The wife named ours Harrison Ford and Samuel Catson

I’m not particularly fit at the moment and weigh in at a whopping 94kg but I’m finding 1×10 alright. I’ve got a 32 on the front and 11-36 on the back and although I know having a granny on the front was easier I don’t really miss it. Most of my riding life has been on a 1×9 setup until a few years ago when I got my Alline 160 and I prefer not having to worry about a front mech playing up. I think you just have to change your riding style and deal with not being abboe to sit and spin up things like you did in the past.

I would like to add that I don’t feel 1x or 2x is better than the other, just that they suit different people. 2x never slowed Tracy Mosely down when all the other ‘cool kids’ went single ring.

To. kP

Never really bothered when I had an RP23 on My Alpine 160. And now running a CCDB coil. Not missing Pro Pedal

I just used Shimano or Superstar organic pads as I hate the extra noise from every sintered pad I’ve tried

Colour, price and bragging rights performance is the same

Santander look quite good. It doesn’t matter how many bikes you have, they just insure the most expensive one and then all are covered New for Old. Rather than most companies that tot up the total amount and charge (one year that was in excess of £15k in our house.

I did double and triple check with them when they were explaining this and read through all the paperwork they sent us.

Tom KP

I had a Kona Howler, 100mil out back and (depending on build) either 100mil Marz DJs or 150 Z1s on front. A lovely little hooligan bike. Cobbled together out of spare parts and an old frame I saw on SDH, rode it everywhere for about 4 years while the Dah bike was in bits (XC, DH, 36lbs!) My bro’s got it now and still thrashes it about. Would love it back and fit all the lighter stuff I have lying around onto it.

If they’d have made a longer version I’d still be using it.

I have XT and the missus has Zee, we’ve found the XT to be more ‘grabby’/on-off than the Zee brakes which both of us prefer. Neither have overheated in the Alps or at home. Weight in negligible. My GF only picked the Zee because she didn’t like the silver XTs and wanted the darker Zees. I would just pick the ones you like the look of best or match your bike best as both are excellent brakes

Tom KP

They are probably the most popular and prolific adjustable seat post so there’s bound to be more posts about them.

I once broke a Cove shocker, and that had to be one of the most indestructible bikes in the world. Crashed badly and awkwardly and put a hole in the down tube and bent the chainstay.

My point is just about every bike out there will have had some fail and showing a picture of it doesn’t mean it’s s bad bike. Personally I haven’t liked any of the Lapierre Zestys that I’ve tried but that’s just my opinion.

I had the same problem with an RP23 on my Orange Alpine. A push Tune and setup from TF Tuned help somewhat but I have recently traded it for a CCDB coil and it’s much better. I’m more than happy with the weight increase. I expect the CCDB air will be similar.

I think the problem I had was a combination of the long travel and the fact I’m 90kg as the Missus has no problems with a Fox Air shock on her Covert, but then she’s considerably lighter than me.

It does take a while to. Get a CCDB set up right, luckily it came off a friend’s Alpine 160 which I spent 6 months setting up perfect for him (and by him I of course mean for myself)

Minion in 27.5/650b

I don’t even k is what length my cranks are. I used to have a set of 165 cranks which I liked on an old bike. But I expect the current bike is 170 or 175 as that’s what seems to be specced nowadays. Not really noticed.
There was an interview with a mechanic or sports scientist with a big roadie team and when asked how they calculate crank length (as they calculate everything else about sizing) they said it basically made little difference and let the riders have what they wanted.
Think the it was from a link on an earlier post on STW

Forced to get our 2 cats a few years ago by the Missus to keep her company while I worked away most of the week. Now I’m home I spend more time with the remaining one than she does. But enjoy the company of Samuel Catson (RIP) and Harrison Ford (her choice of names) and was pretty emotional when he died last Xmas.

And I’m a cold hearted bastard who deals with ill and dying people every day for a living. Guess I like animals more than people

Are you and your family healthy?
Do you have a job that provides for them.
Do you live in a society with drinkable water, plentiful food and without the ever present risk of dying from violence or disease?
If you answer yes to the above then you’re doing better than many people in the world.
Remember to enjoy the positive things in life while you have them.

Rampage pads are the new version of Kyle Straits (I think) and will be perfect for what you’re doing. I’m still running the old 661 KS pads but and about to wear out the last pair in my stockpile. I’ve tried many other different pads but none seem to be as comfy and protective (usually they are one or the other). I felt the POC VPD knee pads were quite tight fitting, less comfy and iirc had less side padding.

Ten foot, by accident due to following someone one their DH bike who said it was “a fast flowy track where everything was rollable” – Bar steward!!!

30 PSai in ma Minions, Don’t care about your opinions.
;-)

Tignes is good fun. And the lift passes are free. The main runs aren’t that technical but there was about 2 braking bumps last year, no queues, and they have some fun “Enduro” trails. And there’s the chance for long 10km line 1km drop trails full of berms and small jumps (all rollable)

Dual Ply Minions or High Rollers. Perfect if it’s dry. If it’s as wet as last year it won’t make much difference what you run as even Wet Screams struggled in 6-10 inch deep mud.
I ended up just having fun running my Minions in the wet last year.

Although I liked how I had my RP23,set up, I never really used the Pro Pedal settings on my Orange Alpine as I didn’t feel it made the bike ride much better.

I have a pink Alpine 160. Gender stereo types should be broken

It’s worth it on an expensive bike. The kits look better than any DIY attempts I’ve seen. After fitting an Invisiframe set to the Wife’s Covert it made me wish I hadn’t been cheap when I bought mine.

I miss my trusty old GT Moto. Got stolen in Exeter years ago and loved that bike.

Continental tyre levers.

I mainly use the basic Park Tools ones. But these are the best I’ve ever had. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/continental-tyre-levers-road/rp-prod39679?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom&gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQiAuf2lBRDW07y3z6f96awBEiQA0IngJgZXQHJBi4xealuJTpmP50o8v_keqXPGmlP7smTB07AaAkQ68P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Wear slightly bigger shoes. Tight shoes will constrict circulation. So go for shoes with more toe space

Exeter

I wear knee pads most of the time I’m out on the MTB, now and again I might just wear knee warmers, but I find my trusty 661 Kyle Straits (now without some of the side padding as they fell out after 7 years of abuse, the first pair eventually wore out about 5 years before that) keep my knees warm and safe. Tried other pads and they’re just not as nice. Although I did try out a set of lightweight Race Face slip on pads and thought they’d be a good compromise for simple trail centre action. In the Alps, I’d have a pair of knee pads on at all times. (I was an early adopter of knee pads over knee/shin pads as they never felt comfy)

What will I do when they are completely fragged now they no longer make them ?

Get the Shimano ones with the resin platform.

That frame looks better than most of their other hard tails. Shame about the wheels.
Certainly better than the Lurcher and 456 carbon.

The crag hoppers one can be had for about 30-40 quid now. It’s really nice, not too hot, but packs up small and totally wind proof. Even when wet. It does soak through pretty badly when wet though. But as an emergency spare layer it’s worth it. Had mine for a while now and worn it all through the winter so far up on the hills

I emailed Transition about this early last year and they seemed to think there would be clearance issues.
Borrow a 275 wheel and let us know.
Only problem is the BB will go up and you won’t be able to compensate with offset bushings. Maybe a -1/1.5 headset could help a bit.

Are the Covert 275 dropouts different to the Covert 26 or did they change the whole rear end?

Dual ply High Roller or Minion DHFs front and rear. Reliable and robust.

I tried a Shorty this winter and would say it was good but preferred my Wet Screams (both my full and cut down pairs). I think I’ll be sticking with the 2.5 Super Tacky Wet Scream on the front and a Shorty on the rear for apocalyptic wet conditions and Minion DHF 2.5 front and rear for all others (T front, MaxPro rear).

Not had a proper play with the New Minion DHR or the HR2 yet.

I run the EXO tyres on my AM bike but dual ply is better for DH

They’re still a good option. As said above, BETD can source some of the parts and the 1.5 head tube offers up all sorts of head angle options ( -0 to -2). And to be honest I think that modern super long slack DH bikes struggle to be fun on less steep tracks.

Do a bit of research on which shock to fit as I have a vague feeling that they didn’t work well with the standard Fox DHX. I’ve ridden one a few times and they’re great.

Alternatives are an old generation Glory, they were bombproof and rode really well. And in my opinion they had better geo that the newer Glory up until recently. The certainly were less twitchy (prob due to the higher weight)

Don’t degrease them, just wipe off the excess sticky stuff from the outside. If you degrease them all the good stuff deep inside will be lost and then you just spend the rest of the chain’s life trying to keep it lubed.

The sticky stuff on the outside can be removed though.

If it brakes off you’ve still got a rear brake so you’ll be fine. I rode a single braked hard tail off rode for years. It’s not as easy to modulate braking but you’ll survive

The Yeti has a 1.5 HT so a -2 head Angle is possible with a 1 1/8th steerer. Not sure how much you’d have to shorten the shock to get it from 180-140 rear travel, but it might be possible for someone like TFT to reduce the stroke without shortening the i2i. It might be worth keeping the forks at 160 as dropping to 140 is a fairly large difference, especially if you slacken it out as well. Might be worth double checking how slack the seat tube is before you add offset bushings, but then again they only cost £20 for a pair.

If the seat tube is slack you could just slide the saddle forward on the rails, I did and it made a world of difference after I fitted the offset bushings.

I think the BB was fairly high by modern standards so you might get away with it.

Ps – Jeron sorted me some offset bushings for my Alpine 160 and I love them (they did creak for the first 3 rides, but since then they’ve been super smooth). Also his customer service is brilliant. Thanks Jeron.

Tom KP

Orange Alpine 160 with 32×11-36 and I struggle on really steep stuff (but then I did on 22/32 x 11-36). You do get stronger if you stick with it but it will tire you faster than having a granny ring.

The Spec Status is a good bike, as is the Myst and Scalp/Pulse. Had a blast on a Kona Operator recently and they’re good for the money. The YT Tues is good and a bargain as well