I guess it all comes down to want u want to do.
I have a 910xt and use it for MTb and road (wrist for MTb and simply wrapped around bars for road)

the reason i went for a watch is risk. stem mounted units are very easy to damage and or lose and I have never liked any of the flimsy mounts

if u just need to see your distance, cadence, elevation etc and then download to connect or strava then a watch is fine. if u need to follow a route then u need something with a bigger screen so may have to go stem mounted.

it’s swings and roundabouts so to speak

They wont take it off you directly they will ask you to send it in via a bike shop. Most LBS will send them in for you. I recently sent one back with wear and tear rather than warranty claim (key wear and slow return) and it only cost £50 which was good considering I was expecting 80+

like anything suspension technology based you have to purchase on the assumption it will cost to service over time and wont simply keep working perfectly for years and years.

friggin good pieces of kit. I have 3!

Look at http://www.wheelsmith.co.UK and their race23 model
good feedback from many on here

tag alongs aren’t much cop. I bought a Raleigh tag300 last year for 200 quid and kids hated it. tried to sell on eBay 3 times with no luck so sold locally for 65 quid. bolt on rear seats are pretty useless too. kids now riding their own bikes which is best thing IMHO

for build quality, output and something that will last, I reckon the best kit at the moment is the Gloworm X1 and X2. Their bundled price if you buy both is very good.

Ive got the X1 on the lid and its perfect, but you do need something for the bars. Alternatively a friend of mine runs the X2 on the lid with no bar light and its very very good.

http://www.crgmoto.co.uk – speak to danny, excellent chap.

Had the same dilema just over a year ago.
I went down the non painted C456 route, and dont regret it.
Out of all my bikes, its the most chuckable and agile.
Ive had some big crashes on it and taken some hard drops at speed.
Frame has coped with everything and is nice and light.

Perfect for what I use it for, mainly trails and run a 140mm fork.

I run an exposure maxxd on the bars and its a great unit. just plug it into the mains and leave it without worry of it causing a house fire. had a joystick on the lid which would be fine for commuting but didn’t find it enough for the 2-3 nights off roads a week I do so changed it for a gloworm x1 that does have cables etc but does me on the lid as I always have A camelback

teamhurtmore – yes, wouldnt suprise me if that was a factor also.

ah, they can drive it, but actually parking is another grey area and the yellow paint will be out soon enough at this rate and if the national trust were smart they would start clamping to help bolster their coffers :)

Agree about not being able to do much about it, hey ho.
Getting ready for the normal flaming on here..lol

Technically yes for historical reasons rather than necessity. (just about width of car designated as a quiet lane for some reason that goes back a long way and no longer relevant from what I gather, but could be wrong)

Cars dont need to use it and only put other people at risk and ruin what is a fantastic place. There are moves to get it closed but that will have to go to high court as per usual for such matters. All a bit NIMBY I know, but hey I think its a logical and pretty good argument as I normally hate NIMBY stuff and shy away from it.

My point is: why use it when you’re only going to be riding a bike anyway, for the sake of a few hundred metres its pure laziness.

A friend has just demo’d pretty much all the main contenders when it comes to 29er full sus bikes and ended up with the specialized camber expert. Its 3.5k, but they do a slightly lower spec at 2.5k and I think its really impressive, especially as Im not a spec fan. Worth a look at.

just sent mine back to fishers via lbs as it kept needing bleeding every ten weeks and started to have more than normal play. originally bought from Germany but got it all sorted for £50 including service. it’s a year old so happy to pay that sort of money on servicing every year

LBS’s are funny old places.

I go out of my way to buy from my local but only if its not wallet suicide plus or minus 10-15%. However in return for the business I do give them, they provide an excellent service, have quite happily built up two C456 bikes where only some of the parts are purchased from them, and charged very little. They even took them for a spin and said they were fantastic and made recommendations for minor component adjustments.

In complete contrast, was up in the surrey hills on my yeti and suddenly had a very nasty noise from what sounded like the BB. Was passing by a well known Santa Cruz shop in peaslake so asked their advice. Owner took one look at me and said he didnt want to know as he was too busy. Wouldnt even take 1min to look at it to give his 5pence worth. So I error’d on the side of caution, left the lads to carry on and went my separate way to the car and took it back to my local I purchased it from. In 2mins literally they noticed the drop outs had worked their way loose and regreased and tightened it with a smile…

So its swings and round abouts. Its a shame that online retailers can get away with the massive discounts, which although good for us punters, has the opposite effect somewhere else.

I guess with all high street retailers, now is the time to find a new model of improving revenue by creating new value added services which keep us punters coming back for more.

They are very good. Ive had several power chargers fail and I only live about 10miles down the road. They have swapped them out everytime without even wanting to see a receipt.

Im in exactly the same dilema and will be going for the race23’s from wheelsmith on the PILLAR spokes to get it down to £395 for a pair of wheels pretty much bang on the 2kg mark including tyres but stronger and cheaper to repair than mavics and RS80’s.

thanks, will try more grease.
No it doesnt seem to do it on the road, hence why I thought it may be clamp or some kind of tension related issue. Very odd.

I run a gloworm X1 on the lid and an exposure MaxD on the bars only because I dont like hanging batteries on the frame or stem.

If you’re ok with separate batteries, then I agree the X1 and X2 combo is hard to beat.

Gloworm kit is VERY well made I can highly recommend them.

Not sure about Dyna Sys, but one’s 2011 XTR and the other 2012 XT.
Ive heard there are better chains for the money than stock XT or XTR…but wasnt sure which ones. KMC springs to mind and some places had good deals meaning for £25 you get a far superior chain than stock.

