Green rider saying hi

Twenty3

Hi!

I've been riding around Southampton (mainly to work, uni etc) for the past 2 years. Wanting to get into more offroad-downhill-sh*t-your-pants-whilst-flying-through-the-air, and a couple of weeks ago finally made the leap after finally getting a helmet (don't know how i cycled without one now) and insurance sorting me out a new Kona Shred '08 after some thieving git stole my '06.

Loving flying down hills so far but i had no idea how much maintenance would be required (as well as cleaning) especially to my gears, i've been thinking of putting a dab of locktite on the gear adjustment screws... would this be a bad idea? Also i'm finding that i tend to hit my front brake more in scary situations as its on the right hand side (ending with me going over the handle bars in one case), should i move the rear brake to the right hand side or just get used to it?

Anyways enought for now and if there's any riders in the Southampton/New Forest area that wouldn't mind a newbie tagging along shot me a pm!

tom_majski

i certaintly wouldn't put loctite on your adjuster screws on your mech. If the cable stretches / slips then you won't be able to set it back up.

As for cleaning, i clean my DH bike after almost every ride if its muddy, its too expensive to replace parts that have become knackered through neglect.

As for your brakes, run them whichever side you like, but bear in mind that most brakes bought from the UK will have levers that you can't swap over. This means swapping the hoses and re-bleeding them, so make sure you know how to do that. Or buy hayes which have universal levers!

whyamihere

Assuming he means the limit adjuster screws, he won't need to touch them whatever happens to the cable as long as they're set up correctly in the first place. On the other hand, they don't need threadlocking.

For your brakes, just learn to use them properly. If you go over the bars, it's not because you've pulled the levers too hard, it's because you haven't braced yourself against going forward. If you allow your body to fly forward, the front wheel will lock and act as a pivot.

Twenty3

Yup i did mean the limit screws, didn't know what to call them thanks for the advice though, i had better start shifting my weight better than blaming the equipment :roll: