I had xc717’s and now run stans flows. There were no issues with strength on the mavics, the biggest problem was I was running 2.25 hobby nics and unless they were rock hard they felt like they were going to fold off the rim and the narrow profile made them look very strange.

Running flows (the actual build came in 50g lighter per wheel than the 717’s) the wide rim gives a nice fat tyre profile which gives so much confidence, they run tubeless with ease at low pressures which has transformed the ride.

So i’d avoid the 717’s and go for crests, arch ex or flows. I did read that crests can be very difficult to mount tyres (really tight fit) but you can’t go wrong with any of their wheels.

The_lecht_rocks

Does that include the bike holders?

Which mini does it fit? R56 and how much is basically half price?

Ban is 10-5 guys. Best bet Is to start your climb at 2.30 which gives you chance for a drink at the top before you descend at 5pm.

Always upside down for me. If I’m on the trail i always find some grass to lay it on so I don’t scratch the shifters/brakes etc and if at car I have a sheet i lay under the bars to protect them. It’s so easy this way I can’t see the point of doing it any other way

Run mine at 24 psi at the front and 29 at the back. After starting at 35psi the pressures i run now seem to be perfect for my bike

Its my absolute favourite UK ride. Really tough on the arms and legs coming down but looking to try it again soon as I’m much fitter now than i was at the end of Jan when I last did it.

P.s great vid btw. If you haven’t tried the llanberis descent then give that a go. A little less technical but much more flow and speed make it a massive amount of fun!

Yea I got that lol I was saying I assume the discrepancy is due to me not starting the trip timer until I was comfortable with the pedals which was away from where I finished:) and yes I used the correction on the garmin connect site :)

Did you end where you started? If so, try some elevation correction.

No, spent the first few minutes getting used to clipping in and out on the pedals. Never used spd’s before

Is this not a mountain bike forum!!!??
Road bikes and mountain bikes are worlds apart so why mention this on a mtb forum???
Just wondering like!

I’ve posted on singletrack because I wanted opinions of mountain bikers having a go at road biking going back to the original post. What pops up is that there are clearly loads of people on here who do both. Cheers for the feedback guys!!

So the road bike will compliment my mountain bike …

Well thought I’d post an update. Popped in my LBS last friday and fell in love with a Cube peleton pro. Sales guy said all the right things and I ordered one which I collected yesterday and did my first ride tonight.

Luckily I managed to get a special order with a compact rather than a triple (which really sold it to me) as cube have done a single batch of 11 bikes with a compact.

Ended up getting some spd pedals and shimano shoes, a saddle bag with all the bits I need which is far nicer than having to carry a hydration pack like I do on my mountain bike.

Was only a quick ride tonight, a fair bit of climbing, wind against me and a little hale, tracked it on my Garmin edge 800. No idea if its a respectable first ride time but found it far easier than I was expecting and could possibly do with a bigger chain ring down the hills.

First ride stats;

Distance: 20.81 mi
Time: 1:19:35
Avg Speed: 15.7 mph
Max Speed: 44.9 mph
Elevation Gain: 298 m
Elevation Loss: 308 m

And a pic

Thanks again for the info guys, definitely something I will enjoy more and more

Ordered a set myself last wednesday and still no dispatch. Ordered some lights last year some time and took a good while to arrive so imagine it’s normal for them

I thought it was brilliant, especially the downhill sections.

Managed to go for the first time a few weeks back when we had the hot spell so was bone dry and really fast. Can’t wait to go back although I gather it is very muddy when it rains, so will avoid until the weather picks up!

Best thing I’ve ever bought for my bike, changes the way you ride and is a bargain now i look back. 2 of my mates went straight out and purchased one within 2 weeks and touch wood we’ve all gone 6 months, 3 times a week riding without incident or fault

What size frame are you going for? If you dont like it let me know i may take it off your hands, my current road bike is looking very old these days.

Its a 53 cm medium?

I had the same problem with flows and new nobby nic pacestar tr tyres. When i set them up my forks were away being serviced. They would stay inflated then suddenly drop a load of pressure. This happened a few times over the week before I rode on them. A ride later and they’ve never dropped air again. Done 500 miles on them so far with no loss and run the front around 23psi

Cheers for all the comments and the banter :-)

Think I’m just gonna buy the boardman and see how I go. Worst case I’ll sell it on and can at least say i’ve had a go. Best case I’ll end up with another hobby I love:)

Anyone recommend some cheap ish flat pedals as it doesn’t come with any?

Get one but if you think they’re an easy option to cover miles then you’ll be in for a bit of a shock. They’re bloody hard work as you never get to rest as you do when mountain biking.

Haha, I’ve noticed a fair few comments ref this. Always assumed with light weight and low rolling resistance that it would be easier?!

I’ve actually been offered a brand new boardman road team which currently sells for £999 in halfords for under £600.

My thinking is to give it a go and that if I don’t enjoy it, I’ll probably recoup most if not all of my money.

Lycra one day maybe, shaved legs – not a chance :lol:

Its the speed that is drawing me in. It has a compact 50x34T chainset, is this more beginner as I’ve read some of the standard doubles are really tough going up the hills?

If you liked the last one, this is more of the same and slightly better I’d say.

I’ve been lucky enough to have the week off. The other halfs birthday so couldn’t spend the whole week biking.

