Mountain Biking

khani47 said:
Anyone been to Gisburn forest, I hear good things about it.
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Yes, went earlier this year. Started snowing when we got there at 8am. There’s decent parking and toilets, with a cafe there too. The tracks were good but a bit wet, been told it holds water early in the year. There’s a couple of climbs that just seems to go on forever but that’s just means the downhill is more fun, hilly gully is a right laugh, biggest berms i’ve seen!
 
chaparral said:
Am thinking of buying one of these 2 bikes but am really not sure if I should go for the FS or Hardtail

Hardtail
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/...ber/procaliber-9-7/p/23361/?colorCode=reddark

FS
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/...-fuel/top-fuel-9-7/p/23640/?colorCode=reddark

It will be my single bike so will be used for everything (playing around on off road paths as well as being used for rides on the road )
Am mainly thinking of the FS due to my age (Almost 50 year old) as it will be more comfortable
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Can you ellaborate what type of riding you will be doing?

By "rides on the road" do you mean commuting? Off to pick up the newspaper (this is not an age reference :) )
What kind of "off road paths" are you talking about?

Difficult to recommend either on the information you've provided sorry.
 
Megahurtz400 said:
What sort of riding will you be doing and where?

Canal paths and hard pack fores roads or mountains in the lake district and mountain bike trail centres?

For example, I live in Essex and maybe get to a proper trail centre in Wales/Lakes 5 times a year. So it made more sense for me to get a hardtail as 90% of my riding is done in Essex/Suffolk, no mountains, no rock. Saved me some money, and I don't lose any peddling power :p

Two very very nice bikes though, very jealous!
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rhysduck said:
Can you ellaborate what type of riding you will be doing?

By "rides on the road" do you mean commuting? Off to pick up the newspaper (this is not an age reference :) )
What kind of "off road paths" are you talking about?

Difficult to recommend either on the information you've provided sorry.
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I have no idea yet of where am going be riding it off road yet :o And I very much doubt I be doing any jumps on it..
But I know for sure there no canal paths or mountains in guernsey ;)

I have no plans for using for commuting to work..By on road use I mean taking to the shop, going out for rides with my 10 year old niece, riding around for fun on sunny days , and hoping to get some fitness riding in
 
chaparral said:
I have no idea yet of where am going be riding it off road yet :o And I very much doubt I be doing any jumps on it..
But I know for sure there no canal paths or mountains in guernsey ;)

I have no plans for using for commuting to work..By on road use I mean taking to the shop, going out for rides with my 10 year old niece, riding around for fun on sunny days , and hoping to get some fitness riding in
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Although they're both lovely bikes, they are probably a bit overkill if that's what you're looking to do with them. That said, if I had to pick between the two for rides around Guernsey, I'd go for the Hardtail - you won't be disappointed with either though I'm sure.
 
muttclugg said:
Although they're both lovely bikes, they are probably a bit overkill if that's what you're looking to do with them. That said, if I had to pick between the two for rides around Guernsey, I'd go for the Hardtail - you won't be disappointed with either though I'm sure.
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Yes I agree there most likely way over kill for what am going to use them for …

But a lot of the reason am looking at these bikes is for the low weight of them due to am not very fit anymore these days :(...
On my last MTB bike (16kg diamondback outlook) I used to get out of breath very easy on inclines and am hoping having a lighter bike will help a bit..
 
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chaparral said:
Yes I agree there most likely way over kill for what am going to use them for …

But a lot of the reason am looking at these bikes is for the low weight of them due to am not very fit anymore these days :(...
On my last MTB bike (16kg diamondback outlook) I used to get out of breath very easy on inclines and am hoping having a lighter bike will help a bit..
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If you want to improve fitness then cycling a heavier bike up those hills will get you fitter quicker :p

What's your total budget?
 
chaparral said:
Good idea maybe a heavy 23kg E-bike will be better :D
When I started looking at buying a new bike I was thinking of around a £600 budget, But that seems be increasing very quickly :eek::eek::eek:
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Don’t, I’ve just got back into it after five years off to get fit, and E-bikes look like so much fun :p

And yeah it goes that way, maybe go for something around the £750 mark to start off with? You can get a really decent hardtail for that which will get your toe back in the water, and if you start doing some more heavy duty stuff you can spend some more on a “weekend bike” for the more extreme stuff and away days?

