# The new bike has arrived



## lulubel (31 Oct 2012)

It's here, and it's beautiful.

(I'll post some pictures later on. My camera battery is charging at the moment!)

The delivery process was confusing, but very well handled if we'd understood what they were on about! The outside bell rang a couple of hours ago (we're in a 2nd floor apartment), my OH answered it, and established there was a bike for me, and that we were in. Then the person at the door chattered away in very fast Spanish, and went away before my OH could ask her to repeat it more slowly. So, my OH rushed downstairs and got to the door just in time to see the van driving off!

We speculated for a while, and about an hour later the bell rang again. This time it was a man, and my OH let him in. The bike was brought up in the lift by 2 people (the original driver had obviously gone back to get help carrying it), they brought it in, I signed for it, and off they went.

For Motozulu's benefit (and anyone else who's considering buying a bike from Bike Discount), I was very impressed with the packaging. I'd forgotten to order the strong box, so it was shipped in their standard box, which was still very hefty and closed with big staples that I had a job getting to come out - very frustrating when you're anxious to get a first look at your new bike! There was a handle-hole in one end - I think the box is intended to be dragged along the ground by that - and someone had cut a hole in the other end as well, so 2 people could carry it between them. The second hole had made one of the tyres visible from outside the box.

The bike was packed well. The wheel hubs and brake discs were protected by plastic discs, the frame was wrapped in strong cardboard, and the forks and handlebars were wrapped in several layers of bubble wrap. There was some extra cardboard and polystyrene packaging to protect it and keep it from moving.

The forks had been turned round, and the bars were strapped to the side of them with very tight cable ties, so simply a matter of turning them round and fixing the bars to the stem. The front wheel was also strapped to the frame with cable ties. All I had to do once the bars were on was put the QR skewer in the front wheel, remove the plastic insert from the brakes, and put the wheel on. Then I put the seat post in (the frame was greased ready to receive it) and attached the saddle, removed all the packaging, and the bike was effectively ready to go.

It's still raining!

Continued below .....


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## lulubel (31 Oct 2012)

I didn't ask Bike Discount to do any particular setup on the forks (although they will do this for free), and the air pressure seems to have been set very high, which is fine because I know I'll have to do plenty of tweaking before I get it how I want it, so I can start by letting some air out! I also need to let some air out of the tyres, which are pumped up extremely hard. (This is probably a good thing because the tyres are at the very ends of the box while the bike travels, so if the box does take a hard knock on either end - if it's dropped, for example - the pressure in the tyres should help protect everything from damage.)

The frame is a very small size (13"), which is perfect for me because it's the same size as my old MTB. This does mean space on the frame is very limited. It only has one set of bottle cage mounts, and the bend in the top tube means these are only accessible with a 500ml bottle, and even that is a very tight fit, and you'd have a job getting it out while you're riding. I can also see a danger of my preferred adjustable cage rubbing the seat tube, but fortunately, I have a very minimalist lightweight cage I can put on it instead.

My plan at the moment, while temperatures are relatively low, is to use the cage for a storage bottle and carry a hydration pack for my water and "stuff". I do have a saddle bag, but if I'm going for a dropper seat post (which I haven't totally made a decision on yet), I'll need to lose the large saddle bag and get something small that just attaches to the saddle rails and not the seat post. For summer, I'm thinking about a bar bag (which I've seen quite a lot of MTBers using) with a hydration bladder inside it, rather than my current bar mounted bottle cage, which does look a bit naff - fine on a cheapo bike, but very out of place on my lovely Cube!

I'll write more about it when I've got some photos to show you.


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## GrumpyGregry (31 Oct 2012)

Excellent. Now go and get it dirty.


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## lulubel (31 Oct 2012)

I'm going to get out on it first thing tomorrow morning (well, after I've done some work, which sadly has to take priority, but I'll start nice and early). There are some easy trails just outside town that I'm going to take it on first, to start getting a feel for it and tweak the setup, and I'll progress from there. It's looking like the rain will have mostly stopped by tomorrow, so it will be muddy, but I shouldn't come across any unexpected rivers.


