Imho put as big a rear brake disc on the back as you can fit – plenty of rear-brake-dragging to be done in the Alps!!!!

I imagine you should be able to find the axle length online depending on what chainset you have- however if the cups tighten up into the frame without crushing the plastic tube and when you fit the cranks and they remain free then chances are you’ve chosen wisely

Best of luck! That route passes very close to Aston Hill.. quick couple of runs down Surface to Air while you’re there?

This sort of ‘Adventure’ really appeals.. however I think I have a mental ‘block’ when it comes to non-circular routes.. the idea of turning around and riding back half way through some how feels wrong!

Doesn’t seem to be a lot of discussion on wider range cassette options, e.g shimano xt 11-46.. is the feeling they’re not that helpful ? Not required? Too expensive/heavier?

I’m pondering a new build currently and will have to go 1x because of the frame and not sure if I should spec the wider cassette. (Won’t be choosing sram)

Another vote for the edelux 2 from me. Great beam pattern- lights with a cutoff are so much better than torch beam (round) lights, simply because a symmetrical beam will put too much light close to the bike- blinding you and making it harder to see off into the (comparatively) dimly lit distance.

I believe there is one model of B&M light that has the same reflector as the edelux2 and hence the same output.. just in a different case.

I can’t say I’ve ever had a creaky headset in a bike unless it’s properly worn out. Is there any play in the steering? I’d want the shop to check it’s pressed in properly.

Pivots shouldn’t really need greasing to not creak either – the trouble with grease external to the bearings is dirt and grit will stick to it and wear the pivot hardware and frame.

Hope you get it sorted!

Looks like ‘Halfords’ are also selling the 3/8 set on eBay for the same price.. in case you missed out on the offer

What kind of cycling do you do in the Alps? Also how long to you plan to go for each year?

Have you considered hiring a bike when out there. It’ll be 75-95euros per day of ‘lost’ cash but if you’re buying a bike just to use for a few days a year it could be a good option.

£549 is a keen price for SC, i remember years back (perhaps 2006-2008) there was nothing I wanted more than a chameleon frame in a funky colour with a ‘long travel’ fork.. they were £500 back then.

So if you did want to do it yourself you’ll probably need some of the following-

Fox fit cartridge bleed tool 803-00-276 £20
Fox 36mm dust wipers 803-00-933 £29.60
Fox 10wt green oil 025-03-008 £17.23
Fox 10wt red oil 025-02-003 £26.23
Plus the bladder obviously which used to be available in a service kit for the 36 fork 803-00-685 but I think that p/n has been superseded now and the bladder is also available on its own.

All that assumes a 36 fork, although I think the bladder is common?

To strip the damper side down and replace the bladder will also need a clamp set to hold the damper rod in a vice, this is about £98 from fox.

Mojo and tftuned will do the work, I should think it’d be the service price plus the cartridge rebuild cost? I’ve had better service from mojo recently but previously tftuned have been very good so ymmv.

I had my RP23 pushed recently. There were some problems with the shock as sent in, even allowing for these being fixed when it came back it was better than it ever was.
So much more mid range support, useful rebound damping adjustment on offer.. the icing on the cake was that it’s so supple over the really small stuff (chatter). I would have happily sacrificed that in the name of mid range support – but ended up with both so I’m very happy.

OP – IMO if you basically like the shock currently but would like it to be more supportive save your cash and get it tuned. If you want a lot of adjustment and to have fun fiddling with it then maybe a change to CaneCreek is the way to go.

I had a set warranty replaced after about 3 months due to play developing the axel. Since I’ve been much more careful to repack them with grease on regular intervals. This seems to keep them fairly sweet, but agree they’re not as robust as I’d hoped when I purchased.

As others have said it depends what trails you want to ride, sure there are (a few) people riding hardtails out there, but most are there on DH rigs.

I took my 160mm FS and while it was fine, arm pump was the order of the day and i’m considering a pair of 180mm forks for next year.

If you’re riding with mates on DH bikes IMHO a 140mm bike will be frustrating as you’ll be wanting to ride different trails all the time.

My question is – what’s better a M+S tyre with 4mm of tread or a summer tyre with 7…

Be careful there, M+S tyres are NOT winter tyres. They are at best all-season/mixed tyres. Nothing wrong with that, but they are not specifically designed for winter conditions.

Winter tyres (or M+S) tyres are a compromise for summer driving- perhaps you’ll not notice it on your vehicle or your driving style.. but that doesn’t make it any less true. I do agree some people could be better off running winters all year, although depending on how hot it is for how long they could be a bit disappointed with the longevity.

my tires generally perish before i wear them out….

…You’re doing it wrong

😀

I’ve not got both, but I find the normal celsius more than warm enough down to -5 (As cold as i’ve gone with them) and that’s with thin socks.

Amazingly, they don’t seem too hot in warmer weather. They’re my only SPD shoes at the moment, so if I’m on the commuter I’m wearing these year round. The build quality is great too.

Recommended.

