Dipping a toe

[mythste]

Nothing on the Wirral besides horse trails and leisure paths. I wish there where but I have to travel into North Wales or Delamere with Llandegla being my closest trail centre.

Llandegla seems to be 7 miles out from Wrexham rail station which seems reasonable to do (And downhill on the way back!)

If you ever fancy a slow Sunday with a newbie round there please, let me know!

 

[Ciar]

nice looking bike you have there, if you do keep on with the muddy side of riding, buy yourself one item and one item only.... a dropper post! honestly best thing ever ;-) either way have fun it's the best type of riding for me personally.

 

[Crackle]

Llandegla seems to be 7 miles out from Wrexham rail station which seems reasonable to do (And downhill on the way back!)

If you ever fancy a slow Sunday with a newbie round there please, let me know!

I will. I haven't been at all this year so I'm not the most prolific mtn biker but this is the time of year I start going.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Haha, I'm with Crackle, if you can learn to manual and wheelie in a day you're doing better than me! Good news is a decent front wheel lift is often all you need to clear an obstacle or launch a drop off and land on both wheels together.

If learning the "proper" American bunnyhop is taking ages (I'm still not even close after months and have pretty much given up) I find the English hop really useful (google/youtube for instructions... but it's basically just a case of squat down to preload the suspension and tyres, then explode/jump upwards lifting the back wheel with you with your feet) and I managed to get that down in a long afternoon's practice.

Hope you enjoy your V8's as much as I do

 

[mythste]

Haha, I'm with Crackle, if you can learn to manual and wheelie in a day you're doing better than me! Good news is a decent front wheel lift is often all you need to clear an obstacle or launch a drop off and land on both wheels together.

If learning the "proper" American bunnyhop is taking ages (I'm still not even close after months and have pretty much given up) I find the English hop really useful (google/youtube for instructions... but it's basically just a case of squat down to preload the suspension and tyres, then explode/jump upwards lifting the back wheel with you with your feet) and I managed to get that down in a long afternoon's practice.

Hope you enjoy your V8's as much as I do

Didnt get as much practice as I'd like last night but the wheelie/manual thing seemed to evade my skillset completely, though im still blaming the slippery pedals until I get my hands (feet) on the V8s.

I was however managing to bunny hop! Which is a first! Proper front wheel up an over followed by the back up curbs and over grates! Perhaps I am english hopping now I think about it. I was following the GMBN tutorial of lowering your weight down and then back in a reverse "L" shape.

Baby steps.

 

[Jody]

Well done. Bunny hops aren't an easy skill to learn!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Nice one! A game I particularly enjoy at the moment is going out with a friend and seeing who can bunnyhop the big piles the horses have left behind en route - gives a good incentive but minus any danger! You can tell by the state of our back tyres that we need more practice

 

[ChrisEyles]

Nice one! A game I particularly enjoy at the moment is going out with a friend and seeing who can bunnyhop the big piles the horses have left behind en route - gives a good incentive but minus any danger! You can tell by the state of our back tyres that we need more practice

 

[mythste]

To whoever suggested the V8 copies from wellgo - Thanks! had a short round the block blast with them last night and they've made a huge difference!

 

[Crackle]

I've got the V8 copies on 3 bikes. They are copies, they will start clicking but for 12 quid......

 

[mythste]

I've got the V8 copies on 3 bikes. They are copies, they will start clicking but for 12 quid......

My thoughts exactly. I've only properly ridden the thing once, I'm reasonably spanner handy so I dont mind pulling it apart to regrease but if needs must, I'll part with the £30 for a "real" pair of pedals sometime

 

[Jody]

Good call on the cheap flats, they help no end when tricking about. You now have no excuse to stop you learning wheelies.

Biggest tip I can give for wheelies and the first thing to get used to (once the bike is lifted far enough in the air) is back brake control. Its an essential thing to know for when the bike goes to far past the balance point, dab on the brake to either bring it back in line or just slam the front back on terra firma.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Glad you got on with them! I need to get a pair to replace the ones on full sus and will definitely go with the wellgo v8s again.

 

[mythste]

Went out over the moors by Burnley with Manchester Mountain Bikers yesterday.

The ride was slightly marred by horrendously cold weather and a rider that was probably well below skill and fitness that we had to wait for constantly (Not me! But no one complained, just one of those things) but I learnt a load! The pedals where much grippier than I'd expected which is great news. Not so great news is that they did indeed take a chunk out the back of my leg! I suppose I'm glad it was the back and not the front...

Definitely need some more winter friendly tyres, I was immediately outed as a roadie when they saw the Cross Max tyres and I was raelly struggling for traction, especially over the boggy stuff.

I've been told, (and I agree) that I need to work on my slow speed maneuvering. I'm in control over heavy ruts at something resembling speed but if I come up to something that I'm not sure about my instinct is still to stop and walk, which for the time being is probably sensible, but a lot of the other guys where track standing, assessing, then pumping the bike up and over or round.

All in all though, great fun, and I;m a much better mountain biker than I was when I started!

 

[Crackle]

That's proper stuff, well done. It's only a matter of time before those pedals get your shin, trust me.