Worked fine for me earlier, there are a few restrictions I think so may depend on your selection?

Blimey, wellywheels thats tiny! Im really just looking for something cheap thats easy to get on that I can use for a month or two.

Not worried about tyre quality, it will only get used for 6 weeks so looking for a cheap one which I guess will be a pretty hard compound anyway.

So is 700 x 32c ok on a Crest?

Stayed there several times. Friendly helpful owners, nice atmosphere, secure bike storage, bar, good food, clean, comfortable etc etc. All good :-)

Orange Clockwork fits the bill, fun, slack and takes 120mm fork. Bikescene had XL’s for £250 recently.

[EDIT] Make that £199 now. Bargain.

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Orange-Clockwork-29er-Frame-5465-107-0.html

Have to agree with captainflash…again!

Im 6’4″, 15 stone (+ kit) and ride an XL frame. No issues whatsoever.

Agree with everything “captainflashheart” said above.

Been riding an ’08 SL Pro Carbon for 5 years and for most of that time was my only bike, does everything from easy trails to the Alps. Never had any issues with the fork, the second generation E150s if serviced and looked after are superb. Specialized service is second to none in my experience and still able to get spares without any hassle.

Would also add that at the time (2008), 4 of my mates also bought Enduros and none of them have ever really had any issues with them.

Yep, used them lots recently, in fact about 10 mins ago! Never had any issues.

Thanks everyone, great feedback. Seems like the popular concensus is Arch EX but probably cant go wrong with either, so may as well take the weight saving and be tubeless ready with the Stans.

[core]

I hear ya, it’s a nightmare! Almost a case of too much choice. I also went into LBS for a chat he was on the Mavic bandwagon too (they sell everything) but he did admit that it was because he’d never had any problems with his own Mavics so kept loyal. For me Ive had the same bike for the past 5 years so never worried about it or been that bothered about what was the latest and greatest. Now im enjoying the process of building my own bikes up it’s all a bit mind-boggling!

Thanks guys, the Arch EX’s are certainly very much on the radar and would give me an easy option of going tubeless. Im not anti-tubeless at all it’s just historically (been MTB’ing 24 years) I rarely get punctures (cue onslaught of punctures!), so have really just ignored the whole tubeless debate.

Im conscious I want to keep the wheels as light as possible without compromising too much on strength hence looking at ArchEX and 719’s, both of which are lighter. Im sure the Flows would be bomb-proof but is the weight gain worth it over the Archs or Mavics?

Spoilt for choice springs to mind!

Quantocks are very close by, fairly easy to navigate along the main ridgeline then many great drops down the valleys (combes) on either side (Smiths, Frog, Somerton, Weacombe, Bin, Hodder etc).

Otherwise Exmoor, Blackdowns and Mendips all within 30-40 mins drive.

Someone remind me why I moved away…?!!

“sportsmatch – Member
Guess you had the engine management light on then the dpf symbol then the glow plug flashing at you which means its gone in to limp mode it wont pull your hat off had it in Feb on my audi a3 170hp tdi Quattro 57 plate take it in as you will only clog it up more and you will not get it regenerate now, they will plug into the laptop and do a force regeneration and hopefully not have to replace the dpf the exhaust pressure sensor is cheap enough think it was about £50 fitted when they done the force regen not had a problem since”

Exactly the same thing happened to me, DPF light came on, was on a long journey and had no option to pull over, carried on but thankfully no limp mode. Then the engine mgmt light came on the next day. Audi traced it to a faulty sensor and the DPF filter was already regeneratign itself, (we only use the car for long distances so almost no town driving). Cost a new sensor which is a fraction of the cost of the DPF so well worth checking its not just the sensor, but I guess the fault codes would help wit this.

During the discussion the person at Audi said it was pretty common and the DPF is not covered under warranty, ever! Sure he mentioned a new DPF/Cat was £1600 ish.

Been putting my carbon enduro on my 591 nearly every week for 5 years now. Never thought twice about it.

Heihei, thanks for the heads up on the Alu Evo. I know this bike well, (belongs to a mate), it’s an absolute cracker, but having had the carbon Enduro and it being so good, plus your glowing report, Im sort of leaning towards sticking with carbon.

Chaps, Ladies, as per title, any more first hand experience of the Stumpy FSR 29er Evos? Keen on the carbon but if the non Evo will take a 140mm fork is there a noticeable difference between that and the Evo?

Google is your friend. Freeborn Bikes seem to have 120 and 140mm?

Im using a 60mm (the one in the photo) and it feels spot on. Think you can away with shorter stems with the bigger wheels.

Would also recommend a 120mm fork (not sure what your rebas are), seems to work well with the rest of the bike. Oddly the base clockwork comes with 100mm then from the “s” and “pro” its 120mm.

What sort of budget are you looking at in term of built vs self-build?

Hey dnc29

It’s an XL frame. One advantage of 29er wheels is they make 5 bar gate frame sizes look “normal”!

Great stuff and definitely food for thought. Thanks again.
Will keep an eye out for you flying along the Surrey Hills!

Heihei – thank you that is really useful stuff, sounds like you are smitten :-)

Did you buy the “Trace” fork and do you happen to know if you can run a 140mm fork on the non-evo carbon frame?

Was there any flexbility from bike scene when you bought?

