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Wild guess not being a long term forumenger.

Has the "new" frame been in an accident and "repaired" ? so it could be prone to a sudden case of metal fatigue when under load......
Or in more basic terms, is it a bit of pipe bomb on a random fuse..... :-)

The frame has history and not in a good way ?

i might have bent it round a tree by then..... one carefull owner, low air miles :)

price will be index linked to property prices, which where forcast yesterday as 30pc over the next 5 years, however i will throw in a Marzocchi Bomber and love you long time.... or until the cash hits my offshore account :)

psssst BN, i got stashed a 26"er with a 1" 1/8 head tube, ISCG tabs (not the gash ISCG05) 135mm rear wheel spacing and it has a BSA bb shell in 68mm spacing...... oh and it's reynolds steel.
Could be worth mirrons of dorras in a few years when everyone gets bored of propriety equipment changes every model year...... :)

The Merc is retrotastic :) is it an actual AMP Research bike rebadged by Merc, looks like one, could be wrong though.

More input on the chainstay design.
As more adopt the 1x chainset only format the frames can be redesigned as they no longer have to work a design running a front mech, so frame builders get more choice on BB shell size and bearing types, and redsign the drive side stay to be stiffer/larger and can vary it's attachment location without the old constraints of certain standards of BB and fixed location of the front mech.
Expect to see some creative things in the future (and maybe even more standards :( on components)

I like this forum :)

If i ever get a frame mounted dynamo hub powered rail gun then i might splash out and try a damper for rail discharge while rolling :)

I think the cost put off most for fitting a hopey to a DH bike.

The only use i could see would have been in the 6 hour DH enduro at Fort William, wanging through the rocks at 30ish after a few laps there can get exciting, don't recall seeing anyone use one for that event which is about as extreme as it gets here in the UK.
Possibly overkill for most UK tracks.

Was interesting to see they do a TT version which puts them in the domain of Mdcc Tester, i could see the advantage for helping on windy days, minimal gains an all that, i wonder if they are more common in TT events.

http://www.hopey.org for the mountain bike dampers, bit spendy though.

Ta, dutchies use them, is that so they can roll one while riding :)

Bit late, spotted the blue coloured linky bit to your other thread so more makes sense. Gotta love spares box ghetto fixes :) 10/10 for effort and thinking and budget busting.

at Tomvanhalen.....

curious as to the spring mod.
Is it a crude form of steering damper ?
Is it so you can cycle no handed with a loaded front basket ?

Bit of a fad a while back for DH bikes to get retro fitted with a headset steering damper, never quite seen one like yours...... :)
Neat mod, but really whats it's intended function, i got's to know !

I would hang on too, unless you need a quick sale and the current high bid is solid.

Flat below me (not in London) had some interest pre-open day, although open day was more like about an hour on a saturday morning, some wheeler dealing over the weekend.
As a quick sale was wanted and asking price was met and punter was a known local builder and had cash and stated if you accept my offer today, i will instruct solictors tomorrow.
A higher offer was there........ i got doorstepped by the irate buyer demanding to know why there offer had been rejected (not my flat, not my sale, not my business)
After chatting with seller myself and passing on the offer of "+5k extra and cut out the estate agents so we both win" from the doorstepper.... turns out they started with " we are cash buyer" but changed to " need a mortgage" so the higher offer was not solid.

Quick sale and cash buyer won.
I also win as the builder knocked the place about and added central heating, the pipes run in the new lower ceiling void downstairs so it's quieter now and i have underfloor heating :)

Could tester be like the A-team ? could you knock up a rail gun intergrated into a steel frame powered by dynamo hubs...... :)

Don't mess with shit bikes :)

Fire rims could be the next hipster craze........

I can shed some light on the iffy fat bike.
Several years back Bike magazine got the bike as a stock unloved secondhand softride beam, they then sent it on loads of rides and races under some big name riders. It was a long running back page article in Bike mag, "The shit bike challenge" they wanted to see how much abuse and fun you could have with a shit bike (loads and loads) they did try to get the softride into the american mountain bike hall of fame (they failed)
Haven't seen a Bike mag for sale anywhere for a few years now, so depending on how recent that picture is they could still be abusing the shitter :)

The fella a few photos up ^^ on top of a mountain, blue hardtail maybe a Nicolai with belt drive.

Few years back he had a serious chop at the MegaAvalanche, did well i think, if thats him.......

Jezton, our rescue cat was batty when we got it, it's not as mad now a few years later.

We get random phases of hyper excitement/mad moments, you watch your feet and hands and open the door so he can go out (it can't always be arsed to use the catflap if humans to open doors are about)

The key warning sign is his eyes. If the pupils fully open or he gets a very wide eyed look then he is about to go hyper.
We use feliway (think thats the brand) vet suggested it when we moved house, few squirts around the place for a few days while things calmed down, also handy for transporting, we dosed up the travel box. Fairly cheap and seems to work for our cat.

Ours used to sleep on your head/pillow he now sleeps at bottom of bed and sometimes has a play with your feet, also doubles as a fairly regular alarm clock by batting you on the head when he wants breakfast :)

That starling made me think DMR Bolt but without the linkage.