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## Cubist (31 Oct 2012)

lulubel said:


> I'm going to get out on it first thing tomorrow morning (well, after I've done some work, which sadly has to take priority, but I'll start nice and early). There are some easy trails just outside town that I'm going to take it on first, to start getting a feel for it and tweak the setup, and I'll progress from there. It's looking like the rain will have mostly stopped by tomorrow, so it will be muddy, but I shouldn't come across any unexpected rivers.


 
Great news....

Will the camera be charged by then?


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## Motozulu (31 Oct 2012)

I'm very jealous of you - congrats and I hope you are both very happy together. I think I'm going down the same route as you Lulubel and getting the Radon shipped out to me next year - thanks for the info on shipping and I look forward to the photo's of your new 'pride and joy'.


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## lulubel (31 Oct 2012)

Here are the promised photos. I was having trouble with lack of light when I took them, and as a result some of them seem to be a bit blurred. Not sure why exactly .....







Here it is! As you can see, the top tube is low, and there's plenty of seat post sticking out. I can just about get my (small) clenched fist between myself and the top tube when I'm stood over it. I know standover on MTBs is generally considered to be less important now than it used to be, but I'd still rather not land on the top tube if I have to get both feet down suddenly.

The saddle isn't the one that came with it, which was a Selle Italia X1 and looked horribly uncomfortable. It's my old and much loved SDG Allure (the one that was on my old road bike during the crash, and is scuffed down the side you can't see in the photo). I did have it on the Surly, but the Surly now has a new one, and I've put the scuffed one on the MTB where it's more likely to get scuffed some more!






Reba forks. Very nice 

I've figured out how to adjust the pressure in the positive and negative chambers, and where to adjust the rebound setting, but I'm not sure about the compression. This is the top of the right fork where the remote lockout attaches.






It says compression on it, but I'm not sure if there's anything here you can adjust?






Comfort grips (and they do seem like they'll be pretty comfortable).






And with my hand on them. With my hand at the end of the bars on the wide part of the grip, this is where my first finger naturally lands on the brake lever. I'm not sure if this is where I'll naturally want to put my hand or not, but I figured I'll try it like this and see how I feel before I start moving things around. If I move the brake levers inwards, I'll either end up with the shifters a long way away or the brake levers a long way in (if I put the shifters on the outside).






Vile pedals that will cut my legs to pieces if I fall off, so I'd better try hard not to. I'm still undecided about whether to go clipless or stick with flats. Both have their pros and cons, and I'm not sure which set of cons I'm more willing to put up with. (I may put the resin pedals from my old bike on it while I'm deciding, because they just leave me with massive bruises!)






Racing Ralph tyres have a small and shallow tread pattern compared to my old tyres, which might be quite good on the usually dry surfaces around here. (I'm not too sure how well they'll grip if it's muddy tomorrow.) I wonder if they might be in danger of cutting up on the rocks, though. If they do, I'll be on a serious tyre hunt!

That little, red label you can just see on the left side of the photo says the tyres are tubeless ready, so does that mean they are tubeless? How do I know? The front wheel feels very light, but that might just be because I've got used to handling the heavier wheels on my old bike.

The total weight of the bike is exactly 12kg, which is 400g less than the weight quoted on Bike Discount, presumably because the weight quoted is for the 15" or 17" frame. (The 2013 model is quoted 500g lighter than the one I've got, so they've obviously shaved a bit of weight of somewhere.) It's 1.6kg lighter than my old MTB, which isn't a massive reduction in weight (and I could probably have got a lighter bike for similar money), but a huge weight reduction wasn't really what I was after. I'm good at climbing - I get lots of practice at it - so, while less weight is nice, it's the performance of the higher quality components that I'm more interested in.

(Motozulu, there's something of relevance to you there. Don't get too hung up on weight saving. My Surly is 700g heavier overall than my old road bike, but the steel frame is more forgiving, and the rims on my road wheels are lighter than my old ones. That adds up to me being around 1mph faster on average than I was on the old bike, and it seems to climb much more easily. I think choice of components and where the weight is located is more important than overall weight, and this is probably particularly important on a MTB.)

Tomorrow morning, I will be taking it out for its "maiden voyage" and (as I'm sure you can imagine) I'm almost delirious with excitement, as well as a bit of nervousness that it either won't live up to my expectations or I'll let it down with my own incompetence!


