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I've got an old Genesis Core 10 in my garage that I used to commute on when I was getting back into cycling as an adult and my commute had a lot of cobbles. It gets used 1-2 times a year, usually when a friend drags me out to the trails, but occasionally for a cross-tri or when I don't want to cycle all the way around the local hills. The frame is a size too big for me (because that's what I felt comfortable with at the time) which means I feel really stretched out on any sort of downhill. I've got the saddle quite high too so I don't blow my knees out on climbs but that makes it really hard to move my weight back. Is there anything I can do to make this more rideable without just buying a new bike. I can't really justify the £1k+ that would cost for something I use at most twice a year, but I also feel like my current bike is a big part of why I'm riding offroad so rarely.
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Nov 1, 2022 11:12
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 03:14 |
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Aphex- posted:You could definitely get a shorter stem, that'll help feeling less stretched out and will help the steering feel more direct at the same time. Also seconding looking into getting a cheaper dropper post, it will make your life so much nicer. Brand-X ones are very reliable and pretty cheap compared to others. The seat tube is 27.2mm which looks like it limits my dropper options quite a bit (at least 2nd hand, Brand-X make one that'll fit). I've not got any spare routing on the frame so presumably I'm just taping the cable along the top tube? Current stem looks to be 80mm with 35mm bars so dropping to 35mm should help a lot for cheap. Is the steerer tube going to be a standard diameter? I'm trying not to think too much about potential drivetrain upgrades because at some point I'm just throwing good money after bad, but it looks like I could get Deore 1x11 or NX Eagle 1x12 on my 8 speed hub for £300ish, which is still cheaper than a new bike. Anything more and I'd be stuck trying to find affordable 26" wheels with a modern hub.
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Nov 1, 2022 13:19
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kimbo305 posted:Just going by the spec of the bike, I think it's quite unlikely that the bars are 35mm and not 31.8. I found a later year Core 10 and it has 31.8mm bars. You're right, I went out and properly measured it and it's 31.8 (and about 680 wide). I found a good deal on a second hand 35mm stem and matching 780mm bars though, so I'll see how I get on with that. CRC have the Brand-X dropper for £90 right now (down from £140 rrp) which is probably as cheap as I'll find anything.
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Nov 1, 2022 20:01
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kimbo305 posted:Some of that is countered by the wider bars. Going from 68cm to 78cm helps your leverage and slows down your inputs.  I did 3 hours of mostly red and blue trails today on this slightly odd looking bike.  I feel pretty much the same about mountain biking as I did last time I tried it 3 years ago, which is that I'd probably quite enjoy it with some practice. The dropper post was absolutely a revelation. I'm not sure about the shorter stem, it made the riding position more comfortable but everything felt very twitchy. I'm horribly out of practice though, and wasn't any slower descending than my friend on a cheap modern 29er. I did find myself getting rock strikes on my pedals more often though, which presumably is because of the smaller wheels (or longer cranks). I ended up having to buy new rotors, pads, cassette and chain on top of a dropper post and stem/bars so it was quite an expensive day out (fortunately 8 speed parts are cheap). My main takeaway was gently caress front derailleurs, topping or bottoming out a chainring on a technical patch really sucks. I know I could get a second hand 1x11 or 1x12 groupset for cheap and still be well under half the cost of a new bike but I should probably just hire one next time I go out and see how different it feels and how much I care.
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Nov 13, 2022 16:33
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kimbo305 posted:Looks like shifter, RD, chain, and cassette are $130. It's a decent deal but probably still a tough decision re upgrading. Especially if you have to pay a shop and need incidentals like cable housing. Yeah, 1x cranks are still going to be the expensive part. I could probably get everything I need in 11x Shimano XT for about £150 second hand after a quick look around. My neighbour says he has a big box of stems I can play with so I'll see how it feels with a 50 or 65mm before making a decision. The weather yesterday was stunning for November which really helped, and I liked that the 4 of us had chilled out chats on the climbs then could take the descents at our own speed. It was a nice day out even if I could currently give or take the mtb part.
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Nov 14, 2022 10:47
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Quizzlefish posted:I have perhaps a bit of an odd ask for advice(?) I have a couple of friends who swear by shotgun seats for their 3-4 year olds, but they need to have good balance (https://kidsrideshotgun.com/collections/products/products/shotgun-kids-mtb-seat). My wife's cousin takes his 3 year old mountain biking on easy trails in their Thule Chariot Sport (https://www.thule.com/en-bg/bike-trailers/bike-trailers-for-multiple-activities/thule-chariot-sport-1-_-10201021). He's been doing it since she was 1 1/2 and has flipped it a couple of times with no serious injuries. I see a lot of older kids at the trails being towed with a bungee cord, which is nice because it lets you help them with the uphills then unclip for the fun bits. Apparently my son's 3 1/2 year old friend uses one with her balance bike but she is very confident and both her parents are much better mountain bikers than me. (https://kidsrideshotgun.com/collections/products/products/mtb-tow-rope)
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Feb 20, 2023 10:33
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 Took my frankenbike out today for the first time after a couple of months of tinkering. The weather forecast at the local trails was awful so we drove a bit further and were rewarded with stunning sunshine. The riding was much more intense though. The place I usually go the climbs are just there to get you to the start of the descents but here there were technical roots and rock features everywhere. Coming down was much harder work too, both physically and mentally, with no real breaks in features. I had one nasty fall where I chickened out halfway through a descent I should have just walked and failed to get off the bike gracefully but I think I'm actually starting to enjoy mountain biking. Going from 3x8 to 1x11 has really helped, not having to worry about getting stuck in the wrong front ring is a big confidence boost. I was concerned about 46t not being enough but it was never an issue. The new (to me) wheels were nice as well, more points of engagement over my old ones and noticeably lighter.
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Mar 1, 2023 20:58
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When did Rockshox/Fox stop making 26" forks? (I realise the answer is they still do, but the new ones look like they're aimed at eBikes and supermarket BSOs). I'd like to upgrade the 2011 Tora TK coil spring on my old bike to something with a little more travel and ideally a remote lockout but I'm having trouble figuring out models and years and compatibility, and especially finding reviews for older forks is hard when you can't tell what exact model you're looking at second hand. I need a straight steerer, and ideally it'd be post mount which seems to be a very narrow time window. Fortunately my front hub will do QR, 15mm and 20mm so I don't have to worry about that. edit: I realise the correct answer is stop spending money on a 12 year old hardtail but I'm enjoying tinkering. Yeep fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Mar 9, 2023 |
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Mar 9, 2023 11:28
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How hosed is this rim? It's buckled on both sides of the valve hole so I can't fit a schrader tube in any more. And if the answer is very hosed, where do I go about getting a replacement 26" rim? DT Swiss seem to have the 533 (~£25) and 471 (~£60) in a 26. Am I going to notice the difference? It's a rear wheel with a DT240s hub which I'd like to keep if possible.
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May 1, 2023 18:05
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You might get an e-MTB on the back of your car if it's a towbar rack, the weight limits can be up to 75kg. You could look at Boardman too, I think the previous generation of their FS bikes were pretty well regarded and Halfords are doing 30% off if you trade in an old bike right now (and it's still compatible with cycle to work). Obviously budget a little bit extra for a proper cycle shop to fix all of Halford's mistakes or just order it unassembled. There are a couple of shops that do second hand bikes on cycle schemes as well if you want your money to go a bit further. I've used https://www.cycleexchange.co.uk/ before and they've been fine.
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May 3, 2023 09:22
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Suburban Dad posted:I took my daughters (3 and 5) to the pump track today. They both face planted almost immediately but got back up and had a great time. My 3 year old loves a pump track on his balance bike and his 19 month old sister is desperate to join him. She hasn't figured out sitting on the saddle properly yet but she walked down the first slope today straddling her wooden bike with a massive grin on her face. I was hoping we'd get the older one onto a pedal bike sooner so we could hand his Islabike Rothan down but it looks like I need to find something second hand or cheap as a stopgap for a couple of months. As an aside, I've been really impressed with how considerate everyone is with young children at pump tracks, even teenagers who are clearly having to make way for them.
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Jun 11, 2023 22:37
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 I haven't had time for my mountain bike in a while but I was camping with my family at some trails I've done before this weekend so took my bike in the hope I'd get a chance to ride. In the end it was about 30 minutes before sunset before I got away and I'm very glad I took the last minute decision to fit my front light. I got to the top of the trails in good light but by the time I was back in the trees it was properly dark and I ended up walking a bunch of features that I'd ridden fine last time, partly because I'm out of practice but also because riding in the dark was really intense. That said the closest I came to coming off was on the new swooping blue trail back down to the campsite when I got overconfident. I'd probably try night riding again some time, but not after a 4 month break and ideally not on my own.
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Sep 4, 2023 20:34
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Yeah, it was never supposed to be a night ride and I only made a last minute decision to take the light because I had it on hand (It's usually my commuting light so lives in my bike stuff bag). I wasn't really prepared for how fast it would get dark in the trees.
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Sep 5, 2023 10:19
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abigserve posted:Look, my mates all have e-mtbs so there's a heavy bias there. I'm in reasonably good shape from running but not very bike fit, at least compared to a few years ago. I'm in pretty good shape from running and road cycling and when I'm out with friends who do a lot more MTB it takes a couple of hours of effort before I'm able to beat them on climbs. I wouldn't want an eMTB though, because the uphill effort is part of what I'm there for especially on more technical ascents, but I might feel differently if my friends were dicks about waiting.
