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Are the Boxxers air?
Spring type can make a huge difference, and damping does too. I’m a rockshox guy, never really been a fan of Fox, I know they’re good forks and World Cup winning equipment but I feel at home with RS. Even from the very first pair of Van 125’s I had in 2003 or whenever they came out.
Maybe he’s the same with X Fusion, his confidence and skills grew with those forks and that’s the “feel” he needs to be comfortable.
I’m sure (not sure, sure, no money back guarantee) that Boxxers are “better” in most ways, but if they feel different that won’t actually matter. Racers are a weird bunch 🙂
Yes sir, the Boxxers are air and the XFusion coil.
Tbh I don't much care which ones he uses, the only difference it makes is which front wheel he has in there as the XFusion are non boost 110*20 and the Boxxers are actual boost. But it's just a wheel, we've got Hopes in both styles.
I think the better terminology comes from the Boxxers having LSC and HSC etc. But of course that's only useful if you can take advantage of them.
The XFusion were setup using full on data logger equipment, the Boxxers done with a Shockwiz and the boys feel.
We'll see what FoD brings today in terms of smiles for him, if we have time I may even take the other forks for a final back to back run.
I've read this through as time goes by and whilst your son is doing great and clearly has a passion for riding, I believe you are in danger of swamping his young head with too many options and too much detail.
As a young teenager, no matter what you think and he tells you, he can't yet comprehend, deconstruct and make educated decisions on what to do and change to make best use of the information (and kit) he is being fed.
This isn't a criticism, and I hope you don't take it as such but, to have so many options and changes kit wise, for him to be asked 'What is best' is probably some of the reason he feels stiff as he isn't able to relax properly with 'his' bike in the same way a similar aged child would do whilst playing out with his/her mates.
Maybe just ask him what he likes to ride, without then saying 'Ah but this XXXX should be better because of XXX' (in doing that, he will tend to agree with dad, again whether you think he is or not)
He likes the X-Fusion forks, let him ride them without you trying to justify why the Boxxers may be better in the scenarios where he perhaps didn't get the result he wanted or they felt 'odd' etc'.
It's human nature to try get perfect all the time and with so many options of kit at your disposal, it is very easy to fall into the trap of instant change upon a slightly negative result or experience. For adult professionals who can cope with this and digest the reasoning etc much better than a young teenager that is fine but, for the most I suspect it is confusing and not letting your lad relax into his riding.
By all means justify why certain rides may feel rubbish or he didn't feel the flow, just do it in a way that points to conditions on the day or something other than - that's the forks , tyres, wheels, etc and we can change it.
Give him time on what he loves riding and see what happens.
This isn’t a criticism, and I hope you don’t take it as such
I try not to, especially if it's constructive comments made with good intentions.
I'm not offended with your above post ☺️
To offer something in reply, this is pre season testing really in that context. We've got so so many things to try, test and play with. Both in him and in his kit.
He's obviously got the new incoming Privateer 141, but also things like bars, grips, saddle, then there's an additional one of shoes and pedal (unannounced sponsor lol)
Add that to trying different coaching, different tracks and different riding then yes I'll 100% agree he gets a lot of things thrown at him.
But honestly, we do a lot of days of just 'messing' on the bike, Dyfi was one, so was yesterday in local woods, just messing, no timing, no pressure etc.
But there are times when he has to give a bit of thought to different aspects of himself and kit.
The one constant I keep though is "it has to be fun" and whilst there's complexity, we try and keep it as fun as we can, with where, what, how he rides and indeed when.
In a bike context, he's been on the purple GT for 6 months and very little has changed apart from trying the other forks, ok so 6 months isn't a huge figure, but he's grown a lot and outgrown other bikes quite quickly previously. But he'll be riding this one all year in DH that's for sure.
I don't always show it I know, but I do appreciate input and advice in all ways.
Given that he's being coached now, what does his coach say, suggest?
Don't forget a boost wheel can also(suppoed to be) stiffer than a non boost wheel so that may also contribute a bit to the feel of the fork.
or may just be a stiffer less flexy wheel
Given that he’s being coached now, what does his coach say, suggest?
His coach today was Sam Copp and the first time my boy has worked with him.