I use the Nikwax stuff that you just put in the washing machine with the jacket, then there is a second product that does the re-proofing. Theyre usally sold as a pair, “Tech Wash” and “Wash In”

Thanks, thats what prompted this post, was looking for a bit more info.
Cheers

Bought a frame and built one up a couple of months ago. Absolutely love it! It’s fast, light, superb trail geometry, (im 6’4″ and it’s most compfortable bike I’ve owned). Also very capable on all but the roughest of trails. My full suss hasnt got a look in since I bought it!
Ive not ridden a hard tail for many years and was a bit worried about it but it copes with the bumps so well its not been an issue at all. Part of the fun is you have to ride it rather than just sit there while the suss soaks up every little bump.

Also running 2×10 with an x9 type 2 mech for about 2 months. Totally silent (on HT clockwork 29) and no chain drops at all. Deffo recommended.

No problem, shame “Mungo” (poor lad) is restricted to Evans as I’ve recently bought an orange clockwork 29er frame and built it up. Im 6’4″ (thankfully “lofty” was the worse I ever got called!) and its THE most comfortable trail-focussed geometry of any bike Ive owned.

According to this month’s MBR you should be buying a Scott Scale 960?
Fairly comprehensive review of a number of hartails in there so could be worth a read?

Been in SW london for quite a few years now, started out in Clapham Junction, then Earlsfield and have been in Surbiton for the last 5 years and no intention of living anywhere else.

Plenty of pubs, bars, restuarants, etc etc. Yes it’s not as lively as Northcote Road in CJ, but on the plus side you can walk into a pub and get served without a 20 minute wait, or get a table out on the river on a sunny day without having to get there at 7am to claim your “spot”!

Fast trains <20 mins into waterloo, slow train <35mins. Last train home from Waterloo (the “vomit express”) used to be 1am.

Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Thames path all on the doorstep. I ride the track round Richmond Park once a week and its easy to hook up a 20 miler with Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and the Thames Path where you barely touch tarmac.

I also night ride on the Surrey Hills once a week, takes me 30 mins to get to Dorking (Box Hill, Ranmore Common), 45 mins to Peaslake, Coldharbour, Holmbury etc.

When you want to get away on the weekends, you’re out past the M25 in 20 mins, rather than losing the will to live and spending an hour crawling through the 200m section of the Wandsworth one-way system to get to the A3!

Any specific questions, just ask.

As already said, they are Thule Aero bars. Buy a 591 bike carrier and use the “T track” fitting system, it’s superb. Pull out the rubber strips on the bars, slot in the 591, do it up, then just cut the rubber strip to length and feed them back into the slot either side of the 591.

99% Sure there are instructional videos on the Thule website.

teetosugars – If you buy Thule, definitely go for the “wing” bars over the stadard “aero”.

I’ve recently bought some Thule Aero-Wing bars and once you have the rubber inserts fitted in the track they are virtually silent, even on the motorway.

“Any thoughts on Thule bars?”

Ive had (still have) the basic black box section ones and they have served me well for many years, (and still going). I changed car recently and bought the new aero-wing bars as they were on offer. The T track fitting of the bike carrier works brilliantly and wind noise is very very low.

Been using Thule stuff for 10+ years and never had an issue, highly recommend it. Maybe look for some second hand stuff if you can, its pretty indestructable.

Had the same problem, ended up getting one from bike-discount.de
Very fast delivery for only a couple of quid more. They seem to have some stock left.

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/misearch.html?serchform=directsend&query=SRAM+X9+type+2

Do you ride with someone you trust to guide you down a few slopes to help build up your confidence? If so then just follow along behind them, let them pick the lines and the speed and you can focus on following them rather than working it all out for yourself.

Tried forr an hour to get Conti Mtn King II’s on crest rims (using technique of getting the bead in the centre of the channel) broke one lever and then gave up after only getting one on.
Went back to Maxxis and they slipped on without the need for levers!

Took up night riding about 16 months ago, bought two bog standard Magicshine 1000 lumen single lamps (808E) with standard batteries. Put one on the bars the other on a helmet mount. Theyre relatively cheap, work brilliantly, had no issues whatsoever and if you do need parts then replacement bits are pretty reasonable so its not the end of the world.

Having a child doesnt automatically mean you are never going to ride again. It’s fair to say that initially you probably wont have a lot of time to yourself (or energy!) but maybe look at it another way?

I used to ride a lot on the weekends and when we had a child I obviously had other priorities but rather than stop riding I tried night riding after work instead and loved it! My daughter has just turned one and I think Ive averaged a ride every week since she was born, I now just go out when she is asleep and the occasional weekend. The evenings are getting lighter which is a big plus so when he/she goes for a 2 hour nap you have a window to get out for a ride.

Also, do a deal with your missus, she gets to go out for lunch with a mate on the weekend, you look after the nipper, then the next week she wont mind when you head out on the bike for a couple of hours!

The other thing to bear in mind is when theyre a bit older you’ll be able to take them out with you on some gentle tracks, fire roads etc, so maybe think in terms of whether one of your bikes will take a trailer or some kind of baby/child carrier instead?

Just my 2 cents.

Bottom line is you need get yourself to a shop and sit on them, theory and geometry comparison is a useful exercise but you need to swing a leg over!