Big Bike Thread

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I've put 20 miles on the pitch today. Gonna at least double that tomorrow.

First impressions are i'm impressed with how little the suspension bobs. i.e. it doesn't bob at all unless your out of the saddle mashing the pedals. Also it's better up hills than i thought it would be considering it must weigh 32lbs.

Despite the lack of pedal bob the rear suspension feels fully active. It seems to perform better than the pikes which seem a little stiff and i'm not light at 13.5 stone. The pikes don't have ANY preload adjustment so i'm stuck with only 15% sag right now. I have a feeling they would be much better with more sag.

I've built a 3ft ramp in my back garden. This pretty much is the most I dare do on my rockhopper. On the pitch I might aswell not be going over the ramp, it's like landing on a cloud - i love it. :D

Can't wait to test this thing properly on some more demanding terrain.
 
Pants said:
I've put 20 miles on the pitch today. Gonna at least double that tomorrow.

First impressions are i'm impressed with how little the suspension bobs. i.e. it doesn't bob at all unless your out of the saddle mashing the pedals. Also it's better up hills than i thought it would be considering it must weigh 32lbs.

Despite the lack of pedal bob the rear suspension feels fully active. It seems to perform better than the pikes which seem a little stiff and i'm not light at 13.5 stone. The pikes don't have ANY preload adjustment so i'm stuck with only 15% sag right now. I have a feeling they would be much better with more sag.

I've built a 3ft ramp in my back garden. This pretty much is the most I dare do on my rockhopper. On the pitch I might aswell not be going over the ramp, it's like landing on a cloud - i love it. :D

Can't wait to test this thing properly on some more demanding terrain.
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Good to hear your enjoying your new ride. maybe your pikes just need to be worked in a little 15% doesn't sound a lot to me I run closer to 30% sag but that's a different bike with different shock/forks.

Went to my local park a spent three hours just bombing about loved every min of it. running up the steps with my bike over my shoulder then coming straight back down. Then going back up again passing the same people looking rather confused. Apparently "I'm tapped in the head because he wouldn't even slide down the slope on his arse let alone do in on bike while weaving between trees". I had a crash and picked up a few grazes but nothing serious and it was all good fun. :D
 
I went out on my first proper ride with my Enduro last Friday night. One of my students' dads mountain bikes a lot and told me about a trail within 15 mins ride of my house (I don't drive so anywhere decent I go has to be within riding/train distance).

It's a public bridleway that goes along the side of a golf course and through some fairly dense forest. Took me a long time to get to the top of it and I got lost a few times, it was quite reassuring to see about 5 other mtbers on the way to the start though considering I had no idea where I was going!

I spent about 3 hours out, mostly sat down absolutely caning it up the hills, I'm impressed with how well my bike climbs considering it's a 6" travel bike.

I'm still getting used to how the bike rides as this is my first bike with suspension (never mind full suspension! - I used to ride mountain bike trials before). I can't really bunny hop at the moment as I need to get the hang of pre-loading the suspension and using it to my advantage. Also I think I need to cut my seat post down, at the moment its at the perfect high for sitting and pedalling, but it gets in the way on technical stuff. Got my bike properly muddy for the first time too! Came across a rather heavy bog, there was no way to get around it so I belted it through, got about half way and stopped lol I need to practise keeping my weight back so the rear wheel maintains grip and stops the front wheel skidding/going where it wants to.

I haven't had as much exercise as this in a long time; this was rather painfully highlighted by getting cramp in BOTH of my thighs during the final uphill stretch on the way home. Had to get on the pavement and lean over my bike for a while, the old couple sat in their front room next to where I stopped didn't look too happy as I imagine I appeared rather suspicious!
 
Just back from Innerleithen... Great course, but a bit of a shock after Glentress ... No joke, the chicken runs on some parts are hairier than almost all of the main lines on GT red, and the scale of some of the features is just so much bigger. Took me a while to get my head up to speed, and I still did lots of chicken runs, but still a great ride. Wasn't going NEAR the black sections :eek:

(still, it was quite unnerving discovering that I was on the only hardtail in the car park!)
 
Around 5½ riding hours today at Cannock doing downhill runs and other trails, the Fizik Gobi saddle was a good purchase - it's very comfortable and the tail flex really helps on climbs, giving extra support on your back.

One of the best rides in a long time.
 
Did my first "proper" ride yesterday with the Eggbeaters on the MBR trail. I totally sucked at the start but was as fast if not faster as ever by the end. It's all psychological.
 
IM drunk ... im tired... and im happy

12 DH runs down my local spot (thats a lot for one day's worth of pushing back up the hill) and I was absolutely FLYING today.
Bike felt so phenominal, I was riding with my chin up and everything was just clicking into place - life is good :D
 
Hola ladies and gents need some advice on Bicycle insurance who do you use and recommend??

Having just priced my bike for the house insurance renewal they will not insure any bike over £1500 so I am going to be looking for an independent insurer.

Thanks
 
shadowcreaper said:
i wondering guys if you had upto 1k to spend on a full suspension bike what would you get?

the special fsr XC looks good, or the GT I DRIVE. also.

what would you go for?/best around.
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What sort of riding? The Boardman FS is pretty brilliant for the money... Both it and the I-drive have won major group tests lately.
 
After looking at the Boardman a fair few times over the last couple of weeks, there must be something wrong with the frame at that sort of price :p

Is it made of wood or something :D
 
id be looking at mainly XC ie normal mountain bike riding. got a rockhopper 08 and love it,but find the more tech stuff very very bumpy, and the fork seems to not be able to absorb enough, its a tora 302 sl coil.
 
ichabod crane said:
Marzocchi aren't producing the best forks at the moment, you should look at Rock shock and within your budget as said above you should get
RockShox Tora 318 Coil U-Turn Fork £240 or if you want air and not coil RockShox Tora SL Solo Air Fork
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Ok, i was just offered a set of brand new 07 Marzocchi MX Pro ETA, for £90, retail is around 160-80, with you saying they arent producing the best at the moment the reviews for the earlier stuff look pretty good, am i right with that?
 
My riding buddy is using 08 Marzocchi MX Pro Lo's. Apart from the poor air valve construction (had to use PTFE tape to stop the damn thing from unscrewing when adjusting air pressure) they are ok if a little flexy.
 
I know were not allowed Price Checks for technology items outside of the Price Checks forum but as this is a bike I hope it's exempt from that rule :p

How much would you lot say this is worth:

17" Merlin Malt 2 (2005 model) fitted with:
Marzocchi MX Comp ETA
Shimano XT Front + Rear Mech & XT Shifters (Front mech is brand new)
Shimano 555 Deore Hydraulic Disks & Deore Levers
Shimano Deore Crank's & BB
Mavic XC 317 (black spokes) on the rear with newish Panaracer Fire XC fitted
Mavic XC 717 (black spokes) on the front with newish Panaracer Fire XC fitted
Easton EA50 riser bars & stem
Specialized Body Geometry seat

Cheers,

Craig :)
 
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