help, been unfaithful to HOBBY

well spotted Isaac!

you know, apart from being heavier and slower than my rigid on cross country terrain, I love it to bits

Ive got a spare set of replacement pads for the disc brake which is handy. Theres a very small amount of play in the bushings (nothing to worry about for now, but I hope I can source a spare set from somewhere). Other than that, the flaws are just what you'd expect with a 5-7 year old bike.

It was a bike I always aspired to owning back in the day, and its a real pleasure to be riding it for a small outlay... although I cant promise to do the things on it that some people can.

Ive been seriously shocked by what some MTB'ers are doing on their bikes these days.. :O

Sir G, it was straight until I sat on it

 

I see the saddle's a big'un Chris

 

Ginormous Michael !

 

I'm not sure I could live with myself, riding something so mint...

I always wanted a Marin Titanium FRS... the '96 model. Rarer than hen's teeth dipped in rocking horse doodoo. Even the comparatively common Nail FRS isn't exactly thick on the ground (unlike the single-pivot marin frames like my East Peak, which are several thousand a penny...).

 

dont know if this is a 96, but thought you might like a pic

do you remember when everything had to be purple? aaah that takes me back..

http://www.mtb-classic.de/mtb/leserbikes/marin25092002.htm

 

Hehehe, purple rocks...

No, that's a 94. The '96 models were what today seems a quite conventional 4-pivot swingarm horst link design (like the turner and kona designs, excep that the shock was parallel to and on the underside of the top tube, rather than parallel to the seat tube).

Marin only continued with that design for the team dh in the 97 season because for XC it was replaced across the board by the first generation jon whyte single-pivot designs. Eventually even the DH bikes went to the single-pivot design.

My current dream bike is a Turner Flux.

 

for those in the West Country

"Exeter has been named as one of six 'cycling demonstration towns' in the UK promoting cycling as a safe, popular and healthy way to get around. It will receive a government grant of £500,000 over the next three years."

from a Devon business paper - doesn't say what the money is being spent on...
Suggestions?

 

mmm 250 really cool bikes for me?

 

here's a really lovely road bike, manufactuered in Italy for KONA.

.. an MTB name and a road bike.. something for everyone

looks a bit like a top Bianchi. any thoughts?

 

looks sweet! I had one of those saddles. Cost me £70 and was the most uncomfotable saddle i ever had :-(.

 

it does look a bit like sitting on a stick :S

 

Interesting.... doesn't look remotely like a kona, and it's built on the wrong continent...

How about:



Now... Chris King headset, Magura Ronin forks, Magura Louise brakes, DT Swiss 240 hubs, DT revolution spokes, Mavic X317 rims, SRAM X.0 Rear mech, X.gen front mech, X.0 trigger left hand shifter, X.0 twist right hand shifter, Wipperman Ti chain, Race Face chainset and BB, Interloc racing design Elite Road cassette. Think that would do.... Fill out with a few bits of easton to hold up the seat and the controls...

 

Its Kona's top road bike, they have a whole series of new road bikes for 2006. I think that one is about £3,000.

Its made in Italy I believe. I think they must have had one of the Italian makes manufacture it for them. My money is on Bianchi - the bars look just like the ones on the top Bianchi's.

 

Hi guys. I'm right back into MTB's again after a while away. I ride a few times a week in Danbury woods.

My ride is a 2006 team S-Works stumpjumper in gunmetal, full XTR, carbon bits here and there. £3.8k all in. It's the lightest FSR I've tried and very solid, despite my attemts at dying early over silly drop off's.

I never use front gears or front brakes, so I'm tailoring it to my regular route. A few mods soon to come; removing front gear shifters, front der, front brakes, front disc, front caliper. Just going to have the middle ring up front for less mass and better clearance for the ring.

The gears in hub look ok, aside from it weighing like a dumbell. Particuarly against rear der only spec! Trick tho.

 

There goes 70% of your braking power.

 

Perhaps, but I simply don't use them. I tend to hack downhill, maybe rear brake or skid on corners, then get a lot of natural deceleration from the up ramp sections. I'll live with it for a while and see how I get on. They'll bolt back on if ever required. I just love a bike as light as possible. Just need a ti chain now

 

Have you weighed it?

 

i'm a bit confused as to why people stress about the overall weight of a bike. compared to (an average) rider a bike is around 1/6 of their bodyweight and most riders i see aren't average. yes if you have <15% body fat then sure carbon up but otherwise just eat less and ride more - it's cheaper.
the only area i can see much good in saving weight is on your rims, tubes and tyres and to a lesser extent spokes, hubs and cassettes. basicly the rotating mass should be as little as possible (at least the further out from the axle you get).
by far the biggest factor in performance from the bike itself (rider weight and fitness asside) is maintainence and cleaning. basicly shaving 5g off your stem spacers isn;t going to make you ride like lance. however having a well maintained and clean drive train can make a once killer ride less of a death march and more enjoyable.
all that said - if you just want some bling on your bike then go for it.

 

It does look nice, however where does the intraveinous rig go so that you don't have to interrupt your training routine to get your daily cocktail of essential & illegal drugs?

 

I suspect it's like worrying about the smallest of improvements gained by a hifi tweak Mr Jules.

Boys and their toys etc...