MRP XCG … that’s all.

Found this.

Ach, might give 96 a go first and see.

Ain’t built it yet qwerty. Will do when I do tho.

LoCo … thanks for that. I think you are right, but if I do it I need to buy a 650b rim, tyre, spokes and build a wheel so I wanna be 100% sure before I splash the cash and go through the effort.

Brant, the BB doesn’t unthread. I had 2 XT cranksets very quickly slacken on me which eventually caused the splines to be fcuked. All bolts were correctly torqued. Then when I went SRAM to avoid this the “force” has caused two driveside BBs to come apart. It’s like I’m ever so slightly out with my normal pedalling motion which suggests to me the BB is out of alignment. I’ve never experienced this before either.

I’ll email you.

Running out of patience with this frame. Issue after issue yet it’s such a great ride … a flawed genius.

Started with the seatpost being mis-specced. Brant did me a deal to relieve the pain of that one. Then I took some good advice onboard and bought some carbon paste to hold the replacement post in the baggy seat tube.

Then the rear clearance issue meant I couldn’t use the new HD I’d bought for it. I also butchered a new SRAM mech to get a 2.1 to fit for my preferred 2×10. I’ve subsequently bought a rather nifty Bling Ring to open it up a bit even tho 1×10 doesn’t really suit the riding around here.

Next up was the ISCG mounts which would only take 2 of the bolts from the XCG I had bought to protect the 2×10 crankset. I did get a partial refund at this point and thought/hoped all would be well. I even managed to finally get a head tube badge.

What I don’t think I reported on here is that I trashed the splines on 2 perfectly good XT cranksets, because nomatter how appropriately torqued they were they unwound early into rides. I should have done something then but gave it the benefit of the doubt and threw money at it … this time a brand new carbon X0 2×10 with a completely different system of bolting together.

After a while this started creaking and I had my fears that the frame had cracked. What I found and reported on here was that the driveside bearing cover (tophat) had unwound from the BB and was lodged against the spider. SRAM very kindly gave me another and after ride 2 since fitting it, the creak is back and the new tophat has lost its retaining lip and is hard against the spider.

If someone has some great idea about what is going wrong here let me know, but as far as I can conclude there is something quite wrong in the BB area … I would guess most likely the shell out of alignment.

I’m probably just about there with the frame which is a great shame because I love riding it, but unfortunately I cannot be arsed with this high maintenance relationship anymore. Any advice, tips or offers would be welcomed.

Big tyres, but not super tacky, set up tubeless. Elbow and knee pads. Chill pills … enjoy it.

If it’s Ciclo, some more Marco phrases might be helpful:

“Its all down … apart from the ups”
“I don’t know how they do it for the money”
“Flashing Amber”
“Four by two”

Sure others can add to the list. He is a bit of a legend.

Have you tried tightening the spokes on the wheels? I’m a 200lb rider and they are fine for me but I did need to tighten them up. I also had to tighten the Flow Hoops on my HT.

Tried my Hoops on the bike, but the rear never seemed to fit properly in the T129s.

I’ve settled on a HD front and 2.25 NN rear, both Snakeskin) on my T129s and reckon its the perfect combo for the bike and the riding I do on it.

I’m using the stock Ardent on the front of my hardtail on a Flow, but its backed up with a rim strip. The Ikon was chucked on the tyre mountain as it would probably last one ride. One for keeping down the weight in the showroom I reckon.

Found it! Top hat from the drive side BB cup was stuck on the cranks. Removed it and stuck it back on and the creak is no more. Thank fuff for that 🙂

Mine’s creaking near the BB 😕 I’ve taken everything off down there and stuck it all back on and it’s still creaking. BB is silky smooth. I’ve removed the XCG, checked the chainring bolts. Gonna take off the carbon cranks and try alu ones from my FS. If that doesn’t work I’ll be taking the bike apart and checking every weld to satisfy my paranoia.

My non-biking mates take the piss when I identify the make and model of tyre tracks in the mud

What are you doing in the mud with non-biking mates?

Always fancied one of these. Almost bought one twice, but will never have one now.

mattjg, running 25-30 up front and 30-35 out back.

Both the wheels on mine needed spokes tightening up and a bit of dishing, but that was easy for me to just do. Now I’ve got them how I’d want them I am very happy with them … they seem much stronger than Crests (which are too light IMO). Mine have had a serious rattling.

No clearance issues with a 2.35 HD in the front and a 2.25 NN in the back. Doesn’t need any more tyre.

I have a couple of 2fish lockblocks in the garage … I assume the Joystick will work fine with them.

That has “you go be the probe and if it works I’ll be up there as soon as” written all over it messiah.

We both know we had fresh snow as recently as a couple of weeks back.

We’ll see …

Cheers messiah, I’d seen the Bothy ride pics the other night. Think it was in Sneachda and there was a fair amount of snow around them. It’s maybe too early to risk the big one yet.

Anyone done CBM recently?

Perfect mattjg, I’m after a set for the HT, so can you email me your demands please? In profile.

Mine is set up with HD/NN on stock wheels. which is a brilliant combo for the bike IMO. The shop got me a 60mm Whyte stem and swapped it for the stock 80mm so I still have green bits and I use a 760mm Nukeproof bar which is spot on for me. Changed the saddle to an SDG. Contacts and rubber is all I’ve changed tho.

I’m really impressed with the Elixir 5 brakes. I started out with my Hope Hoops and Shimano rotors and got that vibration, but none with the HS1s. It was the pads going past the contact surface onto the “arms” of the rotor that caused the vibration … might be worth moving a spacer to try.

