Anyone been upto glentress or inners recently? How are the xc routes…passable? Or is it hike a bike!

Yep GW, i use the same method but let the GT85 dry before adding the lube (finishline green) and wipe off excess.
So GT85 for cleaning and oil for lubing, although i think its much more important to have a clean chain than a well lubed chain.

So, many people have spicys/zestys so BBs must have been renewed by now…so is there anything else on the market at a decent price, or any way of removing the push fit cups without destroying them?

It depends on how much time you have to service them. If you buy fox (or to a lesser extent rockshox) you'll have to do a quick 20min service every few weeks. Nothing major, but if your not service minded and ride lots maybe look to other brands.

I got this…
http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/fettling/hollowtech2bb.htm
Works like a dream if your careful and costs around £5 per year…

A bucket of water/sponge/brush is all well and good but not the greatest when away from hot water…who wants to put their hand into cold water when its freezing outside!?
I use a bucket of hot water at home and a dirtworker away from (well sometimes).

There might be a dozen world cup DH courses where they wouldn't cope but for everything else they would be fine.

I can see what your trying to say, but an example…now i used to race downhill at expert level (until it got too expensive). After i sold my dh bike i was left with an orange 5. Great bike, but even on my local inners dh trails was left wanting. You cant really attack fast or rough sections on a 5, just ride them. That may be fine for most, but not when your used to racing! So i sold up and got a spicy…the spicy only has a little extra travel but feels so much more like a dh bike than the 5. You can ride it more like a dh bike, yet it still climbs as good (if not better) than my old 5. Moral of the story…if i still had my dh bike i wouldnt need a spicy, but i dont so i do!

thanks guys, I've dropped Si and email. Saw the ones on ebay but I need 200mm steerer, one set on there has 165mm??! Does any bike use a steerer that short whist having 160mm of travel??

I've a medium spicy and the 36s i have have the steerer cut to ~170mm. Semi-integrated low stack headsets are the future!

A fuel ex 7 served me fine in Morzine/Les Gets this Summer but then I don't like the tank-like point and go of a DH bike.

Dude you must have been battered to shit. And big bikes are only tank like when they're going slowly!

Steady on…the red grading stands for 'difficult trail'. Im not surprised people are out of control!

rode kielder, gt and inners at the weekend.
braking bumps at all 3 need smoothing.
boundery trail at gt moreso.

No way! The rough stuff at trail centres add character to otherwise mostly boring trails. I find it enjoyable picking smooth lines through it not just riding the main line.
Not ridden the trail at ae yet, but i hav e to say that bit doesnt look too inspiring!

Got me an 09 spicy frame a few months back. Climbs better than the 5 it replaced and descends like a mini dh bike. Only problem i have with it is it can make some flatter/undulating trail feel boring as its long and slack (although you'll probably get this with most bikes in this catagory).
Theres probably not much in it with the frames youve chosen…

One PS is about 98.6% of one bhp, but as far as magazines/brochures go they are 1:1.

Just replaced some coil pikes with '09 36 talas's. Pikes were plusher and fealt better in the carpark but the talas blow the pikes away damping wise (although ive never ridden a mission control fork for any propper length of time).
Just got me a set of '06 F100s and (although ive never ridden 100mm forks) am very impressed. Fox damping rocks!

Ive a pair of the dryline trousers. Coming in their second winter of 5 times a week commuting plus muddy riding. Keep my arse dry so quite impressed…so much so im going to get myself another pair.

Michelin XC Dry2 tyres…well exciting on the downs and in sticky mud some climbs are impossible. They roll well though!

You spend £50 and wait 1 month, or you spend £100 and wait a few days. You think all the big brands make the lights themselves? They commision a HK/Thai/wherever producer to make…only difference is you cant buy direct from them. Fair play to him i say.

Thats fair enough. Mine doesnt bother me so i wear it all the time. Each to their own, just try not to die!

