Mountain Bikes

Behold!

Nearly there... just needs cranks, pedals, chain and chain tensioner now.... and a damn good polishing.

 

are you going to put some slicks on it Isaac?

(it looks great by the way)

 

I may do.... at the moment it's got Panaracer Mach SS semi-slicks, so it wouldn't gain much to get full slicks. Maybe in time I'll get new wheels with lighter spokes and rims (same front hub, SS rear hub), and then maybe maxxis xeniths.

 

sexeee...!!

 

looks well nice isaac - can;t wait to hear what you reckon to single speed riding. do you think you'd be tempted to try using it instead of your fs rig off road a couple of times - just to see what all the fuss is about?

 

Maybe on some of the smoother runs julian. There's certainly things around here that I would not attempt without suspension. As for singlespeeding... it will be interesting to see, given all of the hills around here. I may have to drop the gearing to something like 29:18 (32:18 and 32:16 are fairly typical ss ratios) in order to be able to tackle some of the climbs.

Even with the silly wheels (DH rims, 14g spokes) the bike feels very light to pick up... with some weight reduction (XM317 rims, revolution spokes, etc) it should come in around 8-9kg I reckon (vs about 13 for the full sus)

 

could you fit 29 inch wheels to the frame (i guess you'd need new forks) this seems to be the 'new singlespeed' not convinced that a bigger wheel is a replacement for suspension but i've not tried one so can;t really talk.

 

I've no particular interest in 29ers because of my stature (5'7). That frame is far too big for me anyway (ok for road use, was not too good off road), but wouldn't fit 29s as there's not much clearance left to the chain and seat stay yokes (you can see the chainstay yoke in the pic). And I've only just bought those forks (with proper magura mounts... none of this v-brake boss nonsense . Downside is that you have to deflate the tyre to get the wheel out as there's no QR system to the 4-bolt mount, unlike the EVO mount)

 

That why you've not taken the hacksaw to the steerer tube?

 

Actually I have done but just enough to get it in the range of the spacers I have. Since I've not ridden it at all yet, I don't know what height I want the bars at so I'm leaving it adjustable for now.

 

Just started my singlespeed training, by climbing up the big hill in 32:22 on my main bike. This should be pretty analogus in effort to 32:18 on the lighter, rigid ss with much lower rolling resistance tyres (1.95 Mach SS semi-slicks vs 2.1 Trailraker mud tyres).

 

Last night I gave it a (literal) shakedown run up and down wessenden valley.

It rides pretty nicely, and the heavy wheels, large frame and very XC-oriented geometry give it a very planted feel, but it is generally unwilling to get any significant air (which is fine, that's now what it's meant for). Front-brake only riding takes a little getting used to, especially on steep, muddy descents.

Just finding the little niggles (already raised the bar up, was too low, now found that the bar itself needed rotating slightly to remove slight downsweep) and loose bits.

The simplicity of it is appealing, you can just pick it up and ride it, there's nothing to go wrong. It's also pretty quiet; we get used to the noise of forks, shocks, chainslap, derailleurs, etc. Singlespeeds just have the noise of the tyres really, and a little chainline noise (but much less than a gearie, and no chain slap because the tension won't allow the chain to hit the chainstay).

All I want to do with it now is rebuild the front wheel with XM317 and DT revolutions (saving about 300-400g over the current front wheel, keeping the same hub), and build a new rear wheel with an SS hub (DMR or surly probably), again on XM317 and revolutions.

 

Anyone up for this at the weekend? Not a race and the full distance is not to be taken lightly. Completed 5 laps 2 years ago but retired when rain made some section's just too hard and i was stuffed too!
http://www.gorrick.com/racing/news_item.php?id=197

 

No one?

 

It's a bit far to go for me really...

 

welcome to my world isaac, being able to just get on and ride without all the faff and fettling that deraileurs entail is addictive. jsut wait until you hit some axle deep grunge or tall grass - nothing to clog and the rear cog'll just chew most things up and spit 'em out. one cog on the back is the way forwards...
cheers


julian.

 

But you still have forks, discs, etc. The simplicity of one control on the bars, not having to think about any "bike" things while riding... gears, which brake, etc.... you're just concentrating on line and grip. Not saying it's about to replace my FS because plainly it isn't, but I can see the appeal of it as a different kind of riding.

 

Do you mean the venue?

 

i was referring mainly to the silence - apart from the hum of the tyres - no chainslap, no grinding of misadjusted deraileurs and my forks are nearly silent and i can lock them out if i want. can;t match your handlebar cleanliness but then a single gripshift is hardly an eyesore (though the cables are a consideration). to be honest when i'm riding during the week (mainly on roads with some gravel) i just stick it in 12 and grind away - it's only when i have to cross a busy road and need a quick burst of acceleration that i change gear.
i've got an old specialised that i might look at single speeding however it would be to the detriment of my ongoing mission to bling out my thorn. so i doubt it'll happen.
cheers


julian

 

Yes, the venue andi... A typical weekend day ride for me is about 25 miles with 3200ft of climbing (and descending of course), although looking to increase that somewhat this year.