Mountain Biking general thread

[McSwede]

We went to Sherwood Pines yesterday for a ride. I hired a 24" wheel, 8 speed MTB for my daughter so she could try the next step up from her 20" single speed Orbea.

It all went really well which was great. She quickly got the hang of the gears and was whizzing around the trail.

The bike we hired was a brand I hadn't heard of, Forme. It seemed like a cracking piece of kit so I think I'll buy one for her.

Any have any experience of Forme??

[jamcg]

No experience of them, other than knowing they’re a British brand, not that they’ll be made here. Got to think that they must be decent for hire places to be using them, they won’t want something that will drop apart every 5 mins

[dinny_g]

I had 3 punctures to change yesterday...

Back off Holidays on Sunday and this was my first ride out since. Went to the Garage and found the front wheel flat - Replaced this with a new tube, planning to repair it later and keep as a spare) and headed out. 20 miles in or so, the back tyre gets a flat. Again, replaced this with a new tube I carry and head on. 5 minutes later, it's flat again. This time, I repair it and find the responsible thorn in the tyre. I had checked for this earlier but not closely enough obviously.

I haven't had a puncture in ages and then get 3 in one day

[Jobbo]

I had three punctures in one day recently after none for ages too - only fixed the first two, third I just kept pumping back up for the last couple of miles. It's a fucker. Sympathy Dinny.

The tools I take out for a ride with me now include a mini pair of pliers which are great for removing awkward thorns in the rubber.

[dinny_g]

The tools I take out for a ride with me now include a mini pair of pliers which are great for removing awkward thorns in the rubber.

That’s a good shout Jobbo

[simon_g]

Tell us again that tubeless is too much hassle?

I think I'm going to stop carrying a tube for the local couple of hour rides, I've been carrying the same one around for a few years now.

[dinny_g]

Tell us again that tubeless is too much hassle?

Not so much a Hassle but I alternate between 2.125cm off-road tyres and narrow, slick, high pressure tyres.

For me, 2 sets of wheels is not justifiable really

[Jobbo]

Tell us again that tubeless is too much hassle?

I think I'm going to stop carrying a tube for the local couple of hour rides, I've been carrying the same one around for a few years now.

I carried around a tube for ages. I didn't use it on my multi-puncture ride, but when I got back and was going to put it on I realised it had a Schrader valve and wouldn't fit the Presta hole on the rim. It was also rather grubby from being cable tied under the saddle anyway. I grabbed my spare Presta tube and found it was the right diameter but it didn't blow up enough to fill the chunky mtb tyres.

What I learnt was to make sure your spare tube actually fits, and keep it clean in something when you strap it to the bike

[Rich B]

I'm still experimenting with tubeless, my rear wheel is converted but not my front, but I still don't really get the benefits tbh. It leaks air over time, you can burp out air if you corner too hard/land squiffy and it's a ball ache when you do need to change the tire. There aren't really any thorns in the south so I've not had any benefit from that.

My bro has had a few punctures on his tubeless set up that have been no easier to sort than if he just had tubes.

The only irritating thing for me is I carry spare tubes? But because I ride a mullet, I need two...

[John]

The only irritating thing for me is I carry spare tubes? But because I ride a mullet, I need two...

Just carry a 27.5 tube, it will fit the 29er rim.

[Rich B]

The only irritating thing for me is I carry spare tubes? But because I ride a mullet, I need two...

Just carry a 27.5 tube, it will fit the 29er rim.

probably, though the 27.5 is a 2.8 wide one, so the two vary in width and circumference.

[dinny_g]

Another puncture today…

[simon_g]

Bumping - itching for another FS, e-bike curious and the base Vitus E-Sommet is on offer at £3k now.

https://vitusbikes.com/collections/e-so ... -bike-2022

I'm happy with the spec of the non-e bits, but would a Shimano E7000 motor (60Nm) and a 504Wh battery be OK? Mostly solo blasts up to a couple of hours, keeping up with faster groups for a few hours, or longer days with non-e riders where I'd expect to put in more effort to preserve the battery. It'll apparently take the Shimano 625Wh battery if I did need it later on. SE, not big mountain stuff unless it's on a rare weekend away.

[Rich B]

I rode an E-summit (hired by a mate in swinley) - it wasn't the e7000 one though (e8000 or ep8 I think). It went well but I thought it was a bit of a funny shape. Very steep seat tube and felt too short in the top tube, even though in reality it was no shorter than my decoy. Absolute bargain though.

[dinny_g]

Iv'e said it before and I'll say it again - Frame Geometry is vital when selecting a bike, no matter the brand or whether it's a bargain etc...

[Jobbo]

I’d have got by fine with a 500Wh battery rather than the 625Wh I have, but I appreciate never having had range anxiety.

Not tried anything other than my 85Nm Bosch motor, though, and that torque is sometimes very welcome. Probably not strictly necessary though.

[simon_g]

Ta, gone for it. Made a new wiggle account so hopefully 7% cashback on top too.

The geo numbers are pretty standard for modern longer travel bikes, we've had the front slackening and rear steepening for years. I've ridden a couple of mates new bikes this year with similar and liked them (really confidence inspiring at speed), the important reach/stack/TT are close enough to my current bike.

Read/watched a few reviews of E7000 bikes, it's put my mind at ease a bit. Plus the most common model amongst eeb-owning friends is the Orbea Rise with the same 60Nm output so shouldn't be too mismatched from them.

Looking forward to a 2023 of more riding without my (lack of) fitness getting in the way.

[Rich B]

Yeah, the numbers aren't too odd and the bike rode well enough - quick downhill and up, just felt very odd to all three of us. (Comparing it to a 2021 YT decoy and a 2020 Specialized Kenevo).

However, it went well, so it's something you can easily get used to I expect.

[John]

I had my first tubeless failure today due to a cut in the tyre that the tubeless fluid had no chance of sealing. I carry a spare tube just in case but it was a messy job with the fluid and mud plus a side helping of dog shit. It took me a good ten minutes to remove the old thorns in the tyre that the fluid had fixed or the tube would have been flat in a very short time. Oh and a tyre lever snapped too.

[simon_g]

Ouch. Too big for a jabber/anchovy to fill?