great bike, love mine. Completely biased, of course, but it’s light, faster than I am, comfortable (and I speak as a forty-something with an eighty-something spine), and handles well. Aesthetically and design-wise, it’s beautiful too.

Fantastic customer service, too – emailed them one weekend and had reply from the MD within the hour.

But don’t get one, cos we don’t want them becoming too common :-)

go with whatever is the max of frame mfr and reverb (think they say 80mm, actually). I went with 420mm originally, but since almost all of it would have been in my frame, the 360 was ample and is lighter. Assuming you’re going to have it for a couple o years or three, I’d get the one that fits, rather than looking to what may fit your next bike. They’ll have improved by then anyway…..

Cube Reaction getting some good comments on another thread too. Going to look at the Cannondale now….. not sure buying on aesthetics alone is the right way, but it’s interesting….. :-)

It’s the near-straight run from bars to rear axle that I like – the Cannondale has it, but has a weird front end and that Lefty fork that just would make me feel weird if I were on the bike and looked down.

great place to spend some time – wilderness, superb views, but not much cycling unless you like carrying the bike. You could do some, but would be basically carrying up some mountains and belting down rough tussocky ground to get down. Probably better places to bike up there, but not many better places to spend time…..

the bike of anyone who answers this thread? (yes, me included)

Is there a reason why you fully extend it? Surely you could run it at about 90% of full? Am I missing something??

simplicity.
when fully extended, it should be my max height – otherwise I’ll be fiddling with it instead of riding. No advantage to that extra height also.

@davidtaylforth – it’s about right – carbon frame, so cutting it possible but not advised. Smaller travel reverb easier, methinks!!

s/h all the way – you get a much better bike for much less money. Downsides are lack of warranty (so get a reliable bike, or go ex-demo and get a warranty) and slight hassle in buying (negatvie if you buy ex-demo or display from a bike shop).

speaking as someone who often sees them, copying the standard designs isn’t the best idea, though taking the good ideas and developing those is.

more important is that content is king, and has to be clear, unambiguous and straightforward. Group things sensibly, ensure all the relevant info is in the c.v., and (almost always) it is improved if tailored for each role you apply for – but the key tailoring is in the cover letter…..

no, we’re all just getting older and more brittle

you need a fixed flange towbar, not a removable swan neck type.

why?

removable swan neck ones are fine – you just have to get the right carrier fitting.

use paypal if you’re worried. Great co to deal with – good on returns too.

M&S good, though less good than they used to be for cover. co-op good. NFU good. All as part of home insurance, though all are pretty competitive on that – I saved far more on the renewal than the extra costs of adding my bike on was.

can’t really see the issue with this, tbh. Sure, it’s nice to sell to another enthusiast, but if you want to sell and are happy to accept an offer, then it’s not really up to you what the person does with what they’ve bought. If they have the patience to sell it on, and ask and get more, that’s simple business, surely?

@superficial – mine sit inboard of the brakes, and the brakes themselves are about a mount-width inside the grips – so they’re set up for 2 finger braking, not 3 (nor 1!). Then the XT shifters, and that’s just right, However, I’ve got large hands, so that clearly makes a difference…..

@messiah – nice setup. I run my brakes the other side of the shifters at the mo so can’t do that – so mine go where your gold-bolted brake clamp is – but I’d not thought you could slide it between shifter lever and bar. Seen one where they cut the shift lever! Good to know there are options if I move brakes inboard too.

:roll: Posted 2 codes a few hours ago.

Superficial – that was my initial finding – but by looseing off the shifter mount, you can get it in there -with XT, anyway. I put leccy tape on the piston to keep it looking pristine as it may scratch getting it in…..

Camelbak now making something similar – look for the LR (lumbar reservoir) versions – charge and octane are the models, iirc. Reviewed towards end of last year and available in the Uk in a month or so…..

