My first real bike :)

[Chamelion]

Hi there,

Well, here is a little story... Just after christmas I decided it was time to lose some weight and get fit. I started eating healthy, eating smaller meals and a few weeks later I've lost between 5 and 10kg. A noticeable ammount just by looking at me before christmas and now.

About a week ago I decided I needed to find an active hobby. Something I could do out of the house and away from my time sucking computer. I considered a bunch of different sports and hobbies until I came across a thread at www.overclockers.com.au discussing mountain bikes.
Remembering that as a teenager I always wanted to get into said sport I figured now might be the time to check it out.

Being on a low income, having no more than a couple of grand in the bank I set about researching the world of entry level mountain bikes.
I started out looking to spend $300 on something second hand, but was quickly advised to gather $500 or so and see what I could find new.
I started seeing what was available, posting here and on overclockers for feedback, only to be greeted by the opinion that spending $500 wasn't going to get me a bike that would take me off road and not fall apart like a huffy. I upped my budget to $600 then finally after permission from the mrs I settled at $800.

I'd had a Haro V2 ($449 down from $699) on order from a melbourne shop, but they had failed to process my order and/or get back to me.

Anyways, after about 4 days of 10~ hour a day researching (and near to no sleep!) I was about to order an Iron Horse Warrior when I accidentally returned to a site (riders.com.au) which I had looked at earlier, but dismissed them as not having any decent specials. Upon doing this I noticed they had 20% off everything, which put the Giant Alias just into my price bracket ($795, leaving me a mighty $4 hehe). After an email I found out they only had one 17" Alias left :eek: Organised to have it built and down I went on a 2 hour each way trip to pick it up.

And here we are, at home, completely stock :p Yes, she'll be muddy soon enough. I just have to deal with the damn sand I got all over the greasy parts (drivetrain) first. Toothbrush and soapy water here I come!
The bell will come off and I'll look for a better seat too. The stock one thinks getting lost up my arse makes for a good ride. I should also get another set of rims with some road tyres, but at the moment I'm fresh out of funds to even consider it :(

Certainly I'm very anxious to get down in the dirt with it, riding around the local bike paths leaves a little to be desired. None the less, it's enough to get me back into confidence on a pushie again.

Onto the pics:

http://forums.farkin.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=56911&stc=1&d=1169108072
http://forums.farkin.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=56912&stc=1&d=1169108072

[lucco]

nice first ride mate, enjoy it

[ilostmypassword]

Welcome mate :D Enjoy,...

[Chamelion]

Cheers guys :)

I'm actually a little concerned about the sand... Is it OK for a bit to hang around on the chain and front derailliuer? Is it likely to get into any mission critical components in record time and put my bike into a state of dissrepair?

Honestly, being new, I have no idea how much punishment these pushies can take.

Matt.

[Ryan]

Sand isn't good for anything that's moving, though unfortunately once it gets into your drivetrain it's pretty much impossible to get every last bit of it off. I reccommend 'Aussie Export' degreaser, $2 a can at Super Cheap Auto and does a bloody good job of getting rid of grime and grit as well as doubling as just about the best hand-held flamethrower money can buy ;)

Unfortunately, once you've de-greased the drivetrain you'll have to lubricate it again and I somehow can't imagine that your $4 left-over would have stretched to a proper bottle of chain lube. Time to make friends with your local bike shop and get some, don't resort to cheapo options like WD40/RP7 as these are absolutely no good for bike drivetrains.

Other than that, here's a link to a goodly slice of the XC riding around the Sunny Coast; http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/modules.php?name=Sections&op=listarticles&secid=2

[Chamelion]

Sand isn't good for anything that's moving, though unfortunately once it gets into your drivetrain it's pretty much impossible to get every last bit of it off. I reccommend 'Aussie Export' degreaser, $2 a can at Super Cheap Auto and does a bloody good job of getting rid of grime and grit as well as doubling as just about the best hand-held flamethrower money can buy ;)

Unfortunately, once you've de-greased the drivetrain you'll have to lubricate it again and I somehow can't imagine that your $4 left-over would have stretched to a proper bottle of chain lube. Time to make friends with your local bike shop and get some, don't resort to cheapo options like WD40/RP7 as these are absolutely no good for bike drivetrains.