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## Cubist (31 Oct 2012)

@lulubel Oooh that *is* nice!

Your brakes are set up for two finger braking. If you do want to try one-finger stuff, then make sure you can wrap your hand all the way round the grip, and reach the ball at the end of the lever with the first joint of your forefinger for max leverage. You'll need to move the levers inboard of the shifters, and play around until it all feels right.

Tubeless ready tyres are just that. They will seal on tubeless rims as long as the rims have tubeless rim tape, tubeless valves and sealant fluid such as Stans. You need to check whether your rims can be run tubeless or whether they need a conversion kit. Fully tubeless tyres are UST and are twice the weight of your current tyres. The front wheel will feel light, because IIRC Cube use Schwalbe lightweight tubes.

Ralph Evos are indeed very thin walled. Give them a try, but carry a tyre boot with you just in case. If the terrain is a rocky as you describe, you may be better off with Schwalbe Snakeskin which have a protected sidewall.

The compression control is via the pushloc on the bars. Fully depressed it'll be locked. All the way open is fully active, and anywhere in between is on a sliding scale of whether the fork will react to little or bigger hits. It's a bit like a stepless floodgate adjuster.

Pedals? If I were you I'd go clipless.


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## 02GF74 (31 Oct 2012)

nice bike - must feel like Christmas has come early

re: The frame is a very small size (13"), which is perfect for me because it's the same size as my old MTB.

you sure you are on the correct size frame - there is a lot of seat post showing - you assume that you old MTB is correct size for you.

also the Q/R levers on the wheels, should point to the back - that way they will not come undone when you brush against branches/rocks/twigs etc.


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## neil earley (31 Oct 2012)

Looks fab enjoy your early xmas present ps some vidio,s would be nice of your rides.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (1 Nov 2012)

You teased us then delivered!. Lovely bike


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## GrumpyGregry (1 Nov 2012)

we like. muchly.

oner thing made me smile. the idea that somehow in the event of things going pear shaped one might be able to land with both feet flat on the floor thus using the stand over height. Well, maybe, one day.... there must be a knack to it


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## MattHB (1 Nov 2012)

nice bike! I had ergo grips like that on my hybrid and they were great.


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## GrumpyGregry (1 Nov 2012)

[quote="lulubel, post: 2128048, member: 16002] For summer, I'm thinking about a bar bag (which I've seen quite a lot of MTBers using) with a hydration bladder inside it, rather than my current bar mounted bottle cage, which does look a bit naff - fine on a cheapo bike, but very out of place on my lovely Cube![/quote]

We need you to set a trend. Why would you want to strap a 500g or 750g or 1kg dead weight to your bars of all places in the form of water bottles?

Surely something like this is better alternative to either a full blown ruck/knapsack style camelback or bottles. Back in the 90'd we all used fanny packs along with frame mounted water bottles until we wised up and/or got e coli from the cow muck!

If you must put your bottles on the bike surely behind the saddle is the best place provided they don't then stop you getting off the back.


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## Motozulu (1 Nov 2012)

That bike looks like the dogs danglies lulubel - enjoy. I'll try not to get too hung up on weight but as a slightly over 13 stone bloke I do need a lighter bike - I'm rubbish at climbing, but as you say - the kit it comes with is just as important I suppose.


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## Nearly there (1 Nov 2012)

very nice


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## lulubel (1 Nov 2012)

First ride report.



Cubist said:


> The front wheel will feel light, because IIRC Cube use Schwalbe lightweight tubes.


 
They are light, aren't they? The back wheel now has a rather more hefty Conti tube!

I'll also start another thread for recommendations on tyres with sidewalls that aren't made of cheese.

Before I set out this morning, I tried out my new shock pump. The +ve chamber was set at 100 and the -ve at 60, so I reduced them to 55 and 45 respectively, and got on the bike. I used the dining-table for support as I got on to keep my weight off the bars, and the sag went to just under 30%, so I put another 5psi in each chamber, which put it closer to 25%. I also reduced the pressure in the tyres, which arrived pumped up so hard I couldn't even make a depression in them with my thumb, but was mindful of the tyres being a bit fragile, so kept them a lot firmer than on my old bike.

