Until xmas i had not owned an MTB for around 12 years.

At the end of last year i had been looking at various hard tail bikes, but some how got caught with the idea of buying a full SUS and ended up with a new Boardman Team FS at a bargain price of just under £800. I did briefly consider the more expensive model but the deal wasn’t as good and left it about £350 more, for the same bike with 1×10, Rear Lockout and arguably better brakes.

Ive done a couple of hundred miles on the thing now and we are getting to know each other quite well. I have found that MTB is much more of a general all over body work out than the usual road cycling I have been doing for the last 10 years. I am learning to live with the bike moving around under me and I am now getting over the shock of brake pads lasting less than 50 miles.

I have however found that climbing is harder work than i expected and I like climbing. I think it is due to the different geometry as much as anything and I just have to learn to that I am not going to be going up the Rammy Rake as fast on the MTB as I would on the road/hybrid.

The bike is fitted with a RS Monarch R rear shock which does not have the lockout, when on road I turn to knob to make the can as slow as possible and thus reducing the bob, when climbing off road i have it a couple of clicks in from the slowest.

Is this the right thing to do?
Would a lockout improve things?

Secondly the bike is fitted with Continental X King tyres and I cant say that I am blown away by them, they roll well enough but traction in muddy or loose conditions is poor. Can anyone recommend me a tyre ideally from Schwalbes range (i get mates rates) that will be good for rear traction in loose gritty rocky paths and muddy conditions whilst still being a sensible weight and rolling sensibly well? Or am I asking for the Moon on a stick?

I just have to learn to that I am not going to be going up the Rammy Rake as fast on the MTB as I would on the road/hybrid.

Rammy Rake can easily be avoided by continuing on the cobbled road to The Shoulder of Mutton then up Moor Road. That’s much more gradual, easier and faster. That is what I do anyway.

Secondly the bike is fitted with Continental X King tyres and I cant say that I am blown away by them, they roll well enough but traction in muddy or loose conditions is poor. Can anyone recommend me a tyre ideally from Schwalbes range (i get mates rates) that will be good for rear traction in loose gritty rocky paths and muddy conditions whilst still being a sensible weight and rolling sensibly well?

I had Continental X King tyres, while they are okay in Summer, I found the same problem with awful grip once the bad conditions came in in late Autumn then Winter.

I got the Specialized Purgatory Control. They have good grip, roll well, and while not cheap at £30, they aren’t that expensive.

Rammy Rake can easily be avoided by continuing on the cobbled road to The Shoulder of Mutton then up Moor Road. That’s much more gradual, easier and faster. That is what I do anyway.

I’m not sure where you mean?

Im just off Nuttall Lane, so the top of the rake is the most direct route. It’s not an issue I just have to accept I’m not going to be setting sub 60seconds on the mtb. Im learning the mtb gives me more time to look around and be nosey. 🙂

I had Continental X King tyres, while they are okay in Summer, I found the same problem with awful grip once the bad conditions came in in late Autumn then Winter.

In fairness the tyres arnt marked as being directional, but I’m sure Allfrauds have mounted the rear the wrong way around which probably isn’t helping. (it’s mounted the same direction as the front with the cup shapes on the tread block trailing.

Likely the 40odd+ psi they put in wouldn’t help either.

In fairness conditions near me are pretty abysmal at the moment very boggy I’ve been out today and ended up in mud over the front axle. Of course I don’t expect any tyre to drag me through that.

A good Schwalbe tyre for muddy conditions is the Nobby Nic.

Do you own a shock pump? Have you got the correct sag set up on front / rear suspension? Ideally, you want to set the rebound on your rear shock and leave it there, rather than fiddling with it mid-ride. If you want the shock a little firmer for climbing then its best to run less sag (i.e. pump more air into it) if you don’t have a lockout / propedal switch.

I have a friend who runs Continental X King tyres front and back on his winter XC hardtail and I can’t keep up with him on fireroads and tarmac. He doesn’t ride that bike on any technical trails though so if this is the stuff you are riding then you could always leave one X King on the rear and try something more burlier on the front (a Schwalbe Magic Mary for example). If you’re still spinning out on climbs then change the rear to a Nobby Nic.

getting over the shock of brake pads lasting less than 50 miles.

Dude, you’re doing something wrong.

i think he means riding up to the Hare & Hounds then up the holcombe old road (cobbles) which is fine but a fair bit out of your way. You can go up Dundee Lane, turn left onto Downfield close. carry up the steps then your on a nice path to the back o’shoulder. balls to the rake!

I do have a a pump and I have been fiddling around with the pressures to get a feel for how different pressures feel and adjusting for each ride. I have found that I like it a little firmer than set with 25% sag.

Thanks for your tips – I think in the long run I will be getting a shock with a lockout.

Nobby Nick II is one of the tyres i have been considering.

I thought so too. But apparently in the crappy wet gritty conditions i am riding in this is normal. I am now using sintered pads which seem to be lasting better, but from new i got 37.5miles out of the OEM SRAM Organics.

I am also finding the OEM SRAM Sintered last longer than than the aftermarkets too, but not enough to justify their additional price.

Ah gotcha, I walk that way with mutley.

