Edcase

Well, after a few technical hitches and a fairly successful shakedown run last weekend, one final visit to wiggle.com and chainreactioncycles.com (god bless the internet) and she is finished.

That is until I get a chance to upgrade the groupset to xtr and a hope 4 or 6 pot on the front

Haven't been able to weigh it yet, but having come from this its considerably lighter than I'm used to!

Of course, when the going got rough (and steep), I definitely missed all that suspension travel, but what I lost there, I gained in climbing ability, accuracy and control through the technical sections, and just generally a more connected 'feel' rather than just pointing myself down the hill and trying to stay on like with the old bike.

The biggest shock (excuse the pun) has been going from the 6-7inch pace monstors to the supposed 110mm of the Boxers. Part of me is half tempted to fit the pace forks to the new bike

Anyway, here she is in all her glory.

Off to Wales tomorrow either to cwm carn or afan forest which should be fun!!!

http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike01.jpg
http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike02.jpg
http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike03.jpg
http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike04.jpg
http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike05.jpg
http://www.doyoufollow.com/temp/bike06.jpg

Also a thank you to everybody on my previous thread that shared opinions and advice.

Ed

yoza

Seems a shame to get it dirty...

Top job.

Graz

Looking good

Just finished overhauling mine ready for www.7stanes.gov.uk, off to the Scottish borders tomorrow morning for two weeks

Had the rear shock serviced by TFTuned and custom valved for my weight , feels better already and I haven't ridden it yet. Stripped and serviced the forks myself. Got a new shorter 90mm stem from Chainreaction to fit, hopefully this will quicken up the handling a bit and make it more comfortable to ride. And I've bought some flat pedals, normally use SPDs but my confidence is lacking on the single track so I thought I'd give flats a go.

"Just get out and ride" as they say in MBR

Edcase

Good man. I switched to spd's a few years back and they gave me nothing but grief, not to mention the fact that I can't just get on the bike and ride to the shop!!!

With a decent set of flat pedals and shoes, and the right technique, I would bet anything I am faster than I would be with spuds or egg beaters. I tend to use my feet and legs a lot to balance / give me confidence on the fast bendy stuff.

{flame suit on in preparation for the clip in brigade}

Philip Attaway

Nice bike

Phil

PS. Mudguards are gay

Edcase

Hehe, I was waiting for that comment!

I used to agree, but after a high-speed mud-eye incident coming across Clifton suspension Bridge a few weeks back, I decided maybe they were not so gay after all

Freak

Flat pedals rule

I got ridiculed years ago (this is back when i was 17, so some 8 years ago) when i took off my SPDs and put old BMX pedals from my raleigh burner on.
Used them with a pair of vans and they were awesome.

Thing is, mine were proper proper old skool flat pedals, with BIG serated edges, which took nice chunks out of shins (mine included- i still have some scars to prove)- but provided phenomenal grip.
Im sure the serated ones are illegal nowadays. In fact, i think i have them in the garage still

p.s- is that a crud catcher? I still have the Generation 1 version, that resembles a mcdonalds tray...

Philip Attaway

After a very muddy ride a couple of weeks ago in Epping forest I am tempted to let out my feminine side!

unclebuck

Agree about the flat pedals. SPDs screw your knees up after not too long. You need to be able to move your feet freely IMO. I predict you'll miss the old FSR though, I still enjoy riding mine loads. Very similar to yours except with triple clamp Judys on the front.

unclebuck

Been riding round Ashton Court? Now that *is* gay.

ozzy

I hate SPD's. Can't get used to them at all. They're nearly as bad as toe clips

With flat pedals, I can always jump off the bike in mid-air if things go pear-shaped

MarkO

I find I'm far more confident on SPDs - can't get on with flats at all. Guess a lot of it depends on what you're used to though (and whether you're from a DH or XC background).

Emma Guy at the Hub is a downhiller, she's been 2nd in the World Champs in the past and won the Scottish DH cup a few weeks ago, and she races DH on platform SPDs. So I don't think there's any hard'n'fast rule.

As for SPDs screwing up your knees, can't say I'm convinced. Mind you, guess it depends on how much float your pedals have and how tightly you have 'em wound in.

Philip Attaway

Hardtail all the way

Edcase

Yeah, DMR V12's leave perfect stud holes like a hole punch

I used to do trials riding, and so my legs now resemble a colander.

