Nice combo, but last time I checked, no 2.8 Nobby Nics were avail in 29er.
And yes, my concern would be the risk of ‘squirm’ and possibly unseating the bead of a 3.0 tyre on a 30mm rim. In the article on the Cotic website about the development of a 27.5+ option for the latest Solaris, Cy and Paul decide on a 35mm WTB Asym rim for 2.8″ Trailblazer. That article suggests to me that a 3 inch tyre on a 30mm rim might be dodgy. However, my riding isn’t nearly as aggressive as those daring young Cotic boys, so I was wondering if there was a 2.7/2.8 ish 29er choice which my survive my more sedate trails and cornering.

Thanks for the ideas gang. I’ve never been able to open powerlinks with my fingers and I haven’t achieved any reliable results with needle-nose pliers either.

I’ve ordered the real cheapo Lifeline master link pliers from wiggle. When the arrive I intend to reduce the length of the handles to the minimum that will still allow them to work.

Why did I want to undo the link on the trail? Because I got a branch caught in my mech and broke the mech-hanger with the chain still attached. I wanted to try to single speed it as an emergency but in the end I just removed mech & chain and pushed and free-wheeled for a few miles.

PS. Have you noticed that KMC chains are great value, but the separate powerlinks are about 3.5 times the cost of SRAM?

This deal is even better than Cameron’s EU deal!

The 29er straight 1 1/8″ weren’t around long enough before they changed to tapered! :(

Excellent – I’ll try them both! :D

My Brother and I got caught out by the Giant sizing. You think to yourself “Ah Medium/Large…that must mean suitable for both medium and taller riders.” However, if you look at the Giant sizing chart, they suggest the low end to be 5’11” and even then, not if you have short legs. That can be a bit flexible. For example – I’m 5’10” but I have long legs so when I test rode one the shop said it was okay for me. My brother is the same height but with shorter legs and, straight away, even thought he felt it rode okay, it looked too big on him. My brother and I now both have medium frames, as I felt it was also a better fit for me.

I ended up with standard aluminium Defy 0, but I did spend some time salivating over that lovely bright red Surly Pacer frame before I decided to be sensible and maximise my component package within my budget.

I’m not sure how much more comfortable than the Defy it would have been but it there was a simple classic look about it and there’s that mystique of steel too. :D

Cheers Matt :D

Get a porky mate to put on helmet & elbow/knee pads and ride it fast over some cobbles! Does it feel right? Better put a new back wheel in before he tries it though! :wink:

If you have a Hope Pro 2 rear hub (lots of us do), can it be retro-fitted with the freehub body for the cassettes with 10-tooth sprockets?

The first time I heard of a 79er was in a 2010 Steve Worland WMB article about his custom-built rigid Pacenti. He tried lots of experiments and really liked the combo of Pacenti 650b rear wheel and a 29er at the front. The sizes are close enough that you only need to carry one size of inner tube for emergenices. :D

Cheers – Interesting. I find the rear 29er Nobby Nic @ current pressure will loose grip and spin out on some steep slippy bits. I really like the HD front (better grip and still rolls well) but a 29er version won’t go in the rear end of my frame. Best I can so is experiment.

I’ve been reading the stuff on the Cotic website by Cy Turner and Paul Dexter (very experienced knowledgable guys) about the Solaris 2 development history. My rigid legacy Salsa frame is a lot narrower than their Solaris 2, so I’m going real conservative to start off with.

My Salsa is currently setup 2.25 Nobby Nic rear and 2.35 Hans Dampf front on 29er Arch rims: – I run at about 27psi/23-22psi. I really like the rigid experience, but I want just a bit more capability and cush for faster, rattly stuff (did some trails at Rivington Pike, Lancs on New Year’s Day for example), whilst still keeping the whole setup really light and fast-rolling. My riding is slower and my trails less radical & hardcore than what the Cotic crew do, so I hope to learn from them, but adopt a lighter, slightly scaled-down (‘Skinny-Chubby’) solution more suited to me. Well that’s the theory! :D

I’m going try a ’79er’ setup!

I’ve ordered Easton Arc rims: (lighter weight than Aysms but not too expensive). I’ve ordered a 650b, 27mm width rear and 29er, 30mm width front. I really like the Hans Dampf, so to start off, I’m gonna stick with my current HD 29er front tyre and I’ve bought a new 2.35 HD (27.5 version for the rear). I reckon those tyres will come up w-a-y bigger than my current setup and I’ll be able to drop pressure lots if I want to. I’ve not done the calculations but I don’t think I’ll be adding much weight.

Just bookmarking thread for when my new bits are built-up and ready to show you. :wink:

Before you say Flows are overkill, check out the Cotic Website for the Solaris 2 development history.

I reckon the new Easton Arc rims in 27mm and 30mm internal widths are lightweight and a bargain compared with the heavier WTB Asym and carbon alternatives.

