Definitely a useful reminder that I’m not invincible. And that I need to prioritise fun (risk) vs impact (imagine if I was off work, or disabled etc).

I keep forgetting how I look – obviously it constantly aches and I’m continuously aware of it but it looks awful and I forget that. Poor kids are not coping well with daddy looking mutilated. Still, I heal pretty well and my bones are solid (they rarely break) so I’ll only be a couple of weeks until I look normal again.

Definitely accept I’m going to be a leisure rider now and will therefore buy one, inexpensive do-it-all bike rather than a race machine. A worthwhile fall if nothing else. Saved me spending 3k on an xtr 160mm monster which I would never full utilise. Just need a capable 27.5 140mm hardtail and my road bike. Looking for a silver lining; just saved (avoided) £2k costs if I get a 1k instead of 3k bike.

Cool story still and sexy pics to show off down the pub lol

Latest update – broke my face.

Went out on Thursday night and got it all kinds of wrong. Won’t bore with the details but my face met a fence post at 25mph and the result was 7 stitches in my bottom lip, 3 in my top gum (first time for gum stitches; wouldn’t recommend for a fun night out) and superglue a puncture in my neck.

I can’t work out how to upload pics but it looks like you’d imagine it would.

On the plus side, whilst trying to get back to civilisation and call an ambulance I met a DH rider out training on his gravel bike. He sorted the ambulance for me and took my bike back with him, gave me his jacket as I was in tee shirt and shorts and called my missus to tell her I was ok and not to panic. Legend! Bike riders are awesome people.

He’s been texting to make sure I’m ok and had a look at my shock. Said the shock is blown out and as good as dead. That’s why it pogos so much and bucked me off (couples with my lack of ability I’m sure).

Where are we now? I’ve decided I’m not as agile and don’t roll as well as I did when I was 16. I’ve decided getting hurt hurts more than I remembered. I’ve decided that down hill madness carries too much risk for me and I’ve got too much to lose (kids, senior job, responsibilities/mortgage etc). So the purpose was to build a cheap bike and see if I can a) commit to riding and b) decided what style of riding I like. I think that’s now been decided and I’m a roady/XC guy.

Mr DH dropped my bike off today and showed the missus my bouncy back end and she now hates that cheap bike and insists if I’m going to keep riding I need a suitable capable rig. All in all I’ve bust my face for a week or two but learned a lot about what I want from a bike, and now am being told to buy a proper bike by the missus. Not a bad result at all!

Helmet broke too, cracked the outer skin and clean break through the polystyrene. A stark reminder than no mater how gently you think you’re taking it, a helmet is without doubt essential.

Interesting few weeks. Got to wait a while until I bring it up with her indoors as it’s still a touchy subject (she cried every time she looked at me until this morning and it happened Thursday) so I’ll be a turbo trainer/road rider until June/July, then start Hardtail all mountain shopping.

So there you go. Bike are awesome, bike riders are awesome, falling off sucks, I’m not brave enough for scary trails and I’m getting a new bike.

Ps They’ve set up hospitals really well to cater for COVID19 too so don’t worry too much if you guys get it wrong. Separated the hospital in two (red side and blue side) and essentially treat them as separate buildings to prevent contamination. Worked really well and clearly they’ve reduced bed pressure as I was well looked after and didn’t spend too long in a corridor. Got a taxi home as didn’t want to take up too much of the NHS’s precious time – I’m a idiot for burdening them whilst the world is as it is right now. Offered the whole ward staff a pizza run but they politely declined so I just got them a Costa each.

Thanks Julian.

I know you’re right. I’m polishing a turd. For me right now though that’s ok. Even if it remains a turd it serves two purposes; fun, and to prove that I can adjust my work/life balance to facilitate commitment to riding. I usually work in London several days a week often until late, I have my kids 50/50 and they are very demanding, my health has been atrocious and I’m lazy. When the lockdown is over I’ll really get to test my commitment to riding. And, if I stick at it and enjoy it as much as I am now then I’ll happily drop £1500-2k on a proper bike. More than that seems unnecessary for now as I’ll still be fairly crap I’d have thought. This was a £100 test so if it sits and rots, who cares.