On the road, it rides like a dream. With the forks locked out, it spins up easily, and it doesn't grind to a virtual halt the moment you come to a bit of a hill. (Mostly due to the lightweight tyres, I suspect, so I'd better not get used to that!) I followed one of those "hardcore XC riders" that Greg's told me about up the main climb. (You could tell he was that type of MTBer because he was stick thin, and his pedals were going round so fast his feet were a blur.) I stopped about half way up to let some more air out of my tyres because the back one was losing grip, and didn't see him again after that. My tyres were still considerably firmer than on my old MTB.

The climb felt easy. I did it in the middle ring. In fact, I didn't use the granny ring once during the ride. (There are longer climbs where I'll definitely want to use it.)

Once you get to the top of the climb, there's a nice undulating trail, which is what I was aiming for to get a feel for the bike, and I was making brisk progress until I came to a bit of descent that's been made tricky by water carving grooves across the trail. I was looking for an easy place to cross, then decided to see what the Rebas were made of and just hit the deep groove at a slight angle. My old bike would have had me off if I'd tried that. The front wheel tracked through nicely and the rear wheel followed it.

I was grinning stupidly at how easy it was when the back wheel jolted sideways and something shot out the other way. (On my way back, I saw it was a loose rock a bit larger than a tennis ball.) I shrugged my shoulders and carried on - it was only the back wheel, it had happened to me loads of times before, and it hadn't upset the bike's handling at all - then I heard the hiss and looked down to see the back tyre was flat as a pancake.

A lot of swearing later, I removed the tyre (easily, with just my hands - never done that before), and found a tiny hole in the side of the tube. I examined the tyre quite carefully because I only had one spare tube with me, but there was nothing in it, so it was obviously a pinch puncture, as I'd assumed. I replaced the tube, pumped the tyre up as hard as my little arms could manage, and then did the same with the front.

Even with the tyres pumped up very hard, the Rebas made the ride a dream. I always think the sign of a good piece of equipment is that it does its job so well you forget it's there. That's exactly what it was like. The ride was obviously clattery because of the hard tyres, but the front went where I pointed it, and the back felt much more planted as well, presumably because it could just trail along nicely and wasn't having to veer around to try and follow the front. I decided to go back down so I could do the climb again and try and beat my PR on the Strava segment while I still had lightweight tyres on the bike, and I noticed halfway down the descent that my shoulders were down and relaxed without me having to think about it.

I beat my PR on the Strava segment by over a minute and moved up a place on the leaderboard.

At one point, on a particularly bone-shaking section, I found myself singing a Beach Boys song to myself (I'll leave you to figure out which one), which is something I've never felt relaxed enough to do off-road.

I can't wait to get out on it again - hopefully tomorrow. I'm going to put the tyres from my old MTB on it for now. They're pretty narrow at 1.95" but I think they'll give me a better ride than the Ralphs will pumped up hard, and after today's experience, I don't really trust the Ralphs enough to go very far from home with them.

There's one positive thing that came out of the visit today. I hadn't had a visit from the fairy for over 4 years, and I was worrying because I didn't have an old tube to wrap around the chainstay. Problem solved


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## lulubel (1 Nov 2012)

Cubist said:


> Your brakes are set up for two finger braking. If you do want to try one-finger stuff, then make sure you can wrap your hand all the way round the grip, and reach the ball at the end of the lever with the first joint of your forefinger for max leverage. You'll need to move the levers inboard of the shifters, and play around until it all feels right.


 
I decided I'm going to be the kind of MTBer that Brian and Lee think is weird, and operate the brakes with my second finger! I find it really comfortable and natural.

I was going to move the brake levers over, but couldn't figure out how to get the grips off, when they didn't just slide of after I'd loosened the 2 screws at the end, so I left them where they were and adjusted the reach a bit so they were closer to the bars. Once I started riding, I found I was naturally putting my second finger round the end of the brake lever and keeping my other fingers wrapped round the bars.

I'm not sure why, but I had absolutely no trouble with the front brake being on the left when using them this way. The bike's booked into the lbs to get them changed over tomorrow, but I don't think I'll bother.


