The biking thread

[boiltheocean]

Hydraulic brakes just seem an extra level of hassle on an entry level bike. Would it really be worth it for low-mid level riding?

Yup. It's way more hassle get a set of mechanicals working properly than it is a cheap hydraulic pairing. Shimano do great brakes too.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Sorry for the bad news Mike. I would recommend always using a decent D-lock whenever you get the chance, I know they're more cumbersome but they're a fair bit sturdier.

However, the sad fact is that if the thief is prepared enough they'll always find a way.

Thanks 👍 The first thing that popped into my head was 'next time, get a D-lock'. As you say though, they will find a way and failing that, may always vandalise it out of spite.

I am actually more annoyed at all the extra bits I had on there, then the bike itself - custom pedals, trip computer transmitter, lights, pump.

 

[daft biker]

Yup. It's way more hassle get a set of mechanicals working properly than it is a cheap hydraulic pairing. Shimano do great brakes too.

That's my thinking too - plus the extra control, take less effort to use and need less maintenance.

Cables are OK but hydraulics are the mutts nutts

 

[mp10]

I discovered this morning that some weasel-scumbag's have stolen my bike .

I was getting into the building elevator this morning to go to work and I noticed someone had tapes up a hand written note to the effect of: "racing bike with shimano gears stolen from lockup in the basement parking - bike next to mine gone too - watch out for tailgaters!".

As soon as I saw the "next to mine bit" I just knew it was mine. So I went down and sure enough, two empty spaces in the bikerack where both used to be and two neatly sheared 2cm thick bike cables still sitting coiled around the metal frames of the racks themselves .

I am astounded that someone not only snuck into a secure basement parking but also had the tools to cut through a proper bike cable lock.

I guess I'll need to start looking for sales as it wasnt insured

Damn, that sucks You'll be better off with a D-lock next time like ExigeEvan said. Hopefully you can get back on the road in no time.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Update:

So I called the building manager to let him know there was a theft and he is as shocked as me. We're chatting and asks for a description of the bike, just in case. So I tell him, 'huge frame, silver, Trek, silver pedals' and leave it at that.

Thirty minutes later he calls me back - he thinks he has found my bike! He says there has been one matching those descriptions parked in a fire escape for the last two weeks that he thought was weird (but left a note on it). He says he'll put it in the storeroom for me so I can ID it after work.

So I leave the office early, arrange to meet him and he shows me.....my bike!! . All accessories are still there, including pump and lights too .

Piecing together the story, it seems some louts tailgated someone into the underground parking and made a bee line for the most impressive looking bikes (not kiddies bikes/ bangers) and then decided to escape by using the fire escape. Luckily for me, the fire escape is also used by the caretaker to keep all the empty wheelie garbage bins - about 20 in a passage that is hardly wider then the bins themselves. So the thieves got up the stairs and found they couldnt get my bike between the bins and the wall, so left it there! Why, because the fire escape is a one way door 👍.

Morale of the story: buy a big mofo D-lock and have wide handlebars .

I'm just stoked to have it back, all in one piece .

 

[mp10]

Update:

So I called the building manager to let him know there was a theft and he is as shocked as me. We're chatting and asks for a description of the bike, just in case. So I tell him, 'huge frame, silver, Trek, silver pedals' and leave it at that.

Thirty minutes later he calls me back - he thinks he has found my bike! He says there has been one matching those descriptions parked in a fire escape for the last two weeks that he thought was weird (but left a note on it). He says he'll put it in the storeroom for me so I can ID it after work.

So I leave the office early, arrange to meet him and he shows me.....my bike!! . All accessories are still there, including pump and lights too .

Piecing together the story, it seems some louts tailgated someone into the underground parking and made a bee line for the most impressive looking bikes (not kiddies bikes/ bangers) and then decided to escape by using the fire escape. Luckily for me, the fire escape is also used by the caretaker to keep all the empty wheelie garbage bins - about 20 in a passage that is hardly wider then the bins themselves. So the thieves got up the stairs and found they couldnt get my bike between the bins and the wall, so left it there! Why, because the fire escape is a one way door 👍.

Morale of the story: buy a big mofo D-lock and have wide handlebars .

I'm just stoked to have it back, all in one piece .