I’ve done a bit of googling re old/new geometry and everything says a new geo £700 bike will be 20%+ quicker ok both ups and downs than a 15 year old £3k bike. So, for now, I’ll make the most if it and when I’m convinced I’m committed enough I’ll get a proper bike. Posting on here gives me a reference to keep committed – I said I’d post an update so now I have to go and ride. That sort of thing.

Even though it’s a turd, there’s nothing quite like looking down a hill, shitting yourself, falling off then talking yourself into hitting it faster. Forgot how much I miss adrenaline (yes, it’s a tiny little manual drop off but to me it was a hoot).

Love it!

Edit – links not working. Maybe this will?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/phjugyt6qx3g2zs/AAC3eJ_Zc5fEQbj-71_UBaYMa?dl=0

Managed to steal another hour today and planned a little route. Bit of everything; Road to the tracks in uphill but road so decent warm up. Then easy bridalways up to the top, through the woods on some flat single track, then down for 2.5 miles of flowing single track full of roots, rocks, fences waaay to close both sideS at times and pretty much back to my door.

I was on the way up and spotted little trail off to the side…

And…it had a little jump!

And then I fell off

Useful fall as my stem was loose (note the whee position compared to bars) so glad I fell on easy stuff – note to self: the bike isn’t well tested since build, and I’m shit. Got back on, much better second time.

Got to the top and then single track all the way home.

Useful insights today

1) I got a stitch! This is awesome because it means my breathing is better – usually my breathing fails me (asthma) so this is great news.

2) don’t watch red bull rampage then go riding. My bike feels way less capable now having watched those unbelievably talented nutters.

3) rear shock rebound needs looking at. Was great climbing but now I’ve shown it some downs it was like being on a pogo stick.

4) back break needs a bleed. I thought it was just pads but it’s barely there most of the time and the lever has play in it and is spongy.

5) getting behind the seat is way further back than I remembered. Need a dropper.

Love it. Bikes!

I was thinking that earlier. When should I replace the old bike? When it’s holding me back from progressing. When will that be? When I’m racing in the future, or if I get riding buddies. When I can’t keep up and it’s not due to fitness, I’ll get a new one. A year at least then I think.

I’m assuming that bike trails places are still very much do-able on an old bike with old geometry? I seem to recall 3” travel was always enough as a do it all bike back in the day. Ims thinking Queen Elizabeth country park in 2001ish, Gorrick events, cheddar challenge etc

So, for a while at least it’s here to stay and ignorance is indeed bliss. Just need to avoid temptation of shiny new toys…

Just ordered a set of spd’s from wiggle. Shimano m520 clip in for £21.99 and free delivery. Back in stock as of today as seem a good price so thought I’d let you know.

I basically built up the NRS from a frame on the cheap (net spend £100 – one of my 4 ever threads) but with decent enough parts (2007-2011 XT bits, SLX discs, new bearings etc). I finished it last July but then had another health (asthma) issue before I even rode it and ended up in hospital by September. Since April this year though I’ve made it out on the road bike 3 times and 4 on the mtb and feel great – I now have the correct inhaler and it’s all good. Long story.

Yesterday I was fettling a little more and got the right pressures in the rear sus. I’ve now got it set for zero sag instead of the half inch I had (it’s designed for zero sag but I figured half an inch seemed a good idea) and now it climbs like a hard tail but descends with 3.5” travel. I thought it might be a bit like a hard tail but it genuinely is solid on the ups. Even these early maestro systems are better than anything I remember riding up hill. Tweaked the gear inners a little as they’re starting to stretch, and stuck the spds from my road bike on and felt so much more comfortable than on flats.

Bit of a creak from the BB and the rear brake is still not quite there (contaminated the pads so still burning off the brake fluid) but they get better every 5 Minutes. Tweaking, improving, fixing and then feeling those improvements is almost as much fun as riding (well it’s not, but it’s fun). Forks are shit but still ok for now, so will likely not do too much more with it until I find its limits which I’m not skilled enough to yet.

