Bike leaning on a post, post out of shot, in Langholm in the Borders.

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Went and watched Black Swan – it has to be a case of the Emperor’s new clothes, surely! It was pish!

Also goes some way to explaining why I’m selling the bike – I’m more likely to be in the house watching dvds and getting an early night. My gnar DH days must be behind me. 🙂

Do you use Facebook?
This group might be of use
https://www.facebook.com/groups/307416455962356/

and give this one a like and you’ll be able to chat to like minded folks also
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Muckle-Toon-Adventure-Festival/136779566472747

I’ve got a Demo 7 for sale for less than 1k. Meaning to post it on here but haven’t got round to getting some good pics.

I don’t think the mondeo comment was intended as taking the piss. I took it as meaning Marin bikes are like the Mondeo in that they are in fact great at what they do, they’re reliable and good value but they lack (oh God, dare I say it) the X factor. They’re not beautiful or particularly desirable – to many people who factor those aspects into their bike choice. It was only a few years ago when they did have a bit of a ‘make over’ and I thought it really worked. You started seeing the bikes featured and used in magazine shoots, they were talked about – their efforts seemed to be working and they appeared, as a brand ‘youthfull’. In recent years it seems that they’ve reversed their approach though and, to me anyway, they look more middle aged, more conservative.
It’s a simple fact that we all make choices based on what we perceive. It’s not shallow or a trapping of modern society, it’s just our nature. If it looks like it’s for old dull people it doesn’t really matter how well it actually functions – it’s already on the back foot. Of course, one mans ugly pile of metal is another mans functional image of beauty – but we’re all, like it or not, susceptible to trend in some degree.

Yep, perception has a huge part to play. When you’re spending a big lump of cash you’re going to consider everything – the bikes desirability being one of many factors. Though I guess some bikes sell in huge numbers due in large part to perception they’re not necessarily bad bikes.
Having looked at the two Marin FS on their site I’ve got to say they look dull as dish water. They might ride amazingly and last for a lifetime but I personally wouldn’t buy one of those two if I was looking for a new ride. I came very close to buying a Rift Zone some years ago but opted for a Commencal instead – I remember thinking the Marin just looked outdated where as the commencal looked like it had been design by someone forward thinking.

I could be wrong here but I think your man whyte also designed suspension systems for Marin – hence the similarity but the two brands remain separate. Or something like that.

I live 9 miles from newcastleton and we’ve not had much at all – it MIGHT be okay over there

By the looks of it I’m going to HAVE to send the items before I receive my funds. Turns out as a first time user paypal can hold my money for 3 weeks as I have no feedback and under 25 sells under my belt.

Great stuff.

http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/PocketShockDXG

I’ve been using this for a few years now and have no complaints. Fairly standard but does what it should without any problems. I’ve put fairly high pressures in in the past without issue too.

it’s not one buyer. I sold 3 items to 3 buyers. Each amount is showing as being processed through paypal.
Additionally I’ve received an email from one of the three saying he got a ‘payment unclaimed’ notice via his paypal – he said he’s never had that before. Being a novice I have no idea what’s going on.

I have to say that ebay is pretty poor in terms of functionality for first time users. There’s very little to guide you through the many options and pit falls.

Bikini Bike wash noted. I best start working on my tan.

Howellj1 – Thanks for that. We’re interested in getting some ales on the menu, without stepping on the toes of local pubs. We’ll probably give those guys a shout and see what we can do.

I’ll pass that on to our nerds but I think updating from ie6 could be their suggestion 😉

(I assume it’s a work computer and out of your hands)

Thanks for your feedback

Not only is it still going ahead but it’s gaining speed and growing.

The site went live yesterday and though there’s some tweaking on-going, it tells the story of what we’ve got planned so far.

Home

I’m sure we’ll be putting the word out in the coming weeks/months for opportunities to get involved and we’ll certainly be very grateful for anyone who can spare the time.

Johnellison & jota180,

thanks for that, that’s me sorted. I’ll email the buyers and tell them I’ll post when I have the money cleared – just to be polite.

