MTB newbie but not new to cycling.

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Stevec047

Über Member
Location
Saffron Walden
So after over 3 years of road bikes the darkside calling was to much to handle and I have got myself a MTB hardtail.

To be honest I havent got a clue about the bike other than it was a bargin and its so much fun. 26" is just so much fun.

Have already taken it to Chicksands and Danbury and intend to do so much more. Struggling to get the roadie riding habits out of the way though.

Any advice or info about the bike. What to change etc would be greatly received.
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sheddy

Legendary Member
Location
Suffolk
luverly !

Longer rear mudguard (or rack), bar ends and decent lock
 
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Stevec047

Stevec047

Über Member
Location
Saffron Walden
Looks like a 2008 model Rockhopper Disc with aftermarket Fox forks (originally Rockshox Tora).
Very nice bike, no need to change anything, if everything works as it should then ride and enjoy.
https://www.evanscycles.com/special...=awin&utm_campaign=78888&utm_medium=Affiliate
Ah thats cleared things up a little. Everything seems to work great. Will look to upgrade the brakes as the Avid Juicy set up on there currently are starting to show its age and I would like to put a larger set of discs on it to help scrub more speed off quicker as the discs started to get a bit hot last time I was on the trails.
 
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Jody

Stubborn git
Ah thats cleared things up a little. Everything seems to work great. Will look to upgrade the brakes as the Avid Juicy set up on there currently are starting to show its age and I would like to put a larger set of discs on it to help scrub more speed off quicker as the discs started to get a bit hot last time I was on the trails.

No need to change disc size if you have a reasonable set of brakes. Discs do get hot but it's not a problem unless you start sending them blue.

What's your budget on brakes?
 

Zipp2001

Veteran
Was 100% road bike for almost 40 years, until I discovered the Darkside 6 years ago, and now spend more time on the trails than the road.

Have fun on the Darkside !
 
D

Deleted member 23692

Guest
Nice bike.

Firstly get the front disc rotor on the right way round. The rotor spokes should be curving outwards towards the front, not the rear as they are now. There should be a rotation direction arrow on it somewhere so you know it's fitted correctly. The rear rotor is is right

If you are wanting to upgrade/modernise it then in no particular order

180mm front rotor
Dropper seatpost
Shorter stem/Wider bars
Dropper seatpost
1x conversion

Did I mention dropper post?

There's also the longer fork/slacker headset options but by the time you get there that point you'd be looking at a new bike anyhoo.

Mine was a similar layout reasonably staid 3x10 XC when purchased in 2011, and over the years it's morphed from this..

was.jpg


to a 1x10 hoot of a trail ripper

now.jpg
 
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Stevec047

Stevec047

Über Member
Location
Saffron Walden
No need to change disc size if you have a reasonable set of brakes. Discs do get hot but it's not a problem unless you start sending them blue.

What's your budget on brakes?
To be honest the budget is low. I have been searching the classifieds to see if a working Hope set up is available but may look at Shimano if nothing comes up.
 
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Stevec047

Stevec047

Über Member
Location
Saffron Walden
Was 100% road bike for almost 40 years, until I discovered the Darkside 6 years ago, and now spend more time on the trails than the road.

Have fun on the Darkside !
Doubt I will ever stop riding the road bikes love them too much to switch fully but for a fun toy and weekend hack its brilliant.
 
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Stevec047

Stevec047

Über Member
Location
Saffron Walden
Nice bike.

Firstly get the front disc rotor on the right way round. The rotor spokes should be curving outwards towards the front, not the rear as they are now. There should be a rotation direction arrow on it somewhere so you know it's fitted correctly. The rear rotor is is right

If you are wanting to upgrade/modernise it then in no particular order

180mm front rotor
Dropper seatpost
Shorter stem/Wider bars
Dropper seatpost
1x conversion

Did I mention dropper post?

There's also the longer fork/slacker headset options but by the time you get there that point you'd be looking at a new bike anyhoo.

Mine was a similar layout reasonably staid 3x10 XC when purchased in 2011, and over the years it's morphed from this..

View attachment 466929

to a 1x10 hoot of a trail ripper

View attachment 466928
Oh I never spotted the front disc, that may be the reason I get a bit of chatter from it under hard braking. Will jump on that straight away.

The 1x is the first upgrade on the list as its a super cheap option to do. I have been looking for a wider set of bars but have no idea what would be the best option for me. As for the stem well it currently I have a 60mm sat on my winter road bike that I may switch out and see how it feels.

Dropper post will be later down the line will need to save a little for that and probably look to update the brakes first.

Loving your set up though. Thats the plan for mine in the long term.
 
D

Deleted member 23692

Guest
To be honest the budget is low. I have been searching the classifieds to see if a working Hope set up is available but may look at Shimano if nothing comes up.
Hope's aren't that special IMO, unless you like gaudy colours and tooling marks.

The beauty of Shimano is that the Deore, SLX and XT all share the same internals and all you buy is extra features as you move up the ranges.

Moving from Deore to SLX buys you banjo bolt hose fitting at the caliper end instead of nut/olive, tool-less reach adjustment at the lever, ditches the split pin pad retainer for an allen bolt.
Moving from SLX to XT buys you with free stroke adjustment and very little else.

All can run the same pads - finned or finless, and Deore can be easily adapted to allen bolt pad retention with a 4mm tap. Plus they don't use nasty DOT brake fluid, which can only be a big plus

Moving sideways to look Zee or Saint will get you 4 pot calipers... plus you can use any of the above mentioned levers. Gotta love interchangeability :smile:


Loving your set up though. Thats the plan for mine in the long term.
:thumbsup:
 
Location
Loch side.
Ah thats cleared things up a little. Everything seems to work great. Will look to upgrade the brakes as the Avid Juicy set up on there currently are starting to show its age and I would like to put a larger set of discs on it to help scrub more speed off quicker as the discs started to get a bit hot last time I was on the trails.

Brakes convert kinetic energy into heat. That's how brakes work. If they don't get hot, it means they don't stop. Larger discs won't stop quicker, the limiting factor is traction, not brakes.
 
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