Ebay - hard way to build a bike?

A few years back I went through a series of stock bikes that did not suit me and had come to the conclusion that;

a) I could not afford to buy anything decent from stock.

b) If I wanted a quality bike then I would have to build it myself

Keep in mind that, at this stage, I thought £500 was a fortune to spend on a bike.

It was then that I started tracking stuff on ebay and within a short time I had bought a brand new Saracen Tufftrax frame for £35 which was the starting point for my project. I had great fun over a number of weeks/months finding the rest of the bits, XT Cranks, Mavic 519 rims, Marzochi Forks etc. It was so satisfying to end up with a really well equipped hardtail and in summer 2003 I completed the Coast to Coast ride from St. Bees to Sunderland on it without problem.

Of course, it was about this time I started reading the bike mags and in retrospect can see how easy it is to be drawn into the dreaded UGI, (upgradeitus)!

What I really needed was a quality lightweight XC frame! Originally the Kinesis Maxlight frame looked good, but was perhaps an unknown quantity. So back to ebay for a browse - where I came across an almost brand new Specialized S-Works HT frame in the US. Not sure I engaged the brain too much at this stage, but as the sale finished in the early hours I set my alarm and logged on to bid and won! Was well pleased to have a top frame for around £350 (UK retail £799) and it was shipped to me quickly without any charges. Even so 10 times the price of my slightly heavier Saracen frame!

There was no stopping me now - A pair of Fox Float 80RLT's from California, XT Discs from Colorado and so on. After the initial caution of buying from the States it turned out to be a very positive experience, most of the sellers were riders like myself and eager to help. All but one item came through without charge, so the savings on UK/New prices were massive. I guess because the new prices of bike parts are lower, used parts can be really cheap compared to the UK. Hard to estimate the total cost because I used some parts of my previous bike - but probably around £1000. Saw a similar built bike in a dealer's window for 3 times that price! It may seem like hard work, but I enjoyed the experience, not sure I would do it again though and it seems that import charges are more likely now.

This has become my most used bike, I ride it most days and it fits me well and I love it! Riding does tend to be road, tracks and easier XC. There have been a few changes over the last year, the main one being to convert to 8 speed and fit a shorter stem.

Spec:

Specialized M5 S-works Hardtail frame 2004 Anodised Silver: Easton EA50 Bars

Kore 70mm Stem: Thompson Elite seatpost

SDG Belair saddle: XTR Crankset (8-Speed)

XTR Front Mech:. XTR Rear Mech

XT Changers : Mavic 317 Black Rims (Nov 2005)

Specialized Baldy Tyres(Nov 2005) : Shimano XT 4-pot discs

Fox Float 80RLT 2004 Forks.: V12 Flat Pedals

Dalbeattie and New bike

Hello Dudes, the weekend ride didn’t go as well as expected. I had quite a few setup issues on the new bike (bike spec), also the forestry commission kindly cut the Dalbeattie course by 6miles, this was due to tree felling!!

I’ve been riding Shimano rapid rise for two years and that caused a bloody nightmare, couldn’t get my brain to switch, so I was changing up and instead of down, this really got on my nerves, also extremely frustrating.

The fox fork felt horrible; too bouncy, especially on drop off’s. The front would dive\dip horrendously, felt like I was going over the bars. I posted on bikemagic.com and got a couple of things to try (See thread).

I did notice that climbing over the rough stuff is easier (which I wasn’t expecting), also I could take rocky descents faster (Get in). Because this was the first time, I’d ridden a full sus bike, everything felt so unnatural, and I hated it for the first 5 miles!!!

Also because I've never ridden a full sus bike before, I've got no idea whether the rear suspension is working well or not. I did notice pedal bob whilst climbing and managed to get rid of that, by increasing the propedal. So more time in the saddle needed.

I had a strange feeling that the back wheel was dragging (dont think it's the brakes, because they're running fine), only felt this twice over 12 miles and it only lasted about two seconds?

