Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Just back from bailing on the Ard Moors enduro. Sooooooo muddy. Some sections utterly unrideable bog. Some utterly unwalkable. OTBs all over the place as forks clogged with mud and wheels wouldn't turn. Bet it would have been an absolute blast in the dry.

I'm considering diving into the realm of hydraulic brakes (for the rear at least, rusty inners are a bit of an annoyance).

I've never had a set (well, aside from a pair of Avid Juicy Carbons in 2009 that were in dire need of bleeding but I couldn't be bothered and sold them on...). So apologies for the basic questions:

• How often do you folks generally go between bleeding them?
  
• Are Avids still second best to Shimano in terms of how much of a pain in the arse they are to work with?
  
• What are your recommendations for a first foray into hydraulics?
  
  
  
  

I've got deores on one bike and slx on another... Never had to bleed them, they are fit and forget, apart from change the pads and the odd adjust if the wheel has been messed with, occasionally.
Deore are more than capable of handling the stopping duties of me, a big lummox with no finesse, on my trek stache, a bike with the same characteristics!

Shimano SLX M675, fit and forget. Not had to bleed mine yet at all. They're amazing all round.

Avid/Sram are a massive ballache.
Shimano are better in everyway imo.
Treat yourself to a pair of Deore or SLX, you'll be able to find a pair pretty cheap.
They really shouldn't need much bleeding (depends on use I guess) no more than once a year tops (if you're going through chains every 4-6months) .
Bed them in properly when you get a new pair: Ride to the top of a good hill (on road is good) get some speed up and slowly but progressively pull a brake until stopped (get your weight over the back when bedding the rear).
Keep the discs clean degrease every so often.

Get the shiny stuff!

How often do you folks generally go between bleeding them?

The mineral stuff doesn't need to be bled that much - it doesn't absorb moisture from the air. Limits you to Magura / Shimano. You can go years with the former, not sure about the later.

If a 27.2 post keeps slipping and the previous owner appears to have deformed the seatpost entry by overtightening the clamp, what's the most likely seatpost size I need? 30.9? I know measuring is the answer but lost my verniers. 2009 GT avalanche.

dude pls

Not sure if brake lever or leg from robotic spider...

...do they come in cobalt?

Thanks for all the info folks!

Much appreciated!

Fwiw I have the cheapest shimano ones I could find on ebay, they're called m315 and they've done a great job of stopping 83 kgs of me + bike.

Heyyyyy I've got avid elixir on my bike, never had to touch them aside from rising pads.

Also had similar luck with Shimano.

I have hydros on my bike. Happy to chat. You know where I live. It will give me an excuse to buy some of that f*c%£king amazing beer you introduced me to.

Which 2.2" tubeless XC winter tyres should I get? Must be tubeless and able to handle Epping slop. I've got 2.35 nobby nicks atm which I feel are a bit over kill some times, more like a trail tyre. Maybe I'm wrong. Either way I need to go down a bit on the rear as it rubs.

Will have my Nicks up for sale when I get a replacement, they're the fanciest ones Evo skin or what ever they're called.

Maxxis Ardents are brilliant tyres, get the EXO TR posh ones, never punctured mine in years. Or if you're after something faster rolling Conti XKings are fast and not bad except in the worst slop. They are on sales on CRC at the moment with ProTection walls for 22 quid I think...

I can't fault Bontrager XR Mud, but they only come in at 2.0". Not that I've ever found that an issue. They have the major advantage of not being miserable to ride if it's not completely muddy, which can't be said of a full mud-spike. Same-same but different, Specialized Storm Control.

2.2 is a bit of a no-man's land for tyres with enough bite for Epping clag. Might be you could find some older XR4s, but I wouldn't want to ride something like Ardents there, in the winter, for sure

Nobly nic front, rocket Ron rear will get you through most of the winter.

Despite its looks NN is a fast rolling XC tyre - not a mud or trail (front) tyre really.

Last year I rode NN 2.35" front and racing Ralph 2.2" until June including the occasional 100 miler. Switched to rocket Ron front racing Ralph rear for Torq and XC funtiemz

If things get really bad magic Mary up front, NN rear.

Probaby the best option for me as it involves me only needing to buy a single tyre and they come in 2.25"

You really don't just slide all over the place with that combo? Fucking light people :(

29er tho

29er tho

This

My Easton haven rim has got a couple of small splits developing, outwards from the spoke holes......this makes me sad.
Now, a quick question.....I was thinking about some hope xc wheels, but they have an internal width of 19.5mm.
I noticed that the hunt gravel disc or something are lighter, and have an internal width of 20mm.....

Question is, has anyone used hunt wheels on a mountain bike for xc use? Will I die? I'm under the weight limit....just! :0)

I can also get these on cycletowork, so basically free!