Big Bike Thread

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Bikes looking ace Cow! Super jealous of everything in this thread atm :( At least I should have my Kili Flyer in a week or so to play with (unfortunately with a big lack of riding it though! :()
 
Cow is right about the XTRs only got to ride them once on a XC ride but they are very nice and the short levers do help run the brakes very close to the bar.

Upside for me, I think i'm going to the pearce cycles uplift at Hopton on sunday, cannot wait to get out on the bike been about 3 weeks.
 
I've lived where I live for 23 years now (not including the 2 years away) and I never realised that I have this just a 5 mile pedal from my door.

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A friend of mine took me up to Cannock Chase about a month ago and I absolutely loved it. However I spent all day riding this horrid thing around...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bronx-Bolt-inch-suspension-mountain/dp/B00BF8ND5U

I was ruined at the end of it, i'd bought this cheap a few months ago for going to work and back, it was nowhere near ample for Cannock, especially a few of the red runs my friend took me on :eek:

Anyway, the bug bit and I asked my friend who's been biking for a few years to hunt around and find me a decent hardtail for no more than £1000 as I would be able to use my employers cycle to work scheme.

Well, just put in the application on cyclescheme website for the following:

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/...pper-pro-evo-29er-hardtail-2014-mountain-bike

My friend assures me that it's a hefty spec for the £600 C2W price tag and it should see me well for my first year or two as I get to grips with off road biking. I went up and saw it last weekend and really liked it. It's a bit bright but I have no intention of keeping it too clean ;)

Best thing is with the C2W scheme, it drops down from £1000 to around £580 all in and my employer has a habit of just giving the bike away at the end of the scheme to everyone who's used it over the last 3 years.

So...thoughts, would you guys agree it's a decent spec bike for the price and suitable for a relative first timer...or have I made a terrible mistake :D
 
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To be fair, at £1k for a hardtail you'll fail to go wrong with anything you buy, especially as a beginner. People will always have their preferences and try to sway you towards whatever they like but they're all much of a muchness.

Spec doesn't look amazing for the price. Tektro brakes and cheaper rock shox forks. But that's just my preferences showing through and in reality there's absolutely nothing wrong with the bike.

In short, yeah, it's a decent bike for a beginner.
 
Got to agree with the above, a £1000 seems crazy for such bike. Second hand at £1k would see a really good bike.

Or even something cheaper would have a similar spec.
 
need some advice about tubeless conversion
currently have mavic xm317 rims (not UST i think) and maxxis highrollers with inner tube

if i go tubeless what kit do i need and do i need special UST tyres?

thanks for any info
 
If you want cheap then use a 20" inner tube cut open and a sealant of your choice (I like Joe's no flats). You can use a normal tyre but UST ones are much easier to seal and have much tougher sidewalls.
 
Supercow said:
Sorry for the typical answer, but I really would go second hand if I were you.
The spec is pretty below par.
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Begbie said:
Got to agree with the above, a £1000 seems crazy for such bike. Second hand at £1k would see a really good bike.

Or even something cheaper would have a similar spec.
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Well that kinda sucks, lol! I should have emphasised that when my friend found it, he was saying it's a decent spec for the C2W price which is £600.

2 things though, I don't have ready cash to go and spend a grand, or even a few hundred quid on a bike. I know I could get something much better with cash in my pocket but as it's going through C2W, i'll get it for £580 and they'll take about £50/month from my salary for 12 months.
 
Gribs said:
If you want cheap then use a 20" inner tube cut open and a sealant of your choice (I like Joe's no flats). You can use a normal tyre but UST ones are much easier to seal and have much tougher sidewalls.
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encephalopathy said:
need some advice about tubeless conversion
currently have mavic xm317 rims (not UST i think) and maxxis highrollers with inner tube

if i go tubeless what kit do i need and do i need special UST tyres?

thanks for any info
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I don't get why people do the 20" thing.

You need 3 things:
* Boobless Valve
* Tape
* Stans Boobless spunkjuice

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=73&osCsid=n192lddfsq88jc1jl5fes0ar96

and

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/stans-no-tubes-the-solution-tyre-sealant/rp-prod38850


Alternative tape could be Gorilla tape - works fantastic too, but it will involve cutting with a stanley knife or a blade. Electrical tape supposedly works too, but I've not tried this before.

* Tape up the rim, starting at the valve glory hole
* Finish the tape up a couple finger lengths overlapping from where you started.
* Push the valve through the tape and screw the thingymebop from the other side to tighten the valve
* Put one side of your tyre on your rim
* latexspunk inside the tyre (any tyre)
* Do the opposite side of the wheel so the whole tyre is now on
* Work your thumb down the middle of the tyre to push it flat, while you pull the sidewall towards the bead of the rim
* Pump up like your life depends on it
* Go ride so it seals

Sometimes, when the tyre sidewall is a but cumbersome (hello Schwalbe Muddy Mary Dh casing, when it's brand new and folded!) and doesn't want to sit tight, you need to mount the tyre with a tube and leave it like that for an evening (depends how malformed the sidewall is). Take the tube out, only unmounting one side, put spunkjuice in and proceed with the rest.
 
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I only use electrical tape now. Just converted some rims myself..... What i tend to do now is put 3 layers of tape in the centre of the rim to build it up.

This makes the tyre a little tricky to get on the rim due to the extra layers of tape but works every time, often never have to use my ghetto inflator anymore, Straight up with the pump.
 
SixTwoSix said:
Well that kinda sucks, lol! I should have emphasised that when my friend found it, he was saying it's a decent spec for the C2W price which is £600.

2 things though, I don't have ready cash to go and spend a grand, or even a few hundred quid on a bike. I know I could get something much better with cash in my pocket but as it's going through C2W, i'll get it for £580 and they'll take about £50/month from my salary for 12 months.
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Does the c2w scheme work with on-one.co.uk? I know some places use them. A 456 would be crazy at that kind of price.
 
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