Sam was working on body position in terms of legs, arms and torso. He noticed that my lad was a bit arms straight at the start, which promotes a certain stiffness in riding. If you'd seen his pics you'll know that's not usually him, so was good to have the feedback of someone who can see things I can't.
They were playing with that in terms of traction and how body position changes where and when and how you lose traction, e.g front end or rear depending on where the rider is in corner entry/exit.
As with all coaching, it's an ongoing thing.
We'll be out tomorrow to put some bits into practice.
He was happy with the bike but still wants to try the Boxxers again.
We've also got the flats/clips debate due to the new supplier offering a choice of both. I know this falls into 'too much information' again, but this wasn't brought upon him by me, but himself.
Little video clips from yesterday. Bloody bike has taken forever to get cleaned, prepped and ready for todays riding lol. It'll be filthy again within minutes.
Don't think this forum can embed Instagram properly can it?
Bloody bike has taken forever to get cleaned, prepped and ready for todays riding lol. It’ll be filthy again within minutes.
A bit of dirt is fine, nothing wrong with a quick hose and lube. Save yourself the hassle then tackle it properly at the end of the second day?
A bit of dirt is fine, nothing wrong with a quick hose and lube. Save yourself the hassle then tackle it properly at the end of the second day?
Chain was barely moving with all the crap on it. I enjoy a bit of bike playing in the garage on a Sunday morning while the family are sleeping
@weeksy do you also upload your clips to YouTube? I don’t have Instagram, but be good to see his progression.
@woodster I do if he extracts them and sends to me.
For example last weekend at Dyfi.
https://youtube.com/shorts/StYTrBblpLc?feature=share
But he tells me that extracting it and sending to me isn't easy lol.
Chain was barely moving with all the crap on it.
that should’ve been sorted yesterday. You’ll get fired if you keep slacking like that 😉
that should’ve been sorted yesterday.
Lol **** off. We never got back till 6, then I had to go get Chinese. I'd had enough.
I was more thinking along the lines if he was getting some longer term coaching along with several 1000 quids worth of free stuff... who could honestly say what's good, what's bad, where to improve and how those improvements are doing, rather than one off days of skills training.
was more thinking along the lines if he was getting some longer term coaching along with several 1000 quids worth of free stuff… who could honestly say what’s good, what’s bad, where to improve and how those improvements are doing, rather than one off days of skills training
He's getting coached twice a month. Yesterday's coach was part of Katy's team
WRT Twonks post. I kind of get what he means. Anecdote from my experience; I used to be a decent club level cricketer, but I didn't achieve anything like as much as I had potential to, because I was one of those that was always tinkering, to my detriment.
When I was in form, I didn't know what I was doing, I just did it. All I did was concentrate on batting and watching the ball, and the runs came.
When I was out of form - there had to be a reason. OK, it's not as equipment focused as DH racing, but - in cricket, is my grip too strong? Too bottom handed? Maybe the pick up wasn't straight? Perhaps my feet weren't moving properly so maybe I need a more definitive trigger movement..... and before you know where you are you're thinking about everything else apart from "see ball, hit ball". You make a mistake, you're out...... but why? Obviously that back and across isn't right, but maybe the foot needs to go straight back - and you start all over again.
Is there a case to be made to say that the kit he has is perfectly good for what he needs. Fix on a set up and agree not to change it for a period of time and take all that 'this fork or that fork?', 'which wheel is stiffer?' etc. off the table. Just ride the bike and focus on riding it, don't let the mind think about anything else.
Of course, may not be entirely possible with stuff like tyres to suit conditions, but there's a time for testing and a time for practise, and coming back from an injury and rebuilding confidence, trying lots of new things with the way he rides under new coaches, settle all that down and then change other things bit by bit.
there’s a time for testing
And surely pre-season is that time. You play with setup, play with rider, play with riding and then settle from there.
Once we bought the purple bike last year we didn't touch it. The only reason we swapped the forks was because he snapped them and we didn't know how quickly or if at all they could be fixed. We're not looking at his kit for answers to a problem, we've got spare/other forks so we're trying them out back to back to see what feels best.
Whilst he's got a lot of stuff going on, the purple bike has barely changed. It also won't change. Whichever forks he runs will be the forks full time all year.