Bolts build up good and with a tuned coil shock can really take some hammering and DH racing......

/trystopushMVovertheedge/

can't post photo's from this computer :)

Short travel bikes where the swing arm rotates around the BB shell are ace for conversion as you get no chain growth dramas as the chain stay length is constant(fixed) unlike with linkage swingarms.

Kona Cowan and some Coves, oh and there is that Klein URT from i think Bristol :)

Someone did the EuroSS champs in the FOD on a Santa Cruz Bullit.
Never actually saw anyone race a dedicated SS DH bike at races (apart from hardtail) but several times it was talked about as viable to try for a shuttle day and could work on some race tracks. Normal bonus of shedding weight and not having to worry about about mech ripping.......seen people rip off 3 mechs in a day then go chainless for race runs :)

Last proper adventure left Mrs 853 scarred mentally and me....... 2 weeks later i was trying not to die in hospital although the hospital did reckon a 2 week timescale post adventure did equate to me not getting very ill on holiday..... serves me right for picking a not often used route from Tarbett Jetty/Swordlands over to Sourlies bothy, didn't factor in the super hard going wet ground and a blizzard.

Still the TN Laser coped with camping on wet sponge ground with no leaks and when i did fall through the door into Sourlies bothy i was greeted by a very nice, very tall, very blonde lady who offered me whisky on the spot. I guessed Norge, she (and partner) where Finnish.

Going off topic now, taken a few years to get the parts for the Monkey (been enjoying it SS and v-braked) had a shopping spree last weekend at Bristols bike jumble at Mud-dock, now got to find a new job and fully re-locate to kent from somerset so might take a while to sort biking out this year........ next year hopefully..... welsh ride thing would be a giggle..... or scotland.

The gear shed struck me as a practical idea, maybe a bit niche, but a workable idea.

ahem.... not being kinky or nuthing :)
gear lofts, bit like a suspender belt in attachment, you could raid someones knicker draw (or washing line)
i looked at them too and the costing of doing a ghetto fix with ladies undergarment bits :)

Pretty much regeared myself now, taken a few years as a bit old school in thought and kit. Major benefit was regualr trips to Fort William and all the gear shops there. And online surfing for bits and pieces. Think bulk of it was from Field & Trek and some instore from Sport Direct, some from independent stores Nevis range and backpackinglight, cotswold camping, Taunton leisure, and managed to vist Alpkit too, i can run a 42ltr pack and be unsupported for 3+ days as a walker. Just need to translate the packing from a single pack to spread around a bike now.

Been eyeing up the overnight train from Euston to Fort William, hope too try it as a walker this year and bike it next year when i get the Surly actually built up with gears and disc brakes for some off road touring action and not going anywhere near the Highland Traill 500 :)

I ended up with a Zep2 XL lite last year as the factory had a sale and it was too good a deal to pass on...... i had looked at MSR's

Been looking about today on http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk and your Hubba just got more interesting, have you seen the the "gear shed" attachment, a zip on to the doorway extra extension to the tent.

Terra do a similar thing with a groundsheet pack, ditch the inner tent, pay a load of extra cash for a fitted ground sheet, your tent is now as light as your wallet :) they did have a fancy name in place though for wine bar kudos.
The MSR sheet was fairly cheap so worth considering over my ultra budget ideas of a poly sheet.
I did try some of the foam underlay for laminate flooring for our Laser2, i cut to footprint shape as a possible for winter use but the weight was low but packing size was huge, doable but too much hassle in the end.

lol....

There used to a thread on here from those in tokyo, loads of photos of bikes around Japan

goes looking for old picture thread.....

A solo is a smaller tent than a Zep 1 so taking size into account the Zep1 is lighter. Try sitting upright and cooking inside a solo :)

Tenting is like everything else, if your on a budget then loads of choice but with a bit of weight, some carefull repacking and maybe changing guylines and playing with pegs and you can drop a bit of weight and pack volume.
If you need low weight and are prepared to pay for it and live with any drawbacks of ultralight weight then those rad Terras are for you, you can also ditch the inner and just run the outer shell and really drop some weight, bit more protection than just running a tarp, depends on how bad the insects are where your camping (full tent for me in midge season, worth the extra weight) :)

7up, i don't use footprints as i try not to be in places that need them, soft ground is a nicer nights sleep. Bit of weight weenism...... the footprint for the Hubba is 270g (and well worth that for extended trips on rough rocky ground) a piece of builders poly sheet cut to size should be lighter and can be binned mid trip if needed. The big old orange survival bags make a good footprint too, or for really light the mylar/foil survival blankets and a check ground first for really pointy stones.
I cannot prove it but you "might" get a thermal gain from using a silver survival sheet.

Best way with a budget tent is look at the pegs and repack in something like an Alpkit dry bag, you can drop a bit of weight and reduce volume for not much cash, beyond that the weight will be in the material and poles used at that price point.
Steel round pegs are about 20g each, so some cheap alu V pegs could drop 100g.