Other than that, here's a link to a goodly slice of the XC riding around the Sunny Coast; http://www.mtbdirt.com.au/modules.php?name=Sections&op=listarticles&secid=2

Cheers mate. I have more than $4 hehe, the $800 was just to keep the mrs happy on the cost of the bike :p

I'll go to my LBS and get some lube, supercheap for degreaser and then I'll see how I go.

I assume the only part degreaser should stay away from would be the brake discs?

How much is lube, by the way? :)

Cheers,

Matt.

[Dicky]

Hey mate, welcome to the sport and the site.


Sand on stuff:

The chain on most new bikes is shipped with a protective packing grease, to stop the chain from rusting while the bike's still in the box.
It does this very well, but it more or less sucks as a form of chain lubricant when you're actually riding the thing, outside, in the dirt.

Get your hands on some citrus-based degreaser, and then hit it with the toothbrush.
There are places you want to avoid getting the degreaser into though - such as the hub bearings and the bottom bracket (the axle holding your cranks on).

Then use a dry lubricant of some sort - Pedros Ice Wax or White Lightning Dry are good choices that should be easy to get hold of.
Everyone's got their favourite of course, you'll get a barrage of different options/opinions sooner or later - but stick to the 'dry lube for dry conditions, wet lube for an English winter' rule and you'll be fine.

Tyres:

Just grab a set of slick tyres and tubes, and swap them over a few times. Good practice for when you inevitably get a flat, and have to fix it in the middle of nowhere, adrenaline going, mates ribbing you to hurry up.

A new disc compatible wheelset, and brake rotors, and a new rear cassette, and tyres/tubes, and QR skewers if needed, will set you back around $6-700 ish.
The tyres on their own should be about 40 bucks each, + 10 ish for a smaller inner tube.
A 1.3" to 1.5" slick seems to be a good compromise between speed and comfort.

If you're doing a lot of road Ks, or start getting a lot of flats on the road, or both, look into Mr Tuffy tyre liners (or similar) - and you can more or less ride happily over broken glass.

Seat:

SDG Bel Airs are reasonably comfortable - the channel down the centre does a good job of diverting pressure away from your dangly bits.
You're using muscles that aren't used to this sort of thing - it's gonna be pretty uncomfortable at first, then a bit less the next time, and so on.
Or at least it SHOULD be like that.
If it's no better in a week or three, go and look at other options.

/my 2c. :D

[bransly]

nice work mate. hope it stays nice and clean. good luck.

[JARRY]

love that ride mate... have fun on that one:D

[exvitermini]

very nice:p

it depends on how much you want to spend,but the last time i had to buy myself a bottle of decent chain lube it was <$20

[ando_freeagent]

have fun with your first ride mate

[T trek]

hey thats a nice bike, i want 1

[lebronmtb]

which put the Giant Alias just into my price bracket ($795, leaving me a mighty $4 hehe).

wasnt your budget 800? lol, nice bike, i wish my first bike was that good

[soil sampler]

Hey man welcome to the wonderful world of mountian bikes. im shaw there will be plenty of grazed knees and elbows to come but it is all in good fun.

have fun

[Dozer]

Great stuff, another person who as lured to the awesome sport of MTB. The Giant Alias is a great way for anyone to start riding, I have one and I use it as my commuter and cross country bike. After all the years of spending thousands on high end bikes, I've found the Alias to be a great value for money bike that has the right things in the right places. I love riding my Alias!
Welcome to farkin andhave fun riding and getting mud on your bike, great effort.:D

[Chamelion]

Thanks guys :D Have only ridden it parhaps 20km so far as I've been busy helping my mother in law find a new rental to move into.

Her first bash through the 'bush' looks set to occur on the 4th of feb. An open social ride, so suited to a newbie such as myself :p

Just working on making sure I have all of the accesories I need to take it in the bush safely.

I have a spare tube, pump, icetools multi tool, tire levers, helmet (of course). I have one glove that i use to use for softball (easton batters glove) so I may just get it a right hand mate and save myself some money. I'm working on a hydration backpack but failing that I'll just get a drink bottle cage and hope I don't get too thirsty.

