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 all the bearings back in and the frame back together. Put the rear derailleur back on. Bolt the brake caliper on. add the chain and crankset. Job Done, Or so I thought. As I took the the bike out for a quick driveway test, the knocking noise which I was wanting to cure by replacing these bearings was still there! GRRRRRR. It seems to occur within the first few millimetres of travel.

The next thing to check is the shock bushings and mount hardware. If that doesn't uncover anything I will be truly clueless. Anyway, here's a nice picture of her right before I treated her to some sick drops and sweet singletrack.

Ride Safe :)

Before she was treated to singletrack

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, only to find that a good set of bearings would cost extortionate amounts of money. I eventually found an eBay Shop selling good quality bearing kits for a range of bikes including the 05' Reign.

Now comes the tricky part. I've always dreaded fiddling with bearings due to their delicate form and that thought in the back of my head saying 'if you do this wrong you could potentially ruin the frame'..... and that would be bad.

What have I got myself into!?!?!

After removing the rear triangle and the lower and upper linkages I set to work making a little jig out of some threaded rod, nuts, washers and some old headset spacers. Strangely the headset spacers were key in this process. They were just the right size so that the bearing would fit through the spacer but the spacer would have good contact with the linkage / rear triangle.

After a couple of hours of gently easing them out I was finished. This was not as difficult as I first though. The main thing for me was just to restrain from just using brute force and take my time. Now all I have to do is wait for the new bearings to come in the post and pop them in. I'm so glad I found the eBay seller due to bearing companies wanting about £12 per bearings and I need 6 of them. The eBay seller is retailing sets for £27.99 meaning I will be able to put more money away to go towards a new Go Pro HD Hero 2 which will allow me to shoot some sweet footage!

Talking of sweet footage, here's a couple of Edits I have made since my last post. Enjoy!

Home Trails

Monday's Ride

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! Delivery was respectable considering it was free. Ordered on Saturday, fitted to my bike by Wednesday. I'd had the website bookmarked for a long while but had not needed anything for a while. I knew the time would come though.

I decided to go for a TF Tuned Rock Shox Monarch RT3 shock as I'd heard good news from them and they lots of flexibility when it comes to adjustments. I had mine tuned to the highest compression damping as the Reign frame has a ratio of 3:1 on the Rock Shox tune chart. I often bottom my shock out on some of the bigger drops out there so I wanted something quite progressive in feel to catch me at the bottom of the stroke. Anyway the Monarch has been fitted for about a month and it's taking it's time to bead in but it's getting better and better.

As I had some spare Amazon vouchers I bought an RRP Neoguard for the fork. I was not expecting much but it really does make a difference when your blasting through a muddy section. I think I've bought it at the wrong time though; at the end of winter. In these conditions where I live the dirt is like clay and this first of all, provides no grip for the tyres meaning you have to dab a foot, this then gets between your foot and pedal. meaning you have no grip between your shoes and pedals. To cure this I've bought some longer pedal pins (read shin diggers). These are 2mm longer than the existing 8mm socket head bolts fitted to my HT Nano Thru-Pin pedals. So far they are working very well. The only problem is they have torn through the tread on my one year old Shimano AM40 shoes. I'll need a new pair of those then......

Anyway, Here's some pics and a video me and a friend made.

Bike Update - Scott Aspect

Hi Guys!

I've been riding the Scott lately on some XC routes round where I live. I've also upgraded the brakes and changed the rear wheel due to the freehub on the old one giving up on me. The brakes I went for were Shimano BR - M596. I went for these because of the low price they were selling at from RoseBikes and also because even though the BR - M485's I had on previously were causing problems, they only started this towards the end of their life and they had lasted over 3 years which I think is ok for a budget brake making me think another set of shimano brakes will fit the bill.

Seen as I had got the brakes from a German Dealer, the levers needed swapping over to the British way round. I knew this when I bought them. Even if they didn't need swapping, chances are the hoses would need shortening. I found an online guide and set to work.

The procedure was not to hard to follow really, all the parts except the hose cutter were included so I didn't really encounter any problems. The brakes are now on the bike and working fine. The only problem is that the back brake is not quite properly bled so when the bike has not been used for a while the lever will pull further than I would like but this is cured by a few pumps and it will be fine for the rest of the ride.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with them. They do the job just fine and for the money I can't complain.

Here's some pictures:

Here's a little arty one I eddited in Photoshop. You can tell I had time to kill :)

Rock jump near Red Hill

I found this little gem of a trail a little while ago. I was a little annoyed I hadn't spotted it sooner though because it runs right along side the main track down towards red hill and even crosses over it at one point. At the top of this little gem is a choice of paths, a steep and smooth hill or a rock drop-off.

I had seen this rock drop-off before but hadn't been able to do it on my hardtail. With my new bike I gave it a go. It was a bit overgrown but still great fun!

Mini Downhill Style!

