Rockrider 5 XC 2009

JamesBrckmn
JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
edited April 2010 in Your mountain bikes
Original spec - cost £370, weight 28.5 lbs
Frame: 6061 18 inch 1.9kg
Forks: sr suntour XCR with preload and lockout
Brakes: avid Juicy 3s with 160mm avid g2 rotors
Shifters: Sram X5
Rear mech: sram X5
Front mech: Shimano C050
Headset: Cane creek
Tyres: Rubena charblyis sport 2.0
Wheels, stem, seatpost, handlebars, grips rockrider own brand
Everything else own brand or i don't know

Unupgraded pictures except pedals (newer pictures further down):
4057395847_b3ed0b3674_b.jpg

4057395233_d4107f8eac_b.jpg

Upgades - cost £95, will weigh and post pics in a few days
Pedals: Wellgo LU 987U Flat Pedals £10
Front tyre: Maxxis Ardent 2.25 60a Kevlar Tyre Folding - £30
Rear tyre: Specialized The Captain Control 2Bliss Tyre 09 2.2 folding 60a shoulder 70a in the middle - £20
Handlebars: FSA Gravity Lite 31.8 680mm - £20 reduced from £70
Stem: BeOne 6061 Forged DH Stem 60mm 31.8mm 6deg rise - £15
«1345678

Comments

  • Sounds a bargain bike from what it cost you new. Some nice upgrades too. Plenty of potential.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    edited January 2010
    Thanks - your coiler looks like a great bike
  • jay12
    jay12 Posts: 6,306
    nice bke for xc. so when are you getting the spesh?
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Probably 2012, hopefully before the end of the world. Unfortunetaly, i just have a small sunday paper round (£6 a week + £1.50 pocket money + £3.50 for cycling to school each week because i save my parents from paying £7 a week for the bus - getting paid for riding 8) so it will take a while to save up for the pitch.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    When do you think you'll finish your kinesis build jay?
  • jay12
    jay12 Posts: 6,306
    When do you think you'll finish your kinesis build jay?
    hoping by the end of march. iwant to earlier but i'd rather get decent stuff
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    sounds good. it looks really nice so far.
  • missmarple
    missmarple Posts: 1,980
    Great bike, really a fantastic starter bike in many eye's - Decathlon have a fantastic range at the moment.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    edited February 2010
    Thanks missmarple.
    Unfortunately, they don't sell this one anymore. It's a shame; it's a great bike
  • ramemtbers
    ramemtbers Posts: 1,562
    nice starter bike. I do a paperround mate, know how it feels. you gotta just jkeep saving unfortunately.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    New forks coming tomorow! Rockshox recon race 09!
    Got them for £152 off wiggle reduced from £380 - i now have forks worth more than the bike, and have spent £615 on this bike - a waste? i think not :D:D:D 8)
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Rockshox recon race, now fitted to my bike 8)
    They are awesome. with my old suntours the most travel i ever got was 70mm, with these i got 90mm in one ride. luckily the lbs helped me set them up after they fitted them and let me use their pump, so i could set them up right - i set it to 28% sag which i like. They are so smooth, and nice - just need to make a mudguard to protect them and keep them clean now.

    I'm not going to spend any more on this bike now, as i need to save up for a pitch or something, but any money i get from selling parts i've replaced i'll spend on a few small things, like mudguards, lock on grips and bar-ends
    *runs and hides from fashion police*
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Tommorow: the ultimate test. A race against my friends petrol scooter, that can apparently go at 30mph. We're going to race down a hill, offroad, so i should win, hopefully!
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    I won! not really suprising though. He beat me uphill, but he started before me, higher up the hill and had an engine, so i had to breath in the wierd blue smoke coming out the exhaust, and at the top it was smoking and took 10 mins to cool down.
    Anyway i've now made a mudguard: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12679519
    And my friend gave me some rockrider bar ends the came on his bike, then i'm getting new grips (lizard skins charger), and then a shock pump, then maybe wellgo b54's
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Pictures of upgrades and mudguard: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamespictu ... 402142622/
    my favourite picture:
    4346616204_786428d55f_b.jpg
    I know the string looks silly, so i'll be getting zipties soon
  • jadamson
    jadamson Posts: 644
    sweet 1st bike mate, bet the recon's make a big difference! :D
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    Thanks mm.
    Unfortunately, they don't sell this one anymore. It's a shame; it's a great bike

    It is still being made but under a different name.
    If I remember correctly its going to be called the 8.0?
    I had an email earlier this week regarding the new line up for 2010 bikes
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    The recons do make a big difference jadamson - they're amazing- so much better uphill and downhill.
    I looked on the decathlon website, and couldn't see an 8.0, Wappygixer.

    I am now thinking about making it single or double ring upfront, but I won't be upgrading anymore (except the grips- getting lizard skins chargers), as i'll be saving up for a new bike, possibly a pitch, or an orange 5 am or a cube frittz, but i'll keep this, and upgrade the frame to a scott scale or similar when i've got a AM bike in a few years, so i have a super fast XC bike and a big AM bike too.
    Thank you for your comments
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    The recons do make a big difference jadamson - they're amazing- so much better uphill and downhill.
    I looked on the decathlon website, and couldn't see an 8.0, Wappygixer.