His coach hasn't changed either, next weekend he's back out all day with Katy, but it was worth trying her colleague to see if the lad got something out of it.
Today we spent 5 hours (well I spent 2.5) in the local woods hitting trails with mates, playing, jumping and messing, it wasn't serious but it was quality bike time. Sure in a background way he was also trying shoes and pedals, but the priority was just to enjoy.
I think at times this journey comes over as all consuming but it's really not, we both just enjoy bikes and riding, whether this is a 12 month deal or not won't change where, when and how we race, we race because we both enjoy it, all aspects.
OK, you seem to know what's best for him.
OK, you seem to know best
That so wasn't what I said.
But.
1 change. Forks. That's all that's changed in the last 6 months on the bike.
The rest of the 'stuff' like bars, pedals, shoes, grips, saddles etc won't even go on the DH bike. So the DH won't get changed at all.(unless he asks)
They'll all go on the Privateer which will never see a DH race.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52630654613_9fb532c1ae_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52630654613_9fb532c1ae_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2obMRZx ]2023-01-16_07-56-26[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Just been stripping down and sorting the older model Fury, the boy was riding it at Dyfi for 2 runs last week and felt it every now and again wasn't quite 'right'
For all the time we've owned it, i've never quite tracked down the cause/noise on the back end... it felt like a loose bushing but i was pretty sure it wasn't that. So i took the rear end apart, checking everything and fitted a new eyelet bushing, but still wasn't 100%.
I then noticed that the spacer that goes between the mount points on the shock has about 0.3mm of play, so you can move it very slightly when you put in just the spacer into the frame on the back mount point. A quick check of the spares box of suspension mounts and i had one that ended up being 0.5mm bigger.... so a quick 5 mins with a file and it now fits snugly.... Tried it all out with the shock in there and there's absolutely nothing...perfect.
I don't see this one lasting the year though in honesty as it's getting a litle small for the lad now i'd say. We did have a bite on it at the weekend at less money than i wanted, but i thought back to how @tracey helped us out, along with the kit/bike/hardware he's been given lately and I said yes to the deal as it was so his kid could go racing. But it looks like that may have gone sideways after all as a deal, so we're now sitting and waiting to see. It's no biggy though either way. Plus it forced me into making it a bit nicer lol.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52630828210_0f03e71b08_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52630828210_0f03e71b08_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2obNKAA ]2023-01-16_10-53-22[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Dunno if applicable now, or maybe to someone you know from racing, but just saw this:
https://uniteco.bike/unite-collective/
Thank you for the thought/link. In all truth mate, with the current (and unannounced) sponsors/help we have, i don't think we could really fit in any more. He's got riding kit covered, parts/components and bikes, as well as obviously coaching. So there's nothing we could really justify now without risking a conflict of interest between sponsors. It's obviously an insanely enviable position to be in and both me and the lad appreciate it massively the position we find ourselves in.
We're now trying to get to grips with the 'social media' aspect of things and working out content, context, timings and what sort of pics/videos the sponsors want. But that'll come more once the fabled Privateer eventually arrives lol.
👍
Lol I wish mate. I'd love to retire and become all Seagrave but that's not a reality I forsee.
For now we have quality dad and boy time hitting different places, woods, trails and premier Inn restaurants.
He's having a blast, so am I. Mrs Weeksy forgets what we look like
Well that was slightly interesting the other morning. I was chatting with a mate about forks and stuff. We were discussing the forks i bought and he said "well the Boxxer Selects are not that brilliant, they really need HSC etc"... I thought to myself "But they do have HSC." and sent him the pic.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52632911459_83c5603689_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52632911459_83c5603689_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2obZqSF ]2023-01-17_01-05-21[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
It turns out they have a Charger damper installed. ROCKSHOX BOXXER CHARGER 2.1 RC2 DAMPER UPGRADE KIT (2019+)
https://www.tftuned.com/rockshox-boxxer-charger-21-rc2-damper-upgrade-kit-2019/p3593
Which it seems from the link above, is bloody expensive !!!! I don't feel as bad about the marks on the lowers now.