Was after some web links to good deals I guess

try ribble cycles for sub 400 shimano 105 groupset

The Halifax have just added my bikes (all built up over time) using LBS valuation for around £20 per bike per year. I do have buildings and contents with with which I guess helps.

As above. They are quite tight for the first ride and then slacken off. I ride with mine 3 times a week and they are now 3 months old. Get washed probably once every other week and they are great!! I do 20+Km’s at a time and I dont notice Im wearing them.

Currently, value for money and build quality, there is only one word that comes to mind……GLOWORM.

Im a convert having tried many different lights including super expensive ones and vyer cheap chinese ones.

http://www.crgmoto.co.uk

Personally I would go for the X2 and then if that isnt enough move the X2 to the bars and add an X1 to the lid. Perfect combo.

definitely yellow

£2.14 per can delivered if you buy 12:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120967728402?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

+1 for Troy Lee Shock Doctor KG 5400’s
I had a couple of small off’s towards the end of last year and knocked my knee each time, then had a large off where my knee had an argument with my exposure ali light bracket…..ending up with hole in knee and snapped bracket,.

No wear knee pads all the time. The KG5400’s are great. I dont even notice I am wearing them.

Excellent, what a bargain. I am interested in the shadow rear mech if its going, assuming its clutched and long cage?

Rgds
Jonathan

My LBS who I have a very good relationship with, kindly provided written valuations of all my bike FOC on company headed paper.

They listed all the components of each bike (including parts/frames they didnt supply) with a replacement cost associated with each.

Worth asking your LBS, even if they charge a small fee it would be worth it.

neoprene gloves, lots of my regular riders have all bought them. the only problem with them is if u take them
off for a period during a ride they are cold and wet when u put them back on. Castelli make nice ones for around 30 quid. otherwise just wear disposable surgical gloves under your normal gloves. u get a bit sweaty but it works a treat

Merlin cycles are doing good deals on SLX and XT group sets at the moment.

SLX triple and double @ smidge under £400

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/transmission-gears/groupsets-mtb/shimano-slx-m670-triple-10-disc-brake-groupset.html

with XT @ £525
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/transmission-gears/groupsets-mtb/shimano-xt-m780-2-x-10-disc-brake-groupset-black.html

I think you get another 5% off at the checkout too..so that takes XT to under 500 and SLX to about £380.

SLX deal includes rotors, XT doesnt.

The SLX groupset is so close to the XT (eg same brakes and clutch rear mech) if weight isnt a massive issue thats what I would go for.

The X1 is an excellent helmet light. More spotty than the X2 as of course is only a single LED, but SUPER powerful.

I have just started running one on my lid with my old exposure Maxxd on the bars. Perfect!

I went with the 4 cell battery which I put in my camelback and a 2 hour ride on HIGH only used 20% of it!!

If I needed a complete solution I would go for the dual package of an X1 on the lid and X2 on the bars.

A good friend just uses an X2 on his lid and its so good he doesnt use a bar light.

Personally I think two are needed, especially if one fails out on the trail, you have a backup light to get you home.

Go for it. Well made kit and excellent value!

bloody iphones always double post…oops

mcrofty, I ride with a couple of groups from haslemere and cover the punchbowl, hankley and also the other side of haslemere including blackdown, linchmere etc. u are more than welcome to come along. there are night rides on Tuesday and Thursday and the early morning rides mainly on sat mornings but also the odd one on Sunday’s. ask1974 on here is part of the same groups. txt me on 07771 637 237 if interested.

Rgds jonathan

Troy lee knee pads are. ice and small. it do the job. wey well. wear mine on every ride no matter and are very comfy

I lost 12kg’s in 2012 by simply doing the following:

1. Cut out the latte’s at work completely and changed to green tea, black coffee and water during working day. Drank beer in the evenings as usual.
2. aT lunch time, drastically reduced the starch and carbs from sandwiches and had a small soup and small roll. Different soup every day, but stuck to soup Mon-Fri
3. Ate as normal in the evenings
4. Increased MTB bike riding from zero to 2-3 night rides a week and a 3-4 hour ride on a sat/sun morning.

simples :)

The main thing to do is to reduce carbs, starch, not too much sugar for reasons above. We all tend over over eat, so limiting portion size can really help some people also.

Looks good. Nice and straight forward navigation and all the info is provided in a clear and concise manner.

Well done :)

clutched rear mech, sorted, as it has mine. zero. chain suck

there is much said for LBS. I bought a full xt groupset from mine with discount and although it was still about £100 more than online prices they stripped the bike and built up with the new groupset for free. Then 4 months later when the brake calliper failed they replaced it as soon as they could and took up the warranty issue with distributor at their risk as it wasn’t 100% obvious it was warranty failure and didn’t charge me a penny for the labour either.

so currently after a road bike and although I could get a better spec brand online I want to buy a bike from my local guys as I know if I have a problem on a sat afternoon I can just drop it in with them and leave it with them and normally parts dependent they will have it sorted by the Wednesday at no cost if it’s a warranty problem. if its something I have done wrong I am more than happy to pay and never quabble.

so as always its swings and roundabouts

Yes, On-One can supply a different drop out that places caliper on outside of rear triangle. About £14 from memory. Drop on-one a line, they can tell you the part number over the phone and you can order online.

yes, danny emailed me earlier ref battery life on the X1, so he’s about. Probably busy catching up after xmas.

Excellent, just ordered one and will run it on helmet and keep the MaxxD on the bars. Should keep everyone well and truly blinded :)