# MTB/DirtJump/Enduro etc - Bike Thread



## lewis (Oct 16, 2020)

So im now fully immersed into the MTB life. Just picked up my first MTB. A Hardtail with front suspension.
Already planning mods and longer term to get a jump bike sorted too.

I will get some pics of my bike soon.
Its an 18 inch frame. 27.5 inch wheels. Front forks with 120mm of travel etc

Plan is to get used to doing proper jumps and aggressive trails. Eventually moving to more jump bikes and doing sweet tricks/skills.

Just picked up a full face helmet and some Fox gloves - 






Share your bikes and setups etc  

(also clips of trails and riding etc would be awesome)

two riders im massively into currently are:
Matt Jones :-



& 

Fabio Wibmer :-


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## lewis (Oct 20, 2020)

Bike and new pedals.
Bars and seat post cut down.
Love me a hardtail.

New grips are arriving tomorrow.
Gusset S2 locking grips in green.

Then I'm going to get new cranks, chain ring, bars and stem


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## lewis (Oct 22, 2020)

Went for a ride today finally. This Bike feels awesome after the mods.

Plenty more to do still.


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## Seabeast2000 (Oct 22, 2020)

Did you say you cut your bars? 
I put 800s on my mtb and love the control. Just more mindful on the side clearances


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## lewis (Oct 22, 2020)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Did you say you cut your bars?
> I put 800s on my mtb and love the control. Just more mindful on the side clearances


I did, yeah. The stock bars on here atm (which I will be replacing with some RaceFace or something) were 740mm.
Ive took them down to 720mm with a pipe cutter (how clean is that? never using anything again for bar cutting) and I do prefer the shorter difference.
Im even half tempted to go down to 700mm as a trial.
Im trying all the tinkering/cutting on the cheap, shit, stock bars so I dont waste expensive replacements in the future haha

but yeah, im only 5'8 and my shoulders look stocky but are actually not very wide at all. Massive bars just didnt really work for me and Im coming from more a BMX/jump style past (been over 10 years mind you) so im sort of creating a hybrid setup for my MTB whilst I also save longterm for an out and out jumpbike.

I prefer being able to shift weight backwards easier and also manipulate the front end more. Because of that, im also going to get a stem replacement for something super short instead.
Like 31mm, or 35mm or something haha. 
Seat post also got cut down (at least until I can afford an external dropperpost)
so thats sitting nice and low too for my height.


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## lewis (Oct 22, 2020)

Another pic


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## Semi-pro (Oct 23, 2020)

A friend took me to a bike park to ride downhill a month ago. A week later I already had my own full suspension bike and was watching GMBN videos all day when I'm not riding 

Downhill is so much fun and scratches a lot of the same itch as snowboarding, and on a bike I feel it's also a lot easier to land big jumps. Of course riding trails through the local woods is a lot of fun too!

My Mondraker Dune (2017) <3
27,5", 160mm travel front & back


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## lewis (Oct 23, 2020)

Semi-pro said:


> A friend took me to a bike park to ride downhill a month ago. A week later I already had my own full suspension bike and was watching GMBN videos all day when I'm not riding
> 
> Downhill is so much fun and scratches a lot of the same itch as snowboarding, and on a bike I feel it's also a lot easier to land big jumps. Of course riding trails through the local woods is a lot of fun too!
> 
> ...


That is SUCH a sweet bike!!!!

I agree too!
Very comparable to Snowboarding.
On a sidenote, anyone in here seen that awesome new game "Riders Republic" coming soon?
Looks a blast -


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## Semi-pro (Oct 26, 2020)

lewis said:


> That is SUCH a sweet bike!!!!


Thanks! 

The game looks promising! Gotta keep an eye on that!

I also got my older bro into riding. Now he's talking about making a stand for practicing manuals. Anyone tried one? Sounds like a fun indoors activity in the winter.


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## lewis (Oct 26, 2020)

Semi-pro said:


> Thanks!
> 
> The game looks promising! Gotta keep an eye on that!
> 
> I also got my older bro into riding. Now he's talking about making a stand for practicing manuals. Anyone tried one? Sounds like a fun indoors activity in the winter.



A way to practice manuals indoors?
Damn!?
Why didnt I know that was a thing haha


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## Semi-pro (Oct 26, 2020)

Yeah! Tons of videos in the tube. Looks like it could make the practice a bit more efficient:


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## lewis (Oct 26, 2020)

Semi-pro said:


> Yeah! Tons of videos in the tube. Looks like it could make the practice a bit more efficient:



Holy!!!

Well im buying some wood!!


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## devastone (Jan 18, 2021)

My 2018 Instinct BC


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## lewis (Mar 4, 2021)

lets bump this and get it going again.
Found a banging old school 2007 ish GT Chucker 3.0 I bought today as my next project!
SUCH a sweet feeling bike. Much smaller frame with more aggressive geometry but still retains 27.5 wheels.


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## lewis (Mar 5, 2021)

Today I removed the front brake and swapped the cable over so my single rear brake is now on the right.

