Big Bike Thread

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Well using a car as an example, you wouldn't do 60MPH in 2nd gear would you? You would over rev the engine. just up the gear instead of pedaling harder. I often get the same noise going down hill in 18th gear (2-9)
 
im not goin really fast in a low gear, im standing pedaling to get up hills and its making the noise, cant be in high gears going through forest trails.

aslong as it is nothing breaking then i will live with it.
 
Should be going for my bike on Sunday. So far it's either:

Trek 6700
Specialized Rockhopper Pro Disc
Marin Eldridge 09
 
utajoker said:
im not goin really fast in a low gear, im standing pedaling to get up hills and its making the noise, cant be in high gears going through forest trails.

aslong as it is nothing breaking then i will live with it.
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Well it's not going to be silent (unless it's a fixed gear) but if you think it's noisier than it should be it maybe that your gears aren't set up properly, and the derailleur isn't lining up properly, there's plenty of vids online to show you how to fine tune them.
 
utajoker said:
when i peddal hard there is a kind of grinding noise coming from the pedals.
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It's probably coming from the gears as someone else said

If it only occurs when you're stomping hard up hill, it could be the cranks flexing a bit and making the chain rub (which will sound like a grind) on the front derailleur. Try the same bit of road / track where it's done this. Try it in the top and bottom rear gears, and compare to the middle rear gear. If it's not doing it in the middle rear gear then grinding on the front mech is probably the issue
 
Utajoker the noise you decribe sounds like a Bottom bracket issue and it should in no way ever creak if it's set up properly and conerning gears that sounds like they are not configured properly.

Was this bike from Halfords? Should run perfectly when you first get it.
 
After looking at the Cove Stiffee FR HT frame, I guess its a good basis to build a bike on?

Ive come to the conclusion that I might build up a nice HT whilst waiting for janesssssy to sell me his S-Works :D

Im thinking, a frame / fork combo of a White Cove Stiffee FR and a set of Fox Forx 36's to start off with.

Is there any other frames I should look at ideally in white under £500?
 
utajoker said:
went for my first ride yesterday on my new bike, i fixed the break squeaking problem but have now found more things :p

when i peddal hard there is a kind of grinding noise coming from the pedals.

and sometimes when i try to pedal hard the chain jumps between gears and causes me to lose footing on the pedals and it hurts a bit too.
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If it's got cheap pedals, chances are the bearings are shot, first thing I throw out are any pedals supplied with a bike, as for your chain jumping, you probably just need to adjust your gears slightly. If it's a new bike, take it back and tell them to sort it out.
 
Bennah said:
Im thinking, a frame / fork combo of a White Cove Stiffee FR and a set of Fox Forx 36's to start off with.

Is there any other frames I should look at ideally in white under £500?
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That sounds nice!

Maybe consider a maxlight Pha5e if youre after alu hardcore hardtail. Maybe not quite a s tough as the cove. Not in white either.

I've got an on-one summer season 456. If you're talking about setting up an interim bike, for £150 they are bargain frames
 
Bennah said:
After looking at the Cove Stiffee FR HT frame, I guess its a good basis to build a bike on?

Ive come to the conclusion that I might build up a nice HT whilst waiting for janesssssy to sell me his S-Works :D

Im thinking, a frame / fork combo of a White Cove Stiffee FR and a set of Fox Forx 36's to start off with.

Is there any other frames I should look at ideally in white under £500?
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My mate just bought a Stiffee FR; his first impressions? Not worth it. It's awfully expensive for what it is and there are plenty of other, much cheaper frames that you'll have just as much fun with.

If you're looking for a tough hardtail to thrash around I'd suggest the On-One Summer Season as suggested above. That'd be my first choice if I didn't have my Vagrant.
 
i ordered the bike from a web site and had to finish building it myself, but all the gearing etc was already built, so i will have a look for some vids.

thx for the replies
 
monkeypants said:
My mate just bought a Stiffee FR; his first impressions? Not worth it. It's awfully expensive for what it is and there are plenty of other, much cheaper frames that you'll have just as much fun with.

If you're looking for a tough hardtail to thrash around I'd suggest the On-One Summer Season as suggested above. That'd be my first choice if I didn't have my Vagrant.
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I also suggest the on-one 456, either summer season or not summer season would be good as it's the same price but the summer season is a little bit slacker than the standard one.

I have a summer season for over a year now as kind of a transition frame as I've been wanting to upgrade to a full suspension. Tried out plenty of bikes but still haven't found one that can beat it in the 1.5-2k region so I'm saving up for the Ti version instead.

The thing is it's not only very good handling and chuckable in rough condition, it also climbs like a dream. Get one and you won't regret it. I also bet you will keep it for longer than you expected before you upgrade ;)
 
Obviously I would recommend the Stiffee frame, but it's a completely different frame to some of the cheaper 'alternatives' being mentioned above. The thing you have to remember is that a frame is a frame but you pay the extra for the quality of the build and finish. If you're going for one, make sure you get the current stock model and not the new one coming out (cable guides on bottom side of the top tube) I have spoken to Cove's distributors and they said that the newer model is built to a budget due to rising manufacturing costs. If you were to produce the old frame now, it would cost around £800 retail.

Off the top of my head, the only real alternatives to a Stiffee are the Chameleon and the Pha5e, and the Pha5e is no longer in production.

Also, I dont think the geometry is suited to a F36 fork (160mm?).
 
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Got some Continental Mountain King 2.4 and 2.2 tyres, a Selle Italia SLR gel saddle, and a plethora of Ti bolts. Heckler is now just under 30lbs with the Eggbeaters and just over 30lbs with the MG-1s. Pretty much the lightest the build is going to get!

6 Days untill Wales/Scotland/England road trip! :D
 
I need to weigh my Heckler, wonder what it's at after the upgrades. I'm riding mountain kings too :)

Which trail centers you heading to? Heading to Afan end of August, White's level is one of my favourites :)
 
weescott said:
Got some Continental Mountain King 2.4 and 2.2 tyres, a Selle Italia SLR gel saddle, and a plethora of Ti bolts. Heckler is now just under 30lbs with the Eggbeaters and just over 30lbs with the MG-1s. Pretty much the lightest the build is going to get!

6 Days untill Wales/Scotland/England road trip! :D
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Mine still lighter :P
 
I was looking at Mountain King tyres today as a possible replacement for my Specialized Eskars but reviews say they come up narrow against their size and the light weight Supersonic version is a touch on the fragile and fast wearing side.
It's annoying that Specialized don't sell their S-Works Eskar tyre, it's only available on new bikes - The Control version is another 200g for both tyres :(



ichabod crane said:
Mine still lighter :P
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My 6" travel bike is lighter ;) :p :cool:
 
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