NMTBD. The orange is bacccccccck. Sorta :)

[weeksy]

LOL that's not fair, we stopped and were watching people coming down

[crust]

LOL that's not fair, we stopped and were watching people coming down

So does the garmin :p so doesn't include your halfway up recovery time.

[weeksy]

You know that techie off piste red, we're hitting it again now!

[weeksy]

We have had a few 'quirks' / issues... well 1 mainly which is that the chainset on the bike (EThirteen) is somewhat crap. It uses a Shimano HT2 type BB, but has a DUB type adjuster on the NDS which meant i never actually got the cranks 100% perfect without a teeny tiny bit of play.

So i bought myself a Shimano SLX chainset and BB from Merlin at stupid discount... Which i was planning on fitting this week.

However, the boy was complaining if you recall about his cranks/BB being creaky so i started off with new pedals, same noise, then fitted the BB and new SLX cranks, silence.... Then went back to new BB and the EThirteen cranks, same creaky noise.... So the Cranks are the culprit. I made sure it was all cleaned up, but i'm guessing where the DUB type adjuster is is making the noise...

So with that in mind, i've left him the Shimano chainset and BB and i've ordered a second one for myself.

The only slight downside is Trek using a 55mm Chainline and this being a 52mm chainline, but it doesn't affect shifting and there's still a few mm of clearance, even with the shock removed to check full compression etc.

IMG_20250408_141906 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

So i'll get the SLX fitted onto mine when they arrive and we're both good

[weeksy]

Bike has been getting used regularly, very very actually. Still absolutely loving it.

I did jump on some new tyres today, a pair of Maxxis Aspen. When i'm out with @crust i would like a bit more in terms of speed lol. Obviously there's me getting lighter, stronger, fitter. But throwing on some XC based rubber for those rides should be the process along as well. I used to use Aspens all the time on bikes, but as we progress in years it seems to be we've all ended up on Enduro bikes and enduro tyres

So i'm going old school for some speeeeeeeeed.

[weeksy]

Bike has been getting used regularly, very very actually. Still absolutely loving it.

I did jump on some new tyres today, a pair of Maxxis Aspen. When i'm out with @crust i would like a bit more in terms of speed lol. Obviously there's me getting lighter, stronger, fitter. But throwing on some XC based rubber for those rides should be the process along as well. I used to use Aspens all the time on bikes, but as we progress in years it seems to be we've all ended up on Enduro bikes and enduro tyres

So i'm going old school for some speeeeeeeeed.

Oh wow, Aspens arrived. No wonder they're light, they're the thinnest thing ever. Well, they're 2.4 but the carcass is so thin you can almost see through them.
I'd love to think they'd work, but they seem too flimsy

[weeksy]

Well that was interesting to me, I've been getting a tappy/knocky noise when riding on things like tractor tracks. I thought it was the Fox 36 and I was ready to jump into plan B, firstly with some Zeb's but then potentially a Lyrik or Fox34. But with next weekend in mind I fitted the Hunt Endurowide front and rear wheels, then did a 45 min blast before work today. Now it may be a placebo, or just outright luck, but I didn't get the noise today. I wonder if it's a saver or something between bearings that moves about and rattles

I'll try more next week and see. Hmmm.

[weeksy]

It may be a thing

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/bontrager- ... e.1150487/

[weeksy]

It may be a thing

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/bontrager- ... e.1150487/

SO i swapped the wheels to the Endurowide and we have silence.

I swapped the rear back to the Bontrager and we still have silence

So the suspect is the front wheel, which makes sense as that's where i felt/heard it was from.
I've whipped the tyre off and replaced the tubeless valve with another, but i can't see how that can be the issue... worth a try though.

I've now got both Bontragers fitted for the ride later... So we'll see how that goes.

[weeksy]

Dyfi day yesterday
I spent the morning on his Session and the afternoon on my Gen6 Fuel... Bizarrely, i much preferred the Fuel, even at Dyfi.. which really surprised me. Whilst the Session absorbed the bumps in places a lot better, my weight was sitting more in the right place on the Fuel, i felt too far back on the Session. Once i'd got back on the Fuel i felt right at home and didn't want to get back on Session..

It was weird as i expected to like the Session a lot more, especially with the Mavens, but it seems i can only pull the brakes a certain amount as that's MY limit, so having better brakes in this instance doesn't actually matter. But it was an excellent day out on the hill with glorious sunshine all day.
IMG_20250517_120453 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

IMG_20250517_134111 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[weeksy]

I went slightly nuts as i've been selling a load of motorbike stuff lately, so bought this for the Fuel.

CR by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Partly as a spare, but i fancy giving coil a try on it for a bit, certainly for the bigger days. It's a properly quick swap on this bike so no reason not to give it a whirl.

[weeksy]

IMG_20250521_112744 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

IMG_20250521_113403 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[weeksy]

IMG_20250522_105626 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Liking that lots feels ace on the trail and no worse as such on the roads/gravel.

Only downside at the moment is a horrible sodding noise *not related to coil shock* which i'm hoping i've now resolved. It's like a creak/crack. So whipped all the pivots out (which are really well done by the way) and cleaned and greased as well as swapping the rear wheel (which i think the culprit actually is).

[weeksy]

Sat brought a day out with @crust on the Ridgeway and surrounding areas, it was ACE to be back out on the locals with him, i really do enjoy our local rides, even with a ridiculous headwind for the first 50% of the ride. It was tough but the fitness is coming and the weight is dropping a bit thanks to no longer having the Ebike. It's taking time but we're getting there.
The ride back had a few fast sections where i was able to push on and a few short sharp hills where the power and holding of it wasn't exactly perfect, but wasn't exactly terrible either
Sun brought Forest of Dean and started with the extended red, this is VERY up, down, up dow, up... So was pretty tough but they've build in some new sections of red which are bloody excellent and make the work well worth it now
IMG_20250525_100346 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

The Fuel was running the air shock on Sat and the coil on Sun and i really do prefer the coil. I was having a bit of buyers remorse on Sat as i was running air and thinking "this feels perfectly good" but the coil on trails and features is way nicer. Although with approx 35% sag it may be a smidgen soft as it came, so i may need to go from a 450>500 spring, but we'll see as i may lose some of the plushness if i do.
After the red it was some chill time and then some laps of Twisted Sister, which were i'd argue my fastest and best laps i've ever done there

[weeksy]

Massive OTB today, what the boys would call a HUGEY.... Was a completely innocent part of a new local track.. i took a tight line in a right hander, not seeing the tree stump that's there in the greenery... Spat me straight over the bars as the front wheel stopped dead.

Happily, i came off well and just burst out laughing

IMG_20250529_083927 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

XC mode on the Fuel today with some lighter rubber i got this week from a mate.

[Numnut]

Did you try those Aspens out or were they too thin?

[MingtheMerciless]

Cause of the crash is obvious, tyre logo's not aligned with the (burn him) mismatched tyre valves. Glad you're OK though, I don't know how James would cope without his mechanic/driver!

[weeksy]

Did you try those Aspens out or were they too thin?

They were too thin for me, the XR4 are excellent though and I've had them before and happy with them.

I've still got a set of wheels with Kryptotal fitted for big days

[weeksy]

Hit BPW yesterday and had a blast

The Fuel is deffo a happy place and a happy bike to ride. Enjoying it lots and lots. Can't really fault the thing.

Dropped some fork pressure the other day as the boy was bouncing about on it and stated the front end felt too stiff, it appears he was arguably correct as dropping from 90psi to 82 made it feel soooooo plush everywhere. Really good.

[weeksy]

The Fuel really does seem to be the 'do everything' bike for me. Although admittedly for optimal performance that does warrant 2 sets of wheels i'd argue. But with the XR4s fitted it rolls along the local bridleways superbly, then fit the Conti wheels and it's flying at BPW etc...
There's no time i think a 'bigger' bike in terms of bounce would help me and i doubt a lighter/faster bike would give me much locally either.

The suspension feels lovely now and really balanced... Living the dream.