Just ordered one of these:
Seemed a proper bargain at £30 post free! Singletrack Mag seem to like them as do many others. I’m guessing that ‘bivvying’ is something you like or hate, but it’ll be tested next week & part 2 will follow…
Just ordered one of these:
It’s a Ventile cycling jacket from Hilltrek, I like the idea of Ventile as a material. It’s waterproof, lasts years & is 100% cotton! Not too pricey either – £199 seems a lot for a bike jacket, but in my experience most of the ‘membrane’ type only last a few years, maybe 3, before they start to leak so if this goes for as long as people say, then it’s a bargain.
Delivery time is 2 to 3 weeks, partly because it’s made to measure, partly because they’re running flat out to keep up with demand!
So there’ll be a review up when it’s arrived & been tested, hopefully (?) in the rain…
1st one from members of the XC race team due to be launched in March explaining why they want to race on a bamboo MTB.
http://www.bamboobike.co/2012/02/28/bamboo-xc-team-part-1/
I might be wrong, but I’m guessing that this is an extremely underated bike tool…
If your chain wears beyond a certain point you’ll very quickly need a new cassette & chain-rings as well as a replacement chain. On the other hand I’ve seen a fair few bikes which obviously have wear in the system but actually the chain is OK & it’s just a middle chain-ring that’s gone. Without a definite point of reference it’s often assumed that the chain is the problem.
This is where the Park Tool comes in. It’s cheap, usually under £10 & accurate. It takes all of 10 seconds to check a chain & is about as easy to use as you can get.
It has 2 measures, one side tells you if the chain is more than 0.75% worn, the other if it’s past 1%. If neither side fits into the chain using the method in the instructions, then the chain is fine. So if the bike’s riding well, no need to change anything. However, if it feels like something’s worn, you know it’s not the chain & you can look at the cassette and/or chain-rings. The reason for the 2 readings is that different chain manufacturers have diferent standards. I tend to take no chances & replace when it’s past 0.75%. 1% always seems a bit much on a 9 speed system (yes, haven’t upgraded to 10 yet…)
Park Tools also have another version called the CC3.2 which works in the same way but measures 0.5% 0.75%. It seems some brands/models of chain need to be replaced sooner these days…
You can get other more complicated gauges but I don’t much see the point of spending any more than this for something that’s less simple to use. Other brands do tools that are similar to the Park, but most are less ‘definite’ in the way they indicate. So I’d recommend the Park version. Once you get what it does it’s really a no brainer. Get one!
Just thought I’d put some thoughts down on wheel builds for XC/trail/all mountain. Hopefully this’ll be useful if you either build your own or you want a set built for you but you’re not sure what to go for.
Being upfront about things, Chasing Trails offers a no-compromise MTB wheel building service, so feel free to get in touch from the contact page on the main site if you’re interested.
Anyway, to components:
Hubs
I reckon from a few angles you can’t go wrong with Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs. Quality is great & has been for ages. The original Pro 2′s had occasional issues but it was all sorted pretty quick. If you like to keep the weight down they’re one of the lightest that can be relied on. They come in shiny colours, although I for myself I tend to go for black… The noise the freehub makes does annoy some, but I like it, you can hear that it’s working! The EVO versions which have been out for a while now are also fairly easily convertible to the different axle standards, so if you relplace a frame or fork you don’t need to replace the hub. And Hope genuinely have after-sales service that you’d struggle to beat anywhere.
The design is well thought out – they start with a forging that’s the aproximate shape & CNC machine it so you end up with a strong but precise shell. The bearings are stainless cartridge units. So far I’ve never needed to replace a Hope bearing on my own bikes. Maybe good luck, but it’s worth mentioning. I never jetwash the bike though. Dalby & Peak District grit seems to have no effect on them.
Rims
I used nothing but Mavic for years. They always seemed plenty strong for the weight/price. I still like them, but in the last couple of years I’ve been using Stans NoTubes. They come in at similar-ish weights as the Mavic equivalents with a few lighter/stupidly light models as well. The advantages over Mavic is that they’re wider for a given weight, meaning if you like larger tyres (and why wouldn’t you..) you’ll get away with bigger tyres & better profiles with the Stans. Most rims can be bodged into running tubeless, but the Stans can be set up for UST as well as running many standard tyres tubeless with just the correct valve & rim tape.
I’ve had a pair of white ZTR Flows on the Five for about a year & they’ve not needed re-truing so far. Having said that, most half decent rims built well won’t need truing too often, but these have done repeated 4-5 foot drops to flat-ish.
Personally I’d avoid the models with a rider weight limit unless they’re specifically for racing, but the Crest comes in at 340g with no set limit if you want lightweight XC rims.
The ‘catch’ is price. I think they’re worth it, but they do come in at £70 – £80 each RRP.
Spokes
Not much to say except use something decent, so in my opinion that means Sapim or DT. Sapim have the edge IMO without costing any more & if you must have alloy nipples theirs are definitely the best. I use brass for myself.
If you’re going for a decent set of wheels but you want to keep the cost down, the double butted Sapim Race are the ones to go for. On the other hand, if you want to keep the weight as low as possible, the CX-Rays are the ultimate. They’re plenty strong enough for XC/all mountain but will shed a few more grams. They’re also a bladed design so are more aerodynamic, psycologically at least…
Hope that gives you a bit of a start if you’re looking for a wheel upgrade or replacement & feel free to get in touch if you want a top quality build or you want to learn.
So, a long, long time after the day, here’s some of the photos from Dalby shot by James Rush at the end of August last year before he & his wife emigrated to Canada. Would have posted them sooner but not had much free time for a while, the usual…
Click a photo to view bigger
