Bad technique or bad forks?

jonny2773

Hi guys,

I recently took up mountain biking about 6 months ago for 3 reasons

1. I realy need the exercise and to lose weight.
2. I think its part of a mid life crisis thing going on.
3. Im a bit daft and i need a bit of danger in my life and walking the dog wasnt cutting it.

I ride a GT XCR-five from halfords that i bought for £700, and before you start slagging the bike off here is the bikeradar write up on it.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-09-34201

Now i know its not the greatest set of wheels so ive upgraded a couple of bits hoping that its gonna help with my riding, and to make it alittle more pleasing on the eyes.

Tyres - Schwalbe Hans dampf 2.4 front and Nobby 2.1 rear (so i had more front grip than rear, because if I point my wheel then thats the direction i want to go)
Bars and stem - Sunline V1 bars @ 745mm and V-One AM 65mm stem.
Hope QR skewers and QR seatpost clamp
Gusset Pin Head pedals.

Now after many years of not being on a bike (20 to be precise), i have now got to the stage where i can tackle all the downhill sections that Hamsterely Red route can throw at me as far as drops and jumps are concerned, although not getting massive air on the jumps....yet! But and this where the problem lies, technical sections that have rocks and roots im finding that my forks dip down and toss me over the bars and ive got the bruises to prove it. I always move my weight over the back wheel, the seat is dropped down and dont have issues on the smoother stuff. I have my tyre pressure up to 35-40psi and my forks are up as far as 175psi( i am 17st and 5'8")
Im inclined to think that its down to the forks rather my technique because i have another issue, whenever i corner at speed on the berms or take tight corners slowly my tyre rubs on the inside of them. Ive got it into my head that the forks are causing both of these issues and i need to get it sorted.
Now for the million dollar question......if it is my forks do i invest in a new set and if so which ones? or do i invest in a new bike with better forks because this bike was only ever intended as starter bike?
Here are the few bikes i was looking at :-

Cube Stereo race
Cube Fritzz sl
Norco Sight 3
Canyon nerve AM 8.0x
Canyon Nerve XC 9.0

Thanks for any help and advice in advance guys as i really need it before i really hurt myself

Greer_

How fast are you going?! There's probably mad people somewhere that have ridden it on a rigid! I cant see how the forks would do that unless your rebound is dialled right up? Or using the wrong pressure? No point giving us pressure for your forks, its different for everyone, how much sag do you have? Maybe just try riding it slower first!

jonny2773

Thanks for the quick response. Im going resonably slow as the rocky sections are after tight corners, the sag on the forks is only set at around 20-25% and the rebound is set in the middle....the forks are Rockshox Recon 327's which i know are not expensive.

snowjho

Not wanting to be rude but its morelikely to be your technique than the bike if you've only been doing it 6 months. I would invest in a bike skills course could be much cheaper in the long run. Set up is crucial too. Sounds like you bought second hand might be worth getting it serviced? Its a recon fork/fox shock. I think these are well regarded. You're also not the "typical" mountain biking shape/size. Again a professional would give great advice on that too.

Greer_

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your forks! Yes there are better, but there are also far worse! This probably just comes down to practice, session it a few times, take a good look and pick your line before you ride it. In a few months you'll be wondering why you struggled with it. Your technique will come on leaps and bounds, you've still a good bit to go (nearly everyone does!) but you've just started, give it a years worth of riding and you'll be far fitter, and also better at technical sections.

You could also start practising technical skills such as bunnyhops and wheelies and also trackstands (balancing on the bike without moving)

dry664

I don't claim to be a pro but no matter how bad your technique your tyre shouldn't rub on your fork! I had a similar problem here.....
viewtopic.php?f=10004&t=12846816&p=17547837#p17547837
Sent mine back to RS and they replaced the lower, HOWEVER I would suggest you look at your QR skewers first. If the tyre leans mid corner the only thing that can be giving is the axle. Suggest you try some Shimano Deore skewers, not the lightest in the world but bombproof. Could be the best £10 you ever spent.

ashleydwsmith

I would have to agree with the qr skewer replacement. I was having the same prob up swinley one day with tyre rubbing just at the top of the stanchion when on berms or corners. But only on one side. Discovered that although I was doing the skewer up tightly was working loose.

By the way I have a gt too so may be a common fault.

Greer_

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAIR-SHIMANO- ... 652wt_1043 something like that.

I missed that paragraph lol, just skimmed over it :oops: I had the same problem when going downhill, fork compressed and turning all at the same time. I ordered new skewers as above and serviced my front hub and now there's no problem. It was with brand new forks so I knew it wasn't the forks fault. But dry664 is right, that ain't down to technique, it means something is wrong with the wheel axle or fork. Try replacing the skewer and see if it makes a difference - shimano QR's are a fair bit better than the standard ones you'll have anyway!

dry664

ashleydwsmith wrote:

I would have to agree with the qr skewer replacement. I was having the same prob up swinley one day with tyre rubbing just at the top of the stanchion when on berms or corners. But only on one side. Discovered that although I was doing the skewer up tightly was working loose.

