1 x 10 is the Future of All Mountain (Bike Update)

Hi Guys, Doing these long 25 mile rides around Aberystwyth has really taken it's tole on my drivetrain. The chain had snapped as I rode to the meeting point for an AberMTB Llandegla trip and the jockey wheels had worn out from the countless times I had ridden Nant Yr Arian in gritty conditions. Coming up to Christmas I had saved £400, mainly from not going on as many nights on the town as the average student. Initially, I was going to order new wheels while at Aberystwyth but I was then convinced...

A New Riding Location

Hello Again, Now that I am going to be spending most of my time in Aberystywth I need to go and explore in order to find new riding. There are three main locations which the bike club regularly use. Clarach is the nearest, it's a small forest which has lots of downhill trails and a few tamer cross country style ones. I can get away with riding most of this on my Giant Reign. Capel Dewi has another forest which is a little bigger than Clarach although it is less developed. It has one or two full...

Holiday in Fort William

Back again, I can't believe I forgot to do a post on this! This year was no different to any other year. We would leave it until the last minute to book a holiday. This is mainly because my parents can never agree where to go. My mum always wants to go to a hotel in a warm country to relax and take in the culture whereas my dad would rather go somewhere cold (he burns in the sun) where he can sit by the side of a lake and fish. He also doesn't like having to travel on planes to go on holiday. He...

Cadair Idris

Hi All, After going through the laborious process of attending university open days, writing a personal statement and applying to universities, I find myself in student accommodation at Aberystwyth University. I am studying Internet Computing with Systems Administration. The reason why I chose Aberystwyth was because it seemed to have a friendly atmosphere and it isn't in a big city. I don't think I could live in that type of environment. The Computing department seems up to date and well facilitated....

Well Oiled Machine..... Not Quite

Hey Folks,  I've finally got my Giant back together after replacing the frame bearings. Getting the bearings in was fairly difficult and lots of patience was needed. I was using the old bearings to press the new ones in using some threaded rod and washers. The aspect which made this difficult was lining up the bearing. As soon as you start to apply pressure, the bearings wedges into the frame at a slant which means you have to constantly back off and re-seat the bearing. After a while I got...

Giant Reign Update and a Couple of New Videos

How's it going, After doing lots of riding in these very poor riding conditions my Reign has developed a knocking noise which seems to be coming from the frame pivots / shock bushings. It suddenly hit me that this is now a 7 year old bike and I've never replaced the frame bearings in the time I've owned it. Who knows whether the previous owner did. Through lots of searching on Google I finally found confirmation of the bearing codes. I didn't want to totally dismantle the bike to get these numbers,...

Bike Update - Giant Reign

Hi, After replacing the rear shock due to a scoring mark appearing on the stanchion I am now able to ride the beast again! But this isn't without its problems. I have come to realise that the almost broken stock LX rapid rise rear derailleur is now 7 years old (and so are the jockey wheels). therefore I have bought a new XT one from www.flatoutcycles.co.uk. Can't recommend these guys enough for second hand bike parts. they sold it for half the RRP price and it looks in almost new condition!...