Mountain Bike

[NedKelly]

Looking for some first hand advice on brake systems for a newby mountain biker.......probably wont be doing to much offroad or weighted downhill touring...if any ! What do people recomend....Disc v cantilver ?

[mbkudu]

Looking for some first hand advice on brake systems for a newby mountain biker.......probably wont be doing to much offroad or weighted downhill touring...if any !  What do people recomend....Disc v cantilver ?

Ned, I'm assuming that you're either buying a new bike or completely upgrading your brakes? Disc brakes today, whether hydraulic or cable actuated have come a long way just in past few years. At first they were looked at as a fad and were unreliable, but now they are common place on good bikes (US$2,000 and up).

If you are a recreational rider, Shimano V (cantilever brakes) will be sufficient. One great thing about disc brakes is that the brakes never touch the rim, so if you're riding in red, muddy clay soil which Thailand has, your brakes are unaffected. With cantis, the mud build up can seize the wheeels within the frame solid.

Personally I would go with Shimano XT hydraulic discs. They are solid and reliable. If you are a fair wheather rider and not too serious, get a bike with V cantis that can be upgraded to discs later (the frame and fork should have disc tabs and the wheels should have disc ready hubs and machined rims for disc/canti

use). That's should do ya.

Edited December 16, 2004 by mbkudu

[NedKelly]

Thanks for that Mb.........one thing i had not considered was mud build up. I was focused mainly on reliability but from what u said it sounds like discs are now reliable. It's a good tip as I am not a complete bunny.......there would be some adventure involved offroad. Cheers.....

[mbkudu]

Have fun! Mountain biking is a great adventure in Thailand as there are so many legal trails all over the country.

[Dr. Seuss]

when you say cantilever, you must mean v-brakes. i recommend disc brakes all the way. i used to ride with hope discs in the u.k and they are great. you can throw them through mud and water and still be sure you can slow or stop.

dont think that we dont have mud in thailand. light dust and sand can be a bugger with v-brakes.

before you get carried away with super duper suspension you should take a while and think about stopping equipment.

oh! and dont skimp on on bars and stems many a snapped wrist could have bben prevented by bars and stems not snaping first.

i dont know what makes of bike you are thinking about but you wont go wrong with a Marin

[mbkudu]

Yes, V-Brakes are a model of cantilever brakes made by Shimano. They are side pull cantilever brakes. More powerful than old cantis, but now being phased out by much better discs now.

[Dr. Seuss]

I guessed you meant V-brakes or V-cantis by the way you spoke in a knowledgeable way. I was just trying to clear it up for Ned before he hits the swirling mass of tecno jargon that is the wonderful world of modern bikes.

Where are some of the closest trails to bangkok you have visited? I have hardly ridden since leaving the U.K, although a breif spell in British Columbia scared the spuds off me.

Those Canadian guys sure can fly.

[mbkudu]

Dr. Suess, all the more input the better. It's nice to see other bike enthusiasts here. Good to see that mongering and drinking is not all we do here in Thailand.

The best trails I've ridden are in Khao Yai National Park, Chieng Mai and I've heard there are even good trails just out of Pataya. At the moment I'm back in the US for a bit and road biking is my current favorite. I used to ride MTBs all the time.

I used to work full time as a mechanic in a bike shop here, so if any of you guys have mechanical questions, I'm all ears.

The Cannucks are the kings of the air and downhill. There's a trail in British Columbia called the 'Severed Dick.'

Edited December 31, 2004 by mbkudu