    I am now thinking about making it single or double ring upfront, but I won't be upgrading anymore (except the grips- getting lizard skins chargers), as i'll be saving up for a new bike, possibly a pitch, or an orange 5 am or a cube frittz, but i'll keep this, and upgrade the frame to a scott scale or similar when i've got a AM bike in a few years, so i have a super fast XC bike and a big AM bike too.
    Thank you for your comments

    looks like jay12 has a competiter for most ambitious teenager :lol: come on guys finish your current bikes before thinkin about the next one :P you might not even like riding a bike in a few years :P
  • jadamson
    jadamson Posts: 644
    im 17 already got a carrera fury and a kona dawg deluxe but im selling that and getting a trance x3 with upgrades :D do i win?
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    nah i have a bling maxlight and a scott roadbike and work in my LBS therefore i win :lol:
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    I had a great ride on it yesterday (for any locals it was around Hydons ball, Hascombe hill, Dunsfold (where the top gear test track is) and a bomb-hole in some woods where my friend had built a small kicker which was fun) and the recons are great. My friend who recently got a virtually unused second hand 08 orange crush was with me, and although it's £1000 new, the ride wasn't really much better than mine, and the tyres were worse, and it was worse for climbing and jumping too, so i'm really pleased with what i bought and the upgrades i've made. I just need to remeber to take loo paper next time :oops:

    Also, i found the home-made mudguard doesn't work with really deep mud. To be fair, it was 1 foot deep clay, but it got clogged up, then one of the zipties snapped and it was rubbing, but luckily i had secateurs (spelling?) with me for trail maintenance, so i could cut it off. It works well for getting to school, but it doesns't really work with deep mud.

    I spent half an hour in the pouring rain at about 0 degrees looking for half of my powerlink today in the grass in my garden, after i lost it when i took the chain off to clean it. I eventually found it using a rake, but by that time i couldn't feel my fingers, so couldn't pick it up!

    I think there should be a most ambitious under 15's award lawman - but i think jay would win - he's building from scratch. And lawman i'm hoping to get a job in my lbs, and i might be able to go there for work experiance too. I would probably win the most f*cked up BSO challenge though - i had a raliegh flair, and i had been doing proper mtbing on it, i even front wheel landed a 3 ft drop on it, with the bike vertical, and after 18 months of having it i had destoyed the rear mech hangar (non replaceable and i had destoyed the thread), the forks wobbled in the stanchions, i single speeded it, then made it a fixie by using wire to tie the cassete and spokes together, but that broke so i smashed it up and took it to the dump.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Ok, so more proogress on the bike- Lizard skins charger lock ons arriving soon, so then i can put on my bar ends too. After that, i'm thinking of upgrading the saddle (charge spoon-http://www.evanscycles.com/products/charge/spoon-saddle-ec008616?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle) or new peddals (wellgo b-54: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=5199) but i really should be saving up for a new bike.

    I know it seems weird, but i sort of can't wait for my tyres to wear out, so i can get some new ones, as i don't like the ardent upfront, as although it's supposed to be 2.25, it's thinner than the 2.2, but as i was expecting it to be wider, so i would use it upfront, i got it in a softer compound than the rear spesh the captain 2.2 (which is dual compound 70/60a) so i'm stuck between a thinner, softer compound tyre upfront, or a fatter, harder tyre upfront. :? what do you all think i should do?
    I know what i want when they wear out though- i'll get two spesh captains control 2.2's- i know you normally have the fatter tyre upfront, but since it's a hardtail, this way i have fat tyre for comfort on the rear and a fat tyre for grip upfront!
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    I have now decided my next bike will be a santa cruz nomad or heckler build, after seeing this nomad: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12681569. i'll test ride one first, and start in a year or two.
  • jay12
    jay12 Posts: 6,306
    I have now decided my next bike will be a santa cruz nomad build, after seeing this nomad: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12681569. i'll test ride one first, and start in a year or two.
    unless you can find one really cheap on ebay then yes why not. but i would go for something cheaper
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    I would want to spend a lot, as it would be my do it all bike, but when a pitch costs about as much as the frame of the nomad, i can see your point
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    Charger lock ons have arrived- fitting them tomorow, and my bar ends.
    Ordering fork pump soon, so i can play around with presuures a bit more.
    Also, a friend has offered to buy the old suntours for £20, so i'll have some money for a new saddle or peddals.
  • JamesBrckmn
    JamesBrckmn Posts: 1,360
    So, tried fitting the new grips, but the rings that go on the ends of each grip won't go on- any tips?
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    I have now decided my next bike will be a santa cruz nomad or heckler build, after seeing this nomad: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12681569. i'll test ride one first, and start in a year or two.

    good luck with saving up for something like that :shock: looking easily upwards of three grand for a build, so either you have a really well paid job or very understanding and generous parents :lol:
  • jpstar
    jpstar Posts: 561
    For the grips, sounds stupid but have you undone the screws that tighten the collars? Tried that once without loosening them :oops: