Right then, the Spec Purg 3″ is too much for pikes on 45mm rims. Too much rubbing. So what 2.8 options apart from trailblazer are out there with decent amount of grip?

Here we go.
Ride is great. No noticeable drag. The 3inch front tyre is VERY tight in the pike and has been tweaked again to try and stop it rubbing on the disk side of the fork when really leaning on right hand corners. Rubbing is only buzzing but will need some helitape I think on the top of the fork leg. Loads of clearance in the back for the 2.8TB. Loads of grip this morning on the slightly damp trails and greasy bits I found. Ploughs through mud on the bridleways we crossed. Really impressed. Will be taking it to Afan and BPW in the next couple of weeks…now that will be fun.

photo 1 by varifle[/url], on Flickr
photo 2 by varifle[/url], on Flickr
photo 3 by varifle[/url], on Flickr

Right had fun tonight.
Scraper rims, DT Swiss Comp Spokes on Hope EVO2’s with brass nipples. NOt cheap in the end..ouch.

Rear tyre WTB Trailblazer – 2.8inch
Front tyre Spec Purgatory 3inch

Didnt fit on Whyte 829 frame as intended (chain stays weld right in the wrong spot which is a shame),

But DID fit in the Transition Smuggler with quite a lot of room to spare at the back…..All in black looks MEGA!!

spec now do a 3″ purgatory. building up a set now with purg on the front (fits in 29er pikes on scraper rims) and wtb trailblazer on the rear

Cheers. Have the air spring, but just wanted to check on the damper charger before pulling things apart.

everything safe and sound at destination using the evoc bag. nice and easy to manoeuvre and pack.

just checked in at gatwick with an evoc bag. fully packed full sus with backpack, shoes, helmet plus spares and pump weighed in at 27kg. easyjet limit is 32kg despite the checkin person thinking it was 20….doh. will post this afternoon whether it arrives in good order.

Im pretty sure I know who it was (friend of mine) and I know he was out that way yesterday looking at his strava page. He would have cycled up from home. Very light for a steel bike and he loves it. Dont see many around which is nice. Go for it :)

Very good Wheels. On a par at least with Stans FLOW.

Shameful plug, but I actually have a brand new set (unused) of Tech Enduro that may be available in the next couple of weeks. Taped ready to go, just need valves.(QR rear and 15mm front). They may be surplus to requirements. Will sell cheaper than any online price still with warranty as only a couple of months old. Let me know if interested.

Bumped into Brendog the other day and he and the lads highly recommend Freeride Madeira. Im there in August too and have booked the 14th and 17th with a group ride as Im there on my own. Guided definitely needed as everything is off the beaten track, not sign posted and I believe also quite alot is on private land. Not a big commercial thing yet still very niche over there, but supposedly amazing.

Hmmm, Ive both road and trail and would definitely say there is a difference. Trail enhances the browns and greens more than the road version, so its almost like comparing apples and pears. Having said that I could just be sight impaired so to speak.

expect no significant change. the company that has bought it is not interested in amalgamation or blending but pure finance. simples. sc will still be over priced pieces of “rad” kit ;) so gnar it is and more enduro BS will be pumped round the world. it all comes down to bottom line profit and economies of scale. in other words big business…. well biggish anyway

32 definitely, even a 34. No way a 30, would be spin crazy :)

prism all the way. fantastic

Mine has been fantastic over the last few months since building it up. Not sure of the weight but it doesnt seem to slow me down. Next years colour will be fantastic, shame I didnt wait a year. No carbon for smuggler from what I hear.There is going to be carbon in the range but think more enduro.

Personally I dont think carbon versions of the current range will be worth the additional cost for the average UK rider (unless doing full on enduro or competing). But Im sure there will be some wanting to go carbon, just like the previous covert buyers.

All up though the smuggler is VERY good. At least on a par with the Spec Camber EVO.

Cheers, will revisit cleat position.

+1 for pedalcover. Really good policy if u have multiple bikes and travel with them. Best part is u don’t have to provide details of bikes, instead you get a blanket cover included in the contents. Same under writer that m&s use. I’ve got 12ks worth over bike cover away from home including accidental cover

specialized do some but u may need to ask your nearest dealer to order you some in as it’s not something they all stock as standard

I received my new thule 927 this morning….REALLY well made. Solid but small.
Properly impressed. As per the video I can lift it one handed (just) so much easier than the old models. The wife may struggle a bit, but at least I can leave it attached (locked) and it tilts so I can get the dog in/out of boot easily. Having to wait for the 4th bike extender. Will give it a go this afternoon….just need to get a rear number plate.

nice little place. I pass it at least once a week. still too expensive even though it started life at over a million. can only be accessed by a 4×4 on a good day so a pain for everyday living. I think they are trying to appeal to the bankers (50mins on train to waterloo) who want a country weekend pad and have their bonus burning a hole in their pocket. ideal for mtb’ing though, agreed

Deleted – sorry

Personally, if I was looking at Di2 type setups, I would wait for the SRAM wireless kit that should be out soon.

Had a quick demo of them today at my local demo day. Oakley were there handing them out for use on a loop of the surrey hills.

I was totally amazed to be honest and Im not normally a glasses fan. They brighten up colours and highlight the trail material really REALLY well.

So much so, when you take them off, everything literally looks grey…..really grey!!

New jawbreakers with prizm lenses will be available from April, and they look proper beefy and will be great for both road and mountain. Radarlock version of the lenses will be June according to the oakley rep.

