Big Bike Thread

egt · 16 Jul 2006 at 16:23

Phnom_Penh said:
Bin the tyres, Tioga Factory XC's should have been kept in the factory tbh , they'll give you more punctures than an nail bed

I have those tyres on my GT MTB, and you're right, i've had more than my share of punctures.

Are they badly designed?

benjo plz. · 16 Jul 2006 at 16:42

egt said:
I have those tyres on my GT MTB, and you're right, i've had more than my share of punctures.

Are they badly designed?

Its hard to point the finger at whats wrong with them exactly, but they're cheap in price, and therefore build, and have a poor grip, and give lots of punctures. At a guess there's something up with the bead, because they don't have particularly soft rubber, but they get lots of punctures. As they're £11 each its not hard to see why most bike makers use them for their entry and mid level bikes.

It's difficult to find the right tyre tbh, because the softer they are, the better they grip, but they're more prone to punctures, whereas hard tyres won't puncture so easily, but won't give a good grip. Some tyres have kevlar in the bead, which obviously makes them more resistant to punctures, but has the disadvantage that it makes the tyres heavier, which can be a problem for some people.

Mr Mag00 · 16 Jul 2006 at 18:39

but has the disadvantage that it makes the tyres heavier, which can be a problem for some people.

no offence but this makes me laugh,for anyone on this forum is weight really an issue,who here is an olympic level racer?! if you want to stop punctures go for kevlar,forget the weighjt

weescott · 16 Jul 2006 at 19:00

I think people are getting mixed up with Kevlar beed and Steel beed sidewalls.

Edit: WTB motoraptors are good all round tyres.

Double edit: Weight matters most on wheels so that is where you should spend your money.

janesssssy · 16 Jul 2006 at 19:57

heheh those tyres are from my bike before. I have had load of punctures. But as said, im on a budget so will have to wait for a few months. Got a holiday to venice next month.

SgtTupac · 16 Jul 2006 at 22:05

Its all down to what inner tubes you use as well! If your going over rough terrain and down downhill courses you need thicker tubes. Its no good using £4 tubes from halfords

I made that mistake, landed a jump, tyre blew out and dented a brand new Mavic D521 rim. Not funny

georges · 16 Jul 2006 at 22:14

it's no fun in the wet on tiogas, gently touching front disk and having the wheel completely lose all grip :eek:

DanF · 16 Jul 2006 at 22:40

Yeah had those Tiogas on my Caldera, rubbish in the rain.

I've put Panaracer Fire XC Kevlar things on the new bike, they are amazing for grip but have poped the bead off the rim after two jumps now

fine for trail/xc stuff though.

benjo plz. · 17 Jul 2006 at 00:25

Mr Mag00 said:
no offence but this makes me laugh,for anyone on this forum is weight really an issue,who here is an olympic level racer?! if you want to stop punctures go for kevlar,forget the weighjt

I personaly don't bother about weight, but some people will spend £££ to save a few grams.

weescott said:
I think people are getting mixed up with Kevlar beed and Steel beed sidewalls.

I meant the ply/cord and not the bead :cough:

. It's usually steel or folding bead, kevlars only really used for asb iirc.

SgtTupac · 17 Jul 2006 at 11:34

georges said:
it's no fun in the wet on tiogas, gently touching front disk and having the wheel completely lose all grip

Mine lose grip in the dry

Poor tyres tbh

weescott · 17 Jul 2006 at 12:29

Phnom_Penh said:
kevlars only really used for asb iirc.

asb?

Fubsy · 17 Jul 2006 at 19:46

Well went into my (only) local shop today, and they recommended me this

A Gary Fisher Marlin

Went for a test ride liked it, and bought it for £375.

I was tempted to order on-line and get a specialized hardrock pro disc, but decided against it and went for this instead.

Just hope i've made a decent choice.

Jonny ///M · 18 Jul 2006 at 00:00

SgtTupac said:
Mine lose grip in the dry Poor tyres tbh

They really are that bad the factory xc/dh's.

They came on my xile.....i must have decked it a good few times by just turning in the wet. Never really had punctures with them but i cannoy praise maxxis highrollers...........i got my workmate to buy one for the front of his bike since he kept complaining about the factory Dh's on his ruckus,he is so far impressed by the sheer amound of grip.

I have been riding my brothers kona with michelin wildgripper hot S's for the last week........went back to my hard tail today and noticed how grippy the maxxis tyres actually were. I actually got a sore one the other day due to those michelins,front whiped out on a corner.....caught grip and threw me to the other side........and i bounced off the seat.....nearly had my jewerls caught in the bloody tyre :eek:

scary that was. I LOVE high rollers now.....such a fanboy

You can also brake in the wet :rolleyes:

Raymond Lin · 18 Jul 2006 at 00:25

Had a ride on my mate's Trek today (a cheap one, £250). 21 inch frame !!! I am only 5'7 /5'8, had to drop the seat to the lowest setting and it only just fit.

Now i know what it is like to get a cheap bike and too big too. It was ok downhill but it was just so heavy to ride and on some surfaces (was on the race course with some woodchips on the path) and it was so hard to ride. The bike was just too heavy and big for me.

Violent-J · 18 Jul 2006 at 00:30

LOL sorry I just got the image in my head of you riding around on a bike, hardly reaching the pedals looking like a plonker.

I have a very eccentric sense of humour.

benjo plz. · 18 Jul 2006 at 00:33

Raymond Lin said:
It was ok downhill but it was just so heavy to ride and on some surfaces (was on the race course with some woodchips on the path) and it was so hard to ride. The bike was just too heavy and big for me.

Nothing wrong with a bike built like a tank as long as your only using it downhill

. You just have to hope the Forestry Commission doesn't ban trailers.

dunker · 18 Jul 2006 at 05:18

booyaka · 18 Jul 2006 at 10:48

DanF said:
It's really good, my favorite riding so far. Lots of diversity between the different locations.

Tweed valley red route is probably my favorite, it's like a rollercoaster, lots of up then beutiful down that can be done on any trail bike, the more suspension the faster you go + there's a jump area 1/3rd of the way up to play on. Dalbeattie Hardrock Trail makes a great change of pace, lot's of stone paths + the infamos 'slab', a 40 odd foot lump of granite to ride down. Deffo worth travelling to a few different locations as they are all good really.

I'm wanting to try the Tweed valley black run in a few months.

Ae is good as well, went last year on the trail run, hard work but worth it, some of the paths where bogged out but temp ones where setup. The last decent is ace, excellent flowing jumps n drop-offs.

Got talking to the trail designer last year, was a sound bloke. He's built in a drop-off about half way down the last run that is very big, watch out for it.

cheers for that mate - not really done any riding off road before so will take it easy. going down on sunday for a bit of exercise and i don;t think the bike will be up to taking a pounding as it's not a really expensive one!!!

Fancy getting some better innertubes as i think punctures will be a bit of an issue!!!

6thElement · 18 Jul 2006 at 11:49

dunker said:
just been looking at the Trek 2007 range, some really nice looking bikes for 2007 :) heres my personal faves the 6000 £600? and the 8000 £1000?[/QUOTE]

[i]/goes off to see if the Fisher bikes are on their website if the Trek's have arrived[/i]

cmt · 18 Jul 2006 at 15:43

Still awaiting delivery of one of these babies

Rock Lobster Team Titanium, with a host of upgrades from Merlin Cycles