giving mountain biking a try

[RWright]

Thanks. I am still on the fence about bar ends. I like the fact that they can maybe be used like a bark buster on motorcycle, just slam into the tree with them and bounce off and keep going but they make it wider and more difficult to get between the trees too. I didn't know which way they go. I just looked and it looks like the way they are now there would be less chance for impalement when I become more adept at the fine art of face planting.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Try flipping them, your wrists may be more comfortable. Try not to face plant, ever.

 

[RWright]

I took the bar ends off. The type riding I am doing so far I don't use them. Also a short term fix for the grip shifters, I can now grip the bars firmly without having my hands on the shifters.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Bar ends-not for everyone. Beer is for everyone. (except me, I have the gout.)

 

[Nigeyy]

Nice bike and nice find -I think that's a quality bike -and for 300 bucks too! Bargain!

Don't worry about the HeadShok, it's not that bad to work on. I took mine apart, replaced the bearings without too much trouble. A headset reducer would be appealing so that you could fit a traditional suspension fork, but it all depends on how much money you want to spend. I'd say ride it until you have to.

Yes, travel is a bit limited compared to modern bikes, but it still works!

 

[RWright]

I have been out a few times now and do enjoy the riding. I have ridden two different trails and one section of power lines less than a mile from my house. I drove to the other two trails, one is about a 15 minute drive and the other about 20. I have one that is about 6 miles from my house by road. (the tough one, haven't ridden it yet) I went down the power lines looking for a more direct route so I could just ride there and back on the bike but so far I have only found a way that would either include getting back on the highway or going very near people's yards and maybe even riding on a golf course a little. I am still considering maybe trying it. No,I wouldn't shred the greens or fairways, the sand traps would be tempting though.

I have ran into a couple of issues already however. I have knocked one of the knobs off the front knobby and put a small slice in the sidewall as well. I didn't flat but my beautiful tires are all gnarly looking now. I may try to patch the sidewall and do a little riding this weekend anyway. The missing knob doesn't look too bad, I can see the tough red liner under the rubber but it is sort of off to the side. The amount of rubber missing is about the size of a small coin, maybe a little smaller. I don't know of anything much I can do about that. I will do some googling.

When I bought the bike I asked the guy if it leaks any brake fluid. He said it is cable brakes. I thought to myself that sure as hell looks like a brake fluid reservoir but thought ok, must be something I am not aware of. Last night I took off the top of reservoir and found out it is in fact fluid, mineral oil for that matter. Mineral oil that spilled out some when I was checking it out, mineral oil that I have none of to refill it. My rear brake is very squishy now. I will order some or run by the LBS and get some. I also need to figure out how drain and refill these. I would be surprised if it has been done recently, if ever. Looks like a youtube and google mountain bike mechanics tutorial weekend for me.

Sorry for rambling on. I found a video of a section of the tougher of the two trails I have ridden so far. This guy videoed the entire track but this is just a 7 minute section. The rest of the trail is very similar. It was shot during the same month (not year) I rode it, so it looks very much the same right now. I do believe they added a few much tougher sections since this video was done. It shows the type riding I will more than likely be doing the most of. I am still looking for some nice tame smooth trails with great scenery and that isn't trying to buck me off every three seconds.

I am enjoying it, much more intense workout for me so far. I like the variety of doing both street and dirt riding. Here is the video:

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Check on line because some hydraulic brakes use mineral oil and others use brake fluid.

 

[RWright]

Check on line because some hydraulic brakes use mineral oil and others use brake fluid.

These say mineral oil on the cap. I will double check though. I went to the Magura site and looked briefly. I think finding much info on these might be difficult because of their age. I have not found a model number on them yet. I didn't look really close yet either.

 

[Gravity Aided]

That trail is a real Banshee at the end. Looks like fun.

