just got back in the saddle
Discussion
Hi all, havent frequented this side of PH before.
I used to be an avid mountain biker about 10 years ago- (i'm sure I still have a massive stack of mountain biking uk magazines somewhere in my parents loft)
Then life and work happened, and my bike got pushed to the back of the garage, hidden by various car parts for the cars i've owned over the years.
Afer a recent move, i thought- must get back in the saddle one of these days. I work freelance, and one of my major clients is winding down, leaving me with some free time (and not much money!)- so i viewed this as the perfect time to get back into biking again.
Dusted off my bike- an old GT arrowhead- nothing special, but i used to ride thousands of miles onthe thing. Anything that broke, i upgraded, and it ended up a bit of a frankenstein: rock shox judy forks, planet x stem, some riser bars, DX v brakes, dmc pedals. Still, i like the geometry, suits my body and the way i ride, and is freakishly lightweight. Still works perfectly when i rolled it out the garage- i didnt even need to tweak the gears or brake cables!
The shocks have probably seen better days, but they're functional. The grips on the handles bars had gone really weird and 'gummy' - probably were exposed to sunshine from a window in garage. Cut those off, popped on some new grips, and i was ready to go.
Had sold my bike rack to an old friend years ago, but my bike just fits in the back of my runabout- excellent.
Drove to Black park, next to pinewood. - lovely place, but turned out to be exceptionally dull to ride in- all straight and flat- thats no fun.
Is it me, or to car wheels look much better caked in brake and general trail dust?:
Was good to get out and riding again!
- Can anyone recommend any good forests for mtbing in the south east?
Also- was considering 'pimping' my bike a bit more. I know, id probably be better off just buying a nice new bike, but got a lot of memories from rides on my old GT. Its really light, and frame is in good nick. Everyone seems to be running discs these days- can these be fitted to older bikes, or do you need frames with mounts on them? I'll probably upgrade my drivetrain a bit- problem i used to have and still have, its geared to low for me- on a long flat straight, i run out of gears.
I'm sure this comes up too often here as well, but what are the decent bike racks to look out for, for hatchbacks? My old hallfords one was terribley fiddley. Was also tricky getting my and partners bike on- hers is a weird frame design, and mine with the triple triangle frame also isn't easy to fit to a rack. Any got any recommendations?
suns shining, and im not working today- why am i in here typing away? time for an afternoons jaunt on the bike methinks!
I used to be an avid mountain biker about 10 years ago- (i'm sure I still have a massive stack of mountain biking uk magazines somewhere in my parents loft)
Then life and work happened, and my bike got pushed to the back of the garage, hidden by various car parts for the cars i've owned over the years.
Afer a recent move, i thought- must get back in the saddle one of these days. I work freelance, and one of my major clients is winding down, leaving me with some free time (and not much money!)- so i viewed this as the perfect time to get back into biking again.
Dusted off my bike- an old GT arrowhead- nothing special, but i used to ride thousands of miles onthe thing. Anything that broke, i upgraded, and it ended up a bit of a frankenstein: rock shox judy forks, planet x stem, some riser bars, DX v brakes, dmc pedals. Still, i like the geometry, suits my body and the way i ride, and is freakishly lightweight. Still works perfectly when i rolled it out the garage- i didnt even need to tweak the gears or brake cables!
The shocks have probably seen better days, but they're functional. The grips on the handles bars had gone really weird and 'gummy' - probably were exposed to sunshine from a window in garage. Cut those off, popped on some new grips, and i was ready to go.
Had sold my bike rack to an old friend years ago, but my bike just fits in the back of my runabout- excellent.
Drove to Black park, next to pinewood. - lovely place, but turned out to be exceptionally dull to ride in- all straight and flat- thats no fun.
Is it me, or to car wheels look much better caked in brake and general trail dust?:
Was good to get out and riding again!
- Can anyone recommend any good forests for mtbing in the south east?
Also- was considering 'pimping' my bike a bit more. I know, id probably be better off just buying a nice new bike, but got a lot of memories from rides on my old GT. Its really light, and frame is in good nick. Everyone seems to be running discs these days- can these be fitted to older bikes, or do you need frames with mounts on them? I'll probably upgrade my drivetrain a bit- problem i used to have and still have, its geared to low for me- on a long flat straight, i run out of gears.
I'm sure this comes up too often here as well, but what are the decent bike racks to look out for, for hatchbacks? My old hallfords one was terribley fiddley. Was also tricky getting my and partners bike on- hers is a weird frame design, and mine with the triple triangle frame also isn't easy to fit to a rack. Any got any recommendations?
suns shining, and im not working today- why am i in here typing away? time for an afternoons jaunt on the bike methinks!
john_p said:
What sort of riding do you want to do? I guess more downhill style, if Black Park was boring? (very flat and wide paths).
Wendover Woods / Aston Hill are not too far away and supposed to be fun.
Real mixture, to be honest- when i used to ride, me and my friends would cycle for miles on the roads to get to some good woods, plough around the woods, find a good route with a few little jumps here and there, and spend hours riding down, and cycling back up.Wendover Woods / Aston Hill are not too far away and supposed to be fun.
Was so fearless back then- how things have changed, when i went out the other day, a 5 inch high log nearly ran me a cropper! Hadnt bunny hopped in years, and i hesitated- oops. thankfully no damage to the man spuds.
I could never be a true downhiller- pushing your bike back to the top is just cheating!
will have a quick google for wendover and aston, thanks for the tip
what sort of riding do you do?
Edited by Fordo on Thursday 8th July 14:47
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