I'll get some tires more suited to the road after that or perhaps get some better tires and wear the current one down to near slicks.

I think thats it for now anyway, it so far seems a nice bike. :cool:

[chris_mtb]

i got the model before the your bike its called the iguana i still got it the alias was just out my price range when i got my first bike

[Chamelion]

Hmm..

Something I forgot to mention. There is a wobble in both wheels... I'd say they're slightly buckled or something, it was this way when I bought it.

Will they fix this when I take it in for a service? I'm not keen to go sooner as the shop is a 4 hour return trip.

Matt.

[SCHOEY]

Are you sure it's your wheel that is buckled, it may just be a case of the tire not sitting on the rim properly. This happens sometimes when tires/tubes are inflated quickly and attention isn't paid to seating the tire on the rim.

[Chamelion]

Seems a little of both. The rim itself moves a tiny ammount, but the tire is the worst of it.

I have a mate after a bike and we'll trek into Brisbane for one, so I might just take my bike back to riders then and get them to address a couple of small issues for me.

By the way, is this stuff any good? - http://www.torpedo7.com/page/australia/PROD/lubes-accessories/SWLULNNCMXXXXX

[NiK TyLeR]

haha nice ride mate my kinda first bike wats a giant yukon and i paid $750 for that :mad: now they have the alian for $800 damm thats lucky but got i got a stp haha yewwww

[Chamelion]

Not having a good time with my foray into cycling...

The last couple of weeks I noticed a clunking/cracking feeling when I was pedaling.
I took the bike into ****** in brisbane for it's first service and they failed to fix it. In fact, it's even worse now than when I took it in. Mind you, it's severity changes according to what gear I'm in, mostly on the middle chainring and from 1 through to 6 on the cassette.
My cassette doesn't feel to have any issues if I spin it whilst off the bike. My chain rings don't look damaged, bent or buckled.

After I took it for a post service test ride and went back in to ask them to fix the problem they took the bike out the back. Five minutes later they brought it out saying 'I took the bottom bracket out and greased it up as it had dried out. Sometimes they come from the factory dry, some creak, some don't....
At this point I couldn't help but to think perhaps they forgot to grease it up when they first assembled it, it's now fucking up and they don't want to wear the responsibility.
I took it for another test ride and it was exactly the same, no fix at all. I went back again and asked one of the lads to actually ride it... After he'd had a ride he pretty much fobbed me off by saying something along the lines of 'it wont do the bike any damage, you might notice it, but don't worry about it'.

At this point it was 4pm and they had shut the doors whilst I was outside with this chap that was working there, I was due home a couple of hours later (4 hour return drive to deal with this bike shop) so had to leave it at that.

On top of that, my friend and I (his bike was being serviced too, as he purchased his from there also) asked for powerlink connectors to be put on our chains so we could whip them off by hand for cleaning and what not.
What they actually gave us though was nothing short of replacement links that don't look even half as strong as the ones they took off. Said links still require a chain breaker! Here is where the fun starts... They didn't give me MY chain.. They put my friends chain on my bike and my chain on his. The issue here is that he left his chain to rust a bit wheres I looked after mine like an infant. I kept it lubed with rocknroll extreme and cleaned with a chain cleaner. They actually just about accused me of not looking after my bike based on the fact the chain (which wasn't mine) had rust on it! When in fact I've spent not short of $50 just in products that are designed especially to keep chains in top shape!
When we tried to get my chain off my chain breaker did nothing except compress a link together and make it so stiff when it comes off the chain ring it's still curved up at an angle. I didn't think using a chain breaker could be done wrong!?

They also managed to alter the front derailleur into a worse position than I had tweaked it into myself, my rotors rub again after I spent time gently bending them into true (wtf?)

So, here I am with a bike that has a rusty chain with a half fucked link, it creaks when I'm in certain gears, I have to now pay money to have my local bike shop have a look at it, pay for labour and parts if required (I'll be frozen in hell before I go back to ****** should I have a choice!) and near on the verge of cutting my losses and getting rid of the bike.

Very very unhappy with the service I received from said establishment. During the late 80's and early 90's a family friend spent countless thousands at this shop and never had an issue. It seems another decade and a half has seen their quality drop?

Although, they did re-route my cycling computers cord better for me. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Any thoughts or advice welcome... Any pointers, tips or constructive critisism taken note of... Offers of a kleenex or shoulder to cry on greatfully received.

Matt.

PS: My friend, who hasn't looked after his bike to even a tenth of the degree that I have has no issues with his bike in the slightest. :rolleyes: He did pay $100 more for this though as I got mine during their stocktake sale. Conspiracy theorests welcome too :p

[Pebble]

Oh gee, not so good that your very happy story turned into a not so happy one now! Regardless thanks for the laugh - remember this comment?
I'll look for a better seat too. The stock one thinks getting lost up my arse makes for a good ride.

In regard to the quick link I had a similar experience with an LBS in Qld, asked for one and what the LBS gave me was not the Sram / Connex quick link but more like a spare link which is removable but requires a chain brakes. I never used it and now keep it in my camel back as a spare, ordered a sram one online instead. The spare link is only about $3 whereas the other cost more like $15. It wasn't a biggie as I believe I just wasn't specific enough or they didn't quite understand what I wanted - well either that or that was all they had.

Only advice I could offer is to find another LBS if that's possible, or get a good book some tools and learn most of the maintenance yourself. In regards to parts and stuff there are some good Aussie stores that also sell online. You will have to pay for the services though. I would argue the point about the chain as well. Also something to note is weather your and your friends bike are different speeds (one 8 speed and the other 9 speed) if the chains were switched this could be causing you problems as one is thinner than than the other.

Sounds like your first bike purchase has left a bad taste in your mouth which is rather unfortunate. I don't know if I'd go as far as selling the bike, go to a different and good LBS get them to inspect and tell you how much it's going to cost to fix properly first, and what exactly the problem is. Other thing is if you try to fix it yourself and don't really know what you're doing you could make matters worse without realizing - like trueing the rotors for example, are you sure they were bent to start with and it wasn't just the brake calipers that needed centering?

Otherwise ask lots of questions here on the forum as I'm sure you'll get lots of knowledgeable people willing to help.

Now here's a box of tissues, nothing wrong with a good cry!:)

[Landon]

That doesn’t sound like fun. :( But, hang in there!

For a hand removable chain link, ask your LBS for a Wippermann Connex 9 Speed link or SRAM PowerLink as stated above. You’ll then be able to easily remove your chain for cleaning.

The bottom bracket would have been installed at the Giant factory, so the shop where you purchased the bike wouldn’t have necessarily needed to grease the bearings during assembly. After saying that, the BB is a standard issue Shimano Octalink BB which is a sealed unit. I’m not sure that it’s even possible to re-grease the bearings, so your dealer probably meant to say they re-greased the BB threads which are sometimes dry as they said.

I would call your shop of purchase and kindly explain the issues to the manager. I’d make sure your bike is nice and clean before you take it back to the shop. The creaking sound might only be a simple thing such as a loose cassette lock ring or a loose chain ring bolt.

The brakes can start to drag for a number to reasons. If the wheels have been removed and reinstalled they may not be fully seated in the dropouts or the skewers might now be tighter than when the brakes were originally aligned. A small adjustable wrench can sometimes be a handy tool when attempting to straighten a warped rotor.

[Chamelion]

Spoke to my local LBS and he's going to take a look tommorow morning to work out what is wrong, then we can look to book it in to get fixed... A weeks backlog on their mech work though and they seem to know what they're doing.... Hopefully they get a result for me on my concerns and I can flip the bird to ****** and not deal with them again short of any warranty concerns, which I'll handle via post.

Matt.

[Chamelion]

Ah, just some pics whilst it sits at about a month and a half old. Nothing too drastic has changed... Removed reflectors (front was back on for one night as I did a quick ride in near pitch black on my local streets), made chainstay guard, thrown on a pump and a drink holder along with some new 'bush bashin' tires and a cycle computer.

Just have to alter my front derailluer as riders made a mess of its calibration during its first service last week :rolleyes: and I think it will once again be trail worthy.

PS: Yep, I am one of those people that religeously keeps his bicycle clean :cool:

http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/alias3.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/alias1.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/alias2.jpg

[Gekigengar]

dont worry man..

slowly after time.. you will be able to understand the basics of bike mechanics. and by understanding this...

you will eliminate your 4 hr drive to the shop and back. also the cost of service is free from yourself.. and if somthing fucks up.. (excuse my french) you will know whats wronge and you will know how to fix it.

[Chamelion]

dont worry man..

slowly after time.. you will be able to understand the basics of bike mechanics. and by understanding this...

you will eliminate your 4 hr drive to the shop and back. also the cost of service is free from yourself.. and if somthing fucks up.. (excuse my french) you will know whats wronge and you will know how to fix it.

Thats the plan mate :D I won't be driving back down there... I have requested that my birthday present(s) this month be in the form of certain mechcanical items ie: BB, cassette tools and what ever else can fit into the meagre budget.
I definitely like to learn how to be hands on with my hobbies. From the first moment I had my PC I did everything myself. Sometimes I fucked up, most of the time I learned from my mistakes. I hope the same methods can be transferred over to this hobby also.

I know it might seem trivial to the more techically inclined. But I have so far perfected the art of changing tires and tubes. Chain, cassette and chainring cleaning I've got up to scratch (whilst on the bike). I've learned how to keep my brakes and front derailluer adjusted correctly.
Once I have the tools I'll be throwing myself into the deepend with cassette, chain and crank set removal for cleaning and regreasing/lubricating.

I figure if I can learn to maintain the parts whilst they are healthy I should be able to diagnose issues fairly well as they arise. :cool:

My wife said to me recently... 'I am no longer a computer widow, I am a mountain biking widow'. I took that as quite a compliment and suggested she appreciate the lesser evil. :p

Matt.

[Chamelion]

Just picked the mrs up her first decent bike...

'New' 06 Trek 4500WSD (This years colour looks crap). I got lucky, it was the last one in the warehouse. :eek:

$800

Frame
Alpha SL Aluminium

Forks
RockShox Judy 1 /80mm / preload

Rear Derailleur
Shimano Deore

Front Derailleur
Shimano Alivio

Shifters
Shimano Deore

Chainset
Shimano M410-L 42s/32s/22s

Cassette
Sram PG950 11-34 9spd

Headset
VP semi-cartridge

Stem
Bontrager Sport/10d

Handlebars
Bontrager Crowbar Sport, 25mm rise, 6d bend

Front Brake
Avid SD3

Rear Brake
Avid SD3

Brake Levers
Avid SD3 with alloy levers

Rims
Bontrager Camino

Front Hub
Shimano M475 disc

Rear Hub
Shimano M475 disc

Tyres
Bont Jones ACX 26x2.1

Saddle
Bontrager Race Lux

Seatpost
Bontrager Sport, 31.6

Pedals
Alloy Platform

http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t1.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t2.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t3.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t4.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t5.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t6.jpg
http://www.users.on.net/~chamandjem/t7.jpg

[ruskoo]

what do you mean?! The colour looks great :D.
now maybe you can justify upgrading your bike to your mrs!

[meatlovers]

What happened to that trampoline?

[Chamelion]

What happened to that trampoline?

It's about 20 years old having lived outside near solidly for the last 5. :p

[exvitermini]

what do you mean?! The colour looks great :D.
now maybe you can justify upgrading your bike to your mrs!

i think he means the 2007 colour(the bike pictured is 06)

good to see you getting another female out on a bike!

did you manage to get your own bikes problems sorted out?

cheers Tim

[Chamelion]

i think he means the 2007 colour(the bike pictured is 06)

good to see you getting another female out on a bike!

did you manage to get your own bikes problems sorted out?

cheers Tim

Hi there..

Yep, the 07 version is a rather ordinary peppermint green colour. The one I purchased for her is the much sexier 06 Iris blue.

My bike is still has its quirks. As soon as I get a little dirt on my drivetrain all I get out of it is a horrible clicky crunchy feeling.. As soon as I clean it all up it's fine again. Funny though, my friend can let his get much dirtier and it doesn't have any issue.
I also think the cassette is loose. It seems to have about 0.5mm of play if you push on either side one at a time.
My left pedal has a crunching sound and is spinning a little rough... So I'm looking at some Wellgo MG1's as a lightweight flat replacement. I have 6E+ width feet, so the chance of clipless shoes fitting me is jack and shit and jack already left the building!

