Mountain Biking
Posted 25th March 2011 at 08:27 AM by chris661
Many years ago, (when I was 11, now 17), I got a bike for my birthday/Christmas combined present, I got a mountain bike. It was good for what it was: V-brakes, 21 gears, front suspension etc.
So, I enjoyed the bike for about a year, then decided the forks weren't great, and that upgrading them would make everything much better. Now, knowing nothing about bike geometry, I fitted some longer forks. Lovely, I could go over all sorts, land jumps and the front wheel always stayed attached to the ground. Being young and adventurous, I started doing drops - onto concrete. Needless to say the wheels that came attached to a £150 bike didn't hold up particularly well.
So, a little re-speccing later, the bike got some new wheels. These were heavy duty jump wheels that are designed for grown men to jump off stuff. A 13 year old would be fine. Due to the different hubs, I also had to fit a new rear cassette, and all the deraileurs and shifters that come with.
Seeing they were disc brake compatible, I also bought some hydraulic disk brakes, thinking 160mm rotors would be sufficient. I was proved wrong when I experienced brake fade on the front brake, on the way down a large hill. The lever felt squishy, and the rotor singed grass a little upon contact (tested after I'd stopped on the back brake). Bigger rotor needed. Bigger rotor fitted, I was indestructable, but also a bit too big for the small frame of the original bike.
So, back onto the interweb, I found a large frame that would do nicely. It was a jump frame (again, designed for grown men to throw themselves off buildings), so I knew it'd take anything a 15 year old could throw at it. The frame arrived at 8.15 on a Saturday morning. So I went outside and began transferring all the parts over. The bearings were a nightmare, but they moved, eventually.
After going through a multitude of tyres, trying to find something right for what I did (road some of the time, then fast, muddy off-road the rest of the time), I settled with some super-knobbly, soft compound tyres. They were terrible on road, but showed me why I picked them off road. When it came to slippery uphills, I was one of the quickest out there (16 years old, riding with some people from college).
So, after a particularly good ride one Monday, I left the bike down the side of my house (unlocked!!), then forgot it was there and went to college. Back at 4.20 and it wasn't there any more.
So, a brief look around, followed by talking to the police, going around every second hand shop in town and putting up posters (over two weeks), I gave up and bought something new.
http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p1747
I had planned on spending more on a bike, but this was hard to ignore. The plan is to potentially upgrade to larger rotors again, and change the front suspension - the springs don't have the same "feel" as the air shock at the back.
Even with everything stock, it is a very very good bike.
Anyway, thanks for reading, I'm off.
Chris
So, I enjoyed the bike for about a year, then decided the forks weren't great, and that upgrading them would make everything much better. Now, knowing nothing about bike geometry, I fitted some longer forks. Lovely, I could go over all sorts, land jumps and the front wheel always stayed attached to the ground. Being young and adventurous, I started doing drops - onto concrete. Needless to say the wheels that came attached to a £150 bike didn't hold up particularly well.
So, a little re-speccing later, the bike got some new wheels. These were heavy duty jump wheels that are designed for grown men to jump off stuff. A 13 year old would be fine. Due to the different hubs, I also had to fit a new rear cassette, and all the deraileurs and shifters that come with.
Seeing they were disc brake compatible, I also bought some hydraulic disk brakes, thinking 160mm rotors would be sufficient. I was proved wrong when I experienced brake fade on the front brake, on the way down a large hill. The lever felt squishy, and the rotor singed grass a little upon contact (tested after I'd stopped on the back brake). Bigger rotor needed. Bigger rotor fitted, I was indestructable, but also a bit too big for the small frame of the original bike.
So, back onto the interweb, I found a large frame that would do nicely. It was a jump frame (again, designed for grown men to throw themselves off buildings), so I knew it'd take anything a 15 year old could throw at it. The frame arrived at 8.15 on a Saturday morning. So I went outside and began transferring all the parts over. The bearings were a nightmare, but they moved, eventually.
After going through a multitude of tyres, trying to find something right for what I did (road some of the time, then fast, muddy off-road the rest of the time), I settled with some super-knobbly, soft compound tyres. They were terrible on road, but showed me why I picked them off road. When it came to slippery uphills, I was one of the quickest out there (16 years old, riding with some people from college).
So, after a particularly good ride one Monday, I left the bike down the side of my house (unlocked!!), then forgot it was there and went to college. Back at 4.20 and it wasn't there any more.
So, a brief look around, followed by talking to the police, going around every second hand shop in town and putting up posters (over two weeks), I gave up and bought something new.
http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p1747
I had planned on spending more on a bike, but this was hard to ignore. The plan is to potentially upgrade to larger rotors again, and change the front suspension - the springs don't have the same "feel" as the air shock at the back.
Even with everything stock, it is a very very good bike.
Anyway, thanks for reading, I'm off.
Chris
Total Comments 3
Comments
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I feel your pain Chris. My commuter-modified hack mountainbike got stolen a couple of weeks back - just before a 30km mtb competition ride I was training for. Bummer.
Result? I pulled out my old Proflex 856, and started the rear swingarm bearing rebuild I had been putting off for over 6 years.
Not going fast enough on the rebuild, I ended up borrowing my BILs Proflex 857 (wooooah! Carbon swingarm!!!) for the ride.
Learnings. Always lock your bike up to something solid - even at home;
None-the-less, to every cloud, a silver lining;
A 15-year old fully-suspended rig still outperforms me. And gave a few late model bikes a run too;
Riser bars are no good on a road rig;
SPD pedals ARE ok these days.
Had to buy her indoors a new ride too since hers was stolen at the same time. She is now on a K2 Attack. She loves it.Posted 30th March 2011 at 12:41 AM by aardvarkash10
Updated 30th March 2011 at 12:45 AM by aardvarkash10 -
I bought cheap as well. With my 130kg things did not last long. So I went for Canyon.
Happy ever since.Posted 30th March 2011 at 01:55 PM by Bas Horneman
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Me again, turned out that 160mm brakes (of the budget Shimano variety) front and rear very nearly weren't enough, even for a 9 stone whippersnapper...
Considering purchasing some Hope brakes off a friend, £140 all in.Posted 14th May 2011 at 03:23 PM by chris661
