I’d never spend that much on wheels, but I did get a chance to spend a day abusing the Enve AM rims on a DH uplift and they feel great, they felt stiff, tracked better than my 521s and were lighter. I’d love a pair but I will never be that rich. Best wheels I’ve ever ridden to be honest. Think they were laced to Pro 2s.

Tom KP

Surely Di2 is the new must for children nowadays as it’s as simple as the touch of a button ;-)
Shouldn’t all conscientious parents be upgrading to this for little Tarquin.

They seem to work well, but not really been available long enough to know if they will dissolve after 12-18 months like the older Avid brakes did. I was in denial for years regarding how high maintenance Avid (SRAM) brakes were, until I switched to Shimano last year .

Shimano M424, less pretty than the newer ones with smaller metal cages, but I find them more comfy and the plastic platform/cage shrugs off impacts and pedal strikes better. They’re also about £20. Have used them and XTs and found them more comfy and they long less battered even though they’ve had more abuse. The cage on the newer sleeker pedals is only really there for protection, it’s rubbish as a platform as the cleat sits proud above it.

And Shimano pedals are reliable, last forever(or as near as), are very adjustable, easy to service (if you can be arsed).

Have tried a few pairs of Crank Bros Mallets (original and newer DH) and they feel more vague and don’t last as long. Oh and the CB pedals are ££££

Tom KP

They ride nice and look nice. As most bike do nowadays. Mate has just got one and they seem to do the job well

If it snows I’ll do what I normally do and get out there on my non-fat bike.

Tom KP

I think you can backflip them (or Sam Pikgrim can anyway)

Kustombikes have always had a good selection of Transition parts. And we’re always much more than Windwave ever were when they were the distributors.

Have you tried Screwfix or similar?

Take it slowly and do what the cardiologist says in terms of recuperation and recovery. It can take a long time to recover properly but you’ve got age on your side

I bought some cheap plasticard from eBay and made a copy of my Marsh Guard for the rear.
Word of advice 1mm thick is too thick. Go with 0.5 or 0.75mm

Tom KP

Photoshop has always worked for me. Although my version is quite old it still does fine

Recently had the chance to try a Pike RCT3, 2015 36 RC2 and a Manitou Mattoc Pro (I think). All 160mm. I felt that the 36 was the better performing fork out of the 3 but as you said it’s a lot of money. But I was very happy with the performance of the Mattoc and am actually thinking of buying one myself.

They were all fitted to the same model of bike and set up using the base settings (plus a little fiddling of dials later on) and I would be hard pressed to chose which I would buy. I’ve heard more people complaining about the Pike but there are a lot more of them out there being ridden by the general public than the other 2.

I can only comment on their performance that day, but I am pretty sure that they were all stock forks.

Tom KP

I have an Orange Alpine I_Ache so clearance isn’t a problem

I’m not to worried about having to lean it over for grip. That’s pretty much the reason I was looking at them compared to other fast rolling tyres. The Super Gravity casings are the stronger ones, right?

New standard ago rates is a 2 layer fabric but the Active and Pro fabrics are 3 layer. Paclite is still as crap as it’s always been. Nice and light, but no more breathable than Pro or Active and way less durable.

And most manufacturers have moved away from good old stitched logos (which I prefered) as it’s cheaper and requires less manufacturing, etc

Yep, all good apart from SRAM front mechs suck balls. The rest is lovely

Some of the Berghaus stuff is clearance stock from this year but a few of the jackets are made exclusively for Sports Pursuit. I’ve got a Berghaus Civetta 2 jacket and it’s brilliant. The current Goretex Pro material and a near £300 jacket for £130ish. I assumed it would be an older model made from the older Goretex Proshell but was pleased to be wrong.

I would say that For all but the sweatiest activities the new Pro is more than enough. I was surprised how light and breathable it was. And is significantly more durable than the Active shell. I’d only buy that for a running riding jacket where I care more about breathability than anything else.

Tom KP

It’s good stuff, it doesn’t yellow, and it’s pre cut to fit. I wish I’d done my bike now having put it on the wife’s bike. I went cheap and did it myself and the result is nowhere as good. Worth the money in my opinion. I’ll be getting some for my bike in the new year. It just makes life so much easier and it’s such a small amount of money compared to the price of a new bike

Hope Tech Enduro, Stans Flow (unsure what type), Mavic 521, Superstar rims

Giant Glory 2007 geometry from their archives

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/mountain/219/24571/#geometry

Yep and its pissing me off. I didn’t report it as I wasn’t sure if it was STW or my phone playing up

I love my Alpine 160(2012 26 wheels) but I think for most Riding in the UK and Alps I would happily run a Five (although I’d slacken out the head angle (offset bushings and/or Works Headset) and fit a burlier fork for what I ride. I tried a Five Alpine with the longer forks and thought it ruined the Five’s handling by raising the BB, etc whereas the Alline handled better.

Or a Five 29 maybe. The new 650b Aloine is by all accounts a big, long burly machine.

I think the Alpine (all generations) are better looking than other Orange Bikes due to not having the big slab sided swing arms

We like SRAM in our household, others like Shimano. There’s not really much in it these days. Apart from Shimano do better cranks and brakes in my opinion. Mech/Shifter wise its just down to feel. I prefer SRAM shifters

The rotors will be fine.
Slacken it out and fit the longer forks and see how it goes.

One of the following as all have improved my riding experience:
– Offset shock bushings from http://www.offsetshockbushings.com (although I have a Burgtec Ti set as well for when they wear out/fit to Wife’s bike)
– Narrow/Wide 32t from Superstar
– minus 1 degree headset from works.
– 2.5 Minikn DHF EXO.
– Not buying a 650b/27.5/29/fat bike/CX bike

Tom KP

Stick a Works headset in it/longer fork/offset bushings and it’ll be fine.

I have some cheap luggage scales from Asda. I’ve taken them to the shop and tested them with all the standard weights we use for testing the shop scales and they were surprisingly accurate (I figured for a couple of quid they’d be well out). Ryan Air and BA also agree and the nice man who comes around to check our ‘weights and measures’ said he was shocked that something so cheap was accurate.

So whatever you buy and use make sure you test them with some objects that you know the weight of to see how accurate they are as it’s possible even expensive scales could be wrong or need recalibrating.

Tom KP

A pair of Problem Solvers to mount the Wife’s SRAM gears to her Shimano brakes. But on fitting them they moved the shifters so far away from the bars her thumbs couldn’t reach them. Came straight off and went in a ziplock bag and have stayed there for the last 6 months.

http://Www.offsetbushings.com is the place to go. £10 each and are made to your specs. They do take 3 or 4 rides to stop creaking but they slackened the HA of my Alpine by just over -1 degree.

And try a Works angle cups as well

Race Face Ambush is pretty good (although it’s D3O) but you don’t need to take shoes off to put them on and off. Otherwise I think most brands do a similar knee pad.

My uninsulated van is a lot colder to sleep in than my tent. But it’s much easier and practical than pitching a tent in a car park or in a city centre after a night out. Especially in Europe. My answer was a 4+ season down sleeping bag and a memory road mattress.

Tom Kp

The SuperCo, the later generation Sunn Radical and the DVO Intense 951 Evo

We built up a TR450 for way less than the price of a complete build using either the same or better parts a few years ago

Is the Climb Switch necessary? As I actually prefer climbing and flat pedalling on my Alline 160 with the Pro Pedal switched off on my RP23. And how much better is the CCDB over the standard Fox shocks as I’m thinking of upgrading.

I’ve ridden one with the coil version and can’t decide on that or the air. Also the none CS versions seem to be quite a bit cheaper now the CS and Inline are so popular

Tom Kp

The problem with only having £3k is you’re looking at something old or high mileage. Which isn’t a problem if you’re careful and know what you’re looking for. What about converting an old Mobile home? Lots of old people have them sitting on their driveways that they don’t use anymore.

As said above for that money you’d be better going for a simple conversion such as a bed, table and bike rack rather than a full expensive conversion which could be a waste if it blows up

I had an old Citroen Relay (same as the Pug Boxer) about 10 years ago. LWB, high top. Was able to fit a double bed in there and plenty of space for 4 kayaks, 2 surf boards, 4 bikes and 2 months worth of crap.

Not very exciting but good and reliable.
A few friends have converted big Iveco Dailys and I know that the big Sprinters (same as a VW) can be converted (see Lopes 55 vans).
I think what you need to do is plan out the floor plan, height and width you need and then look online at the measurements of all the different vans.

The man who fitted my new front door had a massive VW van that was partitioned off about 1/4 back from the bulkhead. The front section had enough space to store some DH bikes built up while the back 3/4s was about the same as a LWB transit and being a high too I could stand in it with my arms stretched up (I’m 5,10) so that could be an option.

Saint brakes are great, but I found that XT coped fine with long alpine descents and felt nicer than both Saint and Zee in use. Not sure why, the Saints felt over kill for the UK and the Zee’s just didn’t feel as ‘nice’ although they were certainly powerful. Only just switched out my first set of pads on the XTs after 7 months of abuse (mainly DH riding or XC with an emphasis on the descents) and I weigh just under 100kg. And i prefer the resin pads for performance and silence over sintered.

Tom KP

Mine was like that originally when I installed it. I tightened up the top cap really tight and that seemed to pull it all together until they were all flush. I then slackened it all off back to normal at it stayed in the right place.

I to was worried about having bought the wrong one at first.

Been running fine now

Tom KP

OFFSETBUSHINGS.com. £10 each for either offset or standard drilling. The creak for about 3 rides before working flawlessly. Usually cheaper than buying new from anywhere else.

Contact http://www.offsetbushings.com. £10 each and Jeron is very helpful.
Mine took 3 rides to stop creaking and are now running as smooth as the standard ones it had before.
They work really well with Orange Bikes – mine are fitted to my Alpine.

Surely the CCDB will only sit lower in its travel if you choose to set it up that way. I’d suggest you get some offset bushings (£20 a pair) as you can try them out. And if you don’t like them refit the old ones. Or keep them for more DH days/Alps trips. After fitting them to mine I liked the slackened geometry so much I added a -1 Works headset which has taken my HA down to 63-64 degrees. The alpine still climbs as well but now being slacker, lower with a longer wheelbase is is even more planted on the descents.

Tom KP

My shifters are mounted to these. So that I can use XT brakes with them. And also because Matchmakers put everything in the wrong position for my fingers and thumbs. I did need to add a spacer to the shifter on the side I have my reverb remote to give a enough clearance

Tom KP