Davall

Ok thanks. Fingers crossed for some improvement after further use then, a point others have made too, though I really can't see it softening up by much. Time will tell.

Clever....I really like that!

DP, presumably you're referring here to the finger adjuster on the top of the left hand fork leg, rather than any adjustment using a tool? i.e. the thing which is marked PRELOAD and with a +/- indication? If so, most of us seem to ride with this in its fully softest setting (but which is still way too firm for my liking). Or have you found some other adjustment separate from that?

I guess as a lecturer, people paying attention must come as something of a novelty to you...

In post #26 of this thread, you told us how you "take great care not to get hurt, nor to hurt any other creature". It must sting a bit when you shoot 'em though...

Thanks James and NRG - much obliged.

Interesting. The return spring on mine seems quite vicious the way it snaps the cable back when I depress the blue lever. If I adjust it any looser though, I cannot achieve the lock-out position with the pink lever, so I think the cable must be set correctly. May I ask from which supplier you obtained your mirror and its bar end please? It's the kind of thing I'm looking for too and looks quite neat.

Indeed I did just that on Friday. They state the preload range from one extreme to the other is only 10% and agree that the ProConnect S fork is considerably firmer than a mountain bike fork. They are putting this to RST who make the item, to see whether they produce anything softer and more compliant in 700C size, preferably with a better range of adjustment. Failing that, they advise that I might wish to purchase an air fork instead. In the meantime, I see it as important to caution others who may be considering the purchase of one of these bikes to be aware of the shortcomings in its fork and make certain it suits them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to test ride an "S" before purchase because there wasn't one available.

Lemmy, I don't like to trust a single rear lamp, because it could blow without you realising it, so I like to supplement it with a second standalone unit. I recently bought a backup pair of LED lamps, for front and rear, including batteries, for around a fiver for the pair from Tesco. On these LED units, the batteries seem to last well, they are straightforward to fit and inexpensive, so this might be a possible solution for you. You can even get wind-up LED bike lamps now, where you don't ever need batteries, but I don't care much for the idea myself. I like to have some warning when the power starts to fade, which a battery should give but I'm not sure a wind-up power source would. PS. The front light of my Tesco pair was GREEN! Is this a new standard is anyone aware, or just a foul up in the factory? I've fitted it to one of my mountain bikes which I rarely use at night, but am concerned about a possible tug from the old bill!

Thanks for the Slime advice above. Puncture patched (actually punctures - a sharp flint removed from the tyre had holed the tube in not one but two adjacent places.... and yes I found that out the hard way... ) Second hole fixed and back on the road again. Dynamic Position - thanks for your response. Your forks sound like mine, the difference being to me that 1 to 4mm is almost imperceptible in terms of fork movement and makes it barely worth installing, given its considerable additional weight penalty. To me a fork ought to move more like 1 to 4cm under body movement, not 1 to 4mm. That has been my complaint and is what I dislike about this poor fork. A cobblestone street on a bike with a good fork should not shake you to bits, not in my opinion at least. You have reinforced my own findings. JamesC - thanks for your reply too. Yes, they are much firmer than a typical mountain bike fork.... and all the worse for it. The purpose of lockout is to stop the fork bounce when riding uphill. The rest of the time, the fork should damp out vibration and offer a good, softish ride. These don't. On this ProConnect S fork there is never any need to engage lockout, because the fork is very nearly that firm to begin with! I might decide to change mine in due course but cannot afford to do so at the moment while still recovering from the swingeing purchase price of the bike (and why should I have to?). Such a disappointment on an otherwise very nice machine.

1122 - thank you.

Yes please. Punctured today after just 28 miles since new. Even if I can find a pump with Woods adaptor in my garage, it will probably have gone rotten, having last been used over 20 years ago! .

This bike is trying me! Thanks Hugh, good to hear from you. That confirms my suspicion that it's just a poor quality fork on the Pro Connect S. Let's just say that clocking the "made in China" label on my fork came as no surprise. Lugging all that extra weight around for next to no gain. For me it lets the whole bike down and is unforgivable on such an expensive machine.... remembering that a brand new 125cc Honda motorcycle would have cost less! Nothing particularly wrong with Woods valves in my view, but yes, I did have a chuckle when I saw them too! Not sure I've seen any Woods inner tubes for sale in a long while though, so we might have to move to Presta or Schrader for convenience at some stage. Speaking of which, I got my first puncture today, rear wheel, at a total odometer mileage of..... just 28 miles So much for the top drawer, handmade, puncture resistant Continental Topcontact tyres. I'm seriously beginning to wish I'd gone with plan A now and bought the Alien Gents II and saved £1600.... What are people's thoughts on Green Slime please? Does it affect the ride quality or the feel of the bike? Does it work or is it hype? Is there a better product? Advantages/disadvantages? I've been cycling all my life but never used this type of product before, so would value your opinions, thanks.

Agreed flecc. A good fork should offer adequate damping across its adjustable range from soft to firm. Indeed. The suppliers read and participate in this forum. I can't tell them anything that they won't already have seen here, and I deduce that they already know how firm and unyielding the ProConnect S forks are. I will take flecc's advice and see if they free up any with use. Any comments from the other ProConnect S owners on this board? The preload adjustment makes only the tiniest difference from one extreme to the other on mine. Even the softest setting needs a considerable downforce on the handlebars to get the stanchions to move -- do you find the same? If so, then that is the standard, if not then mine might indeed be faulty.

Thanks chaps. I suspect Flecc is right, maybe a few miles might loosen it up a little. I don't particularly subscribe to the thinking on high speed instability with softer forks though. I've flown down some Alpine hills at prolonged high speeds on my much softer Rock-Shox fork with no concerns at all. With the ProConnect S's promising set-up offering adjustable preload plus variabe degree of lock-out, it ought to be possible to set the fork up exactly as I want, dialling in anything from soft to firm, but as it stands, the range is from hard & unyielding to rock solid -- quite disappointing at the price. Time will tell.