Budget Built (sort of) - Rock Lobster - Update on p6

70\ʹspenguin

How are the splashbacks? Im tempted to pop some on my Charge.

Isnt it odd how much the steel dampens the ride! Dunno about you but my steelie feels "alive" if that makes any sense?

The Northern Monkey

Splashbacks are brilliant... AndyB recommended them highly so took the plunge.
They are great around Cwmcarn... mud, rocks, fire road etc.. bit of eveything! 1.8 took a bit of getting used to, I've never gone under 2.35 before!
They're very fast too, found myself having to slow the bike down and stop it from getting away from me haha!

Its just nice and enjoyable to ride, I did feel like I should have a big beard and handlebar mounted map though
Looking forward to Sunday!

The Northern Monkey

Obligatory 'bike in kitchen' photo



Sorted the front mech, needed to move one of the stops slightly.

One thing though, my arse is killing me! Sat on the saddle and ouch... it came off the FR bike so is pretty stiff! So i'll be needing something comfy.
Any ideas? I've been trying to find a charge spoon in stock but they seem to have all disappeared! are they being replaced by something new?

sanchez89

im sure iv got a charge spoon somewhere........ if i find it you want it??

minley1

Glad you are enjoying it, looks great

The Northern Monkey

sanchez89 wrote:

im sure iv got a charge spoon somewhere........ if i find it you want it??

Cheers for the offer, but popped into Sunset bikes today and they had the brown leather in the shop

Seems more comfortable than the Shiver, but I also got some endura humvees with the clickfast padded shorts... should make things easier on the butt!

sanchez89

ok buddy no probs. glad your enjoying it. keep reading all these hardtail builds and it makes me want one more and more.

but i no the reason i sold my old hardtail was because it gave me back ache riding it!! does the steel frame give a bit more of a forgiving ride?

The Northern Monkey

Another ride done today, saddle change was just the ticket... made such a diference!
Still getting used to the 100mm travel, but its light and poppy enough to float over most stuff. Got a tad jolted about on the 2nd to last decent at Cwmcarn though (that one is pretty rough on the Canyon!).

It's def a smother and more comfortable ride than the Boardman Pro I had before it got nicked...quality steel though, never ridden an 853 frame before, but can tell the difference between this and the 631 on the P7, again the RL is smoother.

Got to say though, the Deore M596 brakes are stuperb.


New saddle...

sanchez89

sweet, looks great. your winter bike to keep the Canyon fresh or just a general XC bike?

The Northern Monkey

You know.. I don't know... lol!
We shall see! 50 miles next weekend.. which is what I primarily built this for, after that.....

Canyon is locked up for now, cleaning it after a wet ride is tedious... the RL takes just a few mins lol!

The Northern Monkey

83.6km completed on the Rock Lobster!
Max speed, 53.1km/h hehe...





Bike was outstanding!

The Northern Monkey

1 thing I did notice on the ride yesterday was that over sort of cobble/small rocks, the front fork sounded like it was either
1) knocking internally
2) toping out on rebound constantly

It really put me off for a bit - riding an old, slim, xc fork (at my weight) can be..... arse clenching at times.

I've checked the headset and thats fine... think it may be time for a service tbh - I mean, it is 8 years old after all!

The Northern Monkey

had to take the wheels to the lbs tonight, found a dented/grouged spoke, probably from the van ride up to the brecon beacons on Saturday

LBS are going to replace the spoke and retension, should be back tomorrow.

Thinking about a fork upgrade, as good as the forks are, I've just got not confidence in them! The frame is much faster than what the forks can handle but for a temporary solution they're ok.
I think they're the only component that sort of lets the whole package down!

The Northern Monkey

Yay, wheels are back. New spoke and both wheels trued and tensioned... £12
Means I can get out at the weekend as I've lost interest in dragging the bulky Canyon round..

Still need to service the forks/find a replacement.... found some Rebas but the steerer was too short

The Rookie

Hardtail convert then! Sounds like you're loving it!

Sounds like you have play in the fork bushings...could you use the forks off the Canyon perhaps?

The Northern Monkey

Tis brilliant I want another hard core hardtail again!

Always found HT's easier to ride, less.... Erm... Bouncy.

EH_Rob

Weird how these things seem to go in cycles - I'm loving riding an FS at the moment, but this thread has made me miss my HT!

Looks like a great bike.

The Northern Monkey

Just had a boxing day blast on the Rock Lobster, wet but really really enjoyed it!

Was looking to change the frame, but after todays ride it will be staying.

Few notes:
1) the fork needs changing, its like a pogo stick so a nice new RS number will be on its way in the post
2) the splashbacks are good, roll fast etc, but they wear like buggery! I've probably only done 100km on the bike and the rear is completely dead.... and its not like I drag the brake or skid etc!
3) The deore groupset is by far the best value item of MTB kit that I have ever bought. Its simply stunning!

wowtaylor

Some chocolate brown lock on grips would suit that.

The Northern Monkey

yeah, current grips are a bit poo anyway tbh!!

The Northern Monkey

Few new bits for the RL arrived yesterday!

Shimano XT M785 wheelset (Weighed at 1675g according to my rubbish kitchen scales - claimed 1625).
Rockshox Reba RL 100mm QR with poplock
2x Continental Mountain King 2.2 folding because they were silly cheap and I could't resist!



Yum.

lawman

Ohhhh you braved the wheels then? :P

Knew this remain a budget build for long, still looking good though, are the mountain kings black chilli?

The Northern Monkey

Yeahhh... I clicked with the bike (finally) just before christmas and had a cracking ride today. So figured it needed some upgrades!
Needed forks as the MZ's flexed loads under braking, was a bit scary watching it almost fold under the front wheel!

Hehe yeah, I'm a sucker for shimano stuff!
Didn't really need wheels, but my bro in law needs a set so he can have my cheap ones and I get to save some weight!
They're very sexy, but do I need to use rim tape with tubes if they're tubeless ready?

No idea what tyres they are, think they're just boggo folding ones. But were £10 each so couldn't complain. The splashbacks have lasted for exactly fuckall ride time and were a bit thin for my liking.

The Rookie

Looking good, love the wheels!

newbie_biker

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Few new bits for the RL arrived yesterday!

Shimano XT M785 wheelset (Weighed at 1675g according to my rubbish kitchen scales - claimed 1625).

How much did you pick up the wheelset for?

The Northern Monkey

Just under £200

newbie_biker

The Northern Monkey wrote:

Just under £200

From an online retailer?

I thought you were running those Merlin wheels?

The Northern Monkey

Yeah I got the XT's from Merlin in their 8 day xmas sale!

Still got the Merlin handbuilts (which have been superb), but they were a tad heavier (just under 2000g) and will be donated to my brother in law's bike or I'll keep them as spare!

allthegearnoidea

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I'll keep them as spare!

And Accidentally source another frame for them to go on! ;-) :-D

The Northern Monkey

allthegearnoidea wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

I'll keep them as spare!

And Accidentally source another frame for them to go on! ;-) :-D

The Mrs has been quizzing me for a few days... she wants to know when the new frame is arriving so surely thats an invitation