What Cars do people own?

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Originally posted by alexgerrard:
Looking at the pix, that looks like a 2003 Epic...

check http://www.evanscycles.com for spec's. It looks a cracking bike to my eyes.

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It is the 2003 bike. The dealer in Glasgow did me it at £500 off list as they've got the 2004 bikes in now. They offered me £800 off the Pro (SID forks, full XTR etc.) and I was quite tempted but the I think the money would be better spent on upgrading the base bike (which is mainly LX) to disks.

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Steve - is it the badgers nadgers?

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I'm liking it so far - it's quite light for a full-suss bike (much lighter than my Kona) and it climbs much, much better. I haven't quite got the suspension dialed yet as I'm not quite getting full travel at the rear and the forks have still a lot of bedding in to do.

What have you got yourself?

BTW my Kona is being rebuilt (Bombers instead of the crappy Judy TT's, Fox Float shock instead of the Vanilla, new wheels and disk brakes) plus I've spare lights so if anyone is in Edinburgh and fancies a bit of day or night MTBing...

Regards
Steve

I think discs would be a great move given all that mud you have up in chilly-jock-land.

Matthew

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Originally posted by Ludwig:
What is a "M4 alloy BRAIN optimised FSR frame"? Is this a metal matrix composite? If yes, what's the matrix and what's the reinforcement?

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Buggered if I know mate. FSR I think is something to do with the 4-bar suspension (which Specialized hold the patent for), M4 is the alloy tubing they use and "Brain Optimised" means that the frame is designed around that specific shock.

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And tell me about the BRAIN if you could. Thanks.

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All the brain is really is a fancy auto-lockout valve. The shock is a standard Float RL (R being rebound adjustable and L meaning lockout) with the lockout controlled by the Brain. If the vertical acceleration is beyond a certain threshold then the lockout is disabled and the suspension can move, otherwise it locks the rear suspension out.

Regards
Steve

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Originally posted by Matthew Robinson:
I think discs would be a great move given all that mud you have up in chilly-jock-land.

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It was a bit muddy out tonight, so I expect to be flicking through a Hope price list sometime soon...

Regards
Steve

My own bike is a relic nowadays.

It's an Orange C16R, which I bought with LX bits and have got up to XT and XTR throughout. I was mooting a bike upgrade earlier this summer, and messed around with various Cannondales and Konas, but was never happy enough to splash the cash. Which says a lot - the Orange was just a nicer ride.

Now it's getting cold, and I am knackered from new-parenting, so the Orange will see me through the winter riding (read : weekend or not at all) and I'll see what's around in 8 months or so.

I'll MTB vicariously until then.

Alex

Steve- any downhill riding in your parts, or is it singletrack?

Anyway, nice ride- enjoy.

Ludwig
(mangled Gary Fisher Paragon, Trek 8000, Waterford 1200; no FS yet )

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Originally posted by alexgerrard:
Now it's getting cold, and I am knackered from new-parenting, so the Orange will see me through the winter riding (read : weekend or not at all) and I'll see what's around in 8 months or so.

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This time of year seems to be the best time to buy, especially if you're not looking for the very latest model. There were plenty of deals around when I was looking although in the end it came down to the Epic or a Cannondale Jekyll. I did consider going for a hardtail (a Rock Lobster Ti with full XT and Hope disc brakes) but after taking my old hardtail up into the Pentlands earlier in the week I've decided I definitely prefer full-suss.

Regards
Steve

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Originally posted by Ludwig:
Steve- any downhill riding in your parts, or is it singletrack?

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There is a downhill course at Innerleithen which is about 30 minutes away by car. Fort William is about 2 to 3 hours drive away and the course there is supposed to be one of the best in the world.

Downhill is too scary for me though, I prefer singletrack at the moment.

Regards
Steve

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A Wiseman once said:
Downhill is too scary for me though, I prefer singletrack at the moment.

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I snapped my clavical like a toothpick seconds off of a ski-lift on a downhill course. Never again.

Ludwig, who'd like a cyclocross bike as my city car

"I expect to be flicking through a Hope price list sometime soon..."

But discs means (probably) new hubs so you might as well get that ultra-light wheelset while you are at it.

(Semi-seriously. As you are more of an all-day, all-mountain rider than a 17-year-old North Shore loony in body armour a light wheelset is a great upgrade. Its rotating mass so saving relatively small amounts of weight realyl helps and you get that fantastic "snap" acceleration feel from light wheels).

"the Orange was just a nicer ride"

That's a classic skinny steel frame for you.

