What I did today..
The Northern Monkey
Posts: 19,174
Well, I went up to Swinley with a mate and had a fu*king awesome day 
'Twas raining at 1st but it got really sunny in the afternoon so it was well worth it.
Played in the gulley for a while, enjoying the double at the end very much!
I've never really been into DJ'ing so clearing the double and getting "big air" was quite an achievement for me
Then we moved on to a bit of a DH track which was boggy but AWESOME.
We then found a long + very fast run down a hill with 4 fairly big jumps on the way, probably a 4ftish drop over a length of 6ft.
Mate went first, binned in big style on the 1st jump, I managed to hold it together + got down to the end with a huge smile on my face.... after every jump you just seemed to go faster/higher/further
Think the bail shuck my mate a bit though as he binned it again but on the 2nd jump, and if it wasn't for my saint brakes i would have parked my wheel in his censored
Then we went upto the babymaker sort of DH trail thing, which was quite fun, but I wasn't that impressed by it TBH.
By now we were fairly knackered so we rode/pushed back to the gulley, after a few runs I started to get cramp in my knee so we decided to head home
All in all it was a pretty epic day!
Pro's
- everything Saint... amazing.performed superbly if the muddiest wettest condtions
- the bike in general - just felt awesome to ride
Con's
- My E13 chain guide seems to rub on the tyre knobs (new tyres, smaller size but more knobs than the old ones) when they bend a bit (usually when climbing). Doubt there's much I can do, seems to be because I have a short chainstay... the frame has enough clearance for 2.6" tyres. I might flie a bit of the guide out, but I doubt it'll make much difference. any ideas?
- cramp
only photo I got atm (can't find the cable for my camera)
Bikes were covered in mud, but we managed to get most off at the station as it had dried out
B
'Twas raining at 1st but it got really sunny in the afternoon so it was well worth it.
Played in the gulley for a while, enjoying the double at the end very much!
I've never really been into DJ'ing so clearing the double and getting "big air" was quite an achievement for me
Then we moved on to a bit of a DH track which was boggy but AWESOME.
We then found a long + very fast run down a hill with 4 fairly big jumps on the way, probably a 4ftish drop over a length of 6ft.
Mate went first, binned in big style on the 1st jump, I managed to hold it together + got down to the end with a huge smile on my face.... after every jump you just seemed to go faster/higher/further
Think the bail shuck my mate a bit though as he binned it again but on the 2nd jump, and if it wasn't for my saint brakes i would have parked my wheel in his censored
Then we went upto the babymaker sort of DH trail thing, which was quite fun, but I wasn't that impressed by it TBH.
By now we were fairly knackered so we rode/pushed back to the gulley, after a few runs I started to get cramp in my knee so we decided to head home
All in all it was a pretty epic day!
Pro's
- everything Saint... amazing.performed superbly if the muddiest wettest condtions
- the bike in general - just felt awesome to ride
Con's
- My E13 chain guide seems to rub on the tyre knobs (new tyres, smaller size but more knobs than the old ones) when they bend a bit (usually when climbing). Doubt there's much I can do, seems to be because I have a short chainstay... the frame has enough clearance for 2.6" tyres. I might flie a bit of the guide out, but I doubt it'll make much difference. any ideas?
- cramp
only photo I got atm (can't find the cable for my camera
)Bikes were covered in mud, but we managed to get most off at the station as it had dried out
B
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Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
can't believe the bike got muddy though
1st thing I did when I got back was give it a nice bubble bath
Gonna strip it tomorrow though as the mud was very gritty/sandy + I don't really want it getting in anywhere
sounds like hard work - its a mtb for G's sake :roll:
I recognise that it's a nice bike, but mud is part of what we do. Clean it off, but there really is no need to obsess about the tiniest specs of dirt.
You wouldn't strip it down after a dusty ride! Besides, you can introduce grit into places it otherwise wouldn't be! Seals actually do a pretty good job ya know!
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
But its gotta go thru the house and i'd rather wash my bike than hoover the floor
Didn't you already wash your bike then??
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
thats not a clean!! used to take me 4-5 hours to clean my car (on the outside), just gotta put a bit of effort in and keep everything working nice.
I take pride in my stuff!
It should only take around an hour with a good brush and some muc-off or similar, just to get the crud off, in prep for the next ride! Mine hasn't even had that! Just a hose down with one of the super low pressure radiator top-up hoses you find at petrol stations!
So it's still pretty dirty...
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
Spec of dirt and it HAS to be gotten rid of.
Pretty much sums me up lol.
Was pissed off that the local halfords now shuts at 5pm instead of 7pm. It used to be a bikhut but since its been turned into a halfords metro its censored .
really needed some more lube
I'm a perfectionist too. I also have (or suffer from...) OCD. Means most things have to have an order. If they are not in that order, then it winds me up no-end. Same with my bike - if it's not performing precisely as it should, I tend to go a bit mad. Today, my rotor on the rear was sqealing every turn (warped a little I suspect) and it was making me sooo mad!
Ahh well...
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
When we got to the station we were comparing the saint + hope rear hubs and had a "how long does your wheel freewheel for when its turned upside down.
Mine kicked his brand new hopes censored (his 1st ride with it). after a bit of moaning by his part, he blamed his brake, took it off and went again.... my Saint managed to outlast his wheel by miles, he span his another 2 times and the Saint still won
anyways, I had a look at his disk brake and noticed it was covered in gouges and kinda burn marks. Turns out his pads had disintegrated at some point during the day, and her was braking metal on metal!!
Must remember to get some spare pads. I know I'll run out in the worst possible weather, miles from home otherwise.
BTW, I think my brakes are pretty sorted now - steep downhill and a few runs seemed to straighten the discs up a treat!
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
Shimano pads are £30 a pair. (thats just for the front) and £120 for 4 pairs :shock:
i love my brakes... set them up once and they've not moved. never had "shing" and stupidly powerful.
GF is scared of them
Hows the rest of the groupset holding out? Whats the Cranks and shifter like to use? And the deraileur? I'd like to know, as I'm seriously considering an upgrade...
Hmmm...
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
cranks are waaay lighter than expected and uber stiff.
shifter is very direct, very quick and just feels awesome
derrailleur.... ooo where do i start. never missed a cog today, and the conditions were terrible - i've had xt before and would say the saint is beter. looks the sex too.
Saint =
My bank account may soon have to feel the pain, once more, as I splash out on more bits. Or a might just leave it, and see what happens with the X9, once I get a bash on my cranks, and loose the big ring (it has too much ability to eat my leg / car upholstery!)
Decisions decisions.... :?
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
my mate has an x9.
he tried the saint shifter/derailleur today and is buying them at the end of the month
I on the otherhand am treating my bike to gold KCNC ceramic jockey wheels, heatset spacers and seat clamps... just to match the gold on the saint stuff
Don't provoke me!! I've got 4 bloody bikes at the mo. Gonna sell one tho, hopefully for around 1500, so will have some 'spare' cash to buy shiny things with.
Don't know anyone who wants to buy a MINT condition Cannondale F1, with many many upgrades, do ya?
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
not me sorry, secretly planning a new custom build for the summer though
Sick to the power of rad
Fix it 'till it's broke
but a special frame
think more along the lines of 9" rear travel
A downhill frame eh
Just wait till fort william is on freecaster - you'll be writing a cheque!