Edcase

Okay, I have been a fan of mountain biking for many years.

Particularly around three or four years ago when living in London I got heavily into trials and street riding during the week around London, and then a full-suss for down in Dorking at the weekends.

Three years later, after suffering severe RSI for 18 months, selling the trials bike and moving to Bristol, I've gotten back into my real love, which is fast, flowy, technical singletrack.

However, the current bike is less of a bike, more of a rig, set up primarily to go down hills fast. The frame is also very old now (read: heavy / unsubtle), but some of the components are still very good.

Although this has helped to both get me fit and sharpen me up again pretty quickly, I've kind of reached that stage again where its limiting me, so I'm going to get something newer, lighter, sharper and less downhill-oriented.

My current thoughts are to buy a 2004 frame-only, and then transfer my running gear across (with a couple of new parts that need replacing anyway).

Current thoughts are between:

Mountain Cycle Moho:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/v...n&ModelID=3065

and

Cannondale Jekyll
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/v...n&ModelID=4844

Note that I can get the moho for £575, so they are both the same price pretty much.

Anybody have any thoughts?

My other main concern is regarding forks.

I currently have a set of Pace triple crown carbon forks with a huge amount of travel. However, given they are carbon, they are surprisingly lightweight.

However, they require a bolt-through front hub, (Currently on a massive Hope jobbie) which is both inconvenient (punctures / changing rim / tyre combos) and heavy.

It's also slightly limiting in that you can't turn the bars very far.

That said, they do perform fantastically, so I am in two minds whether to swap them over to the new bike, or sell the whole front setup and get a new set of 'normal' front suspension forks and hub / wheel setup.

Finally, I'm going to need a new disc brake for the rear at my current setup has hydraulic rim brakes. Any good suggestions for a mid-price set?

thanks

Ed

gljam

clicky

If i could just direct you over to here, dunno if any bits would be helpful (saddle/tyres/handlebar and stem have gone however)

I also have the 20mm bolt through conversion bits for the hope bulb front hub if that would help

Going back to your questions, i have always had a thing for Mountain Cycle bikes so i would go for that (assuming you don't want my frame of course )

Can't really comment on the forks, i've always had single crown forks so i'm slightly biased but if they are still working well and you are happy with them then keep em, just make sure the steerer tubes going to be long enough.

For the rear brakes i'd go for a set of hope mini's, massive stopping power and very light, you can pick up a nice set a lot cheaper than retail on ebay (can't you always ), or if you want a bit cheaper the shimano deore hydraulic brakes get quite good write ups

Edcase

great, thanks for that. Will check out the mini's.

Will look thru your thread tomorrow

IWatkins

Ed,

Chuck all the suspension lark in the bin, oh, and all those gear thingys as well.

For free flowing singletrack the nivana is singlespeed. Go buy a nice lightweight titanium frame, bung on a quality crank, some nice wheels and some nice brakes. Liberating is not the word.

(Been through the suspension this, 8 zillion gears that, hydro disk brake whatsit, I've done my spanner hours, and decided to get off the gadget wagon)

Cheers

Ian

k.b

if your looking for something more singletrack orientated and reasonably lightweight(i would assume) what about trying to pick up something like an orange sub 5 .would probably only be able to get one second hand for the price that you are paying for the others but it is billed as an all day trail bike that can handle a wee bit extra.

and for forks if you want to spend money or can look around for some of the fox float r forks or if you can try and find some rockshox sids.not much of a all day trail rider really but those are the kind of things i would be looking out for in a bike like this.im also in agreement on the minis.very nice brakes or go for deores if you want but hopes customer service would sell it for me.

the moose

for virtually the same price as Minis (£20 more per end) you can get Hope M4 - much more power and progression.

the moose

No, it isn't!

Singlespeed is fine if (a) you're an expert (b) the terrain is all steep/flat/whatever - but on variable terrain it's more of a problem (c) you have another bike for the rest of the week, which almost all singlespeeders seem to have.

Next you'll be telling him that riding fixed is where it's at, and that no more than one wheel is necessary......

Riftzone

get shot of the triple crowns - not needed for singletrack. can heartily recommend marzocchi mx comps. as for discs - dont be caught up in the hydro hype : a 203mm avid mech disc is the one to go for. simple to set up and pads easily changed on the trail...

the moose

Ed

As you can see, there are as many opinions as there are days in the year! Almost all would agree that discs are the way to go - it's up to you whether you prefer hydraulic or cable. I've never had any problem with hydro other than crach-induced damage, but we're all different.

