Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

[RTT]

There have been a number of bicycle related threads here recently, so we might as well go for a dedicated thread as quite a few of us are really quite into the subject and can offer pretty good advice.

So, use this for all bike related questions and discussion We could probably create a bunch of useful links (stores, etc?) if people would find it useful...

[RTT]

Originally Posted by supertoad

if this is the bikes thread, i guess i'll ask my bikes question here: what fork should i buy? my old marzocchi z4 has blown its seals so many times i have given up all hope for it. i don't do a lot of big drops or jumping or anything so it doesn't need to take that much of a beating, but i'm not after something super-lightweigh either. i've been looking at the marzocchi marathon. 100mm of travel would be nice. i can probably spend up to about $600, but i'd rather go about 400.

also, if anybody is in the canmore/banff area this summer, send me a PM and we'll go for a ride. there's some really great trails here.

The low end rockshox stuff is pretty good for the money, they do a few 100mm forks in both air & coil spring models

[RTT]

Wiggle currently have 20% off all tyres and all hydration packs. Pretty handy since I new tyres and a bigger camelbak!

[RTT]

Quite the opposite of my day then supertoad - got in and decided to investigate why my rear gears were playing up... my (non-replaceable) sprung derailleur mount is bent meaning the whole unit can't rotate around the mech hanger. I've gotta replace the entire derailleur. I must've bashed it at some point as that's the only way it could have gotten bent. D'oh.

[RTT]

Got 4 days in Coed-y-Brenin booked for mid June Cannot. ****ing. Wait

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Major

Are these bikes any good?

Marin Novato

Scott Sportster P1 and P2

Yeah, they're fine, the Scotts especially.

[RTT]

Originally Posted by will.

I also unclip for the really steep bits

You big girl

Shimano MP66s are pretty popular I'd get those if i was after a non racing style shoe.

I think I might buy a Commençal Meta 5.5.1

[RTT]

Went out for an early ride this morning. Got to Swinley Forest, down the very first descent on my route and my bloody chain snapped! Had to ride my bike home like it was a scooter/skateboard Thanks, SRAM!

[RTT]

I just bought a Commençal Meta 5.5.1



Fox Float 32 140mm RLs, Fox RP2, SRAM X.9/X.0 gear all round, Raceface cranks, Oro K24s... the works

[RTT]

I had half of my Topeak Alien tool with me, so couldn't fix it or convert it into a single speed due to where it broke. I'll probably just pack some spare power link connectors from now on.

28.5lbs or there abouts

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Tomm

Bear in mind that you will still need a chain splitter to remove the bad / splayed link. In which case you might as well just fix it properly... I don't really rate the Powerlinks anyway, they fall apart too easily, even under no tension.

It's cool, I'll replace the whole thing. I do wonder if it gave up because my rockhopper's rear mech is Shimano and the chain I was running was an SRAM 991 - gear changes were not as good with the mixed kit.

The powerlinks are allegedly jut as strong as normal links or very close to it - I know Jamie snapped a chain but I don't know if it was a normal link or a powerlink. I snapped a normal link the other day

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Tomm

Hmm, fair enough. I ride trials and we're a bit paranoid about chain snaps, so Powerlinks are a big no-no. For XC they're probably OK to be fair. But I reckon it's good practise to join it properly.

I've got a proper fat chain on my revell - one of these which is obviously joined properly.

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Tomm

Woo, nice one. I have last year's Meta 5.5.3 - the cheapest one (Mind you, it's been upgraded a lot - more of a 5.5.2.5 if you ask me). I love it, so much fun.

What have you done to your 553? The only thing I'm going to do to mine* is swap my Hope Pro 2s over onto it and replace the bars/stem to oversize.

* well, i'll try...

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Tomm

Not a whole bunch, just drivetrain mainly. It came with Sram X.7 stuff which I don't rate at all. Maybe the higher end stuff is better, but I destroyed one shifter (in a crash) and the rear mech went wobbly after less than a year. So I replaced it all with XT stuff, including a Shadow mech

The high end SRAM stuff is absolutely lovely. The 551 has SRAM everything except the front mech which is XT I haven't looked but maybe SRAM don't do front mechs?

New rear wheel - I hate cheap hubs (It's the trials thing again) so I replaced the own-brand rear with a Hope XC on a Sun singletrack. I'll get a front one to match but it'll probably be when I get the new forks (which will more than likely be 20mm).

Cool. I'm going to change the rims on my Pro2s (currently XC717s) to XM721s and put them on the Meta (so my Rockhopper might be wheel-less for a while). Cheap hubs are indeed horrible.

Oh, and the main pivot bearings and shock bushings. Watch out for that...

Where did you get replacement bushings? i'm not expecting mine to last too long, known issue and all.

I'm spending 2 weeks in the Alps (including the Megavalanche)

git

[RTT]

Originally Posted by Major

Can't find one review for the Scott Scale 50, even though reading about it seems like a fantastic bike (and my bro also said it's fantastic)...

plenty of reviews via Google (well look out for mtbr etc)

Anyway it's a typical low-medium range XC bike* with typical XC geometry, travel and weight. The Tora 302s are good bang/buck and it even has some XT kit on it. Juicy 3s are good brakes and punch above their weight. It compares with pretty much any other hardtail XC bike at the same price point

In my book (for XC): Low = 500-700 quid, medium = 700-1000, high = 1000-1500, stupidly high = 2k+, insanity = 3k full carbon sub 9kg bikes.

[RTT]

Originally Posted by DarkReaper

Those of you with Hope hubs - what do you think of the noise? I can't stand really clicky growly hubs... I want a smooth hub with zero noise freewheeling, so when I'm rolling through a forest I can hear the noises around me.

The noise on mine over a few months has gone from a very clicky-clacky noise to a slightly more dampened click. It's still loud but not as bad as it was. Tomm's right, you do just tune it out when you're concentrating on riding.

Originally Posted by tomm

They do make front mechs but I've not seen one - my meta came with a Shimano front mech too. The front SRAM mechs are compatible with Shimano shifters (and vice versa) so it's easy to mix it up - whereas the rear ones are annoyingly incompatible.

My bearing actually went first, after about 6 months. I got the replacements from ebay at £2 each (4 needed per bike). I got a bushing off a mate who had a spare, but apparently he got them from Maplins. As long as you get the exact right diameters it's a very cheap way of doing it. But I haven't tried it myself so can't confirm.

Ok, cool.


Completely agree with Tomm on the hardtail stuff, there really isn't much between them in terms of frame, handling or characteristics, so you can just choose on spec/paint job

[RTT]

Pics of my Commie Meta 5.5.1





Bigger size on my Flickr (though you might need to log in?)

[RTT]

Yeah change those pedals... toe straps... XD

Just got back from a mammoth 6.something hour ride around the North Downs. There's some bloody excellent riding to be had out there

[RTT]

Originally Posted by dom_

Where abouts where you?

Leith / Pitch / Holmbury Hills with some local knowledge of the trails

[RTT]

Originally Posted by will.

I've got an awesome pump. It's a mini foot pump. Bit longer than the average hand pump but you stick it on the ground and it's got a flexible tube with swappable valve fittings. Really good pump. Only £20 as well.

Would that be one of these by any chance?