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## lulubel (1 Nov 2012)

GregCollins said:


> oner thing made me smile. the idea that somehow in the event of things going pear shaped one might be able to land with both feet flat on the floor thus using the stand over height. Well, maybe, one day.... there must be a knack to it


 
No. There's no knack. It's for when you have to stop suddenly when someone's out of control small child or dog runs in front of you. I did that once on a borrowed MTB that was too big for me, and it bloody hurt. I can't imagine how painful it would have been if I was a man.



GregCollins said:


> Surely something like this is better alternative to either a full blown ruck/knapsack style camelback or bottles. Back in the 90'd we all used fanny packs along with frame mounted water bottles until we wised up and/or got e coli from the cow muck!
> 
> If you must put your bottles on the bike surely behind the saddle is the best place provided they don't then stop you getting off the back.


 
I suppose behind the saddle might work with a dropper seat post, as long as I can find a bracket that's strong and secure enough. (I did some investigation before I bought the bar mounted one, but the reviews weren't very confidence inspiring.)

And as for the waist thing ... I'm already looking at minimalist tri-suits for next summer to get rid of the waistband on my shorts because it makes me so sweaty and uncomfortable. I briefly considered bibs, but they would just add an extra layer on my upper body. Someone needs to design a women's all-in-one that has lightweight, padded shorts and a strappy top.

(You should bear in mind that I'm starting the "change" and women get very overheated and sweaty at that point in their lives.)



02GF74 said:


> you sure you are on the correct size frame - there is a lot of seat post showing - you assume that you old MTB is correct size for you.


 
It's definitely the right size. And they wouldn't supply it with a seat post that long if they weren't expecting people to use it.



neil earley said:


> Looks fab enjoy your early xmas present ps some vidio,s would be nice of your rides.


 
I wish! With everything else I've spent out on lately, a helmet cam is on luxury item I can't afford.



Motozulu said:


> I'll try not to get too hung up on weight but as a slightly over 13 stone bloke I do need a lighter bike - I'm rubbish at climbing, but as you say - the kit it comes with is just as important I suppose.


 
Have you thought about losing some weight off the rider? I'm not trying to imply that you're fat because 13 stone isn't that heavy for a man unless you're a short-arse! But, if you want to save weight, most people can get much more benefit from losing it off themselves than trying to save a relatively small amount on the weight off the bike. I can't lose any weight because I'm already at the lowest weight I can be and still stay healthy, so any weight saving for me has to be on the bike.

My ride today does bear out what I said about components and where the weight is located being more important. The Cube is only 1.6kg lighter than my old BH, but it rides as if it's a whole lot lighter than that. You might find the same with your mate's Orange - that the relative ease of climbing is a lot more about the choice of components than the actual overall weight.


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## fossyant (1 Nov 2012)

Nice bike. I like.


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## Motozulu (1 Nov 2012)

Yep Lulubel I'm trying!  At 50 though I've noticed how much harder the flab is to shift - the good news is that 6 months ago I was a 14 stone something so I'm going in the right direction. There may come a point at my age and my natural build that I may have to accept that I aint gonna get any slimmer/fitter - that's where I'm looking at a lighter bike to help - but I know one thing - I aint giving up the ale! 

Your report has enthused me btw, sounds like you've got a great bike and I'm looking forward to my upgrade already.


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## lulubel (1 Nov 2012)

Motozulu said:


> but I know one thing - I aint giving up the ale!


 
More cycling = more ale. It's a win-win situation 

Congrats on the weight loss so far, by the way. Slow and steady is the best way to go.


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## Motozulu (1 Nov 2012)




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## Cubist (1 Nov 2012)

lulubel said:


> First ride report.


Now that's what I call a first ride report. You seem to have been determined to test the bike and yourself and have put all the hard work and research into practice. 

One recurring theme, and you've reiterated it to Motozulu, is that quality componentry and build are far more important than weight figures alone. Without sounding too patronising, we often see people asking for recommendations for budget MTBs, and it's pretty difficult trying to recommend a bike with bargain basement forks to be ridden on bridleways. Yes, it can be done on a budget, but how much better is a more than bargain basement bike?!?!

Those Rebas will continue to be a fork of choice for a very long time, and now you finally know why you wanted them so badly! 