My first proper bike was a Clockwork (ie as the C16R was previously called) and they are fantastic. Even if you buy a fancy new bike you should keep the C16 and build it into a hack/commuter bike.

Matthew

PS My LBS now sells Cove and Rocky Mountain so I can lust after both my dream bikes on a regular basis.

Nice one Matthew. I've always liked Rocky Mountains, but their radicaly sloped top tubes have always scared me. Maybe it's my sugar intake and fear of twitching off a cliff.

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Originally posted by Matthew Robinson:
"I expect to be flicking through a Hope price list sometime soon..."

But discs means (probably) new hubs so you might as well get that ultra-light wheelset while you are at it.

(Semi-seriously. As you are more of an all-day, all-mountain rider than a 17-year-old North Shore loony in body armour a light wheelset is a great upgrade. Its rotating mass so saving relatively small amounts of weight realyl helps and you get that fantastic "snap" acceleration feel from light wheels).

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I'm already a believer as I've upgraded wheel-sets on other bikes and felt the difference. One reason for going for the deal on the 2003 bike was that it left me £500 for upgrades which should get a very nice set of wheels and disc brakes and perhaps the odd bit of pimptastic carbon as well.

I do have a disc wheel-set which arrived in the post this morning (along with a set of cable disc brakes, £50 for the lot) which I'm going to stick on my No.2 bike and see how they perform in the mud.

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PS My LBS now sells Cove and Rocky Mountain so I can lust after both my dream bikes on a regular basis.

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One of the riders last night was on rather a cute Rocky Mountain although his was a hard-tail. My dream bike would probably involve a Airborne Titanium frame, lashings of XTR, a Chris King wheelset and perhaps some of Eastons finest carbon bits and pieces.

Regards
Steve

Hey - this thread is supposed to be about cars!
How come it's been hijacked by the mud-pluggers on push-bikes, lets have some observance of forum etiquette, this kind of hooligan behaviour seems to be all too typical of mountain bikers

David

I agree, here is more car stuff to redress the balance! Nothing wrongwith MTB's that fitting an engine wouldn't cure

Cars I have owned, in order of when I bought them;

1974 Renault 5 TL (Rusty & caught fire)
1966 Hillman Minx (Rusty)
1975 Mini 1000 (Incredibly rusty)
1968 VW Beetle 1200 (Slow but reliable, great for learning about oversteer)
1976 Triumph Dolomite 1500 (The engine blew up racing a BMW up the A9)
1983 Fiat Panda (Absolutely awful, in every way)
1988 Skoda Rapid Coupe (Reliable with fun handling)
1991 Citroen AX GT (The first new car I owned - Great fun)
1983 Lada Riva 1300 Rally Car (Ultra reliable & cheap to run)
1988 Mercedes 190E (Unreliable and expensive to run)
1990 Sierra 1.8LX (Boring & the engine wore out)
1973 Clan Crusader Rally car (took a few years to build)
1987 Citroen CX Turbo 2 (Tuned to 250bhp (& 320lbft torque), great fun but not very reliable)
1983 Fiat 127 1300GT (Leaked like a seive, the only car that I ever fitted a bilge pump to, blew its head gasket on a regular basis)
1963 Hillman IMP rally car (tuned to hell, broke all the time)
1991 Citroen BX Diesel estate (Pretty reliable, good load lugger)
1993 Audi 80 16V (Competent, but very boring)
1990 Isuzu Trooper petrol (OK until it got knicked)
1973 BMW 2002tii (Great car, but two Scottish winters destroyed the bodywork)
1983 Vauxhall Nova 1.3 (Cheap Heap)
1999 Subaru Impreza Turbo Estate (Excellent! my second new car)
2000 MCC Smart & Pulse (Hilarious, reliable fun. Even better with wide Kahn alloys & tyres)
1993 Citroen ZX Rally Car (My current competition motor)
2001 Mitsubishi L200 Pick up (Service barge)
2000 Alfa Romeo GTV (pretty but not practical)
2002 Honda Civic Type R - (great car)

<flies off a loading dock, landing squarely on the rood of David Stewart's car, leaving mud tracks down the windshield and hood as I ride off>

Seriously, I haven't noticed much brand loyalty here. Is that something absent in British culture, or does it have more to do with the scheme by which you get a company car or whatever? And what is that company car scheme, BTW? Seems like a boondoggle.

