Search found 12 matches

by cowasaki
2 Sep 2018, 10:52pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Suntour Raidon convert to remote lock out
Replies: 0
Views: 1359

Suntour Raidon convert to remote lock out

I have a set of Suntour Raidon forks which has the small blue knob to lock out the fork movement. I had never seen a remote lock out control until a few days ago and had a quick look on Ebay. The lever and cable is very cheap but obviously the top of my fork needs to be converted.

This is what I have under the blue knob:

IMG_2877.JPG



This is the blue knob that I currently have to use:

Screen Shot 2018-09-02 at 22.54.52.png
Screen Shot 2018-09-02 at 22.54.52.png (47.61 KiB) Viewed 1330 times



Obviously I will need the parts to change it to cable operation and I believe that THIS is the correct top:

Screen Shot 2018-09-02 at 22.50.54.png



Has anyone done this conversion? Is that the correct top? What do I need? Where do I buy the parts?


I've found this kit:

Screen Shot 2018-09-02 at 23.05.43.png


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sr-Suntour-R ... F_tomCUUOA

Not sure, looking at the parts, if it's everything I need or even the correct kit. Obviously I need the lever as well.....


Thanks in advance.
by cowasaki
2 Sep 2018, 10:44pm
Forum: Off-road Cycling.
Topic: flats or clipless
Replies: 27
Views: 22182

Re: flats or clipless

MikeDee wrote:You might consider half clipless pedals.

ImageImage



I have these pedals on my Trek 7300. The only minor downside is having to spin the pedal as you set off from a junction if the pedal has rotated and the clip is now in the bottom.
by cowasaki
1 Sep 2018, 5:44pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL
Replies: 6
Views: 570

Re: Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL

Brucey wrote:for 3x10 drivetrains with 'trekking' chainsets (including those with 44T or 48T chainrings) using the indicated shifters it suggests these FDs

FD-T8000-3
FD-T8000-6
FD-T780-3
FD-T780-6
FD-T781-3
FD-T670-3
FD-T670-6
FD-T671-3
FD-T610-3
FD-T610-6
FD-T611-3
FD-T6000-3
FD-T6000-6

may be 3x10 compatible here http://productinfo.shimano.com/#/com/2.9?cid=C-432&acid=C-441

Also indicated are various 3x11 options, but these don't seem to include ones with larger sized chainrings.

cheers


Thanks. I was advised to get the 591 by the cycle shop but went for the XT equivalent due to the only slight increase in price. Looks like they advised the wrong part! I've emailed them to change the order to the XT 3x10-speed Front Derailleur FD-T8000 High Down-Swing 63-66°

I THINK my current derailleur is a DEORE 2x10 Front Derailleur FD-M6025 Down-Swing

IMG_2865.JPG
by cowasaki
1 Sep 2018, 11:33am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL
Replies: 6
Views: 570

Re: Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL

Thanks everyone. I've used the bike a few more times and love it to bits. I used it on the Preston Guild Wheel and felt limited on the top end as I prefer to pedal more slowly but with more power. Looking at the bike it's all Deore except the front crank so I decided to just have a look and found that the shifter is definitely a 2/3 so would work with 3 but the front derailleur is only 2. Just out of interest I checked out options and found a company in Germany selling what was required at a very low price....

So I've decided to change the front chainset, bottom bracket and derailleur as it will give me no disadvantages but the extra option. I've chosen to get Deore stuff so that everything is Deore rather than Giant's cost cutting exercise of having nearly everything and I've just ordered:

XT 10-speed Crank FC-T8000 48/36/26 175mm
XT Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket BB-MT800
XT Front Derailleur FD-M786A Down Swing 2 x 10 black

I realise that the rest of the kit is the lower range but when I selected the above it came to £185 inc delivery and the lower range would only have saved me £50.

I'm justifying this to myself by saying that the discount I got on the bike is more than the cost of the above plus the Shimano PD-GR500 that I also bought and gives me just what I want :)

Will probably need a chain and maybe a cable but otherwise that should do it.
by cowasaki
28 Aug 2018, 8:49pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL
Replies: 6
Views: 570

Options for gearing on new Giant Talon 1 XL

Well I've just picked up my new bike, a Giant Talon 1, and it is just what I wanted except for the gearing! It's geared, in my opinion, extremely low. I rode along a tow path for 4 miles on the way home and the only gears I could use, at all, were the larger front with the smallest 3 at the back. Every other position and my legs were going at a ridiculous rate......

The front derailleur is a Shimano Deore and the front Crankset is an FSA COMET with 36/26 teeth.

Is it possible to stick the 36T in place of the 26T and fit a larger sprocket in place of the 36? OR just replace them both with maybe 30 and 40 ??

If thats not feasible what could I replace the front crankset with that would still work with the chain and derailleur that I have?

Thanks


EDIT: The front shifter and front derailleur, will they handle a triple? When I click to change sprocket the dial only goes to half way and if I click again it tries to move further but is limited by the front derailleur's high/low adjustment...... Just thinking, would I be able to replace the front crank with a Deore triple front crank as there is a "Deore M590 Triple Chainset inc. BB51 BB | 48/36/26T | 175mm" which seems to fit the bill (I'll have to measure the stroke but if it fits and the shift and derailleur work then I've got a full additional range at the top where I want it whilst leaving the other two ranges unaffected.

EDIT2: Or this one "Shimano Crankset DEORE XT FC-M8000-3 3x11, 40-30-22 teeth, 170 mm, black" although I would prefer 48/36/26 as per the previous.
by cowasaki
28 Aug 2018, 8:15pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: First post and hello
Replies: 14
Views: 1128

Re: First post and hello

foxyrider wrote:Whilst I generally agree with almost everything you say i'm sure I won't be the only one to pick up on 'two abreast other than where the Highway Code says'.

