spode@thinkbikes

Home by 5 is still a good days riding. Or in your case, watching

Well, once you get up to speed, you'll only need fuel if you need to navigate around an asteroid or something...

Well it's sun is at a different stage in it's life cycle right now. Which means up until fairly recently (in evolutionary terms) the sun, and therefore the planet was a lot hotter than it is now. So I would guess that if there is life, it's not more advanced than us. That is of course, basing it around the ideal climate for life to exist being planet earth. For most carbon based life-forms, I guess it would have to be. Equally, as we don't know what sparks life in the first place then many moons ago, both planets would have been in different situations and the ingredients might not have been right for doing so. What I think is more important here, is that there is a planet that WE can possibly inhabit.

Cameraman: "Now lean back as far as you can, and you'll be fine!!"

I'd quite like to go somewhere in Kent. Getting a bit bored with London at the moment. Haven't seen you in a while either Pete. Where is everyone thinking?

I'm up for this. Unless I hear about any kent rides as this one is looking a little sparse! But I want to get my Simtra bedded in some more Is Phil King back?

You say that now...

Bastarding A&E forced me to walk home when I screwed my ankle up Not fun at all. Just because an X-ray doesn't show anything up doesn't mean there isn't something wrong!

I had an hour ride, and I think it was more like twice that I hit the downtube. But annoyingly, it wasn't just "ding", I pretty much did a grind with the frame... I also punctured (which I've done ONCE on my KOT...), but I think I had the pressure too low. I didn't puncture today and I was riding just as hard. However, Rob gets all precious about his bikes and doesn't do things because he doesn't want to break them I on the other hand realise that IT'S A TRIALS BIKE. It's going to get scratched to **** and quite probably replaced within a year. So yeah, I rode it hard and fast straight away If your bike still looks tarty, you either don't ride hard enough or you've got too much money to spend It is working beautifully though. We did day one of filming for our new dvd/video thingy today down in hastings. Had an awesome ride. I'm finding it a little odd for some stuff as the front feels a little lower than I was expecting. I do like the feel though, it's just different to my KOT. So I might have to change the stem on the KOT to match For the whole days riding I had to adjust the gusset tensioner maybe 3 times, which is quick to do and not too irritating. It was still ridable when I decided to retension, but I prefer decent tension - slack is irritating. I didn't screw up a side hop all day, so I don't know how the gusset takes being hit yet. But so far, I like the feel - feels very similar to when I was in san fransisco and I wedged a DMR in between the frame and the wheel bolt. The brakes are absolutely amazing and they still haven't bedded in properly. I notice the difference mainly on front wheel moves - my KOT's 2006 Disc has a sticky piston on the front, so performance was below par. Wheel Swap's/Front to Backs/Smokes (whatever you want to call them) are considerably easier and I'm liking the 2.35 tyre on the front and the big rim. It's a big change from a super light 2.0" Try-All and a 517 rim. Overall it's a fair amount heavier than my KOT, but I didn't notice it hugely - although I imagine I would if I had to use it for demos. I do like the 2.5" tyre on the back, but I have been catching it on my calves a fair amount. The extra length feels great and it holds on the backwheel a lot nicer than the KOT. But I expect it's just a little better configured. It feels like a happy medium between my short KOT (1065) and Rob's long (1095). So overall bike = one happy Spodey

For people who aren't great at recognizing faces - who is in that?

I stand corrected! I didn't realise there was that great a difference. Taking the two apart, it's hard to see much difference side by side. Ironically, I've had XC's since 2000 and never snapped an axle. Yet I snapped the axle on my Pro II!

Yeah, but that was already mentioned I thought the main concern was wether it was strong enough. And I'm saying, it's just as strong as the Pro II.

An XC should be every bit as a strong as a Pro II. They are basically the same inside, just with 3 pawls instead of 4. However, 3 pawls engage at the same time. So it's technically a little stronger. Dave @ thinkbikes.com still runs an XC on the rear. He's had that for years without problems, and it's never really held his riding back. More engagements do feel a little nicer though I have just bought a DMR Revolver with a Tensile freewheel for my street bike, but I haven't come to a conclusion on how good they are yet - my hopes are high! What I would say, is that if you're buying new - spend the extra money and get a Pro II or a DMR. However, you can probably find a second hand XC somewhere for £30 and should fit anyone's budget. Of course, if it goes wrong, Hope's warranty and support are excellent. Getting a second hand king sorted out on the other hand.....

I think the retail price is around the £1450 mark.

Nope, standard echos. To get a 180mm disc, it's just a different caliper afaik. And I would have come to Hastings, but as Adam says - I'm in Prague!

You What? Yeah, I wasn't sure myself. I'll see how I get on with it. I'm using a Rohloff on my KOT and love that. So I might get another one of those.

What's your beef? And Darren - Lawrence Hermandes? hmmm? Well I figure, bikes must be men. Because when something breaks, you can use logic to work out what's wrong Well, you'd know! So, erm, did you lift it's skirt up and check?

Who says my bike's a woman?

Don't forget the monty! Oh, the monty. The hours of pleasure that brings.... (not!)

Well the Simtra is +40mm as standard. So if I wanted to go for a 180mm, I'd have had to file the frame slightly. Yeah, it's all entirely new bits. I've still got the KOT and I'll be using that for riding demos still (as will Dave). This is my street bike, so it's a little heavier and I'm hoping will take the knocks a little better. Last thing I need is a bike failing the day before a demo I'm expecting the new KOT frames in soon as well, so when I've rebuilt that bike (minus rear wheel atm!) I'll post pics of that

Just finished being built at Tarty and being shipped my way now 200mm disc on the back, 180mm on the front. Tensile freewheel on a DMR revolver hub (60 engagements). Middleburn cranks at the front (20/18 gearing). Echo Urban Forks, Zoo Bars, Echo Headset, Revvel rims (I think). Hope hub on the front. Maxxis tyres front and rear. Echo cage pedals. WOOOO! Can't wait to get back from Prague and power her up

Well, Dave and I at thinkbikes.com run dual discs. So do the guys at Tarty. We can't all be wrong

I thought I'd never get used to a longer bike, but frankly, I think there is too much emphasis put on the bike geometry. You'll get used to whatever you ride, you just learn to compensate for things. You can always do things like fiddle around with stems and handlebars to make it feel different. The Simtra I'm moving to (next weekend if all goes well!) is 1080mm. Compared to the 1010 of the Zero (which I was very comfortable on) that's quite a difference! I personally find BB rise more distruptive to style than I do length. Unfortunately, going down the dual disc route does limit the choice of frames significantly. Even more so in your case where you want something short. I think/hope that companies are realising the gap in the market and starting to cater for us. The Megamo suggestion isn't a bad one, I know of someone with one and it's not a bad ride at all!

LOL. Very True. And you can remove the Orange Zero from that category. I broke those mounts off FAR too many times.