Dalbeattie was good, a bit too much fire track, but the flowing single track and black sections were very good indeed. I’ve included photos of the slab at Dalbeattie; I’m the one in the blue top, blue helmet, half way down the slab. The chap in the red is my mate drew. Dalbeattie photos

By the way, my pictures don’t do it justice and it doesn’t look that steep, checkout this photo from a bikemagic post, it looks a lot steeper from the top.

Toons

Master MTB Skills

Hello Dudes

I’ve been reading “master mountain bike skills” and its bloody brilliant, I’ve been m’bikng for 17 years and this book has taught me a great deal, also I reckon it’s improved me riding, mainly because you learn the theory of why you do certain things, its defo worth a look.

Overview

Also a review here.

FNC hits Woburn - Bedfordshire

Last night, the Westoning posse fancied a break from their regular, local FNC (Friday night club) rides so they tooled up and headed north west to the Magic Kingdom. The route is one of Farq's primary rides that starts with a twiddly route thru MK over to Aspley Heath. Then it's play time in and around the woods before gunning it back down the A5 and heading home.

Trail Head; CMK, 7.45pm
Stats; 21.7 miles, 1,443ft ascending, 2hrs 42mins

Posse; Darren (Cannondale) Dave (Specialized Endozer) Les (Spesh Rockhopper h/tail) Lee (Turner 5Spot) Rob (Cannondale Jekyll)

Injuries; nothing major although Les seemed keen to lie down wherever possible

Mechanicals; Les - rear mech woes, Lee - lost a cleat bolt

Weather; above freezing, dry, clear and windless...

Cannock Chase - Staffordshire

The Northants posse broke cover and hit Cannock Chase for a pleasant guided ride taking in the Chase The Dog (CTD) trail. Little did we realise that the weather would be against us and suck the life out of our brakes from the off. This was one of those rides that makes you realise how much fun rides in good weather really are !

Trail Head; Milford, Barley Mo pub car park, 9am
Stats; 21.7 miles, 1,443ft ascending, 2hrs 42mins

Posse; Geoff (Turner 5Spot) David (Santa Cruz Chameleon h/tail) Lee (Turner 5Spot). A local guide failed to show up, so into the driving rain we rode...

Injuries; Geoff managed a full scale paratroopers roll less than 1 mile into the ride on a steep, rutted, baby head descent. With David and Lee doing well to ride around the flailing rider and bike as they parted company. Lee had a nasty tumble in one of the first sections of CTD, running wide he failed to clear a large stump and tumbled, hitting bonce on tree in the process. The lack of brakes also had him "shoulder" a tree later which then dumped him back onto the trail sideways.

Mechanicals; All three bike suffered zero pad life at the finish, x2 Hope Mono M4's and x1 Shimano 4-pot - all fried. Lee had the rear der cable snag on the seat post clamp a couple of times - that'll teach him for not running the cables thru the "taco".

Weather; Wet for the 1st half with a mix of light 'n' heavy drizzle. Kinda dried up (from the heavens at least) on the run back down to the cars. Wet weather clothing was indeed wet.

Bontrager ACX's

With the weather turning, mud starting to accumulate on the local trails and my 2.1 Panaracer XC Pro's rapidly running out of grip I turned my attention to some alternatives for the winter. As the Panaracer's had been much better than my earlier experience with WTB Motoraptors, I initially thought that a pair of the winter orientated Trailrakers would fit the bill. However, users reported a tendancy for them to be "sketchy" on asphalt which is no good on my local trails.

Whilst Chipmunk was enjoying a ride around Woburn on her new steed and I noticed that she was much more stable thru the pools of mud than I and that the Bontrager ACX's cleared the gloop from their treads muck quicker than my XC's. After taking a closer look at the tread, it's clear that there are fewer knobs which are also deeper that provide the extra traction. Better still, Chipmunk didn't report any adverse affects on hardpack or asphalt.

