Big Bike Thread

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I did 31 miles on Tuesday. It took me 2 hours 30 minutes to complete. That was with a MTB with very fat rubber and also it was my first long ride. So I feel I didn't do too bad.

All on road with plenty of climbs.

Anyway, I am currently looking for a new bike but not sure what sort.

Maybe you guys can help out. Here is a little information on what I have got and what I want to do.

I have a Claude Butler CBR. Brought it off a mate about 6 years ago for £100, not long ago sorted it out to use for work after a 5 years gap of cycling. Not a bad bike and certainly not ideal for what I want to use a bike for.

My run everyday to work is just under 2 miles downhill (70%) and uphill the way back (70%) the rest is flat. All road with some crap tarmac (read: pot holes) on the outside of the road where we cycle. I have a Halfords trip computer that is very good.

I sometimes go out for a quick ride, probably around 4-5 miles in the evening however I do like the idea of banging in the miles on some good routes. Like I have already said I did a run on Tuesday for the first time and was quite pleased with the overall outcome.

I have been doing this for 4 weeks now and I am feeling the benefits of the uphill sections. They are getting easier and I am also using harder gears or whatever they are called (big front and small back).

After doing this for the 4 weeks I decided to have a blast and do some mileage. I have a friend who has brought a new MTB for work and he goes out most Saturdays on a 20 mile loop around Derby. So I thought I would do the same or something similar.

I had a think on where I should go and thought about some counrty lanes not far from the center of Derby that I have been up and down in a car. So I planned the route on Google Maps and printed it off. Inputted it into my iPhone map application and stocked up on water.

Off I went. The route was 30miles. By the time I got to the main road of the route, Long Lane I already did 5 miles. That was just from home and through the center of Derby. The miles certainly went by.

Long Lane is long. Very. It had some good flat sections and some really good downhills and monster climbs to boot. I thought "this is a bad idea" I actually thought I wouldn't do the route and nearly turned back as I wondered, did I set myself to higher target. I carried on and looked at my computer and found out I was near the end of Long Lane 12 miles or so plus the 5 through Derby. I was half way there. I carreid on and the climbs got better as I used the right gears. I upped my flat speed to 17mph or there abouts for as long as I could in short bursts. Rested plenty.

I made it home. 2hours and 30 mins , 31 miles, two litres of water and two chocolate bars later. Lay on the bed and fell asleep.

I was fine. My heart had a good strong speedy pulse to it. Legs ached a little and were warm. My bum started to get tender in the last 8 miles or so. Its a new seat I have and its comfy, just need to work those certain muscles.

I am really looking forward to choosing a new ride and I am torn between a road bike and a hybrid.. I like the idea of going down country lanes with a light weight bike built for speed and also the more laid back approach to popping to work or just out to the shops so thinking a hybrid. I dont think I will not do much off road if any at all so a MTB is not even on my list but a hybrid could do off road if I choose to rough it. It was the tour de france thats got my thinking road bikes and have had a look at quite afew from Evans (Birmingham), Samways (Derby) and Halfords (Derby). Halfords dont have many in stock to let me have a look unlike Samways and Evans. They had loads of all types of bike on display.

I guess I have answered my own question really. I think I want a road bike. What do you guys think?
 
uk_unbeliever said:
about 12mph average unless i'm being thick. Not too bad with mtb tyres over 20miles. I'd be happy with 17mph average doing that on my SS road bike. Road tyres make a massive difference
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It'd be good for someone just starting out I guess, someone who had being cycling for a while could expect 15-16mph average on a MTB.
 
Well he did say briddle ways and roads. When I first started out cycling I did 24 miles 4 days a week on my Saracen Xray, at first with knobbly tired but then got clicks, cant say I noticed much difference from them apart from the slicks worn quicker, but I averaged around 14, I kept at it and got up to 16 sometimes higher, on roads and transpennine trail, but I moved to road bike eventually and cant say at first it was allot faster, I was expecting to be flying everywhere but it took a good 2 months of frequent riding to improve on the road bike.
 
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Well, I would say im not a novice, but then I would also say I dont go out enough. This is the first weekend ride I have done in ages, and the only reason I forced myself out is that I have started cycling into work over the past two weeks. Mind you though, that is only 6 times out of a possible 10. The commute is only a 5 mile ride so its not going to get me to contador territory any time soon :D

BTW Will, is that a Garmin device on your bike or something else? A 305 or 705?
 
leaskovski said:
Well, I would say im not a novice, but then I would also say I dont go out enough. This is the first weekend ride I have done in ages, and the only reason I forced myself out is that I have started cycling into work over the past two weeks. Mind you though, that is only 6 times out of a possible 10. The commute is only a 5 mile ride so its not going to get me to contador territory any time soon :D

BTW Will, is that a Garmin device on your bike or something else? A 305 or 705?
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It's a 605, I'm kicking myself for buying it now, I thought the only difference between the 705 and 605 was on bike cadence and speed sensort and built in HRM, but it's also got bluetooth support so you can transfer routes to other 705's, it was only 20 quid more at the time I bought the 605 too :(
 
I went out on a route I've done loads of times before but rejigged a little today. Didn't really fancy it, but thought I should with the weather being ok.

