"its Japanese and US wings were very keen to get Pipedream FS frames"

But presumably this frame won't be available in the US?

Oh, Red Rock is ace!

I believe that it's licensed FSR.

Do Spesh actually charge for use of the patent or is it like Volvo with airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners, in that they've patented them just so that they can protect the patent and keep it's use cost free to others?

Yes, Specialized do charge for the patent if you're selling outside UK/Europe.

On their site it says it's not available in USA.

It isn't a very high charge though. IIRC it's only about $1 per bike.

I vaguely remember something about the patent reaching its expiry date soon, sometime in the next couple of years or so. If that's correct it could be interesting to see who starts to use it afterwards.

Can't you just re-apply to renew a patent though? Wouldn't have thought Spesh would let that one go.

Mike, when dave gets round to fitting the front mech on his new sirius can he check out the tyre/mech clearance. I have about 2-3mm clearance at best (2.35 tyres) and have had to adjust the mech angle to compensate. Be interested to know.

New bouncy frame looks nice, but its bouncy so i am not allowed one.

Not much you can do about that if you want big tyres and short chainstays. I've got a Dialled here with about 1mm clearance ;-) I assume you've got the chainline right and everything.

Uncle barry did the fettling and i trust him so yeash thats all ok.

TBH everything works fine, i was just a little suprised at such little clearance. As you say its a design issue with short stays & big tyres.

I thought different fron mechs may have different clearances, but thinking about it, the shifter cage is still gonna have to be in the same place regardless of the mech type.

So is it basically the old Turner design then?

But about £700 less ( with the better matching shock on it )

Must admit I'd of been tempted with this, as I like the Turner ride wise, but to late :(


Makes my 4mm's of clearance sound great :) with a 2.4 on the rear.

x-fusion shock? i've seen 'em specced on cheap bikes, are they beginning to make a name for themselves?

They've got a new range out Mike, better quality, trying to move into the expensive end of the market.

hmm, i s'pose it'll be down to who wants to risk it

i considered buying a suntour duro rear mech, but then stuck with the norm, i would like to support other companies giving this stuff a go, but given the choice of tried and tested, or an unknown entity, i know which i'd choose

I'd risk a mech if it was cheaper and seemed as good, but a expensive and crucial to the ride quality shock, I'll leave to someone else :)

Why I said, with the extra shock upgrade :)

I've been riding the Aonach Mor now for nearly a year, and gotta say, its a great bike.

Took a bit of tweaking on the RP3 to get it dialled, but with a RC40Fighter and built not too heavy it works. Really well.

At 120mm front its good in the woods, and with 150mm its super stable downhill.

Tis a touch heavier than needs for an all day frame, but still looks like new and on first set of bearings after many a long day out in the peaks/crashes etc. Feels solid and sure footed. Fine on reasonable drops too.

If this new one rides like mine, but a bit lighter, it will be superb.

I am considering buying one to compare, but that would be daft :)