We do need to keep on playing with the setup though to get them 'right' and we'll have a bit more of a play this weekend at Bringewood and BPW, with a bit of luck we'll get them closer to where we want.
the lad is getting excited now as things are ramping up a little in terms of days out, racing etc.. Although currently only for a few weekends as Feb is looking fairly sparse currently for events/days. So we'll need to think of some plans. Happily though the fabled Privateer 141 should be here by then and we'll get the time at some less expensive days out and throwing in a little more in terms of pedal power rather than uplift power 😀
His video came up in my YouTube shorts. I’ve got Mountain Biking selected as one of my interests so probably linked to that. Was very good to see. (It was the manual out of the exit video)
Quanto Costa old Fury?
To you. Without Hopes £1500
With Hopes £1650
We're in Shropshire on Sat, it's a DH track and could take bike to test out.
Boxxer Forks, Code brakes, 7 speed SRAM gears, Renthal bars, deathgrips, it's a lovely thing. I just don't need it as I've got the Slayer
Well barring any issues, it looks like the blue Fury is sold at the weekend.
It's a bit sad in some ways as it was his first DH bike and his first race win as well as first podium. So it's actually got a bit of an attachment to both me and the lad. But arguably it's a fraction small for him and he's only going to get bigger so selling it makes a lot of sense.
The replacement plan... well, lets see how much sense that makes hahahaa.
The blue Fury is now sold and we can move onto plan B.
In the list are 3 bikes.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125718055199
Above one is £1600
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385263345687
above is £2000
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3489979/
above is roughly £2100 (i'm trying to talk him into £2000)
So they're all as you see, GT Furys, later model than the blue one that's sold. They're all in a size Large as i think that'll potentially suit him by say the end of the year as he's growing.
The logic/plan is that we end up with a completely swappable bike for his blue one should anything break/happen on a given race weekend.
The Pinkbike Fury comes with air forks and shock, which is fairly interesting, but adds in some complexity of setting up, although we could always use the forks/shock that are currently on his purple bike.
Both of the other 2 run the Xfusion front and rear, which isn't an issue at all and he quite likes... but again, if we need to use the bike we'd have the option of swapping bouncy bits from the purple bike which is set up for him.
The discussion of 'do you really need a 2nd DH bike' doesn't really come into play, it's within the budget and there's no real reason to not have a 2nd bike to take. So it's more a question of "do we go for a Large" and "which one of the 3"
Out of the 3 If I had to chose it would be the one that can be run as a 29 option just in case it's needed at a later date
It would need a different set of forks though too, which i don't know if that'll happen. The boy has to go 29er one day potentially, but currently he's very much against the idea.
I thought you had a spare set
Only 27.5 forks. He's tried the odd 29er but only in passing. As time moves in I may set the Slayer up for him and throw him down on 29, but currently he's very much set on 27.5
We'll try 29 of course when the 141 arrives, but that's a bit more trails than DH. So tricky to compare
So the blue GT went and the new bike is collected
29er front end
Hope brakes
Boxxer Forks
Bomber CR shock
Halo wheels
We'll see how it rides tomorrow
and the new bike is collected
And clearly now, you need a 'new' bicycle as well. It would be rude not to 😉
Looks good. Is it mulleted at the moment
Yup mullet currently. Comes with all the bits to go 27.5 along with spare shock and 29er swingarm.
And clearly now, you need a ‘new’ bicycle as well
It's barely been used. Although was ace on DH course at Bringewood today.
Would it have made sense to swap the fork and shock from the old bike? Didn't you pay rsr to set it up? Or am I miles behind
I'm in pub so haven't go the depth of reply right now, will do that tomorrow lol
The other forks and other other forks have both been done,both are options if he goes 27.5. it may end up a culmination of 2 bikes to be race/spare.
Stop posting and get boxing boozing ya but southern fairy 🤪
The observant amongst you will see it's running the XFusion shock. Reason for that is that the Bomber is sprung with a 550 and he's a 350. So the logical easy step for today was to swap the shock from the purple to the blue, so it's sprung exactly how he likes it. Due to logistical nightmares this morning of leaving a bag at the hotel 80 mins away, we didn't get to FoD, well we did, got out of the van, saw we'd left the bag full of clothing and drove back to Aberdare LOL.
