If you’re a wimpy non-technical rider like ‘Moi’, then I think 29 gives you that feeling of momentum on swoopy trails and over uneven ground. I think my brother’s 26″ Flux with it’s wonderful DW link is a bit quicker & smoother downhill than my 29″ single-pivot Spearfish. The Flux is the best 26er I’ve ridden. However, being a lazy rider, I’m happy to suck up the a slight sense of inferiority of a 29 downhill as I like the lazier cadence and the way it covers ground everywhere else. I even find I can happily ride a 29er rigid on 80% of my trails (admittedly it’s Ti with 27.2 post): – that would be harder work on 26″ wheels.

I’ve got a Salsa El-Mar Ti. If you can find a used one, it’s a versatile bike (maybe not quite as versatile as the Travers though). It’s lovely as a hardtail and rigid mtb (depending on trails). In addition to mtb wheels, I’ve had some Open Pro rimmed wheels built on Hope hubs so I can use it as a comfy road bike too. I’ve got the older 1&1/8th headtube version and I imagine I’ll be running it for years to come.

Thank you – I’ll check that out. Any more thoughts? :D

Thanks Gang. I’ll give the Smorg a go. If it turns out to be a mistake, at least it will have been a cheap(ish) one.

Surprised at this if you’re running the same high pressure as before. Tubeless is all about reducting the pressure and riding smoother offroad. If you’d said you also reduced yer pressures from 30psi to 22F/25R then I’d have expected you to be a little slower on tarmac.
Perhaps the tube supports the tyre wall and stops any lateral flexing of the tyre?

New SLX triple for 70 quid LOL!

I saw a very nice looking Eighteen Bikes custom frame with Pinion gearbox in their shop window in Hope last weekend. I wanted to give them the third degree all about it, but they were very tied up selling a Santa Cruz to someone so I went for coffee and cake, and carried on with my hike.

Sounds like the OP has fallen under the influence of Michael Jackson. I understand that during his mountain biking phase he’d spash a bit of Domestos on his saddle and ride 30 miles naked (apart from his SIDIs and full-face helmet).

PS. I once had a female colleague get very upset when I suggested that Michael Jackson’s drug problems might not be entirely the fault of his doctor. She definitely wouldn’t like this post. ;-)

Excellent Rim-job. Are they Velocity?

I owned a mark 1 and a mark 2 and they were great, but amongst all the weeping, wailing and nashing of teeth here, aren’t there any folks who love the 27.5 Soul? I’ve not ridden a 650b but it looks like it has the makings of a great bike and Cotic have kept the frame weight pretty low – nearly the same as the 26er.

If you only wanted to spend £250 on your frame, I have a lovely looking Salsa Mamasita 18″ frame in white with blue decals, blue Salsa seat clamp, and Chris King Rasta tapered headset with Hope 1&1/8th converter.

Was planning to build a single speed (with a singulator) but I changed my mind so it’s hanging in the garage unemployed but looking gorgeous. Seat post diam 27.2. I haven’t got pics yet, but you can see it on google images.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=salsa+mamasita+2013&biw=1173&bih=802&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_zf_VImUJe-U7Qa6gIHICg&sqi=2&ved=0CCAQsAQ

I always felt that 27.5 was about bringing in one standard to cover all rider heights because 29ers would not sell to shorter riders or those who need longer travel. Nevertheless I was very surprised to see the conclusions. I bet it put Giant’s nose out of joint! Having said that, I bet Giant have a lot more money to throw at the research if they want to. However if they had already decided they wanted to sell just one wheelsize, then they wouldn’t want to fund any research to contradict this plan. I’m not qualified to comment on whether or not the results are valid.
No particular experise claimed here, so this is just a ‘follow the money’ surmise type post.

5’10” and a total 29er convert. :-)

You could do this cheapskate style like me. I paid £450 for my bright orange single pivot spearfish frame. I’ve subsequently upgraded the shock to an immaculate RP23 for 80 squid. I got the shock serviced & fitted for £30. The shame of it is that I like my rigid Ti El-Mar so much (and it’s so easy to clean) that I haven’t actually tried out the SF since the upgrade. FYI, the SF was a damn good bike BEFORE the upgrade and I expect it to be better with the RP23.

What do you call it when you have a 29er front end on a 27.5″ frame? Whatever it’ called, Steve Worland used to have a Pacenti built like that and really rated it. A Ti equivalent would be a really interesting move.