The Voodoo Bizango is always highly rated and doesn’t look to be too heavy :)

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bi...go-29er-mens-mountain-bike-16-18-20-22-frames
 
chaparral said:
It has Suntour forks which I been told are not meant to be very good..

When I first started looking at a buying a bike I started by looking at the dual sports bikes and people recommend not to buy one because most of them have cheap coil spring forks..
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Suntour forks aren’t as good as Rockshox or fox forks granted, but if you’re just going to be getting out and about then is it really going to make a difference? Also I think suntour have come on a way since a few years ago when they were reserved for the cheapest £200-£300 bikes.

Just been helping a friend buy a mtb, and we ended up just getting bogged down by specs of rear hubs and bottom brackets, then we realised it really isn’t going to make that much of a difference on the terrain he’s going to be riding here in Essex! :D

Obviously feel free to spend more on a better specced bike, just suggesting what I’d do.

With two bikes you’ll have your cheaper hardtail for popping to the shops, and your fancy bike for the proper rides. If I had the budget for it that’s what I’d do :)

Santa Cruz Chameleon and a Nukeproof Mega Factory please :p
 
I think as others have suggested that a Hardtail is the way to go for what you want to use it for.

£1000 will get you a great hardtail, do you have any bike shops in Guernsey? Or will online be an option?
 
couple of questions for all you knowledgeable good folk.......

first off.....my bike has been sat in the shed (dry, and relatively frost free if that has any bearing) for the past 2 years - need to dust it off and actually use it (probably only rode a handful of times since purchase) do i just jump on and pedal off into the sunset or should i be giving it a good going over before riding it. if so, what does a good going over involve! (forgive my stupidity here please!) I'd have it serviced professionally but i live in the 'sticks' and humping it to a Halfords or Chain Reaction Cycles would be prohibitive (see question 3!). i took it up the road a quick spin and gear shifts seemed fine and smooth to the untrained fool that is me but i'm guessing at a minimum i should be oiling the chain? bike is a Cube Acid 27.5 from 2014


secondly......i'd previously asked about lights for night riding round a forest track, ended up buying a Solarstorm X6 as a cheap and cheerful solution. general consensus seemed to be to immediately bin the batteries and charger that came with it and get a Torchy 8800mAh 8 Cell 7.4v/8.4v battery pack - seems though they aren't listed anymore and not having a clue about batteries was hoping someone could kindly point me in the direction of what to replace the supplied batteries and charger with (or even a linky, if i'm not being too cheeky) budget wise i have no idea as i simply don't know what is out there but if i could spend less than the cost of a kidney i'd be happy - night riding opportunities will obviously will be fewer and fewer as the summer limps in but i'd still like to have the option.

and a last 3rd question came to mind - i don't currently have a bike rack for the car and googling seems to bring a myriad of options ranging in price from cheap as chips to more than the bike cost, again some suggestions would be hugely appreciated preferably something that is easily removed when not needed or swappable :)

p.s. any NI based mtbers (or whatever the cool term for a cyclist is :p) knocking about on here?
 
Thekwango said:
question1
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At the very least I'd lube the chain and check the drivetrain is shifting ok.
Bleed the brakes. 2 years sat doing nothing wouldn't have any detrimental affect on them but i'd bleed them for peace of mind and to replace the mineral oil in them. they'll benefit from it.
Check the fork pressure is correct.
Check tyre pressures are holding


Thekwango said:
question 2 - batteries
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give MTBBATTERIES a shout for this, i've bought two lights from him and he's very good. He also makes up batteries and replaces batteries in mtb lights.

Could save the cash and just get a light from MTBBATTERIES at the end of the summer when the nights draw in. Are you really going to be "night" riding this time of year? It's light till nearly 8pm now!