We then made the decision to just ride locally instead. Well, he rode locally, i got to drive then come home and sort all the kit while he's out playing.
It’s barely been used.
No, no, mon ami!! You clearly need another bike too 😁
Dad's Taxi
Dad's Launderette
Dad's Bicycle Repairs
Dad's Travel-Bookers
Dad's keeping a track for when you make it big son, and then your board will be negotiated 😉😉
Lots of discussions with the boy after his riding, it seems he really really likes the mullet feel. Which is interesting because currently it's 'wrong'
Why is it wrong you ask.. well, you don't but maybe you think it slightly.
The answer is that the previous owner didn't have quite the correct logic. He stuck in the 29er headset cup (we had loads of spare headset cups, including 3.5deg offset. That would have been fine if he'd put in a 29er back end and wheel too. But because he's running as a mullet with a standard headset, the back end is lowered and the head angle too slack.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642415071_015660e7f2_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642415071_015660e7f2_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ocQ8Y4 ]2023-01-22_05-58-22[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642889363_0ba154ed6c_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642889363_0ba154ed6c_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ocSyXv ]2023-01-22_05-58-07[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
The answer is that you get a 2deg offset headset
https://www.workscomponents.co.uk/20-degree-zs49-zs49-angle-headset---to-suit-1-18-steerer-tube-59-p.asp
Just like that. The boy actually seemed happy with the head angle as it was today.... but it still should be 'right' so i've got one of these ordered up.
Happily i checked the current headset bearing and they were knackered anyway
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642414811_17a71a0035_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52642414811_17a71a0035_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ocQ8Tz ]2023-01-22_05-58-13[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Apart from that, the Hopes are 'better' and stronger than the GuideR's.... Which won't be a massive shock to many but he does love the Guides... I think he may now love the Hopes more lol.. Oh dear.. we know where that's going.
So i think the long and short is that we're going to be running a mullet and getting the mulet bike setup next weekend not the 27.5 as we'd planned. It's also going to mean that the 27.5 Boxxer forks are going to be up for sale as will the 27.5 Xfusions potentially (although i may keep those for selling the bike longer term putting back to standard). But for sure the Boxxers will be on their way out and replaced by some 29er forks. I'll then need a 29x20 boost front wheel to match, but all of this is just something 'for the future', however as we know, in my world, things escalate and happen quickly at times... but it'll be a couple of weeks so he can test, try and practice on both bikes for now.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cntl-wyrBgC/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
impetuous
/ɪmˈpɛtjʊəs/
Learn to pronounce
adjective
acting or done quickly and without thought or care.
"she might live to rue this impetuous decision"
Deffo not me. Whilst it may look like it, these things, ideas, plans get a LOT of internal discussion before i jump in
By eck it's a bit bloody cold for working on MTBs in the garage today. It's deffo below 0, but only just at a guess, but the fingers really do feel it.
Went to fit the DMR bars, the boy wanted his bars narrower on this bike as they're at 810mm with grips, his race bike is 770mm with grips. However the DMR bars are 35mm and the stem is a standard stem not a DH stem, so couldn't fit the bar combo.
So in the end i trimmed down the Renthal bars to 770mm for him so he's got pretty much the same on both now give or take a mm or 2.
Got to wait now for the headset parts to arrive and the new shock spring though before i can do anything else particularly constructive to the bike. I also need to learn a bit about Hope brakes and bleeding, whilst they feel lovely at the moment, i'm guessing one day i'll need to do stuff to them.
Buy the Hope bleed kit. All nicely machined Alu parts and makes the bleed super easy.
Buy the Hope bleed kit. All nicely machined Alu parts and makes the bleed super easy.
Sounds good... I'll get on the case. I don't even know what models of what i have yet.. I'd guess they're Tech3/E4, but I need to do a bit more checking as i'll need some pads of course.
We've both just entered the Southern Enduro in March, which will be his first race on the Privateer, i expect the whole team will race there too.