Bovey Tracey – Wasn’t she Ladies Downhill World Champion at one time?

Can’t go too far wrong with a nobby nic. I had one on the front of my 29er for the summer but have moved it to the rear for the winter (the crossmark wasn’t gripping the mud). I’ve swapped to the Joe’s No Flat fluid after I saw it jam up a Stans valve injector kit solid. I figured it it would do that then it’ll seal up punctures fasters than the Stans stuff. In fact – it even occured to me that Stans may make their fluid thinner so their syringe injector kits will work.

I’m still astonished there’s been no 10-speed 11-40 cassette. It’s clearly what a huge number of peeps have wanted for the last year. They’d sell out in the snap of your fingers. I’m guessing there’s diabolical politics and marketing strategies stopping it.

Has anyone ridden the old Salsa Cromotos against the new-fangled bolt-thru carbns like the Firestarter, Niners, and Travers Prong?
I’d love to know whether it’s worth the upgrade as I like the Cromotos and they were CHEAP compared to the others.

Ti Mariachi is my fave bike. If you want to cover distance and your trails don’t look like the kind of thing Steve Peat does, then it could be your baby. Mine’s an old one with standard headtube and old-style dropout. I’ve got it set up for winter in the forest with cromoto steel fork, Tubeless Arches on Hope with Nobby Nic rear @ 28psi and Hans Dampt 2.35 front @ 21.
Love the bent Thomson 27.2 seatpost and SDG BelAir. Drivechain – whatever you like.
Even with the 100mm Fox F29 on the front, I can’t quite compete with a full-sus in Wales, but I love it. Timmee

“Timcotic – keep an eye on the newforce forum as there’s a regular midweek daytime ride developing (cunningly called the unemployed ride) which might be of interest to you.”

“Tim cotic I was tempted by the new force group what are the rides like? I’m based in winchester so would mainly be heading out from home, is it worth joining? Cheers [/quote]“

Sorry it’s taken a while to get back to you guys. Yes I have been of a few of the ‘Unemployed Rides’ and they’ve been very good. They are approximately 20 miles (I think today’s was less but it was rather muddy and hilly). If you are a regular rider you’d be fine but not reccommended for mtb ‘newbies’. The Dorset Roughriders’ Saturday Socials form Broadstone Leisure Centre at 1.00 p.m. are good for everyone. (by which I mean – everyone gets do to some riding they enjoy – Last Saturday’s was lead by a splendid chap call Robin and was a case in point). Tim :-)

I’ve got the Salsa Cromoto steel fork on El-Mariachi. The ride is suprisingly good for my local trails and am enjoying it, but I won’t pretend I can handle the bigger faster descents on it though. For the last few months, I had Nobby Nic 2.25F/Crossmark 2.1R. (BTW I’ve got 680 Carbon risers and an 80mm 6deg stem.)
I’ve just put a 2.35 Hans Dampf on the front and moved the Nobby Nic to the rear and I took the opportunity to lower the pressures by a couple of lbs each end. I may try something like a P35 rim and Maxxis Chronicle on the front in future, but I don’t want to overly fat, as I still want to get up those South Downs Climbs LOL.

I’d also be interested to try a Carbon bolt-thru rigid but the setup I currently have seems to be working for me. I like the look of the Travers Rudy and Prong fork.

Somebody take him away please!

BTW. Jeff’s Black 17″ Cove Handjob is for sale @ £175…and very nice it is too. Hardly ridden and in fab condtion as Jeff likes to buy bikes, keep ’em in showroom condtion, but thinks it’s beneath his dignity to actually ride ’em.

Stop groping the tottie Bill – I’m jealous!

LOL @ Jeff (who is my buddy, but lucky to remain so after a post like that!) :D

Thanks to everyone who posted a serious reply. I am really impressed that Cy has managed to make the 275 the same weight as the 26 inch Soul. I think the Stanton is great but it’s a stiffer, heavier more hardcore bike altogether. I’m more of an XC guy myself. I’d want it to get my 13.5 stone bulk around a 50k bastard-hilly half-marathon in Builth or somewhere like that. I reckon the 275 Soul looks very capable and would build up a lot lighter than the Solaris. I’m on a Ti El-Mariachi now but I have a soft spot for the Soul.

