Newbee Hertfordshire

Spighty

Hi my name is Garry, Im new to biking.

My wife runs a charity events company and I have been working on some of their cycle events. This has given me the motivation to go out and get a bike.

Im not allowed a new one until I can prove I will use it. Im sure there are lots of people on here that are in the same boat.

I didnt have much of a budget atm (£100) so I opted for second hand
I managed to pick up a used 2008 Giant yukon. Probaly not the best bike but hey its my first bike and everyone needs to start somewhere.

I am a trained car mechanic and now run a car detailing company so will be atempting most repairs and upgrades myself.

I pick the bike up friday. My first job will be to clean and lube it up and check it works.

I have been browsing gor a bit and have picked a few tips up and hopefully will get some more.

anyway just wanted to say hi to everyone

SomeIdeaNoGear

Hi my name is Garry, Im new to biking.

Hi and welcome to the forums!

You seem to be hitting the ground running with the right attitude, the bike you ride doesn't really matter that much at the start as long as you're getting out there and enjoying yourself, although you do seem to have picked yourself up a good platform to learn on and build up if you choose to go that way.

I pick the bike up friday. My first job will be to clean and lube it up and check it works.

Good to see you're starting off on the right foot when you pick up your new steed, treat it well and it'll reward you with plenty of fun, right up until the point where you persuade your wife that you're serious enough to start shelling out for a new one.

The best advice I can give is to find a local place for you to ride, learn skills and most importantly bring a smile to your face (it's a lot easier to do the first 2 more often if you've got a massive grin on your face).

Good luck with your maiden voyage and keep us updated with how it goes and invariably what new shiny bits you upgrade your bike with, you might think that you won't cave and you'll be happy with what you have it, but you will and you'll join the rest of us addicts with chronic upgraditis.

Spighty

Thanks im not too sure how good the bike is. It has been looked after by the previous owner. He just spent 120 on a service 2 months ago.

I'm not sure about upgrades tho. Where do I start on them? What should I start doin first?

Do I go wheels and tyres? Handle bars? Brakes? There is so much to choose from. I don't mind upgrading parts as I can swap them to a new bike. (is that possible? )

Well hopefully I should start to enjoy it. If I do I'm going to aim to do London to Brighton in September if anyone is interesting joining me.

Twelly

Spighty wrote:

I'm not sure about upgrades tho. Where do I start on them? What should I start doin first?

Do I go wheels and tyres? Handle bars? Brakes? There is so much to choose from. I don't mind upgrading parts as I can swap them to a new bike. (is that possible? )

Check if everything works, if anything is broken, there is your first chance to upgrade. Then just ride it, you will soon find out what is letting you down (fork/brakes/drivetrain etc)

Tyres is a good start, search this forum for lots of advice on tyres. I would leave buying new wheels until you know what you want and are more familiar with the gear that's available as they can be an expensive (but worthwhile!) change.

If you want more advice from this forum about what to change/update then we will need to know the current spec of the bike, what you intend to be doing with the bike and your budget.

Welcome by the way!

Spighty

Ok well alledgeadly the bike works perfect and is only being sold as they are due upgrade on cycle scheme.

I would like to ride cross country really a few footpaths and a mix of road getting there.

I'm not sure what tyres are on there. But I was speaking to a friend who said I should get the tyres that are slick in the middle and have knobbly bits on outside. Not sure of the name.

I know the bike has a sr suntour xcr 75 fork on it that's about it at the minute. I will post some other details when I know more.

I like stuff to work so that is always the first port of call. I plan to go round the bearings one by one an clean and grease. Is there such things as upgraded bearings should I be putting these in if the ones in there look shot?

Twelly

Spighty wrote:

I was speaking to a friend who said I should get the tyres that are slick in the middle and have knobbly bits on outside. Not sure of the name.

I would steer clear of these. The idea is they have a slick centre to make them fast rolling in a straight line and knobbly edges for grip when cornering on loose surfaces but in my experience they do the exact opposite and give you the worst of both worlds ie. slow rolling on road and no grip off road.

Either go for some lightweight, faster rolling trail tyres (Schwalbe Rapid Robs or similar) or stick some MTB slicks on (Schwalbe City Jets would be my first choice)

Spighty

Thanks for the opinion could you post a link to them as there are so many type with the same name it's quite hard for a noob too understand at first.

Thanks for your help

Twelly

City Jets
Rapid Robs

These are just the first tyres I could think of bear in mind. I would spend a bit of time reading this forum for advice on tyres. You will probably find its trial and error with tyres that suit you though.

As a guide, look for low weight (sub 700g) and a shallow tread (if any tread)

Spighty

Thanks I think lighter is the way to go I'm not a small bloke about 120kg. So lighter is good

So shallow tread is good for some occasional off road stuff like loose mud. I don't plan on doing anything major just yet.

Do I run a inner tube or convert to tubeless? What is best?

Twelly

Imagine a sliding scale with grip at one end and rolling speed at the other. As one increases, the other decreases.

Generally:
- A softer compound will give more grip but less speed
- A wide tyre will give more grip but less speed
- a knobblier tyre will give more grip but less speed

These are generalisations though and some tyres will grip and roll faster better than others

Tubeless is supposed to be lighter and virtually eliminate punctures, also enables you to run lower pressures to get that bit of extra grip but it you can have issues with getting a good seal between tyre and rim. You would also need to make sure you have compatible rims and tyres. I wouldn't worry about it though, stick with tubes if you are new to riding.

Spighty

Ok I understand the grip vs rollin thing same as a car really.

What kind of pressures should I be putting in my tyres for general on road and xc?

Twelly

Normal for MTB tyres is about 40-55psi for road use, 25-35psi for off road use.

I leave mine at 40 so I don't have to faf around but if it is really muddy I will drop a bit.

Dropping pressure makes punctures more likely by the way.

Spighty

Right so I will try 40 as a startin point. I take it you get pinch flats when softer. Is it worth getting some self sealing tubes?

Or are these frowned upon?

Twelly

Correct.

I wouldn't bother. My mate swears by them but they add weight and he has had two punctures this year whereas I have had none with my normal (2 year old!) tubes.

Spighty

So do I just carry a spare tube in case of punctures ? I take it that's what you lot do? I dot want to be 10 miles from home and have to push it back

Twelly

Spare tube and a mini pump.

If you have a decent set of tyres and the correct pressure, punctures are rare anyway.

Spighty

Right well once I pick the bike up I will post the spec. That way people can advise what to change in the near future.