To all you 29er's out there!

looks great, what is it? Also that surly is lovely

Loving this surly.

my mate Rien's bike, v. nice indeed... going to see that in the steel this Sunday.

I 'upgraded' my Grand Canyon AL29 with some quality improvements & weightsavers. Decided the Fox suspension fork is not really necessary on most of the tracks I ride (besides that, the lockout stopped working and service is not cheap!)

• Hope/Stans tubeless wheelset
  
• carbon bars
  
• Formula R1 brakes
  
• Rigid carbon fork
  
• Stripped Flite saddle
  
• Hope seatpost
  
  

Now, where to find a good deal on XX1 gear...

well that was a nice ride. and the Surly, although pretty heavy, is a superb ride for the relatively flat Dutch mtb trails.

A question: I want to switch to 1x10 as

• I don't ever use the 22t inner ring
  
• it's a cheaper option than XX1 and
  
• any trail should be possible with a 34 up front and an 11-36 cassette
  
  

Any advice on a nice chainguide? I'm trying to find one that can be fitted to the front derailleur mount but I can only find BB mounted ones?

don't bother with a chainguide

get a thick thin chainring from works or raceface and a clutch rear mech

thanks, found your post too with UingTFS

I wouldn't have thought it, but indeed a new XT clutch rear mech costs about as much as a chainguide...

I'm trying to find one that can be fitted to the front derailleur mount

What sort of FD mount?

Not near mine atm but this is the model. Looks like a regular fd mount

http://fstatic1.mtb-news.de/f/fd/t8/fdt8cwzlpcg6/large_GrandCanyonAL29Ltd.jpg?0

Looks like direct mount, you'll be wanting to spend £80 on one of these :-)

theres also this chain device thing:

tester will dispute that you should require any guide for such a set-up, but I like and would recommend this.

Thanks but I would need one (under 50 € and) preventing the chain from coming off either side of the (single) chainring. This one is for inside only.

There are slightly cheaper options if you google direct mount chain guide, but for under €50 you'd probably have to look and see if something like a Gusset Lil Chap would fit on the seat tube and clear both the dérailleur mounting lug and the chainring

Does the frame have iscg tabs?

^^ that one won't fit the asymmetrical 'maximus sattelrohr' (although this might be an idea http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.com/images/bikes-and-gear/components/chain-guard/1314646714583-1aj6iet0lhvak-500-70.jpg) so I'm still leaning towards a change of rear mech but thanks tester

^ had to google that! but no iscg tabs

these guys offer some quite nice parts. quality is not bad and price is just right.
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=56&osCsid=28mc7c9v5fq194bj11c9br0jj5

Woodz suggestion is good. I have a superstar plasma on my 4x bike, no iscg tabs either, it's held by the external bb. The guide replaces one of the black plastic spacers behind the DS bb cup. £50

I haz press fit...

Have you considered a new frame :-)

With your non-round seat tube and non-thread BB shell, it does seem to be coming down to that E-13 if you really want a chain guide. Either that or just leave the FD in place with the limit screws adjusted to hold it in the right place. Since it doesn't have to move, you can lower it a bit so that it overlaps the chainring to be absolutely sure the chain can't go anywhere.

geheghe... actually I was just thinking of crafting my own chain guide device from an old piece of plastic and a braze-on FD from the parts bin :-)
that, or 3D printing something at the local workshop

cheers everyone for the info and suggestions (must spread rep etc. tester), I'll post a pic of the chosen upgrade after christmas

This is three short, but I'm selling my MTB: http://www.lfgss.com/thread119154.html#post3996931

This thread has been a bit quiet lately.....I blame the fat bikers. Anyway, I've been getting numb hands lately from my spearfish and was considering some ergon grips.....but theyare pig ugly. I've also been after either jones cut loop bars or titec j bars.....and thanks to tears in rain, I got myself some of the latter.
The are not installed finally as yet, as I wanted to play about with position of the levers and angle etc, so I've just lobbed them on and had a 50ish off road ride today....apart from the 'horns' being a little bit cramped, the hand position and aero on the horns position is just about the comfiest I've had on a MTB.....I am pleased.

I think it looks alright too.....ignore the crud catchers aesthetically, they are functional right now!

Finally, a picture of the fish :-)

Can you reach the shifters ok with that set-up?

Loving this surly.

amazing

Ha!
Yeah, I just scootch my hands forward a bit to change,then move them right back to the comfy position again.....

I have the ergon grips on my fatbike and really like them. You need to make sure you have bars with correct sweep for your own comfort, and it took me a little tinkering to get the ergons in the sweetspot.

I have the on one fleegle pro on my hardtail, and they are very comfy too...these might have the edge though.. I'm thinking of either foam or cork, then black or cork colour bar tape on the other bits.
Doing some research last night, the X5 shifters I have are matchmaker compatible...I have a set of juicy 7 on the other bike that are too.....a swap will free up a lot of space on those horns......they are a magic feeling bar though!