Yup, latest model crud catcher, works great as long as you don't turn

Yes it was one of those rides in Epping forest that put me off spd's for life. We ended up literally hub deep, and I fell off a number of times (exactly like Del boy in the classic bar scene) when I got stuck and couldn't clip out fast enough

yes I have considered building it up and having it as a second bike. It had the Judy's on originally, but they were just too weedy for the riding I was doing back then.



Leigh Woods actually. Quite literally riding DOWN the gorge. Best way to bed in new discs.... although they were so pumped by the bottom I could hardly use them

MarkO

Lovely Rock Lobster. Needs somebody to actually ride it though.

I've seen some insane people riding northshore stuff with toe-clips (not SPDs, actual clips).

Edcase

Phil, you are supposed to ride it, not sleep with it

MarkO

BTW, phil, my forks would go beautifully with that bike. I've got a yellow Nisene saddle I need to shift too - interested?

Philip Attaway

That was when it was new

Live in a flat so store it at a friends.

Still bring the Crossmax's home to sleep with though...and check they dont go flat in the week!

ozzy

brakes or your forearms?

toe-clips came fitted to my bike about 7 years ago. that was the first thing that went straight in the bin. next they'll be wanting us to wear trouser clips

Has that Rock Lobster seen any dirt or do you just ride it around the house?

Stefan

Philip Attaway

No thanks Mark, but nice plug

The saddle in the pic (Selle Italia SLR 135g) is for sale if anyone is interested.

I have a softer one now

Graz

Surprised so far the number that have gone from SPDs to flats. The way the magazines go on about them you would think that flats are reserved for the DH / Big air brigade and everyone else should be riding SPDs as that's the way forward.

I just find them difficult as I never seem to be able to get out of them quick enough if I want a confidence dab on the single track. On odd occasions I've also got a foot stuck, buy the time I realised it's too late to get the other foot out and I've fell off. Okay on the flat stuff but not if you have a drop to one side Maybe a more expensive set of pedals would release better, I do have them on the lowest tension. I do however feel that they make the bike quite controllable though as you are physically attached to it. See how I get on in the next two weeks, I expect I'll swap between SPDs and flats a few times

I'm going to go and *look* at the Darkside trail. Far too scary for me

Edcase

Just been looking at that exact trail

Some good vids on that 7stanes site

MarkO

TBH, you'll find that the longer you ride with SPDs the more natural they become. I've ridden on nothing else for 8-9 years, and it feels odd riding without being attached to tbe bike....

Darkside trail? Ah, Mabie? Yeah - it's very good, I'm told, although being so spoilt with Traquair 2 miles from my house, and Glentress 5 miles away, I have to admit I've never actually managed to get down to Dalbeattie or Mabie yet.

If you're planning on riding at Glentress or Traquair at all this weekend let me know and we could meet up. Could be the start of the fabled SN MTB meet that's bound to happen one day.

the moose

I've been riding them for 15 years. What am I doing wrong - my knees are still fine!

the moose

Eggbeaters may be your salvation, you know. I switched to them from Spuds for the mud-shedding ability, but I kind of prefer them now. Have a standard SS pair and some Mallets - the Mallets are robably the best pedal I've yet ridden with.

the moose

Phil, how much? I killed my last one after an unexpected drop.

Graz

Mark,

You're a very lucky man to have those trails on your doorstep. I'm afraid I wasn't planning on venturing over to the Tweed valley area, staying near Dumfries so planning to ride at Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, and Mabie. I fear it's going to take me a few days to get up to speed as I haven't ridden for a few months now.

Have to try and plan a long weekend some time next year to try the eastern side of the 7stanes project.

Have a good weekend

MarkO

Getting up to speed won't be the problem. Slowing down might be though.

stevencotton

Here's mine, Candy SL's not caused me problems yet cross country, although I fell off 5 minutes after having them fitted for the first time, in the West End, in front of about 600 people, whilst stationary

ChrisB

First time I fell off with SPDs, I'd actually stopped and unclipped one foot which was resting on a concrete slab. For some reason, I leaned the other way and ended up in the middle of the road Thankfully, it was down a deserted country lane.

Nice to see everyone keeping their bike inside - mine's living in the lounge still