Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

Cwm carn is a short trip from Bristol and has lots of riding. A little further afield is Afan which has loads of trails.

 

D3s3rt_F0x - Old Marzocchis are really easy and straight forward to service as well as haveing very simple internals so it might be worth giving it a go. You can either just change the oil if the seals and busings feel fine or do the lot, it's just a case of taking your time and following the manual if you get stuck. Or any half decent bike shop will be able to do it. Old Marzocchis are worth keeping as they're worth sod all now but are still decent forks and last forever and tbh it's not worth replacing them unless you have £200+ to spend on new ones.

ChristopherGreen - The shock is a Fox RP23 XV (XV-extra volume), it's air so you can pump it up pretty stiff if you want and it also has a pedal pro setup which basically closes off the compression valve so pedal movements don't move the shock so much, it works pretty well TBH. It's a really popular shock and probably the best allrounder for the job.

If you're after a similar bike i'd definately recommend it. Trek have really gone all out on there MTBs this year and put some proper work into the designs, there's a lot of similar bikes about but it has the edge over a lot of them.

The frame design has a few nice touches..

E2 head tube - 1.5" lower to 1 1/8th upper, it's light as a standard 1 1/8th setup but a lot stiffer.

Active Braking Pivot - The rear axle actually goes through the rear pivot which is the best way to eliminate suspension lock up under braking (which a lot of bikes suffer from in varying degrees).

Full Floater - The lower shock mount is actually on an extention of the rear triangle so as the suspension compresses the lower shock pivot lowers too, it means the shock works well on big and small bumps and gives the bike more of a bottomless feel on the travel. Basically as you get to the very end of the travel rather than harshly bottoming out it gets gradually firmer.

One nice thing about Trek bikes is you get a good warranty too, 1 year on paint defects, lifetime on the frame and 5 years on any Bontrager components. I can't think of anyone that covers that much that well TBH. They are really good with warrenties too

If you can't stretch to the 9 go for the 8, it's still a really nice bike and has all the same features with a spec downgrade. Spend what you've saved on something for the missus

Sorry for the spamage!

 

I was meaning out and about in the city really, with traffic and whatnot. I've never lived in a town or city so I don't know what it's like! Good to know there's decent stuff nearby though.

 

Yay, finally got something to replace my gary fisher! And yes, I know I've only had it for about six months now, but I just cannot stand the geometry on it, don't know why, but it just bugged me.


Balfa Minuteman in raw.


The seat is only temporary. Bontrager forks, WTB speeddisk wheels, tioga DH rear, kenda klaw front, juicy 7's, funn serial killa stem with EA50 bars, ODI grips, thompson elite seatpost, hone cranks, funn soljam pedals, envy bash, KMC chain, surly rear cog/ss kit.


And a family photo of all the steeds in my stable. Makes me really wish I wasn't so sick right now, as I desperately want to go out riding. Oh well...

 

Ye I havent got the intention of changing them, haven't ridden it enough so far but planning to change that over the spring/summer. Thanks for the info though I know sod all about bikes basically.

 

Fibre, Screw the missus, i'm really wanting the Remedy 9, don't fancy a lower spec one because of the forks. Just going to have to start saving up.

 

That was the main reason I went for the 9 over the 8, whatever bike I was going to build or buy off the shelf i'd already decided on some Fox 36's, well worth it

I've decided i'm gonna go double ring with basguard and chain device, it decends well but can't handle all that chain slap!. Double is more than enough as i've had single ring on all my MTB's for years. Gonna run 22T\36T, i've ordered a 36T SLX middle ring Gamut P30 Basguard (looks good on XTRs) and a Blackspire Stinger chain device (dual ring lower roller type).

 

Either my GPS is playing silly buggers today or I just cycled 10.9 miles in 30minutes, I suspect it was actually 45 mins but the GPS went wrong

 

Perfectly possible to do that.

 

You'd have to be doing a consistent 22mph for 11 miles, Unless there wasn't a single climb it can be done by an amateur, otherwise, I'd say not likely.

 

Exactly, it's more likely that it took 43minutes judging by my watch which is more my timing for that run. 53 mins to work tho which is a few minutes faster then yesterday, slow improvements but work is 100m higher then home.

 

Well, here's my ride:



Managed to hit 37mph on it on Easter Sunday, so pretty chuffed with that.

 

Some very nice bikes in here...

Hopefully my Trek should be ready today

 

One of the best things to do on a bike, chase and overtake cars on their own turf

 

Yeah, I had to brake for cars, someone chugging along at 25mph, "Erm, yeah, the speed limit here is 50, would you like to go a tad faster?", any way, went out again, well, actually just got back, more overtaking

Good luck with it man, get some pics up when you do!!

 

Nice one - I'm guessing you must be a fairly heavy bloke.
What groupset is that? I'm going to guess for 105/Ultegra.

 

Grr... I've just been to pick up the bike, with my order form and recipt, and uh oh! No bike! They have their copy of the order, saying that the bike has been built and is sitting in the store, but its not there...

wonderful

 

Ok, since i posted my old Identiti bike from a few years ago, i thought i'd show what i've bought to replace it...



It's a 08 Kona Coilair. As standard, just replaced the grips and pedals so far.

Took it out for a few rides recently, nothing too hardcore, just round the local woods. Love the bike, love the feel, love the look. Only issues i've found with it so far, is that i don't think the rear gears are setup correctly as they sometimes miss or don't engage as sharp as i'd like them. The other issue is the tyres (rear especially) don't seem to give me much grip when the surface gets loose, like the woodland floor with pine needles, leaf litter, etc.

My fitness levels are still pretty shoddy, but i've noticed after doing a few runs, that i have to stop for breathers less and less now as we do the same hills and trails.

 

Me?

Gutted man, that really blows, try and get a few extras for the lies

AOR, nice bike man, mines faster though

 

Aye.