If you want to see a stunning and brilliantly specced MTB, look at Kerry’s bike on Sales Corner.
Steve
A quick heads up for a decent workstand - a few places are doing the Park PCS-10.3 for £200 at the moment, down from the RRP of £370. Tredz are doing 10% off maintenance products which brings it down to £180 which seems decent value for a step up from the Aldi/Lidl type stands.
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Park-Tool-P...and_248516.htm
I used to do this, but I found that the neck of the dummy bottle was a bit too narrow to be useful. So I removed the seat tube cage from all of my bikes and now use a triangular frame pack.Originally Posted by Bondurant
I use the seat tube cage for a tool bottle mostly. Convenient place to carry things.
These are very good quality for £3.92 delivered (on Prime anyway). Easy to strap on and off. One slight niggle was that the velcro straps were too long, but I shortened them.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FQRT8PB/
I use on of these, not cheapest option but works well. Easy access to spares and fits bottle cage perfectly.
https://www.wiggle.com/p/topeak-tope...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
How many spares are you taking!
I work on the basis of take some basics, if that fails then call to wife/Uber/Train back.
The only time I've had to get the wife out the bike was so badly broken no amount of spares would have fixed it!
Personally: two spare inners, a quick link, a tyre boot. If I can't keep going on that then a begging phone call or an Uber, like you.
Same here. Why two tubes , because often I have given one to a riding buddy and still had a spare to get home. One biblical ride around Hebden Bridge my pal got through three tubes as he had a tiny shard of glass that kept retreating back into the tyre carcass, only to slowly abrade the tyre over six or seven miles. Then unlike a thorn the tyre goes down instantly.
Happy days.
Ps I also carry a few nylon zip ties and some thin latex gloves , so in the event of a chain mechanical, you dont get oil back all over the rest of the bike and the bars.
Gloves have come in handy on really cold morning rides when I underestimated the temps for keeping the digits warm :)
Last edited by higham5; 19th October 2023 at 08:45.
Last time I rang the wife was when I set of for a ton and at 80 miles 50 of it into a headwind “I was broken”
I've recorded my confirmation from Swytch that my e-kit is in production so hopefully a couple more weeks.
Anyone using one already?
I have a 7.5kg hard tail so didn't want too but a second bike and will only be using on the road.
Living in Mark Drakefords 20mph hell. I'll now be immune to all the rules and taxes! 😄
Last leisure leccy Brompton trips of the year, given that that will be that for the weather.
Parked up in Canterbury and took the bus to Broadstairs. Cycled from there to Dover.
What a beautiful cycle trip, especially Sandwich to Deal and one I will do again.
I wondered why the majority of people on the cliffs were from the Far East, and on the bus back to Canterbury, I realised it had been a massive University of Kent day out.
Now online!
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Did a fantastic 30 mile desert loop in Dubai last week. Started at sunset so a nice temperature. Best thing was that the whole ride was on a purpose built cycle track - not a car in sight!
that looks like fantastic.
Did a fantastic 30 mile desert loop in Dubai last week. Started at sunset so a nice temperature. Best thing was that the whole ride was on a purpose built cycle track - not a car in sight!
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
This ^^^^^^^^^^ makes our local cycleways which pass within 10 m of dual carriageways seem positively neanderthall.
Yep. No potholes, gravel, junctions or manhole covers either…
How many cyclists did you pass on your 30 miles route?
Quite a few from a club at the beginning, but only a handful once it got dark.
Fitted my swytch kit today, really straightforward but had a couple of non standard bits on my bike needing a tweak or two.
I put my rigid fork on for road use and despite the extra weight of the wheel, battery and gubbins, it's a 9.6kg ebike!
I feel like I have bionic legs when riding it and the Welsh ASSembly can stick our 20mph limit where the sun don't shine.
Did you mean 19.6kg? I've never looked into these kits but guessing they're a few kgs and high end full carbon road bikes are c8kg.
No it's not a typo. It's 9.6kg!!!!
That seems very light then
That would make it lighter than the best road ebike efforts from Cannondale, Scott, Ribble etc.
https://bikerumor.com/the-worlds-lig...s-just-25-lbs/
Maybe not like for like in terms of range etc obviously.
