Mountain Biking

Ewaf said:
I've been doing some reading up on the sentier 27 VR which I have arriving this week, and apparently I need a shock pump? There's some pretty cheap ones on the rainforest which I presume will do. Is it to adjust the forks to my weight?

Are there any other essential bits of gear, cleaning/maintenance products etc I may need? I have a helmet but that's about it, and been out of the MTB game for a while.
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Basically yes, your weight and the terrain... the fork will have a max pressure (check your model) but typicaly you'll want to adjust your sag (how far the fork dips from unweighted in CM, rather than just going by PSI) to when you sit on the bike stationary, and see how far it sags from the stanchion into the body of the fork.

The little O-rings on some fork stanchion are very usefull for measuring this, but if you don't have that, a rubber band or zip-tie works just as well.

Basically you need enough pressure in them so they don't dive through all thier travel and throw you over the bars if you brake going downhill, but not so firm that they buck you off the bike if you hit a big bump.
 
Ewaf said:
I've been doing some reading up on the sentier 27 VR which I have arriving this week, and apparently I need a shock pump? There's some pretty cheap ones on the rainforest which I presume will do. Is it to adjust the forks to my weight?

Are there any other essential bits of gear, cleaning/maintenance products etc I may need? I have a helmet but that's about it, and been out of the MTB game for a while.
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Also, just to add, the standard rockshox shock pumps are well regarded and are standard shrader valve, so should fit almost all air forks... they are a bit pricey at circa £30 new, BUT...

If you join some local groups/community, you may well find you can buy them 'new' but second hand for around £15, as bike shops will probably have a surplus, and serial bike upgraders may have some spares laying around, as I belive some of the higher end rockshox forks come with a free one. So it's not uncommon to find someone who has a spare one they don't need.
 
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mattyfez said:
Basically yes, your weight and the terrain... the fork will have a max pressure (check your model) but typicaly you'll want to adjust your sag (how far the fork dips from unweighted in CM, rather than just going by PSI) to when you sit on the bike stationary, and see how far it sags from the stanchion into the body of the fork.

The little O-rings on some fork stanchion are very usefull for measuring this, but if you don't have that, a rubber band or zip-tie works just as well.

Basically you need enough pressure in them so they don't dive through all thier travel and throw you over the bars if you brake going downhill, but not so firm that they buck you off the bike if you hit a big bump.
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Makes perfect sense, cheers!
 
MOOGLEYS said:
only thing I’m now needing is a fatter set of grips as the Specialized ones are a bit thin.
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I quite like these that I had previously:

esigrips.com

Extra Chunky

Comfortable shock absorbing silicone foam grips! Extra Chunky is recommended for large hands or riders that prefer a very thick grip - 80 Grams. 34mm. Standard Grip Length - 5 1/8". Made for 22mm bars (can fit applications down to 19mm). Bar Plugs included. Made in USA. Latex & Rubber Free
esigrips.com esigrips.com

But they can get a bit slippery when wet, and they get damaged really easily as they are like a soft sillicone foam type thing.

I now have these which I think are superb, they are not thick but they damp vibration really well and are super grippy. They are tapered inside at the end though, so will efectivley widen your handlebars by a couple of CM. Maybe they do a non tapered version I dunno.

www.mbr.co.uk

Santa Cruz Palmdale review - MBR

The Santa Cruz Palmdale is a fat grip with some unexpectedly useful features
www.mbr.co.uk www.mbr.co.uk

Bar grips I guess are one of those things that you'll get a different answer from anyone you ask!
 
Ewaf said:
Are there any other essential bits of gear,
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This is also a really good bit of kit:

Topeak D2 Digital Pressure Gauge | Chain Reaction

Buy your Topeak D2 Digital Pressure Gauge from our Spare Parts range at CRC. £29.99. Free delivery available.
www.chainreactioncycles.com www.chainreactioncycles.com

It's amazing how much a little variation in tyre PSI affects the feel of the bike. For example for a day out, if it's pretty much flat terrain I'll run 30 PSI in the front and 33PSI in the rear, if its a bit more proper trrrain, Ill run 27PSI in the front and 30 out back.

I'm a chonky boi though, so YMMV.

EDIT: I don't take this out on rides with me, but it enables me to use my really cheap/knackered track pump with a dodgy guage at home rather than buying a super expensive track pump with a good guage. It's consistent.

On that subject, a track pump is also very useful, its so much easier than a slim frame pump whatever they are called.
 
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@GuruJockStrap @Minstadave Sentier 27 VR arrived and took it out for first ride, beaut of a bike. Think I've set the front forks up properly, just followed manufacturer chart and it feels ok to me. Very pleased!

Will probably look to swap out the grips for some chunkier ones, and pedals. And then maybe tubeless in the near future because it's "tubeless ready", not 100% sure what that means but I presume it's easier to transition to tubeless with it.
 
Going to give 2.6 tyres ago on my Scout.
Been using 2.4 Nobby Nics for a bit now.
Going to get a Magic Mary Soft 2.6 for the front and a Hans Dampf SpeedGrip 2.6 for the rear.
 
Ewaf said:
V0GgIs3.jpg


@GuruJockStrap @Minstadave Sentier 27 VR arrived and took it out for first ride, beaut of a bike. Think I've set the front forks up properly, just followed manufacturer chart and it feels ok to me. Very pleased!

Will probably look to swap out the grips for some chunkier ones, and pedals. And then maybe tubeless in the near future because it's "tubeless ready", not 100% sure what that means but I presume it's easier to transition to tubeless with it.
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I think it means they're taped on the inner rim, you'll still need to buy valves and sealant. Not sure if you need to change tyres.

Edit - looks like the tyres are good for going tubeless.
 
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Minstadave said:
I think it means they're taped on the inner rim, you'll still need to buy valves and sealant. Not sure if you need to change tyres.

Edit - looks like the tyres are good for going tubeless.
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Yeah probably just means it already has rim tape fitted and the stock tyres aren't so porous that the sealent leaks through the side walls.
 
Minstadave said:
I think it means they're taped on the inner rim, you'll still need to buy valves and sealant. Not sure if you need to change tyres.

Edit - looks like the tyres are good for going tubeless.
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mattyfez said:
Yeah probably just means it already has rim tape fitted and the stock tyres aren't so porous that the sealent leaks through the side walls.
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After some digging seems to be the case ye, has the tape fitted and tyres are ready for it. Might explore in the near future of it's something an amateur can DIY
 
Minstadave said:
The 29er is now on offer - sods law:

Vitus Sentier 29 VR Mountain Bike | Chain Reaction

Buy your Vitus Sentier 29 VR Mountain Bike from our Hardtail Mountain Bikes range at CRC. £1,249.99. Free delivery available.
www.chainreactioncycles.com www.chainreactioncycles.com

£750 with 10% off - £675.
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Its been that price for at least a week I think, since I've been researching anyway.

Weirdly the sentier 27 VR has gone up £50 since I ordered it on Sunday, I got it for 649 then 5% off, looks like it's 699 now.
 
Dropper post question, the sentier came with the brand x ascend which is great, never had one before but it's a complete game changer. However, I can't work out if there's a way to set the max height that it extends too? If I'm climbing and I set it full height my legs are a bit too straight and I'm reaching for the handlebars a bit. I googled but couldn't work out if there's away to adjust the height at which it extends fully to.

In hindsight I reckon an M frame would have suited me better than an L but I can't return it now. I haven't yet made any adjustments to saddle or handlebar position etc. so I think I can make it more comfortable.
 
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