Big Bike Thread

yozzer2001 · 1 Mar 2010 at 13:29

what would you say ,im after bike got about£500-£600 (not much i know ) would you buy new or secondhand (for better spec) and if second hand where?

Murf · 1 Mar 2010 at 14:12

Hhhmmmm. Guess I should really attempt to fix them, although being the least mechnically minded person in the world may make that awkward.

If the levers aren't releasing after being squeezed that means I need to bleed them yeah? If I need extra fluid do I need anything specific? Suppose I might as well learn to do my own repairs now rather than later. Had nothing but grief from these brakes mind. Although I probably just failed to fit them properly in the first place. :/

LordSplodge · 1 Mar 2010 at 14:35

Just got off the phone to Steve at KHS Bikes. My 2010 XTC555 will arrive Wednesday morning. I ordered a shock pump off him at the same time!

I've never had air shocks before so have you more experienced guys got any tips?

weescott · 1 Mar 2010 at 14:54

Murf said:
Hhhmmmm. Guess I should really attempt to fix them, although being the least mechnically minded person in the world may make that awkward.

If the levers aren't releasing after being squeezed that means I need to bleed them yeah? If I need extra fluid do I need anything specific? Suppose I might as well learn to do my own repairs now rather than later. Had nothing but grief from these brakes mind. Although I probably just failed to fit them properly in the first place. :/

You need DOT 4 or 5 for your brakes. Something like this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35768

Sounds like there might be something else up with the brakes though.The lever shouldn't jam at all. One for the bike shop unless you want to tinker.

LordSplodge said:
Just got off the phone to Steve at KHS Bikes. My 2010 XTC555 will arrive Wednesday morning. I ordered a shock pump off him at the same time!

I've never had air shocks before so have you more experienced guys got any tips?

Nothing to it. More or less set to the correct PSI and off you go.

Shoei · 1 Mar 2010 at 15:09

LordSplodge said:
Just got off the phone to Steve at KHS Bikes. My 2010 XTC555 will arrive Wednesday morning. I ordered a shock pump off him at the same time!

I've never had air shocks before so have you more experienced guys got any tips?

Steve "should" set a rough pressure in the rear shock any way. Mine seems to be pretty spot on from the info i gave him.
We now have a 2nd XC-604 at work, the 2010 model arrived today. Nice manitou forks on it as well. Nice contrast between the silver front and Back rear.

LordSplodge · 1 Mar 2010 at 15:12

weescott said:
Nothing to it. More or less set to the correct PSI and off you go.

That's good to hear. Steve is setting them up for my weight but he said on the phone that I can change them to be more plush or more stiff hence why I ordered the shock pump (and it was cheap).

Murf · 1 Mar 2010 at 15:15

weescott said:
You need DOT 4 or 5 for your brakes. Something like this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35768

Sounds like there might be something else up with the brakes though.The lever shouldn't jam at all. One for the bike shop unless you want to tinker

Cheers for the link.

The levers aren't jamming per se. They're just not releasing all the way back to their original positions. It's a problem I had with the rear brake (bought new) from day one, and that has also appeared on the front brake (bought 2nd hand) this weekend. I was out in Hamsterley in pretty atrocious conditions and got mud and clay pretty much everywhere. The brakes just degraded in stopping power throughout the day.

6thElement · 1 Mar 2010 at 15:25

weescott said:
You need DOT 4 or 5 for your brakes.

If brake fluid 4 or 5.1, 5 is something very different. Shimano and some others user mineral oil instead.

weescott · 1 Mar 2010 at 16:18

That's what I meant.

ichabod crane · 1 Mar 2010 at 19:33

yozzer2001 said:
what would you say ,im after bike got about£500-£600 (not much i know ) would you buy new or secondhand (for better spec) and if second hand where?

Mtb? New would look at
Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc Bike 2010,
Cannondale Trail SL 5 Mountain Bike 2010,
Genesis Core 10 Bike 2010,
2010 Cube Attention HT Bike

Just to get you started

MrKnifey · 1 Mar 2010 at 20:48

I am booked into Cwmcarn on my own so far.. We should all meet in carpark then make sure we get on same uplift

Supercow · 1 Mar 2010 at 22:02

crankbro said:
I am booked into Cwmcarn on my own so far.. We should all meet in carpark then make sure we get on same uplift

Yea that shouldn't be a problem - spotting each other would be easy enough by bikes anyways.

I'll be there with my white MAkulu, my mate on his Yellow Makulu, another mate with a Evil Revolt, another with a white and red Intense 951 ..... another with a Mongoose Boot'r. We'll most likely be the loudest bunch so hard to miss.
I'll be the skin head with the dodgy accent... if that's not enough for you to spot me/us here's a pic of me

(dear god it was hard to find a pic of me not pulling a face!)

MrKnifey · 1 Mar 2010 at 22:11

Ill be there on my Trek.. Most likely pulling a goon over a jump..

My real name is Andrew by the way

touch · 2 Mar 2010 at 01:43

Finally got my cheapy cheap ebay bike rideable by borrowing a wheel from another bike.
Decided to head for Learnie Red Rock trails to properly try it out.

Turned out to be a pretty poor day's riding

Firstly i just about got knocked off. (turning right, guy pulled out of the road i was turning into. Dont know how he didnt see me.)
Got to the trails to find this:

About 8-10 inches of snow

Impossible to ride in. Pushed all the way to the top of the hill hoping to find a sheltered downhill through the trees but, just my luck today, the trees made no difference and i had to push all the way down.

Supercow · 2 Mar 2010 at 09:10

crankbro said:
Ill be there on my Trek.. Most likely pulling a goon over a jump.. My real name is Andrew by the way

Figured you'll be on the Trek, my real name is Deon.

ichabod crane · 2 Mar 2010 at 09:18

crankbro said:
Ill be there on my Trek.. Most likely pulling a goon over a jump.. My real name is Andrew by the way

Name - Richard

and will look something like this

Torch [P4] · 2 Mar 2010 at 10:06

touch said:
Finally got my cheapy cheap ebay bike rideable by borrowing a wheel from another bike.
Decided to head for Learnie Red Rock trails to properly try it out.

Turned out to be a pretty poor day's riding
Firstly i just about got knocked off. (turning right, guy pulled out of the road i was turning into. Dont know how he didnt see me.)
Got to the trails to find this:

About 8-10 inches of snow Impossible to ride in. Pushed all the way to the top of the hill hoping to find a sheltered downhill through the trees but, just my luck today, the trees made no difference and i had to push all the way down.

heading out to sanquar / Forres at lunch time today (hope its clear), was hoping to head up to learnie at the weekend but guess i'll not bother after seeing that

hopefully ordiequish is clear this weekend

cambb · 2 Mar 2010 at 10:17

First commute in today on my new Specialized crosstrail bought through the bike to work scheme. Only 8 miles but done it in 30 minutes however it was a bit cold -2.

weescott · 2 Mar 2010 at 14:04

Torch [P4];16069814 said:
heading out to sanquar / Forres at lunch time today

I used to live there when I was much much younger.

-----

Real name: Scott
I'll be looking something like this:

6thElement · 2 Mar 2010 at 14:18

I can't come, I don't have a Santa Cruz