Ive ordered some Gusset S2 grips in Red and some DMR V6 nylon pedals in red for it too - 










Long term these will be both going on my BMX - but for now, they are going to be on this new GT MTB


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## lewis (Mar 13, 2021)

Got the red bits on - 




Then loved this shape so much, I found a 2nd to be used as the dirt jumper - 




I added these grips myself. Other than that its exactly as I traded it

Red GT Chucker 3.0 cost me £120
White GT Tempest 2.0 cost me a straight Trade for my HX FX (The HX is worth a touch more than this but who cares, I LOVE This bike)

Massive overhauls planned for both.
- New forks for both
- full Gusset components throughout both
- new rims and tyres on the Red Chucker
- possible single speed conversion on the white tempest
- new mechanical disc brakes on both (i dont like how fiddly and more involved hydraulic brakes are - the tempest has those so I will be "downgrading" to mechanical disc brakes)
- Shimano 7x3 speed planned on the red chucker for simplicity


Will continue to update in here as both develop


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## Shoeless_jose (Mar 21, 2021)

Sorry for shit picture bike currently hanging from my folks ceiling. but Cannodale Trail 4 29er 1x11 gear shift 120mm travel front suspension. total beast i use it for more aggressive city riding than off road much.


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## lewis (Mar 26, 2021)

eurgh. The red GT's cranks are mullered. Pedal threads are disintegrating so the pedals no longer go in and tighten up because the threads all fell out lol

So before I can really do anything more on this project - I need new cranks first


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## lewis (Mar 26, 2021)

new mudguards and rims despite cranks going down the toilet







(Ive ran out of black zip ties lol )


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## Seabeast2000 (Mar 26, 2021)

lewis said:


> new mudguards and rims despite cranks going down the toilet
> 
> View attachment 91907
> 
> ...



Are those air valves pointing out the front of your fork?


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## lewis (Mar 26, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> Are those air valves pointing out the front of your fork?


those are the posts that the old V brakes were attached to.
They were promptly removed haha.

As you can imagine, Im getting new forks and full disc brakes on this


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## Semi-pro (May 2, 2021)

Ooo, nice to see new posts in this thread. I realized that I never shared this vid (my trip to a dh bike park last November): 

Can’t wait for our local park to open in 10 days, already got a season pass!


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## Seabeast2000 (Oct 16, 2021)

The Nice Weather came early this year here. I'm behind by a few weeks and didn't get my 2007 Mongoose (yes! Mongoose) MTB rigged up for the season. I bring it into the shop for full tune/check and tubeless conversion redux, I walk out leaving the bike there BUT ordering a whole new 1x10 drive train AND tires. The shop guy was amazed that Mongoose made high-quality bikes at one time, totally appreciated it.
So excited, tires were 5-6 years old. Tires are also 26" so have to wait a few weeks before those come in for whatever reason, they do a lot more 27.5" and 29". This bike is 14 years old and its STILL so nice and light that I do not want to update to a 29'r just yet, although I may just get a full fattie or 29r soon to have one. Anyway, now it will be nicer, lighter and simpler but have to wait basically 10 more days before all the parts are in and done. So torqued to go full 1x10 from the silly 3x9.
PSA, anyone stuck on a tubed MTB, do go tubeless. The ride change alone was such an improvement. Also never got a flat, its a thing I can't explain but it reduces flats a lot. And that is coming from a rider of the low sharp desert.
Yes, I could do all this myself but I just simply don't have the cycles (No puns) and since I consider an MTB to be one giant piece of safety equipment, don't want to fuck around and find out.

EDIT, a few other upgrades I've done. 
New stem, superwide bars. Replaced the old Avid Juicy brakes with XTs. Same front and rear suspensions. Front is a Fox Vanilla , rear I forget. NO pix yet.


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## Seabeast2000 (Oct 16, 2021)

Also.....considering putting a dropper in. I might phone that add-on in.


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## Seabeast2000 (Oct 16, 2021)

https://mountainbikehot.blogspot.com/2007/07/mongoose-dual-suspension-canaan-elite.html
This is mine.


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## Semi-pro (Dec 21, 2021)

Seabeast2000 said:


> https://mountainbikehot.blogspot.com/2007/07/mongoose-dual-suspension-canaan-elite.html
> This is mine.



Looks like a cool bike! Nothing wrong with a 26er, although you'll be in heaven when you eventually move to a 27,5" or 29"  Makes rocks and roots so much smoother. Personally I still prefer 27,5" over 29" though. I've got a M sized Mondraker 27,5" that's got the same wheelbase as my brother's L sized Devinci 29" but it's just so much more easier to throw around. I did just build a 26" dirt jumper too though, which is a super fun bike. Will post pics when I get the final upgrades in place.


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## Seabeast2000 (Apr 1, 2022)

I think I posted my NBD in another thread. First 29r. 
Anyway, I got this cheap as an upgrade platform. Those upgrades are now in the works. 
+dropper, replace pedals with big flatties (that I will destroy anyway), replace drive train with 1x10, tune, set up, tubed to tubeless. Hopefully lose an lb or two in the process but not sure with the dropper add. 
Maybe in a year two I'll start upgrading the suspension.


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## wheresthefbomb (Apr 3, 2022)

I don't ride like that much anymore but I did a lot of long distance and trail riding on my trusty DK 8-Pack through my teen years. That was a beefy bike and I thrashed it good, broke/replaced almost everything on it, had the thicker axles, heavy chain, giant indestructible kink sprocket etc, and by the end I had even worn out the crank housing on the frame. I really rode that thing into the dirt. I bought a FitBike a few years later and it just wasn't the same, felt like a toy compared to the way the 8-Pack was built.



Seabeast2000 said:


> 2007 Mongoose (yes! Mongoose)



I also had no idea about Mongoose, but looking back I remember seeing Schwinn both in walmart and the high-end local bike shop.


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