Tony Harrison

There's a shoulder on the spindle so the non-drive side keeps it in place... ...but what I don't understand is what stops a sideways impact on the drive-side crank from pushing the bearing/cup out of the shell.

Yeah I'm now leaning towards 11sp with the Hope cassette...

I need to decide which groupset before I buy the wheels, because if I'm going for the 12sp SRAM setup then I need the XD driver. I'm not even that keen on 12sp, 11sp would be fine, and as I have an XT BB I could just buy Shimano cranks and a Hope cassette/driver... Not in a rush though, got some time to work it all out.

Ok, a guide I read says: "Because the bearings are housed inside the shell, the spacing remains the same as it would be with an external bearing configuration, which means a wider spindle length is not necessary for riders switching from a 68/73mm threaded shell to a BB92 set up." So presumably the SRAM cranks I've seen for sale for 68/73 will fit...

Unlike when I was a lad, and it was all easy, and only BMX frames started to get different bottom bracket standards, now we seem to have gone mad with different specs. Even the naming from one to the other isn't conventional, with some putting the emphasis on spindle diameter, others on shell diameter. What the bleeding f'ck is going on? I have bought a frame with a 'BB92' shell, so it's 41mm inside diameter with a 92mm length. Currently fitted is an XT bottom bracket. I'd like to fit an SRAM Eagle GX crankset. I understand that to do so I will need to buy a GXP BB, which SRAM do make for the BB92 interface. However, what about spindle lengths? There are options here too I think, and I don't want to buy a crankset only to have the spindle too short or long. As my frame has a 148mm 'BOOST' spacing I know that I probably need the SRAM BOOST chainring, which has an additional 3mm offset to give a 52mm, rather than 49mm chainline. But... if I end up with a longer spindle and have to use spacers, that's all going to go out the window anyway... So does anyone have a clue how I can solve this? Or do I just buy some Shimano cranks. (frame is a 2018 Rocky Mountain Altitude)

I test rode the Strive and it was a really fun bike, and I imagine the Torque is too. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and Duncy that was a really helpful list, cheers! I've been looking at complete bikes and thinking I'd change this or that, so I'm in the process of finalising a deal on a used frame, got some other bits coming in the post and so 4 years after getting into trail riding I'm going to build a bike myself for the first time. Super excited, I will be sure to post pics once it's done.

Yeah, and they often have those giant bucket-sized chalk bags and about six different brushes for cleaning the holds...

For me I got to a point where everything I'd ever wanted to achieve, I had. By the time I did so (around 2003/4) the things I'd wanted to learn (basically whatever was in Tricks & Stunts and Chainspotting) were quite below par compared to how trials in general had progressed. I had no real want to learn the bigger hooks, taps etc, it was more the fun of socialising on rides and d'cking about. I think once your 'heart' isn't in something, it's not a bad idea to stop. Now and again I've had the bike out since, but the hunger hasn't been there to re-learn what I used to do, let alone anything else. However if you're getting a positive feeling each time you see the bike then that's a great sign that riding is what you should be doing! I do still have some 'retro' projects I want to finish building though, and trials will always be part of me I think.

Now that I no longer have my YT Capra I'm looking at new bikes with around 160mm travel F+R (150mm on the rear is acceptable). Definitely a fan of the 65 head angle, prefer more of a fun playful enduro-orientated bike to an XC trail machine. It's definitely going to get a bit of abuse, some drops and gaps etc, but nothing too crazy. So far I've been looking at the Rocky Mountain Altitude which is a strong contender, but wondered if anyone has other recommendations that would fit the bill. Thanks!

I remember when it was like that :/

Just when I thought the 'best of 2018' storm had passed...

Both my last two bikes were bought secondhand and I had less trouble!!

I rode one at a test day and it just didn't excite me at all

@Ross McArthur thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out. People warned me about buying direct - the nice thing about going through a shop is you're more likely to have decent customer service. I think the Capra was around £4700, but I'm tempted to buy a reduced price 2018 model of something and do some upgrades.

Some of you may remember I bought this absolute animal of a bike, and what an absolutely insane bike it was, until in August I found this crack (the holes are where a plastic cable clamp/guide screws on)... Immediately I contacted YT who said I'd need to send the frame back for inspection, which I duly did. Weeks passed, eventually I got a response to say the frame needed to be replaced, and that would happen 'soon'.More time went by, I watched the last few weeks of summer weather go by with no bike...Eventually I got it out of YT that I'd be waiting for a subsequent batch of frames to be sent over from the factory. I pointed out that bikes were still available over the website, with an estimated delivery date earlier than the vague estimate for when my replacement frame would arrive. The weak - very weak - response from YT is that they didn't want to take any frames off the assembly line as most (yes, most, not all) were already purchased.This royally irritated me, after all, as an existing customer am I not worth more? I loved riding the Capra, had gone to great effort to buy one, and could see myself being a customer for many years to come. I really respected the story behind the brand and how the company had grown. In deciding to buy a Capra I chose to ignore those around me who mentioned rumours they'd heard about bad customer service - and quite rightly. Pick any company and there'll be sob stories on the web...Again and again I was fobbed-off and not given a proper response. In the end I got legal advice and wrote to YT to say they had one day to get back to me or proceedings would begin, and that all I would accept now was to send the rest of the bike back and have a full refund on the original purchase price. This seemed to get their attention and late October finally I was able to send the rest back.Another MONTH and I got my refund... : / So now I'm back to square one, time to decide what bike to buy. The Rocky Mountain Altitude is a strong contender, and a 150/160 travel bike will suit my needs I think. I stepped up my game at Morzine in the summer, outdoing what I'd done on a DH bike the year before, but plenty of people were absolutely throwing down on shorter travel bikes so I'm not convinced that 180 is necessary.