Mountain Biking general thread

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mik
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by mik »

These e-bikes look lovely, but expensive!
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Gwaredd
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Gwaredd »

Rich B wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:50 pm Can't wait for Sunday - I've had a ride up and down the street, but that doesn't tell me much as they stop assisting after 15.5mph, I need to use it on the tight twisty ups and downs. I expect I'll be derestricting though!

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I found I reached the cut off very quickly when pushing on through single-track. 21 - 22mph cut off would be ideal IMO. Derestriction would be done before I took it out if I wasn't such a tight arse and bought one!
Cheers.

Gwaredd
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

I've tried and failed with helicopter tape in the past!

I've just finished the invisiframe, just as horrible a job as I remember, though made double hard by doing it on a light coloured frame - every spec of dust shows up so you have to clear it out as you go.

it's the same as I used on my Capra 4 years ago, so I know it holds up well. It's fairly bonkers how it's all laser cut though to go round the odd shapes with a bit of tolerance to fit it:

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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

Gwaredd wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 10:33 pm
Rich B wrote: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:50 pm Can't wait for Sunday - I've had a ride up and down the street, but that doesn't tell me much as they stop assisting after 15.5mph, I need to use it on the tight twisty ups and downs. I expect I'll be derestricting though!

Image
I found I reached the cut off very quickly when pushing on through single-track. 21 - 22mph cut off would be ideal IMO. Derestriction would be done before I took it out if I wasn't such a tight arse and bought one!
yeah, I'll do a few rides as is, just to ensure the motor is good/no warranty issues, then I'll get it chipped I expect.
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

I got my Capra out to compare - there's very little in it - obviously the 29 front wheel on the Decoy makes it taller, but the design is pretty much identical.

The Capra is SO light though!

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Jobbo
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Jobbo »

That looks brilliant Rich.

Now mine has been dirtied I think applying Invisiframe would be a horrible job; but I only heard of it last week anyway. It stops paint chips I take it?

I also spent a bit of time checking out destrestricting, or even simply trying to put it in US mode (20mph limit there). But I decided it was only really relevant on flat tarmac, and letting the motor work all the time is bound to reduce your range, so I decided against. Plus I want to keep the warranty valid.
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

It's basically thick paint protection film - the bike needs to be absolutely spotless to apply it - though it's way easier on dark coloured bits. Lots of people use some helicopter tape for vulnerable places and cut it out themselves, but I could never get it to stick down properly.

I use it because I fully expect I'll still be crashing, loading on uplifts (yes, still!) and generally treating it pretty rough! Plus I always get top tube wear/scrapes from my kneepads rubbing through corners.
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John
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by John »

Bike looks lovely Rich 8-)

An Invisiframe kit wasn't available for my bike when I first bought it. I've tried a few different suppliers of tape in the past and some of it is really poor but this supplier on ebay sell really high quality tape, it's nice and flexible and a decent thickness too https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-VentureSh ... Swbllcl742

I just did the top tube, seat/chain stays and a couple of other vulnerable areas and it looks really good. No sign of lifting yet and it's been ridden through some horrible winter mud too with all the abrasive qualities that it brings.
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Jobbo
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Jobbo »

I think with my usage I’ll get away without Invisiframe 😄
Organising a trip to the Forest of Dean shortly though. Not sure I’ll be doing anything red or black...
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240PP
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by 240PP »

Still makes me double take when I see someone riding one of these at a rate of knots up a steep hill.
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

Jobbo wrote: Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:25 am I think with my usage I’ll get away without Invisiframe 😄
Organising a trip to the Forest of Dean shortly though. Not sure I’ll be doing anything red or black...
FoD is always fun - we go there quite often because the trails are good in the dry or wet (we have /had a tradition of doing an Xmas uplift ride there).
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

First ride today, very happy - just feels like a heavier version of my old bike. You definitely have to heave it into tight berms a bit more but once you get the flow it's great. It jumps well and surprisingly it's easier to move about underneath you whilst in the air, which I don't understand the physics of. I think it'll definitely need derestricting though - plenty of times I wished it hadn't cut out before a jump/hop over something/etc...

The only other negative is it's a noisy bugger - my brothers Specialized Brose motor is like a nice soothing whirring sound even at full chat, mine is like 10 angry hornets being abused even on eco.
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Jobbo
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Jobbo »

I did a few miles on mine today with the motor completely off. Seemed a bit unfair to use it when out for a gentle ride with my wife. It doesn’t noticeably cause drag, amazingly. The freewheel at the crank end is noisy though.

Fitted my new pedals first. I wish I’d tried MTB pedals before; they suit me far better than my SPD folly 😄 Since the delivery date for blue DMR V8s pushed back to the end of May, I bought some HT ANS10s.

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I’m not a fan of the Zefal mudguard though it’s functional and was cheap. Ordered an RRP Proguard bolt on to replace it. Looking forward to Easter weekend when I finally get some days off to go out on it.
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John
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by John »

Rob Warner's view on non e bikes :lol:

V8Granite
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by V8Granite »

Just bought the bits to convert my Specialized Camber 29 to 1x9.

34 tooth front and 11/46 rear.

Waiting for the rear cassette to turn up but will strip the old bits off today. I needed a chain and rear cassette so felt like a good time to change. Obviously the grams lost will improve my Time Trial numbers :lol:

Dave!
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

Well I didn't resist for long - I went through the process to derestrict the Decoy. I had to downgrade the firmware (easy) and use the app to change bits, I had to buy the product key which only came through this morning - so I have to wait until tonight to try it out.

Should allow US mode (20mph) and wheel circumference changes (26mph) though the Speedo won't work if I do the wheel change.
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John
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by John »

I'd be happy if we adopted the US limits.
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Jobbo
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Jobbo »

I know yours is a different motor, Rich, but where did you find the way to derestrict it?
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Rich B
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Rich B »

I went with STUnlocker, recommended on various owner groups (FB) and google searching.

There's loads of methods for each system - hardware and software based. I think you just need to wade through it until one gives you that warm feeling that that's the one that looks trustworthy enough to risk your warranty on!
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Jobbo
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Re: Mountain Biking general thread

Post by Jobbo »

That's what I thought - I won't derestrict mine yet as I like the warranty but I can imagine I will at some point.
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