Pair of Jones cut loops off eBay. They're a bit narrower than my loops, so will do for Beth's bike as she's more petite than I.
Principle reason for buying was to check compatibility for the forthcoming Wildcat Jones bar bag, as it'd have been embarrassing to put the straps too far in that they wouldn't work with the cut loop...

TheBrownDog wrote:Set of Bonty carbon 29er forks from Mr Stu arrived today while I was out with the younguns at Swinley. They're a pivotal aspect of turning my Inbred 29er from all purpose MTB/bikepacker to full-time gravel tourer ... or something. Thanks Stu.

Sounds pretty interesting - hope you will put up some pics when it's done! Thinking about doing something similar for possible aberdeenshire -> cairngorm loch/bothy outings that will bash a fair amount of road then head up into the hills...

Sawyer Mini filter and pop-up midge hat/net. Now that's a stylish item!

Charliecres wrote:Sawyer Mini filter and pop-up midge hat/net. Now that's a stylish item!

Which midge hat did you get Charlie?

A Scott Mythic - the Range Rover Evoque of the helmet world. Fits well though...

vorlich wrote:

A Scott Mythic - the Range Rover Evoque of the helmet world. Fits well though...

Nice lid.

I joined the Montane Bat Bumbag club. Hate wearing rucksacks so could be good for day rides.

I managed to break one of the mud cover retaining tabs on one of the montane bottles. I drilled a couple of holes and replaced it with small zip ties.

Say hello to Sasquatch my new Big Foot 29er+ for bivi and long distance riding

Not so much the postie as my mate's volvo...
Something a bit lighter than my Fargo to make pushing easier on the BB200.

JohnClimber wrote:Say hello to Sasquatch my new Big Foot 29er+ for bivi and long distance riding

Very very nice John, bet you can't wait to get out on it

Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the belt drive..

@ composite - it's the Lifesystems one from Cotswold. It's got a huge brim which I'm sure is good for its purpose but it does make me look special.

I've also just ordered a Camelback bumbag. I was going to get one of those cheap Montane Batpacks but then my daughter lost my spare Camelback bladder on her DofE and the bag was only a fiver more than a bladder on its own. I"m hoping I can avoid a rucksack on my upcoming Scotland trip and this looks like a good solution for water and waterproof.

Two lovely bikes up there ^ by the way.
Jealous.

Wotsits wrote:Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the belt drive..

2 rides in and it's not skipped a beat, it's fantastically quiet.
I'm still having to think when changing gears on the Rohloff as the twist shift is in reverse to my Mukluk and gear 1 is the fastest pace ring and 14 is the spinny gear, I would have thought 1 would be the slowest and 14 the fastest, so many times I've shifted the wrong way causing me to spin like a fool or have to grind out of things.
The Rohloff is draggy but I am expecting it to be so until it has worn in.

1st ride was a very fast paced ride with the Michael Travers and his race team, and the shifting issues (above) did me no favours as we sped through the wooded singletrack of Essex.
Last nights ride was north of Rivington where the spinny gears were needed more than even.

For my riding I think 14 may be too low and for flat fast riding 1 may be too spinny but as I'm going to use this for bivi riding I think it may be perfect, the only other option is to fit a bigger cog on the front but that will cause problems in the hills when carrying gear.

As for the ride it's fantastic on tight twisty stuff and over rocks and ruts, but I did loose the front end on wet grass last night but that was the tyres not the bike.

Are your Rohloff cables the wrong way round? My gear 1 is the skinny gear, and mine is definitely set up following the manual...

Spinny. Not skinny. Damn iPhone!

InspiredRamblings wrote:Are your Rohloff cables the wrong way round? My gear 1 is the skinny gear, and mine is definitely set up following the manual...

Not sure, I didn't set it up and a quick glance through the manual gave me a head ache

I know what you mean. If you wanted to swop it around you'd probably need to go in to the external gear mech (if thats what you have) and re-cable. Its actually fairly simple. There are some good Rohloff videos that make it easier than the manual suggests. Not sure if you can swop the cables at the shifter. Prob not. Not sure whether theres any downside to having it the way you have it though, so maybe its just a case of getting used to it...

Swapping he cables over would fix it.
You'd have to do it at the external gearbox. It's unlikely you'd get away without new inners as they go into tiny little holes with little grub screws to crush / clamp them into place.
If there's a lot of adjustment taken up already with the two screws on the outside of the box you might get away with it but unlikely.

You'd just have to swap which holes the inners go into in the little barrel. And consequently which hole of the box they go into.

It's pretty easy, as said above there's good videos, search it on you tube.

FLV wrote:It's pretty easy, as said above there's good videos, search it on you tube.

Thanks all for the advice, looking at the videos mine is set up backwards, but it still works perfectly.
I've had a bit of a play but I think I need new cables to get it the right way around.

Some new brakes

Rest of my AlpKit order has arrived, naturally I couldn't resist fitting it all for a picture:

Ian » Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:27 pm
for the forthcoming Wildcat Jones bar bag

Interested Ian, sounds good - any ETA?

Gravity Works 2ltr filter thingy in the post today - no more dodgy water for me!

99percentchimp wrote:

Ian » Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:27 pm
for the forthcoming Wildcat Jones bar bag

Interested Ian, sounds good - any ETA?

I keep saying "soon", but it never gets any closer
Was just finalising strap positions when Ian came up with the idea that a small battery lead port would be handy - for users of the lights with battery packs, or Sinewave Revolution etc. So getting there, but no ETA as such...

Was just finalising strap positions when Ian came up with the idea that a small battery lead port would be handy - for users of the lights with battery packs, or Sinewave Revolution etc. So getting there, but no ETA as such...

But it will be loads betterer... happy to wait..... you've sold one to me as soon as they're ready