TMars Dropper Seatpost Update

I've had the original seatpost now for 3 1/2 Months and can confirm that it's a bargain for the price when compared with others on offer.

Buying from Taiwan means that it's under £50 (prices vary a bit, I assume due to the exchange rate). I ended up buying a second one for the Morning Glory, this was only £45.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261449037359?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

There are different sellers, but I can recommend the service I received from mine. Less than 2 weeks delivery for the second one.

I really wouldn't want to ride any of the more technical stuff in the Surrey Hills without one, it gives you much more control on the bike and allows you to shift your weight much easier to where it is needed on the descents.


Points to note.

Make sure you get the correct size for the seat tube. The one shown is 27.2, but many bikes need a bigger one. They may not be available in all sizes. Search ebay for Tmars Dropper Post and all the options will be found.

They do need stripping and regreasing after several wet muddy rides.

If it gets sticky, a little manual pull on the saddle clicks it into place.

Be careful the little plastic guides on the insert part of the post don't fall off when you take it out. Mine did.

There is a bit of play in the post, but you don't notice when riding.

New forks are a Revelation

Having sold 3 bikes from my crowded bike shed, I decided to put the money to good use and upgrade the forks on the Orange. I managed to get a bargain set of 2013 Rockshox Revelation forks which are now fitted and feel much plusher then the old Recon's it used to have.

I've also taken the opportunity to give the old forks a service before they get transferred to the Morning Glory to replace the Fox coil spring forks I've never really got on with.

LIC Ego Camera on £75 from Halfords

Bargain price, same camera I use for the mountain biking videos

Halford's LIC Ego camera link

A Morning Tidying Up

It had reached the point where the shed was so full that I was having to take the bike outside to carry out any maintenance. A morning tidying up means that I can now get to all the bikes and the work bench.

Whoops

Perhaps I should have replaced my jockey wheels some time ago.

The one on the right is how they are supposed to look, the one on the left came off my Orange.

£50 dropper seat post

Another victim of the poor weather has been my Gravity Dropper seat post. Unlike many of the posts now available, this relies on a rubber gaiter to keep the elements out. Unfortunately this has become loose allowing the wet and grit to get into the mechanism.

Rather than shelling out £200+ on a hydraulic post, I have bought a £50 ebay post shipped direct from Taiwan. Similar to the Gravity Dropper, it is a mechanical post with 3 settings,  up,  part down and full drop. The full drop seems to be a bit had to engage, but this may loosen up, but I mainly used the initial drop setting when riding and this seems to engage ok.

Post now fitted so I will let you know how it performs.

TMARS dropper seat post

Knackered

Not me for once, but quite a few bits of my bike.

I had noticed one pedal was a bit stiff, so I checked this out to find that the bearings were shot. Less than a year old.

Next was the rear wheel and guess what, the hub bearings are shot on that as well, again less than a year old. Obviously the wet weather and gritty riding conditions have taken their tole.

Having swapped the rear wheel for a spare I noticed a grinding noise from the rear brakes. On checking the pads changed only 3 weeks ago, I found one of them down to the metal. These were the organic set.

Check your brake pads folks and replace with sintered if you have organic compound.


I'm hoping the good news will be how quick I am up hills now I'm running on decent bearings.

Recon

Braving the mud in the morning to find some new routes in the Surrey Hills. Starting at Newlands Corner for breakfast first though.

I will report back for future rides.

7stanes Kirroughtree

I love the 7 Stanes trail centres, having a Brother in Law that lives in the Scottish Borders is fantastic, every year we have a family holiday to Jedburgh where not only do we get a chance to spend some time with the family, but I also get to ride some fantastic trails.

I've ridden Glentress since in officially opened, plus Innerleithen, Ae and Newcastleton, but I've not ridden Kirroughtree as it's a bit of a trek and would involve spending the whole day away from the family. Perhaps this year though.

7 Stanes Web Site

I've a couple of mucky nutz

I've surcomed to bying some mud protection. Ultra light weight and very simple to fit (allegedly, I'll let you know when I fit them). Also cheap and very minimal. I will report on how they perform.

A definite WTF moment

Bike accessories you never realised you needed

Worried about hitting your soft nether regions on your bike stem? Well I wasn't, but now alerted to the dangers what can I do to save my you know whats in the event of an accident?

Buy one of these of course

Stemie

Swindon Croft Trail

Need to pop over and have a look at this, only just found the details and by all accounts it's not a huge trail and quite flat, but it looks good. Swindon's only about 60 miles from me so worth a trip I think.

Croft Trail

Brake Pads

Fitted some new pads to the Orange this evening, which used up all the spares I had. Time then to order some more.

The usual choice is:

Organic - generally better performing, but wear out quickly

or

Sintered - Last longer, but don't give such a good bite


For the first time I'm trying Kevlar pads, supposedly last much longer than organic, but perform better.

£25 for 4 sets from Superstar Components


I'll report back later in the year after I've tried them,

Nothing to do with Mountain Bikes

Fun of the 4 wheeled variety from the weekend




140105 Winter warmer 2014 from mark holttum on Vimeo.

Shiney New Stuff

Actually it has a matt finish, but it's quite bright

Cracking photos

Wow

Looks Fun

Instinct in the Monashees from Rocky Mountain Bicycles on Vimeo.

Bailed out

I had planned to do a bit of route finding around Holmbury Hill today.

My new chest mount for my camera had arrived, and I had maps and route descriptions printed out ready.

But it's peeing down out there. So it will have to wait for another day unfortunately.

Happy New Year