Wheels - you can get a set of handbuilt wheels (Mavic rims, Hope XC hubs) for around £120 from Merlin - excellent.

Forks - triple crown is way OTT for singletrack and might knacker your frame's warranty. Sell them and, depending on weight preference, get coil (heavy) or air (light). I like Fox for coil, Manitou for air, but again, everyone's different.

MarkO

Frame-wise, I'd avoid the Jeckylls as they're renowned for problems with the bushings. Oh, and Cannondale aren't known as Snap'n'fail for nothing.

Have a look at the Rocky Mountain Blizzard frame - it's absolutely beautiful, rides like a dream, and looks the dogs' too. Don't discount full-sus either, assuming your budget's up to it - some of the new bouncers are very lightweight. Check out the Slayer (that's what I'm getting later this year) and ETS-X, the Orange 5 (as mentioned above). The Orange Sub-Zero is a cracking all-round hardtail too.

Forks-wise, I'd personally steer clear of Pace, as having worked in a shop we had a fair number of problems with them. The seals simply aren't up to the UK weather (although when they do work they are superb). Fox are the ones I'd recommend - work well, no major problems, totally <ronseal> product. If you're used to bigger hitting forks you could go for something like Boxers (170mm travel anyone? ). The RockShox Psylos are also excellent value given their performance. I'd echo the comments about triple-crown - don't bother. For a start, if you're riding technical singletrack then you just won't have the full turn on the bars, so you'll keep falling off.

I wouldn't recommend Singlespeed personally, as it's a good way to trash your knees, and you have to be uber-fit on the climbs. You also have to pedal like f**k on the descents.

Hope brakes are superb, but also consider the Shimano XT and even LX/Deore discs as mentioned - they're superb, work well, easy to set up and maintain. Stay away from Magura - when they work they're good, but they're a PITA to bleed, and they seem to break a lot too.

Edcase

Thanks guys.

Right, let's clear a few things up:

I'm definitely going for full suspension - but defo something a bit less saggy compared with the 7.5 inches I have currently

Definitely not single speed - the terrain around here is too varied, 50 acre wood for example is almost laughably twisty and technical and very rooty.

What are people's problems with hydro discs?? I currently have an early hope hydro on the front and not had any probs even tho its well overdue a service?

I think perhaps I'll chop in the fork / hub / wheel assembly then. Maybe I'll sell the old frame and fork all in one go on ebay. Anyone like to hazard a guess what I'll get for a set of Pace Monstor RC150 carbon forks wth a hope bulb and Azonic Black Diamond wheel???

MarkO - do you know if that problem with the Jekyll's extends to the 2004 bikes?

Mountain Cycle has a great rep and that frame should be £1100, so if I can still get it at 575 I think I will go with that and a set of Psylo;s or similar...

DBY

Edcase I have Had Jekyl since sept 2000 and only this year, after four years of abuse finally have I had to replace the bushings on the swing arm. I have had hope mini's front and back with no probs with them either. I have just sold my Jekyl for £850 and had two people were after it, they do hold there money. Just ordered a new Prophet 4000, 5.5 inches of travel front and back 26lbs. I did have a Raven MK2 which did brake and they gave me the Jekyl as a replacement, have always found there customer service second to none having had three cannondale's before with no problem. There are some great deals out there at the moment with big money off 2004 stuff as the clear the decks for 2005 new models.

Regards

John

MarkO

TBH, can't give an opinion on '03/'04 bikes, 'cos I've not seen many. The ones we saw with problems were older, so it may not be an issue (and most full-sussers - even SC Hecklers - have bushing problems at one point or another).

I have no idea why people seem to have a problem with hydraulic discs; it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to me. Having worked in the Hub at Glentress for 9 months, I can categorically say that hydro brakes are trouble-free compared to mechanical ones. I mean, half the advantage of moving away from V-brakes to hydraulic discs is that all the problems associated with sticky cables, etc., are gone in a stroke. Personally, I'd never consider mechanical brakes again...

If you're definitely going full-sus, then definitely check out the Orange 5 and the RM bikes. The Trek liquid's supposed to be good too, but I don't really like it. You might even find that a Heckler is a good compromise - it'd give you the 'freeride' feel you're used to from your rig, but it's also a good cross-country bike which climbs well. You can build it up light (e.g., Psylos) or more 'big-hit' (with some Boxxers) depending on what you like. I rode one in the snow once and liked it a lot. It's just a fraction too heavy for my personal taste (I'm more old-school XC) and the RM Slayer's a slightly less full-on bike with a bit more agility but still a good 5" of travel at the back end.

