AusVarmint

What bike do you ride fen?

Got a couple of bikes mate.

This is my Cannondale Rush 4 SL. It's kitted with mostly SRAM X9, DT Swiss 28 hole rims, Maxxis kevlar bead tyres, Fox Float RP23 shock, Avid Juicy 7 brakes, Lefty Speed 110 "fork" and a few red ano bits and pieces.







The Lefty fork feels good, but it's been the most unreliable POS I've ever owned. I would not even look sideways at one of these again. A bloke at work has had exactly the same troubles with his.

I also have this Tomac Taos hardtail that I built a few years ago. Very light and very fast. SRAM X9, Rockshox Reba 100m fork, Mavic 28 hole rims with bladed spokes and DT Swiss hubs, Deore hydro discs and Maxxis rubber again.



Also in the shed is this old '93 Klein Pinnacle. These were mega expensive back in the day. It only gets ridden once in a while but I keep it 'cos it's a classic and I'd get bugger all for it. It's very light and the workmanship in the frame and paint is awesome. Handmade in Washington.



The cables on these Kleins go through the frame, so they look very clean.



I'm debating what to do with the Cannondale - get rid of the fork and put a decent Rockshox on, which will be an expensive exercise, or sell the thing and get a Santa Cruz Superlight, which can now be had for as cheap as a common Giant....

Nice collection mate.

I hate the look of the front end of your Cannondale. I understand it's a weight thing but damn it doesn't look right!

I ride 2 Giants:
Giant XTC 29er:

this is pretty much a XC race bike, a hardtail with fox float forks. A great bike for firetrails and climbing, not so good for rockier or downhill type stuff.

And a Giant Reign 2 with dropper seat post:

An All mountain bike with 150mm suspension travel front and rear. I got this bike to take on more technical terrain. I absolutely suck at the technical stuff but I want to learn how to ride it.

Can't believe I've spent over $3500 this year on bikes!

I want to upgrade the brakes on the reign they are only Avid Elixir 1's the XTC has Elixir 7's on it and they are much better.
The dropper seat post is awesome as well.

Nice Keith.

TBH I much prefer Shimano brakes, while the mineral oil can be a PITA to source, they are easier to bleed.

My mountain bike is a mid-90s Trek Y bike with lots of up-spec parts. It cost a fortune when I bought it new. I haven't ridden it much for the past few years but took it out on the weekend and discovered that the rear shock is giving up the ghost. So I am thinking about a new mountain bike.

The Montague Paratrooper folding mountain bike looks interesting, particularly as hunting transport. Anyone own, used or seen one of those?

Bugger, they make the old Speedwell, Malvern Star and Dragsters look downright primative in comparison. None here, we aint got any mountains and looks like too much hard work.

What do you guys do to prevent punctures?

kjd wrote:Can't believe I've spent over $3500 this year on bikes!

Nice Custom rifle right there Keith.

223 fanboy wrote:What do you guys do to prevent punctures?

Nothing.

Tyre selection to match the terrain can help - for example if it's sharp and rocky you don't run the paper thin, lightweight tyres as they tend to get cut and abraded.

That said, I've seen blokes cut quite heavy tyres before - luck of the draw sometimes.

Punctures happen - I just carry a spare tube and a patch kit. I have run tubeless before but TBH I don't get that many flats anyway.

MISSED wrote:

kjd wrote:Can't believe I've spent over $3500 this year on bikes!

Nice Custom rifle right there Keith.

lol Very true mate!

fenring wrote:

223 fanboy wrote:What do you guys do to prevent punctures?

Nothing.

Tyre selection to match the terrain can help - for example if it's sharp and rocky you don't run the paper thin, lightweight tyres as they tend to get cut and abraded.

That said, I've seen blokes cut quite heavy tyres before - luck of the draw sometimes.

Punctures happen - I just carry a spare tube and a patch kit. I have run tubeless before but TBH I don't get that many flats anyway.

Agree totally Fen. I do the same.
Closest thing I've had to a puncture so far was a rooted tyre but I didn't notice until I got home:

there was my 2 looking pretty earlier in the year, until I sold them. infact looking in the picture we sold everything in the photo earlier in the year, 2 bikes, hilux, merc and my motorbike which is just out of shot. the joys of a wedding!

Nice bikes mate.

I've been looking at the Santa Cruz Superlight and Blur of late. They sure have come down in price!

17hmr wrote:
there was my 2 looking pretty earlier in the year, until I sold them. infact looking in the picture we sold everything in the photo earlier in the year, 2 bikes, hilux, merc and my motorbike which is just out of shot. the joys of a wedding!

I thought about selling one of my bikes then I realised that bikes have absolutely no resale value.

Take the Reign 2 there for example (black one) $2200 RRP new I got this ridden twice for $1400 add another $250 for the Dropper seatpost and I was well in front.

I look at the Treks and the Santa Cruz's and they are nice bikes but geez the specs on the Giant bikes are so much better for the price, I know they aren't a trendy brand but from what I can tell Giant's frames are on par with the others and you get better components for the money. I guess its like buying a Toyota or Lexus really.

Will you buy another bike 17hmr?