Yesterday’s ride was 863ft elevation gain, 552ft max elevation, 8 miles all off-road; basically up a big hill then back down. Stopped 4 times on the up – don’t have the lungs yet but legs feel fine today so there’s hope for training to sort it out. Next time I’ll try for 2 strategic stops, then one etc etc. I’m luck to live in a great area for riding (Kings Somborne near Winchester) so am surrounded by fields, single track, bridal ways and hills. Lots of hills.

Yeah, basically, bikes are cool. Love it. I’ll stop now. Wooo bikes.

It’s finally finished.

With the new front mech and brake pads I was up to £88 so I decided to make it the best I could for £100. Found a Tioga MC Groove all mountain saddle which I got for £1.70 plus £3 p+p (bit of padding required as I’ve not ridden for a decade), and some charge sponge grips in white with orange lock-ons both sides and nice end cap cover for £6.95. Found some white flat pedals and a white stem in the garage and I reckon it looks pretty cool.

Total price for this build sits at £99.35 and for that money I reckon I’ve made a bike which will be far more capable than me for at least a year. If I ride it I’ll buy a shiny new one. If I don’t it was less than £100 quid so no great loss.

Better than a £100 Apollo any day!

Full spec as follows:

Giant NRS frame and shock set up for 3.5” travel and almost 0 sag (left a little for comfort).

XT M771 rear mech
XT M781 front mech
New inners and outers
SLX M660 hydro brakes freshly bled
Noah and Theo semi metallic pads
180mm front 160mm rear shimano discs
Deore shifters 3×9
Raceface prodigy cranks and BB
KMC chain
SKF chainstay pivot bearings
Raceface seatpost
New seatpost QR clamp
Tioga MC groove saddle
Truvative AKA 80mm stem
Raceface Dues rise bars
Charge Sponge grips
New headset bearings
Cane creek semi integrated headset
Rock Shox Tora forks 100mm travel
Deore hubs on Mavic 117 disc rims
Panaracer Cinder 2.1 front tyre
Panaracer Cinder 2.25 rear tyre

Looks like this

Now to get out and ride!

Thanks guys. I had excessive travel but they did bite in the end if I removed the lever from the bars to get enough distance to pull tight.

Sounds like it was a piston issue. Still firm this morning. Looks like that is all done now then. Result!

Coasty/TJAgain – piston stuck to seal makes sense. In that case, do I need to burp them again? If they are sticking to seals then does that mean there is it is not air in the system?

Thanks for the replies.

What’s the best advice here then? I was searching for an answer yesterday and there wasn’t many good ones so we should help future struggling shimano owners.
Is it “if you’re sure you’ve got a perfect bleed but the lever is spongy, then you haven’t got a perfect bleed, and if your tried multiple times there is probably a bubble trapped somewhere you aren’t moving with you syringes. Try pumping the lever without the disc in between to make the pads kiss. Then push the pistons back manually (after opening the reservoir?) and your brakes should feel nice. Then allow the bubble to work to the top and perform a “5 minute bleed” just at the reservoir side by manipulating the lever.

Is that right?

Sorry, missed a few points.

1) It’s an eBay brake I’ve never used so could be faulty. Got so frustrated I almost bought a new one!

2) no bubbles. Bled 4 times in different ways and literally pure fresh oil going backwards and forwards.

3) straightened out the hose (dropped the caliper off and lever off and let hang, still no bubbles.

4) the main reason I think it’s ok is the pads move from the instant I pull the lever. There’s no initial “slack” per se, the pads just start too far from the disc.

I guess you’re right in that there is a bubble in there but I think it was sitting at the very lowest point of the calliper and I couldn’t dislodge it. Now that I’ve thought about it all I think I’ve done is move an awkward bubble elsewhere and it’s having no (or significantly less) effect. I’ll let it rise and just burp the reservoir slightly in the morning.

Open to suggestions and it might not have worked and just temporarily feels better.

Cheers guys.

Anyone want to buy an SLX m660 mech? Dual pull, bottom swing (low mount). £7 plus a 2nd class stamp? Nothing wrong with it, it’s just the clamp goes on a weld on this so better suited to a hardtail (a cube LTD perhaps?).

Hardest part was getting the bearings in and out without a workshop or tools. And trying to invent a suitable pivot bolt.

This was my homemade bearing press: a socket, the standoff from a child’s stair gate, the old outer race from the removed bearing and a flat multitool with some nuts either side to tighten it up.

And this is my homemade pivot bolt and spacers.

Its got SLX m666 brakes now. The dot 4 fluid was for the mph brakes I transferred onto the cube. I’ll use it to bleed the mrs’ brakes whilst I’m at it as she has Hayes 9s.

Got some shimano mineral on the way for this one. Hoping the shimano fluid, new pads I literally just ordered, and the front mech I just won on eBay turn up Saturday.

New mech is XT M781 dual pull conventional swing. £13 delivered. 2nd hand but good nick.

Pads were £12 a set. Figured I’d try the Noah and Theo ones as they’re cheap but seem to have some reasonable reviews.

Forgot I put panaracer 2.1 and 2.25 tyres on it now too.

Total now £88 or so but worth it all day long I reckon. Xt m771/m781 mechs, SLX m666 brakes etc etc.

Getting frustrated now. Sold the cube for 140 so made back some money but the giant is a pain in the ass to get running. I thought I was nearly there but the SLX front mech is dual pull low mount (top swing) and fouls on the frame weld between the BB and seatpost tube. Need a new front mech.

It was sold spares and repairs and everything was rusted and seized.

I’ve replaced the headset bearings (the old ones were the worst I’ve seen and the bottom had 4 missing!), forks, crown race, replaced the chainstay bearings for SKF 6000RS (awful job without correct tools), then found I had to drill out and replaced the chainstay pivot bolt which was seized and couldn’t get just a pivot bolt so had to make one (another nightmare – ended up with a M8 bolt with shank on it and had 2 spacers made to make the 8mm bolt a 10mm fit for the bearings and the drilled and tapped an internal thread the other side), fitted a used pair of SLX brakes, swapped the wheels, swapped rear mech so is running an xt mech now, new chain, new inners and outers with ferrules and nipples, swapped the shifters, grips, bars, stem, seatpost was seized so that had to be scrapped once removed and replaced with a raceface post, seatpost clamp bolt had to be destroyed to get the seatpost out so new clamp, dropout was snapped so new dropout, front wheel had no disc bolts so new bolts. Think that’s it. Chain tool went missing so had to get another one of those too.

Now I’ve just jumped on it and realised the brakes need a bleed – they seemed ok without any load on them but stick a person in the bike and they don’t stop. Defo bubbles in there too as they do nothing when you turn the bike over and need “pumping” to get any pressure back.

It’s close now. Just ordered shimano fluid and trying to source a mech on the cheap. Fingers crossed I’ll get it together on Saturday and then just set up the shock. Hope that still works…

Grand total for the build currently £62.97. Nice cheap entry back to riding.

All sorted. Swapped crown races and it feels bang on.

The one I thought I’d lost was black, and so far down the steerer and covered in grime that it looked like part of the forks. All swapped and both feel 100 times better.

Thanks again for the help.

Thansk again. I’ll tidy up. Stripped 2 bikes and was supposed to be an easy afternoon job but I got carried away with doing extra little bits so there are bolts, washers, remains of frame pivot bearings and headset pieces everywhere over the course of a fortnight now.

I’ll find the old race for that headset and go from there. Cheers all.

Cheers guys.

The headset in the old bike has sealed bearings and the one I’m trying to work on has cartridge/cage bearings.

I can’t see a crown race on the fork which came off the giant. There is a crown race on the fork I’m putting onto the giant – which is the fork which was used with sealed bearings/external headset previously. Do all semi integrated headsets definitely require a crown race? Either it didn’t have one before or I’ve lost it (it’ll be somewhere in the shit hole of a garage I’m trying to work in – time to tidy up I guess).

Thanks
Rick

Little update. Turns out they needed more work than originally anticipated!

I’ve swapped some parts over onto the giant but encountered a bunch of issues along the way.

Swapped the forks but the headset was rusted solid. Removed the bearing cages and the bottom one is broken and missing some balls so new cages coming on Friday (£2.49 for a pair, 5/32 1” 1/8)

Seatpost was seized. Destroyed the old one getting it out but got it out without damaging the frame. Hot water, penetrating oil and a 32mm ring spanner as a lever. New raceface post arrived today £10 on eBay. Had to cut off the old seatpost clamp as bolt was rounded off so new QR clamp ordered £3.99

Chainstay bearings are shot and there’s play in the rear triangle. 2x New 6000RS bearings ordered; £4.58 for SKf ones. Can’t find my crank puller though so that’ll have to wait.

