Bicycling

[theholycow]

[bk7794]

First upgrade I might do is disk brakes, a swap from the front tire to the rear tire, and a harder front tire. Also a kick stand will help aswell

[theholycow]

What kind of terrain/riding, and what are the current tires?

I don't like kickstands. To me they're just unnecessary weight to lug around and an obstruction that reduces log clearance, can get snagged on brush, can snag my shoe, will need to be kicked back up, etc. I can lean the bike against something or lay it down if necessary, it's rarely annoying to do so.

[bk7794]

What kind of terrain/riding, and what are the current tires?

I don't like kickstands. To me they're just unnecessary weight to lug around and an obstruction that reduces log clearance, can get snagged on brush, can snag my shoe, will need to be kicked back up, etc. I can lean the bike against something or lay it down if necessary, it's rarely annoying to do so.

Well that's the thing. Occasionally I ride on a trail...it has wood chips mud and yadda yadda. The Soft tire that is on my front wheel is perfect for the rear, it sucks on my front because I feel like I would flip over the handle bars. But a majority of my riding is on the street. I got to admit the V brakes are SO much better then those on the cheapo bike. "

A kick stand would be helpful sometimes but I guess like you said laying it down would just be fine.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Pr ... 1___400238 that is the tire that is currently on the rear. I don't want to ruin it. So I was thinking of getting an all terrain type of tire like michelin one on my front.

[theholycow]

Velociraptors are supposed to be good tires, though I've never had one so I can't say firsthand. The tread pattern looks decent enough for a variety of surfaces, though it might wear quickly on pavement, doubly so because it's a high-quality tire, the type that usually has a soft compound.

Cheap tires that come on Target cheapo bikes tend to last forever (or until they rot) and often have really good tread patterns for the type of riding you describe. Are the tires from your old crap bike available?

What is your front tire, and why do you think it could send you OTB?

[AHTOXA]

I run the Velociraptor tires on my trail rig. The picture you have linked is a front-only tire, which is designed for lateral stability, not grip while accelerating or braking. The rear tire for the Velociraptor is essentially a paddle wheel. The paddle wheel is overkill for your case and I wouldn't run a front-specific tire on the back.

Sounds like you are doing mostly mild riding and if that's the case, this tire is far from your best bet. It rolls very slowly and will chunk on asphalt due to soft time compound. However, this is the best tire I've ever ridden on dirt and in rocks.

Your better choices are:

- Kenda Nevegal
- Panaracer Fire XC Pro

I have used both of the above. The Panaracers are quite light (nylon bead) and will roll quite well on pavement while being good on mild trails. They also run narrow for their advertised width. This will be fine for you during mixed usage conditions.


Here's a pic I took when I first installed my Velociraptors. This is the read tire.



And a chance to whore out my ride to motivate myself to get up at crack of dawn to go riding. Anything later and it's too hot here now.

[bk7794]

Velociraptors are supposed to be good tires, though I've never had one so I can't say firsthand. The tread pattern looks decent enough for a variety of surfaces, though it might wear quickly on pavement, doubly so because it's a high-quality tire, the type that usually has a soft compound.

Cheap tires that come on Target cheapo bikes tend to last forever (or until they rot) and often have really good tread patterns for the type of riding you describe. Are the tires from your old crap bike available?

What is your front tire, and why do you think it could send you OTB?

Its a Michelin Crosscountry I think or something. I flew over the handle bars today. Face planted myself...though I was being immature I was riding down a hill (grass) and right as it leveled out on a basket ball court I slammed the brakes to see if it wouild really happen and yeah I flew right over them...So I loosened up the front brakes a bit and swapped the michelin to the rear.

I run the Velociraptor tires on my trail rig. The picture you have linked is a front-only tire, which is designed for lateral stability, not grip while accelerating or braking. The rear tire for the Velociraptor is essentially a paddle wheel. The paddle wheel is overkill for your case and I wouldn't run a front-specific tire on the back.

Sounds like you are doing mostly mild riding and if that's the case, this tire is far from your best bet. It rolls very slowly and will chunk on asphalt due to soft time compound. However, this is the best tire I've ever ridden on dirt and in rocks.

Your better choices are:

- Kenda Nevegal
- Panaracer Fire XC Pro

I have used both of the above. The Panaracers are quite light (nylon bead) and will roll quite well on pavement while being good on mild trails. They also run narrow for their advertised width. This will be fine for you during mixed usage conditions.


Here's a pic I took when I first installed my Velociraptors. This is the read tire.



And a chance to whore out my ride to motivate myself to get up at crack of dawn to go riding. Anything later and it's too hot here now.

Those look exactly like mine. I will have to look at those that you said.

Love that video, I wish there was something like that around my area..Though....

Are your front brakes really catchy?

[theholycow]

Don't loosen your front brakes. Work on your technique. Modulate your braking force and adjust your center of gravity by changing your body position (hang your ass behind the saddle).

It's no different than avoiding wheelspin while launching your car uphill in the rain. Practice "stoppies", where you do an inverse wheelie (rear wheel off the ground) by using the front brake. That will train you for bicycle threshold braking the way that no-gas launching trains your clutch foot and neutral free-revving at target RPM trains your throttle foot.

[bk7794]

Now that is good advice. I never thought of that. I probably should stop goofing around with the brakes. I just never have had good brakes like this before. So its so intriguing. I still want to get a good front tire. The one that I had on there was too soft.

http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Signature-N ... da+nevegal How are those (recommended) for the fronts?

[AHTOXA]

Some lesser quality brakes have narrow modulation band. They go from little grip to lots of grip really fast. You want toavoid those in general. I don't have that issue with mine but they are likely different from what you use.

[bk7794]

Some lesser quality brakes have narrow modulation band. They go from little grip to lots of grip really fast. You want toavoid those in general. I don't have that issue with mine but they are likely different from what you use.

I was considering getting a disk brake swap.

[AHTOXA]

Bk, post the specs on your bike.

[bk7794]

Bk, post the specs on your bike.

ok, I will get more tomorrow after work, but for now all I can remember is that its a Jamis Cross Country hardtail.

[AHTOXA]

Some lesser quality brakes have narrow modulation band. They go from little grip to lots of grip really fast. You want toavoid those in general. I don't have that issue with mine but they are likely different from what you use.

I was considering getting a disk brake swap.

I don't know what bike you have and seeing the specs would help. If you have an older high-end bike that you bought used, which has very good components, then disk brake swap may be of benefit, but then you will need to go with quality stuff. Otherwise, you will be disappointed by lack of modulation, poor performance, squeaks and frequent adjustments.

If you have an entry level bike, then I wouldn't do it. There are other components that you'd benefit from swapping first - such as dear derailer, cassette, better (lighter) wheels, better chain with removable links, lighter components such as stems, seatposts, etc.

You also have to consider that your current fork and frame have to have mounting points for the disk brake hardware. Also your wheel hubs must be compatible. If they are not, you are spending WAY too much money. It's like putting 14" wilwood brakes on a Chevy Sonic (in my case). It's pointless because I wouldn't really gain anything for my application, if at all considering the rest of the package.



Go out there and ride. Ride, enjoy, use the equipment. If parts start to fail or no longer meet your performance expectations, then and only then you should upgrade. If you have a good platform (which Jamis is) entry level bike, after some use you will want to upgrade your drivetrain, which includes aforementioned rear derailer.

If you see that you like mountain biking and begin to delve deeper into the sport, wear out your current equipment and then go out and spend big bucks on hardware. This is what I did. I started out on a very entry level $500 bike.

[potownrob]

please post pics too if possible - me loves bike porn