:tup: Thats good to hear

Wider handle bars eh

I was wondering has anyone got insurance on their bike? I'm thinking about it but not sure which insurance company to go for. My brother mentioned "Protect your bubble" They charge something like £4-£6 a month, which nothing really, when the bike costs around £500

 

[daft biker]

Morale of the story: buy a big mofo D-lock and have wide handlebars .

I'm just stoked to have it back, all in one piece .

Great news

FWIW I use one of these.....

....chances of a bike thief being prepared for them?

I used to use a cable lock until I found someone trying to get through it with some big cable cutters. It was an armoured cable but even so it didn't seem to put up much of a fight.

 

[Greycap]

The big mofo D-lock may crack open with a cut pen casing in a few seconds if the keys are of the cylindrical type. The same goes for the "handcuffs". Just as a heads up...

I have an Abus heavy-as-hell-chain which is some 80 cm long, weighs nearly two kilograms and, according to a web site specialized in breaking locks, resists an angle grinder for half a minute. Nothing short of that angle grinder does the trick regardless of the time spent. On top of that my #1 bike has a 720 mm bar so I'm on the safe side for that requirement.

The insurance then, my home insurance covers bikes up to 5000€ so I'm safe on that front too. At least until the bike bug strikes again and I get one (or two) more...

And the mandatory picture from today's "oops, tree - oops, ditch - oops, root - oops, rock" adventure.

 

[MarinaDiamandis]

The big mofo D-lock may crack open with a cut pen casing in a few seconds if the keys are of the cylindrical type. The same goes for the "handcuffs". Just as a heads up...

I have an Abus heavy-as-hell-chain which is some 80 cm long, weighs nearly two kilograms and, according to a web site specialized in breaking locks, resists an angle grinder for half a minute.

Yup, anything with a lock can be picked very easily, even the front door of your house!

The sad truth is that if somebody wants to take your bike, they will take it, regardless of how it is locked up.

 

[mp10]

The insurance then, my home insurance covers bikes up to 5000€ so I'm safe on that front too. At least until the bike bug strikes again and I get one (or two) more...

And the mandatory picture from today's "oops, tree - oops, ditch - oops, root - oops, rock" adventure.

Thanks mate, will check if the house insurance covers it.

Unrelated question, but did you upgrade to Rock Shox forks or were they their to begin with?

 

[hellnback]

Normally the models nearer to the top of the range from Specialized have Rock Shox, I know my Stumpjumper Comp 29" hardtail did...

 

[Greycap]

It also depends on the "trim level" as well as the model itself.

The entry level hardtail Hardrock doesn't have a RockShox regardless of the version but is always equipped with a Suntour, the mid range hardtail Rockhopper in its '12 guise (which I have) has a Suntour in the base and Comp models but the Expert sports a RockShox XC30 and the Pro has a Recon. I had originally planned to replace my previous base Rockhopper '12 with a '13 Comp or Expert but it turned out that the '13 models will be downgraded quite a lot so I bought a '12 Expert while they were still available. High end hardtails (Carves and Stumpjumpers) always have RockShox or Fox forks for what I've seen.

On the other hand I have the bottom of the range Camber Comp as my "serious" trail bike and despite being of a lower trim level than my Rockhopper it has equal or better parts all round - a Recon Silver fork, a SLX front derailleur, DT Swiss rims for example. The entire range is far higher spec, the cheapest Camber matching the most expensive Rockhopper.

So yes, to answer the question, the fork is factory stock. The only changes on the bike are wheels and tyres from the Camber (really liking the ability to swap them depending on the mood), the seat is from the same source as I bought a black one for the Camber and the Rockhopper original sucks big time, and the grips were changed for locking Roccas as I don't quite agree on white foam being a good idea for a MTB.

 

[Neal]

So, say I had some money spare, circa £300, what would be the best way to go about getting muddy?

Halfords, Carrera, front disc and front suss'? Second hand Spec'/GT? Put it all on black and get something better for 600?

The minimum I'd recommend spending on a new bike is £370 for the B'Twin Rockrider 8.0 or £380 for the Carrera Vulcan, I’ve had cable disc brakes and they are very weak and a pain to set up and keep running nice. Definitely get front suspension and if you can get an air fork as it allows you to accurately adjust the spring to your weight which you can’t easily do with a coil spring. The closest Decathalon that sells B’Twin bikes is quite a distance from you although I think they will deliver and IMO offer the better value than Halfords at the moment.

