Is lockout really needed?

greenphotos

Hi all,

Been looking at this bike after some very helpful advice from this forum.

I've decided on a Specialized Sport Disk 2009 from a LBS near me.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... gn=froogle

I have been told that Lockout would be a good option to get, but doesn't seem to be on this bike. Will be on towpath mostly but also road / paths sometimes too.
Is it really needed?

Mark

supersonic

It can be beneficial to help prevent bob. But is probably a good thing not have on a fork like that, as it will be a mechanical system and you risk damaging the fork if you hit something with it still on.

You can get a Carrera Kraken for that money, far better bike! Has a hydraulic fork with lockout and blowoff valve.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... B7VXoyhPoZ

greenphotos

Are all forks not hydraulic?

I'm always worried about the 'halfords' image of carerra bikes...

Mark

supersonic

Nooooooooooo! Basic forks like the one on the Hardrock are just tubes with springs in - no oil, do damping, no hydraulics! This is why I tend to steer people away from bkes like the Hardrock at this price as the fork is only good for a little comfort on basic tracks.

The Kraken has a fully adjustable rebound circuit with lockout and blowoff - so much more control ont he rough stuff. Add to that 27 gears and hydro discs and getting a lot of value!

Hardrock has a nice frame, ok brakes if you like mechanicals and an, erm, good chainset. If you like the way it feels though it would make a good platform to build on in the future.

rudedog

I was a bit dissapointed that the Marzocchi 33 forks on my new GT didn't have lockout - just rebound damping adjustment. (and a terrible instruction manual)

greenphotos

Might take a trip to halfords then at lunch time :-)

Northwind

I've got a Kraken- I'm just rebuilding it actually for my brother- and it's pretty decent. £400 maybe slightly less good value, usually they're £350 and at that price they're superb, at £400 they're just good. Excellent spec, lovely handling- very agile, though not all that stable on the downhills as a result- and comically heavy tyres just to **** it up :roll: 1050 grams isn't a bad weight for 2 tyres, or for a wheel, but it's pretty bad for one "XC" tyre!

Oh, but worth mentioning that the damping isn't adjustable, only adjustment on the Kraken's XCR120-LOs is the lockout and a preload dial- the damping cartridge is sealed and unadjustable. But that's OK, since it's pretty well judged anyway.

xand_xand

Dont be swayed by snobbery to makes pal . . . . carrerra bikes are made by Merida and they make some of the best frames in the business.....

I have kraken ltd edition and it is a superb spec'd bike for the money i paid £425...i saw a boardman with same if not slightly lower spec at £850.....

Anyway regarding lockout - def' look out for it as i find it so useful when i hit the roads.

supersonic

Merida make Boardman too.

Which 850 quid Boardman had a lower spec than a Kraken?!

greenphotos

Thanks all, going to see a Kraken at the weekend... hope to get it for a good price...

Mark

mhuk

Lockout is useful to stop "bobbing" when hammering it up a hill (off road).

strodey

Really useful for locking out going uphill over rocks and roots etc, i'm constantly switching mine on/off at trail centres, means if you hit some bumps uphill you can accelarate over them puuling the front wheel up easiers

Anonymous

lock out is handy but i cant remember the last time i actually used it!!

definately dont write of carrera, they are some of the best sorted bikes at whatever price on the market, plus, they look brilliant in my opinion (and the look definately counts!!) anyone who knows anything about bikes knows that carrera is a smart choice.

its just a shame the halfords bike selling types have such a poor reputation.

ps, i didnt know those bikes were made by merida, explains alot.

andyturner28

sheepsteeth wrote:

lock out is handy but i cant remember the last time i actually used it!!

definately dont write of carrera, they are some of the best sorted bikes at whatever price on the market, plus, they look brilliant in my opinion (and the look definately counts!!) anyone who knows anything about bikes knows that carrera is a smart choice.

its just a shame the halfords bike selling types have such a poor reputation.

ps, i didnt know those bikes were made by merida, explains alot.

Carrera's are good bikes, put togather by monkeys, and the aftersales is a joke. You might be lucky to find one or two stores where they know what they are talking about, but mostly they know bugger all. Not impressed that the Vulcan comes with non replacable chainrings either, but the Craken is a cracking bike for the money. I bought an 05 2 years ago and done everything on it, from XC to some light DH and small jumps and drops.

Northwind

andyturner28 wrote:

Not impressed that the Vulcan comes with non replacable chainrings either

Yeah, but the entire crankset can be bought for less than teh price of a set of rings

Buying carreras used can work out quite well, if it did have problems from the shop then there's a good chance it's already been fixed. But another way to look at is that even if you buy the bike and have to immediately spend £50 on remedial work, it's STILL a good deal usually.

geordiefreerider

I bought a lrs (2 or 3 cant remember which!) at the same time my manager bought a gt i drive from halfords, I rode both and have to say the lrs was a better ride by far despite the i-drive costing several hundred more, and I ought to of been biased towards the gt because that had been my last 3 bikes and the i-drive was the one i wanted until my manager went and bought it so i went for the carrera to be different and glad i did, both bikes had crap forks and mine didnt come with disks but the frame was much lighter i loved it, the names got nothing wrong with it, its value for money thats most important and you seem to get that with carrera.

andyturner28

Northwind wrote:

andyturner28 wrote:

Not impressed that the Vulcan comes with non replacable chainrings either

Yeah, but the entire crankset can be bought for less than teh price of a set of rings

Buying carreras used can work out quite well, if it did have problems from the shop then there's a good chance it's already been fixed. But another way to look at is that even if you buy the bike and have to immediately spend £50 on remedial work, it's STILL a good deal usually.

Tell that to my boss, who threw a wobbler because he only wanted to replace the outer ring, and didn't think it was right that he HAD to replace the whole lot, so he has decided that he will no longer have anything to do with Halfords or it's products and has just picked up a brand new Cube

supersonic

Lol, but you do get a damped hydraulic fork and some other decent parts.

Moon on a stick ;-)

Northwind

andyturner28 wrote:

Tell that to my boss, who threw a wobbler because he only wanted to replace the outer ring, and didn't think it was right that he HAD to replace the whole lot, so he has decided that he will no longer have anything to do with Halfords or it's products and has just picked up a brand new Cube

What a knob! Does he not realise that riveted cranksets are pretty much the industry standard on budget bikes? Including, I think, the lower end Cubes with their Acera?

greenphotos

Been to see the Kraken today, looks really good and has some good kit.

The lockout is a remote jobby, with a fiddly lockout lever on the handle bars. Now I can see how this is useful, but it didn't seem to lock it out properly, if I lent over onto the handle bars, I could still depress the shocks. Is this normal, or is it likely it wasn't set up right (couldn't get the l,ockout to stay on.

The shocks are Suntour XCR. Are they air shocks or springs?

All said and done, when sitting on it and pressing down on one pedal to lift the front up, I couldn't believe how light it was! (Previous experience 10yr old Specialized Hardrock and Apollo Rampage).

Mark

greenphotos

Holy Sugar Halfords has 20% off the Fury and the Kraken - Is the Fury worth getting at £399? or should I just save cash and get the Kraken at £319?
Fury has Toras!

Mark

stevet1992

greenphotos wrote:

Holy Sugar Halfords has 20% off the Fury and the Kraken - Is the Fury worth getting at £399? or should I just save cash and get the Kraken at £319?
Fury has Toras!

Mark

if you can afford the better bike then go for it. much better spec on the fury, better fork, wheels, drivetrain lots of things that easily pay for the extra money in the long run

greenphotos

I'm so excited about it now! Sorry to seem odd! lol

Have reserved the Fury at £399... woooooooot!!!

New bike FTW!

(goes to get a drink and calm down...)

Mark

stevet1992

greenphotos wrote:

I'm so excited about it now! Sorry to seem odd! lol

Have reserved the Fury at £399... woooooooot!!!

New bike FTW!

(goes to get a drink and calm down...)

Mark

just check EVERY bolt when you go and pick it up :shock:

and of course dont forget the non-voluntary pictures of it posted up on here somewhere 8)
enjoy your new ride

Northwind

Fury at £400 is a ridiculous buy :shock: You'll love it.

greenphotos

Will be checking them all (although I am really out of touch when it comes to putting bikes together.)

I used to be up with all the latest tech etc back in the 90s so things have moved on somewhat!

Mark