Couldn’t be happier with mine really and it’s been lots of places from out in the local wood and on long Landy track adventures to Torridonian rides and even the High Atlas 😀

48 in a few weeks and I regularly push as hard as i can when riding … lot’s of steep ups on my local rides. I do suffer some mild chest pain when pushing real hard and in extreme cases can get dizzy, but have never owned or used a heart rate monitor. Should I?

I’d better go touch wood, yeah?

The riding would suit the technically competent roadie; half a day was typically quality off road and the other half usually road

For the record that was NOT the case with the Ciclo trip … mid-travel slack bikes with big rubber best and not for the rookie.

Oh yes 😆

woody2000, yes Bruce was on our trip … “whiney southerner … excellent description”!!!

His purple obsession’s a bit odd, huh?

I know Bri shared the link, but thanks anyway.

I went to Morocco with Ciclo a few weeks back and can 100% recommend the trip. There was lots of gravity assist in Land Cruisers to start every ride and typically we rode from high plateau down to plains over valleys each day. It was truly epic and memorable and an absolute steal at the price. Here’s the vid that my buddy Bri 72 did … it gives a flavour of what it’s like, but as with all videos it flattens and smoothens things out a bit.

There’s a trip again in October I believe. Perfect bike is probably a mid travel FS with as much rubber as you can fit in the frame and fork. most popular choices were Orange Bloods and 5s with 160 forks. I was on a T129s and felt underbiked until I took 30PSI out of the shocks. Bedmaker was on his fat bike 🙂

Nicest fatbike I’ve seen. Black is slimming y’know.

Nicest one that I’ve used is the Specialized Ground Control 2.3. Rolls well, is lightish but not paper thin and inflates tubelessly on my Flows with a track pump. I have the 2.1 version too but haven’t tested it yet.

If you want something more racy, the Maxxis Ikon is well regarded … I have one unused that came on my new bike if you want to try it but avoid the mental new prices.

I thought I’d been quite careful about sorting all my cables to minimise rub before I could get some Helitape and do proper. Flipped the bike last night and found the brake cable had rubbed through the paint and created a groove which is mostly on the BB shell, but also in an unprotected bit of frame.

Not the end of the world but a wee bit annoying on the new frame, so might be worth checking on yours. I’ve just released the cable a bit to prevent.

Really, really good Paul. I got one from Merlin before Christmas and would have another now if they were in stock in 170mm. I bought crankskins and the RF end bumpers to protect mine.

Yikes, took the Ikon off the stock wheel to see how another tyre looks and that is one seriously undernourished tyre. Way too thin for any practical use IMO, so I’ll be selling it on unused.

Unfortunately the 2.1 Ground Control I’ve bought and was trying is a bit low volume for me so I need to find another mid-sized tyre. Is it bikediscount.de these NNs are at?

jonnyb1972 … I’m your weight (or maybe a wee bit more) and think I’m running about 150 with the rebound slightly past middle towards the tortoise 🙂 Up front I think I’m around 120. I’m sure I’ll continue to tinker while these bed in tho.

Thanks for the vid BTW.

3 inches of snow on the ground so plans for an Orrin big loop with a bar lunch in the Cnoc Hotel shelved. Glad I got out for a while yesterday.

I’ve got a Specialized Ground Control 2.3 on a Flow in the rear and it’s perfect. Purgatory 2.3 on a Flow up front, but I’m considering sticking a Hans Dampf on for an upcoming foreign trip 🙂

I genuinely think 29ers have come of age in terms of geometry. I was a fairly early adopter with a rigid inbred 29er, but never caught the bug from it.

This new breed of slack heads and short back ends has really got it sorted, however IMO. All the advantages of the big wheels, with none of the disadvantages of some older designs.

In November I was riding a 26er HT and FS … they’ve been replaced with 29ers now.

Yes

Ace ride today with the boys at the Tollie Path. The bike was immense … perfect tool for the job, although Bedmaker on his fatbike did rather well.

I’ll have a look at the Ikon before I dismiss it. Suspect I need thicker sidewalls. Maybe use it on the HT for local rides.

I too played around with shock settings today. I’ve been running it a bit low but with low rebound damping. I upped the pressure and the damping today and it was better for me on a tour of the wood.

Riding the Tollie Path tomorrow. First proper mountain ride on it. It’s gonna be ace. I’ll try to post a couple of action pics.

Some more tinkering today. Shortened the Reverb cable, re-bled, then set it up with the remote, the brake lever and the shifters all on the same clamp. Extremely neat.

Special mention for the brakes. I had a couple of early pairs of Juicys and swore I wouldn’t go back, but these Elixir 5s are spot-on. Good on Whyte for speccing 203 and 180 rotors on the large.

While I was at it, I replaced the stock saddle with a Bel Air. With the better nose padding the bike now felt perfect for me. Ride today backed that up … I can’t speak highly enough about this bike. For what I ride thro the year it’s perfect.

Gonna try out the stock wheels when I get my front one back from ATB. If I can lose a bit of rolling weight without bending them then all will be good.

Mattjg, probably you are lighter than me. I’ve got a Specialized Ground Control 2.3 comfortably in the rear. Great rear tyre IMO.

Stuck the Warhead off the HT on the Whyte for the second ride and instantly felt at home. More sustained climbs and descents this afternoon and the bike never put a foot wrong. I was okay too 🙂 I’ll just get another 760 Warhead and that’s me sorted … a black one tho.

Mattjg, my thinking about the Flows is that I wouldn’t normally ride a narrow rim, so why start now. You mentioned these are like Crests. Crests flex around to much for me, so something stronger and wider is a better bet IMO. Plus wider tyres sit better on slightly wider rims. Saying that I’ll probably keep the wheels and give them a good demo.