Here’s a few ideas.

B’Twin Rockrider 8.0 £369.99 – good components, good value and light.

Carrera Vulcan £379.99 – decent components and good value

VooDoo Bantu £399.99 – Very good components including air fork and Shimano brakes, good value

Genesis Core 26.1 £420.00 – Great frame, great components, good value and is a “proper” brand so doesn’t have the Halfords stigma

Carrera Kraken £449.99 – decent components and good value

B’Twin Rockrider 8.1 £499.99 – great components including a Rockshox fork, great value and very light.

VooDoo Hoodoo £499.99 – Very good components including air fork, good value

Carrera Fury £599.99 – Great components including an air fork and and 2x10 gears, light

VooDoo Bokor £679.99 Brilliant components including good 140mm travel air fork and Shimano Deore gears.

...Bike nicked...bike found \o/../

I was gutted for you when I saw your bike had been stolen, you're extremely lucky to get it it back in one piece as cycles very rarely turn up again. It might make some shocking viewing but check out the videos in the below link and the youtube vid of a London news programme. Most locks are useless even u-locks. If you want to make it virtually impossible for the scum bags you need a proper padlock and chain like a Squire SS65CS and an Almax or Pragmasis case hardened chain fixed to a decent ground/wall anchor. Anything else is just going to slow them down slightly. I've yet to bite the bullet and get a proper chain and lock and still use a cable lock which I know will just deter the opportunist thief, apparently spending 10% of the value of your bike on security is the guide if you don't want spend big bucks.

http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk/index.asp?pg=19

 

[Mike Rotch]

It might make some shocking viewing but check out the videos in the below link and the youtube vid of a London news programme.

Wow, that's incredibly depressing. A 100 quid on a lock and its gone in 3 seconds?! Nothing stood up to bolt cutters!

Some real food for thought there.....I'll be looking for a thick D-lock I reckon, but also had the idea of returning my quick release to the front wheel and then D-Locking the frame and removing the front wheel too, on the hope that a thief will not be looking for a frame with a missing wheel.

My bike is currently in my lounge, which is also serving as a good reminder to get back on it after a few weeks hiding from winter .

Edit: Just bought this online:

Kryptonite KryptoLok® Series 2 Mini Bicycle Bike Lock

 

[lbsf1]

Went out cycling round Swinley Forest near my house. Lots of downhill there. Brilliant day.

Put my camera on my helmet and have made a compilation of the days antics.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Here’s a few ideas.

B’Twin Rockrider 8.0 £369.99 – good components, good value and light.

Carrera Vulcan £379.99 – decent components and good value

VooDoo Bantu £399.99 – Very good components including air fork and Shimano brakes, good value

Genesis Core 26.1 £420.00 – Great frame, great components, good value and is a “proper” brand so doesn’t have the Halfords stigma

Carrera Kraken £449.99 – decent components and good value

B’Twin Rockrider 8.1 £499.99 – great components including a Rockshox fork, great value and very light.

VooDoo Hoodoo £499.99 – Very good components including air fork, good value

Carrera Fury £599.99 – Great components including an air fork and and 2x10 gears, light

VooDoo Bokor £679.99 Brilliant components including good 140mm travel air fork and Shimano Deore gears.

Great post! Much appreciated.

 

[Bigbazz]

I need some advice here, but not sure where to start. anyway.


Me and a friend of mine have decided we are going to do a bike ride around europe in april next year for charity. Leaving from Paris we will be going down through France to Spain, then accross the way of Camino De Santiago to the wast coast of Spain, then down through to Madrid (3 weeks) and then possibly back up through France stopping in at Monaco and then down to Rome, I believe it is around a 2500mile journey and we plan to complete it in roughly 5 weeks total.

So first up, my friend needs a bike, obviously we will be doing a lot of road riding but some of the journey (the Camino De Santiago - St James pilgrimage way) will involve a lot of offroad and so we plan to be doing it on mountain bikes.

We looked at a few models and I'l be honest we are clueless, it has been years since either of us has been remotely into the equipment of biking and I dont think we have ridden since around 2006-2007. He wants to spend around £500-600 tops so a last years model type thing is probably more realistic. I will be doing it on my old 2006 Giant XTC SX.

