Wicked sick, that looks awesome. How do you build jumps like that? Shame somone flattened it. Probably some grumpy old man mumbling about youths these days.
More probably the landowner, with the compensation culture these days having anything on your land that is as potentially lethal as dirt jumps is very risky. We've got the same problem here in NI only even less land to build on, and a forest service that doesn't give a crap about mtbing
Any reason? I'm pretty happy with the full suspension atm, I know hardtails are lighter but what other advantage would there be to me having a cheap one? <A88>
The 66's were a bit longer than I was expecting. I had Shiver SC's before (in pic), they were really great forks but have some flex in them, the flex actually has some benifet on DH runs but on bigger jumps/drops you do notice it. You do loose about an inch of travel in sag so it does level out a bit better once your on the bike. I got the 66VF's quite cheap so if I don't get on with them then I will just flog them
Cheap hardtails are less prone to going wrong than cheap full sus and are more suited to most things other than extreme downhill imo A nice full sus and a steep bumpy downhill is truly amazing though - I rarely ride full sus so when I "borrow" a friends bike to try it still has great novelty edit: and starting out on a full sus is a VERY bad thing to do, you'll pick up all sorts of bad habits
What do you mean by knackered?, most of the time it's just a case of servicing the parts. My rear mech is over 10 years old now, yer it was a good quality one (XTR) but it's only lasted that long because it's been looked after. I was going to going to replace it a few months back as it was feeling ropey but after a srtip down, greasing and some new jockey wheels (£5) it was like new again Just take the parts off, give them a clean, de-grease them, grease them up and put them back on making sure its all tight enough and you should notice a big improvement (hopefully). I normally strip my bike right down every 6 months or so, it just feels so much better once it's back together again For general use and most sorts of riding a hardtail is *better*, you have more feel and response from the bike\terrain, better acceleration and it's easier to throw around. As well as that you will get more for your money, the same with anything really the more features you have the less your get for your money. Personally I wouldn't recomend spending under about a grand on a full sus for off road use, but if it's just for general use then thats fair enough really.
I agree, I do the same. My XTR mech has also lasted me an age - best £50 I ever spent! Some things just wear beyond repair though - chains and cassettes being perfect examples. Plus, if things aren't working properly it's always a good excuse to go out and buy better things even if you don't really need them! My thoughts exactly
Can't add much to what the others have said there - for the same price point under around £800 a hardtail will be vastly superior to a full sus in terms of parts spec, build quality and general rideability. Exceptions exist obviously but especially down at the 'budget' end of the market rear suspension is going to do very little except sap energy from each pedal stroke - the shock is unlikely to be properly damped or have rebound control so it'll be more like riding on a spring than a shock. What this means is that every time you take a hit, the bike will sag down quickly then kick back up under you again rather than compressing smothly to absorb the impact and reboundign under control. On a hardtail, almost all your pedalling energy is going into making you go forwards so a HT will feel more sprightly, climb far better and give you more grin for your money. Plus like the others have said you will learn more about line choice and how to ride a mountain bike rather than the 'point and hang on' method that I use far too often On the other hand, it's all your choice. Ride what you enjoy, so long as you have fun doing it
Well thanks for all your advice By knackered I mean the grooves in the crankset are all mangled up, the gear cable keeps snapping and the derailleur is worn down a fair bit where I haven't propped it up against walls but instead put it on its side (so all my own fault really ). Anyway, as I said I'm on a real budget here and buying a new bike is pushing it a bit, but I've found this one which seems to be the same price as the replacement parts would cost. Obviously it's not perfect but it works and I can upgrade it gradually when finances permit! <A88>
Why spend large amounts of money on a bike? Well, this is from my throw-around bike: How did it happen? Just under pedal power. Went off the line at a red, (obviously the chain was on the largest cog) and felt my chain snap furiously off. Yay for 1661 pedals! Anyway, my main bike (Snipes EleMental) is located here. On the hard-tail vs soft-tail bike debate: unless you're looking to spend a lot of money on your rear shock/frame setup, then don't even bother with a soft-tail. You'll get thrown off far too easily by the movement in a rear end if you don't know what you're doing. Even the most expensive and exotic soft-tails will still have quite a bit of movement in the rear end, so it takes a lot more time to learn anything on them compared to a hard-tail.
My rides although I can ride neither through injury and the muddyfox is for sale: Scott Genius MC-50 2005 Pic taken from cool galery here Muddyfox hobo:
Malfoleo, couple minutes with a hammer should have that right as rain... I cracked the housing on my freewheel last month, should've taken a picture. I just heard a 'spoing' and suddenly I was leaving a trail of BBs up the road
When i got this in an email as an update to the thread i thought you would be quoting the picture of his full sus! xD
Here is my current ride (i'll post a proper pic once I get a chance to take one). I'm told its one of only 2 in the North East but i don't belive it (though I haven't seen anymore). So far ive pulled off the poo Avid V's and Ritchey WTB rims and replaced them with loverly gold Fir rims and a pair of Hope Mono M4's (they look so sexy). Next once ive got the cash will be a new pair of forks as the Rock Shox Judy 's aint the best.
How are the M4's treating you? What size disc did you go for at the front? Considering getting a set myself when I'm less poor but a little worried they will be too powerful for a hardtail. Currently have a C2 at the front but the heat expansion of the brake fluid gets really annoying!
Avids are the brakes to go for in my somewhat biased opinion, my Juicy 5s do me rightly for most everything with 180mm discs and I'm fairly big-boned...
