new bike

michael_w

So it's been a week or so since my hahanna got stolen and I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a new bike. I picked out a Norco Manik. It's a little heavier than I'm used to but it is still fairly easy to get into the air even though it weighs nearly 1/3 what I do :eek: . (I'm a small guy what can I say) It's taking a little while to get used to the 6.7" of travel on this beast but man it's smooth. So far all I've really done is ride around doing street stuff like hopping up onto benches and dropping them. Highest drop so far on this bike is probably the 5 set of stairs -- maybe 3 or 4 feet and damn it was easy with this bike. The Hayes hydraullic disc brakes work quite nicely and I'm fairly pleased with the bike in all. I don't have any pictures of it in person yet as my camera is at my moms house but maybe I'll get my friend to take a pic of me dropping something once I get ahold of it. I havn't bailed yet but I did manage to hit a tree.... I still need to get myself a helmet. Any ideas? I have a pro tec helmet for snowboarding but I probably won't use that and just get something for biking

Ron-P

Very cool, congrats on the new set of wheels.



My wife and I went for the more laid back bikes. We are picking these up on Wednesday (hopefully). Hawaiian Classic style Beach Crusiers.

michael_w

mmm your attachment didn't work very well for me (it dissapeared after saying invalid attachment). Those cruisers are fun and very comfortable to ride. I myself chose to do a slightly different style of riding

edit: looks like its workin now...

Ron-P

Yeah, I had a hiccup in my giddy up there. Very different styles for very different rides needless to say.

I used to own a Trek 12 speed touring bike and would ride on average 60 miles a day years ago. Did many rides / races, but now, I like the more laid back ride. Never have done the kind of riding you do though.

michael_w

I hope to get into more trail riding stuff since I live an hour or two away from some of the greatest riding in the world. Where I live is pretty flat so I have to make the best of the surroundings and ride whatever possible. So far I'm enjoying doing things like benches and other misc. drops while slowly going bigger and bigger. There is a dirt bike park close but I'm not very much into dirt jumping.

dorokusai

Nice bike, also nice to see you picked up a hardtail.

MacLeod

Agreed. I dont care much for full suspension MB's myself. I know they have their place and all but I prefer the hardtail.

michael_w

If I were to do 90% downhill stuff I'd get a softtail but thats about it... in my circumstances hardttail is the best way to go. Softtails have too many problems than benefits in my case. (loss of power from pedaling, rebound from rear shock, weight etc.)

dorokusai

Softtails are for MB newbies and people with little girl posteriors. I can't tell you how many folks I know that have a hardcore softtail and don't get anywhere close to somewhere that it's useful.

Anyways, have fun!

michael_w

So far this bike has been awesome except for the problems with the front brake. The bolts that hold the rotor in place have been loosening themselves after a couple minutes of riding. I picked up some locktite stuff (the blue med strength kind), took my front wheel off and got the rotor working fine. In the process of this I accidently hit the brake lever with my knee.... hydruallic brakes don't like being pulled without a rotor in its path. Basically since I'm a disc brake noob I couldn't really fix what I did. If you pull the levers when there is no rotor in its path you need to bleed the lines and reset the pistons and all this other fancy stuff I don't know how to do just yet. So tonight my bike is in the shop being fixed It'll cost me ten bucks and a crappy day without riding but it sure won't happen again.

dorokusai

Live and learn....buy a book. It pays to be able to fix things, especially when off the beaten path.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1579540090/102-8880598-8508137?v=glance

If you want the Pimp Daddy of bike repair, Barnetts is always good for the shelf....buy used.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931382298/ref=pd_sbs_b_3/102-8880598-8508137?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

Here is a section from Barnetts that would have helped you....

http://www.bbinstitute.com/BM5%20chap%2037.pdf

michael_w

I can do pretty much everything to my bike but I'm new to disc brakes and the whole hydraullic thing so it go the best of me this time. I gave it my best shot and wasn't really ready to mess up a really expensive set of brakes when I can get it done for ten bucks and learn it for later. The pistons had to be reset and I managed to get them almost all the way in but it still rubbed on one side.

michael_w

Thanks I'll have to save that pdf and keep it on hand for later reference.

dorokusai

I'm sure you're capable, just offering some information. Better safe then sorry, I understand in every way. I learned via the break it first method.

neomagus00

congrats on the new bike, and i hate you for living in bc

i rather enjoy my full-suspension specialized stumpjumper, thank you very much, so apparently i have a 'little girl posterior'... yeah, you try riding ultra-marathon events on a hardtail, have fun with that...

michael_w

BC is pretty nice when it comes to trails and nature stuff. I've only ridden a couple decent softtails before. To me they seem a little spongy and with a slight lack of control but I'm sure they have their advantages elsewhere.

I got my bike back from the bike shop today. Brake works just dandy now, but ended up costing me $17. No biggie... It still rubs slightly because the disc has a bit of a wobble in it so I might try retorquing the bolts and see if that fixes it.

Swiped my mom's camera tonight and snapped off a few pics of it sitting in my kitchen. Hopefully I can get some pics of me actually riding it.