Big Bike Thread

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andi said:
Can you not get a crash replacement Kaos?
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I don't have my receipt :( I've also heard the stories of people getting cut, but that's all, stories, everyone who actually owns one has said that the chin guard gives them a little bit more confidence when out riding, and in some cases it has saved them some face damage during crashes. I agree; it would offer no where near the kind of protection as a proper full face, but it looks to be the only option for a light weight, cool helmet with a bit more protection.

Edit: Well bit the bullet and ordered the parachute in Red, along with some 661 Kyle Strait knee pads (brown) and Race Face Rally FR elbow/forearm pads (also brown), and some cheapy Endura sunglasses in black (good reviews on CRC and only 14 squid) as I've been getting sick of having mud chucked in my eyes these past few days where it's been rainy/sunny rinse/repeat. Needless to say I'm prepared for the future stacks I'm sure to encounter whilst being sufficiently colour co-ordinated! xD

And a pic of the bike today, just as the sun came out, so thought I'd take a photo:

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Well I went to one of my local bike shops today and had a long hard look at the bikes they to offer. I have come to conclusion that I will have to flip a coin to decide what style I want to do. Click image to take you to the website.

Bike number 1 -


Bike number 2


I dont know lots about bikes to be honest so any advice you throw at me will be welcome. I talked about these two bikes to the staff in the shop and they have said they are very good bikes and if I was to go for the MTB then getting some road tyres will make it a lot better for commuting, which is what 80% of my bike time will be with some long distance thrown in once, maybe twice a week.

If I was to go for the road bike I will be stuck to roads only. I dont mind that as I love riding down country roads and my route to work is all roads anyway.

Have any of you lot got these bikes and are they really anygood? Anything need upgrading from the start? Parts not upto no good? Known issues with the bikes at all?



My missus swears by Trek and she has one, maybe two Trek bikes in her house in France.

Let me know what you think.
 
Both bikes look fine, I would concentrate on what type of bike you want first really, that seems to be more important before getting into specifics. I would say though that you could always get 2 pairs of tires, on the rare 20% of the time you ride off road it shouldn't be too much of a bother to put some knobbly (off-road) tires on. Then again, as you're riding on roads 80% of the time having a dedicated road bike would certainly be more desirable than a mountain bike with skinny road tires.
 
If 80% of your time will be on the road get a road bike! I was in your position a while back and I went for the MTB route as it could do both but ive regretted it since. I now have the original MTB And a road bike.

I use the mtb maybe 4 times a year, and the road bike I probably use 4 or 5 times a week...
 
I am swayed more to the road bike. I just like riding on lanes as I have already said. I will still have my crappy MTB to go off road but it wont withstand a serious workout. I think I will have to pop back later this week and try the road one out for size and see how I get on with it as I have never used those type of brake/gears before.
 
Had my first ride in clipless pedals yesterday in almost 10 years, was a little worried I'd end up on the deck but it's like I never left them!

Used to ride some Onza elastomer pedals back in the day (late 90's) but have been on flats ever since getting back into biking. One too many slipped pedals made me think otherwise and I'm loving it!

The Mrs got a bit left behind though, I forgot how much more power you could get down when strapped to the bike :D
 
New toys, hopefully I'll never need them. Old helmet had a very frayed chin strap and this one is a lot better quality and ticks more safety boxes.

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Burned_Alive said:
Yeah, I thought he was referring to Garmin Connect
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I was! :D

So anyway, I seem to be leveling out on my commute, 20 mins to do just under 5 miles. What should I be looking to do to try and bring this down further (note, this is on my only bike, the FSR, which is still being paid off on the cycle to work scheme, so no road bike yet)?
 
haha! I would do, but my stamina is still very weak as if I dont keep the high cadence by switching down to a lower gear and try to tap out on the smaller rings, I tire too easily. :(
 
leaskovski said:
haha! I would do, but my stamina is still very weak as if I dont keep the high cadence by switching down to a lower gear and try to tap out on the smaller rings, I tire too easily. :(
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interval training has helped me reduce my times.

warm up first, then pedal as fast as you can go for 3 minutes, rest for 3 minutes, then repeat, and repeat, and.. u get the idea :p
 
6thElement said:
On the road the objective is a high cadence, I aim for ~95rpm on the cranks. This works your lungs more than your legs.
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Hmm, I just run a report on GC for the last 7 days, and my ave cadence is around 75rpm.

I think I need more muscle build up on my legs to be able to turn over a higher cadence on the higher gears.

On a side note, that interval training seems like a good idea, and I can do that on the commute, which will sure pee the traffic off on one particular peice of road :D Bonus!
 
Got to call 999 yesterday :cool:
even though I really didn't feel we needed it. Was about a mile from the end of the hope tour trail up in the Derbyshire Dales and my mate came off, popped his shoulder out and back in on the same fall.

Strapped his hand to his chest and was gonna walk him to the cars, we had just come out of the woods and were back on the tourist bit of the trail, but he was refusing to move... went and called 999, told them it wasn't mega urgent and the path was accessible by car and the helicopter, an ambulance jeep (the most beastly nissan pathfinder I have ever seen!) and a mountain rescue car turned up... was a bit of a wtf moment.

So the people in the helicopter replaced my strapping with a sling doing exactly the same thing and flew him back to chesterfield hospital and he was pretty much fine, can't help feeling it was a real waste.
 
Lads! Help me out. Ive been into trails riding for years (when I get the chance).
Now Ive got a bit more cash available, Im looking for a full sus trail bike thats lightweight, but solidly put together and has a good amount of travel.
One of my friends rides a Santa Cruz Superlight, and whilst I love how lightweight it is, I dont think it has enough travel for me.
Im looking for something built around an RP23 at the rear and Fox Van R's or Rock Shox Revalation 426's (i.e plenty of travel but reasonably lightweight) at the front
What do you reckon about the Trek OCLV (sp?) frames? Im just trying to get some ideas together.
Please tell me if I have no idea what Im talking about, because its been a while since I last looked into bikes!
 
leaskovski said:
Hmm, I just run a report on GC for the last 7 days, and my ave cadence is around 75rpm.

I think I need more muscle build up on my legs to be able to turn over a higher cadence on the higher gears.

On a side note, that interval training seems like a good idea, and I can do that on the commute, which will sure pee the traffic off on one particular peice of road :D Bonus!
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when i cycled to work, used the do the 14 miles on the grannie ring, just altered the gears at the back to keep the cadence between 85-95rpm and keep my heart rate in the zone i was aiming for.
This was building up the basic engine for doing 10 mile TT's.

one of the turbo sessions i used to do was 5 mins @ 110rpm in low gear then 5 mins at 75rpm in high gear, do a 10 min warm up and a 5 min cool down.
The high gear stuff was a killer after spinning in low gear.
 
panthro said:
Lads! Help me out. Ive been into trails riding for years (when I get the chance).
Now Ive got a bit more cash available, Im looking for a full sus trail bike thats lightweight, but solidly put together and has a good amount of travel.
One of my friends rides a Santa Cruz Superlight, and whilst I love how lightweight it is, I dont think it has enough travel for me.
Im looking for something built around an RP23 at the rear and Fox Van R's or Rock Shox Revalation 426's (i.e plenty of travel but reasonably lightweight) at the front
What do you reckon about the Trek OCLV (sp?) frames? Im just trying to get some ideas together.
Please tell me if I have no idea what Im talking about, because its been a while since I last looked into bikes!
Click to expand...


Budget?

But without knowing that, I'd say Yeti 575
 
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