Teuchter
Über Member
- Location
- Erskine, Scotland
I don't know what caused it. Maybe it was winter, tales of commutes through snow and ice on spiked tyres (though here in Glasgow we've had it very mild) and battling rust on my usual steel framed commuting bike. Maybe it's a mid life crisis, hitting the big 4-0 though I already had the lycra shorts and expensive road bike (not to mention a motorbike) that apparently goes with this. Maybe it's n+1 fever but I've exceeded that by a fair margin... does n+4 count?
Maybe I just want to get dirty.
Whatever the reason, I am now in grave danger of becoming at least now and then, a mountain biker.
I'll qualify this straight away with two caveats...
1. My new steed (okay, it's 5 years old but new to me) is a low end bike with low end components. I have no illusions about this. Most of my biking money is earmarked for other bikes (a new touring bike is on the horizon) so mountain biking is going to be done on the cheap.
2. Despite years of racking up hundreds of miles every month on the road, I know next to nothing about off road cycling.
I've just bought a second hand 2008 Diamondback Overdrive from eBay. This was it as I collected it (yes, I canoe as well).
The previous owner had fitted Suntour XCT v2 forks which are apparently better than the originals but still low end kit, replaced the front v-brake with a disc (from Halfords Bikehut of all places) and fitted a centre stand that removed all ground clearance, a rack (that I'll use for commuting in winter) and had proceeded to maintain the bike as only someone who didn't know a spanner from a monkey wrench could.
The disc brakes were rattly and loose, the rear v-brake was misaligned and rubbing, the chain had never seen a drop of oil and the back wheel's axle nuts were less than finger tight, giving the initial impression that the rear wheel bearings were missing half of their balls.
Saturday morning was spent taking things to bits, rectifying these faults and looking for any others. A pile of parts were removed (the saddle and seatpost swapped out with slightly better ones from my parts bin).
Things ended up looking like this.
All seems okay now except for an occasional knocking from the bottom bracket so that'll be replaced in the very near future.
I'm so far enjoying seeking out rough trails that I wouldn't dream of going near on one of my road bikes and aim to build up some level of off-road experience and confidence. Any advice for a novice mountain biker appreciated!
Maybe I just want to get dirty.
Whatever the reason, I am now in grave danger of becoming at least now and then, a mountain biker.
I'll qualify this straight away with two caveats...
1. My new steed (okay, it's 5 years old but new to me) is a low end bike with low end components. I have no illusions about this. Most of my biking money is earmarked for other bikes (a new touring bike is on the horizon) so mountain biking is going to be done on the cheap.
2. Despite years of racking up hundreds of miles every month on the road, I know next to nothing about off road cycling.
I've just bought a second hand 2008 Diamondback Overdrive from eBay. This was it as I collected it (yes, I canoe as well).
The previous owner had fitted Suntour XCT v2 forks which are apparently better than the originals but still low end kit, replaced the front v-brake with a disc (from Halfords Bikehut of all places) and fitted a centre stand that removed all ground clearance, a rack (that I'll use for commuting in winter) and had proceeded to maintain the bike as only someone who didn't know a spanner from a monkey wrench could.
The disc brakes were rattly and loose, the rear v-brake was misaligned and rubbing, the chain had never seen a drop of oil and the back wheel's axle nuts were less than finger tight, giving the initial impression that the rear wheel bearings were missing half of their balls.
Saturday morning was spent taking things to bits, rectifying these faults and looking for any others. A pile of parts were removed (the saddle and seatpost swapped out with slightly better ones from my parts bin).
Things ended up looking like this.
All seems okay now except for an occasional knocking from the bottom bracket so that'll be replaced in the very near future.
I'm so far enjoying seeking out rough trails that I wouldn't dream of going near on one of my road bikes and aim to build up some level of off-road experience and confidence. Any advice for a novice mountain biker appreciated!