SLX brakes bled. They’re ok for now.

SLX front mech fitted. Left the xt mech in the cube so it has some value whilst I try to sell it.

Discs fitted to rims. £2.49 for new disc bolts.

Dropout was snapped. New dropout fitted, £6.49

New chain. £10

Can’t find my brake bleed kit so new syringes and tube ordered £3.49 and need some dot 4 for the cube and the missus so got 500ml for £3.75

New inners and outers for £3.97 with nipples and outer ferrules. Bargain!

Bought a selle Italia x1 saddle for the cube too for £6 but it’s arrived and torn and shite. The dangers of eBay!

All in I’m £54 into it and if I get a decent price for the cube I’ll do bottom bracket for £30, but can’t find my BB tools either so probably another 15 quid in basic tools.

Bought the pair for £120 so if I can get £150 for the cube the NRS will have cost £50!

Cube it’s pretty much ready to go. Just needs the brakes bleeding (for some reason the left level is connected to the front brake so need to swap the hoses around when I bleed them. Who does that, and why?!?!)

Happy to share links for parts of people want cheap bits. Mainly eBay items.

Rick

Thanks for the replies gents. Appreciate it. And useful too; I’ll not put anymore cash into either. I’ve got enough to make them run so will have a blast around on both next week once the pets arrive and see which tickles my fancy more.

It’s not really about selling to make money, I just don’t want to spend £900 on a new toy which sits in the garage for 3 years until I sell if for a fraction of what it cost. I’m £200 into them, sell one for £100 or so and if I ride, great. If not, it’s only 100 rather than 900.

The catalyst for this was my mum giving my missus a virtually brand new (2 rides old) 2008 giant anthem women’s with XTR group set and fox shocks so I’m jealous (stepdad used to own a bike shop). Hence I/we want to get out but I can’t justify the cost for a 5 minute wonder.

Really do appreciate the guidance. Any more views on which is least bad out of the two?

I was wondering about demand for 26” these days, but not having ridden anything else I thought I’d play safe. And I got them both for under 200 quid so I can put a few quid into them and still see some money back (I hope).

The giant had a seized seatpost and the previous owner had tried everything including a torch (hence the lack of paint around the seat clamp). I’ve got it out now so suspect I’ll sell the giant with the LX/mph bits and keep the cube/xt/SLX/rock Shox bits and have a free bike (if I can get £250ish for the giant). 250 sound reasonable?

What’s the cube worth with lx/mph bits? Not a lot I guess. Maybe ride it and if I stick with mtb get a better frame down the line? Just need something to get out on really.

Yeah, both are 26ers

My stepdad used to have an xtc team when they were new (2001?) and loved it. The nrs brings back memories. But I wonder, do I chuck all the lx/mph bits on the nrs and sell it as like that and keep the other bits and use the hardtail? A lot of work to change bearings and BB etc if I’m going to sell it, and it’ll be another £50 in bits which I’ll likely not get back? Or is the nrs still a classic worth having?

I think the cube is a 2010 LTD. bought them both as spares or repair and have a bunch of bits on order to get them running with a view to sell one of them. Question is, which to keep? And what are they worth? I need to see whether the forks are interchangeable but the bits are as follows

Cube Ltd frame set

NRS frameset (needs new BB and bearings really). Dropout on order.

SLX brakes

Mph brakes

Xt rear mech

Lx rear mech

SLX front mech

Lx front mech

Raceface prodigy crank

Shimano entry level crank

Deore shifters x2 sets

Mavic 117 rims on Deore hubs x 4

Raceface dues riser bars

Easton flat bars

Easton ea50 stem

Unknown stem

rock Shox Tora with lockout forks

Manitou axel forks (smaller Stanton’s that the Tora, possibly 32 vs 34? I’ll google it later).

New saddles coming

What would you put on each frame and what would you sell, for how much? What would they both be worth do you reckon? Gotta be 200 quid each?

Rick