Article below suggests the kit adds around 3kg which would mean your MTB weighed about the same as my wife's full carbon Lapierre road bike before!
https://www.cyclingelectric.com/revi...torque%20motor
Last edited by gunner; 3rd December 2023 at 13:27.
The kit was 2.6kg, I didn't need all the extra bits like throttle control or brake sensors.
The bike originally was already featherweight, one of the weightweenies top 10 at the time of build with my previous fork which was a Fox f80x terralogic, but the exotic rigid is 910g trimmed.
Carbon frames aren't always that light, mine is made of scandium and was an unused frame from the 2004 Athens Olympics and only 1169g in size small (I'm only 5'7). Everything in the running gear is xtr with integrated brake/shift, frame integrated bottom bracket, ti pedals, ceramic v brakes, tubeless tyre at rear (tube with swytch), carbon bars, king headset, titanium seat post etc
I bought and built it in parts in 2005-6 when exchange rates, eBay and customs allowed for easy importing of cheap stuff
I probably spent 1500 back then. Goodness knows what it would cost to recreate today.
Nice spec and the small frame always helps on the weight weenie builds!
My wife's 3" taller so needs a slightly bigger frame!
That thing must go like a scaled cat. Nice build. What's the range like?
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Today's 43.6 mile outing takes me to 6224 miles done this year, a few miles over 10,000km - which was my target for 2020. Took this pic shortly after reaching the 10k milestone.
Hope everyone's having a terrific weekend.
Well I didn't expect to do that again but without particularly trying to, I've cranked out 10,000km this year again. This afternoon's 63 mile excursion into Staffordshire and back took me to 6216 miles done in 2023.
I took the pic near Edingale. The lovely lake you can see in the background is usually a field.
Good effort
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I'm terms of speed, not that I've used the hidden menu of course, it's much faster than I'm comfortable with on the road!
The battery life is great and I suspect range would be good. The only issue is long climbs need to be managed. If you put it into max assist and constantly climb for say 5 mins, the voltage sags and if continued it will eventually cut assistance. After a minute or so it recovers. It's only happened once but not ideal.
Not ridden another ebike so not sure if that's common.
I have learned to get the assistance and gears right so I'm providing input too unless it's steep, and then it's great for my urban commute and way faster than the car at the times of day I'm using it.
Apart from that I've seen no downsides.
Watch the acceleration at 1’30” this guy is a beast !
https://youtu.be/zzNwXgss1SA?si=H8mYb5O16vp_EI7A
Excellent race
Popped down to see the River Wye break her banks again today. Used my 1990's Raleigh MT4 to get there, the titanium bonded frame is the only thing original but it's still a great MTB, & we've had some great times together over the last 30 odd years.
Having recently moved to an area surrounded by trails and forests, I'm going to get back into cycling. I used to do 25-30 miles a day when I was in that there London, and the London to Brighton too, so I'm well seasoned.
But the prices of full sus bikes are frankly ludicrous (seriously, who would spend £11k on a push bike?!), aside from Halford's who do a Carrera for around £700 (I had a Carrera many moons ago and it was very good).
So do I go for a new Carrera and have no grief, or go for a used one that's been looked after? I've seen a Lapierre Zesty 314 on eBay a few miles from me for £750. Looks absolutely mint but there's scant description so no more details. I'm very good mechanically and can sort most things with ease, but do I avoid all the hassle?
New or used? Your thoughts please.
Last edited by Filterlab; 30th December 2023 at 15:41.
Decide your budget and buy the best used you can for that budget. I spent an age following eBay ads, with wide search terms (in my case "XL carbon road bike") and just watched for a while. Ended up with a lovely Storck, full carbon f&f with Ultegra 6800 throughout for £700 - this was two years ago and its been more or less faultless.
Also worth looking on PinkBike - lots of ads there, especially MTBs.
Yes have to agree with the above, I would always prefer minty pre owned with a nice groupset over new with a lower level groupset. As the 40 yr old Raleigh proves , a good frame just lasts, it the running gear that wears out.