Where are the SRAM ones available from? Fancy one of those to get my Garmin over my MTB short stem..

Mojo’s sell them too, and the bigger one for 36mm forks.

You need the socket if you want to access the float air chamber or drop the damper out. Just an oil change; not required.

BTW Ciliary blue has 10% off at the moment; quote FBCB10

Jawbone transition lenses ordered from Ciliaryblue! £70 for the lenses (£5/lens surcharge for Jawbones apparently) plus some postage £77 all in.

Hopefully these are as good as they sound, if so I’ve saved about £125 over the rx sport prices.

Oh also, despite being only 10mm less travel than the enduro I’ve heard (from another owner of both bikes) that it pedals much better, at the expense of some stability going down the rough stuff.

My riding buddy has one, loves it. He’s on his second after the first got stolen at the end of the London to Brighton off-road. He uses it for everything (as I do with my canyon strive) we ride locally, trail centres, peaks and did 3 days in morzine making the most of the lifts!

IMHO it’s a good frame with reasonable components, his new one has formula brakes rather than avid, which time only will tell if they’re any good- tbh they’d have to try hard to be worse than elixirs.

Wheels and finishing kit are specialized along with the dropper, similar price to my canyon but obviously not as we’ll specced- you pays your money, takes chance etc etc. dropper is better this year as the clamp design on the old one was crap and kept slipping.

Only other thing I can think to note is it has a matt paint job; which looks great when new but really scuffs up easily.

IHN, so no complaints with the CiliartBlue lenses then?

They’re either £60 or £90 for the Transitions lenses depending on if you require the super thin ones or not. RX Sport are £198 for the lenses.

Anyone used CiliaryBlue for Oakley Jawbone lenses? Do you have to send the frames in or do they have the lens shape ‘on record’ ?

I’ve been looking into this recently.

I’ve got a set of Oakley Jawbones already and I’m trying to justify the £200 for some prescription transitions lenses from;

http://www.rxsport.co.uk/categories/Prescription-Glasses/Oakley-Prescription-Glasses/

At the mo I’m using my normal glasses which are:
a) far from ideal for cycling
b) Could be a bit of a problem if I broke them while out, the drive back from Wales (or where ever) could be interesting
c) definitely better than not being able to see where I’m going!

How are u getting it to work on Apple? My iOS devices aren’t starting the stream and the web browser on the telly is giving a flash error… This is with http://rampage.redbull.com

not as cool as a VW California

No, but about the price of a wheel nut for a Cali.

I rather fancy one in fact

When is a fatty not a fatty?

When it’s not got fat wheels/tyres?

….or was it a trick question?

*Applying STW Logic*

The train driver was clearly at fault by driving beyond his abilities as he should have been able to stop in the distance he could see was clear.

Fnarr Fnarr.

..she

Don’t find mine too draggy but thinking of re-evaluating my use of them.

I don’t like changing tyres and was hoping the HDs would be a do-it-all tyre, trouble is it felt a little out-gunned in the Alps, while it didn’t puncture all the rocks the size of baby-heads rolling around out there meant I felt could use something with a bigger carcass. Yet on UK trail centres the HD is arguably overkill..

So perhaps a set of dual ply maxxis for the Alps and something smaller/lighter/faster for the UK?

*Full disclosure; I own the Gopro3-Black and an original HD.

While product development/improvement is great, Gopro are a right pain- they bring out endless products, which while great have so many annoying bugs (Cameras freezing, picture artefacts, usability problems etc etc) which NEVER get fixed, it’s just onto the newest greatest product with a new set of problems.

If I’d realised just how bad the battery life on the black was I’d have never purchased it, I was just getting bored of corrupted videos from the HD1 despite the latest FW and no end of different SD cards (All of which Gopro themselves had recommended at some point).

Canyon Strive, love mine. 160×26″

How random- the last thing I expected to read about the AH race was that there was too much uphill and it was too xc orientated!!

weird as they billed this event as a ‘showcase’ race with no sport class, why did they do that if it wasn’t going to be super technical?

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE aston hill.. but shirly racing down some downhill tracks and then pushing back to the top isn’t exactly an enduro race?

I may also pop over, I’d be interested to see how they run it as an enduro event rather than simply a series of mini-downhill races.

No S2A? They’ll want to show case that track, I’d be surprised if at least some of it didn’t feature.

Like others have said, if ebikes get people cycling who wouldn’t otherwise.. what’s wrong with that?

More people on bikes, more ‘normal’ folk is only going to improve the public’s understand of cyclists. Move us more towards the culture on the continent where cycling is considered a method of transport, unlike in this country where it’s something curious-men in lycra do.

Yeah for sure- a pair of bearings is £20max, another £10 or so for lbs to fit.

Unless your wheel is fubar and wonky as well?

How come a free pedal spanner and multi tool? Is that a CRC thing or a kona thing?

Was tempted to get one but missed the low prices 🙁

Use it as an excuse to get some shimano brakes!

Almost certainly cartridge bearings. Time for a new pair!