Flats vs Clips

This has been a choice which splits riders since the beginning of time. I've always been a flats man till now. Since I started riding properly in around 2007 I've used flat pedals and have never had any problems with them in general. They suited what I ride which is a great variety of stuff! When people ask what I ride I usually just say 'trails'. Under that umbrella comes downhill, freeride, trials (not trails), all mountain, enduro cross country... I could probably name more. My point is that the flat pedal allows you to ride all of this. Ok, so maybe you don't have the security of your foot being clamped to the pedal through a rooty downhill section like you would on clipless pedals and shoes. Or not having consistent power for those steep loose climbs, but I felt like flats were a good compromise at the time. I'd grown up on them and gained confidence, so why change?

Cleat

The simple answer is that I wanted to experience clipless shoes and pedals properly to see if they could offer me any advantages. Some people would say "don't fix it if it ain't broke" which is a good point but what if it could be better? I opted for a pair of Shimano M647 DXs as I wanted something durable with a big platform. This is exactly what you get with the DXs but at the expense of weight. For shoes I went for the Shimano AM-45s as I have used Shimano's flat pedal equivalent AM40s and AM41s for ages and have had good experiences with them. Lots of people use this combination and rate it highly.

AM45s

Old and New

Unfortunately due to the bad weather and workload at uni, I've not been able to test them out on proper trails. However, I have managed to squeeze in a few street rides where I have also ridden up and down Constitution Hill here in Aberystwyth. I managed to get my PB climbing up Consti on a windy and rainy night. So climbing, tick. Clipless definitely makes a massive difference in that department. On the descent I was a little hesitant to give it full beans just in case I had to dab. I was practicing getting my foot in and out on the switchbacks so that clipping and unclipping would become a natural reaction. I was definitely more hesitant than usual on the descent but I am going to be persistent with till I am as confident with them as I am with flats.

Shimano DX

At this point there is not much more to say. I shall report back once I have done a bit more riding on them!

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 to wait until I got home. I wasn't too sure about spending allot of money on a new pair of wheels and then having them delivered to student accommodation.

A few days before I left Aberystwyth I order a pair of Superstar Switch Stealth hubs laced to Stans Flow rims in black. Superstar have them on offer for £200 which left me £200 for the drivetrain. my initial thoughts of the wheels were amazing. The rear saved 225grams over my old Formula/Alexrim DP20 wheel! The engagement seems to be faster which will be great for getting the odd crank in after a berm on twisty trails.

Along with the wheels I ordered a Superstar Plasma ISCG Old chain device as my plan is to run a 36T single ring at the front with an 11-36T cassette out back. I wanted to order the chain device before any of the other gear because I knew how hard it would be to fit to the Reign. The suspension linkage layout makes it very awkward. I didn't want to take the plunge and buy everything in case I couldn't get it to fit.

After fiddling around with it for a long time I finally got it lined up in a way that I was happy with. Fitting this involved cutting down the bolts which hold the back plate onto the adapter, I also had to file down the adapter plate quite a bit to stop it contacting the bottom pivot. If anyone wants any close up pictures of the setup, please just ask.

When ordering the rest of the gearing I went for an SLX cassette in the 11-36 flavour to keep the weight down and to give me reasonable climbing abilities and a Zee freeride derailleur because I wanted one with a clutch mechanism. It was about the same price as an SLX Plus mech but I thought the Zee would be a little more durable. I bought a Hope 36T single ring and some Brand-X narrow chain ring bolts to mount to my existing cranks. I went for a cheap KMC X10-93 chain and an SLX shifter. I went for the SLX shifter over a Deore unit simply because I like to remove the shifter windows. The less clutter on the bars, the better. After skimping on outer cables in the past (and my gear system suffering as a result) I chose a two meter length of Goodridge outer gear cable. A friend at uni runs a full outer cable and he doesn't seem to have any problems and so I thought it would be perfect for the grim conditions back home.

Mounting all this to the bike was surprisingly quick and simple. My test ride would involve a quick six mile loop over Little Roseberry and round the side of Roseberry Topping. I chose this route as the descent down Little Roseberry is rocky and fast; the ideal test of the new Zee Plus derailleur and chain device combination.

Climbing up the rock garden on the way to Little Roseberry was only slightly more energy sapping than usual but this was to be expected. The descent down Little Roseberry steps was incredibly silent. All I could hear was the tyres bouncing over the rocks and the suspension sucking up the bigger hits. It was so confidence inspiring knowing that the chain wasn't going to come off or slip into the granny ring when I went to throw a crank in. The ride round around the side of Roseberry Topping was pretty calm. The adverse weather that has fallen here over the past couple of weeks hasn't seemed to have had much of an effect on the top section of the woods below the Topping.

When I got home it turned out I had stolen the KOM for 'Little Roseberry Steps' back from one of my friends who had taken if from me while I was away. I had not given the drive train an easy first ride then. I also noticed one of the spokes on my rear wheel was very loose, I knew about Superstar wheels being a bit iffy in the build department but after five minutes with a spoke key they are fine.

Here's some pictures and a video from the AberMTB Llandegla trip....

AberMTB Llandegla Trip from Jack Reeve on Vimeo.

Ride safe :)

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.