Briski cyclists?!

[samj2013]

So I noticed that there's a few of you on here, but there wasn't a general cycling chat thread, aside from the odd "help me buy" thread.

Anyways, I'll start off.

I've been riding a good few years now, always changing bikes (might post a big old photo post of my bike history later). Right now I've got a nukeproof mega tr 2013 which I've only had a few weeks. Loving it so far, it rides like it has a lot more than 130mm of travel! My other bike is a Saracen hack cx bike, bought for training and just getting out when I don't have time for a proper mtb ride. Both bought fairly recently for an absolute bargain as they were last years stock

[Dean-]

Nice bike!

 

It is lacking Briskoda stickers though...  :p

[samj2013]

Haha cheers! It's plastered in enough nukeproof stickers as it is

[sparks03]

Soon to join the ranks as I'm off to consider some hybrids this morning. Not sure why I stopped cycling/ mtb'ing especially with Cannock Chase on the doorstep

[Gaz]

I've got three, but no pics - maybe later.

 

Early 1980's Raleigh Pursuit.  Tinkered with, old and battered, oddball looks, but just so comfortable to ride.

 

2006 Claud Butler Urban 500 Hybrid.  Locked up in the underground car park at work so I can stretch my legs in lunch breaks or ride home if I feel like it.

 

2013 Brompton M3L, for chucking (well gently as I'm still prissy about it and would rather only ride it on freshly hoovered wilton carpet  ) in the back of the car, or taking on trains.

 

Brooks saddles and Schwalbe Marathon's on all three.  No Brisky stickers!

 

Don't actually ride as much as I should and I've no excuses as the Cuckoo Trail is right on my doorstep. And it's good for the spirit.

 

Gaz

[JohnRS]

I've got a canyon ultimate road bike and a carrera fury MTB. I've been cycling a few years now and love it.

[sparks03]

Just ordered a Boardman Comp hybrid and a load of kit. Cycle light tech has come on a bit!

[samj2013]

Just ordered a Boardman Comp hybrid and a load of kit. Cycle light tech has come on a bit!

Yup! I got a couple of sets of cheapo CREE lights off ebay about £20 each, and they're silly bright. It's worth getting some charging bags and uk chargers though, if you don't want to set your house on fire...

Those boardman frames look really nice too, really tidy welds.

Edited 22 June, 2014 by samj2013

[Gaz]

Cycle light tech has come on a bit!

 

Oh come on Sparks, don't give us half a story, tell us what ya gone for  :think:

 

G

[blueR36]

Cycle 30 miles a day to work two 17 % hills and one 20% the tour de france go near but on the flat easy bit. All in all do 12, 000 miles a year. 3 cassets/chains one headset one bottom bracket and two bogey wheels replaced , oh and four sets of tyres since August ( new bke Scot Cr1) usually get a brand new bike every 3 years as been hit six times ( bikes written off non fault , so big payout) in 14 years.

[sparks03]

Oh come on Sparks, don't give us half a story, tell us what ya gone for :think:

G

Opted for lezyne led lights at 350 lumens which should be ample. Usb recharge is quite nifty and ideal for work

[crpvrs]

I have two bikes at the moment (hopefully a third soon)

Have a custom identiti krisis sl that I use for general larking about on, this is ridiculously light and great for everything

Bike no 2 is a giant glory 2011 that i got at a crackjng price, is a downhill bike not much use for out else (im to lazy to ride up hills)

Hoping to get a 27.5er winter time as I need to build my fitness up more and want to get into enduro riding,

Any dh'ers on here?

[samj2013]

Tidy, stick some photos up!

I've owned a few downhill bikes, but I prefer to pedal up wherever possible these days! My mega will get taken down some downhill trails when I get the opportunity, not had it long yet, but I've been riding trail bikes for everything for a little while now (took my reign x to the alps last year). Might buy a proper downhill bike again when I've got a job (still a student)

Edited 22 June, 2014 by samj2013

[samj2013]

This was my last downhill bike. Got rid of it just over a year ago now

[crpvrs]

That doesnt happen to be sam hills ex bike does it? Looks very very similar to my friends which was sams bike

[samj2013]

Not as far as I know! Got it in battleship grey and stripped it myself.

[crpvrs]

That's my two, quite an old photo not much has changed like

[crpvrs]

Not as far as I know! Got it in battleship grey and stripped it myself.

