Tomm

MTFU? They will hurt for a bit, but it's not like your hand's gonna fall off. Tape might help but you'll have difficulty getting it to stay in the right place.

I've got a Weezer blue album CD I've just found that was signed by the guitarist (Brian) and drummer (Pat) from the band. Apparently there are quite a lot of fans in the states who will pay good money for this stuff, I'm not sure about over here. Where's the best place to sell it? I was planning on simply sticking it on eBay, unless anyone has a better idea?

That's expensive if you ask me, compared to lyrics or similar. Bike vendors obviously get OEM Fox Forx for a hell of a lot less money than they cost in the shops, which makes me think they're overpriced. Plus, the gold stantions turn silver over time and the final inch of travel is inaccessible. Having said that, I've never actually used any for any length of time, and I know a lot of people like them.

Something 140mm +/- 10mm will be OK. Any bigger and the front end + BB will be too high. Any smaller and the headangle will be too steep. Given the choice, I'd go for some 140 or 150mm Revelations (with at least some sort of bolt-through axle) to keep things light without losing much stiffness. Or Pikes / Sektors if you want something a bit more hardcore (but heavier). I don't know much about recent Marzocchi forks. If you want Fox, I'd probably have 32s rather than 36s for that much travel. But buying new Fox forks (forx?) aftermarket is craaaazy.

Assuming there are no cracks: I wouldn't pay more than £100 for it. In fact that's pushing it a bit. I'm not saying it won't be a fun bike, but the geometry is pretty dated and it's old old old.

Yeah, there are a lot of 150mm bikes that pedal uphill really well - It's mostly due to more advanced suspension design rather than better shocks. Having said that, the Cove is not the most advanced suspension design (it's basically a Kona-style 'faux bar'). Yes, you can fit 1.1/8th forks - you'll need a reducer headset though (Hope do one, not sure about cheaper alternatives). Not sure about whether a Hooker would be good for you. It's not a bike that looks like it would climb particularly well, don't think it would be much fun on an all-day ride. Horses for courses, you'll have to decide whether it's what you want. How come you're fixated on Cove? Nothing wrong with them, I'd just suggest you work out what kind of bike you want, then choose the best one, rather than choosing the brand before you start.

For continuity's sake, they should have got Chris Akrigg (femur still borked?) to do some proper fixie stunts, though I'm sure Danny could if they'd said it was important. Film looks pretty, uh, awful. Still, one of our own in Hollywood! I wonder if a Hollywood movie will make all the fixie scenesters realise it's not 'underground' any more, and they can stop being dickheads about it.

It's more of an XC bike really. Having said that, Cove are known to be fairly hardcore and it's got fairly relaxed geometry (head angle is 67 degrees) so should be OK for a bit of abuse, but the G-spot is Cove's freeride bike and would be a better option. It depends what you actually mean by freeride though - The bike industry seems to define bikes like this: XC (100-130mm) Trail (120-140mm) AM (140-160mm) Freeride (160 - 180mm) Which would put the Hustler in the trail/AM category (its 5.5" equates to 140mm rear wheel travel). A lot of what americans call freeride is sort of mini-DH uplift stuff, whereas razzing around in your local woods would be called AM or trail riding.

On the subject of Lego, I recently made working models of a couple of my bikes - a Commencal Meta 5.5 and a DW-link Iron Horse. I love Lego!

This makes no sense - you've basically started a completely different topic, and now all the replies look confused. Next time just start a new topic. Whatever - to answer your question: Commencal make (made?) two 4 inch travel full sussers that look very similar but are in fact very different. The Meta 4 (or 4.1/4.2/4.3) is an XC race bike. The Meta 4x (four cross) is a four cross race bike used by the likes of Dan Atherton in world cup 4x races - essentially it's a jump bike with a bit of travel at the back. Some people apparently ride the 4x as a sort of hardcore XC bike, apparently they're quite fun because they're low and fast and like to be off the ground. BUT don't get the two confused - the picture you've posted is the XC meta (you can tell since the Meta 4x has a very different swingarm to all the post-2007 XC bikes). Basically this guy is running 160mm forks on a frame designed around 100mm forks, which is asking for trouble and will probably make it handle like shite, too. Commencal full sus frames are well-known for cracking / snapping so check the frame over with a fine tooth comb before handing over any cash. I'd also always be very careful buying second hand bikes that have been resprayed - it's a very simple way to cover up those hairline cracks that Commencals are well-known for. On the other hand at least it looks as though he's ridden it for a bit after respraying so perhaps I shouldn't be so cynical. Aside from the bizarre / stupid frame/fork combo, it looks like a fairly reasonable spec for the money (particularly the Hope wheels which alone are worth ~£200 second hand. Swap the forks for some 130mm U turn Revelations (wound down to 115mm for all round riding) and you'll sharpen up the handling, lighten the bike by a pound or two and you'll have a fun XC machine.

