Mountain Bikes
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Bird Aeris Full Suspension
I was lucky enough to get to test the new Aeris full suspension from Bird Cycleworks round Swinley Forest. I didn’t get a massive amount of time riding the bike, but wanted to share my first impressions of it, which were very positive. Read More
Fix or Replace? Part 3 – a new bike
Having looked at replacement parts in Part 2, the other side of the conundrum is a new bike. Taking the equivalent budget from the parts I would need, and then using the Cycletowork scheme to gross it up, I would have a healthy budget of £1,000 for a new bike. So what’s out there? Read More
Fix or replace? Part 1 – The dilemma
I currently have a Kona Explosif 1999 model, which I hand built myself, and I’m very fond of. It has a steel frame – Reynolds 853 tubing – and has a ride that only steel gives. It accelerates like whippet, especially offroad and on technical sections and gives me a grin even when I just take it round the block.
However, I built it in 1999, and it needs some serious maintenance and upgrades now. The entire drivetrain is shot and needs replacing, the forks are worrying me a bit (but are probably ok) and at the weekend I bent one of the brake levers (it’s got V brakes and it pre-dates discs!). Read More
D5 Creation