http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/5.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net Different kinds of bikes, get the right one: XC bikes (cross country) or an all-mountain / trail bike are what you want to learn, train and compete. XC and Trail bikes have either no back suspension or a limited travel going up to 5 inches. Bikes with more travel will be heavier and harder to ride uphill, which in an adventure racing perspective is clearly to avoid. Also ?bigger? bikes must be ridden at speed to enjoy their full capacities, a highly hazardous enterprise for a beginner! So when you buy it ask for a bike with a maximum of 5 inches of travel, as light as your budget can go. Budget VS performance VS suspension MTB isn?t a cheap sport. If you?re starting maybe don?t get yourself a top shelve hk$35K race bikes before you know you really like the sport. Get a bike according to your budget as long as it?s a good bike for a beginner. A sports bike suitable to HK trails costs at least HK$6,000 (in 2007). For this price you?ll get a decent quality bike. The more you?ll pay the more reliable in time the equipment will be and starting from a certain range/price the best the performance will be. For XC hard tail bike (without back suspension), from 6K to 10K you?ll increase the reliability and above you?ll increase the performance (weight, gear precision, frame lateral stiffness) High end MTBs reach hk$30 to 45K. Don?t get a full suspension bike under HK$10K. Full suspension frames are more expensive, the rear shock adds up substantially to the bill. On cheap full suspension bikes manufacturers are cutting corners on parts. At 16-20K you?ll get a bike with good component that will be easier to ride than a same price hard tail bike. Suspension brings you more stability and less fatigue on a long distance given that you are not a top international athlete. Often people discuss hardtail VS suspension referring to champions. Well, this matter concerns very fit and very experienced rider, as a newbie in Hong Kong just get a full suspension bike if you can afford it. If you?re already fit get a XC bike with 3 to 4 inches travel ? front and rear. If you are not too fit yet get a trail bike with 5 inches front and rear. Although all-mountain (or trail) bikes are heavier they will be easier to handle on rough trails, a good option to ride most of HK's trails. Another way of choosing is simply to consider how and why you will ride. Ride once in a while = spend less money spent. Ride often for weekend rides = more money spent. Train for competitions mainly = XC bike. Weekend warrior = trail bike. Unless you already know a group of riders the beginnings can be very lonely and discouraging so put this in the balance and avoid spending a fortune. The right size To know a bike fits requests to make a couple of initial seat post adjustments first. The seat post need to be set at your optimum pedaling height. It means that your leg will fully extend when the pedal is the lowest. 1 - For this keep elevating your seat post (and therefor saddle) in a way your heel rests on the pedal with your leg nearly straight while seating on the saddle. If you need to tilt your hips to reach the pedal the saddle is too high. If your knee is flexed, you are too low. 2 - Now your seat post is well adjusted, rest your 2 hands on the grips, get a relaxed position with your arms very slightly flexed and start spinning (it's better to ride a few meters). 3 - Looking down at the wheel your handle bar must mask the wheel?s axis. If you see the front wheel axis further than the bar: your bike is too small. If the axis is behind, the bike is too large. If this is your first bike you may feel too high or feel the bike too long. Try to hold on to the rule explained above (you?ll be free to get your seat post a bit lower later). !!!!!! Bike shops are very often selling bikes that are too small based on the customer?s first impression. Although a smaller bike will feel better in the shop, it will hurt your back, will be difficult to handle during steep climbs and very tricky to handle on technical downhill. It?s not easier to ride a small bike. Component importance Two bikes built around the frame can behave completely differently according to their components. Key components will be (in order of importance): The forks and shocks, the brakes, the gears (derailleur and shifters), the wheels (and tires). The more money you pay for components the more reliable they become, the highest range is always the lightest and the most precise to tune (but few people actually know how to tume a bike properly!). Suspensions Forks and shocks are better when fully adjustable since they must be tuned to the rider?s weight to work optimally. Air spring shocks are easier to tune to any riders? specs ? coiled forks must come with the right coil (rare in HK's shops, need to order and not always available). !!!!!! ALWAYS ask what weight are the suspensions set for in case of coil systems. Brakes Disk brakes are more powerful efficient than Vbrakes (rim brakes) for cheaper bikes ? HK riding requests a pair. Cheap disc brakes are mechanical (powered by cable) and hydraulic brakes are overall more expensive but easier to control (more progressive). High