Yeah you can take the axle out without the Chris King tool. Adam Read (of Tartybikes) made some videos of how to dismantle the King hubs - should be useful if you can find them.

Front brake left hand? GTFO.

Nice. I always liked the look of Chameleons. Good to see the old blue colour scheme back as well

I don't know if it will work, the mech is clearly going to be a long way out compared to normal. But if you can set it at the right height and the cage will physically go across enough, I see no reason why it shouldn't shift. Set up the mech so in the little front ring it's held in place by the limit screw (forget about cable tension at this time). Then tighten the cable up so it'll shift into middle. Without having a tinker I can't really say if it'll work or not, but my feeling is that it should do. I hate front mechs 1x10 speed?

Yeah I'm not sure. I know a lot of people ride them and love them. I once heard Orange frames described as "Yesterday's products at tomorrow's prices" and I can't get that out of my head. For a single pivot I think they're too expensive. At the end of the day it's just a frame and I'm sure there aren't huge differences in how they ride. Whatever lets me get out. I'm off for my 5th XC ride this week

Delivery was about 3 days from Rose, and it costs ~£5 (which isn't immediately clear). I don't know about the Elixirs - every time I've used them on other people's bikes they feel amazing. Like, way better than any other brakes I've used. I've had a Juicy 7 and 2 Juicy 3s, they've been brilliant, so I don't think there are any long-term issues. However a couple of people have said the Elixirs do slightly funny things occasionally - my mate says they're not great in wet muddy conditions for example. I don't think there's much in it really. Shimano levers are a different shape and feel (especially the Servo wave ones) so it may just be personal preference. Both are pretty reliable. My choice would be the pair of XTs from Rose. Or if you can't be bothered with the hassle of bleeding them, get the Avids from Merlin. But the SLX from CRC are also a pretty good deal and they'll work fine too. P.S. Did you sign up to the Merlin newsletter to get the "VIP" prices? That's a further 10% off already amazing prices. The downside is you don't seem to be able to get a pair of matching brakes. You either have to get a silver left and white right. The other option is to buy two rear brakes, and flip the lever (you can do this with Elixirs) for a front brake. You'll probably have to shorten the hose though. EDIT: Nowhere seems to have those new XT brakes in stock, so forget about them for the time being.

Dunno. Ideal world - Santa Cruz TRc. But since that costs a ridiculous £2700 (frame only) I think I'll wait until I win the lottery for that one. I definitely want something around 130-140mm, no more. Probably something second hand from one of the big manufacturers, maybe a newish Giant Trance X or a Specialized Enduro (pre 2010). I can't get too excited about any of those, though. I'm gonna run this one into the ground and then think about getting something similar-ish.

Excuse my French, but I think this is bollocks. Yes, an iPod is never going to deliver the highest fidelity audio, I completely agree. But can you get decent sound out? Yes, of course. There is way too much mythology and snobbery in the world of hifi, so I thought I would do as good a scientific test as I could: My amp (Cambridge Audio A1Mk3) + speakers (TDL Nucleus KV1) iPod video playing freshly ripped MP3s Yamaha CD Deck, I don't remember the model but it was a couple of hundred quid. Both inputs via (decent) coax cables into adjacent sources at the back of the amp. Played the same song in MP3 format off the iPod and CD from the deck, syncing the audio so there was no delay. Basically this setup allowed me to quickly switch between MP3 and CD quality, whilst keeping the amp/speakers constant. At 256kbps, none of my 5 flatmates at the time could perceive any difference at all between the sources, until we tried much lower quality (64 and 96 kbps) when all of us could hear the difference. At 128 it was fairly borderline, a couple of people said they could tell the difference - I couldn't. I don't claim to be an audiophile at all but I do appreciate the clarity that is gained by stepping up from a Sony / AIWA / Phillips etc all-in-one unit/ computer speakers, to a half-decent amp and speakers. I would absolutely insist that an iPod playing via decent speakers is far better than a CD playing through average ones. I'm sure with £1000s worth of amp and speakers, some people will be able to tell the difference between high bitrate MP3 and lossless. Fair enough. To say that you need to update your library to lossless before upgrading from PC speakers? Pfft. Takes a big man to do this. It looks as though Eskimo has taken on the baton though...