Just out of interest, to those who only wear a helemt on certain occations, what is it that makes you NOT want to wear a helmet?
Are they uncomfortable?
Do you feel that they limit your riding abilities(more freedom)?
Do you feel they are too heavy?

Hi mate,
Im a downhiller and have recently just got my first proper xc bike…a kinesis xc pro2 with a HA of 70.5. Its steep and with 100mm stem/forks its pretty exciting to ride, but exciting is fun right? Dont get me wrong, i wouldn't enjoy it on anything steep and tech, but its fast and fun on flatter ground. I dont want big grippy tyres on it or slack angles…it would ruin all the sliding around and make it too easy…its a harder bike to ride so it'll improve your skills.

I use normal shoes and goretex boot liners over a sock layer…http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Army-Surplus-Gore-tex-Boot-Liners-Grade-1-Size-9_W0QQitemZ280406879311QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Collectables_Militaria_LE?hash=item41498d6c4f
Never had wet or cold feet since…and for under a tenner!

Yep, pretty simple to do yourself. Very similar to rockshoxs.

konakulakid on here…
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/profile/konakulakid

Looks ok.

http://www.discobrakes.com

Ive ran road mechs with 32 tooth cassettes…it works but they dont like it! The mech sits right on the 32 ring and makes a noise(like too much B tension), other than that all good.

the brake/gear cables are routed underneath the BB. Surely this is just an accident waiting to happen…..

To be fair if a rock flicks up with enough size/speed that its gonna split a brake/gear cable, then i would rarther that than it dent my downtube…
Bike wise try a 575 or a zesty. Both climb and descend well. Or the new ASR-5 looks pretty ideal.

Have one now thanks to an unnamed gent!

Does anyone make a lock-on similar to the yet to be released shimano PRO grips?
http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/first-look-atherton-signature-kit-from-pro-23299?img=6&pn=first-look-atherton-signature-kit-from-pro&mlc=news%2Farticle
I sometimes get sore hands from the lock on clamp digging into my hands.

Got some 721s built on pro2s from them 3 years back. Put nipple freeze on the nipples and 0 problems with some pretty rough riding.

Black at GT is rough on a hardtail. Nothing that cant be done on a hardtail(is anything not possible) but i would take my fs everytime for that loop as im not a fan of taking an ass pounding!

I now only have 2 bikes (having recently sold my dh bike after years of racing). One is a kinesis maxlight xc whippet thing, and the other a spicy. Basically the spicy replaced the orange 5 and sunday i used to have. I kept the 5 after selling the sunday but kept getting urges to do proper dh. The 5 just isnt up to dh like the spicy is (which is why i got it, well that and it was cheap!). If i still had a dh bike i would have a 5 or a zesty.

Should add that the spicy is a bit more of a handful than the 5 on the flatter stuff. So much so i mostly run the forks at 130 to keep the head angle tighter.

Weight is ~5.8lbs. Not light!

sockpuppet, thanks.

Stuart.

I would not ride that!

You can get single arms, but since the rrp is up around 200 i would just get a new set from merlin for 120(as i would imagine the arm alone would be around this price).

If you dont like it speak to them. They'll change it for you 'i think' for free.

Its a pretty easy to do at home. 15 min job. Very very similar to pikes…if you need any help just ask…

I commute on a summer series with 120mm mx comps. Feels fine to me. Slackish, but feels good when your carving round traffic.

Thanks for the responce.
Looking at the geometry of the xc120, the effective top tube looks quite short? ie the 50 is about the same size as my 16" 456.

Personally i dont see the point in a 36+ ring on a trail bike. I had a 36 on my dh bike and would only spin that out pedalling after the offbeat wall at ft bill…would i **** want to be going that fast off-road on my trail bike!
Currently run a 22/32 and 11-32 cassette and dont spin it out. It gives a nice bit of clearence and will get you up most everything, but then i guess it depends what you regularly ride.