I've been fed up and sat in the house over the weekend as the weather has been utter crap. It's been raining and storming all weekend which has prevented me from going mountain biking. On Monday night I set my alarm for half seven AM. I just thought, Sack it! I'm going to go out tomorrow whatever the weather!

I woke up tired, stumbled down stairs had my fruit and fibre, cup of coffee and a big glass of water. I then went back upstairs now feeling less tired, took a shower and got dressed into my mountain bike gear and finally sorted out my camelbak. I knew there would be a high chance of rain so I stuck my Irn Bru Jersey on and packed a coat for if the sky turned gnarly. I set off at about ten past nine. Quickly, I adopted a steady pace along the tarmac and fire roads. I reached Captain Cooks Monument at quarter to ten feeling pretty fresh still. I took a nice single track trail along towards a trail which I like to call 'The Rock' (See Below)

I rode this trail but didn't ride the rock itself because it was wet and I didn't want to wake up in A&E. As I got to the end of this trail I rode along a fire road style track to get the beginning of a new-found track which I wanted to try. I don't know what this track is called but I see it as a kind of mini downhill track. It's quite hidden and out of the way but it's a fun little track to ride. 

I had been there before today but not ridden any of the big jumps in the track due to me still being on my Scott Hardtail. I thought today would be a good day to come here with my new full suspension bike. The biggest jump in this trail is a big step down jump. It took me a few nervous run-ups until I finally did it. It was the landing which was putting me off. It was probably one of the steepest landings I've ever done. Unfortunately I was on my own so no-one was there to film the jump. Anyway here are some crappy phone pics:

The Step Down

Take off...

Big enough :)

Steep Landing

Carlton Bank

On Sunday I decided to go out biking. I wanted to go somewhere which could offer me some more technical riding. A mate suggested Carlton Bank which is a good location with many routes spanning out from Lordstones cafe. I agreed, this would be a great test of my Reign 3's performance. It's probably about a six mile on-road ride to the cafe from my house which doesn't sound too bad but when you consider the climb which we had to endure to get there and and the weight of my bike, the task starts to feel much harder. I am very surprised with the climbing capabilities of my Reign. It's no climbing goat but it just seems to get you up there. When we got to Lordstones cafe we decided it would be best to follow the stepped path to the top of Carlton Bank. The Reign was making light work of the steps, it was hauling me on through. I eventually stopped due to my lack of energy, had a little rest while my mates pushed their bikes up, then I pressed on and rode all the way to the top. Once we got to the top we stopped for a while to catch our breath for this monster of a descent.

Saddles dropped, we ripped down the start of the downhill track. After the first few turns I came to a large jump with a landing ramp. I gave it a go but halfway towards it I realized I had not got enough speed to make the jump but it was too late to pull out, so I ended up landing between the jump and landing ramp making a bit of a fool of myself. Luckily my mates were far enough behind that I could give it another go. As my mates can confirm, I am very determined when it comes to my riding. I will usually give something another go if I muck it up or even crash. On the second go I hit the jump and landed it well. I followed the trail down to find a massive step down jump. I braked and stopped before it as I didn't have the nerve to hit it before seeing it first. Once I had checked it out for myself I got a run up and jumped it. It was a very hard landing so I must have done something wrong. I felt the shock and fork bottom out simultaneously which was worrying. I checked to see if their was any damage to the bike which their wasn't. I carried on, coming down to rather large jump. I did the same and inspected the jump first then hit it. First time I wasn't carrying quite enough speed but I still landed fine. I had a few more goes at this to improve my technique. after a few goes I was hitting it well with enough speed to land on the landing ramp.

At the point where the downhill track crosses another path we decided to divert to head towards Clay Bank. I had got some adrenaline from the jumps on the DH track, time for some XC now. We headed along this path for a few minutes with me leading the way. I was hammering along enjoying myself when I came to a raise in the path, split by a rock, I took the path to the left of the said rock, bad mistake. I couldn't see that the path curved to the right until it was too late and I didn't have time to turn. This bad line choice resulted in my front wheel washing out and getting caught in some ferns, me face planting onto the dry mud and my watch snapping clean off my wrist. I got up thinking I had broken my jaw or something but it turned out I had grazed my arms and chin (this is still numb as I am typing). There are some crashes which are actually quite enjoyable for me. Most of the time I crash superman style I.E over the handlebars and flying through the air. This is usually fine as I get a sort of slow motion feeling of flying through the air which is actually quite nice. Not this one. One second I was enjoying the trail, the next I am on the floor wondering if I've broken anything. I tidied myself up after I'd stopped feeling slightly dizzy. we pressed on down some nice bits of single track until we reached the road. I was hoping for a nice easy ride home on the but unfortunately it started raining pretty heavily which meant I had to clean my bike when I got home.

Overall it wasn't one of the best rides to be honest, but I was mightily impressed with the way the bike performed on the downhill track. Here's a short video of me doing one of the Carlton Downhill track jumps.

Scariest Moment of My Life!

