The "Show off your bike" thread!
Discussion
My eBay bargain Giant Contend 2 - £225 5 miles old. It’s my first proper road bike, I had a Carrera Vanquish before that didn’t get any use and was sold to a mate. Then a circa year 2000 yellow and blue Trek that needed literally everything replacing, so was sold.
I have used it loads. Taken the mudguards and rack off, changed bottle cage, fitted SPD pedals, dropped the stem and flipped it and raised the saddle, and fitted 1480g Cosine 32mm wheels - another eBay bargain at £130... feels so much faster now! So it owes me a shade over £350 (but the wheels will probably just go on my next road bike) which I think is great value.
I’d like to upgrade the brake lever shifters to route the gear cables under the bars because I’m a neat freak but might upgrade the groupset, but perhaps I’ll leave it and upgrade the entire bike in a year or two.
I am working on DIY di2, initially rear only, with a servo and Arduino... perhaps if I can finish it, and also do the front end, and make it look factory-ish and weatherproof I can remove the gear cables entirely... then I can finish my strain gauge based Arduino power meter
I have used it loads. Taken the mudguards and rack off, changed bottle cage, fitted SPD pedals, dropped the stem and flipped it and raised the saddle, and fitted 1480g Cosine 32mm wheels - another eBay bargain at £130... feels so much faster now! So it owes me a shade over £350 (but the wheels will probably just go on my next road bike) which I think is great value.
I’d like to upgrade the brake lever shifters to route the gear cables under the bars because I’m a neat freak but might upgrade the groupset, but perhaps I’ll leave it and upgrade the entire bike in a year or two.
I am working on DIY di2, initially rear only, with a servo and Arduino... perhaps if I can finish it, and also do the front end, and make it look factory-ish and weatherproof I can remove the gear cables entirely... then I can finish my strain gauge based Arduino power meter
Edited by 13aines on Wednesday 28th February 21:16
The new bike arrived yesterday, a Canyon Inflite AL 9.0. cyclocross bike. It's not been bought for racing but having come from mountain bikes I like a bit of the rough stuff 
The Canyon is to replace a Charge Plug I bought to see if I enjoyed drop handlebars on and off road, I've ended up riding it more than my mountain bike so decided to upgrade.
The Canyon is to replace a Charge Plug I bought to see if I enjoyed drop handlebars on and off road, I've ended up riding it more than my mountain bike so decided to upgrade.
Johnnybee said:
The new bike arrived yesterday, a Canyon Inflite AL 9.0. cyclocross bike. It's not been bought for racing but having come from mountain bikes I like a bit of the rough stuff
The Canyon is to replace a Charge Plug I bought to see if I enjoyed drop handlebars on and off road, I've ended up riding it more than my mountain bike so decided to upgrade.
Very nice. I've been looking at these as a potential for my next CX race bike (probably 1x11 version). Have you ridden it yet, any initial thoughts?The Canyon is to replace a Charge Plug I bought to see if I enjoyed drop handlebars on and off road, I've ended up riding it more than my mountain bike so decided to upgrade.
I've seen that Canyon are doing a test day at Brooklands, I might take myself along for a test ride.
SniktySnikty said:
Hey there, this is my small bike collection. First up is a Cotic RocketMax. I'm rather fond of it, perfect do everything mtb. Reynolds 853 steel front triangle, alu rear. These photos were taken at Afan and Triscombe.
I've got a Cotic Roadrat as well which is my daily, its setup single speed and its in the weird old "builders tea" colour. The frame was very cheap on eBay as a result Lol. Awesome about town, not so expensive I'm afraid to leave it locked anywhere but very smooth and stops fast. The brakes are dramatic overkill for 25mm tires but I often put gravel tires on it in the summer. Its currently running 39-14 ratio, so slightly longer than 44-16.
I saw this Canonndale whilst in sixth form and fell in love with it. About 15 years later I decided to track one down, it took a year of saved searches on eBay to find a good condition frame set. Built it up 1x11 as it just seems to make sense to me. I'm no hardcore roadie (and a single speed rider at that) so am never going to be too concerned about the perfect cadence. I'm sure the flats will cause raised eyebrows but whats done is done
I've heard very good things about the Rocket. Would I like it though? As I heard good things about the Cotic Soul and thought it was awkward to ride. I've got a Cotic Roadrat as well which is my daily, its setup single speed and its in the weird old "builders tea" colour. The frame was very cheap on eBay as a result Lol. Awesome about town, not so expensive I'm afraid to leave it locked anywhere but very smooth and stops fast. The brakes are dramatic overkill for 25mm tires but I often put gravel tires on it in the summer. Its currently running 39-14 ratio, so slightly longer than 44-16.
