How long does it take to get used to a new bike?

cyclinggirl

Now you are all probably going to tae the p*** here but I bought a Shockwave XT750 (think thats was the model, lol) from Halfords :oops: to replace my 10 year old MB.
I only ride my bike on the roads and don't like road bikes, so went for another MB as I only do 25 - 30 miles max at a time.

But I just hate it, the front disc brakes seem to stick and make a scraping noise, I hope this will get better but I think I may have to take it back to Halfords to get it checked out.

I like the extra gears it has and the handlebars and haven't really been able to get out to give it a good run.

I didn't want t post this in the MB section as I think they are a bit unfriendly in there. We need a section for people who do road riding on MB's

Has anyone else got a Shockwave :?:

fasterthanaspeedingbullet

cyclinggirl wrote:

Now you are all probably going to tae the p*** here but I bought a Shockwave XT750 (think thats was the model, lol) from Halfords :oops: to replace my 10 year old MB.
I only ride my bike on the roads and don't like road bikes, so went for another MB as I only do 25 - 30 miles max at a time.

But I just hate it, the front disc brakes seem to stick and make a scraping noise, I hope this will get better but I think I may have to take it back to Halfords to get it checked out.

I like the extra gears it has and the handlebars and haven't really been able to get out to give it a good run.

I didn't want t post this in the MB section as I think they are a bit unfriendly in there. We need a section for people who do road riding on MB's

Has anyone else got a Shockwave :?:

My bold.

We're not a bad old bunch, come on in

fasterthanaspeedingbullet

And now for my serious reply...

As it happens, my new bike was delivered last Wednesday and i managed to get out on it for approx. 3 hours on Sunday. I love it!

Best thing to do is get out on it as soon as you can, so you can get used to it. If you do find anything wrong or something hasn't been set up properly then get it straight back to Halfrauds ASAP.

Most of all, enjoy it!

Shadowduck

cyclinggirl wrote:

Now you are all probably going to tae the p*** here but I bought a Shockwave XT750 ...

*bites tongue firmly*

cyclinggirl wrote:

I only ride my bike on the roads and don't like road bikes, so went for another MB as I only do 25 - 30 miles max at a time.

25 or 30 miles on the road on an MTB* is plenty! You have my respect.

cyclinggirl wrote:

But I just hate it, the front disc brakes seem to stick and make a scraping noise, I hope this will get better but I think I may have to take it back to Halfords to get it checked out.

Halfords have a bit of a reputation for sending out bikes with a *cough* non-optimal setup. Taking it back may or may not help, depending on whether the person checking it is the same one who built it!

cyclinggirl wrote:

I didn't want t post this in the MB section as I think they are a bit unfriendly in there.

Ah, they're harmless enough. I don't think we've lost a scouting party in there for a couple of weeks now!

Especially a Shockwave. Sorry, couldn't help it!

redddraggon

cyclinggirl wrote:

We need a section for people who do road riding on MB's

I don't think starting a Chav section on this forum would be a good idea.

cyclinggirl

Taking it back in tommorrow, hopefully they will sort it, I hope I come to love it, just need to get a few good rides in I suppose.

cyclinggirl

redddraggon wrote:

cyclinggirl wrote:

We need a section for people who do road riding on MB's

I don't think starting a Chav section on this forum would be a good idea.

I hardly think I am a Chav :roll:

alfablue

I don't want to be rude about your bike, but it is at the very bottom of the market; even on bikes costing £400 plus (which is where proper budget MTB's start) the mechanical disc brakes are likely to be poor. It may be possible to improve them with fettling, but they will be very limited ability components, more for looks than function. Sorry if that seems hard.

If you are serious about riding (and 25 mile rides are probably much more serious than this bike was intended for), then consider a hybrid in the range of £350 upwards for a satisfying, efficient and comfy ride. A hybrid will resemble an mtb in style but without the excess weight on unnecessary suspension and the inevitably cheaper components that come with building these extras (suspension, disc brakes) to a price point. By the way, for road use on a budget bike, conventional brakes are probably much more satisfactory.

As its Halfords, see if you can exchange your bike for a Carrera Subway - good entry level hybrids! (Although they now have disc they should be a bit better quality than the Shockwave).

PS I do commute and tour on an mtb, it has rigid forks (no suspension, front or rear), and conventional V brakes, and it is fitted with 26x1" slick tyres (thin, no knobbles or tread pattern, which just slow you down on the road, no advantage in grip from knobbles) and mudguards, and a rear pannier rack. In this form it is like a hybrid and I get pretty good speed on the road. I wouldn't have bought an mtb for this use by choice, I just had it and converted it to road use, however as it has a titanium frame it is pretty light (but then it was £1400 :oops: )

redddraggon

I can't see your problem with road bikes, can you enlighten us?

cyclinggirl

See if you can exchange your bike for a Carrera Subway - good entry level hybrids!

Don't think they will exchange a used bike
I hate hybrids, not my kind of bike really. I manage quite well on a MTB, did 1600 miles last year on my old one.

I don't take it that seriously and my budget is very limited, so the Shockwave was all I could afford at the time.
[/quote]

cyclinggirl

redddraggon wrote:

I can't see your problem with road bikes, can you enlighten us?

Go back to the MTB section Mr draggon, road bikes are not for everyone, can't see why you have a problem with this. :evil:

redddraggon

cyclinggirl wrote:

Go back to the MTB section Mr draggon, road bikes are not for everyone, can't see why you have a problem with this. :evil:

This is the road section, and as you can see from my signature I only have road bikes, so why do I need to go to the MTB section?

Road bikes are far more comfortable and faster on the road, that's why I can't see the point of using a MTB on the road.

alfablue

cyclinggirl wrote:

See if you can exchange your bike for a Carrera Subway - good entry level hybrids!

Don't think they will exchange a used bike
I hate hybrids, not my kind of bike really. I manage quite well on a MTB, did 1600 miles last year on my old one.

I don't take it that seriously and my budget is very limited, so the Shockwave was all I could afford at the time.

[/quote]

Sorry to tell you to spend more. If you do well on that bike, and you're happy with it, then that's all that matters

cyclinggirl

[Sorry to tell you to spend more. If you do well on that bike, and you're happy with it, then that's all that matters /quote]

Hey, no probs, I am hoping I will be happy with it once I get the brakes sorted and get a few rides in.
Was just wondering how long it took people to get used to a new bike, I am panicking a bit I suppose as I want to love it as much as my old one, sad I know

alfablue

I think it might be like shoes, sometimes they feel great immediately you put them on, they are a perfect fit, other times it is a compromise and you have to adapt. Things might feel unusual or weird, but as long as it is not actually uncomfortable, you should adapt fine. If it is uncomfortable, then have a look at adjusting seat height and for and aft position to see if it is at the optimum. As for getting used to the sticky brakes, that is just going to annoy until it is resolved!

cyclinggirl

Yeh, think it is the brakes that are ptting me off, the bike does feel comfy, better than the old one. Hopefully will get them sorted tommorrow, fingers crossed.

Positron

Must admit my first reaction was - my new bike felt wonderful straight off. But then this was from Paul Hewitt's who has a deservidly good reputation, and it did cost £1300.

As others have said I suspect much of the problem is due to Halfords and there poor set-up of what they sell.

But my main reason for replying is to say - you ride whatever you like on the road!

p.

jedster

cyclinggirl,

why do you not like hybrids? I'd have thought they were ideal for your kind of riding

I'm not biased here I don't own a hybrid and do own a road bike and two mountain bikes (one of which is fitted with slicks and guards for commuting). Hybrids just seem a wierd thing to dislike...

J

jedster

btw, my commuting MTB is also rigid (no suspension)

always_tyred

jedster wrote:

cyclinggirl,

why do you not like hybrids? I'd have thought they were ideal for your kind of riding

I'm not biased here I don't own a hybrid and do own a road bike and two mountain bikes (one of which is fitted with slicks and guards for commuting). Hybrids just seem a wierd thing to dislike...

J

So what actually IS the functional difference between a Hybrid and a mtb with slicks?

Isn't a hybrid a bit like a 4x4 that doesn't have enough clearance to go off road?

alfablue

Hybrid, as does mtb, covers a wide range of functionality. MTB's firsty, they can be heavily built long travel downhill machines, jump bikes, freeride "all mountain" bikes, cross country or lightweight race bikes at the other end of the spectrum. They are only interchangeable to some extent. Hybrids too come in a range of incarnations, from mtb framed, 26 inch wheel bikes, to flat barred road bikes. I guess your analogy is reasonable, you could consider some of the hybrids as "soft roaders" or "SUV's". My first mountain bike was much more like a hybrid of today, fairly light steel frame, rigid forks, but I went everywhere on it, just my speed, line, technique and endurance were determined by the limitations, but it could still tackle most terrains. There are many 26inch wheeled mtb style framed hybrids of today that with a change of tyres could function much like my original mtb, but then without heavy suspension forks, and with some slicker tyres fitted, they could travel reasonably fast on the road. Currently I commute on a proper mtb, but with rigid forks and 1 inch narrow slick tyres at 120psi, it is as fast on the road as my Audax bike unless there is a headwind. I perceive that the original posters objection to hybrids is more about style or cosmetics than the actual functionality.

carlstone

Hi cyclinggirl

I bought a lovely Planet X procarbon after spending the previous 15 years on an old (well it was new when I bought it) slick tyred MTB (no suspension). It took me a good few rides to get used to the new bike even though it has the same saddle, crank lengths as the MTB. Getting used to 10 speeds at the back, riding position and braking using different levers were the worse problems. It was a little disappointing at first as you want you and your lovely new bike to gel immediatley. Take your time and take it to a local bike shop to get the brakes sorted. If they say they are no good see if they can upgrade them to some better disks or if possible V-brakes (these are plenty strong enough on the road).

