commuting : not pc

gillyboc

hi everyone accuse the grammar more used to moving a spanner than a mouse,
I'm just after a bit of advice,i started biking again, after the shock of needing a stent fitting
in my heart this year (age 42) so out came the bike which i used for work,great fun
got fit, lost weight, living in the peak district kept seeing lots of mountain bikers, so decided to get one for next year, but fetched this forward because of a bargain, anyway
I've bought this full sus,but don't want to start full on off road till next year,
anyway the advice, can anyone tell me the best way to set the bike for commuting
till spring ,as it seems a waste to park it up till then, although this isn't very pc to ride a
full suss on the road .
thanks gilly.

Father Faff

What full-sus is it because that could make a difference!

With the best full-sussers you will be able to lock out the front forks and rear suspension. You will also want to change the tyres to semi-slicks as knobbly tyres on tarmac will really slow you up. That's about all you can do. Mudguards might be useful for keeping the crap off you - try Crud Catchers.

Father Faff

Oh yes and pump up the pressures in the suspension and tyres.

Bikerbaboon

only things i would change would be the tyres over to thinner slicks you should beable to switch over to slicks that are 1.5" and that will make no end of improvement and run them at a higher pressre than you would off road. if your rear travel has a lock out then use that.

the only reason that riding fullsus get complained about on hte road is that you are carrying more weight that you are not going to use in the rear sus and if you dont lock the rear sus out you can lose energy in peddle bob.

gillyboc

wow thanks for the quick replies, the bike is a marin wolf ridge 6.7 , yes i know its a lot
for a newbie but after the year i had, anyway does the size of tyre you've got on at the start make a difference, or are all rims the same,also I've tried lowering the front suss
and locking it ,but the back one only as rebound setting plus air valve, it sounds as though the best thing would be new tyres.
ps thanks for all the replies gilly.

gillyboc

would i need to buy inner tubes to match the new tyres.
thanks gilly.

Father Faff

Not a bad machine - don't park it outside at work!

If it has an RP2 rear shock pump it up to say 200 and put it on the firmer setting and it will be pretty immovable (unless you are really heavy!) Wind down the front fork to its shortest travel and again pump it up hard.

Father Faff

You might need different tubes if you get smaller tyres. Check that the tube size matches the tyre size.

gillyboc

thanks for that ,thankfully at work there's alot of security ,where would you pump up the front fork, there's lockout one side and travel the other at the bottom its got rebound, I've tried measuring sag and I'm getting 15mil front and 12mil back if this helps,rear shock is fox r only.
thanks gilly.

gillyboc

does anybody use these ive seen them on tinternet and they look pretty cool.
Continental Ultra Gator Skin MTB Tyre,
thanks gilly.

Northwind

I like Kenda Small Blocks... They're not road tyres, they're fast offroad tyres so you still have the option of going for a play if you want. Terrible in mud mind, but they're a decent compromise. No doubt there's better but they're the best I've tried so far to try and fit that dual purpose role.

Real road tyres are just plain better, though.

gillyboc

thanks will have a look at those,
i can't beleave the choses these days it hard to know were to start,
sorry about that just started sounding like my dad.
gilly.

Northwind

Yeah, I can't get my head round it at all, last time I bought a bike even our car didn't have disc brakes To be honest I've given up entirely on the idea of finding the best tool for the job, there's so much variety and so much personal taste involved.

gillyboc

last bike i bought 5 gears would of got you beat up for showing off, must admit I'm now
very jealous i wish i was a kid again, hold on, since i started riding again i do feel like a kid again.
roll on next spring,

gillyboc

I have 2.35s on at the moment would you recommend a narrower tyre in the small block
even though they come in 2.35s
thanks gilly

Northwind

Dunno. WIde tyres can be faster than their narrow equivalents sometimes. I couldn't speak for these.

jayson

Father Faff wrote:

Not a bad machine - don't park it outside at work!

From my experience i would suggest u dont park it inside at work unless u have a very substantial lock and some bike insurance, if the thieves want it bad enough they'll find a way as i found out unfortunately.

gillyboc

thanks for all the advice,I've lowered front sus and locked it, rear I've pumped to 200psi,
have also pumped tyres just above rec,going to try this first before buying anything else, misses will go mad if i spend any more,
PS. at work can park outside (in car park) under cover and use a lock ,or fetch it through security gates but leave it open to the weather not sure wot to do.
gilly.

stumpyjon

Fetch it through the security gates, bikes are designed to get wet. Just make sure you clean and lube the drive train regularly.

Bikerbaboon

I love the security at my work for my bike........ its right behind me now 8)

Bikerbaboon

I love the security at my work for my bike........ its right behind me now 8)

cee

I would be tempted to leave the bouncy bike for the trails with the fatty tyres....and continue to buid the legs on your other bike until you are ready to commit to the trails.

Get on the trails as soon as possible...don't wait for the weather. We are starting to have the best rides of the year over the last couple of weeks!

gillyboc

spoke to guy at bike shop he said leave full sus at home,winter road salt and rear shocks don't mix,have got hard-tail which I've been going to work on,but promised it to partner when i got a new one,may try to repair her old trek (and use for me)
would love to hit the trails but I've got 6 more months on a strong blood thinner, before i can risk a wipe out, i think another side affect is feeling the cold ,been wearing full thermals today and was still cold,
bike ride to work was still good, think i might try spds,but keep thinking I'm going to fall sideways at the lights .
gilly.

batch78

Slicks on the hardtail, spds and singlespeed it!

Don't worry about falling off, just takes a bit more concentration.

I'd save the full suss for the spring, I'm feeling guilty enough riding my all year round hardtail at the minute because I've just fitted a new chain and cassette!

gillyboc

result missus is happy with me repairing her old bike, doesn't like my hard-tail,after all the money I've spent i think i can manage a bottom bracket and crank set for her bike, made a bike stand at work today every little helps.

graeme_s-2

Personally I'd probably leave the SPDs alone until you come off the blood thinners. I had a couple of silly falls when I first switched to clipless pedals. Some people manage not to fall at all, but it's not uncommon to have a couple of falls when you first start out.

gillyboc

against my better judgement and others i tried spds, absolutely fantastic going uphill
left partner for dead on hills, kept practicing clipping and unclipped on the ride, bunny hops
i was loving it anyway time to go home,arrived home (ps we live on a main road)
unclipped right foot then the left one went to put my right foot down only to find right foot had re-clipped, over i went elbow hip & knee, luckily nothing coming up the road at the time, partner vanished round the corner of the house laughing her head off ,only real damage was my pride, still love the spds though but I'm ordering the multi-directional cleats.
gilly.