Turned out to be one of the most enjoyable rides I've had in a good while. Not technical, not fast, almost completely flat, but felt really good when I was done. Funny how just riding something in a different direction makes it feel new again.
 
Had my first crash today on my local trail. There's a couple of jumps built in the woods that I've had a go on before, I'm starting to get more confident on the bike now (considering its my first full suspension bike I've had since April and I haven't been riding for about 5 years) anyway hit one of them a little too fast, got sideways in the air somehow, came down and bashed the back right side of my head on the (thankfully relatively soft and muddy) ground. Anyway the result is one thoroughly cracked MET Kaos helmet :(

I'm looking to replace it with another XC/general helmet (I don't regularly ride any gnarly enough trails to warrant a full face) and am considering the MET Parachute, does anyone have any experience with them?
 
willhub said:
It's a 605, I'm kicking myself for buying it now, I thought the only difference between the 705 and 605 was on bike cadence and speed sensort and built in HRM, but it's also got bluetooth support so you can transfer routes to other 705's, it was only 20 quid more at the time I bought the 605 too :(
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Heh, just think of the extra pints your were able to buy with that £20!

What do you think of Garmin Connect then?? I hadnt been on MB for a while until the other week when I started communting again, only to find out that they had moved me over. It isnt that bad actually! Hopefully they will add loads more features before the premium service kicks in.
 
leaskovski said:
Heh, just think of the extra pints your were able to buy with that £20!

What do you think of Garmin Connect then?? I hadnt been on MB for a while until the other week when I started communting again, only to find out that they had moved me over. It isnt that bad actually! Hopefully they will add loads more features before the premium service kicks in.
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Garmin Connect is ok I guess, just not as much info as Motionbased but it has all the main stuff there, screw paying for MB lol.
 
Andelusion said:
Had my first crash today on my local trail. There's a couple of jumps built in the woods that I've had a go on before, I'm starting to get more confident on the bike now (considering its my first full suspension bike I've had since April and I haven't been riding for about 5 years) anyway hit one of them a little too fast, got sideways in the air somehow, came down and bashed the back right side of my head on the (thankfully relatively soft and muddy) ground. Anyway the result is one thoroughly cracked MET Kaos helmet :(

I'm looking to replace it with another XC/general helmet (I don't regularly ride any gnarly enough trails to warrant a full face) and am considering the MET Parachute, does anyone have any experience with them?
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My mate has one and seems to like it, couldnt really tell you much more than that to be honest. The chin protector looks like it could it save your face if you went down, but I'd have my doubts about it in a really big impact.

leaskovski said:
Heh, just think of the extra pints your were able to buy with that £20!

What do you think of Garmin Connect then?? I hadnt been on MB for a while until the other week when I started communting again, only to find out that they had moved me over. It isnt that bad actually! Hopefully they will add loads more features before the premium service kicks in.
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I quite like it, the player is pretty cool as before you couldnt tell your direction of travel if you crossed over a lot.

Is it going to become a paid service?
 
Andelusion said:
I'm looking to replace it with another XC/general helmet (I don't regularly ride any gnarly enough trails to warrant a full face) and am considering the MET Parachute, does anyone have any experience with them?
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Mention of the Parachute on bike forums seems to open up a can of worms, some people really rate them and others can't stand the sight of them.

I have to say, having never tried one, the face bit looks a bit flimsy to me, like it'd probably save you from a bit of gravel rash but a proper face plant would snap it in half, and in a crash I don't fancy a bit of sharp plastic next to my face. There are stories on the internet of people snapping the chin guard and getting cut to ribbons, but they are only stories, and you never know how bad it would have been without the guard..

Plus they do look a bit daft :o

Can you not get a crash replacement Kaos?
 
Looking on the forums they say they are going to introduce a premium service on it, though I dont know what additional features that will include. I suspect what we have now (which will be updated a bit) will be pretty much what the free service will be.
 
Here is my bike fist bike ive owned since i was a kid so im a total noob in the world of mountain biking:

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EDIT: forgot i posted this before :-)
 
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willhub said:
It's a 605, I'm kicking myself for buying it now, I thought the only difference between the 705 and 605 was on bike cadence and speed sensort and built in HRM, but it's also got bluetooth support so you can transfer routes to other 705's, it was only 20 quid more at the time I bought the 605 too :(
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I've had my 705 well over a year now, I still keep finding new things I can do with it :)
 
Gents. Hope you can help, I need a new mtb. My last bike was a 2004 marin rocky ridge which I spent about 1400 on by the time I upgraded a few things and I sold that 2 years ago. I am used to that style of frame with the sloping top tube more akin to the heavy off road light dh and now my back is much better (this stopped me riding) I am happy to ride again, only I have a fraction of my old typical bike budget. I had a look at some bikes for 500 today but they feel too cheap and i dont like the frame geometry. The closest I can find that I like is the Kona Cinder Cone in a 18 which is just over 500 from wiggle. The marin B17 would be my ideal choice but it is too much.

Am I there on choice? Was well embarrassed in the shop though as I cant remember a thing about bikes as 2 years is a long time to be out. This used to be one of my main hobbies and I would be out riding for hours each day. I will need it to cycle a couple of miles to work as well each day as well but that wont be the main use.
 
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