The "Show off your bike" thread!

[aka_kerrly]

For the last few weeks I've been cycling an awful lot more on the roads and doing a commute for work -circa 17miles door to door ( I appreciate it's hardly a long trip compared to what some of you guys are doing!)

Week one, I rode my Kona full suspension bike with 2.3 Maxis super tacky tires and 9 gears, which albeit a substantial work out, not that enjoyable and wearing the tyres at an alarming rate. Weeks two and three I decided to get my retro GT hardtail out which has 2.1 tyres and 21 gears which made the trip a fair bit easier and shaved around 5-10min.

Today I picked up this from a good friend of mine who has a few road bikes and made me an offer I couldn't resist.
Whilst not of the calibre of the majority of bikes on here the Boardman CX Team certainly feels like a dam nice bit of kit and a great introduction to road orientated bikes. I've been out on a 20mile ride and I'm thoroughly impressed, it seems to glide along, the riding position needs a little tweaking. Enough waffle, pics.





The only thing that I find a little unnatural is the SRAM shifters, going down gears is fine but going back up seams somewhat more awkward than it should be... any tips?

[Banana Boy]

aka_kerrly said:

For the last few weeks I've been cycling an awful lot more on the roads and doing a commute for work -circa 17miles door to door ( I appreciate it's hardly a long trip compared to what some of you guys are doing!)

Week one, I rode my Kona full suspension bike with 2.3 Maxis super tacky tires and 9 gears, which albeit a substantial work out, not that enjoyable and wearing the tyres at an alarming rate. Weeks two and three I decided to get my retro GT hardtail out which has 2.1 tyres and 21 gears which made the trip a fair bit easier and shaved around 5-10min.

Today I picked up this from a good friend of mine who has a few road bikes and made me an offer I couldn't resist.
Whilst not of the calibre of the majority of bikes on here the Boardman CX Team certainly feels like a dam nice bit of kit and a great introduction to road orientated bikes. I've been out on a 20mile ride and I'm thoroughly impressed, it seems to glide along, the riding position needs a little tweaking. Enough waffle, pics.






The only thing that I find a little unnatural is the SRAM shifters, going down gears is fine but going back up seams somewhat more awkward than it should be... any tips?

I can't comment on the Sram as I haven't used their kit yet but people I know who have love it and reckon it's quite intuitive once you're used to it.

If you're always riding on the road though a pair of Continental 4seasons c.28mm will be an awesome replacement for when the Rapid Robs have worn out!

Edited by Banana Boy on Sunday 26th November 21:27

[Banana Boy]

Since my Dawes was stolen my riding plans have changed somewhat...

Been enjoying the single speed commute, just changed the handle bars as the old school happy shoppers weren't cutting it position wise. Gone from 18t to 16t on the rear with 46t and 170mm cranks up front for the moment. I tried a 50t but 50x16 was way too manly for me! Although I do have a 48t on 165mm cranks on the way. I prefer short cranks, I'm only 5'6" with a 27.5" inside leg...

Edited by Banana Boy on Sunday 26th November 22:38

[idiotgap]

Banana Boy said:

aka_kerrly said:

The only thing that I find a little unnatural is the SRAM shifters, going down gears is fine but going back up seams somewhat more awkward than it should be... any tips?

I can't comment on the Sram as I haven't used their kit yet but people I know who have love it and reckon it's quite intuitive once you're used to it.

I switched two of my bikes to sram over the last few weeks and I seem to have got used to it ok.

To begin with think of it like this:
- big push for moving to a bigger cog
- little taps to drop down through to the smaller ones
It came naturally quite quickly and I do like it now.

[vwsurfbum]

Finishing off the hippie wagon tonight, just brakes and crank to go.

On-One carbon race 29er, carbon rigid fork and American classic wheels, 6.2kg at the moment, aiming sub 9kg.

Edited by vwsurfbum on Monday 27th November 22:06

[snotrag]

New old bike time! I've wanted one of these frames (A Genesis Fortitude) for ages, I used to have a full rigid Kona years ago that was great fun. Not had a steel bike for a while either. I decided to retire my drop bar CX as I only really enjoy riding round the woods and park on it anyway so a rigid MTB is better suited. Nearly all from ebay, dropped lucky on the wheels on stw forum which were a bargain and perfect being the rarer XC rim and orange hubs! Well impressed with how nice the newest Deore kit is too, can't wait to ride this later in the week. Suspect I'll ride it much more than my 'main' bike next year.

[AmiableChimp]

Originally posted in the wrong thread (bike bits)...

