Big Bike Thread

Richie · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:16

SDK^ said:
No point in talking about SPD pedals here, at the recent OcUK meet up only 1 rider out of 10 was on them

Real men ride flats

SDK^ · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:26

Richie said:
Real men ride flats

Tell that to most of the Pro DH riders

weescott · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:27

Am I the only person who has never had a comedy moment being clipped in? :confused:

touch · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:28

weescott said:
Am I the only person who is still waiting to have a comedy moment being clipped in?

Fixed

I thought i had managed to get away without one also. I picked it up pretty quick and managed to remember to unclip every time i stopped.
But its possible (and even more embarrasing) to unclip one foot and then fall the other way

gettothechopper · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:34

riding Cwmcarn > Twrch on saturday

how is it compared with the wall or whites level?

R0B75 · 19 Jul 2011 at 22:50

touch said:
With a good pedalling technique (constant pressure through the full rotation, rather than just pushing down from the top) you can put out a massive amount more power. It also helps on climbs with low levels of grip. Constant torque means the wheel is less likely to slip.

Oh I completely understand how they can benefit you power wise, but for standard trail riding I can't see it being benefit enough. For example, on the road you are more or less constantly pedalling so you would benefit from the extra power, but that doesn't happen off-road on a mountain bike, atleast not for me.

Downhill sections I mostly freewheel after getting up to speed, I don't climb anything difficult enough to warrant it, and I rarely slip off the pedals now with the shoes I have. Still, one day I might try it. I'll usually try anything once...

andi · 19 Jul 2011 at 23:32

Tried them for a bit, and I couldn't get comfortable. Not very confident on a bike as it is, I ended up spending all the ride thinking about my pedals instead of the riding.

I can see the benefit, but its not enough to make them worthwhile to me.

Shedman · 20 Jul 2011 at 02:31

Hey guys, so I'm looking into building up a bike that will basically handle the downhill at Glentress/Kirroughtree/Carron Valley etc. Now I don't have a lot of money at all, I'm 16 and just spent over a grand on my pc :cool:

Now I'm almost set on the Giant Trance frame as I love the Maestro suspension so would basically like someone that has loads of experience with the brakes and tyres to give me their recommendations. My budget is around £100 for the brakes as a set and about £50-£60 for both tyres.

I don't really care about looks or how resistant the tyre is to rolling, I just need brakes that won't let me down whatever the weather, and tyres with as much grip as possible in the corners!

I've recently been riding an absolute nightmare of a bike, weighs in excess of 15kgs and has tyres that no matter how slow/fast you go in a corner you WILL crash

So anything really I suppose is an upgrade

Glyndwr · 20 Jul 2011 at 06:41

Shedman said:
Hey guys, so I'm looking into building up a bike that will basically handle the downhill at Glentress/Kirroughtree/Carron Valley etc. Now I don't have a lot of money at all, I'm 16 and just spent over a grand on my pc

Now I'm almost set on the Giant Trance frame as I love the Maestro suspension so would basically like someone that has loads of experience with the brakes and tyres to give me their recommendations. My budget is around £100 for the brakes as a set and about £50-£60 for both tyres.

I don't really care about looks or how resistant the tyre is to rolling, I just need brakes that won't let me down whatever the weather, and tyres with as much grip as possible in the corners!

I've recently been riding an absolute nightmare of a bike, weighs in excess of 15kgs and has tyres that no matter how slow/fast you go in a corner you WILL crash So anything really I suppose is an upgrade

If you don't mind secondhand you can pick up a decent brakeset for about £100. Avid Elixir, Shimano SLX. If you shop around you can get some great deals on new brakes, a little over budget but take a look at the Formula Oro K18 on Merlincycles. These are very good brakes at a great price.

I have found either Formula or Hope to be the best brakes. Avid are a pain in the backside to setup. Shimano are ok but the lower end ones seem to fade under heavy breaking.

Tyres are a ver y personal thing, also depends a lot on your riding style. If you corner aggressively and get down low then look for something with big square lugs on the sides (Maxxis Highroller) For a more standard rounded profile tyre that will corner fine look at tyres such as Maxxis Ardent

Shedman · 20 Jul 2011 at 07:15

Glyndwr said:
If you don't mind secondhand you can pick up a decent brakeset for about £100. Avid Elixir, Shimano SLX. If you shop around you can get some great deals on new brakes, a little over budget but take a look at the Formula Oro K18 on Merlincycles. These are very good brakes at a great price.

I have found either Formula or Hope to be the best brakes. Avid are a pain in the backside to setup. Shimano are ok but the lower end ones seem to fade under heavy breaking.

Tyres are a ver y personal thing, also depends a lot on your riding style. If you corner aggressively and get down low then look for something with big square lugs on the sides (Maxxis Highroller) For a more standard rounded profile tyre that will corner fine look at tyres such as Maxxis Ardent

So a nice cheap pair of Juicy 3's is no good then?

Will look around for the Formula's on eBay

Basically I want tyres that don't wash out in high speed corners, and after reading through about 50 pages or so of this thread a popular choice seems to be Nobby Nic's, are these good grippy tyres? Also I've heard some people talking about UST rims, are these any good or do they introduce more hassle than they are worth? :confused:

mistercrabb · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:04

Shedman said:
So a nice cheap pair of Juicy 3's is no good then? Will look around for the Formula's on eBay

Basically I want tyres that don't wash out in high speed corners, and after reading through about 50 pages or so of this thread a popular choice seems to be Nobby Nic's, are these good grippy tyres? Also I've heard some people talking about UST rims, are these any good or do they introduce more hassle than they are worth?

Juicy 3s start off good, but they tend to die quite soon. My friend had a pair and they needed bleeding constantly and they faded, needed pumping up, and rubbed etc.

Don't bother with UST unless you really need it, you will probably end up puncturing one and then you'll be back to running tubes (speaking from experience).
I don't have that much experience with tyres, but if you're on a budget it's always a good idea to buy a grippy compound tyre and put it on the front where you will be needing the grip, and put a hard compound on the back for epic drifts and suchlike.

booyaka · 20 Jul 2011 at 08:16

you won't go far wrong with nobby Nic. If you look around you can get a pair for £40 (check on-one.co.uk)

daveski · 20 Jul 2011 at 10:07

Hi all.

First post in this thread. I have a 2010 Trek 6000 bike which I have just started using to cycle part of the way to work. I started at 6 miles then got a bit further away till yesterday I managed to cycle all the way home (13 miles) My journey is full of gradient changes and is killing my legs, is there anything I can do to aid recovery once I am at work / home?

RobotXander · 20 Jul 2011 at 10:07

Had a great ride round Balblair Black last night. Would have been even better if my chain would stop slipping off my middle ring onto the granny...

I have a Blackspire Stinger + Bash and have removed my front mech (but left the granny ring on. Just haven’t taken it off yet) so running 1 x 9 at the moment effectively
What would you guys recommend for keeping the chain in place? Something I could use in conjunction with the stinger (which is ISCG mount)

weescott · 20 Jul 2011 at 10:18

Shedman said:
Basically I want tyres that don't wash out in high speed corners, and after reading through about 50 pages or so of this thread a popular choice seems to be Nobby Nic's, are these good grippy tyres? Also I've heard some people talking about UST rims, are these any good or do they introduce more hassle than they are worth?

Nobby Nics are great tyres. I'm a big fan of Schwalbe and Continental tyres. The thing to look out for is not going for the cheapest ones you can find as the more expensive models have better compounds. This is especially the case with the Continental Mountain Kings (which have been replaced with the MK2 and X) and the superb black chilli compound. The Nobby Nics can be found cheap but the latest versions are expensive.

With UST rims/tyres there is less faffing about than with any rim tyre combo. There is no need for sealant (optional), no rim tape or conversion kits, and no innertubes. But it is expensive. UST rims and tyres cost more.

The other tubeless option is Stans. Stans rims are expensive, and unlike UST they require a bit of faffing about to set up requiring sealant, special rim strips and a bit of research in seeing what tyres will work without blowing off the rim.

Both can work well if set up correctly, but to start out on I wouldn't bother with tubeless at all.

weescott · 20 Jul 2011 at 10:20

daveski said:
Hi all.

First post in this thread. I have a 2010 Trek 6000 bike which I have just started using to cycle part of the way to work. I started at 6 miles then got a bit further away till yesterday I managed to cycle all the way home (13 miles) My journey is full of gradient changes and is killing my legs, is there anything I can do to aid recovery once I am at work / home?

Stretch as soon as you finish. Drink plenty of water. Eat properly.

Shedman · 20 Jul 2011 at 11:25

weescott said:
With UST rims/tyres there is less faffing about than with any rim tyre combo. There is no need for sealant (optional), no rim tape or conversion kits, and no innertubes. But it is expensive. UST rims and tyres cost more.

So what are the performance advantages/disadvantages to UST rims?

daveski · 20 Jul 2011 at 11:43

weescott said:
Stretch as soon as you finish. Drink plenty of water. Eat properly.

Thanks. I drink a lot of water but had completely forgotten about stretching.

Supercow · 20 Jul 2011 at 12:10

Shedman said:
So what are the performance advantages/disadvantages to UST rims?

Tubeless set-ups tend to be lighter than tubed - which brings on the advantages of rotational weight decrease (the most influential weight saving you can make). It is also less prone to punctures when sealed properly with something like Stans.

There are also disadvantages, such as burping - but unless you are hitting big stuff at speed, you need not concern yourself with it.

Murf · 20 Jul 2011 at 12:19

Rather than create a new thread I figured I'd look for advice in here.

My 1st bike 2 years ago was a Cube Analog. Really enjoyed it, got a massive kick out of trails at Chopwell Woods and Hamsterley Forest, used it during the winter for my commute.

However it has seen much better days and I want to replace it with something on the cycle to work scheme. I have a budget of £1k (not a penny more) and I want the best off roading experience possible. I already have a road bike for my commute and long distance rides so this will be used for trails only (unless there is snow on the roads then commuting as well).

Has anyone got any recommendations as to how I should go about this? Best 1k hardtail I can find? Cheap full sus (the Boardman?) and upgrade components as cash allows?

I really enjoyed the hardtail and didn't feel it limited what I could do, but I don't know if a 1k full sus would offer a better experience.

Any suggestions for bikes I can get for a grand on the cycle to work scheme would be appreciated.

Cheers guys.