Mountain Biking - Need a refresher :)

[Jem7RB MK]

Ok, so clever nuts here mentioned at work i used to enjoy mountain biking, especially teararsing down steep hills now much to my dismay, i've been seriously egged on to get back into the sport in some small way.

So, What is the kind of gear i'm gonna be looking into? Frames,Forks (are RockShox still any good?) etc. No need to worry about clothing as most of it i have from my mx stuff and have a really nice new lid so i'm covered

Anyone has any frames they are looking to get shot of? or parts? Shocks? you get the idea, i dont have £2000 to spend, but hand me downs are cool

Regards, and thanks for assistance

Rob

[gmeanie]

If just going downhill for fun you can't beat the santa cruz bullet. And rock shox are now crap to whats out there.

[David McCarroll]

a bicycle would be a good start nyuk nyuk nyuk....... sorry...... enjoy the mountain biking!

[Jem7RB MK]

Originally Posted by gmeanie

If just going downhill for fun you can't beat the santa cruz bullet. And rock shox are now crap to whats out there.

My budget does'nt stretch to a SantaCruz But should be getting a very nice RidgeBack custom hardtail frame anytime soon

RockShox are crap? What else is there? Marzzochi?

Rob

[rgr]

Marzzochis are really nice, check out www.mtbr.com for lots of info.

[Jem7RB MK]

Originally Posted by rgr

Marzzochis are really nice, check out www.mtbr.com for lots of info.

Cheers Bro

Rob

[bluealien]

You could always get a cheep bike at Target, some even have shimano shocks. Cost $100.

Going down the hill as fast as you can, and then munching it.. Priceless

[Jaden]

Dude, I love my mountain biking and for me I was converted to Specialized when I bought a frame only Enduro and added my parts.

youve not said what kind of riding youre gonna be doing but I do cross country, downhill, and a few epic rides every now and then and the Enduro can do it all.

Forget Rockshox, Marzocchi are the way forward, and IMHO the oil damped stuff rules, air forks are a lightweight excuse to change what REALLY works -- Oil damping!!!!, I also had a Chris King (fit and forget) headset and other major components were the Mavic tubeless rims with HOPE titanium hubs and Conti tyres and MOST importantly....!!!!!
BRAKES !!

I bought HOPE!!! and they were the NUTS !!!!
MATE!! I cant express how good these bad boys are!!!
I bought the "old" M4 - 4 piston caliper disc brakes but now they do 6!!!!! piston single piece construction, titanium piston calipers DD - I want em !
check em out here: http://www.hopetech.com/

Just to illustrate.... a couple of years ago I rode the south downs way in southern England, its a 105 mile journey and is very hilly, I had the brakes literally smokin on the downhill sections 6 times a day!!! and the discs were going blue but they never once faded !!!!! I just changed the pads to EBC RED!!! its like puttin a stick in the spokes!

you gotta buy Shimano XT groupset (or better) and then you'll have no worries, tear ass around up or down hill.... the only problem now is your little legs :O .... and Lungs !!!!

Enjoy the riding mate, love the mud pluggin too, someone has to !!!

[rgr]

Originally Posted by whatisshredding

Enjoy the riding mate, love the mud pluggin too, someone has to !!!

Mud, what's that, we have dust and rocks out here in CO and UT. Seems like I remember a sticky yet slippery (depending on what you don't want it to be at the time) substance from my NC days. Rocks hurt very much badly when you go down on them.

[Jem7RB MK]

Originally Posted by whatisshredding

Dude, I love my mountain biking and for me I was converted to Specialized when I bought a frame only Enduro and added my parts.

youve not said what kind of riding youre gonna be doing but I do cross country, downhill, and a few epic rides every now and then and the Enduro can do it all.

Forget Rockshox, Marzocchi are the way forward, and IMHO the oil damped stuff rules, air forks are a lightweight excuse to change what REALLY works -- Oil damping!!!!, I also had a Chris King (fit and forget) headset and other major components were the Mavic tubeless rims with HOPE titanium hubs and Conti tyres and MOST importantly....!!!!!
BRAKES !!