However, done the longmynd loop, new hopton woods route and the downhill tracks, the beast of Brenin which I haven’t done for over a year which was spectacular yesterday in the sun and a visit to cannock chase which due to the weather was actually quite fun.

Bike performed a treat, not sure there is a better way to spend my time :-)

You do need to calibrate the sensor as 1 full rotation will vary distance covered depending on tyre profile. I tried my edge 800 without the magnet at first but hated the erratic speed changes and the slowness. On average the gps is only accurate to 10 metres hence why it displays a speed when you are standing still.

Also, once the edge detects the sensor it then stops using gps data for speed and distance so you must calibrate it to be able to rely on the data.

It’s very simple to do!

I’d space down the 2012 revs and go for them. Revs are superb forks and if you decided to go for a bigger frame in the future you can go back to 150mm. Also, you’d sell the revs much more easily than the rebas

I’d imagine someone else has offered more cash and he’s taken the extra.

I ran a set for 18 months and they were very tough but my style of riding changed to the point I swapped to stans flows.

Strange thing is my hope hoops build of flows are 50g a wheel lighter than the 717’s were? My biggest problem with them was I couldn’t run a big tyre (well 2.25 nobby nice) at low pressures as they felt like they were going to roll off the rim in the corners. They were also near impossible to run tubeless as being so narrow they burb unless rock hard.

If i was looking for a really light xc rim then it would be stans crests for me, lighter and I can’t get over how much difference a wider rim makes to the profile of the tyre and the confidence it adds in the bends. I am also a convert to tubeless and hope never to use tubes again.

I’ve also been lucky this week. Been out Friday, Sunday, off to try new hopton route today, the beast of Brenin on wed, Cannock thurs:)

I often ride Minton batch but I’m not the biggest fan. I find it a bit too narrow with too little room for error. I get much more of a buzz from doing 30mph + on the descent into little Stretton:)

And I have to say the kenda nevegal tyres that came with my bike were also pretty awful. I think you have to take oem tyres with a pinch of salt though as they are often a cheaper, plasticy company different to the ones you buy off the shelf?!

My punctures were all thorn punctures. Strange thing is I’ve never had another thorn puncture with any other tyres?!

I have to say I’m in love with mine. I’ve done a hell of a lot of modding to get it how I want it though. It’s far better with bigger forks and a 20mm axle. I went for 150mm black box team u turns. This really makes it a do it all bike for me. Down to 120mm for climbs, 135-140mm for flats and trail centres. 150mm for snowdon where it really slackens the front end for confidence and fun.

The back end is superb, feels like it soaks up far more than the 127mm it is and has practically no pedal bob.

Tubeless and wider rims adds confidence. The lower pressure it allows you to run the tyres at adds real confidence and makes everything much smoother.

The latest xt brakes with ice tec rotors just make braking so much fun.

Wide bars made a big difference too, running 745mm sublime v1’s.

Reverb makes a world of difference!

All the other upgrades just reduce weight rather than a massive performance improvement. Sat at around 26-27lb all in

A pic after today’s ride

Buy one, you will love it!!

Maxxis cross mark for me. Had 7 punctures in a week and soon binned them off for something better. Didn’t grip well, weren’t particularly fast rolling, a poor recommendation from my lbs

Phone the shop or cafe there, sure they’ll check for you?

Loco, its what I was told by my Lbs so can’t confirm 100%. The research on the net I did a good few months back seemed to confirm it.

Also, the SRAM guides and videos don’t differentiate between 2011+2012 so if bleed and rebuild guides are identical, you’d assume they are idential?

The only difference between 2011 and 2012 is updated hoses, colour and a clamp to limit height. Internals are the same (or so I’ve been assured) a lot of the later 2011 versions had the updated hose and is a cheap mod should you wish to do it.

I started with 35psi to gain confidence as I was scared of burping but after each ride I’ve dropped lower and lower. Currently sat at 23psi up front but still run 30psi at the back. Too much pressure I found ruined the front end on my bike, on the back I prefer a bit more pressure As I long the more connected feel it gives

I’d been with 02 for years and decided to give three a try because loads of people were raving about data speeds on smartphones using three and 02 is seriously bad.. Did a 1 month rolling tarriff to make sure coverage was okay and cancelled the O2 contract after 2 days. I’ll never move from 3 – I pay £15 a month, have all I can eat data and coverage is almost always good enough to watch tv on my iPhone. Tethering also works a treat and I often get 9mb in my house with 2mb upload which is 3 times faster than my broadband.

I’m very pleased the f1 channel is on sky go as I can watch the f1 wherever I am now:)

I put up with them generally being a day slower than most other retailers because their free returns policy is superb. With cloths for example I can order a few different items and whatever i don’t like it just give to my local corner shop and the refund is back in my account within a few days and doesn’t cost a penny :-)

I did this route http://www.theedgecycleworks.com/mtbroutes/ladybower-loop last year and it’s one of the best biking days I’ve ever had. Was pretty hard work but can’t wait to have another go!!

We’ve just replaced our 10 year old hotpoint which burnt out last week with an lg direct drive. Stunningly quiet, energy efficient and looks rather nice too. The 6 motion stuff is pretty impressive and the direct drive motor has a 10 year warranty.