I saw this Canonndale whilst in sixth form and fell in love with it. About 15 years later I decided to track one down, it took a year of saved searches on eBay to find a good condition frame set. Built it up 1x11 as it just seems to make sense to me. I'm no hardcore roadie (and a single speed rider at that) so am never going to be too concerned about the perfect cadence. I'm sure the flats will cause raised eyebrows but whats done is done
It’s hard to say really. Which Soul did you ride? The Soul was a big deal when it came out but got old. Geometry moved on. I sold my mk2 after riding longer slacker bikes I couldn’t go back to it. The latest (mk5 I think) is supposed to be awesome but I’ve not ridden one.
The rocket has just been updated with what Cotic calls longshot geometry, as has the flare and the flare max. The rocket max that I ride was already longer and slacker than the rest of the range so hasn’t been updated yet but may get tweeked in the near future.
Cotic sent one of their demo vans out to Triscombe and let me ride a couple of bikes. I brought my own pedals and saddles and set the bike how I wanted it. Having owned one for five months I feel my own bike is quite a lot nicer than the silver build I rode on the demo day. I’d highly recommend a demo day somewhere local to you.
As to wether you would like it, who can say. If you want an aggro trail / enduro bike that’s smooth as butter and arnt a gram counting weight weenie, then I’d say book a test ride.
The rocket has just been updated with what Cotic calls longshot geometry, as has the flare and the flare max. The rocket max that I ride was already longer and slacker than the rest of the range so hasn’t been updated yet but may get tweeked in the near future.
Cotic sent one of their demo vans out to Triscombe and let me ride a couple of bikes. I brought my own pedals and saddles and set the bike how I wanted it. Having owned one for five months I feel my own bike is quite a lot nicer than the silver build I rode on the demo day. I’d highly recommend a demo day somewhere local to you.
As to wether you would like it, who can say. If you want an aggro trail / enduro bike that’s smooth as butter and arnt a gram counting weight weenie, then I’d say book a test ride.
So after many hours research into DIY painting of bikes I had decided that I was going to go down the Spray.Bike route and paint my bike myself. Once I'd totted up getting a few cans of paint and paid the postage the cost of the job actually didn't seem too 'cheap' and the risk of me messing up seemed quite high... I sent off for a few quotes for powder coating and in the end settled on RAL 5021 and a sandblast and powder coat at a local company for less than just the paint was going to cost me!
Here she is. I think it looks great and am very happy with the finish! Bike looks good as new, I just now need to ride better to do it justice :-D
Here she is. I think it looks great and am very happy with the finish! Bike looks good as new, I just now need to ride better to do it justice :-D
these are not quite as special as some on here but hey ho!!
an ancient Merida Road 880 2008 'ish very little use, been dug out in an attempt to get fitter
work accident in Nov, broken wrist, still off work.....usual GP stuff, overweight, high BP etc
as i live near the Chase seems daft not to invest in another bike
No downhill or hero rides, just casual easy stuff, so if you see a 50+ fat bloke around the Tower area it's probably me!!
said 2nd bike....
picked up today off eBay, Felt nine 70 2014? £200, only bidder, not too sure if that's good or bad!
it's as clean as it looks in pic apart from the tyres, i'm pleased anyway
the last MTB i rode was an old GT Outback? which is in France for fetching bread along with an old Carrera with a few little upgrades i ride as riding in France is so much nicer than here
an ancient Merida Road 880 2008 'ish very little use, been dug out in an attempt to get fitter
work accident in Nov, broken wrist, still off work.....usual GP stuff, overweight, high BP etc
as i live near the Chase seems daft not to invest in another bike
No downhill or hero rides, just casual easy stuff, so if you see a 50+ fat bloke around the Tower area it's probably me!!
said 2nd bike....
picked up today off eBay, Felt nine 70 2014? £200, only bidder, not too sure if that's good or bad!
it's as clean as it looks in pic apart from the tyres, i'm pleased anyway
the last MTB i rode was an old GT Outback? which is in France for fetching bread along with an old Carrera with a few little upgrades i ride as riding in France is so much nicer than here
I got back into riding last year after about 7 years without a bike. I got a hardtail and while it was good, I thought I could do a bit better with full suspension. I don't have a big budget (£1000 to 1500) and was looking at second hand or lower end new ones. I looked at a few second hand ones, but nothing seemed worth the money they wanted. I missed out on a couple of deals on line as they sold out before I ordered, but one bike I'd seen all the way along was the Calibre Bossnut from Go Outdoors, which won an award for the best bike for under a grand. I think I was being a bit of a tart and wanted a name I knew, like Marin, GT, Lapierre, Trek, Giant etc, but the spec of the Bossnut was good (Rock Shox Sector 130mm, Rock shox Monarch R, Deore 2x10, Ritchey and WTB bits) and then they had an offer, so I got that, with a RSP dropper post for less than a grand.
