Any question answered...

London Bike Kitchen might work for you (Edit: reading comprehension fail)

http://www.lbk.org.uk/about

They also do 1-1 for £30/h which is a bit cheaper/more flexible than CTUK

http://www.lbk.org.uk/one-to-one-tuition/

Youtube. Most bike stuff is covered pretty well. Parktool / MBR / GCN do some pretty good how to vids.

For obscure hubs you will probably find someone whos ripped one apart in a shed and is keen to show how to do it yourself. I watched a very boring Aussie and then a much more animated redneck before attempting a re-grease on an Alfine internal hub, although they are not that obscure.

What's wrong with a chinese 30t and 10spd 11-42 sunrace?

Nothing in my experience

@branwen @Scrabble Both good suggestions :)

Anyone have any experience of the CTUK or LBK 1-to-1 sessions that could compare and contrast? I'm aware there are likely people from both of those organisations on here...

Edit: There's a dog in the picture on the LBK website, which is pretty compelling...

Cheers everyone for the advice, I just need to grow my legs a bit, problem solved.

On a serious level, is this groupset from CRC any good price wise? It's fair bit cheaper than on Bike 24... (Obvs could still fine tune the parts, just randomly selected the parts for now...)

Alternatively, I could just get Ted to get everything RRP if it's too much hassle. Then he'll throw in the build for free, that's a couple of hundreds saving there... Just thinking if he has good relationships with his suppliers than he might be able to chop and change his order for me more than I can shopping around... it's time vs money...

I am not keen on DIY convention at this moment as I am still fairly within budget with my build (the F+F is suprisingly chepaer than we thought) and I have been saving for a long time to get my ultimate bespoked bike, it is a bit of a vanity project if I am being absolutely honest. That says I am not going to start having overly excessive parts just because...

1 Attachment

New page fail.

Remember 10% off at CRC with British Cycling membership (should be able to PM you a code if you decide to go for it)
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/chainreaction

Thanks, will bare that in mind. Could you not see the image? I have been having issues with uploading images with Firefox lately... fixed it now.

drivetrain of kings

@frankenbike quite right - that article really pissed me off when it came out

I could see it but not sure how decent a deal it is as I'm not up to speed on MTB groups. So I'll leave someone that knows what they're talking about to decide if £300 for XT is good

You could get SRAM GX Eagle for about the same price... sell on the cranks and swap for some 165mm. 12 gear goodness!

I am like duncs, I don't know much about MTB groupset. In fact, I don't know much about bike parts at all, it's been a very educational learning experience since putting down that deposit for my build...

Anyway, my last experience with SRAM rival on my road bike was less than ideal, the changing of gears feels much more mechincal than Shimano, would their MTB groupset have to the feel? I hate the doube tap system with a passion, but obvs it won't be a problem on this build...

As long as you don't mind being tied in to XD freehubs for ever. And, well, SRAM. Bleugh.

I've actually never ridden a modern Shimano groupset (more than 8-speed) so I couldn't tell you! I personally like SRAM though; everything feels nice and clicky to me. The clickiness (is that what you mean by "mechanical"?) is due to the greater cable pull with SRAM groupsets. The 11-speed Shimano MTB groupsets also pull quite a lot of cable so I expect that they also feel quite clicky. But having not ridden one I don't know. I've not ridden the Eagle groupsets either, so I don't know what they're like.

Basically I only suggested it because 1x12 is clearly 9.1% better than 1x11, and it does have much bigger range than the 11-42 as well with a dinner plate 10-50 cassette so is more suited for 1x touring.

bare that in mind

Bear

..... fine.... :-(

:-)

Yes, the clickiness... and the double tap!

Anyone spent much time in Florida?

Planning where to stay for a 3-4 day trip. Mainly beach and relaxing. At the moment the Gulf coast around Tampa is looking like No.1. Miami is out, and the other half has vito'd anything south of Fort Myers.

Originally I thought about staying in two locations, but if it's all going to be the same, it seems more sensible just to pick one spot. I'm just worried about getting bored.

Any thoughts?

Same kit with 165mm cranks is less than that trade on madison at the moment. Usually chain reaction sells stuff for basically trade for everyone else so got could probably get your LBS to get the kit in for a similar price and make them happy.

the other half has vito'd anything south of Fort Myers

What, she's already driven everywhere south of Fort Myers in a Mercedes van? Or did you mean vetoed?

Disney Land?

Bikeworks?

Bear

What, she's already driven everywhere south of Fort Myers in a Mercedes van? Or did you mean vetoed?

I don't even have to do any work around here any more. :)

About that... my LBS... last time I made them very happy, they made me very unhappy... and that involved a good few hundreds pounds and many parts...

Do you know if RRP is always pretty much standard for everyone? If I am going down the LBS / independent trade route, I might as well get Ted to get all the parts trade price, maybe do a cheeky haggle on his markup... that should make a very happy frame builder...

Or can I make you happy? Sorry I don't know you but if you have access to trade price list, you work in a indepedent bike shop? Happy to take a new customer?

If he's got a madison account, and I assume he has, then it'll be pretty much the same. RRP is the same, some places will get it trade at less depending on how much stuff they buy. Ask him what he can do it for or find a better LBS and ask them.