To all you 29er's out there!

You must build the Soma with the Salsa Enabler fork!

no, i have the reba that is currently on the lynskey, it is cut to fit the soma and would probably send it to tftunedforks for an overhaul

the new fork has been ordered from them

the king bits from aspire

will be at least a month for the fork to arrive

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=58&products_id=304

you use one of these, it keeps a constant slight pressure on the chain like a simple mech would, weighs and costs little.

my next upgrades for the lynskey have been ordered

1.5" bottom chris king headset cup
chris king hub conversion from 9mm QR to 15mm through axle
rockshox SID rct3 fork (with 15mm through axle and tapered steerer tube) with 100mm travel

then when i can find the xt 780 groupset but with the trail crank and big girls blouse cassette the lynskey will be finally complete (no more upgrades - except when i build up the old soma juice as ss mtb i will probably move the easton bars and stem and upgrade to a 31.8mm bar and stem combo).

Nice.
The fork is, of course, a nice bit of kit. But I bet you notice the hubs conversions more than you'd expect.

half link, magic ratio and magnets?

Thanks for the suggestions but I'd rather something with horizontal dropouts... On-one, Soma, Surly etc. Less fucking about as Im a shite mechanic.

Thanks for the suggestions but I'd rather something with horizontal dropouts... On-one, Soma, Surly etc. Less fucking about as Im a shite mechanic.

Slidding drop-outs are considered the most idiot proof. Because the brake caliper moves with the wheel. But I cant see you needing to adjust your caliper much. So horizontal drop-outs are win.

I have just received my On One Inbred 29er and the build quality seems pretty good to me. The price is very reasonable, I have added a smoothie headset and a set of Kona P2 forks for all for under £300. The frame also seems to be more versatile than a lot of other in that it features the swap out dropouts so you can have either horizontal or vertical dropouts. It also has option brake bosses so you can run rim brakes if needed. The frame has all the bosses you would need (other than mudguard eyes) The only real down side to the frame is the shocking choice of coulors it is available in. It is currently only available as either "chicken Tikka" or "Apple Sauce" both of which look pretty disgusting.

http://www.vandesselsports.com/?page_id=33

#Windowshopping.

http://www.vandesselsports.com/?page_id=17

WTF indeed. Looks like something Kona would make as a beach cruiser.

I have just received my On One Inbred 29er and the build quality seems pretty good to me. The price is very reasonable, I have added a smoothie headset and a set of Kona P2 forks for all for under £300. The frame also seems to be more versatile than a lot of other in that it features the swap out dropouts so you can have either horizontal or vertical dropouts. It also has option brake bosses so you can run rim brakes if needed. The frame has all the bosses you would need (other than mudguard eyes) The only real down side to the frame is the shocking choice of coulors it is available in. It is currently only available as either "chicken Tikka" or "Apple Sauce" both of which look pretty disgusting.

full bikes are available in blue or white.

I like the look of apple sauce.

Alu forks then????

Could you really feel a harshness to the ride, if you were running 4" tyres on 4" rims?

My head says no, but then I would'nt give up the carbon forks on my 29er for alu. So maybe I'm lying to myself. But they're a small fraction of the price of fatty carbon forks, and still far lighter than steel.

(They would be used on an alu frame, and I personnally dislike the combination of skinny steel forks with fat alu tubes. Fugly)

about to order a karate monkey but not sure if I should take 20" or 22"
20" might be easier to resell if i go for something better
but 22" should be better if I do some touring with the bike ?!

got 91cm inseam ... what do you guys think?

confused with mix of imperial and metric - erm - yes?

get the bike that fits - there is always someone out there in your size

the problem is most calculators tell me i need 21" which is in between ... so i was wondering if there is a noticable difference with +-1"

the problem is most calculators tell me i need 21" which is in between ... so i was wondering if there is a noticable difference with +-1"

I ride with over 1 1/2" less overall reach off-road, than on (ETT+stem+any bar effect). So if it were me I'd look at the main use.

I'd then figure a ball park reach. Knowing ETT, and the bars I'd like to run. I can see what sort of stem length i'd need for each. Then pick the one with the most sensible one (personnally I'd go short for a 29er, but thats taste).

just ordered the 22" in grey ... really excited!

thanks smallfurry, but a little bit too late as i already ordered when i read your comment. :)

just ordered the 22" in grey ... really excited!

thanks smallfurry, but a little bit too late as i already ordered when i read your comment. :)

I was hinting at the bigger size TBH (to achieve road friendly reach, without a long stem). Just a interweb guess though ;)

good man - nothing beats that 'just ordered a new frame' feeling

I'm a few days from funds for some fatty parts.

Might do wheels first, as there's a few updates on 2012 frames from the main players, and they're not all ready for purchase yet.

good man - nothing beats that 'just ordered a new frame' feeling

+1

Big smiles.

http://www.vandesselsports.com/?page_id=17

One of our regular customers at LMNH imports Van Dessel bikes and brought that one by for me to have a go. Fucking lovely looking things in the flesh.

I like the Van Dessel, but then I nothing against uber compact frames. This a step too far though.