Had a Fox F29 100mm, 15mm axle on my Ti Mariachi. I took it off to put on my Spearfish and I’ve got a Cromoto rigid fork on the El-Mar now. The Fox was doing a good job and it was pronounce ‘fine’ at a recent service. In the past I’ve had seal and robustness issues with 26″ Fox forks so I’m slightly wary of them. Probably if you clean them and spray with Silicon lube (Stendec or Fenwicks) then they’ll last.
Ps. The guys at my local shock servicing shop say you can’t get the DT Swiss service locally as DT Swiss refuse to supply parts as they want to do all the servicing themselves.

I think I could get a 29+ tire in the Cromoto fork on the front of my Salsa El-Mariachi Ti.

Thanks for your replies Cinnamon, Froggy and Flash.
I have ridden with the Lordswood 7.00 pm chaps a couple of times. Lordswood does get very mucky though, with lots of clay and obstacles. It’s nice in the summer though.

I generally ride in The Forest or Winchester cos I tend to ride the Newforce trails and mainly with Newforce Members. I did a cracking ride from Fritham today with a couple of guys from the club. We worked our way across Hampton Ridge and way over the the North and Redlynch. Found an excellent route back up to the Fordingbrid/Downton road split and then back down to Eyeworth Pond. Hardly any road sections. Fabulous sunny weather today! :-)

I smiled at “Dear Magicshine” – Touche! :D

Is there a mid-week daytime riding scene for Soton/Forest/Winchester?

Timmee :D

Sounds like it could get confused with mine – we’ll have to avoid eachother! :wink:

Actually no prob: I’ve just taken off the white Fox with straight steerer to put on another bike and I’ve replaced it with a tapered BLACK Reba.

Thanks everyone. I’ll try it out with FSA or Middleburns next chainring swap. They’ll have to fit my XT M780 though.

Aren’t I nice? I’ve just been into the garage and the BB shell is 73mm.
Keith at Perfect Balance reckons he can put new bearings in when the time comes – but that remains to be seen. He probably can. :-)

Got pics of your Fish? Mines on the MTBR Salsa forums. It’s the orange with white fork and wheels. Strangely, I don’t like bling and bright colours, but all those bits were ebay bargains at the time. If one had been avail at the time, I would have gone for a restrained black or green with a black fork LOL. :D

Praxis BB on my Salsa Spearfish with XT M780 crank for about 7 months now – no complaints yet. I didn’t know what to go for as I really didn’t like the idea of Press-Fit BB, but Praxis seemed the best idea at the time. It was about 60 quid from Hargroves at Totton Southampton.

Sooo….anyone weighed a medium 27.5 frame yet?
Also – Yes, it was a Sherwood Pines demo day with the Potters and Paul (wheelie & endo God) that decided me and my bruv on our Souls a few years back. We just hoped some of their skills and general Coolness would rub off on us LOL.
Ashamed to admit that I’m an old soft git and I’ve been on a full-sus and a Ti 29er hardtail recently, but I’m keen to try the new Soul. My Ti Salsa is real scarey downhill if there are any bumpy bits.
When is this Earlstoke demo?

Schmiken – I have emailed you.

Thanks for the info seavers :) I’m what’s known as a ‘Late Adopter’ (ie I like stuff that works and has been proved to work LOL)

So are the Havens 1600g? – that’s lighter than Hope/Arch EX isn’t it?

Prejudiced Rant:
Never fancied Crank Bros wheels – they look weird and delicate, have non-standard components, and the their pedal bearings are notoriously short-lived (or at least they used to be).

Thanks for all the comments guys. I’ve got a buddy who has some spanky looking Easton Havens but I was surpised that they seem rather heavy. Similarly the Mavic Crossrides look a good deal but I read a review saying they were 1900 grams and that they weren’t as easy to use tubeless as the Stans. It looks like it’s still Hope Humbs and Arch EX for me unless there’s any new info.
PS.
I’ve actually got a nice light pair of Stans 26″ 355R/OlympicF wheels for sale myself as I’ve must sold my 26″ full-sus frame.

Very nice! Medium frame weight anyone?

PS. Sorry about the forum name. I know I’m a bit of a fraud as I’m on a Spearfish at the moment, but I had 2 Souls and a Soda once – and I still a fan of the Cotic team! :D

cheers young man – I like the M970