By the way I have a gt too so may be a common fault.

Funny, I had my problem at Swinley as well so it must be Swinley's fault

supersonic

Alsp think about changing the damper to Motion Control for compression damping adjustment.

jonny2773

Whille i appreciate the feedback i have already tried 2 sets of skewers, the original ones that came with the bike and the hope 1's i have on the bike now. So i gues that only leaves wheel or axel.....the wheel runs true so does that mean that its an axel issue?

supersonic

What was the original skewer? If not a Shimano, then the Hope will be no better - Shimano are significantly better as they use a different type of mechanism.

I'd give a Shimano one a go for the sake of a fiver, and if it doesn't cure it then the next step is new forks and wheel, with bolt through axle.

jonny2773

Thanks for the advice, the original skewers were branded as GT, I think I will give the Shimano's a go and see Wyatt happens and if that fails I will have to try to convince the twonks at Halfords that there is a problem. I only bought the bike last November so it'll all be covered under warranty

The Rookie

Can you push the rim over so the tyre touches? If so what's moving where?

jonny2773

The Beginner wrote:

Can you push the rim over so the tyre touches? If so what's moving where?

Just tried that and there is a small amounts of play that seems to be the hub itself. While this alone is not enough to make the wheel touch when I put pressure on the rim it seems to be wheel flex..the rims are Alexrims dp20. Upon closer inspection there is a less clearance on the left fork than the right, I can get my finger in the right side but not the left, and the paint has rubbed of on the left and not the right, so it must be on turning right.

supersonic

The wheel might need re dishing and re tensioning as well. The hubs should be adjustable too.

dry664

If the wheel is leaning to the left try putting it in backward (disc on the right). If it then leans to the right the problem is the wheel, if it still leans to the left the problem is with the fork (but try a shimano skewer first!).
Also bear in mind that you aren't making your life any easier running a 2.4 tyre upfront.

Thewaylander

supersonic wrote:

What was the original skewer? If not a Shimano, then the Hope will be no better - Shimano are significantly better as they use a different type of mechanism.

I'd give a Shimano one a go for the sake of a fiver, and if it doesn't cure it then the next step is new forks and wheel, with bolt through axle.

This and the wheel test, I have issues with fox 32 forks that i can flex them at speed and they kick me off, never had an issue on my 36mm with a bolt through.

But it could wheel true, the hub and quick release as has been stated.

bails87

Sounds like a combo of a fat tyre and flex in the wheel and/or fork. I'm 10 stone and I could get tyre rub on the Rebas on my old Boardman with a 2.1" tyre!

As for being thrown off, a skills course would (i suspect) help with that.

dry664

When I had this problem the tyre would rub to the point of locking up the front wheel any time the fork took a big hit, sending me over the bars. No amount of skill training could stop that.

bails87

dry664 wrote:

When I had this problem the tyre would rub to the point of locking up the front wheel any time the fork took a big hit, sending me over the bars. No amount of skill training could stop that.

But for the OP, the tyre rub and falling off are unrelated, so it's probably a technique issue rather than a mechanical one.

Thewaylander

bails87 wrote:

dry664 wrote:

When I had this problem the tyre would rub to the point of locking up the front wheel any time the fork took a big hit, sending me over the bars. No amount of skill training could stop that.

But for the OP, the tyre rub and falling off are unrelated, so it's probably a technique issue rather than a mechanical one.

Possible though when i was chucking a Butcher with a 150 fox 32 down a hill at Afan the "twang" as i like to call it threw me clean off in a corner lol. still makes me giggle when i remember it hehe

jonny2773

Had the wheel off this morning and put it on the other way, and instead of it being closer to the left fork it sat dead centre. So went back to halfords and had a chat with one of the mechanics that looked like he had actually ridden a bike before, well he was wearing 5 10's. After much deliberation he re dished the wheel for me and it now seems to sit in the centre again...i havnt had chance to try it yet but hope to get out next weekend and will report back with the results, thanks for all the advice guys

IT66T

Good to hear your wheel has been seen to jonny2773 and with a bit of luck you won't have any more trouble from it lol .

Northwind

It's a nice bike the Idrive but it's a wee bit steep, especially for a 5 inch travel bike. I ran mine with extra sag and 140mm forks and it made it a bit more balanced but even then it had a bit of a way of making promises it wasn't that well placed to keep- took a bit of effort to get it down things that you'd expect a bike like that to laugh off. I thought of it as a gigantic XC bike rather than a big trail bike- brilliant at bombing round red routes but I wouldn't take it downhill racing!

That said- it's still a technique issue Your bike won't make it as easy for you as some will, but it's still a very capable machine and better than many. Suspect it's basically a body weight/position issue... But I wouldn't want to say any more than that without seeing you ride.