Change needed??

[lewis noble]

Bringing people up to date . . . .

I have now had the Ripio for about 3 weeks, and am very pleased with it.  As I said before, initially it was higher geared than I like, so I had my trusted LBS put a Deore chainset on with 22/32/44 (I think) rings on.  That has made a tremendous difference - 90% of my riding is now in gears 2 - 8 of the middle chainring, with plenty to go at both ends.  It is the Hollowtech set with external bearings - I know people have expressed reservations about that set-up but I am happy with it.

It has Dureme tyres on now, the Marathon XR tyres are in my garage and will be posted for sale on here.

And I will post a photo once I get round to it!!

My first real ride was in Snowdonia, on a really hot day, climbing then descending to/from Pen y Pass to meet my wife who was doing the 3 Peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell, Snowdon / Y Wyddfa).  It climbed well, and what really impressed me was how secure and sure-footed it felt, as later in the day I rode / pushed a bit up one of the mountain paths then cycled down a track of loose shale, slates and pebbles - I have not done that sort of riding for some years, but I felt OK with it.  I'm sure that the sort of hybrid I was originally thinking of getting would feel much more 'tender' and skittish.

I guess part of the reason for this is the rigid Mt Tura fork - the bike goes where you point it.

Brakes - I miss the instant 'bite' of the discs I had on my Cube Acid (which was stolen), but the XT brakes work very well, and I know how to repair and fix them.  So I am happy to be back with rim brakes.  I may upgrade the levers to XT (currently Deore), if I change the shifters to thumbies - would XT levers improve the braking?

I still have the Suntour sus fork - in the rafters of my garage at present!  To be honest, I don't really miss the sus fork 95% of the time, but I will keep the fork for the time being for when I go to the Lake District with my son.  Swapping over will take a bit longer than it should because the brakes are mounted at the rear on the Mt Tura, front on the sus forks.  I hate the thought of resetting them if they are working well!!  so if my son uses the bike I may get a front brake for that fork - cheaper than the frustration of resetting brakes and then finding they don't work as well as they did before you started  . . .

It seems to carry a load well, went on a supermarket shopping trip, and came back uphill with more weight than I have carried for a while . . . the frame is I think longer than most MTBs so it should carry things well.

And it is surprisingly fast!!  Riding round Staines (Surrey) last weekend, no-one overtook me except roadies a few decades younger than me on lightweights - - - - it rolls very well, though the lightweights accelerate quicker.  You can't have it all . . . .

I still have to work on the posture - it feels good, probably the main reason I like the bike, but I may need a shorter / steeper stem.  But I will wait and see.

SJSC have been very helpful as usual with the odd queries I have had, and I have always found their judgements to be good and advice sound.

And yes, it has a Datatag to discourage villains from stealing it . . . .

I have Dan's instructions for posting photos in front of me, so I will try and do that . . .

Lewis

[Danneaux]

Overall wonderful news, Lewis, and so very good to see you're comfortable when riding the bike.

Not to worry if there are still little niggles to resolve fit-wise; a change in stem can do wonders. I ended up running a 50mm inverted riser stem on the Nomad -- shortest stem I've ever ridden, but it works perfectly with the 590M (medium) frame to good result. Sometimes, one has to go a little different way to get the "perfected" fir for oneself!

I use Duremes and the Deore external-bearing crank, and I think you'll be happy with both. On my recent test-tour, the Duremes did an admirable job overall, handling everything from shale ballast rock on logging roads to smooth pavement. Of course, they're not the perfect tire for any singe condition, but do everything well enough to earn the title "All-'Rounder". You can surely "tune" the bike's ride through adjustments in tire pressure.

As for the crank, I've been pleased with mine. I find it stiff and smooth and well-finished at the price-point and therefor a good value. The bottom bracket is a bit fragile, but they are inexpensive to replace with OEM or an aftermarket solution can always work as a "fit-and-forget" option.

Truly, if you find yourself switching forks (rigid vs sus) frequently, a person really is time ahead in purchasing and fitting a dedicated and tuned from brake to the second fork. Not only are the bosses on the opposite side...the brake blocks are toed-in the opposite way as well, and this just adds hassle and time to the setup when swapping. If you do go with the second brake-set at the front, then all you will have is the main cable reattachment at the anchor and swapping over the spacers and stem with a rest of the headset adjustment.

I'm sure you'll do fine with the picture-posting. Just click on the lower-left "Additional Options" link when writing a new post, and navigate to where you have the photo stored on your computer (if you wish to make it an attachment). If you have the picture stored online somewhere, just insert the link to the photo itself in your post and it will appear inline with the text. If it doesn't work out, then email them to me and I'll be happy to post them for you.

Best,

Dan.

[lewis noble]

Dan, you took 18 minutes to reply!!

Everything OK with you??

Only joking, Dan, I welcome your observations and encouragement.  I think the thing I like about this Forum, and the posts of others as well as you,  is that people give advice, but there's no flak or hassle if you decide to do something different - we all do things and choose things for a whole variety of reasons.

Yes, a second brake is a must if a decide to keep the sus fork.  But I'm sure the reason the bike feels so 'sorted' and safe is the Mt Tura fork - it just feels safer and more secure than the hardtail I had before, and that had a pretty good sus fork I think.

Looking at other bikes, I just wonder what the ride on some of the modern bikes with a rigid fork, like a tube straight down to the front wheel spindle, must be like - OK on the top-end bikes perhaps, with exotic materials, but I suspect pretty harsh on cheaper bikes.

Lewis

[Danneaux]

Dan, you took 18 minutes to reply!!

Everything OK with you??

Hahaha! That brightened my whole morning, Lewis; thanks!

...there's no flak or hassle if you decide to do something different - we all do things and choose things for a whole variety of reasons.

Exactly! This is what makes bicycles and cycling such a rich pursuit everyone can enjoy. The results can be rich and varied, and there's always something to learn from the result.

All the best,

Dan. (...who learns something new each day)