Anybody got any ideas about where would be a good place to start in terms of choosing a bike in the price range, obviously something lightweight would be ideal, nothing with big suspension travel and absolutely a hardtail. Starting our training in around 2 weeks time, we have 8 months to get into reasonable shape!

 

[W3H5]

Advice needed.

If you can get an older model you can save a bundle. I saved £500 because I went for a 2010 instead of a 2012 but it depends whether a shop keeps any older models.

If you check out Evancycles.com you'll see some road bikes for good prices. Some of their Raleigh bikes are £3-400 for a half decent bike. I think they deliver free in the UK on most bikes.

 

[Neal]

....We looked at a few models and I'l be honest we are clueless, it has been years since either of us has been remotely into the equipment of biking and I dont think we have ridden since around 2006-2007. He wants to spend around £500-600 tops so a last years model type thing is probably more realistic. I will be doing it on my old 2006 Giant XTC SX.

Anybody got any ideas about where would be a good place to start in terms of choosing a bike in the price range, obviously something lightweight would be ideal, nothing with big suspension travel and absolutely a hardtail. Starting our training in around 2 weeks time, we have 8 months to get into reasonable shape!

The below should do the job. I'd make sure you get a triple ring chainset to give you the range of gears to cover road and off road riding as a double ring chainset is more suited to just off road. It would be best to fit slick road tyres for the road miles and swap them for normal off road tyres for the dirt, if you buy kevlar/folding tyres then they will pack down fairly small to carry in your bags, if you don't fancy swapping tyres then a fast rolling tyre like the Maxxis Crossmark would suit both surfaces. Good look with the training, if you've got a smartphone or GPS unit sign up to Strava as it will really help with your motivation 👍

B’Twin Rockrider 8.1 £499.99 – great components including a Rockshox fork, great value and very light.

VooDoo Hoodoo £499.99 – Very good components including air fork, good value

VooDoo Bokor £679.99 Brilliant components including good 140mm travel air fork and Shimano Deore gears.

 

[Submerged]

Double chainset is more suited to road, rather than off-road.

 

[Neal]

Double chainset is more suited to road, rather than off-road.

It is on a road bike with a road cassette but a MTB double chainset gives a much lower top gear (road = 11T cassette x 52T chainring vs MTB = 11T cassette x 36T) whereas a triple ring MTb chainset usually has a 44T big ring.

 

[Greycap]

The 44T chainring is quite an overdrive though, I have 22-32-44 chainrings with an 11-34 cassette on both of my bikes and the situations in which the 44-11 ratio is needed are seriously rare. I usually shift from 44-15 to 44-13 at around 30 km/h and from 44-13 to 44-11 at nearly 40 km/h, if at all. Both shifts seem to hover around 80 rpm cadence when shifting up and 70 rpm when shifting down.

As a result I'm planning to swap the chainrings on the more trail oriented bike for 40-28, I'd effectively lose the "3x9" ratio and the highest "2x9" would closely match the old "3x8" which is what I mostly use anyway. It would still give me a speed of 35+ km/h without too much effort and be worth it as it would make adjusting the front derailleur a lot easier. From my experience adjusting a three ring setup is always a compromise between good shifting between first and second, or second and third rings. I've had four bikes (and worked regularly on two more) and not one of them has worked smoothly across all three rings despite one of them having an SLX derailleur so it's probably not a case of low quality parts.

 

[Bigbazz]

The below should do the job. I'd make sure you get a triple ring chainset to give you the range of gears to cover road and off road riding as a double ring chainset is more suited to just off road. It would be best to fit slick road tyres for the road miles and swap them for normal off road tyres for the dirt, if you buy kevlar/folding tyres then they will pack down fairly small to carry in your bags, if you don't fancy swapping tyres then a fast rolling tyre like the Maxxis Crossmark would suit both surfaces. Good look with the training, if you've got a smartphone or GPS unit sign up to Strava as it will really help with your motivation 👍

Yeah tyres were an issue we were worried about, offroad tyres are difficult on the road in terms of drag, we have time to experiment with some but I think swapping tyres for different surfaces would be the right thing for us to do considering the ammount of miles we will be covering, obviously we have to keep the carrying weight as low as possible, so it will mainly depend on that.

I will check out Strava as suggested, aswell as those bike models, cheers.

