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

Thanks for the various bits of advice, BPW was obviously rad!

Only managed three runs due to some painfully slow admin and then attempting to stay as a group (of varying ability) but it was enough for me, given the lack of recent practice and medium-sized hangovers all round. I'd love to go back now I have a better idea of the scale and gradients involved - biggest thing for me was dealing with the constant speed gain without runoffs, which I'm not used to.

Found the blues easier in a way than the green but really need to improve my berm technique - nearly got into trouble in a few places.

I’m surprised you haven’t already found a broken frame to start tinkering on - make your own front triangle to match a salvaged rear?

So this might be happening.

I’ve bought something to chop up, it’s old, it’s basic but it’s steel so I can use it.

I have a 110mm long straight 44mm headtube with reinforcing rings salvaged from a crashed BFE that I think I’ll use. I’ve also got a tapered headtube but it’s 44mm at the bottom too so would still (as I understand it) need an external cup so nothing to be gained but extra complexity in the mitres I’ll have to cut.

I think I want to buy a fork before I cut up the frame so I know what a2c I’m working with but I haven’t much of a clue about modern forks.

Rock Shox Pike? The RS site describes them as light, short travel forks. I think I want something like 120-140mm to go with the short travel the frame will have. Or do I just say fuck it and chuck a long travel fork on? I see the BFE, and the Starling Roost takes up to 160mm and the Moxie 170mm.

Depends on BB drop in my opinion. How LLS do you want to go?

Rock Shox Pike? The RS site describes them as light, short travel forks.

Oh my how Things have changed

I want negative bb drop!

Nah but really, as little drop as possible.

It’ll kind of depend on where things are already in the frame but going down this road means I can avoid those pedal/rock interactions as much as possible.

Is 110mm really long for a headtube now?

Loads of forks on ebay with eensy teensy little steerers.

Yeah. 29ers and long travel forks make the bars high enough already

I also have a 100mm straight 44mm headtube, looks like it'll need to be that.

Might buy a new fork but could get a better one 2nd hand.

You not got trade accounts?

Sadly not.

Might be able to do something through colleagues.

Might buy a new fork but could get a better one 2nd hand

Unless that 2nd hand one wasn't looked after properly, which is sadly a common occurrence

If you want rockshox I can send them directly to you from the distributor for trade+VAT+a little extra.

a little extra

Yes, we all like a happy ending

Or set up some trade accounts, you make bikes, pretty sure zyro would do you a pro-rata account.

That’s very kind. I’ll have a look. Might also enquire about an account. It’s Zyro that do Rock Shox? They merged with Fisher right?

Zyro.

Dang autocorrect.

Bloody hell i was not fully grasping what the rrp on these was!

I know, right? And then you get people that never service them, and just buy the new ones every two years. It's mad.

Fucking lol

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155499118431

1/3rd the prices of AXS surely?

Dunno if I’m just tight but I think that a big part of what I enjoy about all cycling but mtbing in particular is knowing that if I break my bike, I can fix it. That might be brazing a steel frame or truing/rebuilding a wheel but also that all the components are things I can afford to replace without much worry so the thought of spending more than I dunno…£300 say on a fork is kinda hard to swallow. I can’t help but think I’d be riding different in order to ‘baby’ something that cost so much.

Given my collarbone maybe that’d not be such a bad thing though!

Has anyone on this thread broken a fork in a crash/other misadventures?

Yeah, really tough bit of broccoli.

Mmm probably not.

I’ve just won a pretty decent looking (🤞) 150mm travel Fox 34 Rhythm on eBay so I’ve at least got a fork to work with.