Mountain Biking general thread

[Rich B]

The upgraded nice bits are probably worth something separately (forks, wheels, seatpost) if he can be bothered, no one wants to buy a 26 inch wheel bike these days, but people do want decent brand 26 inch wheels/forks to keep their existing “classic” bike going. The base bike isn’t worth much though - i’m assuming it’s an early 2010s era?

[Rich B]

just looked, i think it’s a 2013 bike. You’re basically into the “few hundred quid if it all works” market - whereas you’d get more than that for the wheels and forks separately.

[dinny_g]

no one wants to buy a 26 inch wheel bike these days

Tell me about it... getting decent tyres is the main issue

[jamcg]

Firstly thanks for the advise on the friends bike. Unfortunately that’s the friend mentioned in the “not getting old thread” so that’s all on hold for the time being

Secondly- first week review of the new bike

It’s really rather good. Leaving the legal limiter in place for the time being, there are ways to go faster with the motor but it’s not a problem for me so far. Have rode to work for the last week and a bit and takes about 9mins for just under 2.5miles.

On criticism is the front brake could do with more power- it’s a heavy e-bike plus a heavy rider- may have a look into alternative pad compounds before I start swapping parts out

[John]

We've had a holiday in Dawlish Warren this week so I had my first ride on my recently purchased Tern Verge folder. The Exe estuary trail was close by and it is a very pleasant route being mainly off road or very quiet lanes. The 20" wheels on the Tern are much less twitchy than the 16" wheels on my old Brompton and it can hold a pretty good speed too. The downside is that it doesn't fold down as small as the Brompton but it's still pretty compact and is an easy fold.

[Jobbo]

Lots of gears on that, John - what sort of gear range do you get? A good low climbing gear for steep trails?

[John]

It's a 9 speed and I think 11-36 cassette. It climbs pretty well from what I've used it for so far, there's a pretty steep climb out of Dawlish Warren and I didn't need to use first gear

[jamcg]

Went for a bit of a ride the other night after work, nothing strenuous, just up our local ex railway walkway/cycle route. I intended to ride from the car park, up to hurworth burn reservoir, which is around a 10-11 mile round trip. It’s one of those hidden gems of the area, the views are incredible and you could be anywhere in the world there (library picture)



When I got there I was feeling good, thanks mainly to the assistance of the e-bike, because it’s definitely not my fitness so I just kept going. I only turned back because I didn’t want to be back at the car too late. Ended up doing nearly 3x what my original aim was. Last 2 miles were horrendous, as my back and hips were starting to cry no more

IMG_5901.png (101.32 KiB) Viewed 709 times

Bike was flawless, best description I’ve heard of e-bikes is go further, faster. This is so true, you can still push quickly, but without burning yourself out, and if you push too hard you can up the assistance, wind your speed back under 16mph into the assistance and recovery can be done on the bike at a good pace.

They really are amazing things, and when people say they’re cheating, there’s no chance I could ride what I did without it, so it’s exercise I definitely wouldn’t have done otherwise

[jamcg]

That looks rather nice. I have a riding friend who wants to get an eMTB - but he isn’t going to be spending very much and I’ve no idea what he can get with mid-motor for £2k or so. I suspect that was a fair bit more than £2k.

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/giant-ta ... ctric-bike

My bike is available in black for same money I paid if your friend is still looking

[Jobbo]

Cheers - I've sent him the link.

Not much sizing info on there. He's 6' 2" and a big chap; I'm assuming X-large would be right for him but what size do you have?

[jamcg]

I bought a large. I’m 6” and wear a 32” leg trouser. My saddle is down as far as it’ll go without cutting the post down and it’s perfect for me

[jamcg]

Also if he’s a big chap he may want to swap the front brake for a 4 pot, I was 18 1/2 stone when I got the bike and found the front lacking. Literally only thing I’ve felt the need to upgrade

[Rich B]

I managed to fuck up badly preparing for Paganella - i’d checked my bike over the week before and been out for a ride at Queen Elizabeth country park. on the saturday before setting out (on the sunday) i gave it another quick clean and noticed i was completely missing a pivot bolt!!!



where and when that went i have no idea, but it’s pretty fucking critical. I tried to get hold of YT (who have recently had issues and semi gone into administration) with no luck, so had no choice but to try and bodge something.

The thread looked like an M14 with a bespoke part where the bearing sits, so i took a wheel nut off the van and tested the size. yep, M14. i have a load of spare wheel nuts for the van, but they all have a collar bit so no good.

i went a bought some VW fox wheel nuts that just had a fixed taper and went at it with my angle grinder. Half an hour later i had something that resembled the bolt i needed and thread locked it in!



It worked great and didn’t come loose (and didn’t contribute to my crash!!)

Just waiting for the real deal replacement bolts to arrive now!

[John]

I didn’t know that about YT. The bike industry seems to be having a tough time of it at the moment. Some would say it’s mainly self inflicted due to the high prices they were charging during and after lockdown which looked to many to be profiteering.

[Jobbo]

What crash Rich? Are you ok?

[John]

And is there video?

[Carlos]

And is there video?

Yeah cracked or even bruised ribs is a miserable injury!

[Rich B]

I didn’t know that about YT. The bike industry seems to be having a tough time of it at the moment. Some would say it’s mainly self inflicted due to the high prices they were charging during and after lockdown which looked to many to be profiteering.

yeah, it seems another one is announcing trouble every week. not great…

Crash wasn’t too spectacular, I had an off on a fast left berm (on a trail called Blade runner, a flowy blue ffs) - i was clearly getting a bit too into it, went too high, front washed out right, i went down on my left side. I was winded but ok and carried on for the rest of the day.

i rode the next day with some pain killers and was “ok”… until i sneezed at lunchtime and it fucking hurt! i then rode a particularly techy run and it fucking hurt some more! After that i couldn’t ride at all (and couldn’t really even lift the bike without pain.)

I’m not too bad now though, it’s a bit painful, but not enough to stop working or anything - changing gear has become a bit of a set rehearsed movement that i’ve found doesn’t hurt!

i’m scared shitless if sneezing again though!!

[DeskJockey]

Be careful with bent/cracked ribs. When I did three on the left side (going over the handlebars, trying to avoid a numpty in a car), I was off work for two weeks.

Painkillers are a must to ensure you breathe normally, otherwise you risk catching a lung infection on top. Have you been seen by a doctor? Worth getting checked out, just in case.

[John]

One of the most painful things I've ever experienced, especially as it was the height of hayfever season.