Clarks

This is what I use on my guides, on the 160mm bike, so plenty steep muddy/rocky descending, and I’ll get 4-6 months from a set.

But apparently in the crappy wet gritty conditions i am riding in this is normal. I am now using sintered pads which seem to be lasting better,

Make sure you bed them in. Might help.

Pads don’t last long on grit in the wet. If it’s wet enough or actually raining then a film of water sits between the pad and disk and holds grit, thereby eroding the pads very fast.

Things to try:

1) avoid puddles
2) if you can’t and the bike gets a soaking, get off and blow the water out of the caliper. Unless the trails are soaking in which case it won’t make a difference.
3) Dab the brakes a few times to try and get rid of the water
4) Ride road on the really wet days

Pads can last many hundreds of miles or even thousands even in the wet in some areas – it’s just the combination of wet and grit that kills them quickly.

Hello there fellow Rammy resident

*waves*

Firstly the Rake is evil! But its the quickest way to get to where you want to be

Secondly, having used loads of tyres over the years, I use Nobby Nics on both my bikes, all year round.

For brake pads, just order job lot of sintered from Superstar for the winter, and kevlar for the summer. Unfortunately, you’ll soon be finding out that the local filth/grinding paste, that destroys brake pads, also has the same effect on drive chains and bearings

1) avoid puddles

Absolutely do not do this.

Absolutely do not do this.

Why is it currently fashionable to make statements then not offer any explanation or detail? F’in annoying it is!

1) avoid puddles

2) if you can’t and the bike gets a soaking, get off and blow the water out of the caliper. Unless the trails are soaking in which case it won’t make a difference.

You’ve been to East Lancashire right, Molls? The miles of open, exposed moorland? The place with all the reservoirs?

The place where for about 11 months of the year the trails are wheel-swallowing, semi-liquid, axle-deep filth? 😆

… and you use nobby nics!

Yip. I like ’em, and I just accept that when you’re on the moors* there isn’t a tyre available thats going to give you any grip whatsoever

* apart from those magical 3 days a year when its dry

I also wouldn’t write off Conti X-Kings, just recognise that tyres specced as OEM on an £850 bike aren’t going to be the best compounds and will have been a corner cut to hit that price point in favour of the XT rear mech or better fork that is far more visible to the purchaser.

The place where for about 11 months of the year the trails are wheel-swallowing, semi-liquid, axle-deep filth?

I rode some nice stony trails…

I didn’t think I needed to add avoid puddles ‘where possible’, that’s sort of implicit isn’t it? 🙂 I said that because some people plough through any puddle without thinking about it – but lots of stony jeep tracks have puddles and they are often not clear across the trail. So a small amount of time spent avoiding them where possible can have a big impact on brake pads. Remember, I’m from Wales, I know something about wet trails too 🙂

Why is it currently fashionable to make statements then not offer any explanation or detail? F’in annoying it is!

I’ve been told since I was a boy scout not to walk round puddles, as the trails are wide enough. I thought this was common Knowledge, and common sense.

I think that if you are not already doing it – bed in the brake pads fully before riding in anger.

Also, OEM tyres are almost universally rubbish. Get some decent after market Schwalbe, Continental or Specialized tyres and you will find them a lot, lot better. Lighter, better compound will give a faster and grippier tyre – like for like.

I’ve been told since I was a boy scout not to walk round puddles, as the trails are wide enough

Don’t leave the trail to skirt puddles, no. But not all puddles cover the whole trail.

Like this:

If your in Rammy then the riding at the other side of the valley is generally less muddy, Scout Moor, if you avoid the foothpaths. Plenty of stuff on that side including Cragg Quarry, Lee Quarry, Rooley Moor Road isn’t muddy, a lot of the riding around the Greenbooth/Naden reservoirs (although illegal) is good fun and some of it isn’t muddy. Plus the Turbine maintenance Roads on Scout Moor. Plus there’s the ‘broken roads’ – Croston Close Road, Whitelow Roads & Bamford Road (though descending Bamford Rd can be dirty if its been raining).

Off the hills there are cycle routes 6 & 92 which are mostly off road and almost mud-free and can link stuff together. I live near Rivington but in Winter I always head to Ramsbottom more often for a mountain bike loop, because there are routes I can do that are far less muddy.

conditions were still appalling yesterday on both sides of the valley! must learn 2 fine days does not miraculously equal dry dusty trails!! still good fun

also, does anyone know WTF they are doing to Buckden Woods!!!???

they appear to be building a Manchesters third runway through it! 😯

I feared the worst when I saw a load of those massive gravel bags at the top. Looks like that’s another absolutely brilliant trail being turned into a motorway*. Cheers Mr National Trust!

The moors are still axle-deep filth at the moment. But Monday night pub ride is from the Hare and Hounds next week. 8pm kick off. I’ll suss out a route to keep us on the hardpack as there’s yet more rain forecast this week

* yes I know that technically its a footpath and we’re not meant to be riding it 😉

the river gap is no more 😥

Apparently it’s to do with the council repairing the bridge. New road way thing is for contractor parking and equipment.

Ignore the mud and still put in the miles. That’s my plan anyway. As long as the mud is not getting on my face (easily solvable by 2x front mudguards) then I can ignore it.