Looking at the specification, the ACX's were also available in a "tubeless ready" format (with a slightly heavier carcass) which'd be a good option for trying out the DT UST rim kits I'd just purchased. The 2.2 UST versions are light too and came in on a par with 2.1 XC's at 590 grams a piece. Better still they were typically cheaper than other manufacturer's non-UST tyres.

Fitting the blighters required a good wrestle around the garage and my fingers were sore for days afterwards ! However, once they were on they weren't going anywhere. It was just a shame that I'd chickened out and fitted tubes ! They're likely to be coming of again for the UST tests later, grrr.

In use, the 2.2 ACX's seem to roll well and are certainly no worse than 2.1 XC Pro's. On the loose stuff they're stable under drive, cornering or braking. I immediately noticed that they grip cross camber transverses with ease, which have always left the XC's hunting for grip and slipping to the low side. When the going gets really gloopy, they bite very well and don't clog the tyre or frame with cack either.

One area where they are "lively" is when you're coasting across muddy sections as they seem to like to wander around a little. However, as soon as you stomp on the pedals they dig in an fire you forward.

Importing

As most of you will be aware, I'm partial to importing MTB bits when the price is right. As many questions are often asked on forum's about importing goods, I thought I'd spread the word based on my experiences.

Why ?

If you're looking for exotica or hard to find goods within the UK then it's an obvious step to look elsewhere and the US market can offer substantial savings. Many of the products used on MTB's are developed by American company's, so acquiring these nearer to source saves money. German or British goods are often more expensive in the US so it's often best to look for goods on a national basis. The US market is also very competetive and retailers often have heavily discounted goods in order to attract customers.

Retailers

Both Chad at Red Barn Bicycles and Larry at Mountain High Cyclery are very competitive (knowledgeable too) and between them there's not much that they can't supply. Currently, their web presence is minimal but a quick email or phone call we soon see you straight.

Other generally cheap online options are; PricePoint, Nashbar, Performance Bicycle, Beyond Bikes, Green Fish Sports and Jenson. Most of these offer frequent discount or coupons, the latest of which can be acquired here.

Speedgoat are also worthy of a mention as their website contains comprehensive product info. Go-Ride is often worth a look. Wrenchscience and Competitive Cyclist also have good websites including "bike fit" calculators.

Importing

Is actually very easy and pretty exciting as you get to track your order as it roams the globe. There aren't any special tricks to learn or documents to complete but a few points should be noted.

• Import duty and UK Vat are charged at 4.5% and 17.5% respectively if you're ordering components, or a bike in bits.
  
• Duty increases to 15% if you import a ready build steed.
  
• Duty and Vat are charged on the foreign cost of the goods, plus shipping before converting to GBP and calculating to import charges.
  

If you import from the US then I'd recommend using USPS which in turn will automatically employ Parcel Force within the UK. USPS Global Express allows you to track the consignments to UK customs where upon you'll acquire a PF tracking number. The goods are then usually held at a local depot for you to pay the outstanding charges. However, note that PF will charge you extra for their involvement.

My experience with Fedex was much less straight forward, which is ironic as they're a dedicated door-to-door option. You're able to track the consignment with a little more accuracy than with USPS, however my parcel was left at the airport will no warning of charges that needed to be settled before it's release. Fortunately, I caught this promptly online and chased 'em up throughout an entire day before the goods were eventually dispatched. I then also received an invoice for the outstanding payment 35 days later ! So don't use Fedex if you're in a hurry. Oh yeah, they also overcharged me !!!

Some peeps seem to have managed to escape import duties, although I haven't, which makes the goods really cheap compared to the UK MRP.

Which Perch ? - Fizik Gobi

Finally, I've found a perch that appears to fit "my" butt better than all earlier incaranations.

Although I've only ridden with it for a dozen-ish rides it's already getting rave reviews, enter the Fizik Gobi. It's quite a pricey little number to buy at UK mrp (£75ish) but they occassionally pop up in the bike classifieds, for mucho less - which is where I sourced mine.

