Chris Boardman 'Team' Mountain Bike - First trail ride today

nesty

Hi All

I thought I'd put my comment down, as I took my Chris Boardman 'Team' Mountain Bike out today for the 1st time. I had to go out to Tring, so thought Ivanhoe Beacon and the Ashridge Estate, a real good course to break it in.

I must say I am very impressed with the bike. If anyone thinking of getting one of these they are well recommended. The thing that strikes me about this then any other bike is the lightness of it. It's very easy to get a bit of speed up on this bike extremely quickly. Today I looked at a hill. I thought no way I am going to have enough steam to do that, but the bike really attacks the hill, when you 3/4 quarters way up your thinking am going to actually do this! I almost made it up to the top of the Ivanhoe Beckon, in one go without stopping, but I selected the wrong gear for accent and cocked up my momentum.

Naturally, I had a couple of hairy moments, but this was down to my inexperience. The bike gives you confidence and kinda eggs you on to have a go! However I urge any novice on these bikes to take there time & be patent.

The only 2 snags I had about the bike. The chain came 1/2 of the derailleur. Though again I think at the time it me trying to change gear a too slower speed (I was almost stationery). I pedalled friskily and changed gear ok and no probs.

The other is the tyres. I am a novice and not sure if this normal. I went down some really mucky trails today & my tyres got caked up rather quickly. After say 20 mins I was practically running on slicks, as all the mud covered my treads, so from that aspect I would of liked better tread in places. I am thinking maybe these stock tyres are not totally hardcore of roads ones?

Apart from that had a great day and can't wait to go out again on it!

The Spiderman

Those Boardmans do look very good for the money.Good to hear you are happy with it.I`ve ridden in Ashridge before,and you`ll find you`ll benefit getting some proper mud plugging tyres,for it.Stick something like Bontrager Mud X or Panaracer Trailrakers on and save the stock tyres for next summer.
If you are a novice one of the best investments you can make is going on a skills course with Helen at www.getmountainbiking.com who are very good and come reccomended.They run courses at Woburn Sands,which is also a good place to go and ride,in the winter because its well drained and remains more ridable ,during the winter,than other riding spots locally.

nesty

I went out earlier briefly over the fields again, it was quite muddy and slipping all over the place. Yes I have my mind set on Bontrager Mud X at the moment & this should solve this problem. The Conti's are just too skiny for mud. Just a case of ordering the Bontrager in, reading the Boardman manual and swaping over the tyres!

I done a vast bit of bmx-ing when much younger, but really could do with some training, so will look into a course.

The Spiderman

There are 2 schools of thought on mud tyres.Eiher skinny to cut though it or fatter to float over it.Bontrager Mud X are meant to be a good choice for local conditions though.
Deep tread but widely spaced so the tyres don`t clog.The Mud X aren`t as draggy as some either.
There was a deal on Triton cycles website,£40 a pair.

nesty

Yes I just saw that on the Triton site might go for those. The conti's are not giving me confidence at the moment. They cogged up very easily and thought it was my riding style!

stubs

I used to live in Hemel Hempstead and Ashridge and Ivinghoe beacon were my patch if you were riding the track I think your talking about you did pretty well to get 3/4 of the way up Nice one

You have got a decent basic climbing technique already a bit more riding and falling off and you will have it sorted but a skills course will teach you quicker

Dont know if Panaracer still do them but the tyres we used to swear by for the chilterns were Trailblasters in a 1.9 width you dont need huge blocks of tread but you do need big gaps between the blocks

Look out for puddles if you see one ride through it you will get wet but it clears the treads

nesty

I got to the point marked. I reckon I could of got further if I had selected correct gear and had right tyre tread!

Also looking at the Triton site for the Bontrager Mud X. It has a option of 26x1.8 or 26x2.0.

I take it the latter number the profile? My stock tyres are 26 X 2.1 Would a lower profile be more grip, what is better the 1.8 or the 2.0?

stubs

Yup thats the baby its okay in the dry but if there has been any rain ( not that it ever rains in this country ) its not as easy as it looks

nesty

yeah it had been raining and pretty windy. I understand the 1.8 and the 2.0 is the width. I take it the 2.0 is what I require

stubs

Its the tyre width in inches 1.8 inches or 2.0 inches measured from side to side at the widest point but its only a nominal size depending on your rims so dont worry if your tyres dont measure up exactly

The thinking behind a narrower mud tyre is that it cuts through the crap to grip on the solid ground but a narrower tyre has less grip on firm ground. So I am afraid its not an easy choice in my opinion as a beginner go for 2.0 tyres they are a good all round compromise. Myself I have a 2.0 on the front and rear most of the time but swap the rear to a 1.8 when its really muddy.

I am afraid if you ask 10 riders there opinion on the perfect tyres you will get 10 different answers :?

nesty

Yeah I can imagine. OK they sound a lot better then I currently have. I standard tyre with some decent grip will just do me at the moment! Hopefully should recieve and get them on for the weekend to try out! Can't wait, where that mud!

hardtail100

hi
i was wonderin what is that ivinghoe beacon ashridge route u took cuz i want to exstend my routes as they are to small atm i live in dunstable btw

nesty

The Ashridgge route and Beacon routes are separate trails, but just across the road from each other.

The beacon one is the end of the Ridgeway path and the Ashridge one goes along Clipper down. I'll be going back there again in the week. My Bontrager Mud x tyres ahve arrived today and I want to trial them out on the same trail again to see how much more grip they provide.

Vegeeta

Go for the 2.0s as they're still fairly skinny and the larger air volume over the 1.8s will give you a bit more impact resistance.

Run about 30psi on cold days but I'd recomend if you get the bike out of the garage and it reads 30psi on a hot day actually put a bit more in as the Mud X tyres tend to go quite soft when they get hot!

nesty

ok cheers for that. Trying to get them on tonight & had a bit of a nightmare and gave up, gonna try again on Monday.

They came rolled up via mail order. I've never fitted tyres like this, normally just brought them of the shelf before. Do you have to squeeze them into shape to fit them?

stubs

What you have got are folding bead tyres they are lighter than wire bead tyres because the reinforcing in the bead is made of kevlar and they can be a bit of a pig to fit because they flop about

Heres how I do it get tyre into right shape and leave it for a bit before fitting it helps stop tyre folding back to shape it was packed. to put tyre on rim get one bead on all the way round then put tube in and lightly inflate this helps stop tyre folding up then start from the valve putting the other bead on rim the last 6 inches can be a real struggle (its like fighting an octupus sometimes) sometimes a drop of soapy water can help the last bit of bead slip on

nesty

Cheers many thanks for this. I got them on now. The last bit was a bit of struggle, but all looks good now. Gonna test them out on Tuesday.