I’ve ordered a 650b 27mm and a 29er 30mm to make a chubby ’79er’ with my rigid Salsa frame. :D

Yup Fudge: – used Salsa Spearfish (simple, light, single pivot version).

Mine’s bright orange too ….and No, it’s NOT for sale!! :D

PS. you can get RP23s in 165mm eye-eye so you can have pro-pedal too but the stanadard RS Monarch is pretty decent.

Yeah – but that’s the story they told us.

Excellent ramble Chad – it’s the kind of thing I frequently produce (see below LOL)!

I recently bought a road bike – it think it’s great, but I like my mountain bikes and riding off-road more! We are surrounded with TV advertising/brain-washing (if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t spend £billions on it!) and TV is stuffed full of road cycling whilst MTB is marginalised and hard to find on mainstream TV. The Olympics was a ****-up as far as MTB was concerned, because TV coverage was minimal and the xc course was more like a bodged-up cyclocross field than the natural & beautiful forests that inspire us all to ride mtb.

29ers/27.5

I think the maufacturers had a genuine dilemma over 29ers. I think they said to themselves:

“We can’t so easily make longer travel 29ers, and in any case they are not ideal for the sub 5′ 9″ guys and most women (half our potential market)….We don’t want to be producing 2 separate categories of frames, wheels, forks, tyres, so (for the mass market) we’ll plump for the middle ground and big it up to everyone!”

I think you’re right about the ‘quicksand’ (note – David Bowie Reference) of standards. Everyone is terrified that they’ll spend a fortune and then the bike they bought will be obsolete with near-zero second hand value 18 months later. (To be fair – roadies are going disc at the moment so the same thing is happening – I recently bought alloy with rim brakes and I’m happy). I think the brooess post makes a good point about ordinary wages and spiralling debt – I, for one, am constantly thinking about how to keep the cost of my biking under control cos Rocketdog is spot-on about MTB trashing your equipment much faster than road biking.

Personally I’ve got two Salsa 29ers and a Defy roadbike. My mtbs are 2010 and 2012 vintage and to be honest (with the exception of a bit of wider wheel rim/tyre experimentation – see Cotic Solaris 2 development history on their website) I see no good reason to change either of my bikes anytime soon. I could easily imagine riding the same 2 bikes in 5 year’s time: for a past serial bike-swapper like me, that’s Radical!)

This is NOT a message of despair for bike manufacturers. They just need to change their focus from marketing disposable flashy products (mis-allocation of resources) to a genuine long-term customer service ethos. As a customer I don’t need incompatibility, I don’t need £300 cassettes, £150 mechs, and £70 chains (they are toast in months anyway) – I don’t need an expensive (and rubbish) new BB standard that will save then a couple of quid per frame manufactured!They sould think about things from their customers point of view for a change! This may seem like a message of despair for the bike manufactures, but it’s not. They can sell me drive-chain bits, tyres, and brake spares in abundance – but they shouldn’t expect me to put everying in the dustbin and buy a whole new setup every 2 years. If they come up with a really fantastic new frame that’s a genuine & significant improvement on what I’ve got – then I’m listening.

What I’m talking about!
I don’t think there’s a proper 1 x 10-speed cassette and mech from Shimano yet. There’s now a massive industry in bodge-ups. How the hell did that happen, when bikers have been begging & crying out for it for the last 2 years????

Lovely memories of Sherwood Pines: trying to keep up with Cy, Paul, The Potters et all on the Cotic Demo Days and A.Q.L skills days. Lovely singletrack – everywhere is wet and squishy in the winter.

Embrace It! Mwah XXX :D

Got a pretty mint 2015 Giant Defy 1 M/L which you can have for £500. Hard to spot it’s not new. Away over new year but can deal after.

Blimey that’s worrying. I was thinking of making the change but I guess there’s always the good ole triple until Shimano get the new stuff perfected LOL.

Tim, what is the max tire size for the Soul?

My mistake – I should make it clear I’m not connected to Cotic – I’ve just owned several of their bikes (hence the username). :oops:

I was confusing the Soul275 with what Cy told me about the Solaris 2 as I wasn’t looking for a fat rear end for myself.

The Soul275 will take a 2.4″ tyre on a Stans Flow (good enough for me) in the rear and whatever you want at the front (depending on the fork).

The Solaris 2 will take a 27.5 plus WTB Asym i29 rim and (I think he said Trailblazer 2.8 but check with Cotic) in the rear. You Can combine this with anything you like up front (fork dependent). Cy said he’d tried the wider Asym i35 rim on rigid front ends with the the 2.8 Trailblazer for more sidewall support and less squirm.

I think that’s the gist of my conversation with Cy – but check this before you spend money!

Ps. there is some comment about the choice of quick release rear ends on the Geek section of the Cotic website.