I've had SLX brakes for the last few years. They're basically a lower-quality version of the old-style XT brakes. In terms of power, I doubt there is any difference. There are just a few subtle differences which may be worth spending extra on (XTs are lighter, finishing is better, they have bite-point adjustment and you don't need pliers to replace the pads). CRC are Northern Irish, so still British. Rose Cycles are German, but EU of course. I've used Rose before - Really good service, and I even received a free mug and sweeties. With the XT brakes at £66 each, I suspect I'll be using them again! It's up to you, but the new XT brakes for £66 on Rose cycles are a much better deal than old SLX for £64... I think Matthew is confusing you a bit re: post vs IS mount. All disc brake calipers use the same mounting, they are post mount. If your frame is IS mount (most are) then you'll need an IS-to-post mount (in the right size for the rotor). If your forks are post mount then a 160mm rotor will work without any adaptors, but for bigger discs, you simply need a step up adaptor (post-to-post) which are either called +20mm/+40mm mounts or they'll be labelled by the disc diameter. The only thing to note is that adaptors for the front are different to adaptors for the rear. But if you're not changing the rotors, keep the same adaptors and you'll be fine. EDIT: Actually brakes from Rose might be a bit of a faff since they'll have front brake = left hand and vice versa. Worse case scenario = swap the hose and rebleed but that's kind of annoying... P.S. If you haven't check out those Elixirs I suggested earlier, have a look!

Yeah you can't really complain at that, can you? My 2009 Meta is completely ruined though. Two cracks around the shock mount, one massive crack 75% of the way around the seat tube, bodged together and still just rideable. It's now just started with the most horrendous creaking too, I need to examine it today and find out what's going on - I expect I'll find something else horrible...

Meta frames are going for nothing at the moment. I saw a 2009 Meta 5.5 large frame for £175 (brand new, no shock, no warranty), also from Real cycles. I think as long as you accept it'll last about 1-3 years max it's a good deal. I've not heard of the Meta 666 frames being quite as snap-happy. That frame is an older vintage though, probably 2009 as well. It doesn't mention warranty so I'd assume it has a standard 2 years which is pretty decent. Check before buying though.

Depends where you ride though. If your Dad's mate is from Southampton (looking at your status) then yeah, there's no real rocky stuff close by*, and a hardtail is probably the best option. But if you live somewhere rocky (Wales, Lakes, Peaks etc) then 5" is about right for a good compromise between riding uphill and being able to hammer down. In fact a lot of the climbs I do are easier on a sus bike. On a hardtail, every little bump will lose you momentum, so long rocky climbs can be hard work. Whereas a decent full sus that tracks the ground will be a lot faster/easier on your bum. *I've never ridden near Southampton so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you actually need 185mm? I say that because hydro discs will probably feel much nicer and more powerful anyway than the mechanical Tektros, and 160 is fine for XC for most people. A lot of the time if you buy disc brakes cheap, they won't come with rotors or adaptors, which is fine if you've already got them on your bike (you will have the right bits on that Jamis). At any rate you could buy the brakes and if they're still not powerful enough, you could buy bigger rotors and adaptors later? P.S. If you ARE going to change the rotors, you'l need new adaptors. I think those forks look like post mount, the rear will be IS. As mathew says, check if it's IS or post (http://terrengsykkel.no/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=916317) P.P.S. The best deal on discs I've seen recently is from Merlin. They've got Avid Elixir Rs for £45 each (only if you sign up for their "VIP" scheme), some cheaper ones on there too (I think Juicy 3s are £30).

This. For decent XC trails with loads of rocks, a decent (£2000+, unfortunately) short travel full sus is faster (up and down), more comfortable and probably more fun. But for what you've said, you'd be hard-pushed to justify full sus.

I do this. I know it's massively lazy, but it's easy, and £20 for 10 inner tubes will last me at least a year. It does make me feel slightly uneasy (environmentally) throwing away that much rubber, but I've had too many problems with repaired tubes in the past.