My earlier saddles incl'd a couple of cheap Specialized Body Geometry's and WTB's but none were truely comfortable over a couple of hours riding. With the advent of my new ride I took advice and opted for the WTB Shadow which was a minor improvement but still had me looking for excuses to get out of the saddle. However, it did highlight that it's particular shape was pin pointing a couple of spots on my sit bones which prompted me to investigate alternatives with a slightly different shape. The smooth contours and "hammock" style of the Gobi are now working wonders for me and the flexi wings apparently mould to your particular contours even more over time so my grin should increase as they sag !

The 270g Gobi weighs in a teeny heavier than the Shadow it replaced at 210g.

Verdict; Although cheap, gel filled saddles may look comfortable initially IMO you'd do much better experimenting with different shaped and sized perches and keep the gel to a minimum.

Nor does cheap imply comfortable...

Which Light ? - Light & Motion ARC

It's that time of year again when the darkness takes a hold over most of our day and we need to dig out those lights in order to keep riding. I did this a couple of months ago and found that my good ol'DIY bodge-it, halogen unit was even heavier than I remembered at around 5lbs. I've happily run this 20w puppy for at least two winters but msTurner looked shocked when I approached her with it, "okay, okay, I'll look for something else."

A few magazine reviews and hours of web browsing later presented me with a couple of options. Upgrade my SLA (sealed lead acid) battery to NiMH (nickle metal hydride) which'd be much lighter. Wait until LED's are more powerful and then go shopping. Purchase a lighter NiMH powered system, probably with halogen bulbs. Or take the plunge and opt for a bright HID (high intensity discharge) unit with a light L-Ion (Lithium Ion) battery. Much depended on the £'s but I also wanted a replacement that'd be a significant improvement over da bodge.

I contacted my trusty suppliers in the USA and Chad came back with favourable prices for JetLights and Larry with Light&Motion. Price hunting in the UK just turned up the old adage; "rip off Britain" but manufacturer's worth a mention are; Lumicycle and Rush. The US run MTBR website provided a very useful insight into most options available and I especially appreciated the light beam comparisons, the specification table is also handy.

Time was tickin' on and the L&M ARC was starting to look like a decent option for me. I also understood that Larry was making an order in the very near future so I took the plunge and request one be sent over the pond. Why'd I select it ? The HID bulb isn't off the shelf with the standard casing and uses their own reflector which gives an excellent long range spot yet stil with ample floodlight spread. The battery is tiny (rumoured to be made even smaller soon) yet has a runtime that will suffice for long evening jaunt's. If I do need to carry another then it's so light that I'll hardly notice it in my backpack. It's also been well reviewed, should provide ample light, is compact, charges fairly quickly, simple to use and light weight. Plus msTurner seemed to like ! Although the charger came with a US mains plug it uses a standard old school "kettle" style cable which was easily swapped for a UK equivalent. The L-Ion ARC weighs in at 1.2lbs, around 4lbs lighter than my trusty ol'DIY jobbie and is so much neater. It also only cost half UK retail at approx £220 (incl'g shipping/duty/VAT) compared to £450...

In use the system is very easy to setup and was mounted up with any problems. The bar clamp will fit both standard and oversize bars and the screw fitting clamps up to any tension you want - I usually have it a little on the loose side so that I can dip the beam and it's also less likely to get damaged in a crash. The L&M mount also incorporates a break away mount to help save the bulb in a crash and if you look deep in the box it also comes with a helment mount - which I've not tried yet. On the bike, just a single plug fitting is needed which looks secure and weather tight. The lamp has two settings; 13w (60w halogen equivalent) and 11w (40w equiv) which don't provide a great deal of difference to the light yet give another 30-45mins burn time.