Motor vehicles I've owned:

Suzuki X1 50cc (a grenade)
Honda CB125TB (great until I crashed it)
Kawasaki AR125LC (fast but noisy)
Mini 1000 (rusty crap but great to drive)
Skoda 1000 Super Estelle (£100 from the market)
Austin Maestro 1300HLE (also from the market)
Citroen BX1.9TRS Estate (great car - fast and reliable)
Fiat Panda 45 (rusty crap)
Fiat Uno 45 Fire (my first new car, ok)
Peugot 205Gti 1.6 (first company car, fun)
Honda Civic 1.6VTi (last company car, wonderful)
Vauxhall Carlton 2.0CDX Auto (my wife loved it)
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6LS (boring but reliable)
Honda Accord Aerodeck 2.0 (wonderful, kept it for 7 years)
Ford Mondeo 2.5V6 Auto (good to drive, crap build)
Audi A4 1.6 (nice town car)
Fiat Ulysses 2.0EL (still have)
Honda Deauville 650cc (still have)
Honda CRM250Mk2 (best bike I ever sold *sniff*)
Yamaha SR125 (still have)
Suzuki DR350SE (nice bike)
Gas-Gas Pampera (still have)
Yamaha XT600E (crap)
Suzuki Bandit 600 (crap)
Honda CBR600F1 (still have)
Honda Accord 2.0 Executive (still have)

I've only ever owned 3 mountain bikes and I've still got all of those:

1998 Carrera Kraken
2002 Kona Kahuna
2003 Specialized Epic

Regards
Steve

A little something I brewed at home!

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Originally posted by Ian Hurcomb:
A little something I brewed at home!

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Very nice indeed.

Regards
Steve

None...

Sold my S55AMG Merc and brought a Naim Hi-Fi!

In order

Triumph 1500-15yrs one careful owner, then one stupid student.
Triumph Stag MkII 30k never blew up, just rusted.
MGBGT rubber bumper. Like driving a tractor.
Toyota MR2 Mk I, still one of the best I have ever owned or driven.
Renault Clio 1.4. 'Common sense' choice. Crap
Fiat Punto GT turbo. Straight lines whippee! Bends-aargh.
Alfa Romeo 145 cloverleaf. Fragile, fun.
Mazda MX-5 1.8 Mk2. Always a joy. Gave me backache.
Alfa 147 2.0 Selespeed. Swift, sensible, engine by genius, electrics by an idiot. Sell it soon I think.
Caterham SV Roadpsort 1.6K. Weekend car self-built in garage. Driving re-discovered.

Bruce

Re Reading my own list makes me realise that i ought to grow up and buy a sensible quality car sometime!

[This message was edited by Bruce Woodhouse on FRIDAY 17 October 2003 at 17:56.]

In reverse order
BMW 528
BMW 318 Coupe
BMW 316
BMW 316
Vauxhall Cav 1.8
Cirtoen BX 1.6
Volvo 340 1.7
No car for 3 years
Ford Capri Mk3 3.0
Ford Capri Mk2 2.0
Ford Capri Mk1 1.6GT
H-D Sportster 1000
Read Titan Honda 810
BSA 650
Honda 250
BSA 250
Public Transport

There was an overlap with the Sportster and the first two Crappys.

Cheers

Harry

BLT and Steve G.,

I'm stunned and impressed.
I'd be afraid to own a copy of any more than a handful of the cars on either of your lists for fear they'd put me in the poorhouse.

I've always especially associated the "f*ck reliability, I'll fix it myself" attitude with UK auto enthusiasts. (An attitude I admire from afar, btw.)

Eric

sure wish i could figure out how to get pictures an acceptable size for this forum.my super V 2000 cannondale (down hill racer) is my mode of transportation to work in downtown chicago.beats the sh*t out of me on weekends.dual adjustble shocks front and rear .more fun than the mercedes and driveable after several of my favorite beverages.

by the way ian, NICE cobra!

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Originally posted by ejl:
BLT and Steve G.,

I'm stunned and impressed.
I'd be afraid to own a copy of any more than a handful of the cars on either of your lists for fear they'd put me in the poorhouse.

I've always especially associated the "f*ck reliability, I'll fix it myself" attitude with UK auto enthusiasts. (An attitude I admire from afar, btw.)

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Indeed I've owned some right shite in my time. The Mini I owned needed a new engine within a fortnight of purchase - I bought a replacement engine from a scrappie for £25, rolled the mini onto an old mattress, extracted and replaced the engine with the help of a couple of friends and had the car back on the road by the afternoon! Those were the days. Now I look under the bonnet of my VTEC Honda and I'm lucky if I can fill the washers...

Regards
Steve