His weekend coaching went really well and it seemed like KAty unlocked a few things in his brain. She was pushing all of the riders a little outside of their comfort zones with "right, follow me and do this".... "can't do that...." was both of their replies at times... "sure you can, get on with it".. LOL... they both did what she'd asked, but needed a bit of persuasion for the first time of asking. It was brilliant to see how she sees the lines that they don't necessarily see, the places to pick up speed/time they'd miss... The body position things that people like me simply wouldn't be able to pick out.
Yesterday we then went to the local woods and he was looking faster, better, happier again, even on the new bike with a new front end size and bars too big and a head angle of a Harley Davidson lol.... He felt the flow more. It just shows how the right person can make a massive effect on a riders head.
This weekend has now changed slightly i'd say, from riding the 27.5 and getting suspension setup, to likely riding the mullet and getting it set up. With the outside knowledge we have on various aspect coming in to advise on the setup of it as a mullet, we both think that this is the way forward for him. This weekend is a no pressure kind of race at FoD so will be perfect for him to test different things, from pedals to bikes. Admittedly it's the first ranked race of 2023 so would be nice to get off to a decent start in points... but it'll be a toughie as it's his first time in 'youth' which means he'll be racing all the fast strong U16s, along with his usual juveniles from last season... He's got i think 57 in his Cat this weekend !!!!
It’s also going to mean that the 27.5 Boxxer forks are going to be up for sale as will the 27.5 Xfusions potentially (although i may keep those for selling the bike longer term putting back to standard). But for sure the Boxxers will be on their way out and replaced by some 29er forks.
I thought you'd sold one of the 27.5 bikes? Did you have spare forks?
You're aware putting 29 front end on a 27.5 isn't the same as putting a 27.5 rear end on a 29er? Which is how i read the above?
I thought you’d sold one of the 27.5 bikes? Did you have spare forks?
You’re aware putting 29 front end on a 27.5 isn’t the same as putting a 27.5 rear end on a 29er? Which is how i read the above?
The GT Fury is completely compatible with 27.5 full, 29 full and 29/27.5 mullet using both headset cups, chainstays and flip chips. It's raced in mullet form at WC races using the configuration we'll be going with by both Ethan Craik and Wyn Masters. But yes i'm aware it's 'different' but it's completely 'correct' according to GT if you do it the right way of course.
So you run a non-stack upper and lower cup if you run 29/29. You run a 30mm lower stack cup if you run 27.5/27.5 , then if you run mullet you run non-stack upper and lower, but with a 2deg angle headset to bring the front end back 2 degrees to compensate for the difference from dropping the rear with 27.5 wheel.
The boy has the option using the spare 27.5 forks of course to run both bikes in full 27.5 mode.. But he wants to give the mullet a try, so that's where we're going. We sold the old 2018 bike, so he's got the purple bike which is running 27.5/27.5 along with a spare set of forks and spare front wheel. We'd need to fit the other headset cups to allow full 27.5, but that's no biggy.
Hope Bleed Kit in whichever flavour you need. I suspect Tech3 - the difference is in the reservoir caps (you replace the usual cap with the kit one, screw in the cup and then do the gravity style bleed).
I'm using T3 / E4s. I've found Galfer Pads to be good, green are really nice, but I've been using standard sintered ones for winter and they've been just fine.
Forgive me for asking but i cant seem to find any recent racing history for the boy. I check in from time to time to see how he is going but its all been taken over by talk of equipment and sponsorship.
Has he got a web page or somewhere listing his performances please
You'll find him on Instagram as @weeksy08
https://www.rootsandrain.com/rider111960/james-weeks/results/
Results are there.
Racing has been on the 'off-season' recently mate, so he's not raced since Oct as he also crashed and broke his collar bone (only missed one race though)
First race of the year is next weekend at Forest of Dean.
You could buy some boxxer 29 lowers to save having to replace the entire 27.5 fork perhaps, assuming the rest of it is good.
You could buy some boxxer 29 lowers to save having to replace the entire 27.5 fork perhaps, assuming the rest of it is good.
That is potentially exceptional information mate.. I wasn't even aware that was viable.. But certainly something to consider. But i think for now it'll be kept 27.5 until he's fully sold either way on wheel sizes.
Fantastic. Good luck younger weeksy
Lowers will come with new bushes and seals already installed too. A lot of the time they work out quote good vfm, especially if not fussed about colour/decals
There is this set of lowers.
the Germany ones are £320+ duties to import i'd expect.