 

[Guitar613]

Does anyone here ride fixed gear bikes? I'm considering buying one but i'm not sure. Can someone just guide me in the right direction. (Also I'm not a hipster just buying a fixie to be cool, i want to start riding for exercise because Bmx just provides more injury then exercise haha) Oh yea the bike I'm considering is a Pure Fix.

 

[Bigbazz]

My riding buddy has come across this, available on finance -

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Acid-Mountain-Bike-2012-Hardtail-Race-MTB_48269.htm


Any opinions? I've not heard of the company before now, so never had any experience with them.

 

[Greycap]

Good parts for the price, and Cube is a world class brand. That's not a race bike though despite it saying so (in that case I would have two race bikes) but perfectly good for hobby use.

 

[Bigbazz]

Good parts for the price, and Cube is a world class brand. That's not a race bike though despite it saying so (in that case I would have two race bikes) but perfectly good for hobby use.

It won't be used for any racing, but for fitness training to eventually do a 2500 mile ride around europe with some offroad and road parts, the majority of the ride will be on the road, but a good chunk will be offroad. Someone suggested this - http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/roam.xr.1/9329/49859/ on another forum, which may be more in the right area but it is very pricey.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I need some advice here, but not sure where to start. anyway.

That's a big cycle, and you will love it.

A guy I knew in Uni did a trip down to Portugal so may be offer to advice, check them out on facebook, there may be some tips or message them.

What sort of off-roading are you expecting? I cycled with front and rear pannier bags and felt that was preferred to my companions rear-only. That said, we did only very rare gravel riding. I had a Trek 7.3, no suspension, V-brakes. Very reliable even after about 1500 km of dusty roads and zero maintenance.

Equipment is key, I can send you a list of stuff to look over.

Punctures aren't that big an issue on modern tyres, I didn't suffer one in 3300 km, though my rear tyre was square by the end.

My riding buddy has come across this, available on finance -

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Acid-Mountain-Bike-2012-Hardtail-Race-MTB_48269.htm

Any opinions? I've not heard of the company before now, so never had any experience with them.

Tredz are a respectable company, operations in Swansea and Cardiff. My friend works for them.

 

[Greycap]

It won't be used for any racing, but for fitness training to eventually do a 2500 mile ride around europe with some offroad and road parts, the majority of the ride will be on the road, but a good chunk will be offroad.

I know, just commented on the "Hardtail Race MTB" part in the description on the site.

I did a 115 km trip a couple of weeks ago myself, around 50/50 tarmac and gravel. The tyres on my bike were Schwalbe Marathon Supremes (not equipped in my picture) and while they may look like pure road tyres they work surprisingly well off road too - of course they aren't anywhere near proper MTB tyres for trail riding but for gravel roads they did very well. Light and fast rolling too.

Probably the most important thing to consider when choosing the bike is the riding position. Speed doesn't matter a bit if you can't ride for hours at a time, a more upright position gives comfort but can get tiresome in strong headwinds. It'a also amazing how small changes can make or break the entire experience when adjusting the bike, differences are measured in millimetres. If the front of the saddle is 2 mm too low you will know, if it's 2 mm too high you will know even more certainly. Half a centimetre in saddle height can make the difference between everything being fine and having an unbearable knee pain. Unfortunately I know first hand. Take the time to adjust the bike to perfection, it'll pay back.

 

[ExigeEvan]

I know, just commented on the "Hardtail Race MTB" part in the description on the site.

I did a 115 km trip a couple of weeks ago myself, around 50/50 tarmac and gravel. The tyres on my bike were Schwalbe Marathon Supremes (not equipped in my picture) and while they may look like pure road tyres they work surprisingly well off road too - of course they aren't anywhere near proper MTB tyres for trail riding but for gravel roads they did very well. Light and fast rolling too.

Probably the most important thing to consider when choosing the bike is the riding position. Speed doesn't matter a bit if you can't ride for hours at a time, a more upright position gives comfort but can get tiresome in strong headwinds. It'a also amazing how small changes can make or break the entire experience when adjusting the bike, differences are measured in millimetres. If the front of the saddle is 2 mm too low you will know, if it's 2 mm too high you will know even more certainly. Half a centimetre in saddle height can make the difference between everything being fine and having an unbearable knee pain. Unfortunately I know first hand. Take the time to adjust the bike to perfection, it'll pay back.

Or just screw your favourite saddle on (thin and from a road bike) and get on with it