I think Brant’s succinct reply might be the winner.

Will measure my current hardtail and FS for reference tomorrow but I would rather a small frame than one I am just in the right size category for.

Going for the carbon so not all that cheap and few appear in the classifieds.

I have an identical Dorema. Can have it up in 30mins singlehanded or 20mins if the wife helps. anything over one night and I put it up. can’t live without it space wise.

I’m a happy SB-600 user – got it S/H for £150 about six months ago. Works great for me but my SLR can act as a commander so that helps. Looked at the 700 and 900 but can’t justify the cost for what I do.

Running flame rotors and sintered pads on my SS just now – work fine for me and lasting well so far. Can’t say I’ve noticed them being any better or worse than the original Hope rotors and pads.

I have one – used it for months on the road bike for my commute and for a 3 day off-road tour on a full sus MTB.

On both the rack was high (MTB due to wheel clearance when the shock compressed – on the road bike due to the frame size) and with any weight in it felt really off balance when out of the saddle or in a tight turn. Fine seated in a straight line though 😆

Mine never moved one bit – it was a £10 ebay job that has four bolts rather than a QR. I still use it but on a SS hardtail so it sits less than an inch off the tyre and doesnt affect the handling much.

I would second looking at the Carradice or even a bar bag unless the rack can sit just above the wheel.

I recently picked up a Manta 25 (for carrying a DSLR and other kit on longer rides). It’s not as big as a normal 25 litre pack so I would guess the Manta 30 is going to be similar. Despite being designed as a multi-sport pack I find it works well for biking.

Other options in the Osprey line are the Talon 22 and Talon 30 – they don’t come with a bladder (but can take one) and are much roomier than the Manta series as most of the space is in one large compartment.

I once tried everything I could think of with mine to no avail. Ended up taking an angle grinder to the bolt heads…

The spacers doesnt take any load it just spaces out the cog on the body of the hub/freewheel.

If you are worried about digging into the freehub, get a wide based cog – these spread the load in the way you are talking about much more than a simple pressed cog. Surly do them if you want a known brand, Velosolo do an identical cog for less without the name and Superstar does a wide cog for less again (and is what I use).

I also bought a velosolo 1/8″ chainring, and its wide enough to use standard chainring bolts, so you can sort of offset the cost of narrow ones..

Thats a point – the FSA ones arent quite wide enough for that (with my bolts at least). They must be just 0.1mm or something to narrow unfortunately.

I’d had both versions of PC-1, and the none-nickel ones have been as good as the nickel ones, they just don’t look quite so pretty!

I’ve only had the nickel so no direct experience. They do look nice though…

It might make a difference for the racing crowd in a similar way to roadies as they like to maintain a set cadence regardless of terrain so smaller gaps between gears helps do that.

For the everyday rider its just more cost and more chance of something failing as it all gets smaller and tighter. As has been said before, if they did a 9 speed 11-36 I think it would do a lot of people.

As above, I used the superstar singlespeed kit (wide cog) as the Hope body is quite soft and narrow pressed cogs can cut into them quite badly. The wide cog version is only a few £ more so worth it IMHO.

If you want a single speed specific chainring look at the FSA DH 3mm rings. Only around £14-15 from CRC and been great so far. Much cheaper than Velosolo and not much more than a thinner, ramped Deore ring.

PC-1 chain is a good choice but I got the nickel plated version – have heard a few things about the non-plated one not lasting well.

Cant help with tensioners unfortunately – horizontal dropouts here.

They are not allowed loyalty – they must tender on a level playing field – that is a legal requirement and they can’t get around that – tell me you are just being provocative on that point. They don’t have to understand your costs or your hassle – they contract for a requirement. What do you think they have to do – subsidise your overheads? I do feel for smaller businesses tendering with government departments, but don’t complain because the rules force them to deal with an even hand.

I think this is key to why they didnt win the tender process – from comments elsewhere it appears their bid was based on their experience and what they believe is possible.

Other bidders are going on the FC forecast numbers of 500,000 visitors a year by 2014 or something. If T&E have worked on a lower forecast as they dont believe it to be possible then its very likely other parties will have looked much better on paper.

The FC have to work on best value – had they accepted a bid that offered less or cost more there would likely be an upheld appeal and it wouldnt go through anyway.

Cant blame the FC for following the rules they are forced to live by.

Does anyone have an Octane (either size)?

Interested in the 24 but worried it might be a bit big for riding with.

think what has upset most people is that Emma & Tracey are fundamentally responsible for Mountain biking in Scotland as its is known today.

If all that is known of mountain biking in Scotland is Spooky Wood and the Glentress car park…too many people have never gone beyond Glentress and dont seem to realise that the rest of Scotland is full of riding that is just as good and doesnt need an overpriced bike shop and overwhelmed cafe to enjoy.

Mine was ordered on the 12th, left HK today.

In the past they haven’t been so slow –
around two weeks was average for me.

They do seem to be struggling at the moment though.

Fitted a set to my Fox 36 Talas last month after noticing some wear on the stanchions. Work really well, have improved the feel of the fork (although that could be down to the service I did) and seem to be a much better seal.

I bought from the US direct as they were the cheapest place I could find.

Ah – an LX cassette.

I was aware of the issues with the cassette but this is my third with minimal damage to the freehub (fingers crossed). Might upgrade it next time anyway.

Probably obvious and I'll kick myself for asking but…

What is an IX cassette?

The frame is the same as Duntstick's, the model after the one PeterPoddy has. Lighter but still not as light as the recent Reign frames.

It's still rideable all-day – maybe I just need to be fitter – but lighter wheels cant do any harm when I'm not expecting to be doing anything too rough.

I'm not expecting a super light XC bike to come out of this – I bought the Reign to suit my riding – I just wouldnt mind it being a couple of pounds lighter for when I decide to do an all-day ride.

It seems pedals, stem/bars and rims are where I'm going to save the most – and maybe the saddle/seatpost.

I'll also look at a lighter cassette when its next needing replaced.

Go for the interview and dont get hung up on shifts and weekends.

Working nights/weekends means more time riding on quiet empty trails.