my ride was a doozy! take a look at the little video i made (am practising and so it's not 'polished' but is a start): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FceZJAtCaQs&feature=g-upl&context=G24656efAUAAAAAAAAAA i consider myself a lucky son of a bitch to get to live/ride in such a stunning part of...

am heading out shortly for a long hilly ride (testing the new 1x9 set-up) but no bivi as there's still 10-15cm of snow on the ground.

http://www.trekitt.co.uk/bargains.irc?id=6027651&pg=1 Worth spending 20 minutes having a look ... I've just spotted such gems as RAB Infinity jackets £105 and Haglofs Bivvy Down jackets for £90. damn you stuart! thanks to you i'm now a couple of hundred quid poorer! but....i'm richer to the tun...

the last few times i flew with my bike i got a cardboard bike box from the local bike shop and packaged my bike up in that. cost noting and as long as you're not having to do any carrying of the thing via train or bus etc... to/from the airport it's not really any extra hassle. i just collapsed the ...

morning all, after some minor tweaking and a little persuasion it seems like the hanger has been bent back to something nearing the correct position. i've got to wait until the snow goes a bit before i can get it out for a proper test but i'm hopeful that we're back in business. thanks again for all...

ok, here's the plan..... i'll try bending the hanger (in the morning when there's more light) and then if that doesn't solve the problem i think i'll try and convert my recently converted 1x9 into a 1x8 and see if that fixes things. thanks all for taking the time to assist me on this one - i've neve...

yep - mucho overlap.....

Anthony wrote:Yup it does look twisted but sometimes the angle of a camera will just do that anyway.

that is how it looks to the naked eye - think i might attempt a home-twisteroo and see if it comes off in my hand.

any advice on unbending technique anyone???

Oh, and it does it on the lower cog because it is being dragged across one that is slightly larger, so the teeth protrude out and catch into the chain. On the largest cog, it is being dragged across one that is smaller, so it has nothing to catch on. that makes perfect sense! It's one of the reason...

The mech is free to move fully? I've had the odd one (even from new) that was a little tight. When it's in position of the smallest cog there really isn't much spring tension left, so any binding on the mounting bolt or pivots can stop it dropping home fully. seems to be free enough to move. here's...

Is the cassette lockring done up tight or is the b screw adjuster wrongly set? the cassette lockring is all good and the b screw adjuster is as it should be according to advice i was given (6mm gap between sprocket and cassette cog whilst in 2nd gear). Is the chainring running a bit too in-board in...

will check both those things (although i'm sure they're ok) and report back in a few minutes.....

it only catches in the bottom gear but it feels a little less than smooth all the way through the gears too??? at the front i've got the chain on a Surly 32T (SS) chainring (in the middle ring position) with a chain-guard and a jump-stop device so there shouldn't be any issues 'up front' that u cab ...

evening folks, yesterday i received the final piece needed to convert my SS into a 1x9 and have now put everything together and set it all up. but.....i've hit a bit of a problem. even with the H barrel adjuster all the way out the chain keeps catching the next cog on the cassette (under zero tensio...

trickyname, thanks for your input. the trip has evolved a bit since i first wrote that post. i'm now not planning on doing the Albrecht route at all but instead am planning on a more difficult and less traveled route. there's a german fella who i started chatting to on the bikepacking.net forum who'...

afternoon all,

i'm looking around trying to find a used (but fully functioning) Avid BB7 (or BB5) front brake and can't seem to put my hands on any.

anyone got one laying around they want to sell?

just let me know.....

gairy.

thanks all for the suggestions.

for now i've ordered one of the schwable rapid rob's as they're too cheap to pass up (and if it doesn't fit i'll know for the next time and that tyre can wait for a future bike).

cheers, gairy.

i got an Ortileb seat-bag from wiggle (were cheapest at that time) and it's great in terms of Ortilebs usual waterproofness and general quality/durability etc... but even though i got the large it's still not very big at 3L's.

any ideas for a good front 29er tyre??? the criteria it needs to fulfil are: - cheapish (sub 30 quid ideally but willing to go up to 40) - 1.9" - 2.1" (so it fits inside my fork) - hard wearing (nothing with a crazy soft compound) - will mainly be used on hard-packed rocky trails (and mud ...

sent!

would i need to pay extra to get one sent to france....?

I find it weird when people obsess so much over weight on bikepacking trips, that when i look at pictures, people still wear baggies. Surely lycra shorts are more effective? They weigh less and dry faster. Is it just me that thinks this is a bit strange? for me it's about consideration for others -...

Dan_K wrote:Does anyone pack a microfibre towel or cloth on multi day trips?

i do.

i normally have a river (lake/pond/puddle) wash at the end of the day and it's nice to dry off before the wind takes all that hard earned heat.

they don't weight much and make a nice cover to your clothes pillow bundle too.

glad to hear it!

can't wait to get mine built-up and out on the trails.

order placed and so nothing left but more waiting for postie.....

forks ordered! along with these: http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Wheels/Mountain+Bike+Wheels/Sale+Wheels/Pair+Shimano+Deore+Disc+-+Cannondale+Rims+-+29er+Wheels_29ER-WHEELS.htm i'm hoping they'll last but they were bought as they fit my criteria for this test set-up (they were cheap). we'll ...

Ok, good - all seems to be as I'd hoped. The frame is an old 18" On-one Inbred and so should be fine as it's not designed for long-travel forks. I certainly hear what you're saying about the 'rigidity' but before I very recently put some old Reba SL's on there I was riding some ancient Kona Pro...