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Thread: Today's new bike

  1. #131
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    Very nice bike Luke.
    Do you have Di2?
    Im also looking for disc brakes.
    Love the frame and wheel colours, would change the tape and cages to suit 😉
    Thanks for your support and reply 👍

  2. #132
    Master mr brightside's Avatar
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    No Di2, 7800.
    Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent

  3. #133
    Master wheezing donkey's Avatar
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    Maybe not my material of choice, Luke; but a really bonny bike for all that. Ian.
    I was a bit of an oddball until I was abducted by aliens; but I'm perfectly OK now!

  4. #134
    Master molehill's Avatar
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    Well, I have succumbed to the inevitable and bought a new bike, much against my better judgement. I am sure Wheeze and Toffer will be horrified (whilst muttering: "I told you so, they get you in the end")

    Following my attendance at an actual fell race with Wheeze last month I thought I might do another race, but predictably the battering from that short race had taken it's toll and both my Achilles started niggling by the first training run and that has been it for several weeks now. So I decided on a bike, it will have to be.

    I hate road bikes and got rid of my old one some time back, my very old mountain bike is totally knackered - to the extent that the few gears that work I have to change by manually yanking on the cable - it has no working brakes either, or anything else for that matter.

    So today I picked up a Giant Tough road GX thingy, hopefully to utilise the many miles of hilly forest tracks outside my door and occasional trip into town for shopping. I managed to find last years model (as in 2018 one!) for a good discount. Just had a little ride on it up the forest, blinkin hard work this biking, have to get the legs for it and coming down I'm a bit shaken about. Have a nice 1200ft steady unbroken climb to train on, might be a week or two before I can do that properly but it will come.
    Hope I grow to not hate every minute spent on the bike
    Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.

  5. #135
    Master wheezing donkey's Avatar
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    Well done Matt. Looks a useful all round bike ....... maybe get your LBS to lower the gearing - wider ratio cassette or slightly smaller chainrings - save you from grinding away what is left of your knees?

    Ian.
    I was a bit of an oddball until I was abducted by aliens; but I'm perfectly OK now!

  6. #136
    Master ba-ba's Avatar
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    Having moved to the edge of the North York moors a bike with off-road capabilities is looking enticing for a bit of cross training. Batting about the wide forest roads and single track in the woods, then up across the moor on gravel tracks and road.

    I was thinking it was a toss-up between a CX bike and a 29er, but the new breed of gravel bikes look like they fit the bill - bit more relaxed, wider tyres and more comfortable than a CX, but faster and more aesthetically pleasing (prefer drop handlebars!) than a 29er.

    Anyone have any experience of all 3 types of bike?
    Nic Barber. Downhill Dandy

  7. #137
    Master PeteS's Avatar
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    Hi Ba-ba,

    Not got a CX bike (yet) but did look into it when I bought my Genesis Croix de Fer - which is marketed as a Adventure/Gravel bike. I also bought myself a 29er last year (Cube Acid).
    The CdF is my commuter and generally set up for a rugged commute (road, gravel, canal towpath) and in dry conditions I stick to basically a city road tyre (Schwalbe marathon). As a weekend option and winter commute, I have a spare set of wheels set up with CX tyres (35mm) and then strip anything superfluous off the frame. That's good for a mix of tarmac, hard trail, forestry road etc. The 29er comes into its own in the wet and on more technical, tight and hilly stuff. I didn't go the full on MTB route as I wanted something that would also eats the miles on trails too. It's nowhere near a match for the CdF on hard pack stuff but as it has a much lower gearing, it never struggles on steep off-road stuff. The suspension is also a god-send on rough off road trails.
    So in summary, if you are heading out on a mix of road and hard trails I'd go for the gravel every time. If is likely to get wet/muddy/steep/technical then the 29er is a good compromise. Think trail shoe versus mudclaw - hope that helps!
    BTW I'm currently on the look out for either a CX bike or an upgrade for the road bike so keeping an eye on this thread.
    Pete Shakespeare - U/A

    Going downhill fast

  8. #138
    Master wheezing donkey's Avatar
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    Nick,

    I have an old steel 531 IslaBike CX bike that is quite lively (handling wise); but despite several mods & upgrades the canti brakes can be terrifying out on the highway in traffic particularly in wet weather. I did have braze-ons fitted to take a rack and panniers - not a good idea, it just was not designed for it - they are due to come off, to restore the bike to original.
    My on / off road tourer cum winter bike is now a Soma Juice 29er with a suspension corrected, rigid fork ( all Tange steel ) which I built up as a 'prototype gravel bike' before the genre actually hit these shores:-
    Shallow drop 'moustache' bars with bar end shifters and a full Deore XT 3x9 speed drive train.
    TRP Spyre cable operated disc brakes ..... very re-assuring.
    700x35mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus 'Tour' ( bit more 'knobbly' than Marathon Plus), very good puncture resistance.
    It's heavy but extremely comfortable and stable even fully loaded with panniers.
    Looks odd but does the job:-

    https://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/show...er-frame/page2

    see post #19

    For a similar bike to my Soma build, take a look at the Genesis Vagabond ..... billed as 'a cross between a 29er and a CX'.



    If I was starting from scratch I would be looking at the titanium gravel bikes with SRAM 1x drive trains from Planet-X.
    My 'good' road bike is a titanium Planet-X, over 8 years old and it's the business.

    Ian Roberts, Bowland Fell Runners
    Last edited by wheezing donkey; 15-11-2018 at 01:33 AM.
    I was a bit of an oddball until I was abducted by aliens; but I'm perfectly OK now!

  9. #139
    Master ba-ba's Avatar
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    Cheers for the info. I was looking at Planet X titanium but maybe a bit out of price range. I'll think I'll keep my eye on Gumtree/Ebay but am fairly sold on the Gravel bike option now as it will better suit what I want (and less chance of me hitting any downhill and getting out of my depth!) and also leaves the option of Bike Packing which I'd like to do.
    Have thought about CdF but feel it's a bit too hefty?
    Nic Barber. Downhill Dandy

  10. #140
    Master PeteS's Avatar
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    The CdF is reasonably hefty compared to some of the alloy/carbon options out there but does not feel as heavy as you may thinkas it's surprisingly nimble. Admittedly mine is a couple of years old but in full stripped down mode, it weighs in at a shade over 11kg. That's nearly 2kg heavier than my road bike but on the plus side it is far more agile and robust. It also has the advantage of being fully touring ready with rack and mudguards easily mounted. If you are contemplating bike-packing then that's a consideration. The chromoly frame is surprisingly light, responsive and forgiving off road but not too noticeably lacking if you are on the tarmac. If I could only keep one of my bikes , then that would be the one. I really hope that never happens though!
    Last edited by PeteS; 14-11-2018 at 12:10 AM.

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