoD? If you ride there a lot then a change of scenery on the Malverns could be a good thing.

2. What time of day (and what day) you might get on the Malverns? The Malverns aren’t technically too difficult but the scenery is nice and you can get a good work out, however, go at the wrong time and you will spend more time dodging dog walkers and old biddies. Things have definitely got busier since the lockdowns. If you went early during a weekday you would have a better chance of a quieter ride.

Howsyourdad – you’re probably right. I need to sort the cables out in general. I moved the disc brakes over from a frame that is considerably shorter in reach – hence the compromises to get it up and running. I will get it sorted though.

Thanks Docrobster. I will tidy up the cable around the BB, I wasn’t happy with it as it is anyway.

As for the cabling around the headtube, I am afraid I cut the dropper lever cable too short – hence the odd routing. I have ordered a new outer but wanted to ride it before it arrived in the post.
As for the fence and the grass – neither are mine so they’re not my problem. Why do you think I didn’t post photos of the bike in my garden? That would definitely have invited comment!

Ha, success posting images! Right…..Yesterdays build – and was it just like those dream build videos on YouTube? Well, I had intended to tidy up the garage to give myself the best possible chance of a smooth build, however, I lack the patience to do this so the work bench looked like this:

Undeterred I unpacked the frame. I was not disappointed with the raw finish and it certainly looked long! It came with an in-line Deluxe Ultimate shock, partly so that I could happily use a bottle cage without the bottle hitting the shock.

The new Lyrik RCs had arrived 2 days previously but they needed to be stepped them down from 160mm travel to 140mm – one click on the TF Tuned website and a new Debonair air shaft appeared in the post!

The change in air shaft was a simple job after confirming the correct oil volume, my son’s old Ikea toy box tray came in handy…

There are some really minor niggles with the frame. I don’t like the supplied chain stay protector, whilst it does the job, it is not an elegant solution. I will investigate a better after market chain stay protector and would welcome any thoughts from others. The frame did not come with any down tube protection, so I bought a carbon model from Rockguardz. This was fitted in about 3 minutes (2 of which were spent watching it in a bucket of hot water to soften it up).
Finally, the cable routing for the rear mech sticks out a bit under the BB so I may have to apply a zip tie here or there to keep it out of the way. As I said, these are really minor points.

Despite the typically messy garage the build proceeded without much faff. This was due to the absence of a press fit bottom bracket as well as the external cable routing – both a definite plus for home mechanics. I also liked the fact that there was ample space for the work stand clamp without compressing either the brake hose or the dropper post shaft, small things but this does make putting the frame on and off the work stand much easier. Overall this was one of the easier frame builds though not without some swearing.

The bike, including pedals, tipped the (cheaply purchased) scales at 33.81 lb, probably about right as I have not splashed out on light weight components.

The Ride:
Today I went out for a quick spin to do the final checks. I should say that I drank more wine than I intended last night, this meant that I did not get out on the Malvern Hills until late morning. Consequently it was full of civilians and I could seldom really let fly on the descents. First impressions however, are that the bike handles brilliantly in a sure footed and neutral way. It climbs well with the lockout rarely used, in fact I only used to to judge its effect.

The frame geometry, one of the main reasons for swapping out from my slightly too small Evil The Following Mk1, made for a comfortable and centred riding position. The front wheel did not wander on climbs as my old bike did. At 6’2″, I went for the size large as the reach was close to that on my Pace RC627,I can’t say for sure whether the XL would have suited me better, it may have been a touch too long, but I also don’t have any concerns about my size L choice.

The frame has ample clearance for bigger tyres, I have a 2.6″ Specialized Purgatory on the back (that comes up more like other manufacturers 2.4″) and there is still plenty of space for mud clearance – another factor in my decision to swap out the Evil. I reckon you could easily get a “proper” 2.6″ in there with room to spare for mud, not sure about a 2.8″ tyre though.

As for descending, although I could not really get up to much speed due to the super-abundance of old farts on the hills, it felt very stable and unflappable. The rear shock is not as plush as that on the Evil, I guess that is the trade off for the very effective anti-squat that assists on the climbs. The bike also tracked really well, I suspect that has much to do with the new Lyriks. It will almost certainly be the case that this bike is more capable than my riding skills will allow.

I still have a few tweaks to do – the number of spacers under the stem will be reduced and I will probably swap the Specialized Butcher/Purgatory combination out for a better wet weather/all year pair, probably to a DHRII / Magic Mary combination. I still need to fit the new dropper lever when it arrives in the post as the current Giant one requires a large loop of cable out front and this looks messy, I also want a longer dropper than the 150mm model that I currently have, this will enable me to benefit from the low top tube height on descents. Finally, I imagine that I will want to upgrade the basic RC damper to a Charger 2.1 damper. The damper on the (bargain at CRC) Lyriks was ok but not as good as I know Rockshox dampers can be. This might have to wait for funds though, depending on how itchy my mouse finger gets in the next few weeks!

Not sure if the images will work, had issues with uploading in the past….

Some of your parcel concealment delivery skills are clearly superior to mine.

