Mountain Biking general thread

[ZedLeg]

Aye, if the bike hadn’t come already assembled they would’ve never left the bag.

Scratched the spokes up a bit taking the reflectors off which was a bit annoying but nothing a touch up with a black sharpie won’t fix

[Rich B]

Though I do have a strange enjoyment for using the chainwhip to remove the cassette to get rid of the dork disks.

[ZedLeg]

I couldn’t be bothered doing that so I just went at it with snips.

[Simon]

Had to adjust the breaks on my new bike so got round to taking all the plastic tat off. Looks much better.

C25D3AB5-D7D7-419F-94FD-D90306A8B247.jpeg

Brakes*

Great, now you will be invisible side on with no reflectors.

[Rich B]

Had to adjust the breaks on my new bike so got round to taking all the plastic tat off. Looks much better.

C25D3AB5-D7D7-419F-94FD-D90306A8B247.jpeg

Brakes*

Great, now you will be invisible side on with no reflectors.

So much fail in this post.

[dinny_g]

It always makes me laugh when you get given a bag of that crap with a high end bike!

And a bell... top end hardcore downhill bike with a little ding, ding bell.

I think shops have to do that though but it’s still ridiculous

[ZedLeg]

My partner wanted me to put the bell on “what if you need to get someone’s attention”, she also thought I should leave the reflectors on though. She’s been barred from any input on how the bike looks now

[Gwaredd]

I can understand a bell if you ride towpaths and bridleways. Even with the super loud Hope Pro Evo2 hub, people don't hear me coming. A shout of 'passing on your right' will ensure a group of people scattering every which way like a flock of sheep. None of the directions they flee will alow me to pass!

[Jobbo]

It always makes me laugh when you get given a bag of that crap with a high end bike!

And a bell... top end hardcore downhill bike with a little ding, ding bell.

I think shops have to do that though but it’s still ridiculous

They do, apparently - when I got my bike it was in stock and they said they'd have to fit a bell before I picked it up. It wasn't fitted when I collected it and I was quite happy, until I started to encounter pedestrians on cycle tracks. So now I have a nice colour-matched blue anodised bell to go with my pedals and bottle cage

ETA: exactly the same problem here, Gwaredd - you shout early and they still jump out of their skin and directly into your path. Bell is by far the best warning.

[ZedLeg]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

[Ascender]

Cracking pictures @Jobbo.

I've gone and ordered a gravel bike. And I guess I'll be keeping the bell on it given the sort of shared paths & trails I can go on.

[Jobbo]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

Mike, I have to take still photos because I'm never going to be strapping a GoPro to myself

[ZedLeg]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

I still find my self wrapping my hands over the ends of the bars on a long climb or flat drag even though I haven't had bar ends on a bike in about 20 years.

You need to get a flat bar and trim it down to about 12" to get the full retro experience.

[Rich B]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

Wow, I didn't even know they still sold bar ends!

[Jobbo]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

Wow, I didn't even know they still sold bar ends!

Hard to find in blue - got them from here: https://www.bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/

[Rich B]

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

Wow, I didn't even know they still sold bar ends!

Hard to find in blue - got them from here: https://www.bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/

I reckon they're left over from the 90's! They belong in a museum!

[Jobbo]

I think they are As I said, I'm debating it - I've had bar ends ever since I got a new bike in 1994, and it's easy enough even now to find new ones in black so some people still like them. I have found myself holding the ends of the bars like Zed, but modern bars are wider and I think bar ends would get in the way more than they'd be useful.

[Ascender]

I did fit the bell for 5 minutes, I was able to tuck it out of the way by the gear selector. Decided I didn't need it though and took it off again.

Ooh, blue anodised bottle cage Jobbo. Very 90's cool

You jest, but I've got a set of blue anodised bar ends I'm debating whether to fit...

Mike, I have to take still photos because I'm never going to be strapping a GoPro to myself

Get them on there!

Same with the GoPro, get it on your helmet so you can look properly gnarly/special.

[Jobbo]

I think you're supposed to use something like a strap-on harness for GoPro mounting for the best view. Take the strap-on itself off first, of course, in case it gets in shot.

[Rich B]

Go pros are funny things - they flatten/make everything look tiny, and unless you're actually going to do something with the footage a bit pointless. However, they're at their best when you're following someone else very close down a run.

I have one for a bit of fun and go with either a chest or helmet mount, mounting it on the bike itself is a bit of a gimmick that you'll do once then never again because the film is so shaky.

My normal mount is this one under the peak on my full face helmet. Even with a little Session 5, you can still feel the weight pulling down on the helmet (requote at will).