I think they really are a game changer, and as I say I dont normally give two hoots about glasses…I normally just wear safety glasses for MTB and some cheap RG’s for road. Guess I need to start saving.

Pike RCT3’s all the way.

thanks everyone. Also found the hadrians cycle route which looks interesting. So looks like I have plenty of options :)

Strada built me up some fantastic H-Sons rims on Novatech hubs with sapim spokes for £420 a couple of years ago. They are FANTASTIC. Very light but stiff also. Far better than any off the shelf set I could find for the same money, bar any incredible items on sale. As light as my VERY expensive Mavic 125’s but not quite as stiff, but for the money they have been great.

Thanks Everyone so far….food for thought :)

Was hoping on finding a good route for the traditional Whitehaven to Sunderland, but dont really want gravel. Will have a look at NCN routes but thinking they may slow me down. Wouldnt a mix of B roads with the odd short bit of A roads be better?

Been running a shorty for a few weeks now.
Very grippy, but found last night in thick mud its VERY draggy, which I guess is to be expected. Was like trying to get through glue.

Ideal for this time of year but not very good on hardpack or really dry conditions.

Cant see much point running on the back, upfront with something with less grippy on the back is ok. Im running shorty up front and a spec purgatory on the back.

Ive found they do vary no matter how much bleeding is done. I have a few reverbs and all are different in their rebound speed when set at full speed on the remote. They vary quite a lot. They definitely need servicing roughly every year (thats with each one has being ridden at least once a week) otherwise play sets in and everything slows down a bit.

Morning Everyone, just a quick post to let you know I have received fantastic service from Ison who are now the UK distributor for Gloworm. I had an X2 battery that started freying where the cable entered the battery pack. So although still working I decided the claim under warranty before it snapped. A few emails to Ison with photo’s of the problem and they have been fantastic. They have been quick to reply to emails and now they have received their first batch of stock they have sent me out a replacement battery, and thats before Ive sent back the old one which will be winding its way back to them today.

Needless to say, Im impresed with Stuart and the team at Ison so many thanks and thumbs up to them :)

have a chat with strada wheels. they built me up a set of h-sons rims on novatec hubs and sapim spokes for pretty much bang on £400. stronger and lighter than anything I could find at that price at the time. totally transformed the bike

funnily enough I have been using race matrix for a year or so on xt,
slx and xtr brakes. last way more than the cheaper and more expensive pads but they do squeal for me in the wet probably more so than shimano pads. any recommendation as to what I could be doing wrong?

two years ago spent 2 weeks trying to get some specialized gore winter boots to dry out in the airing cupboard without much success got a similar device from amazon in Germany to the clasolsen one but with 4 pipes coming off it. bloody brilliant. has a two hour timer and after two repeated sessions even gore boots that have had a hose pipe taken to them dry out. no smells fantastic. I keep my boots and shoes in garage so if I forget to bring them in before a ride I just put them on the warmer for 20mins. well worth their weight in gold. definitely beats newspaper and kith litter in tights ooh err

15km to the pub and back. Couldnt resist given the nice and dry roads and blue sky.

I went for the bolt through option when my rear triangle failed (a couple of years ago now) with a QR installed. My personal thoughts (and could well be totally wrong) is that with the QR there is more stress put on the hanger/rear triangle joint, so by using the bolt through there is less twisting movement thus load. UK distributor have been great and replaced my rear triangle within a few days and I havent had any probs since. Also find with bolt through the dropouts dont need as much fettling.

Thanks for the update Danny,
Which of the distributors got their mitts on gloworm in the end then?
Glad you are still selling them though! Well done.
JC

Im running the charge on front and back as earlier this year there wasnt much choice and my lbs wanted some test feedback as they hadnt sold many so I got 2 for the price of 1. Its fine on the back, more grip than a spec ground control but doesnt hold me back. If you didnt want another charge then I would recommend a spec purg as Im running that on my 29er and its fantastic, also cheap too.

I agree with op. I’ve never been a fan of having to single click through SRAM gears compared with shimano. I have ridden a demo bike with xx1 back2back with my xt triple converted to a 1×10 using hope nw and 40t Rex on the back. couldn’t tell the difference.

about to convert my 29er, here is the real maths as I have purchased the parts:

xt triple crank from crc with bb = 97
sold rings for forty thus = -40
bought one up 42t expander and 32t nw ring = 70ish
cassette = 40
xt clutch mech = 40
shifter (already have) = 35
chain = 16

total = 260 ish roughly rounded may be £10-15 out

add in the part replacement cost when worn I can’t see how 1×11 adds up. especially given how well shimano shifts through multiple gears at a time. no brained for me tbh

every year we get the same old posts. when will everyone learn. yes Chinese and cheap lights are great in the short term. but the quality is shameful and the risk to burning down your shed or at worst house is real. led technology has flatlined which means mainstream purpose built bike lights are starting to come down in price to reasonable levels. simply go buy something that is well made, warrantied and simply works no matter the weather and more importantly doesn’t keep you awake at night worrying.

plenty of suggestions above. steer clear of eBay.

my rule of thumb and it’s just my personal opinion, if u want a self contained light and battery go with exposure. yes u pay the money but it does exactly what it says on the tin. a very good company owned and run by two brothers who are passionate about engineering and bikes.

if u don’t mind separate light unit to battery u cannot go wrong with gloworm. I’ve had an x1 and now an x2 used several times a week and faultless in proper gopping weather.

good hunting