As for whether my garage was ever tidy, there is an old dog bed and a dog crate cluttering up the place as well as the items for sale on eBay that, in my head allow me to justify the cost of the new forks (they will cover about a third of the price of the forks). Plus, there’s the old frame kicking around as I haven’t boxed that up yet.

Photos, I need to figure out the best way to load them onto this forum and will do that tomorrow.

I don’t appear to own calming music like the dream build videos. The closest I have is the soundtrack to Batman The Dark Knight and that usually makes me want to karate chop someone’s head.

Yes! It has arrived and Mrs Stigheed was out when both the frame and the new forks (bargain Lyrik RCs from CRC) were delivered. She’ll be none the wiser as long as I can keep her out of the garage for a while. I’ll have to volunteer to do the laundry – that might make her suspicious. I’ll say I found a dead rat in their or something. Anyway, The build starts tomorrow, first things first, tidy up all the crud that is lying around.

Superstar Components will sell you just the top cup parts. So too will Hope and I think Cane Creek will too. CRC might sell separate top parts but you will have the check there as I haven’t looked at headsets for a while.

I may be guilty of applying stereotypes, but I reckon your average cruise goer would be an awkward customer on a guided ride. You would have to carry their heavily laden wicker hamper and their folding deck chairs strapped to your back pack.

I think I’ll pass on that one.

I take it all back. Forks delivered on time and with a smile!

Well done Hermes!

The forks are due to be delivered in the next 2 hours….allegedly. Hope I can smuggle this unnecessary purchase in with out Mrs Stigheed noticing.

Went for the Lyriks from CRC – mouse button clicked! I will now look into a new 140mm air shaft/Debonair upgrade.

Cheers for the steer Aero!

How difficult is it to shorten Lyriks from 160 to 140? Is it a case of fitting a new air shaft? That shouldn’t be too expensive or difficult.

Thank god my recently ordered Aether 9 is the raw version!

Shiny!

Bontrager ion Pro RT is pretty good for the cash, somewhere around £100. I should say that I use mine as a helmet light with a handlebar remote switch (wireless), it would just as easily work as a bar mounted light but would have a fairly narrow beam.

This makes an interesting read as I had been considering replacing my Rhythm 34s, running at 130mm on on my Sonder Signal. I was looking at smoothing out the air ramp (previously using tokens) without making the forks dive too much.
I stumbled across the Runt on line and took a punt. I am impressed, it does what the manufacturer claimed, it feels smooth and linear, with both small bump sensitivity and mid stroke support. It does take a bit of tuning the air volumes as small pressure changes make a huge difference

I have just seen the trailer for John Wick 4. It looks like Neo is in that.

Your not wrong about a lack of new ideas, apparently Disney are doing (another) remake of Planet of The Apes.

What damper have you got? Perhaps there is grease or some other contaminant on your damper where the oil is supposed to pass through? Assuming it is an open bath damper.

Why is John Wick in the new Matrix film?

Also, the trailer says “This Christmas.” Do they really mean that or will it be next Christmas because folk don’t want to go to the cinema in sufficient numbers? Or are they simply messing with our heads in true Matrix fashion?

I’m in, I have some spare lard that needs shifting before Christmas.

I bought that very same tool. It works really well, both the hose cutter and the barb insertion thread. Being plastic it is suitable for the occasional use that I need. They do a metal version but that costs more.

Just pulled the trigger on a large Aether 9a in raw finish. No idea when it will turn up. I bet the trails will stay really dry now! Still, now I can justify to Mrs Stigheed why I have more than 1 bike.

That’s the dilemma. I think I am doing more natural trails than bike parks so I am leaning more towards the Bird. I was wondering if anyone had ridden a Privateer. The seat angle is quite high at 78 deg (static), how would this feel pedalling on the flat?
I expect I will go for the Bird. They have an X L in stock but not a L. I might give Bird a call to discuss sizes and possibly arrange a demo.

I think I’ll pass on that, thanks anyway. Ron Burgundy is probably the the one colour I wouldn’t want.

Which shock is on the frame?

…possibly.

Thanks, I was leaning towards the L as it is similar to my XL sized Pace. I don’t think I’ll regret going down a size like I did with the Evil.

I am not in a rush, the first step was deciding to sell my current frame as the parts will be moved over to the new frame. I will need to strip it down and sell it. I will happily ride my hardtail until I can get the frame I want.

I like the idea of the Bird but can’t really decide whether, at 6 ft 3, I would suit the L or XL. I had the same choice when I bought my Evil The Following mk1. I went for the L and regretted it as it was way shorter than my Pace. I am really enjoying the longer reach on my hardtail.

There doesn’t seem to be as many Privateers about though to get comments on.

Prism(again).

Just this week I have switched from a DHF on the front to a Magic Mary. I hadn’t realised how much grip I was missing out on with little additional rolling resistance. Previously I had no major issues with the DHF (No great love either) but now I would struggle to put it back on for year round use.

I have been running DHF 2.5 on the front and a DHR 2.4 on the back. In this mornings post a new Shwalbe magic Mary 2.6 turned up. That’s going on the front as I have heard good things about it. I liked the DHF but it didn’t fare too well in the wet. Hopefully the new set up will do well all year round.