Amazing to think they only ever used one image for the testcard.

Great suspension design, remember mine from the late noughties, loved it. Good to see 27.5 isn’t dead but we get too hung up on wheel size. Doubt it will feel significantly different to its 29 sibling.

Something tells me this will win the thread of the week award.

Something tells me this won’t win the thread of the week award.

its constantly jumping up and down or actually the chain bouncing on that gear.

I had this thinking my GX cassette had finally worn out but it was the front GX alloy chainring. Switched back to my spare steel NX ring and the chain skip in the higher gears went away. Cassette still going strong, thankfully.

IME with 12 speed you need to change the chain at 0.5, otherwise you bollox the rest of the drivetrain.

Depends what 12 speed components you run doesn’t it? A steel NX chainring will last years for a slight weight penalty. GX cassettes generally are very durable. Not had issues running GX chains to .75 with this setup.

I’ve never understood drain holes in BB shells as the frame won’t hold enough water for it to be worthwhile.

I’ve found the Uber plastic top caps to be some of the better designed for protecting bearings.

But with any BBs, you’re best off IMO using a #11 surgery scalpel to pick off the bearing race seals, repack the races both sides with good grease and keep doing this whenever it’s necessary.

Same happened to me with a Z1. Maybe there are some fakes or defected ones about? Fitted an 8 speed Sram months ago and it’s still like new.

Chopper

The NS&I Green Bonds are now available. 0.65% fixed for 3 years

Wow, that is poor. The instant access Marcus account will be above that soon I suspect. Thanks Boris, but you can keep that.

As a newbie wheelbuilder I’m finding the Park app really helpful to get even tension across all spokes. Also learning to pay attention to the % variance on each side of a dished wheel. Built a couple with too wide a variance and managed to pull the two sides closer together.

They’re for folks who like the premium lazy brands, so they’ll sell at that price, especially if they can buy them on the never-never. It’ll be on the back of a few leased Audis I’m sure.

760mm. Renthal Fatbar Lite.

I’m enjoying their new YouTube channel.

Anonymity breeds contempt. It’s road rage in forum format really isn’t it? I’m sure face to face we’d all be a bit more rational with one another.

…stop assuming everyone is the same. At least have a think about the person who is posted and perhaps side on them being a rational human being who isn’t out to be wreckless rather than shout out that everyone is not going to be responsible

Well said. OP was written with fun and safety in mind. I don’t want to go out and wreck an expensive car, let alone risk any lives. Lots of factors not possible to cover in a forum thread, such as considering when and where to increase speed. 60 mph at 6:00 am on an empty road across moorland, with plenty of visible open road ahead can still offer a spirited driving experience.

Grow up! Spend some of your pocket money on a track day if you fancy some “spirited driving”. Don’t come tear-arsing around my back yard like an over privileged ****.

Calm down Karen.

Check your headset. Sound travels through a frame in mysterious ways.

It’s time for humanity to grow up

It’s time for you, Mr. Johnson, to get a vasectomy. A rallying call to arms to fight climate change from you, sir, is sheer hypocrisy!

The UK has been a demand led market for decades and I can’t see it abating any time soon. There are half the amount of houses on the market in my town than there were last year. Went to see a completely rundown one in a decent area today. It went on the market Wednesday and there have been 19 viewings so far. Everything is in high demand at the moment, which would normally push inflation up but no one can buy anything, so it’s all a bit weird. Currently trying to nurse my bald rear tyre as a replacement isn’t possible for a few months at least yet.

I clamp over the bottle cage. Possibly saves marking the frame and it’s not fallen off yet.

I had a creaking Inbred steel frame. I made a chasing tool by cutting slots into an old BB. Works a treat and cleared out all the gunk from the threads. No more creaking.

Alloy nipples, 28 holes, straight pull spokes. All things I avoid when riding a hardtail all year round in the UK!

I have a set hung up in my garage. Just couldn’t get on with their position. Tried all sorts of stem and grip combos and ended up going back to conventional mtb bars. They’re a fair old weight too. Sorry I can’t give any positive feedback for you, but each to their own, you might love them.

Fibrax are very good.

Ignored this thread initially (yet another “what lube” jobby) and assumed someone would have shouted Weldtite All Weather by now, but no. Amazing.

I have a 2.4” Trailboss in tough / fast in my tyre box. I think I might throw that on without an insert

I took my Tough Fast rear Vigilante off for a wheelbuild and noticed no damage ro the Huck Norris, so I’ve ditched it for the time being. I’ve found my minimum tyre pressures over the years and always check I have these before I ride. As has been said above, attention to tyre pressure and a rear dual ply tyre should negate the need for an insert.

I suspect the D-Light spokes have a lot to do with the ride feel and will help keep the weight down. Are they brass or alloy nipples?

I have the Leon Cupra ST

Fun to drive I’d imagine?

Spokes are generally tensioned to somewhere around 100 kg force, so the difference is quite easily measurable

So would you tension to 100 at build and accept 70 with tyre, or tension to 100 with tyre fitted? I would imagine the former, as if you have an impact that blows the tyre, the rim would impact at an over-tensioned state.

Speaking as a complete noob (two builds in) FWIW, I lube the nipple ball with light oil but use Rock n Roll nipple cream on the threads. Boiled linseed or Stans Powder no doubt just as good as R n R cream, but I would say use one of these rather than oil on the threads. Absolutely loving this wheel building lark though, it’s addictive! Good luck.

What are you trying to prove by checking a new wheel?

Not a new wheel. One of the original ones that came on my bike. My rims cracked at the spoke holes so I’m trying to find out why. The spokes are evenly tensioned (within 20% range, bar one spoke, which might have detensioned over riding time).

I measured 137 with tyre off BTW. And to the point above “it’s only less than 10% over”, surely if it’s over, it’s over and asking for rim failure?

I would have thought most rim manufacturers are quoting max tension with tyre off as the numbers are important reference points for wheel building.

I’m using a new Park TM1 meter so I presume it’s well calibrated. I entered the readings into their wheel tension app.

I suspect it’s easier to set a machine incorrectly rather than hand tensioning most of the spokes too high. You’d have to be a pretty incompetent wheel builder.

the crack has radiated out

Been doing a bit of research on rims cracking at the spoke holes and the best theory I have is that if the nipples aren’t perfectly spherical they aren’t touching the rim 360 degrees. When tensioned up and hitting square edges, if there’s even a tiny bit of daylight between nipple and rim, this is when the rim will fail. My rear OE Whyte wheel did this and it’s led me to learning how to build wheels and I’ve just finished my first set with Sapim Polyax brass nipples, hoping I’ll avoid this problem. Fingers crossed…

You can completely remove the bolt and clamp plate from the frame. Thoroughly degrease and clean the seatpost. Clean the clamp mechanism, refit making sure the face of the plate sits evenly (it can be fitted wonky so it’ll never clamp strong enough then), apply assembly paste to the face, loctite to the bolt thread, tighten to the torque setting and leave it overnight for the loctite to do its thing. Worked for me when my post was slipping.

Many of these were curriculum books I grew up with. They remind me of school lessons and forced reading to analyse the story. Shame it’s put me off what are no doubt great reads.

I really like the Weldtite TF2 Performance as an all-round lube

^This. Cleanest and best performing lube I’ve ever tried. Liked it so much I bought a 1 litre pack. Should last me for years.

I swapped out the pistons on my Guide Rs for metal pistons. Plus I run Fibrax pads. Plenty power for average skills UK trail riding.