Discussion
All the little niggles have added up and the bike has needed some TLC.
New tyres (Nobby Nics)
New bearings - Hope pro2 rear hub, pivot and shock
New chain (£45 !!!!)
New granny ring (middle and daddy were replaced last year)
New front mech (Only XT!)
New cassette
New rear mech cotter wheels
New brake pads
Lets hope Mrs Gooby doesnt see the bill for £450
The big problem is the arms on the crank are eccentric so I will need a new crank soon and the shifter for the front mech is missing 1 shift in 10, both will need replacing soon. and the forks will need a service...
my first second and third bike combined didnt cost this much...
Sheesh - I am off for a ride tonight, I am going to ride slowly and avoid anything that can wear out my bike (dirt, sand, water, mud, rocks, .... pedaling)
New tyres (Nobby Nics)
New bearings - Hope pro2 rear hub, pivot and shock
New chain (£45 !!!!)
New granny ring (middle and daddy were replaced last year)
New front mech (Only XT!)
New cassette
New rear mech cotter wheels
New brake pads
Lets hope Mrs Gooby doesnt see the bill for £450
The big problem is the arms on the crank are eccentric so I will need a new crank soon and the shifter for the front mech is missing 1 shift in 10, both will need replacing soon. and the forks will need a service...
my first second and third bike combined didnt cost this much...
Sheesh - I am off for a ride tonight, I am going to ride slowly and avoid anything that can wear out my bike (dirt, sand, water, mud, rocks, .... pedaling)
I had ordered a set of Mountain King 2's but they are slow arriving so I went for the nobby nics UST. FAR more expensive! I mean really expensive, I have had car tyres that were cheaper! The racers in the club use them and they come highly recomended. First impressions - VERY light, lovely tread pattern but not enough tread around the sides and the sides look a little "thin".
I am not especially hard on my tyres and they will wear out before I puncture or tear them. I have found that in the ruts they tend not to grip across the sidewalls and skip back into the rut unless you really work the bike out of the gully.
I am not sure if that is the tyre or (more probably) the rider being lazy and spoilt by the mountain kings. It is also probably due to being too much pressure in the new Nic's. I have yet to experiment and find the sweet inflation point.
They roll really well - surprising with the really soft compound and grip well too. You can REALLY feel the weight difference, they accelerate really well. The old Mountain Kings were no heavyweight tyre but these are quite incredible.
This weekend I will find out if they clear the mud and resist the punctures. They are only 2.1 wide and the old MK's were 2.2 (the ones before were 2.4!) so I am expecting a mud cut rather than a mud float, that will be interesting. At this time of year after all the snow and frost the ground gets pretty broken and loads of sharp rocks appear. This is probably my main concern, the sidewalls are quite thin. Being tubeless, I have never had any problems with springtime thorn and gorse punctures or pinch flats.
The chain is a SRAM PC-991 crossStep. I use SRAM chains because the powerlink is superb. The pins are double stamped so they are less likely to come apart at the pins (main fail point) I have had more expensive chains (hollow pin, that failed in miles) and I find that the better SRAM chains resist dirt and last well. The thing that pisses me off the most is chain failure. Nothing worse than waiting all week for sunday ride with your buddies and you sit in the mud fixing a chain.
I am rotten for cleaning chains. I hate it. After I push my luck and stay out as long as possible eating into Family time, do I want to clean a bike or go swimming with my boy?
I have basically figured that within 2 mins of getting on the bike the chain is dirty enough to cause serious wear. All the chain cleaning in the world will only extend the life of the chain for 1 perhaps 2 rides.
My local rides are punishing to bikes. We have virtually every terrain possible from rock gardens to woodland but mostly sand. Sand, sand, wet sand, sand and mud, dry sand, sand and clay, sand and grit. It just eats bikes.
I am not especially hard on my tyres and they will wear out before I puncture or tear them. I have found that in the ruts they tend not to grip across the sidewalls and skip back into the rut unless you really work the bike out of the gully.
I am not sure if that is the tyre or (more probably) the rider being lazy and spoilt by the mountain kings. It is also probably due to being too much pressure in the new Nic's. I have yet to experiment and find the sweet inflation point.
They roll really well - surprising with the really soft compound and grip well too. You can REALLY feel the weight difference, they accelerate really well. The old Mountain Kings were no heavyweight tyre but these are quite incredible.
This weekend I will find out if they clear the mud and resist the punctures. They are only 2.1 wide and the old MK's were 2.2 (the ones before were 2.4!) so I am expecting a mud cut rather than a mud float, that will be interesting. At this time of year after all the snow and frost the ground gets pretty broken and loads of sharp rocks appear. This is probably my main concern, the sidewalls are quite thin. Being tubeless, I have never had any problems with springtime thorn and gorse punctures or pinch flats.
The chain is a SRAM PC-991 crossStep. I use SRAM chains because the powerlink is superb. The pins are double stamped so they are less likely to come apart at the pins (main fail point) I have had more expensive chains (hollow pin, that failed in miles) and I find that the better SRAM chains resist dirt and last well. The thing that pisses me off the most is chain failure. Nothing worse than waiting all week for sunday ride with your buddies and you sit in the mud fixing a chain.
I am rotten for cleaning chains. I hate it. After I push my luck and stay out as long as possible eating into Family time, do I want to clean a bike or go swimming with my boy?
I have basically figured that within 2 mins of getting on the bike the chain is dirty enough to cause serious wear. All the chain cleaning in the world will only extend the life of the chain for 1 perhaps 2 rides.
My local rides are punishing to bikes. We have virtually every terrain possible from rock gardens to woodland but mostly sand. Sand, sand, wet sand, sand and mud, dry sand, sand and clay, sand and grit. It just eats bikes.
BOR said:
Ouch ! Ijust received 2 PC991 Cross step chains at half that price. For future reference, try http://www.bike-components.de/index.php?cat=c327_9... .Postage to UK might be the killer though.
I'm very interested to hear how you find the Nobby Nics. I've stayed with Mountain Kings for now, but the Schwalbes are the obvious alternative. I've also got a set of Fat Alberts, which have an additional sidewall protection option, but this adds too much weight.
Never thought of importing from Germany I'm very interested to hear how you find the Nobby Nics. I've stayed with Mountain Kings for now, but the Schwalbes are the obvious alternative. I've also got a set of Fat Alberts, which have an additional sidewall protection option, but this adds too much weight.
The last time I purchased a crosstep is was a fraction of the price (VAT, exchange rates blah blah)
Have you seen the Mountain King 2's - They look GREAT. TBH I had always liked the look of the Nic's but cost and availability were always in favour of the MK's. I had my MK2's on order for about 6 weeks and I could not wait any further. Off the shelf was Bontrager tyres and the only one I have seen do well is the MudX and I didnt want a single season tyre. I have seen some bad situations that were down to bonty tyres so I dont fancy them or Maxxis - no thanks. Last 2 Nic's on the shelf please at £50 an end....
I am pretty loyal to my LBS and I get all I can from them. They always fit for free, the mechanic is ex Orange and Cannondale race teams. He knows his spanners! They always back me up if there is a problem with the kit and 9/10 will just exchange. The shop is small and they have a very active club, both road and MTB, even sponsor a team - I have made some great friends! They also have choccy digestives, tea and easy parking!
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff