voodoo bantu

houston26

hi all, my first post so be kind

got myself a bantu for to get back into biking, originally wanted a hoodoo but the lad who worked at halfords actually got me to buy the cheaper bantu when he heard id be using it mostly for commuting, he did want me to get a hybrid but i was against it, he recommended i spent the extra money on other bits, which i did, at another shop

but now ive been using it more i can feel its a heavy beast, changed the tyres to my fav cx comps and straight away it popped a wheelie and i nearly went over, original tyres must have been filled with lead!

so my q is why is this bike so heavy?

also does anyone know what the widest tyres i can fit? gonna be doin a few trails in the summer and i cant use the comps, and the orig tyres are a joke.

also it comes with the raidon x3 fork, can this still be taken apart to make it 120mm travel like the other raidons?

overall ive been impressed with it once i changed the tyres, but still having lots of niggling faults. handlebars werent put on straight, cheers halfords. the rear rotor must be warped as no amount of adjustment will cure the scrape noise at speed, halfords worked said it would straighten itself, im not so sure.

and also its got an annoying noise which i cant find, its a squeak which comes from near bb, only when i pedal, and its not on every rotation, just seems when theres pressure on the pedals and start turning.

and my halfords experience hasnt been great either, but its taught me to setup my own gears, shockinly easy, dunno how halfords managed to completely mess mine up!

supersonic

It's heavy because it is a budget bike.

2.3 is about the widest you can go.

Bikes have to bed in then need readjustment.

The Rookie

The Nutraks on the Bantu aren't that heavy, me thinks you exagerate a little (or a lot), you've probably saved about 400grams.

It is heavy because it's budget, a lot of parts can be made lighter with more expensive meaterials and proccesses than you have paid for, some of teh bits are quite light though, the stem for example and the seatpost clamp are both good parts.

Some Raidons can be made 120mm, the ones on the Bantu it appear cannot (We had a poster have his forks replcaced as Halfords were still advertising them as 120mm and selling 100mms, they couldn't be tweaked), you don't want 120's for commuting though!

If the rear disc is warped, get it replaced, check it first, align the caliper.

You don't need wide tires for trails.....

houston26

Sorry. What I meant to say is why is it heavier than the hoodoo? Only difference is gears and apparently lighter fork, surely they won't add up to 2kg?

I clocked up 500 mile in a month and front lost front gearing, could only get big ring, took it to halfords for there 6 week check and on the ride home the cable came away from the mech, bolt wasn't done up tight enough so I ended up walking home

cooldad

Why - it should just drop into the little ring?

houston26

Nope, it dropped past the small ring, I pushed it back on and turned the crank to get it back on, which worked for a bit but then it slipped back off and I just thought it was too dangerous and is break it more

houston26

Is that all the tyres saved? 400g? I wish I was exaggerating but I have moved up 3 gears for the same effort as what I was doing. Also I've got a lot less judder through the bars and better cornering.

I read that thread and I don't think I could go through the hassle, would rather just ride the bike till it breaks and upgrade then. I like this fork and doubt I would feel the difference anyway, just thought the 20mm would help raise the front end a bit for me.

Goin to hamsterly forest in the summer and thought a nice set of wide tyres would be nice, any recommendations?

Sorry if it sounds like I'm being an ate over the weight thing, was just surprised of the difference

anj132

houston26 wrote:

Sorry. What I meant to say is why is it heavier than the hoodoo? Only difference is gears and apparently lighter fork, surely they won't add up to 2kg?

Bantu 15.2 Kg

Hoodoo 14.1 Kg

1.1 Kg difference per Halfords spec, not quite 2Kg.

X1 - 1900g

X3 - 2115g

So there is 215g of your 1100g for a start.

Although listed bike weights doesn't mean they are always that - sometimes a good pinch of salt is needed. The similar X1 fork weighed less for 2011 (as per Suntour) than the 2012 forked now supplied with the hoodoo. That was by 50g.

Brakes and tyres are also different as well as the fork and gears as you mentioned. Wheelset also stated as different, although I'm not sure they are. 100g here, another 200g there and it all adds up.

houston26

anj132 wrote:

houston26 wrote:

Sorry. What I meant to say is why is it heavier than the hoodoo? Only difference is gears and apparently lighter fork, surely they won't add up to 2kg?

Bantu 15.2 Kg

Hoodoo 14.1 Kg

1.1 Kg difference per Halfords spec, not quite 2Kg.

X1 - 1900g

X3 - 2115g

So there is 215g of your 1100g for a start.

Although listed bike weights doesn't mean they are always that - sometimes a good pinch of salt is needed. The similar X1 fork weighed less for 2011 (as per Suntour) than the 2012 forked now supplied with the hoodoo. That was by 50g.

Brakes and tyres are also different as well as the fork and gears as you mentioned. Wheelset also stated as different, although I'm not sure they are. 100g here, another 200g there and it all adds up.

Thank you. Was kinda hoping it was one big thing that was different so I could do a big drop in one go, but you make sense.

It's still a huge step up from my old mtb. Had a diamondback m05 that a mate recommended, biggest pile I've ever had and it put me off bikes for a long time.

Woodmonkey

it's been said many times but if you want to upgrade then start with the wheels. even a budget set of superstars and you will notice a big difference

houston26

Little update on my Bantu experience, 4 months of owning it and I've took it back to Halfords to get it looked at as it wa making horrendous noises and getting difficult to use. Turns out bottom bracket was at fault, lad at Halfords was quite shocked, when he got the bike he was adamant it's not the bb and said greasing it will cure it. Obviously not, lol. But once the fault was found they've been brilliant, even with me losing the receipt and not being able to prove when I bought it!

Can't wait to get it back, got a call to say it's ready and been told its like a different bike now, must have been a broken bb when it was installed

The Rookie

I'd suggest learning how to do basic maintnenace yourself, nothing is very had and you'll save a mass of time and hassle and a little money on taking it to a bike shop each time! You should also be carrying some basic tools which would have sorted out that loose cable in a few seconds.

As for tyre weight, lighter tyres make you accelerate faster, they don't improve top speed, so you running X gears higher had nothing to do with tyre weight at all, pressure or rolling resitsance (the Nutraks aren't bad for that but the CX comps will be better as they have less tread) more likley.

houston26

Bumping this thread with yet another update, today the crank arm fell off, lost the bolt so had to walk 8 mile home, took it to Halfords to complain and luckily had the same lad who fitted the bb. He has a look over the bike and said very bolt he torqued has worked it's way loose, and a fork seal has gone, can hear it squelching. Also A trigger shift had lost its return pull

They offered a new Bantu but I said I've lost faith in the bike and asked for money back, so he offered me an upgrade to a hoodoo. Just couldn't say no to that. Very happy, the extra 20mm on the fork seems to do wonders for the riding position.

Also the Bantu didn't come with nutrak tyres, think it was csr

supersonic

Just check the crank bolts frequently ;-). Well all bolts really.

houston26

supersonic wrote:

Just check the crank bolts frequently ;-). Well all bolts really.

I even stopped cos I thought my shoe was coming loose, another few yards and then 'clunk' lucky it was the left crank, if it had been the right one then I would be under a bus right now!

The Rookie

CST - Ching Shen Tyre?

The Bantu is specced with Nutraks from the webby and has been since 2009, the CST would be a bit heavier but better off road than the Nutraks, so maybe you saved 500-600g!

houston26

The Beginner wrote:

CST - Ching Shen Tyre?

The Bantu is specced with Nutraks from the webby and has been since 2009, the CST would be a bit heavier but better off road than the Nutraks, so maybe you saved 500-600g!

I noticed that the same tyres were on a few Carreras whilst I was in shop, I think my Bantu must have been a returns bike seeing as all the bother i had with it.

The Rookie

Spelling's out,Chen Shing....yes they come on quite a lowish end bikes (above BSO).

cooldad

They also own/make Maxxis.

Lugwormer

OMG!!, I do not understand all this rubbish about the Bantu!. I have had mine for about 6 months, had to put together myself, as Halfords only had one , still in the box!. I must say, either the previous comments on here, was just bad luck and bought a bike , with a few problems, or the people in Halfords messed the assembly up?
I have had no problems whatsoever, and have been riding it hard, off road, and also to commute to work.
I cannot understand all the fuss, as it is by far, one of my favourite bikes in a while, not only looks good, But rides fantasic!!!... I have suntour XCR 26 Lo forks, with no rebound adjustment, i weigh around 12 stone, and the sag seems spot on, with little or no adjustment... all round Brilliant bike... and would recomend it to anyone who wants to mess around off road, as awell as using on road.

cooldad

All the 'rubbish' is really just one person's issues.

But excellent thread resurrection.