The MTB thread

Originally Posted by northwind

Nah, I doubt it, the geometry is barely slacker than the regular 456, so it'll still be right in the ball park for a long-fork hardtail. I don't really want an XC racer, I want a general play bike, so I don't mind at all slackening things off a tad. There's a lot of people running these with 120s and 130s now.

What WILL spoil it a bit is my Tora SL forks, they're heavier than the frame. But that'll come with time.

That frame needs Reba world cups, xtr and carbon

My mate has just got the Ti 456 , lucky git!

I had the SS Inbred and a 456 inbred aswell. The standard inbred was a flexier ride, or at least it seemed it.



Oh and i've got some Hope Vision 4-Led lights on the way

[northwind]

Well, it'll have carbon stem spacers I'm thinking probably Revelations for it, the u-turn ought to suit it to a tee. In the long term, once i replace the drivetrain and wheels, I can rebuild the Kraken back to standard and flog it I'll build it light-ish but not super light, can't afford it, or make the most of it. But it should make for a really handy trail bike at a pretty low price.

I got one of these at the weekend... http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12623. Put it on a bar mount using an old light bracket I had, it works amazingly well for the price. Not got an awful lot of reach but the flood is awesome. I was out with a guy who uses a Joystick and he was a bit annoyed to find my £30 torch is better! These new LEDs are just ridiculous, the P7s put out more light than some motorbikes.

My helmet lights leave a bit to be desired though, 2 Cree LED torches from Tesco attached with velcro Bit heavy, and very spotlighty, I had them on the bars before and things were... interesting. They make for good long-reach lights but I can't get used to aiming my head right yet. Wish I could afford some proper lights, the dealextreme torch is good enough but the tesco ones just aren't very good.

The Revelations are amazing forks! I sell shed loads of the coil u-turns, i had them on my orange and would have them again any day but i can't go changing the spec on my current bike because it belongs to one of the suppliers!

i'm going to give the Exposure MAX D a try too after xmas

[northwind]

Yeah, everyone loves the revelations it seems. My last bike had proper forks made of 2 scaffold pipes To be honest even my Toras seem amazing to me, I remember Raleigh Activators and RS Judys and the like so these are like a magic carpet! Quite often modern bike stuff just freaks me out...

[Jayneflakes]

I built my Frame up myself and managed to get some really good kit onto it that makes it ride beautifully.

I love this frame, it has been my first Aluminium frame and I have been using it hard since it came out in 04. I have the lightest kit on it I can find, Syncros Ti seat pin, XC Pro MD cranks, XT gears, Hope hubs and Time pedals. However it is very front heavy with my old Bomber forks.

I have considered the route of tubeless tyres, but I am actually one of those folks who likes the idea of a hassle free tube and easy to change tyres. I think that tubeless designs have some way to go yet before they are really viable, the extra expense to start with and the need for specialist rims. I seem to recall hearing of the tyres slipping on narrow Mavic rims, but that was a few years ago.

Stans kit costs 40 quid and no need for specialist rims , it`s a kit you can retrofit to normal rims .

[Jayneflakes]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

How about trying the Stan`s "No Tube" system , little inserts for inside the bead of your tyre and tape to cover over the spoke eyelets , you can fit them to most wheels and do away with the tube altogether saving even more weight .

I have had a look at this and will make more enquiries at work. First though a couple of questions.

How well does it work, is it easy to fit and do you have to top it up with goo once a month and can I use swap my tyres about easily?

Oh I am such a pedant!

[northwind]

Well, put it this way... on the MTB Britain forum, there's an entire section dedicated to going tubeless, and people's moans and problems and suggestions and pleas for help, and it seems to be the busiest part of the whole forum It does interest me, it's the sort of thing that always draws me like a moth to the flame, but most people i know who've tried it found it mainly frustrating, it's only the downhill guys that have stuck with it (not because of weight but because there's no more pinch flats). Never tried it myself. Might get tubeless ready wheels when I upgrade mine, not sure yet. Just basically seems to me to be not quite a mature tech for pushbikes, to me.

Then again, I'm not too well disposed towards tubes today- I'm using my wee brother's Revolution Courier as a commuter, and he'd put presta valves in a schraeder wheel with no adapter, the valve ripped off on me on teh way home from work. I guess the looseness meant that the edge of the rim could dig in, or there was some movement allowing it to fret the tube. Grr.

I ran tubeless and TBH it makes **** all difference to the ride. Tires cost more and are a real pain to fit (25mins to change a fooking tire!), you still need to carry a spare tube "just in case!".

The stans kit, the sealant is good but makes a rite mess when changing tires.

Personally i do not see the benefits. If you get a lot of punctures you are seriously doing something wrong!

got to love the mtb, raced downhill for couple of years competeing at world cups before being told to have go at road racing. still enjoy the mountain biking and is handy having aston hill mountain bike area only 5 mins away.