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Oct 10, 2023 12:46
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I did an MTB duathlon at an old open cast mine the other weekend. Some of the puddles were over my hubs and there was a long section of riding on wet moss deeper than my tyres. It was great, filthy fun but I really need to get a front mudguard because above a certain speed all the muck from the trail gets thrown up in front of the bike and straight into my eyes. Are the neoprene guards that sit between the fork arch and crown any good or should I be looking for something more substantial?
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Apr 12, 2024 16:29
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Homers BBBq posted:A mtb duathlon sounds fun as well. I need to find one near me in the USA. Yeah, I'm mostly a roadie triathlete with very mediocre MTB skills but I'm really enjoying the local series. The fact it's a race forces me to push a bit harder on the bike which is doing wonders for my confidence, and it's nice to go into the second run with legs that aren't completely shot because they haven't just done a hard road bike. I was actually really close to the podium last race but the ground was so wet the sole of my shoe came away half way through the first run so I lost at least 2 minutes in transition wrapping it in tape I borrowed from the race organiser. Did I mention it was wet? 
Yeep fucked around with this message at 11:10 on Apr 13, 2024 |
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Apr 13, 2024 11:06
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meowmeowmeowmeow posted:drat I was thinking biathlon not duathlon where you'd ride your bike and then shoot a gun. For a MTB duathlon, is it a trail run? Usually. In this case it was lots of running up and down the slag heaps in the background of that photo.
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Apr 17, 2024 13:42
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It was the last race of my local MTB duathlon series this weekend. I went into the race with a nasty chesty cough and really felt it on the initial 2km/160m gravel ascent. Had to get off and walk a couple of the trickier bits of descent, there was no run first this time so there were a lot more riders around me which didn't help my confidence. I was consistently making up the places on the climbs though. I had fun but like every time I try something that pushes me technically I came away feeling like I just need more practice. Frustratingly there was one long, fast descent down a forest access track where I ran out of gears at 32kph and got passed by at least 3 people who hadn't. I'm not sure I can do much about that without spending a lot of money though. I'm 11-46t at the back and 32t in front on 26" wheels that I don't think I can convert to micro spline or XD and my rear derailleur won't go any wider.
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Apr 22, 2024 15:40
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ought ten posted:Do you ride in running shoes? Do you run in padded bike shorts? I’m intrigued, never heard of this combo before. They're triathlon shorts, so bike shorts with lightweight padding that doesn't interfere with running. I usually ride in running shoes anyway because I prefer flat pedals and don't do enough MTB to justify yet another pair of shoes, plus I've got a good selection of grippy fell and hill shoes for running. The race was probably 50/50 people doing that vs people changing out of SPD shoes in transition. There were plenty of people in full on one-piece triathlon suits as well.
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Apr 22, 2024 16:07
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kimbo305 posted:Oh also, I'm guessing you have Shimano based on what I think is SLX on the RD in your pic. Yeah, it's an SLX derailleur and shifter, Sunrace 11-46 cassette and a 32t Race Face NW chainring bolted to ancient 175mm Deore 3x8 cranks. The cheapest option would be to get a 34 or 36t chainring and just suck up the loss of the low gears. The Deore 5100 derailleur and cassette would get me 11-51 but at that point I'm replacing almost the whole groupset and I might as well go 12 speed. The issue there is my rear wheel, which is an old DT Swiss 240s 10x135mm where I think my options are a 12 speed HG cassette, an expensive conversion kit to 10x135 XD, or a slightly less expensive conversion to 5x135 microspline (because for some reason DT don't do this in a 10mm).
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Apr 22, 2024 18:11
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 03:14 |
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Yeep posted:Yeah, it's an SLX derailleur and shifter, Sunrace 11-46 cassette and a 32t Race Face NW chainring bolted to ancient 175mm Deore 3x8 cranks. The cheapest option would be to get a 34 or 36t chainring and just suck up the loss of the low gears. The Deore 5100 derailleur and cassette would get me 11-51 but at that point I'm replacing almost the whole groupset and I might as well go 12 speed. The issue there is my rear wheel, which is an old DT Swiss 240s 10x135mm where I think my options are a 12 speed HG cassette, an expensive conversion kit to 10x135 XD, or a slightly less expensive conversion to 5x135 microspline (because for some reason DT don't do this in a 10mm). I got a really good deal on a used M8100 groupset (cranks, chainring, shifter and derailleur). Does anyone have any experience with E*Thirteen or ZTTO 9x50 cassettes? I can't justify the cost of a new SRAM XD cassette and I could really do with a 10t or 9t so I don't have to buy an expensive 36t chainring. I'm currently using an 11 speed SunRace cassette so I'm not fussy about performance so long as it works and doesn't fall apart.
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Apr 30, 2024 15:33
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