I remember the M4 Titanium Raleighs coming out. Russian Ti no less! Raleigh were miles ahead bonding tubes, motorcycle GP bikes still use bonded frames to this day.Popped down to see the River Wye break her banks again today. Used my 1990's Raleigh MT4 to get there, the titanium bonded frame is the only thing original but it's still a great MTB, & we've had some great times together over the last 30 odd years.
I'd suggest a Boardman MHT 8.9. especially if you are handy with the spanners (worse thing about these could be they were set up by a inexperienced Halfords mech)
29er, easy to go tubeless, excellent fork, 1 x 12 speed, thru axel, boost spacing, easy upgrade to a dub BB. Nice tyres, good brakes etc
Loads on ebay, mostly hardly used
Should be able to pick one up fairly local for £600ish if not less
Only issue is if you are much over 6ft. I think a large will just about fit at 6.2, taller than that and unlikely to work
Example
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176129901...mis&media=COPY
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Last edited by xxnick1975; 31st December 2023 at 16:58.
That Lapierre looks lovely if it's the right size. EBay full of bikes so I would go that route. Looks hardly ridden or v.well maintainec
Thanks chaps.
Managed to find a Whyte E120 which has only done 20 miles. Absolutely immaculate. £2,899 new, up for £750. Going to see it Friday.
Sounds good.
Not wishing to rain on anyone's parade, and quite possibly you are already well aware of the differences, but I would just suggest trying a modern 29er or 27.5er if you haven't already before you commit.
The bigger wheels and slacker geometry have made quite a difference if you have been away from MTB for a while
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I'm sure there are differences if one is tacking mountainous terrain, but I live on the Norfolk / Cambridgeshire border where everything is flat as a pancake. The tracks I'll be on are in the forest which is managed, so it'll be off-road cycling at its plain sailing-ist. Full sus is purely for comfort rather than soaking up 10 feet drops.
I ain't hardcore, too old for all that.
I am no longer a rain rider and have a wardrobe full of Rapha jackets for warmth and dry so if you are around a 42 chest and need one drop me a line ill photo up and if you are nearby cone try
RIAC
Out of idle interest, has anyone converted their 700c bike to 650c?
My bike can run 700x35 and I was wondering if I should try and run a fatter 650 wheel and tire combination. Its not a daily rider, as I no longer commute on it. I tend to use it on road runs, canal paths and in the woods in preference to the mtb.
Not done it but it is possible, what bike is it and does it have disc brakes? The axle type can also make getting 650 wheels slightly more challenging depending on wha axle type you have.
I am running disc brakes with QRs. It's a slightly oversized Burls ti tourer.
I think that would work, have a look at how much clearance you have on your current Tyres to decide how wide you can go, there is a recommended clearance for mud etc which I think is 5mm but I don’t remember exactly.
If you know anyone with a 650 gravel bike it might be worth asking to try one fir clearance, even if they are not QR it will give you an idea
Another option is to fit some cyclocross tyres as they are normally 700c
Cheers will take a look
Have a chat with a good local wheel builder. They'll know of any pitfalls.
Out of curiosity, why would you want to run fatter than 35mm for road and canal runs?
As has already been mentioned, clearance is a big issue with fat tyres. Even if you think your frame has clearance, unless it's substantive you'll almost certainly end up rubbing the frame at some point with fat tyres. especially larger tyres with significant 'give'.
I've never done it but given the extra cost I think I'd want a 650b compatible frame and fork so that I could run a significantly fatter tyre (+10mm min) to make it worthwhile. Changing will slightly alter the handling, bottom bracket clearance and increase risks of pedal/crank strikes but probably not significantly so.
Might be worth having a look at a 29er as they allow you to roll over rough stuff that would unsettle a 26" (like comparing a Range Rover to a Jimny).
Exactly above since its not the tyre that will rub , but the debris on the tyre will become a gloopy paste and small stones that will mark your frame. You can see this on modern carbon frames, look at the bottom bracket where the chain stays enter.
No issues apart from clearance but you may find you can’t actually run much wider even on the smaller wheel. I wanted to do similar on my Lynskey Sportive but it just didn’t work.
Have you considered putting larger wheels/narrower tyres on the MTB instead? I found I could fit 29” wheels and 37mm gravel tyres in place of my 26” wheels with 2.2s.
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