 

[RWright]

It has been raining some here the past several days so I haven't done much riding of any kind. I did spend some time fettling my MTB. I put on a set of WTB Velociraptors, My front brake was squealing so I sanded the rotors and pads and cleaned them with brake cleaner. Pads were glazed.I drained the brake fluid and put new in. I learned how to do it on Youtube. I was lucky my LBS had the fitting I needed for the caliper, as well as some plastic tubing. I got a couple of syringes from the pharmacy. The LBS guys are helpful and friendly, I would like to maybe buy a 29er from them some day. I would like to have one of their Niner brand but those things are a little pricy. I think that is going to be quite a while.

I got rid of the squeal and got the feel I wanted from the brakes as well. First time I had bled brakes of any kind. I have seen it done a lot but there is a difference when you do it yourself, fortunately there were some very good tutorials but not on the exact brakes like mine, but I got the message. I just need to bed the rear brakes, haven't had a chance to do that yet. I also took off the cassette,cleaned the hubs and gave them a quick look. The bike is very fresh. If it has over 50 miles on it I would be surprised. I learned a lot and didn't shed any of my own blood.

I put a seat I had laying around on it, the stock seat was brutal. I also had a set of riser bars I was not using on anything, they are on it now too. They are 5 inch risers and they look kind of funky but they feel pretty good just sitting on the bike. I haven't ridden with them yet. I think I will want some with less rise but will wait and see how I like these. I just need to decide now if I want to use some sort of saddle bag or just a strap to carry tools and tubes. I will use a saddle bag for now since I don't have a strap. I am ready to ride, I just need for it to stop raining and dry up a little. Don't want to get my spotless new toy all muddy, at least not quite yet.

 

[Mo1959]

@RWright Well done. I wish I had your skills. I still keep looking for a cheapish mountain bike and almost bid on one in the next town the other day but money is tight and I chickened out at the last minute As much as I do fancy getting one, it is yet another bike to maintain and buy stuff for
Just ordered a new set of the Schwalbe Durano Plus for the road bike this morning. I thought about trying something lighter but these have been so reliable I think that is worth more to me, especially in the colder weather.

This auction finishes soon and looks in lovely condition. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avalanche-GT-3-0-Bike-/331040120411?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4d13875e5b Not sure about the colour though....I am not a very girly girl

 

[RWright]

@RWright Well done. I wish I had your skills. I still keep looking for a cheapish mountain bike and almost bid on one in the next town the other day but money is tight and I chickened out at the last minute As much as I do fancy getting one, it is yet another bike to maintain and buy stuff for
Just ordered a new set of the Schwalbe Durano Plus for the road bike this morning. I thought about trying something lighter but these have been so reliable I think that is worth more to me, especially in the colder weather.

This auction finishes soon and looks in lovely condition. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avalanche-GT-3-0-Bike-/331040120411?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4d13875e5b Not sure about the colour though....I am not a very girly girl

That's a fresh looking bike. Pink is fine...for a girl, you can always say it is magenta. Still some time left to bid.

Doing the work is time consuming because I am still learning. I try to stay with the same type cassettes if possible so I don't have to have different tools, My road bikes also have hallowtech II cranks and use the same BB tool (wish this bike was the same). I am sure you could do it, just need a few tools to make things easier. Probably my favorite tools are my P-Handle hex wrenches, they have a little stand and are large and easy to find. It seems like I spend about as much time looking around the house and in my tool box for tools as I do working on the bikes.

 

[RWright]

I thought I would post another picture since this is probably as clean and fresh as my MTB will ever be again. I will try to find a cheap riser bar to replace the ones on it now. The ones on it don't feel bad but they are just a little too upright. I think something about the same width with about half the rise will work. I may have to visit bikes shops to find one with the sweep I like. I might even try to find a matching bottle cage or two. I like the new tires but I do miss the sound of the old ones, on the road at normal speed it sounded like a swarm of hornets, down a decent hill it sounded like a WW2 Stuka dive bomber.

 

[Gravity Aided]

And that is bad? I think those MTB tires sound more like an F4U Corsair, those howled without a siren on the landing gear. As did the Avro Vulcan

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQxb-V-rZqA

 

[Gravity Aided]

BTW- That is still the coolest MTB I've seen.