On my first few rides the harsh, white light emitted from the HID seemed odd compared to the softer, yellow halogen lamp. However, the brightness is most definitely the biggest improvement and has to be seen to be believed. Some don't like the spot of L&M but I thinks it's great for those high speed Millenium Falcon speed runs thru the woods. It helps you to spot that log or low branch long before it comes as a BIG surprise ! As my night rides are typically less than 2.5hrs I've had no problems with the battery running down and tend to leave it on for the duration, even during stops. HID lamps have a relatively short life which is greatly reduced by switching on/off repeatedly, plus then take a few sec's to warm up after each off.

Can it be improved ? Overall, I'd say that it's a crackin' little system that allows you to ride into the darkness almost as fast as during daylight. It might just have one possible short coming as I'd actually like to see a reduced low power setting so that it'd be more useful on the road. At the moment I tend to swing the lamp down and into the verge. Having said that, the relatively high settings are great for getting lazy drivers to dip their main beam if you swing your ARC across their bonnet !

Ridgeway "Enduro"

At some point, prob'ly during a drunken haze, Lee and Shaun dreamt up the notion that riding the Ridgeway would be a grand goal for 2005. A close look at the route suggested that it would be "do-able" in a day provided that a swift pace was maintained. After all, the tracks are long established, mostly vehicle sized tracks and not nearly as knarly as those we'd earlier ridden in Wales. So it couldn't be that tough ?

The day started before dawn and Sue had kindly volunteered to shadow us in a chase vehicle throughout the day. Fortunately, the weather had been relatively dry for a few wks before hand which boded well for the first half of the ride which is mainly off road. Some forum biker's mentioned that these 40miles alone had taken 10hrs to complete the previous October ! They also indicated that to ride the entire trail in day is best done in the hieght of summer and even then it takes a mamoth effort, gulp. We hit the trail at around 8.30am and were greeted with a sky full of approx 20 hot air balloons which highlights the favourable conditions that morning. The first 10miles or so were fairly slow going as the track is deeply rutted by 4x4's which meant a full pedal stroke had to be carefully timed. We managed to pick up the pace a little for the next 25miles-ish with a mixture of short asphalt blasts and hard packed clay or gravel surfaces. We had a brief snack break at Whitehorse Hill and by our lunch stop in East Illsley at Crown & Horns both riders were defo in need of a break with Shaun's aching back (h/tail didn't soften the often lumpy trail) and Lee fighting off leg cramps.

Revived after some fab nosh both riders stomped back up the hill with revived legs to pick up the trail and thoroughly enjoyed the mostly downhill run to Goring on the Thames for a mandatory photo stop at the halfway point. Rather than taking 10hrs we'd managed to complete this in around 4hrs with the favourable trail conditions.

The next 20miles were cranked out on mainly asphalt back roads with the accumulated distance taking it's toll on Lee the MTBer, whereas Shaun the roadie was just getting into his stride. We ducked off the trail at Britwell Salome and found Sue curled up and pushing the z's which finally broke Lee's spirit, not helped by a recent off after misjudging a gate, so he ducked out after clocking 60miles.

Shaun was underterred (the hero) and after swapping his knobblies for slicks and slapping on his lights off he sped to hammer out the final 20miles or so. Without the MTBer in tow and now on road tyres Shaun managed to increase the average MPH and eventually arrived home, just past the official end to the ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon, an hour or so after dark.

Afterwards, hot baths and a few glugs of a suitably alcoholic beverage helped to ease the aching bones.

Trail Head; Ridgeway start - s/w Avebury, 8am
Stats, Shaun; 88.5 miles, 5,754ft ascending, 11hrs 45mins
Lee; 59.7miles, 3,771ft ascending, 6hrs 46mins

Posse; Shaun (Giant XTC h/tail) Lee (Turner 5Spot)

Injuries; Fairly uneventful although at the end of Lee's stint, misjudging a transition he wiped out.

Mechanicals; Zip, not even a puncture. Hurrah.

Weather; Clear sky but slightly crisp all day.