Cycling UK Forum

I have a Cotic Road Rat and was considering switching the 700c wheels for 26" as I have a pair hanging about. I'd have to switch to disc brakes though, which seems an over kill for my flat single speed route home?

I once fitted a 29er front wheel to a 26 MTB. Obviously it altered the handling but it was still very ridable. i had taken off a suspention fork and fitted a ridgid carbon and the heights were not to dis-similar.

I like the idea and enjoy experimenting. Give it a go!

Hi folks,

i have been cycling for decades and have much experience building custom bikes, but I have never used mudguards and know nowt about 'em.

As I intend to commute quite a bit I thought they could be a useful addition to the bike (!).................running 38c CX tyres

What is the best make/model to look at?

Thanks

TB

willem jongman wrote:Well, Sigg do fuel bottles, but also drinks bottles. Is that it?
Willem

Yes they do, but the only difference I can see is that the drinks ones have a surface treatment. This is not affected by paraffin (the fuel I use), but may well disolve with petrol ?? The ones I used before were 'fuel', I'm now using a 'drinks', and after 3 years seems fine.

beachcomber wrote:MSR warn you should only use their fuel bottles. Being a 'careful' Yorkshire man I thought nuts to that and used the Sigg bottle I already had.

Result... pool of burning patrol. Luckily it was on hard standing and did no damage to the stove or the camping ground. Standing in a pool of burning petrol took me back to the good old days of Police riot training.

I now have an MSR bottle which to my eyes looks identical to the Sigg, but it forms a proper seal and works perfectly.

Lesson learnt

You must have been unlucky, or I was lucky, as I used Sigg bottles for 5 years of intensive camping, lots of it in winter, melting snow. The stove did some serious work, all of it from Sigg bottles. This was from a second generation XGK (??) from mid 1980's. Fine stove, still going strong after a major rebuild/service. Still using a Sigg bottle, but a new one....don't like to push my luck too much!

I try for less than a mm laterally, but I'm not so fussy the other way as I ride off road and bounce about all over the place! I have built and used about 30 wheels and have only had problems with one, (front wheel, disc brake and tandem (2 spokes snapped)).

I used to take more care with road wheels, but don't ride much on road now. Whatever tolerance you work to it will be better than off the peg anyway.
Using good quality rims is a real help as they are usually pretty true. But I've just done a Mavic Ceramic rim front wheel that needed a lot of trueing in both directions....must have been a rogue?

Maybe things have changed, but I had Maguras on a single MTB and an off road Tandem and wasn't too impressed. They felt 'hard' on the hand, and when V brakes came along I switched to them I still use V's on a number of bikes, and discs on others. V's with ceramic rims seem the best combination of weight and stopping power, and lovely modulation. Discs have their place (tandem mtb, winter mtb), but I'd not go back to hydraulic rim brakes.

I use a Dahon Cadenza 8, which is a full size (26") folding bike / mtb (but not serious off road mtb, if you get my drift). Alfine plus disc, plus folding, flat bar. I have fitted a rack, but no mudguards (by choice: it will take 'guards). Comes with Swalbe Big Apple slicks, very nice for about town.

There is an alternative to chains and it is in the shops now! (Trek bikes, maybe others)

It is a drive belt, and is reckoned to last just about a lifetime, has no maintenance and is more efficient than a chain.
Two down sides............you need a special frame or modification using couplers, and it only works with single speed or hub gears.

I'm looking hard at it though because I've just switched to Alfine hub gears on my hard tail and I'm not missing the other 21 gears at all. Might even be worth the cost of coupling the 853 frame.

TB

I read poetry every day, and write a fair bit too. But I cannot recall any line by line, not even those that I have penned myself.
I have just typed out 21 poems as part of a wedding present, and can't recasll any of those either!

The up side to this is that I can enjoy the same poem many times, coming 'fresh' to it on each ocassion !!

I've just got a Reynolds 853 Inbred but haven't had chance to ride it yet (short of forks for the rebuild). I'll let you know..

stewartpratt wrote:

tenbikes wrote:My original fork fitted to my Cannondale off-road tandem worked well enough until I fitted a massive rota (250mm?), then it became apparent that the wheel was flexing in the drop out when cornering.

I assume you got a bit of brake rub in corners..? The fork was still working precisely as well/badly as ever, it's just that with the caliper further from the axle, any angular deflection was enough to lean the rotor into a pad

Interestingly, larger rotors are actually safer than smaller ones in terms of being used in conjunction with conventional dropouts.

Exactly! The smaller rota (205mm) did not rub, but I guess the flex was always there.

DMR forks and 20mm through axle front wheel:

My original fork fitted to my Cannondale off-road tandem worked well enough until I fitted a massive rota (250mm?), then it became apparent that the wheel was flexing in the drop out when cornering.

I fitted the DMR fork and switched axles in the hub (Hope Big'Un) and it now rides safely with no hint of movement either cornering or braking. Off-road riding tends to demand hard but short braking and discs are ideal for this. I have experieced brake fade on tarmac descents though, even with the big rotas.

I have never had a problem fitting rear racks when using discs. Front racks do not need braze-ons, though it is neater with. The DMR fork can be fettled at a frame builder if you really want the braze-ons.

Having had some very hairy moments using rim brakes (Maguras plus ceramic rims), I would never be without the discs. But then I was doing MTB races on the tandem, so that might have pushed things beyond the norm.

I'm looking for a front rack to fit to touring MTB 26" wheel but don't want low riders (they catch too much on single track). I used to have a Blackburn one, bu can't seem to find them now.

Are they still made?

I have the Alfine on a Dahon folder that sees very little use. I'd like to stick the back wheel in another bike, but would need the Alfine shifter and widet thingy that attaches the cable to the hub. Any ideas if these are available seperately??

What about spoke pattern?

I always build my wheels with the pulling spokes the same way round on both sides, then fit the front wheel in the same way as the rear wheel, ie to maximise spoke strength at the hub.