end Vbrakes are very efficient too, cheaper and lighter than discs but need constant maintenance to stay efficient. To enjoy riding in HK disc brakes are a better choice if your budget can allow it. Gears Good mountain bikes now all come with 28 gear (3 chain rings X 9cogs on rear cluster). Gears and groupset (cranks, chain, cassette) get considerably smoother and lighter with price. Having good derailleurs and shifter means having to fiddle less with skipping gears. For most of the brands the difference between their top end groupset and the one bellow is minimal, a few hundred grams on the bike, less bling/carbon-titanium, but half price and nearly the same performance. e.g: a Shimano XT cassette (or cluster) that weights about 250grs is about 35grs heavier than a top end Shimano XTR but costs about HK$500 instead of 1250. Wheels A light pair of wheels makes your bike accelerate faster and climb easier. Wheels can considerably be made lighter by using better/lighter tires and lightweight tubes. This is the "cheapest" weight/performance upgrade that can be done on a middle range bike. But for beginners large tires and solid wheels are best since they will tend to hit hard many unwanted obstacles. Complete bike, second hand or custom Beginners MUST buy their first bike complete. Don?t toy around with shop's custom set ups, you don?t have the experience yet to know what you need! Second hand can be an alternative although beginners can be fooled by flash looking bikes and get something that doesn?t fit their needs. Still have a look at the HK Mecca for Second hand bikes, but be careful: http://mtb-post.interhk.net/?setlang=eng It?s safer to get to a bike shop and ask for help to choose a bike. Upgrades Tires I do recommend any beginner to ask the bike shop to upgrades their tires to better - larger tires. Most of mid-range bikes come with skinny tires, perfect for fast rolling western forests but hell in HK. Get polyvalent 2.1 or 2.2 tires (tire width). I personally swear by the Kenda Nevagals, but Maxxis High Rollers are great too on medium sizes (get 2.2 or 2.3). Shops may offer you other brands which are fine too (Michelin, Hutchinson, continental) as long as they are not specific to one use (Race, mudd, DH?). When you?ll be more comfortable with riding on trails you?ll have different set of tires for different use and terrains. Experience riders will be able to ride technical terrain with thin tires (like 1.9 semi slicks or smaller) but beginners will collect pinch flat with it. Tubeless tires or regular (with inner tube)? Tubeless are slightly lighter so they roll slightly faster, you're supposed to be able to use lower air pressure too. Most of high end bikes come with tubeless rims. But tubeless are hard to fix and a 5 minutes inner tube change operation can turn into a 20+ minutes nightmare. In one word, I think that for an adventure racer an inner-tube setup is more reliable than a tubeless one. (this may cause further debates!) Pedals Get large platform (BMX type) pedals. Forget about the tiny standard pedal cages that most of the bikes come with. Platform offers more stability to your foot, also more power while pedaling and more grip in general. You?ll wear trail running shoes to ride: it?s solid, light and the sole is rigid enough but not too much. !!!!! Do not buy cycling shoes to ride normal (or platfom) pedals: the soles are rigid and vibrations will make your feet skip off the pedals. Don?t go straight away to cleats (or SPDs, or clipless pedals) unless you rode on road bikes before. It takes some time to learn how to release your foot from the pedal and it will add up to the struggle of riding on trails in HK. Wait a little while before switching. Just know that cleats give you additional pedaling power and bike control so it's good for competition as long as you have the time and opportunity to change shoes while racing (Action Asia Adventure races are not suitable for this but Action Asia series or INAAT off-road triathon are). Feel free to ask questions within this thread, I'm sure experienced riders will have things to add ]]> http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#86 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#86 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#93 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#93 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#94 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#94 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#237 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#237 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#240 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#240 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#241 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#241 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#242 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#242 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#243 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#243 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#287 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#287 GMT http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#288 http://www.actionasia.com/forum/posts/list/37.page#288 GMT