We're heading out for a ride tommorow. Either parklands, ewen maddock dam or mapleton forrest... Just have to work out at which one we'll have the least chance of getting lose ;)

Matt.

[exvitermini]

pmed you!...

[Chamelion]

Small update..

Have added:

2.1" WTB Weirwolf tires, front and rear.
Wellgo MG-1 pedals.
Marzocchi EXR Pro forks.
Random blue grips.

http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz1.JPG
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz2.JPG
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz3.JPG
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz4.JPG
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz5.JPG
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/marz6.JPG

[GravityGuru]

Here it comes... the onset of upgraditis! Went through a bad case myself, started out on an apollo LX1.3 and thought that was all I'd ever need.... then it went Giant AC, new tyres, new brakes, new forks and front wheel,new seat, new grips, additional Dirt Jump bike, New chain n sprocket for that, D8 frame to replace the AC frame, new front sprocket and bashy for the d8... Essentially I've been broke since the day I bought my first bike. So you've got that to look forward to ;) It's looking good, thank god you got the Mrs a bike so she'll be a little more understanding :D

[kalem]

My bike is still has its quirks. As soon as I get a little dirt on my drivetrain all I get out of it is a horrible clicky crunchy feeling.. As soon as I clean it all up it's fine again. Funny though, my friend can let his get much dirtier and it doesn't have any issue.

Matt.

hey there, just i quick tip, after you clean and lube the drive train you wanna wipe the excess lube off, my usual lube procedure is tri-flo the chain spin it through the gears a little then grab the chain with a rag and pedal it through you hand to dry off the chain.

have fun!

[kjf]

Looking pretty good mate:)
Got a weight?
Is there a conciderable difference from the darts to your Marzocchi EXR Pro's?

[Dudley]

i had exr's on my original bighit spec.. nice feeling fork, just don't try to put air in on the train! it will most likely fall over sidewards and snap the valve off, causing weeks of waiting for the part to come in!

and yes, i found this out the hard way : <

[Chamelion]

Looking pretty good mate:)
Got a weight?
Is there a conciderable difference from the darts to your Marzocchi EXR Pro's?

I don't think I want to know the weight... With the Darts it was about 13.8kg stock... Add a small pump, bottle cage, 1/3 tube chainstay protector.
I know the EXR's are 1.95-2kg, which is about 400-500g lighter than the Darts. I've also changed out the stock pedals with the MG-1's, which are probably 100g lighter than the stockos combined.

I'm not too worried about weight at the moment anyway. I'm only riding for fun and to get fit. I don't think I'll ever race XC as I'm more interested in going down hills than up them ;)
I'll likely eventually switch out the frame for a Giant VT-* for some FS AM duties. After that, who knows, maybe I'll save up for a DH bike :)
The wheels seem strong enough, I've given them a good chance or two to buckle and they're declined my offer.

I'd like to know where all the weight is though.. Wheels and frame perhaps?

i had exr's on my original bighit spec.. nice feeling fork, just don't try to put air in on the train! it will most likely fall over sidewards and snap the valve off, causing weeks of waiting for the part to come in!

and yes, i found this out the hard way : <

I put air in today from the safety of my loungeroom.. I don't have a shock pump, so I used my Specialized Air Tool comp with one of those screw on pump adapters for the job... Seemed to work fine, much to my amazement. :)


Matt.

[Chamelion]

Wow, just WOW!

I took a ride just now down around the local shopping centre car park... I rode on some gravel, dirt and grass on the way. Did a few gutter jumps, rode down some stairs etc.. Just to get a feel for these forks.

Short version of results:

Much much better... I can't list everything, but suffice to say the whole bike felt better. They're very confidence inspiring too, I felt more confident and more in control than with the Dart 2's.
It's probably placebo, but acceleration whilst pedaling felt a lot better too.

So far, extremely happy.

Now a small question... Is a wet/slushy noise anything to be concerned about? Or is that normal with these forks?