Only had the chance for about 3 miles on it and it's better than I thought it would be so far. I took on a few bits that I normally avoid and it coped with no issues at all. Now I need a chance to give it a good thrashing.
Only had the chance for about 3 miles on it and it's better than I thought it would be so far. I took on a few bits that I normally avoid and it coped with no issues at all. Now I need a chance to give it a good thrashing.
Kernowlokal said:
I got back into riding last year after about 7 years without a bike. I got a hardtail and while it was good, I thought I could do a bit better with full suspension. I don't have a big budget (£1000 to 1500) and was looking at second hand or lower end new ones. I looked at a few second hand ones, but nothing seemed worth the money they wanted. I missed out on a couple of deals on line as they sold out before I ordered, but one bike I'd seen all the way along was the Calibre Bossnut from Go Outdoors, which won an award for the best bike for under a grand. I think I was being a bit of a tart and wanted a name I knew, like Marin, GT, Lapierre, Trek, Giant etc, but the spec of the Bossnut was good (Rock Shox Sector 130mm, Rock shox Monarch R, Deore 2x10, Ritchey and WTB bits) and then they had an offer, so I got that, with a RSP dropper post for less than a grand.
Only had the chance for about 3 miles on it and it's better than I thought it would be so far. I took on a few bits that I normally avoid and it coped with no issues at all. Now I need a chance to give it a good thrashing.
Fantastic bikes and with a dropper it's plenty of bike for the vast majority of the UK. Enjoy!Only had the chance for about 3 miles on it and it's better than I thought it would be so far. I took on a few bits that I normally avoid and it coped with no issues at all. Now I need a chance to give it a good thrashing.
Got my latest toy set-up nicely now, crazy fast and stable and a lot easier on the climbs than my old tank of an On One Codeine.
I picked this up after work this morning, it's a Scott Scale 760. I'm 29 and it's the first bike that I have owned since I was 15 years old or so.
I have been looking at ways to diversify my exercise routine and thought that a mountain bike would be a good place to start, it's not the most fancy thing in the world but I didn't want to spend a fortune on my first bike, knowing me I'd spend three grand on a sexy carbon fibre machine and within six months I'd be bored of it; that's an expensive clothes horse
I rode it in to work as I need to do a few bits to it (change the saddle and pedals), hopefully my manager doesn't post on here or I'll be in the mire!
I have since been riding around the workshop, getting used to stopping/starting and unclipping from the new pedals
I have been looking at ways to diversify my exercise routine and thought that a mountain bike would be a good place to start, it's not the most fancy thing in the world but I didn't want to spend a fortune on my first bike, knowing me I'd spend three grand on a sexy carbon fibre machine and within six months I'd be bored of it; that's an expensive clothes horse
I rode it in to work as I need to do a few bits to it (change the saddle and pedals), hopefully my manager doesn't post on here or I'll be in the mire!
I have since been riding around the workshop, getting used to stopping/starting and unclipping from the new pedals
Edited by FN2TypeR on Thursday 22 March 00:53
Nice! I bought a cheap hardtail a few years ago, as my first bike after 15 years off (after discovering girls, booze and cars ), and I'm glad I did that, rather than buying a pricier bike to start with. As with a few years experiece I had a much better idea of what bike I needed. Now that I have the expensive shiny bike, I still occasionally ride the cheap hardtail, as I don't need to worry about leaving it locked up in town etc.
), and I'm glad I did that, rather than buying a pricier bike to start with. As with a few years experiece I had a much better idea of what bike I needed. Now that I have the expensive shiny bike, I still occasionally ride the cheap hardtail, as I don't need to worry about leaving it locked up in town etc.
Craikeybaby said:
Nice! I bought a cheap hardtail a few years ago, as my first bike after 15 years off (after discovering girls, booze and cars ), and I'm glad I did that, rather than buying a pricier bike to start with. As with a few years experiece I had a much better idea of what bike I needed. Now that I have the expensive shiny bike, I still occasionally ride the cheap hardtail, as I don't need to worry about leaving it locked up in town etc.
What a coincidence, my favourite! ), and I'm glad I did that, rather than buying a pricier bike to start with. As with a few years experiece I had a much better idea of what bike I needed. Now that I have the expensive shiny bike, I still occasionally ride the cheap hardtail, as I don't need to worry about leaving it locked up in town etc.Precisely my thinking; call it a gate way bike.
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