One thing though: Today you were concentrating, and working hard at picking lines and getting a feel for your brakes. Tomorrow you may be facing a much trickier set of circumstances, and will rely on instinct for braking. Grabbing a massive handful of front brake at the wrong time will have consequences. Have the levers swapped over for peace of mind.


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## lulubel (1 Nov 2012)

Cubist said:


> One thing though: Today you were concentrating, and working hard at picking lines and getting a feel for your brakes. Tomorrow you may be facing a much trickier set of circumstances, and will rely on instinct for braking. Grabbing a massive handful of front brake at the wrong time will have consequences. Have the levers swapped over for peace of mind.


 
In that case, you've just put an argument for NOT swapping them over. If I'm going to grab a massive handful of anything, it will be whichever is attached to the right lever, because my roadie brain tells me that's the one I need to pull hard if I really need to stop quickly. I did that recently on the old MTB when a pedestrian stepped out in front of me in town, and she had to dodge out of the way as I carried on down the road with the back wheel sliding!

Seriously, I'm going to stick with it for now and see how I get on. It felt really comfortable today. I can say the same of the brakes as I did of the Rebas. I expected to have to put a lot of thought into my braking because I've never used discs before, but they just did their job with what felt like minimal input from me. But if the honeymoon period comes to an end and I start feeling less comfortable with them, I'll get them swapped.


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## Motozulu (2 Nov 2012)

I'm looking forward to getting a bike with better forks now I must admit - pretty sure my 'offs' so far are me pushing the XCM's beyond where they want to go. Reba's sound good from L's report, so that'll be a minimum requirement on the next steed. Had my heart set on the Radon Black sin but after some quick number crunching, that aint gonna happen (mortgage, kids, Mrs, blah-di-blah) so it's looking like the cycle2work route.
So for a grand the Boardman Pro keeps coming up.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_777721_langId_-1_categoryId_165499
Not the bike I would have gone for but the more I look at the specs and the awards it's won from MTB mags...it's looking like a no brainer. Just remind me L...what brakes has your new bike got?


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## GrumpyGregry (2 Nov 2012)

Boardman HT Pro. @drago of this parish has strong opinions on them. I've got the previous model, the white one, and love it. A very racy out and out XC bike though; not a trail bike but I'm looking into a works components headset to change some of that nervous thoroughbred feel on the steep descents.

Of course the Boardman Team FS is within your reach, a bike about which singletrack said 'why would you spend any more?'


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## Motozulu (2 Nov 2012)

Decided I'm not going down the full susser route Greg, want to stick to HT right now. The Pro HT gets top reviews and they reckon the reba's should eat up Cannock red routes? If I was contemplating bike park type descents then deffo would go for the FS version. Thanks though and interesting what you say about the nervy descent characteristic - do you think that may have been addressed with the new 'un or is the geometry the same?


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## Drago (2 Nov 2012)

GregCollins said:


> Boardman HT Pro. @drago of this parish has strong opinions on them. I've got the previous model, the white one, and love it. A very racy out and out XC bike though; not a trail bike but I'm looking into a works components headset to change some of that nervous thoroughbred feel on the steep descents.'


At last - soneone who not only owns one, but who understands how a bikes geometry affects its behaviour.

You got it bang on the nose chap. Not a bad bike by any means, but simply ill suited as the trail bike they market it as. As you've discovered, the light weight and flighty geometry make it a surprisingly adept XC machine for not a lot of money, in on slicks a stunningly good fun Tarmac terrorist.

Motozulu - don't trust nanufacturers geometry figures as there's no universal standard for measuring. We go with tyres, without tyres, using the axles as a horizontal base line etc

Same with weight - some quote a ride ready bike, others exclude tyres, others pedals etc.

The only way to be sure is to visit some large shops or, better still, visit a trail centre when there's a manufacturers demo day on and they have a fkeet if machines for you to proper test. The big 3 do this a lot, the other brands to a lesser extent.


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## Motozulu (2 Nov 2012)

Thanks Drago but I've had a look - I believe the last model was with 100mm of travel up front? this model has 120mm - I'm assuming this will have an affect on the way it behaves on trails now?. Different angle at the front?


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## Drago (2 Nov 2012)

I don't know off hand chum and not being at work I can't check it easily. They claim to have softened the geometry with new new 2012 frame but I'm hearing its still more of a race razor in character than a forgiving trail machine.


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## lulubel (2 Nov 2012)

Motozulu said:


> Thanks Drago but I've had a look - I believe the last model was with 100mm of travel up front? this model has 120mm - I'm assuming this will have an affect on the way it behaves on trails now?. Different angle at the front?


 
One advantage of the Boardman, as regards getting the geometry you want, is you can take your current bike with you to Halfords, put them side by side and see how they compare. It won't tell you what the exact measurements are on the Boardman, but it will show you if the head/seat tubes are steeper or slacker than you've got at the moment.

After a LOT of discussion about frame geometry, angles, frame material, whether I needed a full suss, etc,etc, I ended up buying a MTB that's marketed as a XC race HT. It wasn't what I thought I was looking for, but it's turned out to be the right bike for me. I spend a lot more time climbing than I do descending, so it makes sense to have a bike that will help me in that. If it means I have to descend a little more cautiously than I would on a full susser with a slack headtube and long travel forks, then so be it. So, as well as focusing on quality components rather than overall weight, I'd also advise to look for a bike that's best suited to the kind of riding you expect to do most, even if that means settling for a slightly lower spec. (It doesn't matter how good the spec is if the bike isn't going to be good at the kind of riding you do.)

Regarding Rebas ... mine are probably not tuned properly for me quite yet - it will take me some time to get a good enough feel for them to know what could be improved - but I'd be very surprised if I've done even 20% of what they're capable of so far.. I have no desire to push them to their limits, but once I've got tyres on the bike that I'm happy with, I will be taking them to more challenging terrain than they've tackled so far, just so that I can feel them do something. On my 2 rides so far, I've gone over stuff that would have really jarred me with my old forks (even before they were worn out), and with the Rebas, it's, "What bump?"



Motozulu said:


> Just remind me L...what brakes has your new bike got?


 
Shimano BR-M505

Here's the link to the bike if there's anything else you want to know about the spec.


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## lulubel (2 Nov 2012)

Second ride today, and I'm glad I didn't get the next frame size up. I decided to tackle a different route up the nearest mountains today (one that I attempted once in the heat of full summer and had steered clear of since). It's a lot steeper in places, so I was definitely in granny ring territory, and there's also quite a bit of loose rock that brought me to a stop a couple of times when the back wheel started spinning. This resulted in a rapid dismount and much gratitude for the low top tube! (I know it's caused by the large amount of air in the tyres - I still have the Ralphs on because I can't bear to put cheap, nasty tyres on my pretty bike! - and will be resolved with softer, grippier tyres.)

I managed to lift the front wheel slightly on a couple of the steeper sections, which I think was due to having my weight a bit far back. I shouldn't have any trouble learning to wheelie on this one.

I decided to go a bit higher up in the mountains, and ended the ride with a 3.5km descent, dropping by about 100m per km. I should have lowered the saddle for it, but forgot until I was nearly at the bottom, so a dropper seat post is definitely next on the list after new tyres. I also discovered what "light hands" really means - not what I had been doing until then - and how easy it is to hold a line when you haven't got a load of weight on the bars!

It looks like the monsoon season will be making a return tomorrow, so I'll be giving my legs a well deserved break, the bike a well deserved clean, and putting my new cross wheels on the Surly.


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## GrumpyGregry (2 Nov 2012)

Motozulu said:


> Thanks Drago but I've had a look - I believe the last model was with 100mm of travel up front? this model has 120mm - I'm assuming this will have an affect on the way it behaves on trails now?. Different angle at the front?


120mm new 100mm old. Head Angle 69 degree new 70 old Seat angle 73 new 73 old but that's all static measures no sag. Sag steepens it all up.

The new bike should be theoretically more stable on descents and nearly as nimble as the old. But you'll need to adapt to a greater change of steering angle as a result of more travel in the fork. My money says the average mature rider wouldn't be able to tell the difference as much as say fitting wide bars! At least one review says the new bike is ideal as a black run trail bike but then I didn't know I had a problem on the old one doing that until someone told me. My forthcoming works components experiment is exactly that, a lab test.

Only things 'wrong' with the new one, imo, are low bb height and it is a BB30 (yuck) and the front brake rotor is too small for anyone over 12 stone.


