ah… my favourite subject, i know this relates to the 8 speed but this is what i posted on an earlier alfine thread.

Stu McGroo – as there's much speculation and not much in the way of facts about the extra weight of an alfine bike over conventional 3×9 set-up i decided to do some digging.

i've just had an email from charge bikes and it says,

"There is virtually no difference in overall weight (less than 100g from memory), between a duster 8 and equivalent priced duster with conventional gearing."

obviously there is a rearward weight shift with the alfine but this answers any overall weight questions.

girl at a place i used to work talking about a bloke there with a prosthetic leg

"i knew he had a false leg but i didn't know he had a false foot too"

giant anthem x 29er is on giant australia site with a price tag of au$3499 which equates to £2200. :-)

TheFunkyMonkey – You can get out Makita kit for that

just what i was thinking :wink:

Vittel is…. One of the most talented drivers

hmmm… does he have the ability to pull off an overtake at the sharp end of the field without making contact?

he certainly doesn't seen to cope with pressure as well as his peers :?

rOcKeTdOg – and move the brake levers away from the "jedi" position

how's it ride?

oh and…

the "jedi" position helps me stay my side of the bars… not always mind. rides good, tyres were a bit shite for wetter conditions and i was nervous at first as i thought the rigid forks would have me going off at tangents on wet rootes but it was all good, still seemed to have plenty of energy left after 3+ hours… maybe i just ate less pies! :-)

what's with the misfit, can't be yours, it's only got one gear :wink:

Trailrider Jim – if your bike has US-designed or made components, buy an imperial set of hex or allen keys.

that'd be why park tool allen key sets have a mix of metric and imperial on the same carrier.

johnnywhitesox – Trouble is Stu, 29" wheels, gears and orange paintwork is totally the wrong combo for the Monkey.

does it make my bum look big?

donks – Argh..I had a stinker of a ride there on Monday….I normally really like the Chase but monday was sopping wet, (i hate the wet) my poxy summer tyres got **** all traction

now if i'd have gone up there sunday which clearly i wouldn't have done cos i can't stand the place, i would have had a few traction problems, a bit of cheery banter with the rest of the guys and carrot cake and sweet tea (or sweat tea if i left my helmet on) at the end…. if i'd have gone :wink:

johnnywhitesox – Pity that the werewolf drop was dumbed down for the novices.

and the rollers :(

iain1775 – is paying someone to go for a ride in secret parts of the woods even legal?

probably not but why pay, after midnight it's free :oops:

johnnywhitesox – Apparently some gayers are riding it with suspension and gears FFS!

and them funny clown wheels 8O

i'd rather ride a 32:11 single speed fixie 36er up the north face of everest whilst being chased by a pride of tibetan leopards than ride cannock, it's full of ramblers, horses and doggers, all on fireroads, it's utter shite, best advice, steer clear. :wink:

just built my bike, had half hour spare today to give it a shakedown before cannock tomorrow, didn't want anything to taxing and came across this local cheeky trail! :wink:

now you got me started here's another gem…. a few years ago i worked with this guy, he was the most boring, wash his car on sunday, slipper wearing, soap watching bloke you could ever meet, if he stayed up until 1130 he thought he was on the edge… one day he comes to work with a celtic band tattood on his arm … says it all! :wink:

my opinion, age doesn't matter, they're still shite!

saw a bloke a couple of years ago who was clearly displaying some 30 odd years old tattoos. the quality was top notch, perfect artwork, no fade, all the lines were still sharp…. he had bruce lee on one shoulder blade and clint eastwood in spaghetti western character on the other…. nice. :wink:

ononeorange – I'm surprised that you reckon (even with Merlin) the prices were so close new

i think the trick is not to narrow your options down. i wanted good quality but was happy to compromise and go with special offers. therefore complete slx 10 speed groupset (shifters, front and rear mech, bb, crank, cassette, chain, inner and outer cables) for £269.95. buying individually on ebay, with postage, you're not going to be far off that.

mboy – what you got???

i got this, you'll need to scroll down a bit :lol:

at last, i can add to rOcKeTdOgs show your 29er thread. built it last night, haven't ridden it yet, still got to set the gears up and shorten the rear brake hose then i'm off up the woods :-)

nevermind my radiator, vortex has a gas fire and hearth rug! :wink:

Rochey – Stu McGroo is that a rad in your garage!!!

yes but before you question my manliness it does only come on when the temeperature outside drops to 20! :-)

myheadsashed – Stu your just too middle class with your radiator in your garage

well you don't want to be freezing your arse off do you. door, walls and ceiling are all insulated so even when it was -5 outside it was still a relatively toasty 17 in the garage :wink:

well i never finished it but i had a tidy up yesterday and it's nothing that some wall and floor paint and a few door knobs/catches won't fix :-)

cheers collie :-) (EDIT: just found it on their site)

nevermind that shadow rOcKeTdOg, get them fnckin brakes sorted, looks like both levers are back to the bars!!! :wink:

collie, are those adjusters on your sliding drop-outs?

alfine… reasons; price, rapid fire shifter, cleaner (ss) looking installation. imo.

ro… no
clubber… 11.54% :wink:

EDIT; btw, you're not just lugging your bike up that hill but your body aswell, if like me you're 14 stones and ride a 30lb bike then you need to shed 24lbs to make up for longer 29er gearing. that's either gonna cost a lot or hurt a lot!

having a play with excel *pauses for nerd comments* i reckon dropping a 12/36 on the back will bring it close enough to what i'm used to.

was thinking about ss but then looked at the calendar and realised it was 2010 already! :mrgreen:

thomthumb – if talking about single speed then yes – adjust the ratio.

gears – then mtfu

i was looking on the list of smilies but there isn't one for "yawn" :wink:

yep, very bad photoshopping

love the old chap to bits and him me, though he doesn't have much to say since his stroke 7 years ago. unfortunately i don't see him much cos he still lives with the attention seeking, selfish, sour faced old bag that is my mom.

EDIT: father-in-law is ace and mother-in-law was even better (i considered her to be my mom) but sadly she died 16 years ago. edited that bit in to show i'm not a complete heartless bastard!

rOcKeTdOg – who?

exactly

tea?

probably the unlikliest duo ever, russell watson and shaun ryder – barcelona…. let the music vibrate you :-)

hmmm, not a popular model then!

deaky… one gear, big wheels, rigid forks and whacky bars… you're just not right :wink:

you out tomorrow? :-)

"built like a brick shithouse" ?

"the best things in life are free" – er… no they're not!

"if you save your pennies, the pounds will look after themselves" – stop talking shit mom!

EDIT; oops… two sayings there!

"i couldn't get me hat off" – i'm sure you could really!

"i was shit faced" – no you weren't, you just drank to much!