MooseRacer

If you're going for disk brakes (which unless you're a weight weenie you should) then for goodness sake don't get mechanical

Whereabouts do you ride?

the moose

I'd go with an Enduro - 5 inches of travel, light (depends on the build) and cheap to buy s/h.

Or a Blur, again s/h.

Or an Ellsworth Truth, if you can get a good s/h frame and build it up yourself.

You'll notice I ALWAYS buy stuff s/h, though small stuff I can't be bothered with usually. Frames lose their value so much it's just not worth buying new, IMHO, so just make sure you buy one with a lifetime guarantee in case it's been completely abused by a DH fiend.

Edcase

My usual route is across the downs, over clifton bridge, then the fun starts at the entrance of ashton court, around the track around the golf course til you come to the gap in the wall, across the road and down the hill to 50 acre wood for some twisty and technical stuff, then along the gravel road and back down the track around the golf course.

or else carry further on around the golf course initially, along the gravel road onto the main road past the health club, take a left down the hill, and then left again so you are running adjacent to the quarry. there is a fantastic, fast, but challenging piece of singletrack there, the kind where you put your head down and just fix your gaze on the rear tyre of the bike in front, and your brain and body just seemed instantly react to whatever it sees.

Of course, in a situation like this you need to have faith in the person in front, because if they take a wrong line, so do you!

Edcase

Agreed, however, the mountain cycle enduro for example, was 1100 and I can get it now for 575 yet its still the current frame, and I know it has never been ridden. At that price, it's not really going to depreciate any further.

MarkO

PMSL at Edcase.

I think Mr Moose was meaning "what general location" - not a precise route map.

Sounds to me like you need to get out on some real trails - the kind where simply following somebody's back tyre would prove impossible.

You know, the likes of www.7stanes.gov.uk

r32

Look at a Yeti 575, fabulous piece of kit, good for x country and good fun on the downs as well as the ups, look at www.yetifan.com

Its an independant site for thos of the Yeti pursuation. Fab bikes and you buying more than a bike but a bit of MTB folklore too ...........

Edcase

Hehe, well, I presumed that being a Bristolian himself, he wanted detail

7stanes looks fabulous. As I said, I'm used to pretty testing terrain, there were some very gnarly north-shore-esque trails being built at Dorking in the last few months I was going there, and with the trials riding I used to do I'm used to big drops etc.

Having watched some of the footage from les gets recently, I have to say it amazes me what some of these guys (and gals) can do on a bike!

Edcase

Yes, I have thought about the Yeti, but they don't seem to be discounting them. When I can get a Jekyll or Moho for just over £500 I can't really justify more than double that for the 575

Do you ever noticed the difference in cornering

MarkO

You ever ride at Caesar's Camp (between Fleet, Church Crookham and Farnham)? One of my old haunts, back when I started MTBing in the mid-90s.

the moose

Les Gets scared the crap out of me, though part of that was looking back at what I'd just ridden. It's a big playpark in the dry summer, but it's just evil when it's wet ....

Edcase

Hmmm, no doesn't ring any bells.

MarkO

Thought you might have been there if you'd gone as far East as Dorking.

Talking of being scared, if anyone's prepared to host it, I could stick up a 128Mb video of us night-riding at Glentress that I did last year for you lot to watch.

MooseRacer

Indded I guessed you meant Ashton Court. When my hip is fully healed (nearly a year ago DH caught up with me in a big way ) we should take a trip over to S Wales, there's some cracking trails there

Edcase

sounds great! Planning on a trip to Cheddar quite soon, as well as a slightly less challenging break in corwall riding (with) the missus.

MarkO - I have been thinking about this lately, what did you use to record? A bullet cam??

MooseRacer

I've ridden Cheddar Challenge a few times - my creaking bones are telling em those days are over now though

MarkO

Yeah, used a bullet-cam and a DV cam in a camelbak. Worked really well, particularly with a head-mounted light. As I say, if somebody has some spare bandwidth, I'll upload and people can have a look.

Don't bother going to Wales. Come up to the real trails here.

IWatkins

Each to their own, but I have no trouble riding singlespeed over varied terrain and I only have one bike.

Cheers

ian