The Bicycle Thread

[smouty]

Cheers.
They tend to move less than the cable ones so as Charles said be careful with the pads as they can be difficult if extended too far.
I have Hope mono mini's on my Cannondale which some people complained about but I spent a bit of time setting them up when fitting and haven't touched them again apart from bleeding and changing the pads.

[Kieran76]

Just discovered that my Trek 7.3 FX has a broken frame. Massive panic as I was told I need the receipt to make a claim on the warranty. I bought the bike in 2009. All I can say is that I am very glad my wife is a natural hoarder.

[tyjay]

Canyon shipped today delivery date Tuesday can't wait gonna be fun night once it's set up
Wife can goto the bingo lol

[Adrock]

How long is the frame warrantied for Kieran76?

[Kieran76]

For the original owner I think it has a lifetime warranty.

[charlaph]

You need to buy your wife a bunch of flowers. That's my personal nightmare as I'm so bad at keeping track of receipts for big purchases. The only saving grace is buying things on cards so you have a record of spending the bucks at specific shops.

Where has the frame broken, and any ideas how it happened or what might have caused it?

[Kieran76]

It has broken underneath the pedals. I have no idea how I broke it as the last time I came off it was in November and it has been fine since the. I will deffo be getting her a bunch of flowers as she managed to tell me where to look for the receipt from her hotel in Brussells.

I only noticed it as the gears were slipping, at firs I thought the new pedals/crank had been put on badly. That's when the crack was discovered.

[wod]

not been on the forum for ages and noticed you guys had a bike thread going so bear with me.

For the last few months seen a few people out and about on bikes and i want to get into a bit of riding to improve my fitness.

Not had a bike for years and been having a look and not sure what bike to get there is loads.

I dont want to spend a lot for my first bike something with a decent frame that will allow upgrades especially the front forks, brakes etc.

I was thinking to spend about 400.

Some things that i would like to ask are disc brakes on bikes at this price going to be any good, i've read the 18 pages of this thread to go for a decent v brakes instead and the travel on the front forks too 100mm for better ride.

Having a google search and looking at a few bike shops online i made a list of these that looked good but you guys are bound to say there ****

Specialized hardrock disc 2012
GT Aggressor 1 2012
Kona Lanai 2012
Giant Revel 3 disc 2012

some pointers would be appreicated.

[tyjay]

Well m bike will be delivered tomorrow after sitting at Gateshead ups since Saturday morning
Less than 2 days from Germany but weekend and bank holiday have held things up

Can wait as half shift at work tomorrow finishing a 10 am but will probably arrive at 6pm lol

[charlesr]

Welcome back wod! Specialized give you a lot for your money because they are HUGE, but everyone has them. The hardrock is meant to be excellent. However, I reckon any of those bikes around ?400 will be great bikes.

Disc brakes will probably be cable pull at that price I think, so will need adjusting more often than hydraulics, but as long as you keep an eye on them will do the job. V brakes will give you better spec elsewhere and apart from in the wet are just as good as cheap disc brakes.

Most important thing is getting the right sized bike. Head to somewhere where the staff know what they are talking about and sit on a few bikes to get the handlebar reach etc. For your first bike you would be wise to buy from a shop (not online) to ensure the right size and a chance to ride it beforehand - my local lets me ride the bikes up the road and back.

[wod]

Thanks for the welcome back.

I've also seen a trek 3700 bike disc model that I'm going to like to have a look at.

Years ago I did have a gt bike forgotten the model but it was decent.

yes I was wondering on the size think I had the size lower than I would normally get when had the gt.

Can anyone recommend any good bike shops in Leeds ?

[charlesr]

Also consider the Trek 4300 (with V brakes). The components on it are quite a lot better - you get a 9 speed setup instead of a 7 speed. Spending money on replacement parts for a 7 speed is fairly pointless. Then when you are feeling flush, you can put disk brakes on the front (check, but I think the standard forks have disc brake mounts, you'd just need a new or 2nd hand disc compatible wheel)

[wod]

Is it better to have a disc brake only on the front ?

That's why I was looking at disc brake models even the cheap models so the mounts would be there and upgrade them later ?

Only bike place around here is halfords or evanscycles and not sure if the latter are any good with them being a chain of shops and I'll see if there's any in Leeds.

[wod]

I'm wondering to up the budget to about 500 maybe ?

The trek 4300 disc model looks decent for an extra 50 quid, hydraulic disc brakes and front suspension lockout.

Is front suspension lockout a must as I will ride the bike on tarmac roads.

[charlesr]

The trek 4300 disc looks great if you can stretch to it.

evanscycles is a respected chain. Go during the week if poss to avoid weekend monkey staff.

Are you saying you will occassionally ride it on tarmac roads, or occassionally off road? If the latter, you will need different tyres. The lockout is for going up hills - you don't notice it much on the flat unless you are hammering it.