Cheers :D

Matt.

[triples]

Now a small question... Is a wet/slushy noise anything to be concerned about? Or is that normal with these forks?

Cheers :D

Matt.

dont worry about that, perfectly normal.

[Chamelion]

dont worry about that, perfectly normal.

Fantastic, cheers :D

Think I'll look out for brakes next... Some Deores if I can snag a set cheaply second hand.

[rockymountain_ltd]

new into the downhilling scene I did a number of months attempting it on my 06 Norco Sasquatch which was alright at first but I soon saw the limitations! I was lucky enough to pick up an 03 Rocky mountain switch LTD for $900 on ebay. Since getting it I have only chucked on a new set of 700mm bars and some Saint Brakes and the rest is stock... Been on it now for few months and it's been an awsome ride!:D

[Dudley]

new into the downhilling scene I did a number of months attempting it on my 06 Norco Sasquatch which was alright at first but I soon saw the limitations! I was lucky enough to pick up an 03 Rocky mountain switch LTD for $900 on ebay. Since getting it I have only chucked on a new set of 700mm bars and some Saint Brakes and the rest is stock... Been on it now for few months and it's been an awsome ride!:D

hai guise

i've been cooking babies all day. unfortunately my domestic skills are about nil. every time I make a batch (mostly chocolate chip, but some peanut butter and other ones) i end up breaking all the babies.

non-specific baby product is tasty and makes good ice-cream toppings, but just isn't as pretty.

i also have had this problem with pot babies, which means i can't sell/donate them to my local clinic. that sucks.

what is going wrong?

my guesses are:

-convection oven
-silly spray foodlube
-not enough eggs

anyone else have this problem and figure it out?

[Chamelion]

Try lightly simmering them in a pan lined with squid oil, add some pebbles for texture and away you go.
For an added taste, consider cooking with an open flame made from burning car tires. :D

[Tristan23]

Get rid of the liver, spleen and oesophagus first. Always tastes better that way;)

Nice ride dude.

[Chamelion]

Cheers :D

Was only yesterday I remarked about brakes.. I'm in the process of organising some Deore hydros now, to replace the Hayes So1e that are currently on my bike.

You see, the other day a mate and I rode up a local mountain (a mere 73m elevation)

Here, a pic tells all...
http://users.on.net/chamandjem/emu.JPG

We were on the way down and we finally found our brakes limitations. IE: Our riding is now ahead of the brakes stopping ability.
By the time we go to the bottom we were both standing there with our hands between our knees experiencing a certain level of pain in our hands.

Thankfully the wife didn't take any convincing as her V brake pads have worn down and she wants my So1es over some new pads for her V's... So I win, she wins and the bank accounts can look a little worse for a few weeks. :p

Had another ride around locally today. I am impressed at how well these forks work compared to the Darts. The EXR's soak up the smaller bumps nicely, you can actually see the stantions sliding in and out of the lowers, something I couldn't see with the Darts, yet they're still firm enough to handle dropping down some stairs without coming anywhere near to bottoming our threatening me to throw me over the bars with a harsh and fast rebound.

Happy :)

Matt.

[Adamski]

Good to see another person getting into the sport! Keep up the good work mate, the more riding you do the more exponentially your skills increase. ;)

[nedz33]

lucky little !@#% thats better than my first bike

[Chamelion]

Woo.. Have added some Shimano Deore M-535 brakes to replace the Hayes So1es.

I would estimate stopping power to be trippled based on the fact I can now endo using one finger, before it took three.

Mind you, it turns out I have the wrong adapter on there and the pads are only contacting about 1/2-2/3 of the rotor, so I immagine stopping power will increase some more once my 'proper' adapter shows up. :cool:

Cheers :)

[haveheart]

nice ride. too bad it's a giant heheh joking.

is that a cressida i see?
same as what i currently have to drive.. rig.

[haveheart]

Woo.. Have added some Shimano Deore M-535 brakes to replace the Hayes So1es.


good move!

[SUPERMAN KING]

Great work mate good to see that you put the effort in and set yourself a goal. 5-10 kg :eek: you should be more than happy with that great job... Ride that alias into the ground. Ride it like its your last day living. :D