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## Motozulu (3 Nov 2012)

I'm sure I won't be able to tell the difference plus my current bike is 120mm. Gonna be a hard choice - I may be able to go up eo £1200 quid which puts me in the area of the Trek 8.6/8.7's...100mm all. It's hard this lark is.


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## Motozulu (3 Nov 2012)

Lulubel sounds like they are making a big difference those forks - was the rockshox site any good for set up instructions or have you just gone off the advice from here?


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## lulubel (3 Nov 2012)

Motozulu said:


> Lulubel sounds like they are making a big difference those forks - was the rockshox site any good for set up instructions or have you just gone off the advice from here?


 
I went with the advice on here in my "Setting up new MTB" thread. I haven't even looked at the Rock Shox website, and if I'd gone with the recommended pressures on the forks, they would have been much too hard. I started out with 50% of me + gear (in lbs) in +ve chamber and 10psi less in -ve, but increased that by 5psi in each chamber because the sag was a bit too much. That might have been due to pressure loss when I took the pump off, though. I've used push on pumps for the last few years, so I was a bit slow unscrewing it.

I've had a bit of a search online, and the recurring theme with Rebas seems to be that tuning them is very personal, so you find a decent start point and then make small adjustments over time until they are exactly how you want them. I'm planning to leave mine as they are for a bit to give them a chance to bed in, and to give me a chance to properly get used to them, and then see if there's anything I want to adjust.


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## Alun (3 Nov 2012)

Nice bike, Lulubel

You can always check on your forks compression setting after a "typical" ride by looking at the O ring on the fork leg. It will indicate the amount of travel that you have actually used. I think about 3/4 of travel is a good place to start, if the fork bottoms out once or twice on a heavy ride, it should be OK but you dont want it hammering away frequently.

If you dont have an O ring on the fork you can make do with a zip-tie, just don't overtighten it or it could damage your seals.

Make sure you still have enough seatpost left in the frame, with the saddle at it's normal height, there should be an indicator on the post.


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## GrumpyGregry (3 Nov 2012)

Alun said:


> Nice bike, Lulubel
> 
> You can always check on your forks compression setting after a "typical" ride by looking at the O ring on the fork leg. It will indicate the amount of travel that you have actually used. I think about 3/4 of travel is a good place to start, if the fork bottoms out once or twice on a heavy ride, it should be OK but you dont want it hammering away frequently.
> 
> ...


Please don't leave it on the fork and go for a ride and bottom your fork out. Wrecking a seal midway through a ride is tedious.


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## GrumpyGregry (3 Nov 2012)

@lulubel is it a 350mm seatpost or a 400mm one? if the former and if you've the slightest doubt about your seat tube post overlap get a longer one.


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## lulubel (3 Nov 2012)

Alun said:


> Make sure you still have enough seatpost left in the frame, with the saddle at it's normal height, there should be an indicator on the post.


 


GregCollins said:


> @lulubel is it a 350mm seatpost or a 400mm one? if the former and if you've the slightest doubt about your seat tube post overlap get a longer one.


 
The seat post is plenty long enough. It's still a good couple of inches or so clear of the minimum insertion point. Buying longer seat posts is a routine thing for me because of my liking for small frames, so I was pleasantly surprised when this bike came with one that was a sensible length.


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## lulubel (4 Nov 2012)

I have a plan!

I took my old MTB out for a slog around the back roads today because it was raining too heavily to go up the mountains on the Cube and too foggy to play with the traffic on the main roads on the Surly. It was also extremely windy - the kind of wind where you come round a corner into the wind and feel like you've ridden into a wall. I had a couple of slightly scary moments, and realised why I tend to ride with a lot of weight on the bars. It dates back to commuting on my road bike in Cornwall, when I learnt to lean heavily on the bars to try and keep the front wheel from diving out from under me in gusty crosswinds.

Anyway, either of the other bikes would have been even more scary in the wind, with their much lighter forks, so I've decided that's a good reason to keep the old MTB. It's going to be my bad weather bike, and when my new tyres come, I'll put the Racing Ralphs on it and pump them up nice and hard for road use. They should be fine for that, and the bike will go faster too! (When they wear out, I'll replace them with slicks, but I might as well get some use out of them.)


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