Carl.

jedster

So what actually IS the functional difference between a Hybrid and a mtb with slicks?

Isn't a hybrid a bit like a 4x4 that doesn't have enough clearance to go off road?

Well to a point. Some hybrids are much more like flat-barred road bikes - road wheels, gears with perhaps v-brakes. Personally, I think they are probably ideal for urban commuting and the occasional longer leisure ride at the weekend.

I use a rigid MTB in town because I already had it. But I wouldn't buy a MTB for that purpose.

Of course some hybrids do have 26" wheels and rigid MTB frames - again the main advantage over a proper road bike is visibility and manouvrability in traffic.

markos1963

On the subject of your sticking brakes. This shouldn't happen whatever the price point of the bike. When you buy a new product from anywhere it has to be fit for purpose,as described and of merchanable quality. Clearly binding brakes fall down on two of those points so you shouldn't have any problems getting Halfords to sort it out.

Nuggs

cyclinggirl wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

cyclinggirl wrote:

We need a section for people who do road riding on MB's

I don't think starting a Chav section on this forum would be a good idea.

I hardly think I am a Chav :roll:

Ask Hellfrauds to check your humour gland while you're there

heavymental

Well, I guess its too late now. Unless you can take it back and get your money back. But I would have checked out the classifieds here or on ebay and got a hybrid or an old but mechanically sound/well built mtb. £200 odd would have got you something decent.

Also, you posted your question in the wrong place. You should have tried knowhow. Soapbox is usually the domain of folk spoiling for a fight!

Hope it works out though!

heavymental

Nuggs wrote:

Ask Hellfrauds to check your humour gland while you're there

Well come on Nuggs, noone likes being told their bike is for chavs. Although I think most shockwaves are designed for cycling down the chippy but I bet the staff in Halfords didn't expalin that.

jedster

Although I think most shockwaves are designed for cycling down the chippy but I bet the staff in Halfords didn't expalin that.

It's actually rare to see them on the road - they're generally ridden on the pavement. Perhaps they are "optimised" for that?

redddraggon

Heavymental wrote:

Nuggs wrote:

Ask Hellfrauds to check your humour gland while you're there

Well come on Nuggs, noone likes being told their bike is for chavs. Although I think most shockwaves are designed for cycling down the chippy but I bet the staff in Halfords didn't expalin that.

To be honest the only people* I see "cycling" on Full sussers, are wearing adidas trackies or jeans, possibly a Burberry cap and are "cycling" on the pavement. I'm hardly call these people cyclists. They are POBs.

Also, You only see bikes belonging to "Proper MTBers" on car racks, never getting used.

SamWise72

Hi cyclinggirl. If you're going to ride a really cheap bike, you'll need to learn how to work on it a little, since things will go out of adjustment a lot. A dragging disc brake is a 2 minute fix, though if my neighbours son's bike is anything to judge by, you'll be adjusting it every 2 weeks (I'm always fixing his). Little adjustments are not hard to do, and we can direct you to some great web resources if you like.

Could you tell us a bit more about why you don't like road bikes? There are various aspects of MTB's that make them hard work to ride on the road, and it's not like there's full on skinny tyre full carbon roadies at one end, and MTB's at the other, with nothing in between. We might be able to help you find something that suits you just as well, but gives you an easier and better ride. Is it the riding position you like on MTB's? The suspension? The fat tyres?

hazewatersuk

Doesnt look like this thread is very active, however i thought it would be wise to post a response for other people like myself who own a shockwave xt 750.

I went against my own beleifs when I bought my shockwave from halfords Having always built my own bikes from police auctions (mainly Bmx bikes) I bought this mountain bike before christmas for commuting about 30 miles a day, Oh my God, biult the bike myself, Im always adjusting the brakes and the tension in the gears always slacks making the gears slip.
People please spend a little more money and get a decent bike, and not a box bike, if you dont know what your doing go to a reputable bike builder where bikes are ready to ride.
The front forks on my bike were unstable as soon as i got it out of the box. agghhh.