I was out yesterday night on a local route by Captain Cooks Monument. Everything was nice, bike was feeling good, trails were dry, had some good music in my ears! Me and a Friend were riding down a motocross track towards 'Red Hill', a large natural hill which has it's name for obvious reasons. We blasted down it at a fair speed with me in front. At the bottom we discussed various routes to take us down to the car park. I decided to take a route which I've not ridden in a while. It's a flowing piece of single track with lots of steep downs and a few climbs. My Friend decided to take the wider straight path to the bottom. I usually take this path but I'm a bit bored of it just because it is straight, rocky and a bit dull. I was on my way along the trail, there was quite a lot of debris on the trail due to strong winds the night before. I was enjoying dodging all of the fallen branches but then I had something a bit more angry to dodge....

As I got to an uphill section I started to slow down and get into a climbing pace when out of nowhere, an owl tried to take me out! It flew so close to my head that the feathers wiped across my face. For anyone who wants to know what type of owl it was, I don't know. I didn't think it was an appropriate time to stop and do and do a spot of birdwatching. I was out of their like a shot! I guess I must have entered it's territory. I heard somewhere that they can get very protective over their area but I've got to be honest, I wasn't thinking of that at the time. What made it worse was that you know owls can turn their head all the way round? When it flew past it was giving me an evil stare even though it was flying in the opposite direction. I don't think I'll ever see owls in the same light again. I don't think I'll ever ride that trail again either. I'm just glad it didn't hit me and knock me unconscious then get it's friends round and feast on my body. That would have been disappointing.

To summarize.....

Beware when riding your bike at night, you could get taken down by an owl.

So, I went for a run.....

Last night at around 8PM I decided to go for a run. I have done this a few times in the past but never very often. I don't really know why I went but I just had an urge to get out of the house as I'd been sat in all day doing bugger all. My plan was to take the main path up to Roseberry topping. I set off walking up until I was out of sight (I don't feel comfortable jogging or running in public, don't know why.)

As I approached the path leading to the shooting hut. I heard some chanting and slurred voices. I wasn't really listening that carefully because I had my earphones in but as I got closer it was louder and louder. I turned round the corner and saw a large group of townies. I don't mean to stereotype but when they've got bottles of cheep cider in their hands and they're chanting you can tell they're townies.

I took the scenic route and ran round the other side of Roseberry Topping to avoid the crowd. As I got nearer to the top I could see some people in front of me heading the same way, I couldn't see very clearly because it was getting darker. When I reached the top I stopped for a moment to catch my breath only to see a group of about four or five townies chanting and walking towards me. I was getting serious bad vibes so decided to sprint down the opposite side of the topping. I almost sprained both ankles running down the rocky stepped path. as I got nearer to the bottom and away from the townies I started to feel really tired so I slowed down my pace.

As I was running down the farm track and back into Great Ayton I was listening to some music and got a bit of a shock when I saw a ghostly figure riding a quad bike towards me. For a moment I felt quite scared but as he approached I realized it was the farmer who was going to round up the townies and clear them from his land. I reached the road. By this point I really was out of it. it was approaching 10PM. I carried on and after a about 10 minutes I was home. I swear I'll never go on a run again. It was so painful, boring and meaningless. I don't understand why people do regularly it when cycling and mountain biking is so much more fun!

Red Hill Route

Thought I'd share one of the trails which I ride. This trail is only five miles long but it contains some pretty sweet technical riding.  If your just getting into mountain biking this is probably one to avoid. The ride starts by the information centre in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire.

Firstly you follow the road all the way up to Gribbdale Gate which can be a lung-busting climb if your not used to this kind of riding. Next, you take the path up toward Captain Cooks Monument. This is now a wide style walkers path which is quite easy to ride.

As you get nearer to the top you will come across a rocky stepped path which is a very technical climb. It took me a while to master this and I still can't get up it in the wet but in the dry, with a soft rear tyre or rear suspension you've got a good chance at it. When you reach the Monument, most people stop and get a bite to eat if it's a good day but if you just want to attack the singletrack then you will take the descending path down and through the dry stone wall. After this you follow this track until you can swing a left down a technical piece of downhill style trail, this path is extremely steep with many steps and obstacles so be very careful.

You should turn left at the bottom and follow this path, go round the hairpin corner and blast down towards the forest area. Take a left which will shoot you down a short steep descent and onto a wide walkers path. Follow this until you get to a gate. Go through the gate and onto the motocross tracks. This part of the ride will be confusing because there are tons of different ways to get to the bottom. If you stick to the map you should be okay. You should come to an extremely steep descent which is a blast if you can pluck up the confidence to do it! This has been named 'Red Hill' by me and my friends and you will see why when you ride it. After this it's a straight descent down to a small graveled car park by a fishing lake. You should follow the map back onto the road and down to the finish point.

Rating: Moderate/ Difficult
Duration: 55 mins



View Red Hill Route.kmz in a larger map