Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

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 just replace chain and cassette at the same time, and I'm hoping that the XTR chain will make the cassette last longer - maybe a year? That's what my mate reckons. I think it's wishful thinking but I'm giving it a go to see.

N.B. Big ring puts less torque in your chain than little ring. Think of the moments

Yeah, I think they're strong enough in tension. In fact I don't think I've ever seen a snapped powerlink per se - they just fall apart and you spend ages on your knees looking for the pieces, haha.

 

The same thing happened to me today, was half way to work aswell getting the rest of the way to work was easy because it's all downhill. it was getting back home that was a pain.

 

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

 

Dammit RTT, you beat me! I've got an old model Meta 5 with full custom build but you sure beat me... do want!

Where'd you get it from? My semi-local friendly bike shop has won Commencal Dealer of the Year twice running now, there's too much shiny in that place for my own good (or my bank accounts good anyway!)

 

My bikes that I no longer have

Haro Blamo - Stolen
Haro Backtrail 1x - Stolen
Haro Flair - Stolen
Haro Backtrail 3x - stolen

Can anyone guess why I quit?

 

I carry around a spare pin and some basic chain tools just in case - although it's never ever happened to me.

 

I've had a chain snap (not an SRAM, the SRAM just rusted when I didn't bless it with lube over the winter while it was in storage) but it was the same time as I snapped my old XT rear mech totally off, that was a sucky day

 

Dude. Ouch.

Buy one of these?

 

Yeah that's what I run on my trials bike. But I actually do rate the split link on KMC chains, and despite my hatred of powerlinks, I will happily use the KMC split link. It's a different design though, a lot less likely to break IMO. P.S. I went to school with Adam who runs Tartybikes

Real Cycles, yeah? I'm sure they give themselves that trophy - the guy who runs it is (I think) the main importer for Commencal UK so he runs the show... But regardless, they seem quite friendly - they run a forum dedicated to Commencal owners (commencalownersclub.com) and the guy always seems really helpful.

Mine came from Merlin as they were doing a sale - 40% off cheesecake

 

Anyone seen http://www.wideopenmag.co.uk/ ? It's a free web-based mountain biking mag with a photography bias. Sometimes it's written in a GCSE-project kind of way, but some of the pictures are pretty damn good

Worth a look if you've got any free time

 

Not quite, it's given by Commencal themselves. There's a few funny photos of Steve (the owner), Max Commencal and Cedric Gracia at the awards ceremony after a bottle or two of wine though... He's a good bloke and a good shop to be nearby.

Of course, I should mention that I've done some data entry for him, and ride on a Meta 5, Absolut Cro-Mo and Colt - so I may be somewhat biased. But it's not just a self-given trophy.

 

And in other belfast bike shop news, Bikedock just had their free demo weekend. I got out on an Orange 5, which was a beautifully smooth ride but creaked every time I pedalled - mainly due to the big hollow welded swingarm, which amplifies all noise far too well. Then got a go on a Marin Mount Vision, which was very nippy indeed. Not as confidence-inspiring though and I didn't have a long enough go to really test it properly.

A mate of mine fell in love with his Santa Cruz Nomad though, and is now muttering on about student overdrafts and bank loans...

 

After seeing Kryptonites being opened using a Bic ballpoint pen, I've kinda lost my trust on the fancy locks they have. (though I'm using one for my cycle, not stolen as of yet). I guess this was only the case with some models..

 

Snapped that chain in three months on my cruiser Replaced a link, and within a month, had a double snap doing a wheelie through an intersection on my way to work. As well, I've gone through a good few XTR and XT-class chains, with nothing but issues with shifting, and snapping.

Now I only run higher-end SRAM chains on anything with gears, and on the cruiser I've got this massive painted blue all steel chain that I have no idea where it came from, but it's been through a full summer/winter season, and it's only seazed up in two places, but not a single snap yet!

 

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.

Spoiler

* well, i'll try...

 

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 (Truvativ Firex) cranks have died as well - Perpetually loosening despite locktite and the correct torque meant wobbly tapers. I'll probably replace the knackered arm and ebay them, and get XT cranks to match the rest of the bike

The forks on the 5.5.3 are pretty dire (Marzocchi All Mountain 4) so they'll be replaced when I get some money, probably with Pikes.

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).

Then just small stuff - The Commencal own-brand seatpost came unbonded, so I replaced that. Grips, tyres (Intense Lock-ons, High roller 2.35s). Oh, and the main pivot bearings and shock bushings. Watch out for that...

So I've probably spent a good few hundred quid on it in the last year. I could have put that money towards the 5.5.2 which obviously has a better spec but it still has a lot of cheap bits on it (wheels and finishing kit are still own-brand stuff). So I'm happy. With new forks and cranks it'll be complete I reckon. And maybe 180mm discs actually...

I'm currently debating buying a cheap Kona frame though. I'm spending 2 weeks in the Alps (including the Megavalanche) in a little over a month and I don't want to completely destroy my lovely Commencal. I should be able to get a Stinky + Vanilla R for £150 ish, and then sell it on afterwards. That's the plan, anyway.

 

Is pulling wheelies too cheesy? I've been wondering this. It's just SO BORING to ride along a road, but hell, some times I just have to first get to the proper trails via roads... It just bothers me a bit if people consider me as a retarded show-off while I think of it more as a more entertaining way of moving forward and don't intend to show/scare anyone... What's your take on it?

 

Totally agree to be honest. Wheelies are really fun to do, but I wouldn't do it while anyone was watching, people WILL think you're showing off, and it's unlikely they will be impressed...

 

Because you found out you could fly?

 

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?

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.

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

git