Chicksands out to Clophill and back

Lloydy

Am planning to head out tomorrow night on a little ride. Consists of a lap and a bit of the 'red route' in Chicksands, then out to Clophill, back into Shefford and up to Chicksands again.

Looking to ride at 7pm if anyone is interested.

Cheers

Mark

skelders

haven't bought my bike yet, but fully intend to join you soon... this bloody MTB lark is a mine field of gadgets :-) ... thought roadies were bad!!

PS - any recomendations out there hugely appreciated. looking at a hardtail - short list is - Sant Cruz, Whyte, Kona oh and of course Trek & Specialized.

Lloydy

Hi Skelders...

You are right about the number of gadgets and thingy me jigs available - scary!!

It is always so difficult to recommend a bike, as I am sure you know, it is all about how they feel to you, personal preference, usage etc

I ride a Whyte 46 - full suspenison all mountain bike - totally overbiked for around here, but comes into its own in the Peaks or Wales. I love my Whyte, but others will most certainly have the opposite opinion.. :-)

The Trek EX9 - think it is still called that, is a popular choice amongst the guys I ride with, and you cant really go wrong with a Spec - just need to watch the components that are bolted on..

Personal choice like I said, but for me;

SRAM X9 or above is a must
Avid Juciy's - I currently run 7's - but they are old now
Fox Forks - I run TALAS 36 RC2's - variable travel from 100mm - 160mm
Hope parts anywhere you can :-) Pro II hubs, headset, bottom bracket

This is probably no help at all :-)

Mark

skelders

no, that sounds good. not going full sus, have had a look at Whyte but am closing in on a Santa Cruz frame. am thinking a top ally as opposed to bottom carbon. unfortunately am too late for the sales and the Specialized Stumpy has all gone 29'er

So I guess I now need advice on all the components... middle range to top on wheels... i assume its the same as road in that wheels are a good investment point?

Sam S

A big boy like you needs a 29er. You know you want to. Esp if you are not going full sus as it will smooth out the wretched horses hoof marks. I love mine.

phil k

get a 'cross bike - much more fun !!!

James D

Santa Cruz - dont get a Chamelion (the hardtail) its more of a jump bike than XC. Do get a Superlight or Blur XC

My recent shortlist for a good steel "is real" XC frame is as follows

Sanderson Life
Cove Handjob
Pace RC104
Voodoo Bizango - Have to import these nowadays though...

Titanium would be nice but adds ££'s Carbob frames are great but probably a bit too harsh for skipping accross the fields round out way. Alu is a hard ride too. Thats why i think for our neck of the woods steel/Ti is good. You dont get knocked around which if you havent got a full susser to take the bumps definately helps on longer rides. The whole point of suspension is to reduce fatigue and let the bike do the work for you. its not strickly necessary but once you have ridden with it you dont really want to go backwards.

Having ridden SRAM XO i didnt like the triggers so cant recommend them even though they are supposed to be the nuts. XT or XTR are good.

I have a guide delivered in a box of wheels i will drop round later.

James D

defo Fox forks every time

Kona make nice bikes too...

skelders

too late.... Chameleon is on its way :-)))))

you know me mate, don't hang about.... so you'll see me up the scate park real soon then ;-)

skelders

PS - I could not own a bike that had 'hand job' in its title!!!!

Gavin B

Lloydy

where can i meet you tonight for the ride,i live in campton so the campton plantation by the round about would be good.

skelders, hard tail all the way, much more fun and faster.

Riding in the winter really buggers the parts up unless you keep ontop the cleaning regime. (Its mainly sand around here.) I tend to keep it cheap and replace when broken. Dont have to worry about the expense when riding (falling off) in all weathers and the bike is dirty... again

I have a Cannondale with the headshox suspion built into the stem so its kept clean no need to take apart every ride.(£90 every 2-3 years for a service).

Gavin

Lloydy

Gavin,

That ride happened last night!!... Am sure I posted up on Monday!??!?!?

I was billy no mates, ended up doing a 22 miler out to Shefford and back in the end.. Pretty scary on your own through the woods and across fields!!!

Gavin B

ops lose track of days at work. chicksands on your own very brave!

Will go to the orange tree on thursday, maybe see you there

Lloydy

Hmmm, I think the term is 'stupid' rather than brave!!

Yes, will see you tomorrow at The Orange Tree

Mark