Big Bike Thread

6thElement · 21 Jul 2010 at 13:15

Clipsey said:
Anyone know or had much use from Mavic or Sram wheels?
Trying to decide whether it's a worthy upgrade for my bike.
In particular looking at the Mavic Cosmic Elite vs. Sram S27.

For that budget go for the Shimano RS80.

zootfloot · 21 Jul 2010 at 13:16

matt_fsr said:
Was there on Sunday - some cracking trails! If you find the man-made jumps buried deep in the woods, spot the one with the blue painted ramp.

I managed that one, didnt dare go for anything bigger!

Will keep an eye out for it, may take a few pics too!

Looking forward to that ride down from highcliff, last time i did it was about 15 years ago, i dumped it into a tree and broke my collar bone.

I must admit i am a bit apprehensive about my bike now, i went out this morning for an easy 6 miles through saltburn woods, did a small jump and when i landed there was a not very nice creaking sound.

Unfortunately i havent had time to take a look at it yet as i had to get ready for work....hope its nothing terminal

matt_fsr · 21 Jul 2010 at 13:29

zootfloot said:
Will keep an eye out for it, may take a few pics too!

Looking forward to that ride down from highcliff...

Yeah thats good - A bit of a "waste" of height in that the height gained could have been used for more fun, but its a fast descent. Watch out for some big rocks half way down, it initially looks like 1 jump but there's 2 of them - could turn nasty

As for the cracking sound.... hmmmm.... if your bike is as old as I think, I'd play it very carefully!

Russinating · 21 Jul 2010 at 13:41

I've currently got a road bike but want to get a mountain bike so I can do more off road cycling. I'm on a massive budget and I'll be buying second hand most probably, so rather than asking what bike should I get, what should I look out for/try and get spec-wise?

[DOD]Asprilla · 21 Jul 2010 at 13:52

Clipsey said:
Anyone know or had much use from Mavic or Sram wheels?
Trying to decide whether it's a worthy upgrade for my bike.
In particular looking at the Mavic Cosmic Elite vs. Sram S27.

Merlin Cycles are doing Fulcrum Racing 3s for £350 down from £500. Same weight as the RS80s but with a better hub (IMHO).

matt_fsr · 21 Jul 2010 at 14:52

Russinating said:
I've currently got a road bike but want to get a mountain bike so I can do more off road cycling. I'm on a massive budget and I'll be buying second hand most probably, so rather than asking what bike should I get, what should I look out for/try and get spec-wise?

Whats your budget? Have you ridden a hardtail and a full sus, and do you have any preference? If not, borrow ones off friends, or ask to just have a try on a couple at a local bike shop and see what you prefer.

Is weight a consideration, and if so is it a big one? (largely negated if your budget is quite small)

Supercow · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:41

Russinating said:
I'm on a massive budget

Define massive budget please?

For a massive budget, we sure can recommend some nice stuff, unless you mean massive... as in massively low

How much ££ youve got for this would help muchly.

Russinating · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:43

matt_fsr said:
Whats your budget? Have you ridden a hardtail and a full sus, and do you have any preference? If not, borrow ones off friends, or ask to just have a try on a couple at a local bike shop and see what you prefer.

Is weight a consideration, and if so is it a big one? (largely negated if your budget is quite small)

Seems I missed the word "tight" from my 'massive budget' sentence. Worst typo ever?

Probably looking at £50 second hand, maybe stretch to £100 if the right one comes up. No idea about hardtail or full sus.

Saw this that looked pretty good: http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/27/62573627.html
But then I may just go for something like this: http://bristol.gumtree.com/bristol/59/62577159.html

I know it's not a lot, but I don't need anything amazing, just something I can take to the woods and get dirty instead of ruining my road bike (and my back).

Microwave · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:44

Haha

MASSIVE disappointment!

Russinating · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:47

Microwave said:
Haha MASSIVE disappointment!

Sorry

. Did you have a load of £3k beauties lined up to rave about?

Microwave · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:51

Yes!

The moments gone...!

Supercow · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:55

Sorry mate, I dont know how to put it mildly (and not sounding snooty), but 50 - 100 will get you an object, which is shaped like a bike - kinda.

Anything you buy in that region will be the same (no pro's or con's to componentry that will be on them)... just make sure it's structually sound.

Russinating · 21 Jul 2010 at 17:01

Gotcha. A kinda bike shaped object it'll be then

. And not snooty at all, I knew I wasn't going to get a lot, just never owned a MTB before so wasn't sure if there was anything particularly to look out for. Cheers

.

Supercow · 21 Jul 2010 at 17:04

The only thing I can say however, just look at Hardtails (in other words it only has suspension at the front), forget looking at something that looks like it has a spring in the rear end.

andi · 21 Jul 2010 at 18:09

I like this quote from the first gumtree link..

CR-MO light weight frame (not steel)

"andy" · 21 Jul 2010 at 19:04

to be fair cromo is lighter and stronger than your average hi tensile steel that most cheap bikes use

look for something second hand from the bigger names if you can. eg an older specialised hardrock would be ideal

Clipsey · 21 Jul 2010 at 20:34

[DOD]Asprilla;16989895 said:
Merlin Cycles are doing Fulcrum Racing 3s for £350 down from £500. Same weight as the RS80s but with a better hub (IMHO).

Thanks for the suggestion

I read somewhere that Sram wheels are like a re-branded Zipp wheel, or they use last years Zipp design (or something similar :confused:

) So in essence your still getting a great wheel for a lot less money.

[DOD]Asprilla · 21 Jul 2010 at 20:46

Clipsey said:
Thanks for the suggestion I read somewhere that Sram wheels are like a re-branded Zipp wheel, or they use last years Zipp design (or something similar ) So in essence your still getting a great wheel for a lot less money.

The reviews aren't great for the Srams. I was looking at them when I recently upgraded (Fulcrum Racing 1), particularly the S30 ALs.

A bit of research shows that they are based on Zipp wheels, but the materials and designs aren't as good. From what I've heard, they are disappointing, but I've never ridden them so I don't really know.

Clipsey · 21 Jul 2010 at 20:51

Ahh ok, so you rate the Fulcrum Racing 3's? Can get them for roughly the same price as the other 3 sets.

oddjob62 · 21 Jul 2010 at 21:11

[DOD]Asprilla;16992840 said:
A bit of research shows that they are based on Zipp wheels, but the materials and designs aren't as good. From what I've heard, they are disappointing, but I've never ridden them so I don't really know.

The SRAM wheels are made by Zipp (the acquired Zipp in 2007 iirc)