Me and the boy spent another couple of hours in the woods last night and he's 100% sold on the Mullet setup. I think it just feels better to him, it'll also help as we'll be running a 29er front on the Privateer of course.
What that does mean is that we need another wheel to start with, so a quick call to Rotec Cycles and a Pro4evo with Fortus30 has been ordered and on it's way over.. That'll then mean he can run both Pro4s on the race bike and have the 2nd wheel for bike 2 (purple currently) so we've got complete compatibility between both bikes.
He's looking forward to the weekend now and apart from a gym session, he'll likely chill mostly and then we'll be spending the day in FoD on Sat to play on the race-track and then racing on Sunday 🙂
Id be tempted to go with the eBay ones with a cheeky offer assuming you have another axle. What you save will go towards the new wheel
Funny you say that @tracey They've been bought and are being fitted this afternoon LOL.
The new wheel is ordered and will be here tomorrow.
We've now got 2 headsets arriving instead of 1 headset. So by the weekend, both the purple bike and the blue bike will be mullet. The new spring has arrived for the Bomber, so that's good too... both done... Long-term project complete 😀 😀
Sounds good. Parents work is never done.
But for sure the Boxxers will be on their way out and replaced by some 29er forks. I’ll then need a 29×20 boost front wheel to match, but all of this is just something ‘for the future’, however as we know, in my world, things escalate and happen quickly at times… but it’ll be a couple of weeks so he can test, try and practice on both bikes for now.
24 hours later…..
They’ve been bought and are being fitted this afternoon LOL.
The new wheel is ordered and will be here tomorrow.
😂😂😂
Classic Weeksy!
More Boxxer 29s 😀
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52646933620_3cfb1f59e5_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52646933620_3cfb1f59e5_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2odeib5 ]2023-01-24_03-45-55[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
You need one of the old fork bags that Marzocchi use to supply back in the day.
Great for spare fork transporting
So as per the carbon frame issues discussion thread. We've now got 2 similar/same bikes. Both running mullet setup and both running in 'Lo' mode on the flip chip with the correct -2deg headset. This gives a head angle of 62.5 deg using an android angle measuring/bubble app.
I need to get some headset spacers and a front wheel that's on order to complete the purple bike, but it's back together with the new Works Components headset fitted at the same angles too. This also means with the shock in the Lo position that the BB and of course ride height sits slightly lower, which should in turn improve stability.
It's been a bit of a day the last 24 hours, but i think we're in a place where both bikes will be ready to roll for the weekend. The boy has been putting in plenty of bike time. Just a question of getting there, getting in some practice and seeing how the weekend goes.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52650208298_ebf0fbddb5_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52650208298_ebf0fbddb5_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2odw5C3 ]2023-01-26_08-11-27[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
New wheels now in the purple bike, both bike are happy with headset angles, ready to roll for race 1 of 2023.
genuine question, what do you do as a job? you seem to have th holy grail of infinite time and money
I'm in IT. I certainly don't have lots of money, we've decided we'll support the boy 100% in racing and at times that means we do without other things, like a family holiday abroad etc. But it's a struggle to fund this for sure, without some of the help we get, it would be a lot tougher. Time, i work it so i start stupid early and do stuff in evenings too, so have a little more time if needed during day. But i still do a 40 hour week, just some of it is at different times to other people.
maybe not lots of money but lots available at the drop of a hat 🙂
maybe not lots of money but lots available at the drop of a hat
I'm sure it looks that way but it's so not the case. The blue bike was bought with the funds from selling the other blue older GT, the wheel was bought with the money from selling the 27.5 wheel, the fork lowers came in from selling the XFusion shock... etc etc... It's money out and money in. I can see how it may look at times, but i can promise you it's far far far from the case. I really hope this thread doesn't come over that way, like a bragging thing. Well, not in terms of our finances anyway. Of course i love talking about the boys riding and racing.
There's times when we struggle to afford certain aspects and i sit there looking at the bank and thinking "oh... errrm"
https://m.pinkbike.com/news/introducing-the-katy-curd-youth-development-team.html
Well I'm not sure I have any words left to say ever again.
Well, not really lol.