Ahhh,that'll explain his is bare from the factory

[JohnMcL7]

It's amazing how good the cheap Cree lights are, I didn't believe the recommendations as I was getting as I didn't think for a second a cheap £10 light would be better than the decent branded £60 light I had.  However I was completely wrong and after a bit of experimentation I ended up with four Ultrafire WF-502B's with Cree XML-U2's in them, they cost me a tenner each and I thought if they're not reliable they're cheap enough to replace.  I liked the torch style body rather than a separate battery pack as it made them easy to move between bikes and different positions, two on the bar (one for redundancy), one on my helmet and one in my pocket.  Despite cycling in often wet conditions weekly over winter, none of them failed on me and they came in very handy when other people had light problems as in the middle of a pitch black forest mountain biking is when you need to have decent lights.  

 

I'd second the recommendation to get decent batteries and charger though, many offer cheap very high rated batteries (usually badged Trustfire/Ultrafire) which are garbage - aside from being potentially dangerous they vastly overstate the capacity so performance tends to be poor.  I have a few Torchy and NEC batteries with an Xtar and Nightfire charger all of which seems to work fine, batterylife is good and consistent plus the advantage of having a standarised battery (although not common here, the 18650 li-ion battery is a standard) is that you can easily source and carry extra batteries with you.  My first light had a custom batterypack so you were stuffed when it ran out.

 

I do quite a bit of cycling these days purely for enjoyment, I started with a hybrid (Trek Soho dlx) a few years ago for commuting when I thought the Octavia's turbocharger was on the way out (turned out to be a background whine on the stereo which I could hear as it was quiet piano music) and short distances are bad for the DPF.  I wanted something that was durable and would run every day without issue so went with a carbon belt and gearhub based bike:

 

 

After doing a charity event for a second year in a row and wanting to do better the year after, I bought an ex-hire hardtail (Trek 4900 Disc) as a local cafe/bike workshop were starting night rides over the winter:

 

 

Although I found it hard going physically, technically and coping with the darkness I ended up enjoying it so over the summer when the mountain biking quietened down a bit I decided to add a road bike (Trek 1.5) as I was surprised how much quicker the road bike was than my hybrid.  It's not a particularly fancy one (aluminum frame, carbon fork, compact chainset, Tiagra groupset) but seems plenty quick and I'll admit I'm the limit:

 

 

After a lot of riding on the mountain bike and having a much better of mountain biking, I opted for a full suspension 120mm 29er (Trek Fuel Ex8) which is my favourite bike.  I'd been concerned about full suspension being too slow on hill climbing as my hard tail always seemed so much easier going but I went on a demo day and couldn't believe how much of a difference the full suspension made so decided to go with a short travel bike.  I've been delighted with it as it's still a good hill climber but while it's good downhill as expected, I find the real advantage is that over rough stuff you can really put the power down as the bike remains quite stable rather than the back being thrown about.  As well as being out every week on rides, I've done endurance and cyclocross racing with it and it's handled them well.

 

 

I have been tempted by a CX bike as I hate the brakes on the road bike (there weren't any decent disc options at the time) but I don't use the road bike enough to justify it and I wouldn't take it off road, although the road bike I have is comparatively cheap I don't think a better bike would make much difference in practice unlike the mountain bike where there is a big difference.  I do really want a fat bike though and hoping winter this year there's going to be more available as right now the market is still a bit of a mess and needing the big players to do more than dip their toes in.  I kept riding over winter but found it more frustrating the second year going as technically I was riding better and faster than the previous year so the wet slippy terrain was more of a frustration.  It seems ideal terrain for a fat bike (there's quite a few up here) and there's the added bonus of no suspension parts to wreck.

[samj2013]

That's my two, quite an old photo not much has changed like

Nice. That glory is properly tidy looking.

[crpvrs]

Its only been ridden a few times, I love the way it rides its just slightly to short for me, think a new frame will be in order eventually just need to get out and ride it more

[blueR36]

Opted for lezyne led lights at 350 lumens which should be ample. Usb recharge is quite nifty and ideal for work

This is an amazing rear light weighs 15 g shines 500 m http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/knog-blinder-1-led-rear-light/rp-prod89708

[gadgetman]

Funny this should pop up.

Can any of you advise on adjusting the front derailer? Mine is skipping when changing from the small to middle gear, and again on the way down from the biggest gear.

It's a shimano grip shift if that makes any difference. Been many years since I've messed with gears.

[samj2013]

I'd have said that it's something to do with the cable tension, but the fact that it's doing it on the upshift and downshift is strange... Can you move the mech down a little on the seat tube (as in undo the clamp and move the whole thing down a little)? It might just be that it's not close enough and therefore not shifting into that gear properly. 
That or your cables might just be knackered and need replacing.

[Madrunner]

Always had a MTB but a few years ago decided to up the cycling to help with my running.

Upgraded my fixed tail to a trek 6500. Great piece of kit, been through the mill.

Then started doing triathlons and the MTB was really hard work so bought a specialised allez sport 18. Perfect for what I need.