I bought HOPE!!! and they were the NUTS !!!!
MATE!! I cant express how good these bad boys are!!!
I bought the "old" M4 - 4 piston caliper disc brakes but now they do 6!!!!! piston single piece construction, titanium piston calipers DD - I want em !
check em out here: http://www.hopetech.com/

Just to illustrate.... a couple of years ago I rode the south downs way in southern England, its a 105 mile journey and is very hilly, I had the brakes literally smokin on the downhill sections 6 times a day!!! and the discs were going blue but they never once faded !!!!! I just changed the pads to EBC RED!!! its like puttin a stick in the spokes!

you gotta buy Shimano XT groupset (or better) and then you'll have no worries, tear ass around up or down hill.... the only problem now is your little legs :O .... and Lungs !!!!

Enjoy the riding mate, love the mud pluggin too, someone has to !!!

Cheers Bro, Downhill is my bag baby i can get shimano parts at below cost and the XTR stuff is allready earmarked, just have to pick it off our shelving have aquired a Ridgeback custom hardtail frame as well for the short term, just the shocks, marzocchi i have been looking onto and i'm pretty set on a pair

Rob

P.S. Stuff we do, Shimano,Mavic,DT Swiss,RidgeBack,Colnago(road),Cervalo(road),Kalloy ,Profile,Selle San Marco ... Some good names and all at below cost ... DT Swiss stuff is bleeding pricey tho

[Jem7RB MK]

Originally Posted by bluealien

You could always get a cheep bike at Target, some even have shimano shocks. Cost $100.

Going down the hill as fast as you can, and then munching it.. Priceless

Target ship to the UK? as our closest is a few miles away

Was unaware Shimano did Forks ... Will have to look into that right away See above post, cheapy cheapy shocks mwhahahaha

Rob

P.S. Thanks so far for all the help and advice

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Jem7RB MK

Cheers Bro, Downhill is my bag baby i can get shimano parts at below cost and the XTR stuff is allready earmarked, just have to pick it off our shelving have aquired a Ridgeback custom hardtail frame as well for the short term, just the shocks, marzocchi i have been looking onto and i'm pretty set on a pair

Rob

P.S. Stuff we do, Shimano,Mavic,DT Swiss,RidgeBack,Colnago(road),Cervalo(road),Kalloy ,Profile,Selle San Marco ... Some good names and all at below cost ... DT Swiss stuff is bleeding pricey tho

Awesome !!
make hay while the sun shines mate you downhil blokes are nutters, I was at Aston Hill a while back and THOUGHT that I was doing well
HA HA. some guys there were so fluid, taking sections twice as fast as me!!!
it was almost like they were skipping across the surface!!

I got to have a go on the Specialized big hit while I was there - weird to ride along cos it feels like youre leaning back but as soon as you hit the downhills.... what a difference.


Quote:
Originally Posted by whatisshredding
Enjoy the riding mate, love the mud pluggin too, someone has to !!!


Mud, what's that, we have dust and rocks out here in CO and UT. Seems like I remember a sticky yet slippery (depending on what you don't want it to be at the time) substance from my NC days. Rocks hurt very much badly when you go down on them.

HAHAHAHA!!! rocks are here but you have to go to Wales!!!
my local riding is MUD - all winter long (except when its frozen mud)

gives the legs and lungs a good workout pluggin through 5" deep mud

[Jem7RB MK]

Rocks hurt, agreed, have a 3 inch scar on my knee to vouch for that, and one on my shin which happened to be a tree stump breaking my shinbone ! still feel the lump in the bone from the mend (shivers) and the scars on my elbows,arms,fingers ........ Pretty much ruined from downhilling[1]

Rob

[1] Football and MX Injuries are not included

[jamiewitt1]

Rock Shoxs can be a bit crap but if your into downhill then bare in mind that most downhill frames were designed around the Boxxer, which is still pretty much the standard as far as downhill forks go.
Marazochi 888's are better and Aireal do an aftermarket crown that will make the fork dimensions closer to a boxxer and therefore make the bike more responsive.
Also, I'd plug for a SRAM kit rather than Shimano if ya got the choice, the shifter is much easier to use than shimanos stuff and in IMO its better stuff all round. And if you do get Shimano, you don't need any better than Deore, they're pretty damn good and cheap to replace if you break anything!
Hope discs are good but Hayes HFX-9's or El Caminos are more realiable in my experience, and are cheaper than Hope.

[Jem7RB MK]

Cheers good buddy have a mangled hand[1] at the moment, Borrowed a mates bike and dumped bigstylee, no guitar playing at all, and takes ages to type anything

Regards

Rob

[1] 3 Broken Fingers, Wrist dislocation and serious ligament damage.