Finger plasters are surely the answer, and you have spares for when you fall off.

anyone asked him for photos of the paperwork, which he says he has? love to see the reply to that…..

page now not there…..

biggest cost will be VATat 20% though. Value for customs a difficult thing if second hand but they’d essentially want it to be priced at what the equivalent UK item would be. So not much saving really…..

that’s “I’m”, “Doncaster” and “English”

and “shot” not “sacked” :-)

—– seriously, the obvious selling of nicked stuff is getting out of hand. How about an STW collective letter to the Association of Chief Constables, or something?

why is that not broken ankle territory for offroad use? Why not ride either flats, or clipped in, and have the benefits of whichever you choose. How is this not the worst of both worlds? (from someone who used to mtb in toeclips and straps).

pull a seal off and see

8O

Will – that looks v nice. Why no handlebar tape though – surely a bit slippery when wet?

yours, then buy yourself a new one?

badly designed, sorry.

more questions need to be optional or allow part answers, e.g. the choices of what I spend money on. I can’t rank them all – I did 3 – but you want full ranking. For some things, there’s no ranking, it just depends what I need at the time.

So I stopped, and you’ve lost a respondant.

FYI, you should trial your qnaires first, then you’d realise the issues…..

much more. 10% less weight is 10% faster from physics, but you’d effectively convert some weight in fat to weight in muscle, so you’d be at least 10% stronger as well, so you’d have more power to accelerate less mass. If you got to 20%, you’d probably be at the top before your old self had swung a leg over the saddle :-)

hmmmm. Just seems so much smaller than a smartphone – and one of those, second-hand, with cached maps and no sim card seems a good option. Esp with an external battery too. But the Garmin is neater.

Did you take your bike? Any hassles at SA customs or whatever? Assume you brought them inside overnight? Did you lock them in the ute, or just have them loose in back?

AM gives you much more capability han you say you’re going to use, so whilst it’ll be fine and rideable, it’ll be softer, heavier and harder work than either the XC or hardtail. Work out what you mostly want, then try a couple of bikes to see. FS is great but heavier unless you start spending lots of cash; in your shows I’d look at short travel FS at 100 mm or so, and good hardtails, with a pref for the hardtail.

Have learned there’s no such thing as one perfect bike – ride some either on demo days, hire, or borrow from LBS or friends – see what floats your boat then buy it and ride it some more. (mind you, if. I rode as much as I posted on here, I’d be much fitter!)

Close to the same position myself a few months ago- liked the new zesty in more carbon Han the previous one, but the previous one v good too. Would have been my new bike choice, but I also kept an eye out for ex demo and s/h bikes and collected a mojo for £2k. There’s a couple of pivots for a couple of grand off in the classifieds at just over £2k each, which would probably get my vote (just) ahead of the zesty. Bt it’s a pretty bike, and seems reliable and has rave reviews from both magazines and owners and occasional riders.

Get something old and heavy – it’s much less likely to get nicked, and it’ll get you much fitter than a decent bike. With only 7.5 miles to do, this’ll raise your fitness right up and keep your bike with you longer. Oh, and try to take it into work with you, rather than living it outside…..

Canyon, or esty and upgrade what you can when it wears out, or initially and sell unused other bits.

But you’ll get far better value second-hand. For a bit more (£2k) there was a pivot Mach 4 ex demo in the classified a few days ago, with warranty…..

mintimperial, pook: looks excellent fun. Can’t see the wind on the video though :-) seems like fun – how long were you out for? may try to get a pass to get along for the next one…..

excellent response to questions too. ended up buying my reverb from crc only cos they didn’t have it in stock and after various crc discounts I got it for only a few quid more. The only thing to be aware of is that warranty claims mean shipping it back to them, but it’s no hassle and only a day or so longer.

so how high up does the shaving go?

and surely, eyebrows should go too?

family and work means that’s a common occurrence for me – almost the norm :-( – enjoy it when you can, it’s the only way…..

bargain – good stuff. Must say I find them very fair-minded to do business with.