What about the Cotic Soul 275? It’s very light for steel and has great clearances and versatility. Have a chat with Cy at Cotic – he’s on it and has lots of interesting things to say. :D

O.P. – yer PSA sent me rushing of as I’d been thinking about trying this anyway. I smiled when I saw they only had the purple oval left in stock, but my buddy is riding an oval 1 x 10 and swears it’s helps his climbing so What-the-Hell…I got one despite the colour. Just how bad can purple look on my raw Ti rigid Salsa??? I await riding results with interest. :D

So how do you get yer chain clean & dry for 1st application?

Vittoria Randonneur 28c (cheapest version) £13.49

I’ve fitted a rear one after deciding the expensive Armadillo Elites weren’t as tough as the Specialized Dealer claimed they were. Too soon to tell about the Vittoria yet (with only 100miles done so far), but if they hold up they will be cheap way to get through future winters!

I’ve seen piccies with plumpish tyres on the rear end of Soul 275s but I don’t know details. The front end is not a problem as loads of rigid fork will take bigger tyres. On the geometry thing, I think Steve Worland used a 425mm rigid fork. I guess if you were using a bigger tyre, you’d want to minimise the fork length as much as possible.

The original intention of 44mm was to increase strengh (welding area) and allow even beefier forks for serious aggro bikes. Another feature if 44mm tubes is ability to take the Angleset headset which allows you to modify your head angle by (I think) by +/- 1.5 degrees. The 44mm width (both top and bottom) allows fitting of the Angleset ( which works on a similar principle to an eccentric BB). A tapered or 1 & 1/8″ headseat can’t do this.

Ps. My riding is far too wimpy to bother with any of that stuff. I enjoy my Salsa with rigid old-style quick release forks LOL. :D

Full price £899 but lots of places doing them at £720.

If you want a cheap M/L size, I’ve got a lovely Defy 1 2015 on Ebay (starting price £425 finishing Sunday morning) I paid £500 for it about a month ago but it’s a little too big for me. Lots of watchers but no bids yet so can still end auction for good offer. Test ride one any buy mine LOL :D
Tim (Ebay name Techietimmy – Southampton)

Don’t you just hate it when you ask about a cheap component and people jump in and advise you to buy a really expensive upgrade?

I’ve just junked my brand new Tektro calipers/blocks on my Giant and replaced them with the new 105 5800 calipers/blocks. £42 quid – just do it! :-D

CLINGFILM? :D

Yes – they were a little tighter than the Armadillos to get on my Aksium rims. I just put a blob of washing up liquid and water on my fingers and rubbed round the rims, and that made it easier.

My bruv has the Giant PR2 wheels and their stock 25c tyres – and they just fall on and off the rims by comparison.

Raceblade XLs seem good so far. Just make sure the little screws are fitted once correctly set. If you foreget, the fenders start slipping through the support bits – and after a few miles they rub. Once that was done properly everything has been fine. They are VERY easy to remove and replace.

Ended up with the Raceblade XL .

Initially I found the front one kept slipping through the sliding supports so that the fender would start touching the tyre after a few miles of riding. I was getting by just adjusting it, but I got pissed off & I rode over to the shop to ask them for a remedy. They checked and discovered that they’d omitted to put in the small self-tapping screws which fix the sliders in place. All is good now and I’m happy with my Raceblades. They are also ultra easy to remove and refit. :D

Why not just buy a SRAM chain? Comes with the link included. I can’t be arsed with Shimano chains, purely for that reason.

I’m guessing the majority of new bikes come with Shimano chains (mine’s got a 105 set-up so I got a Shimano chain as standard).

Thankyou for the speedy reply: – it’s an honour to have a post answered by Barack Obama! :D

With your 70/30 road/smooth off-road requirement, the 700 x 40c doesn’t sound like a bad idea. A 40c (maybe even 35c or 32c) cyclocross tyre will do gravel tracks and unchallenging singletrack pretty well, and will be way quicker than mtb tyres on the road. You can vary the pressures according to use.

I’ve got some open pro hope disk wheels which I put all sorts of tyres on.

Anyway, it’s just another suggestion for the OP

…And the OP is grateful to all.

I like the look of the 2-part Raceblades on the GCN Youtube video: it looks like they might fit my bike.

I think the Beerbabe stuff looks great. I’ll buy a lottery ticket. :wink:

Thanks everyone – I’ll investigate all your suggestions. Would welcome any more of course – anyone done a bodge-up job where they couldn’t fit the proper item?

Second ride today (all dry – so no mudguard worries). I wondered if I was making a mistake by buying an alloy road bike with rim brakes, but it turns out I’m pretty damn pleased with it. :D

Newforce Club:

Rides Thursday eves and often Tues. Often Winchester or Forest area – various.

Club roughly gauges ride speed/length by curry strength (Korma,Tikka,Jalfrazi etc.) but not totally reliable.

Check out: www dot newforce dot org dot uk