Another newbie getting in your way
alf01
Posts: 19
Hi,
Pretty new to this malarkey.
About a year ago some ultra keen & experienced friends who I snowboard with invited me to Cwm Carn.
They turned up with their fully sus' downhill machines and one was kind enough to lend me his old Klein hard tail (attitude?) which weighed less than the shoes I'm wearing now.
The bike they gave me seemed great, and I was assured it would be a breeze uphill.
I did not expect the climb to be so gruelling or as technical as it was. I was massively unfit having been recovering from a broken foot, but I gritted my teeth and hauled myself up. A breeze it was not, I was seeing stars and feeling dizzy.
No time to stop and admire the views, we hacked across a couple of firetrails to to the start of the proper descent. I watched my buddies shoot off at full whack eating up the terrain I lowered the saddle and set off in luke warm pursuit. The Klein seemed insanely responsive and my lack of experience and ability made it twitchy and erratic.
I only fell three times, twice having to ditch the bike as i supermanned over the edge of a wooded cliff and once as I was taken by surprise by those duckboard thingies.
At the bottom I was a wreck, my friends all apologised for taking me and spoke as if I handn't enjoyed the experience. At the time I couldn't really tell if it had been a good or bad experience, it had definately been a challenge and I prefer to ride like I'm in last of the summer wine but single track doesn't allow for that. I think they misread my incoherent babbling as I tried to get food and fluids into my stricken carcass.
Cut forward to a couple of weeks ago, my wife was looking at hybrids for ragging around town, i started looking at bikes too. i asked the advice of my bike mates who suggested a MTB with road tyres. In the end I found a Specialized Hardrock disc on offer. Apparently a good choice, a better choice when the company delivered the "Pro" instead of the "Comp".
I took it out for the day, found some bridle paths which seemed pretty technical and some challenging climbs. I rode at my own pace on a more forgiving bike and I loved it. I went out the next day have been doing around 60 miles a week for the past fortnight. haven't put road tyres on it yet, but I have jet washed it a few times to get the mud off. i guess that shows that I'm not just gonna be using it for posing round town.
I think I'll be in better shape for the next single track trip.
Thats my hello really , I'm sure I'll be bothering you for hints tips and tech stuff
Cheers
Pretty new to this malarkey.
About a year ago some ultra keen & experienced friends who I snowboard with invited me to Cwm Carn.
They turned up with their fully sus' downhill machines and one was kind enough to lend me his old Klein hard tail (attitude?) which weighed less than the shoes I'm wearing now.
The bike they gave me seemed great, and I was assured it would be a breeze uphill.
I did not expect the climb to be so gruelling or as technical as it was. I was massively unfit having been recovering from a broken foot, but I gritted my teeth and hauled myself up. A breeze it was not, I was seeing stars and feeling dizzy.
No time to stop and admire the views, we hacked across a couple of firetrails to to the start of the proper descent. I watched my buddies shoot off at full whack eating up the terrain I lowered the saddle and set off in luke warm pursuit. The Klein seemed insanely responsive and my lack of experience and ability made it twitchy and erratic.
I only fell three times, twice having to ditch the bike as i supermanned over the edge of a wooded cliff and once as I was taken by surprise by those duckboard thingies.
At the bottom I was a wreck, my friends all apologised for taking me and spoke as if I handn't enjoyed the experience. At the time I couldn't really tell if it had been a good or bad experience, it had definately been a challenge and I prefer to ride like I'm in last of the summer wine but single track doesn't allow for that. I think they misread my incoherent babbling as I tried to get food and fluids into my stricken carcass.
Cut forward to a couple of weeks ago, my wife was looking at hybrids for ragging around town, i started looking at bikes too. i asked the advice of my bike mates who suggested a MTB with road tyres. In the end I found a Specialized Hardrock disc on offer. Apparently a good choice, a better choice when the company delivered the "Pro" instead of the "Comp".
I took it out for the day, found some bridle paths which seemed pretty technical and some challenging climbs. I rode at my own pace on a more forgiving bike and I loved it. I went out the next day have been doing around 60 miles a week for the past fortnight. haven't put road tyres on it yet, but I have jet washed it a few times to get the mud off. i guess that shows that I'm not just gonna be using it for posing round town.
I think I'll be in better shape for the next single track trip.
Thats my hello really , I'm sure I'll be bothering you for hints tips and tech stuff
Cheers
0
Comments
-
Hello and welcome !!
You did well getting around Cwmcarn as a first attempt at mountain biking,I am a regular there and at times the climb still beats me !! (like yesterday for instance :oops: )0 -
Glad you're enjoying it.
By the way never jet wash a bike or you'll be going through bearings in no time - maybe a light hosing and rub down!Commencal Meta 5.5.1
Scott CR10 -
hello
glad you're enjoying your new bike. I went to Cwmcarn the first time the other day on my hardtail (been riding since October) and I loved it, although I was pretty slow but hopefully that will improve in time... Can't wait to try out my new full-suss and see if that makes me faster on the downhills!0 -
Thanks everyone, a question for you...I know the mtb is an expensive creature, but what would the bare minimum kit I would need to maintain it beyond pump, punture repair, spanners pliers, lubricant n allen keys?0
-
A Helmet and some Gloves are a must,also a good Multitool.0
-
alf01 wrote:Thanks everyone, a question for you...I know the mtb is an expensive creature, but what would the bare minimum kit I would need to maintain it beyond pump, punture repair, spanners pliers, lubricant n allen keys?
That would be the bare minimum^^^^^^^^ I'd go for a good multitool for while out riding the bike, and slowly buy in a few more tools for use at home. Also well worth carrying at least one spare innertube (I carry 2) as its a lot quicker to swap it than fix one. Just remember to fix it when you get home tho! :oops:0 -
helmet - check
gloves yes good idea I have blisters0
