"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
02/01/2020 at 11:56 • Filed to: None
9
10|
"farscythe - makin da cawfee!" (farscythe)
02/01/2020 at 11:56 • Filed to: None | 9
| 10 |
as i need something to do in the weekend (that isnt drinking) ive decided the time has finally come to build meself a playground bike...on a budget...and no real timeframe for getting it done other than hopefully by spring (depending on how often and badly i fuck up whilst figuring out how and what im doing)
anyhoo the bike
specialized hardrock...seen better days
needs a fork and brakes to be rideable...well..its rideable now...if i pump up the tires...but the brakes are fubar...and the fork is seized...not ideal
the fork
rockshocks recon
it *should* be enough...but if it isnt its not so expensive ill care much if i wreck it
the brakes
uhhh..i havent decided yet... on the one hand.. shimano xt cablepowered is cheap and easy... on the other hand.. i really need to learn to do hydraulic brakes properly as none of the bike shops here do a good job
the playground
its annoying having to hold back on the trek as its also my daily... fine for hooning the mostly flat trails round here...but the playground is a little less kind on a bike
(i’ll also probably want to put lighter gearing on the hardrock..but i’ll cross that bridge when i get there)
FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/01/2020 at 12:36 |
|
Yay Specialized! (I may have a little bit of a Specialize d addiction as evidenced by the 3 of them in my garage right now and will defend them to the end against the mob on the web that says anyone who buys one is an idiot because you can get the same components on a better frame from brand X built by some boffin a garage in Colorado who only sells online for $1,000 less blah blah blah...) That Recon is decent fork if a bit heavy and using older tech. I’ve beat the tar out of some lower-end Rock Shox. The dampers wear our but the body can take a lot of abuse. I think it is good for that application though I would take a quick look around to see if somebody near you is selling something like a Fox Rhythm that they pulled off a bike they upgraded shortly after buying. The brakes... if you are even thinking of hydraulic just do it. I had cable-pull disc brakes for years and always thought they were fine but once I went hydraulic I wished I had done it ages ago. The entry-level hydraulic discs from both Shimano and Sram are pretty darn good these days so I don’t have any specific recommendations . I’ve been really happy with the Sram brakes on my bikes but they are a bit of a pain to bleed - a lot of my friends have ditched theirs for Shimano, bled them once and been through multiple sets of pads without bleeding them again.
(The Camber is mine and the Stumpjumper ST is my wife’s. )
|
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/01/2020 at 12:47 |
|
nice bikes :D tbh that hardrocks been nothing but solid throughout the years of abuse i put it through..its a good bike
i got a trek at the moment coz i wanted to try them so i did
its also proving to be nothing but solid so far... tho i do keep breaking the wheels.. and it has hydraulic brakes wich is why i should really learn to work on them properly (it being my daily im a little reluctant to figure stuff out on that bike as the price of failure is taking the granny bike to work)
i’d get another specialized any day :)
anyhoo thanks for the tips..i hadnt considered getting a barely used fork..thats well worth looking into
(eta) the giant i had before the specialized was a piece of shit tho... i hated that bike so much by the time i replaced it i left it outside with a sign saying free to take
|
FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/01/2020 at 13:01 |
|
Only trick with a used fork is making sure that it has enough head tube for your frame and hasn’t been cut too short.
|
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
02/01/2020 at 13:04 |
|
good thing you mentioned that..thats the kinda thing id forget to think about
Nom De Plume
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/01/2020 at 14:14 |
|
From long experience I can tell you:
There is no cheap fork that will survive this that is not rigid and straight .
Brakes are overrated. Many times over in the front. This is why BMX are designed the way they are. Cables cause problems and inevitably something gets caught up in them.
Buy the sturdiest flat blade shovel you can find and use it sparingly until you understand the nature of your local soil and construction techniques evolved around it.
Apply a monumentally final solution to the entire drive side chainstay that will neither wear away or allow penetration by the chain.
Spend all money on items in this order unless the bar or stem are chinesium unsuited to anything approaching sporting use; Wheels, tires, headset, pedals, stem, bars. No bar survives unbent or unbeaten or unbroken. Pedals take the same amount of abuse but are lumps of metal.
I just noticed the bottle cage. Remove it and reinstall the bolts.
After all of this is done go ride it around drunk as ever attempting wheelies and jumping off everything that can provide any vertical gain. For a week or two until you or the bike reveal their weak point. Find your limits and balance in the air before going into the dirt park. How much you pull up and how you pull up are subtle speed and condition based notions actual ramps greatly confuse.
Expect scars and deep penetration wounds in your legs.
|
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> Nom De Plume
02/01/2020 at 14:33 |
|
cheers :)
i know im going to get hurt...thats not an if... thats a when..and how bad
the soil there is basically clay and mud over building detritus....its painfull when you go down
hadnt thought about the bottle holder...cheers for that
anyhoo
this is going to suck/be fun
HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/01/2020 at 21:31 |
|
I’m very jealous of that bike park, but I’m blessed with like 5 amazing single track locations 30-60 miles from my house so I can’t complain.
|
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
02/02/2020 at 03:40 |
|
pretty good nature trails all around here but they are mostly flat fast tracks
the playground is by far the best workout/most technical i have nearby
and it is nearby..maybe 5 minutes ride
|
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
02/02/2020 at 03:54 |
|
im not sure its technically a bike park tho...its kinda half built and abandoned save for a little concrete skate park
its also kinda off limits...but new trails keep turning up so clearly im not the only nutjob nearby that doesnt mind a little trespassing
DougM
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
02/02/2020 at 17:22 |
|
Just go with Shimano brakes. SRAM stands for Seriously Rec ommend Another Manufacturer.