Having been to Glentress for the second time ever 2 weeks ago with my mate (who let me ride his old MTB), I had a great time and was on the lookout for a new MTB as my 21 year old Halfords special weighs as much as a small family car

Being a roadie primarily, I had to run specs past a couple of mates who are into MTB but eventually I settled on the following:

Cube ACID 27.5


Managed to get my local Evans to price match the £125 discount on offer from Tredz so will pick it up in person in around 10-14 days - cannot wait to try it out on the trails!

[aka_kerrly]

idiotgap said:

Banana Boy said:

aka_kerrly said:

The only thing that I find a little unnatural is the SRAM shifters, going down gears is fine but going back up seams somewhat more awkward than it should be... any tips?

I can't comment on the Sram as I haven't used their kit yet but people I know who have love it and reckon it's quite intuitive once you're used to it.

I switched two of my bikes to sram over the last few weeks and I seem to have got used to it ok.

To begin with think of it like this:
- big push for moving to a bigger cog
- little taps to drop down through to the smaller ones
It came naturally quite quickly and I do like it now.

Cheers guys. I've managed to rack up another 50 miles on it now and with your advice in mind, I've cracked it. The gears have had a little tweak as the rear mech wanted to go a bit too far on high gears allowing the chain to sneak over the top ring against the spokes. The gears now feel a lot smoother now and I'm getting far more comfortable with the riding position especially having moved the saddle back a little.

Looks like i'll be commuting to work on the bike for at least a couple more days whilst waiting for BMW to sort their parts supply out so I've set myself a target to crack 100miles this week.

[Usget]

My new winter bike. As purchased:



After depositing it at my LBS with two big boxes of bits




Bought for £200, practically brand new, the guy reckoned he'd only done 30 or so miles on it and given the condition I believe him. Spec was pretty poor (8 speed, cable discs) but at £200 it was cheaper than buying a frame! It's a GT Grade Alloy Claris, 2016 model so it has a carbon fork instead of this year's cromo.

I (or rather my LBS) have fitted a full 105 hydro groupset with a medium cage RD for the later fitment of a granny gear; Mason x Hunt 4 Season wheels, Deore SLX discs, M540 pedals and my trusty Charge Spoon saddle.

In unrelated news, does anyone want a hardly-used 8 speed groupset or some rubbish cable discs?

[idiotgap]

Usget said:

Bought for £200, practically brand new...
I (or rather my LBS) have fitted a full 105 hydro groupset with a medium cage RD for the later fitment of a granny gear; Mason x Hunt 4 Season wheels, Deore SLX discs, M540 pedals and my trusty Charge Spoon saddle.

That sounds like bicycle alchemy right there I reckon! How much all in?
Someone will buy the claris off you I'm sure if you advertise on some combination of:-
o singletrackworld
o lfgss
o bikeradar
o pinkbike
o cyclechat
o gumtree
o ebay

[Usget]

I had in my head that it was just under a grand. But I've just added it up and it was a bit over a grand. A large part of that was the wheel and tyre upgrade though (£369 for the wheels, another £100 fitted for the tyres) and once I've flogged the leftover bits it should bring the cost back down to three figures.

First impressions are that it fits me better than its predecessor, which was a 56 and always felt a bit long. Probably why someone confiscated it from me, they were doing me a favour really...

[idiotgap]

I think that's a brilliant result considering the wheels are decent.

[Steamer]

AmiableChimp said:

Originally posted in the wrong thread (bike bits)...

Having been to Glentress for the second time ever 2 weeks ago with my mate (who let me ride his old MTB), I had a great time and was on the lookout for a new MTB as my 21 year old Halfords special weighs as much as a small family car

Being a roadie primarily, I had to run specs past a couple of mates who are into MTB but eventually I settled on the following:

Cube ACID 27.5


Managed to get my local Evans to price match the £125 discount on offer from Tredz so will pick it up in person in around 10-14 days - cannot wait to try it out on the trails!

Really good choice there.

The new Acids look great too. Always been a Cube fan.

[rastapasta]

[Ares]

aka_kerrly said:

The only thing that I find a little unnatural is the SRAM shifters, going down gears is fine but going back up seams somewhat more awkward than it should be... any tips?

When I hire bikes from Rapha they come with SRAM. Unusual but you do get used to it. Just need a firmer push to go back up.

[AmiableChimp]

Picked my new bike up from Evans today. Bought some Nukeproof Neutrons to replace the pedals that it comes with. Can't wait to hit the trails! Happy man!

Not the best photo.

[AmiableChimp]

First ride out yesterday - a bit chilly but great fun!

[Tri_Doc]

^^ these sort of pics make me want to take up MTB.

[Greendubber]

Tri_Doc said:

^^ these sort of pics make me want to take up MTB.

Do it!

[W00DY]

It's a bit small (although the drop means it's not too far off), but I couldn't resist adding this to the fleet. Suspension is surprisingly useful. Needs some bigger tyres to make the rear a bit more supple though.