looking for some advice as I'm after a hardtail  sub £1000

 

specs I know I want

1 x 10-12 gears

27.5 or 29er (leaning to 29)

hydraulic discs 180/160

air forks ( ive been told with my weight 15-17st, air would suit me best)

 

what I'm a little unsure about

dropper post - I assume this can be added later?

full suspension? - I've been told not really needed for what I do (Sherwood pines, through some wood lands, small jumps / drops  and some bike path stuff with the Mrs)  and I would be better of getting a better spec'd hard tail.

tubeless wheels ?

 

 

bikes I've looked at / considered buying

voodoo - bazingo/bokor ( minustor/canzo -full sus)

cannondale trail 2/3  / Cujo 2/3

trek roscoe 7

I’ve got a giant fathom 2 which falls into this category. You should consider the vitus Sentier VRX

Dropped post is good, I’d say a must for what I do, also tubeless is great as you can run less pressure and get better grip

8 hours ago, VRS Mike said:

I’ve got a giant fathom 2 which falls into this category. You should consider the vitus Sentier VRX

Vrx is out of my budget, can't find one for less than 1500 but I agree it's a great bike I've very much considered the vr but that's top budget so no room for extras like guards dropper post etc.

With halfords doing 15% off makes the bokor around 700 so I'm going to go have a play with one  this weekend 

In fairness it looks a good bike and should be more than capable, enjoy your play lol

Have you looked at brands like planet-x?  Some amazing deals to be had and not cheap rubbish like most think they are.  Also the likes of canyon and YT are good too.  this is all dependant on how you are funding it and if you don't mind getting one without seeing it in the flesh first.  Wouldn't trust Halfords to build a bike safely so you don't really gain anything by going there IMO.

No I haven't, but I will thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.

Ive decided to do a lot of reading before buying  now 

I've been looking at the sentier vrs from chain reaction  and Lappiere grizzly 

 

 

Ended up buying a LaPierre edge 827+.

 

Just need to go get some pedals and take it out now. 

Looks good. Be interested in how the plus size tyres go.

On ‎01‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 21:24, MarkyG82 said:

Looks good. Be interested in how the plus size tyres go.

so far so good, it's very smooth when riding quick irons out a lot of the bumps with the large volume although I want to change the front tyre as I've lost it a couple of times in muddy conditions.

 

next changes for it - go tubeless first to see if a lower pressure will help with traction at the front end  failing that ill move to a nobby nic or margic mary (MM was on my last bike and has been excellent) 

21 hours ago, Gissin said:

so far so good, it's very smooth when riding quick irons out a lot of the bumps with the large volume although I want to change the front tyre as I've lost it a couple of times in muddy conditions.

 

next changes for it - go tubeless first to see if a lower pressure will help with traction at the front end  failing that ill move to a nobby nic or margic mary (MM was on my last bike and has been excellent) 

 

Tubeless will make a big difference in grip, definitely try that first

On ‎10‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 10:39, VRS Mike said:

 

Tubeless will make a big difference in grip, definitely try that first

 dropped the front pressure down to 20psi (tubed) rear seems to be nice at 30psi  was definitely better at Sherwood pines at the weekend - back again this weekend so try a slightly faster run this time. it's better but still not as confidence inspiring as MM were might end up swapping the front to a 2.6MM.

 

Ill be 100% going tubeless for the next run - any suggestions im running WTB I40 rims

 

ive heard sod rim tape and go for gorilla as this holds better (being tubeless ready- does this just mean the tyres or the rims are ready to go as well?)  I was looking at the Stans no tubes kit

Tubeless ready just means the shape of the rim is good for it. Still need tape and yes gorilla tape is good. I have Stan's tape in one and worked ok. Didn't in the other so went back to tube for a bit.

A tubeless inflator is a good idea too. Don't use cO2 jobbies. Unless the tyres are good to go with a track pump.

mine have both come already set up tubeless. 20psi is very low for a tubed tyre and you risk getting a pinch flat. My EX8 runs bontrager XR4's which are immense, never had problems even when others are complaining about a lack of grip.

2 hours ago, VRS Mike said:

mine have both come already set up tubeless. 20psi is very low for a tubed tyre and you risk getting a pinch flat. My EX8 runs bontrager XR4's which are immense, never had problems even when others are complaining about a lack of grip.

Agree it's low however with the volume of air in the 2.8 plus size it seems to handle it quite well,  wouldn't go that low on my old 2.2 tubed 

Polygon or trek ex8 ? Either way lovely bit of kit 

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by Gissin

14 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

Tubeless ready just means the shape of the rim is good for it. Still need tape and yes gorilla tape is good. I have Stan's tape in one and worked ok. Didn't in the other so went back to tube for a bit.

A tubeless inflator is a good idea too. Don't use cO2 jobbies. Unless the tyres are good to go with a track pump.

Nice one.

Does the tape need to just go over spoke holes or the entire width of the rim? Finding conflicting info.

I've got a decent sized track pump but no inflators.. well one for my car tyres ? 

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by Gissin

Rim tape: Over the holes is minimum to seal the air in.  More (over holes or width) depends on how good the tyre fit and the shape of the rim.  Sometimes you have to pack the centre of the rim to create a seal on the bead.  This is more common than needing to go more tape to the edge but both are sometimes needed.  I find 2 layers is usually good for extra sealicity.

 

Pump: Tubeless inflators are a tank of air that you charge and then they dump a load of air in to force the bead onto the rim.  C02 jobbies are not good as they tend to freeze the sealant and are single use.  Car tyre inflators are far too slow and most track pumps are also too slow/low volume.

46 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Rim tape: Over the holes is minimum to seal the air in.  More (over holes or width) depends on how good the tyre fit and the shape of the rim.  Sometimes you have to pack the centre of the rim to create a seal on the bead.  This is more common than needing to go more tape to the edge but both are sometimes needed.  I find 2 layers is usually good for extra sealicity.

 

Pump: Tubeless inflators are a tank of air that you charge and then they dump a load of air in to force the bead onto the rim.  C02 jobbies are not good as they tend to freeze the sealant and are single use.  Car tyre inflators are far too slow and most track pumps are also too slow/low volume.

Fair enough 

So would something like https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/inner-tubes/stans-standard-notubes-tubeless-kit be a good idea ?

Or is it best to just get some gorilla tape tubeless valves and sealant separately? 

What's the difference with valve length (assuming that's what it is) as some places list kits with 36mm-75mm 

The issue with moulded rim tape is the compatibility with rims.  Get the right one and it works very well with no sticky tape required.  Anything outside that and tape/valve separates is better.  Plus it makes it easier to get the fit right with tape on its own.

Valve length is just for shallow or deep section rims.  If in doubt, go long.

23 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

The issue with moulded rim tape is the compatibility with rims.  Get the right one and it works very well with no sticky tape required.  Anything outside that and tape/valve separates is better.  Plus it makes it easier to get the fit right with tape on its own.

Valve length is just for shallow or deep section rims.  If in doubt, go long.

46mm valves ordered - they're the size that's on it now

big bottle of stans

as for tape I've read many  different opinions  gorilla tape is the go to but some say it absorbs the sealant over time and the clear repair tape is a better option ?

 

also what width - again opinions vary from covering just enough to get the spokes or wide across to slightly up the side walls

ie for me being internal size of 40mm I have suggestions from 25mm - 45m tape

I've never had an issue with gorilla tape.   Plus its cheap so if after 2 years it needs redoing......

I'd say don't go wider than the rim.  You can always overlap 2 layers offset to get the width should you need it, but always put 1 down the middle to cover the holes in one strip.  It all depends on your rims.  As a starter if your rims are 40mm internal I'd go for 30mm tape and chuck another 2 layers on to get the width if needed.

Update- brought some tesa 4289 tape as its essentially stans but at £8 per 66m instead of 15 at 10m 

36mm  is what I went with but I've also got some 45mm gorilla tape incase it went wrong.

Anyway tesa went on fine with one wrap and seems to be holding just fine had an issue with not holding air and going down after 6 hours or so, after the 3rd pump up  this has now held for a few days, first ride out tomorrow pm 

 

thought I'd update on this, still running tubeless and happy with it (I still have a tube strapped to the frame just in case!

 

changed the 2.8 WTB rangers - just couldn't get on with them, they felt slow and always had issues with grip so I swapped to Schwalbe, I've got a rocket ron 2.6 on the back and a hans dampf 2.6 on the front (25psi rear / 20 front) blue stripe, snakeskins and i have to say I'm very happy with them, the bikes faster and gives more confidence in the corners or over roots, rock gardens etc.

 

whilst all the trails are closed im going to build a manual trainer as im rubbish at them!

 

as soon as the trails open again ill be heading to ladybower and Cannock chase as I've heard good things

is it worth swapping to carbon bars ?

 

there's some on sale near me so was considering it - but not entirely sure its worth it

Thought id provide an update to changes I've made which I think have made a difference 

Changed my grips to DMR death grips as my old ones were pretty shot, I have to say im impressed, the comfort and grip from them are great, I've not ridden for longer than 2 hours so I can't say how they fair on longer rides.

put some Zip ties around brake lines and shifters to stop them moving about, this has tidied up the bike and reduced noise on the trail 

stuck on a Topeak ninja cage  this comes with a comprehensive, solid multi tool and takes a 750ml bottle this combined with a tube strapped to the bike and CO2 cartridge hidden under the seat allows for shorter rides to be pack free. 

Humvee 2 liner shorts these are simply awesome and super comfy sat in the pub after and drove home in them too! 

 

few new bits on order for the bike 

Nukeproof 780mm Carbon bars (35mm) + Carbon assembly paste 

Topeak D2 digital pressure gauge 

Spank 45mm stem

 

will update on the new parts once fitted and been out for a couple rides 

 

 

Edited 9 November, 20205 yr by Gissin