mountain bike people

ferny · Jul 11, 2005

It seems that this guy doesn't need a disc brake at all. It's not that you are going to do some rough riding. V-brake will be fine. Disc brake invites thief too just because they look more expensive.

Well, I don't exactly take it easy.

I have V brakes right now and they do lack. They're pretty strong, you can certainly feel yourself slowing down pretty fast... but not fast enough. And in the wet they don't work at all. Not until they clear the water and even then they're no-where near what I'd want. So disc brakes make sense.

Breaking your back? How? Your butt shouldn't be on the seat in those situations!

Yup, I know. But I can't stay out of the seat all the time. And when you're flying along and find a big two foot deep dip in the track it still sends a shock through your body, seated or not.

molested_cow · Jul 11, 2005

Did you replace your brake pads?
You know that you need to modulate your braking with both the front and the rear brake right?

the front brake slows you down. The rear brake sets the balance so that you don't fly forward.

If you want to get full suspension bike, you can't get anything decent for less than US$750. Anything less than that is either too heavy or unworthy. However, for just $600 you can get a very good front suspension bike.

ferny · Jul 11, 2005

I may not have been sure if disc brakes made sense, but I'm not entirely thick.

So yeah, I know about the front brake doing the stopping power (about 70% of it). Pads where changed and it didn't make any difference.

Don't get me wrong, they work. They just don't have that instant, consistant power I want. They can lack "feel" sometimes to. Some days they feel much better than others. I can be going downhill on a smooth surface doing 25mph+ and put them on at the last minute and still have time to spare at the end. Other days I'll put them on and think "hmm... that metal railing is coming up a bit fast......." Maybe it's just me. But, if I can get rid of that in the wet it's a bonus no-mater what.

edit

oh, and for Scurra
http://www.mtbr.com/techtalks/brakes/brakesfaq.shtml
:mrgreen:

molested_cow · Jul 11, 2005

Is your cable lose? Maybe they've been over stretched and need replacement. Maybe they need to be lubed. Cable replacement shouldn't cost much at all.

My first bike had an entry level v-brake. Other than hard adjustment, I had no problem with its braking power.

molested_cow · Jul 11, 2005

My current ride

graigdavis · Jul 12, 2005

If you ride on some pretty nasty trails theres nothing wrong with springing for a full suspension. Do you need it? no, I raced Downhill on a hard tail. I got my bell rung every race, but you can do it.

If you are going to look at a full suspension you are going to need to make your wallet a little deeper. If you want something decent to beat on, plan on spending around $1000+. You can get some cross country full suspension rigs for a little less, but you wont be happy with the limited ammount of travel.

I recomend going for a nice hard tail. Again, you are going to want to spend some good money on one if you want to ride it hard and not replace it every year.

I ride/race everything from Downhill to cross country to road bikes. On my Downhill bike its 8" rotor Hydraulic or nothing. On my dirt jump bike its 6" rotor Avid mechanicals. On one of my cross country bikes I have disc, the other I have V's. If you really feel like you need more stopping power go with hydraulic discs. You probably only need 6" rotors. If you want to buy cheap get Hayes hydraulics. You start looking at Hope, Magura and things...you are going to price your self out quick.

Ill only ever buy Avid Mechanicals. I have them dialed in better than any Hydraulic brake I have had. I know trials guys that have them so that if you touch the lever you will end up on your face. The biggest difference between Hydraulic and Mechaical is the feel. When I ride my Downhill bike I have to have Hydraulic because they are easier on the arms. When you are holding onto your bike for dear life for 20 min down a mountain, you want Hydraulic.

Mechanicals are good for bikes where you arent on your brakes the entire time. Your arms wont get tired out as fast.

Brake pad wear varries. My downhill bike I change them 5 times a season. My cross country bike Im on my second season on the same pads.

Theres lots more, but this post is already really long. PM me if you need help.

I dont have a picture of all my bikes, but heres a few pictures.

Im the guy in the white shirt. The guy with the chain saw is Ray and the guy in the green behind me is Nick. We pretty much built Rays Indoor mountain bike Park. www.raysmtb.com

Heres my Downhill bike.

terri · Jul 12, 2005

Holy crap, Graig...! You're insane!! :thumbup: I mean that in a nice way, of course. :lol:

But now whenever you disappear from TPF for any length of time, I'm going to think: "He finally busted his head open..."

Such a guy.

Scurra · Jul 14, 2005

Thats one clean bike you have there cow, mine usually looks a little more splattered than that but then the UK has a lot of mud because of the rain. And Graig, thats a very nice bike, I've heard many good thinks about 24/7, have you ever ridden a FOES? They would have to be my dream bikes.

And no mechanical discs didn't steal my girlfriend lol, I just prefer many of the advantages of hydraulics. Like better modulation and power, the lack of having to keep fiddling with the cable because it's stretching or fraying or 101 other things that used to bug me about cable brakes.

And Ferny I have friends who ride with one disc and one V brake if your looking to cut costs but still have slightly more reliable braking.

molested_cow · Jul 14, 2005

I took that pic when I just got it. It's well abused now.

graigdavis · Jul 14, 2005

I have ridden a few Foes bikes. Never owned one so I havnt got to really test one out for a long haul. Everyone I know that has one loves them. Im not a big fan, just not huge on how they look. I like to stick with the small bike manufacturers. 24 cycles, sinister bikes, Brooklyn Machine Works, things like that.

Xmetal · Jul 14, 2005

Ever ridden a Karpiel Arrmageddon or Apocalyse, Graig? I was reading about them not too long ago and was shocked at the weight of the Arrmageddon - weighs 40 pounds!!

graigdavis · Jul 14, 2005

Haha, two of my buddies I race with have Armies. Both have a Shiver fork. Sick bikes. Made to just huck off anything and everything. Its like getting on a horse to ride them. Stand over height is just nuts. Their bikes really dont weigh much more than mine. The 24 that I have a picture of above weighs in at around 45lb. Crazy when you pick it up with my road bike that weighs 15lb.

Name the bike or part and I have probably ridden it and/or worked on it.

cameraguy54 · Dec 23, 2008

disk brakes are the way to go got hydraulic brakes myself but im more into the serious side of mountain biking. Ive had mechanical disk brakes before and wernt doing it for me so got new bike but if your only doing casual riding with maybe some off road mechanical disk brakes are the way to go. You can get cheap bikes with disk brakes for lik 600-800 buks aus.