There is no law that prohibits cyclists riding two abreast and you as a traffic cop should know that. It may be that you have just used a poor choice of words but it's always of concern when those who supposedly are there to uphold the law don't actually know what those laws are.

Hope you enjoy your new cycling career and that you aren't on the receiving end of too much bad driving.



I was saying that these are things that people complain about and that people should learn to live together on the road!

I am well aware of both the highway code and the law. The fact is that the highway code and the law don't actually always marry up. Also riding two abreast or in a block can be beneficial to everyone in the right situation.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 11:10am
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Persuading a reluctant 5yo
Replies: 48
Views: 7922

Re: Persuading a reluctant 5yo

Cunobelin wrote:
Paulatic wrote:I’d agree not to push it.
I’d be tempted to remove the stabilisers, the pedals and lower the saddle. Leave it accessable like that and let her play in it the same as she did the balance bike.

My question is why did you ever let her see it with stabilisers? I thought it was meant to be a natural progression from balance to bike.


This is my suggestion as well, it was always discussed as the "Ballantine" method and is very successful for kids (and adults) The bike basically becomes a bigger balance bike


I must admit the best idea I have seen is by RennRad

They have a balance bike that has a fixing for the bottom bracket. When the child is ready, yo bolt on teh bottom bracket and pedals and they continue to develop on the same bike



I agree completely.... We sort of did the same thing with an Islabike and bought one the right size but then took the pedals off. That way when she is able to pedal she has something closer to a real bike.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 11:07am
Forum: Family Cycling
Topic: Persuading a reluctant 5yo
Replies: 48
Views: 7922

Re: Persuading a reluctant 5yo

We are getting our three grand children into cycling at the moment. I've just bought a Islabike for my 6 year old grand daughter, a proper XXS adult ladies MTB for my 9 year old grand daughter and we are looking around for another Islabike for the 5 year old. The eldest one loves her new bike and we are using that as a way of getting the 6 year old to use hers as they tend to look to their elders and want to do the same. The 5 year old, however, is a different story and is having a bit of a tantrum whenever we suggest she try her elder sisters old bike as she wants her toddler bike that she has grown out of!! They are all very different.

On the subject of stabilisers, I am definitely in the against club. They turn a bike into basically a trike and don't prepare them for riding a real bike. The best route has to be balance bike - PROPER bike. I'm a big fan of the Islabikes/frog bikes where they feel like proper bikes and are light and usable. I remember when I was about 4 and my dad told me to bring my new bike round from the back garden to the front so he could fit stabilisers.... I got on it like a balance bike to scoot it along and ended up riding straight past the front of the house much to his amusement. Yes I fell off but it was the 70s and you could do things like that back then.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 10:53am
Forum: On the road
Topic: First post and hello
Replies: 14
Views: 1128

Re: First post and hello

Thanks. I'm a police pursuit driver, advanced van/lorry/carrier/4x4 and done advanced motorcycle training. When I was in my teens I rode to and from school and did 4 paper rounds on a bike!........

It's still bonkers the difference with the roads some 30 years later. With my experience of dealing with RTCs involving bikes,motor cycles, horses, cars, lorries and pedestrians. EVERYONE blames each other and always sight things that other people do! Car/van/lorry drivers complain at bikes riding in the middle of the road, no lights, two abreast other than where the highway code says, jumping red lights and overtaking on the inside. Motorcyclists, horse riders and cyclists blame car/van/lorry for not looking and not giving them enough space. Lorry drivers blame everyone for not appreciating the space they need and cyclists for overtaking on the inside. EVERYONE has video/anecdotal evidence of someone else doing something wrong.

The last two fatal bike accidents I have been to involve cyclists on 40/50mph unlit roads, wearing dark non reflective clothing, on dark bikes with no lights. The last five fatal motorcycle accidents all involve people showing off and were actually the motorcyclists fault and I have numerous examples (usually of late teen/early twenties male) car drivers who have died doing the same thing.

Everyone just needs to look out for everyone else! It's simple.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 10:40am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Carrying 2-3 MTBs in a Transit van
Replies: 4
Views: 364

Re: Carrying 2-3 MTBs in a Transit van

Thanks everyone. I was hoping to keep the front wheel on but it's seconds of a job removing it so not a big issue if I go down the route of clamping the front forks. My biggest concern was holding it by the wheels and bending a wheel. At the moment my biggest concern is damaging gearing or similar when strapping them in.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 12:30am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Carrying 2-3 MTBs in a Transit van
Replies: 4
Views: 364

Carrying 2-3 MTBs in a Transit van

Any ideas on the best way of doing this? Currently I use a ratchet strap on each bike to the rings in the van but was interested in a better alternative if anyone has any links/pictures.

I don't have a tow bar and wanted them inside rather than outside.

Thanks.
by cowasaki
27 Aug 2018, 12:17am
Forum: On the road
Topic: First post and hello
Replies: 14
Views: 1128

First post and hello

Well hello everyone, it's my first post.....

I have got back into riding after 3 decades of not riding a pedal powered cycle only motorcycles. My wife and I are really enjoying it using the bike I bought about 6-8 years ago (Trek 7300) on the ride to work scheme and her new bike I bought a couple of weeks ago, a Liv Rove 3. I hadn't used my Trek due to an accident at work then moving work places so until a few weeks ago it hadn't been used at all and is literally as new. I've been enjoying so much I've just bought another bike, a Giant Talon 1 29er for fun and will be using the Trek to go to work on.

Expect plenty of questions........