Just to be clear, I wasn’t in a panic over the thought of being ripped off, just wondering what protocol was. I have complete faith in the mtb community 😉

Thanks

Jesus! Don’t mess about with pnuemonia. My better half had it in 2011 into 2012, right over Christmas. Took her months and wasn’t allowed to do anything until she was completely clear of it. Some pretty bad memories of ambulances and hospital visits to just get her breathing. (her Docs refused antibiotics for ages, thinking it was simply a cold/cough so by the time it was confirmed, it was set in good – the effing idiots).

Never too early to say MTFU – I’ve been saying it myself since Boxing day.

I’ve been out for a few hours on the bike here and there. It might not have been my best idea.

Not to jump onto a thread for blatant promotion reason (although that’s exactly what I’m doing) but I’m part of a group in Langholm, nearish to Selkirk, who are organising a weekend in May the we’re calling The Muckle Toon Adventure Festival. We’ve got Evans coming to do one of their Ride It events. I think these have previously been quite tame bridle way rides but they have asked us to give them a more challenging route. We’ve got 25miles planned and although that’s not an extreme distance we think it’s a challenging route and certainly should be fun. Plenty of hills and natural trails, lots of exposed countryside and some woodland. I’m not suggesting this could take the place of the Merida (chain reaction) event but I thought you guys on this thread might be interested.

We’ve got a FB page here and a site should be live within a week

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Muckle-Toon-Adventure-Festival/136779566472747

As well as the mtb routes we’ve got a sportif road event, trail running and walking. Mark Beaumont of round the world fame will be on hand in the evening to deliver a talk and we’ve got other ideas ‘on the boil’.

Sorry to butt in but I saw an opportunity and went for it

I was faced with a similar problem a couple of years ago. My only option was a cupboard / tiny utility room / thing. I cut down an ikea clothes rail that I had and now store 3 bikes, wheels, bits and bike clothes not to mention all me and my OH’s shoes in there. It’s not too much trouble and it means the bikes are in the house. I doubt I’d ever have them anywhere else now. It means I always give the bikes a hose down at least, when I get back from a ride, so it encourages good practice too.

Tin foil? Really? We might as well add that to the list of things to try. The better half is liking the look of the Specialized Ariel. She’s new to biking and suggested that womens saddles needed a bit cut out of the middle – when she saw the specialized had just that, it was ‘the one’. Plus I had a mans Specialized BG saddle some years ago and it was fantastic.

YES!

The measuring things isn’t working for us (tried a camping mat and a laptop sleeve) but it has left the kids asking some questions.

is there a way of measuring the bummocks for one of the Specialized saddles without visiting a store (we don’t live conveniently close to one)?

Thought I’d add my latest tuppence’s worth for anyone using forums to find info on Canyon’s Strive.
So the shock issue was resolved by Mojo – a massive upgrade from a basic CTD float to a bells and whistles Kashima job. Very nice. Thank you Mojo.
I’ve done a few miles on the Strive now and although the state of the sodden local hills means it’s still to be really pushed down hill I think I’ve seen enough to get the idea.
Firstly, although a bit heavier than my old Meta5, the Canyon pedals noticeably better. This is probably more to do with the Climb mode on the shock and fork than any geometry of the bike but it I’ve enjoyed knowing I’m on a 160mm travel machine yet getting up hills easier.
Fit / comfort / position just seems absolutely spot on from the word go. No fiddling with anything other than the cursory setting of brake and gear lever position was needed. I felt right at home straight away and having been out on rides of a few hours I can say it felt great.
Suspension, as far as I’ve pushed it, feels smooth. I can’t say if the Kashima is noticeably better than the norm as the norm never worked. I think both front and back are smoothing out further with a bit of use.

If I get out and thump it down some hills soon I’ll let you know. So for now it’s a definite thumbs up for the bike itself but that’s not to ignore the issues with Canyon’s uk service itself.

Then bangers it is. Good call!

I have two pairs of these and neither seems to have any relation to the other in terms of sizing.
Good luck.

Would it be dull to say that even though I LOVE the thought of bangers when out biking, your fire looks like it’ll leave a right horrible mess behind. I was always taught that a good outdoor fire is one that leaves no mess or obvious evidence behind.

Wet (and I mean WET) trails in Langholm but we were out none the less and congratulated ourselves with a port or two when we got back.

Agreed

Shock sent to mojo for inspection. Officially, it’s buggered. New shock back within 36 hours BUT not the same shock. Oh no, an upgraded Kashima coated one. So I’m happy with that.

I’ve got every confidence that Canyon will be in touch asap with a solution. I assume their UK rep is busy with the first 2013 bikes going out. I already thought about a tune from Mojo and if Canyon end up sending my shock to them I might see about paying for that on top of whatever needs done on Canyon’s dollar.
Everything I’ve read suggests Canyon’s service policy is pretty bang on so I see no reason to believe this case will be any different. And to be fair to Canyon, and to point it out to the nay-sayers, the fault seems to be with a fox component.

I’ve got to say that although I’ve posted a bit on here before this is the first time I’ve actually had much response and it’s great to speak to like minded folks out there.

The number and email don’t go to the shop in Germany. As a UK buyer you go through the UK contact which I believe is one lone man. To be fair emails are ‘answered in one working day’ so he’s still within time. Just be nice if the phone number wasn’t a journey to nowhere.

I’ve been very let down by a major bike brand bought through my LBS, I spent an entire summer without a bike whilst the major brand tried to find a replacement frame after mine cracked. It was only after months of emailing, getting gradually less friendly that an almost impossible to find medium was located and sent out. So I’m afraid that the idea of spending thousands more on a known brand through the LBS guaranteeing instant repairs/replacements is, in my experience, not as black and white as some might like to think.

A grand or two should be more than enough and that’s the sort of money I’ve saved on the build. I get your point but it’s not my only bike, so I’ll not be missing any riding – I’d just have liked to have been on the new one.

I’m still of the opinion that the money I saved more than makes up for this – hopefully I will be of that opinion when it’s all sorted out. My friend who got his Strive two years back had an issue with his forks and they sent a new pair to our lbs which were fitted and the old ones sent back on Canyon’s dollar. Hopefully I’ll be sorted out as smoothly. Eventually.

I can definitely vouch for the above comment about not bothering with calling them. As I have a two week christmas break coming that I want to spend biking, not looking at a non working bike, I called Canyon UK this morning rather than sitting back and waiting for an email reply. I spent 45 minutes hitting redial, God knows how many calls that is but I still didn’t get an answer.

It’s difficult not to be a little pissed off at that.

I’ll keep you posted on the shock front. I agree on the email. Contacted them a few times and always had a reasonably speedy response but have never had a phone call answered.

Disaster has struck.
Took the Strive for it’s first real test of suspension, up a local hill today. Straight away, on the descent, I could feel and hear a knocking from the rear shock when at the top of it’s travel. Very similar to when a bushing would go on my commencal. Then, a few moments after noticing this, I lost all damping on the shock. CTD and rebound have no effect and the shock is just a very quick bouncing spring now, and no good what so ever.
So this is a test for Canyon’s after sales service. A polite and friendly email has been sent. I’ll keep you posted on what happens next…

First ride on the Strive today. Nothing big, certainly didn’t get close to needing all that travel. Just taking some time to play with suspension settings, control position and all that ‘new bike’ jazz.
First impressions are very good. The geometry and ride position were instantly comfortable to me – previously I’ve been on a Commencal Meta 5.5 for about 6 years. Coming from Fox suspension with minimal adjustments it’s a breath of fresh air having the CTD controls front and back, I appreciated the Climb option, especially as the tires supplied are far from pedal friendly and will have to be swapped asap. An Ardent at 2.4″ on the back and a Minion at 2.5″ on the front = DH friendly but far from trail appropriate. My wee legs were fare puggled and when I swapped for a quick go on a friends Alpine 160 with 2.2 conti rubber queens front and back, the difference in terms of rolling and pedaling, on a similarly built and sized bike, was very noticeable. I also stole the boobars from my Demo to swap for the supplied RaceFace bars, that although wide(ish) aren’t quite as wide as what I’ve been using.
I’m more than happy to make those sorts of changes and don’t see them as worthy of complaint. We’re all different and those are the sort of changes that most riders would make, this way or that, to most new bikes.
So far, with the little use the bikes had, I’m happy. Everything seems to work as it should, the bike looks to be put together properly. Obviously any niggles will come to light in time but at the moment, it’s a thumbs up from me.