Hello from Berkshire - just bought my first bike in 20 years

pjd2209

Hello,

Just thought i would introduce myself and see if i can get any advice/constructive criticism on my choice of bike

Many moons ago i used to ride BMX in Portsmouth, and on a very rare occasion still do, however thought i needed a "grown up" bike for exploring the area so i decided on....

A Carrera Vengeance

Im totally new to this so would greatly appreciate any advice on first step upgrades etc, if you more knowledgeable guys think its necessary?

look forward to it

bomberesque

welcome to the world of bikes with proper sized wheels on!

now find some forest and go thrash the nuts off that thing. getting obsessive about upgrading can wait a couple of weeks at least!

waby1234

Yep as above, go and ride. Only upgrade as things wear out or you reach limitations. First things I changed on my bike were the grips, saddle, and pedals.

CarpOnWheels

Also a returner after the best part of two decades, have had a Vengeance myself for the last six months or thereabouts, and put a good few miles on it in that time over various bits of nature. Potted summary so far...

Bits broken \ fallen off : Nothing broken, only thing that's fallen off is me.
Bits upgraded : Pedals, but only because I wanted to go clipless asap
Bits worn out : Back tyre's nearly done, cassette and chain on the verge of succumbing to the endless mud.
Only bit that's just rubbish : The brakes.
Bits that do the job : See everything bar brakes.
Satisfaction level : Bargain, well chuffed with it for the price, better than I expected.

As for upgrades (not counting the pedals), I haven't changed anything yet so can't comment. Good job as well as there was plenty in the way of essential\handy\I just want one, okay! other stuff to get...

pjd2209

Thanks for the welcome guys, and good to hear from a fellow vengeance owner

At present, not looking to change anything under advice from the guys above, and am just gonna enjoy it for a while, couple of (very noob) questions though.

1) The forks that came with the bike are apparently Suntour XCM-V3. am i right in assuming these are coil and not air sprung?

2) Being a heavier guy (5ft 10 nearly 18st) should i be fearful that im gonna break anything other than myself in riding trails (Swinley specifically) as its right on my doorstep

Thanks and apologies for the basic questions

Darkstalker420

Hi mate here you go: http://www.srsuntour-cycling.com/dstore ... 26%27.html

Should tell you all you need to know. I wouldn't worry the only thing i would keep an eye on are the brake pads and if you MIGHT need a stiffer spring in the forks (keep a listen out for "clunks") this will be the forks bottoming out. If this happens try increasing the preload (knob on the top of fork leg). If this ain't enough you may need stiffer spring rate.

However i don't think your ride will just fall to bits (check tightness of bolts every now and then) as new stuff sometimes like to undo it'sef :shock:. Have fun.

Thanks.

paul.skibum

I have no comment on the bike but if you are in Berkshire I can suggest some rides to try!

I started riding 9 years ago in Reading and was a regular at Swinley throughout that time - fantastic place to just head off and get lost - I used to have an hour to hour and a half regular loop and then just repeated or branched off from it until my legs dropped off. It's a fun place to be.

But as much as I liked it there exploring the network of bridleways is the best - North Berks and up into Oxon and so on has some brilliant trails - Christmas Common, Nettlebed, Watlington, etc all have a load of bridleways some of which are beautiful climbs, some are fantastic descents (fast and loose to tight and techy). Get an OS or two to cover the north of berks and just start drawing loops out on the trails up there. I finally linked together all my favourties one saturday and did 50+ miles door to door probably only on road for 6-8 miles and most of those were to get beyond reading.

Enjoy the ride.

pjd2209

First trip to Swinley planned for the weekend - cannot wait!

although i think i might need to reindex my gears first due to a little bit of overexertion yesterday!

cooldad

Keep an eye on London Calling in rides - regularly ride Swinley, and unless you know where you are going you'll miss all the good stuff.

pjd2209

Well, permits for Swinley purchased - first ride there tonight - with a bit of luck both myself and the bike make it back in one piece!

paul.skibum

First ride there take it easy - the forest has loads of wide fireroads off from which singletrack branches in all directions. Generally speaking at the majority of the fireroad junctions there are signposts pointing you back toward the lookout so you can find your way back - some of them like Star Junction can be a bit confusing so try and keep your bearings.

Your best bet from the car park is to cut through the kids play area by the discovery centre and out the gate the far side. Turn left up the gentle hill and follow that fireroad across one junction and up a short climb - from the top of that hill you have a load of singletrack and fireroads that all interconnect to play around on. If you see anyone else heading out int he car park it might be worth striking up a conversation and seeing if you can join them at least for a bit.

Dont leave anythign valuable on show in the car - bracknell is full of theiving pikeys.

cooldad

paul.skibum wrote:

Dont leave anythign valuable on show in the car - bracknell is full of theiving pikeys.

Don't worry. I'm still at work.

pjd2209

Well, i didnt come off - but then again as a fire road noob (for now) i was kinda hoping i wouldnt.

I didnt drive there as i live pretty closeby, so nipped accross nine mile ride and into it about half way down, loved it.

Only went out for about an hour but enjoyed it, not so much cleaning the bike afterwards, but guess it goes with the territtory and the puddles!

out again tomorrow, with a view to a much longer session at the weekend.

mcnultycop

Posted in wrong thread. Bollocks.

cooldad

pjd2209 wrote:

Well, i didnt come off - but then again as a fire road noob (for now) i was kinda hoping i wouldnt.

I didnt drive there as i live pretty closeby, so nipped accross nine mile ride and into it about half way down, loved it.

Only went out for about an hour but enjoyed it, not so much cleaning the bike afterwards, but guess it goes with the territtory and the puddles!

out again tomorrow, with a view to a much longer session at the weekend.

SBI (Swinley bog index) was about 7 over the weekend, probably dried out a bit since. Was great fun - nothing like warmish mud to sloosh through.

paul.skibum

There's a part of Swinley where trails lead and some of them are great - but they head down and down and it gets darker and the trails more loamy, you are still having fun but the trails get more beset with obstacles and then wham you are axle deep in mud, teetering over the front end desperately trying to get some semblance of weight back over the back wheel to stop the plunge into Satan's Bog.

You then have to step off into the midst of this fetid mire to turn round and trudge back out, realising as you do that the only tracks you can see are animal tracks, you have no idea where you are and can only hear the mornful wail of a screech owl in the woods somewhere. You realise you are very, very alone.

pjd2209

paul.skibum wrote:

There's a part of Swinley where trails lead and some of them are great - but they head down and down and it gets darker and the trails more loamy, you are still having fun but the trails get more beset with obstacles and then wham you are axle deep in mud, teetering over the front end desperately trying to get some semblance of weight back over the back wheel to stop the plunge into Satan's Bog.

You then have to step off into the midst of this fetid mire to turn round and trudge back out, realising as you do that the only tracks you can see are animal tracks, you have no idea where you are and can only hear the mornful wail of a screech owl in the woods somewhere. You realise you are very, very alone.

Were you watching me on Saturday? rode down what i thought was a lovely little track, nice and thin, between some power lines,, turning left and right to avoid lumps and then wham - near enough up to the axle in mud with not a hope of pedalling through