fartymarty profile

Yeah that's the one, thanks.

I'm a metal guy but agree with you on carbon.  I think a bikes material (and to a degree components) reflects their owners.

Full disclosure though - I do have some clear tape under high cable rub areas on my Murmur.

Cam - This reminded me of an article I read a few years back but can't remember the name of (or find)...  It was the one with the really beaten up old Kona.  I like the idea of protecting your bike but prefer the beaten up look better.

Cam - Have you had any more time on the Verdict / Judge?  If so what are your thoughts?  I'm tempted to buy a pair for the UK winter.  Thanks in advance Martin

Edit - I've just bought a Verdict L/HG and have a Judge T/FR on order.  My LBS swear by the combo and noted that they run Wet Verdicts on their e-bikes but wouldn't on a pedal bike.

My 27.2 Thomson is now on my eldest daughters bike along with my old Salsa seat qr.

Andrew - Does the G5 have the same knob profile as the SE5?  I'm a big fan of the SE5 - it's a great substitute for DHR2.

This looks quite nice.  I wonder how much of it you could stow in your BB axle?

I had a similar conversation with TF Tuned (UK suspension tuner) regarding an Ohlins for my Murmur (steel frame with lots of flex).  They said Ohlins were a great strong shock.

I was thinking more for robustness.  You can't hamfistedly stuff the cable in the wrong way as you can with micro.  I'll take the increase in cost of the light - plus my phone uses C so have plenty of cables / chargers.

Why can't light manufacturers use USB C.  It's so much better than micro.

After reading the glowing review from Cam (https://nsmb.com/articles/wtb-verdict-29-x-25-front-tire-reviewed-w-judge-rear/) I have purchased Verdict LHG and have a Judge TFR on order for the rear.  

I was talking to the owner of my LBS and he rated the combo for our local riding (Surrey UK).  As noted above i've been on Minions / Bontys for a while so it will be interesting to see how these go.  He did note that the Verdict Wet was great wouldn't run it on a pedal bike (they run them on ebikes).

Vik - my take is that geo trumps travel anyway.  I would take a Doctahawk or Hello Dave anyday over a 150mm 20er from 5 years ago.  But it is an interesting question as to what constitutes a "little" bike. I'm guessing the OP meant a short travel bike with reasonable geo.

I wouldn't call Walt V2 a "little bike" - it's a bad ass montertruck that just happens to be rigid. It would probably slay most bikes short of an full on enduro rig.

Back to topic tho... I'm on 160/140 29 and a rigid 29. Both are fun and complimentary.  I can pretty much ride the same trails on both bikes but one is a whole lot faster.  I find if I'm riding hard I get beaten up on both.

XR5 / SE5 F/R combo (Surrey UK so can get away with light casings) probably on 2.3 width.

Assegai Exo+ MG sounds interesting for my 511 wheelset.  I ran a DH MG for a while but it was too heavy / draggy for our local riding (lots of flat between trails) but tons of grip.

Get a 2.4 DHR2 Maxxgrip (if you can find them).  They're lighter than 2.5 DHF and brake better.

I'm also on XT levers (785 IIRC) with Zee calipers on my Murmur.  They work well.  I was running full Zee but swapped to the older XT lever for reach adjustment.  I'm running 203 / 183 rotors which is the smallest I would go on any bike.

A cheaper alternative would be the superstar components slackerizer headset. It should be model T7-2, based on the details you posted:

https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/slackerizer-angle-headset.htm

I have just put a Superstar angle set in my frame to replace a Works.  So far so good and it was £10 cheaper than the Works.

Posted by: michel77

Posted by: fartymarty

Hey man, thanks. I love it at 130mm, it's pretty much perfect for what I use it for now.

When the Surface was my only bike (for 3 years basically) and I was trying to hang with the guys on bigger bikes, and I'm talking good riders on Nomads and Yeti SB150's, I needed everything I could get. The Fox 36 at 150mm was great for smashing like that but having the Smuggler for that stuff now (and still not keeping up lol), this is where the Surface shines for sure. It can still handle most everything but it's noticeably better on steeper climbs, and it just feels right.

130mm is a nice amount of travel for a "do it all" HT.

My Krampus HT is no longer... its now has a rigid fork as the Pike went onto the Starling Murmur I got in April last year.  I do miss it but would rather have two very different bikes than just one.

@Michel77 Nice Surface. How do you find it at 130mm? I was running my Krampus at 120mm before I put the Pike on my new bouncy bike and really liked the shorter travel.

I've just got a Lezyne 1800i.  1800 proper lumens for €150. I have it helmet mounted and my old lights on the bars.