Big Bike Thread

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Just bought my self Rockshox Revelation Race dual air 140mm forks.
these are to replace my 08 426 uturn forks (which are leaking oil)
Will post a few pics late next week. Then off to do a 100mile enduro next weekend.
 
Just fitted a new fork to one of my bikes too, a Reba Team 29er with Maxle.

Not having a QR front was getting annoying with the 20mm TA on my Manitou needing to undo bolts whenever the wheel had to come off for transport.

So out with the old, in with the new:
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Gave it a good 3 hour test today at a place called Ringwood, otherwise the first ride would have been next weekend at the Shenandoah 100. :)
 
I would have got a Chris Boardman Pro hardtail today if the last medium in stock wasn't damaged. :(

2 weeks to find an alternative so I don't have to deal with the plonkers in Halfords again.

me: Excuse me, how much is the bike on that stand?
Young halfords member of staff: About £7-800 pounds....
me: So you don't know?
Young halfords member of staff: No

And it got worse...:o
 
weescott said:
I would have got a Chris Boardman Pro hardtail today if the last medium in stock wasn't damaged. :(

2 weeks to find an alternative so I don't have to deal with the plonkers in Halfords again.

me: Excuse me, how much is the bike on that stand?
Young halfords member of staff: About £7-800 pounds....
me: So you don't know?
Young halfords member of staff: No

And it got worse...:o
Click to expand...

No suprise there then :p

Why 2 weeks to find an Hardtail?
 
Been at Learnie Red Rock trails today. Did the black graded route which is brilliant fun but very tough.
I was struggling doing the rocky climbs and i need some pointers.
It was something similar to this:
rockgarden.jpg

But it was quite a bit steeper up the hill.

I tried a fast approach to it but found that i got bounced around too much and couldnt stay on line (its quite narrow)
So i tried a slower approach but found that i either lost traction with my back wheel or, on the steeper bits, couldnt keep the front down.

Any tips on the best way to ride something like this?
 
weescott said:
I would have got a Chris Boardman Pro hardtail today if the last medium in stock wasn't damaged. :(
Click to expand...
I've been looking at the Boardman Team Carbon road bike for a while; they are superb value for money and I could get a good deal through the Cycle2Work scheme. However the thought of dealing with Halfords customer service completely puts me off.

So, I shall be ordering a 2010 Specialized Tarmac Comp, it looks lush. They also have a matching helmet and carbon road shoes - perfect :)
This will be my commuting machine

1246265156326-55wmy0hls831-798-75.jpg
 
lol commuter......I hate you!

Afaik dales in Glasgow told a guy it was 4 weeks wait time to get a specialized roadbike. He came to us to see if we could get it quicker but they won't deal with us :)
 
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touch said:
Been at Learnie Red Rock trails today. Did the black graded route which is brilliant fun but very tough.
I was struggling doing the rocky climbs and i need some pointers.
It was something similar to this:
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4580/rockgarden.jpg[img]
But it was quite a bit steeper up the hill.

I tried a fast approach to it but found that i got bounced around too much and couldnt stay on line (its quite narrow)
So i tried a slower approach but found that i either lost traction with my back wheel or, on the steeper bits, couldnt keep the front down.

Any tips on the best way to ride something like this?[/QUOTE]

Keep your weight central and low down, this should give you better balance and evenly distribute the weight between front (to prevent wheelies) and back (for traction), choose a gear where you have a relatively fast cadence whilst still providing enough power to keep your momentum up. I'm by no means an expert but this is usually what I find best on these sorts of climbs, there's a long ~200m climb at the end of my local route that I've only made it up once without dabbing and find the technique described here the only way to get close to cleaning it.

Also, depending on the size (height, width) of some of the rocks you may have to quickly shift your weight forward to un-weight the rear end and baclwards to lift the front end over some of the larger stuff.
Click to expand...
 
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Jonny ///M said:
Afaik dales in Glasgow told a guy it was 4 weeks wait time to get a specialized roadbike. He came to us to see if we could get it quicker but they won't deal with us :)
Click to expand...
My local Specialized Concept Store and can source me the bike tomorrow if I wanted it that quick :)
 
touch said:
Been at Learnie Red Rock trails today. Did the black graded route which is brilliant fun but very tough.
I was struggling doing the rocky climbs and i need some pointers.
It was something similar to this:
rockgarden.jpg

But it was quite a bit steeper up the hill.

I tried a fast approach to it but found that i got bounced around too much and couldnt stay on line (its quite narrow)
So i tried a slower approach but found that i either lost traction with my back wheel or, on the steeper bits, couldnt keep the front down.

Any tips on the best way to ride something like this?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I think on an uphill most people would struggle to ride that, just because it's very awkward. You'd probably have to be slow and pick a decent line.
 
just did the black route at elvedon forest in 1hr 10.

10miles, except I doubled back on a few bits (notably the beast - the hardest section.. really tight single trails with loads of rocks, jumps, roots on corners, steep inclines and bomb holes.. well fun!) so probably more like 11 or 12 by the end.

Really fun time and I got to try out my new drivetrain and front brake (SLX and deore hydros respectively). Definitely worth the money! :D
 
Glad you had a blast! I'm firing all my money into an account to get a first car so bikes are kinda on hold at the minute! Need to fire my hardtail together and just run it single speed!
 
Just got down from my first session in the Whistler bike park - love it! Arms and fingers are shot!

You were not wrong Ted, I'm already thinking of full suspension bikes. Some of the more technical black runs were tough on my hardtail.

How long does it take to get used to the feeling of weightlessness when jumping? Crank it up was such a laugh, nearly stacked it a few times, feet seem to slip off the pedals when I land.

/goes off to sort blisters on hands
 
Hello all, I'm looking for a bit of advice on this bike: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/tricross-2009-single-speed-cyclo-cross-bike-ec016875

I've got the chance to buy it for less than half that price. He's hardly used it and it appears in good condition.

What's the general opinion on this bike? Does anyone know if it's a fixed gear bike or can you freewheel on it?

Would mudguards be easy to fit, if so which ones are recommended?

It's a 56cm (Large) frame, I'm 14st just shy of 6ft 2" and take a 34" trouser, would this size frame suffice for me as I heard Specialised road bikes are on the larger side.
 
As a CX bike set up for SS it would normally have a freewheel rather than a fixed cog, almost certainly won't have mounts for mudguards but you could probably fit guards which zip tie to the frame. A 56cm sounds too small for someone 6'2" but your inseam is an inch less than mine so it might work. Without looking at full geo numbers, on a normal road frame I like a 58/59cm frame.
 
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