Thekwango said:
question 3 - racks
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Obvious option would be roof bars plus a thule 591/598.
Saris Bones are a good option for a quick "swappable" option
There is also one that has a big sucker that sucks onto the windscreen, can't remember its name atm sorry.
 
rhysduck said:
At the very least I'd lube the chain and check the drivetrain is shifting ok.
Bleed the brakes. 2 years sat doing nothing wouldn't have any detrimental affect on them but i'd bleed them for peace of mind and to replace the mineral oil in them. they'll benefit from it.
Check the fork pressure is correct.
Check tyre pressures are holding
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coolio - sadly this leads to more questions though - what lube do i need (i'm an immature 43 year old so that sounds rude!) I'll need to go looking on youtube for a guide to bleed the brakes, wouldn't have a clue where to start! fork and tyre pressure i can just about manage :D
rhysduck said:
give MTBBATTERIES a shout for this, i've bought two lights from him and he's very good. He also makes up batteries and replaces batteries in mtb lights.

Could save the cash and just get a light from MTBBATTERIES at the end of the summer when the nights draw in. Are you really going to be "night" riding this time of year? It's light till nearly 8pm now!
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cheers for that. I'll look into that. re the night riding - most of my riding through the week will be after 8pm once the kids go to bed so still got a need for a light at the mo.
rhysduck said:
Obvious option would be roof bars plus a thule 591/598.
Saris Bones are a good option for a quick "swappable" option
There is also one that has a big sucker that sucks onto the windscreen, can't remember its name atm sorry.
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cheers again. i'll have a look at those options and see what suits me best.

thanks again for the informative reply.
 
Thekwango said:
coolio - sadly this leads to more questions though - what lube do i need (i'm an immature 43 year old so that sounds rude!) I'll need to go looking on youtube for a guide to bleed the brakes, wouldn't have a clue where to start! fork and tyre pressure i can just about manage :D
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I use Squirt (yes it's actually called that) Chain Lube. Always have and I couldn't want more. I see no reason to use dry and wet lubes for the different weather.
(I actually tried MucOff Wet Lube on the weekend and despite there not being hardly any mud on the bike the chain was caked. Never again, it's going in the bin!)
It's roughly £10 a bottle for the Squirt lube but a bottle will last you a good while.

RE bleeding brakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COLd57jDvOE&t=235s
That's all you need to know.
Assuming you haven't changed the brakes since you purchased the Cube you'll need Shimano Mineral Oil and a bleed kit (For Shimano it's one syringe plus tube and a funnel. The funnel is £4 on CRC and find any syringe with plastic tubing... may even have a spare!). Bleed blocks for the calipers are handy but not essential.
 
rhysduck said:
I use Squirt (yes it's actually called that) Chain Lube.
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aw man you're killing me here! (yea i know i need to grow up but i refuse to!)
rhysduck said:
RE bleeding brakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COLd57jDvOE&t=235s
That's all you need to know.
Assuming you haven't changed the brakes since you purchased the Cube you'll need Shimano Mineral Oil and a bleed kit (For Shimano it's one syringe plus tube and a funnel. The funnel is £4 on CRC and find any syringe with plastic tubing... may even have a spare!). Bleed blocks for the calipers are handy but not essential.
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again, many many thanks for that. now just to get my lazy arse in gear (never mind the bike) get it done and get out on it!
 
So I've had my bike for a few weeks now just been riding canal paths and around parks with my son. Got a helmet this week so went to Southampton bike park this morning.

Not jumped a bike for around 15years so I stuck to the line of 5 tabletops. Wasn't doing to bad then, had a crash.

Hit the last jump a little sideways and went OTB on the other side. Winded myself and hit my shoulder pretty hard, did a few rolls with the bike.

Young lads came over to see if I was OK and all I could do was make a stupid noise until I caught my breath.

Gutted as I was having fun, hopefully my shoulder will feel fine in a couple of days.

Helmet did it's job and saved my face from the floor and the pedal from hitting the back of my head.

Good times :D
 
Rode at the Peak District today. Arrived early and beat the bank holiday rush. Was an absolutely perfect day for biking. I'll definitely be riding there again.

Descents give the bike a serious battering though, its so damn rocky!
 
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