Fettling a new (modern) bike?

[MartinYorkshire]

Re: Re:

To be honest, going on the spec you list for the Marin it’s all good and I doubt anything really needs changing until you bust it or wear it out. Shimano XT is still XT and SLX is DX/LX in old money. Maxxis tyres are ace and will be fine. I personally prefer Schwalbe Magic Mary up front and Hams Dampf out back but again, yours will be fine.

Looks like all you need is some Hope bling and carbon bars!

I appreciate your thoughts. I thought it was a good deal but things have changed a lot in the last few decades and not in a good way, both in MTB and across the board I guess. I'm eternally sceptical these days as nothing is what it seems. Hams Dampf made me laugh. That sounds utterly filthy and I havent come across them before.

I completely agree that I need Hope bling. I can't believe how cheap it is, which is why I asked whether it was made in the UK or not.

In all honestly, being the cynical git I am, I can't see how they can be selling truly made in UK CNC seat clamps for £20 RRP. It says made in UK, but I also know that you can legally use that language even if it's only the majority of finishing thats conducted here (more complicated than that Im sure). Not that it matters, per say, it just put me off a bit, same as nukeproof I guess. Maybe its just economies of scale?

RE the carbon bars. Being old and very fat, I'm a little nervous about them vs aluminium. For the weight they would save, I'd be better off skipping pies for a week instead. Is there another reason to go for them, stiffness perhaps?

As always, most grateful for your replies.

 

[Mikey08]

They make carbon parts for Enduro and Downhill these days. I wouldn't worry about strength. The go to carbon bars seem to be Renthal. Hope also do a carbon bar, which looks identical in shape and profile strangely. But Renthal seems to be what the cool kids use. All carbon bars need to be clamped to 5nm and its advised to use carbon assembly paste on your stem clamp interface. Controls should be tightened to 4nm. This is to avoid crushing the structure and weakening it.

 

[2manyoranges]

Good calls re approach to carbon bar fitting. I noticed that Chain R had Nukeproof 31.8s 800mm bars at 45.00 - bought 4. I use Renthal too, given the extreme quality of their product. The nice thing about carbon is that they really take out trail sting...I have a hyper rigid Ragley mmmBop and it was beating me to death. Carbon bars, carbon seatpost (old syncros from Switzerland) and Vigo WTB armchair and the bike is now a precise, smooth ride. Perfect.

Just good thing to note - no need for carbon paste on Renthal and Nukeproof - they come with gritty section which does in the middle, and for controls on the end of the bars.

I should add...if you worry about carbon bars, just buy Renthal alloy bars. Best in the business, and extremely good strength-weight ratio. 780 width does me...a lot of the singletrack we do when we go to the Southdowns was cut when bars were A LOT narrower - it's a squeak to get 780 bars through between the trees, and 800+ would see some nasty moments.....

 

[brocklanders023]

Re: Re:

I completely agree that I need Hope bling. I can't believe how cheap it is, which is why I asked whether it was made in the UK or not.

In all honestly, being the cynical git I am, I can't see how they can be selling truly made in UK CNC seat clamps for £20 RRP. It says made in UK, but I also know that you can legally use that language even if it's only the majority of finishing thats conducted here (more complicated than that Im sure). Not that it matters, per say, it just put me off a bit, same as nukeproof I guess. Maybe its just economies of scale?

Nope, all Hope stuff is made in the UK and the CNC'd kit still made in Barnoldswick, just up the road from me. I've been to the factory and there's plenty of vids online. Most of their kit isn't cheap compared to the competition though but worth the extra imo.

Carbon bars has been mentioned above. They are just as strong as aluminium these days, maybe more.

 

[d8mok]

Re:

You see I actually think Hope is cheap (price wise) compared to its competitors.

Brakes are cheaper than say MT7 or saint/XTR if you shop around

Hubs are cheaper than I9 / king / XTR

Cranks are cheaper than XX1/ XTR / Eewings

And the quality is on par and if not better in some cases.

I’ve just sold a pair of E4 brakes. Had them 7 years on my trail bikes (x3). They never needed bleeding , and sold for £20 less than I’ve paid for a new pair in a different colour. Crazy.

I like Hope stuff

 

[Mikey08]

Theres a few sets of Hope brakes in the for sale section on Pinkbike for reasonable prices.

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

Fully agree, I like Hope, they make ace kit.

 

[Mikey08]

Nice colour choice

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

To the OP, I assume you've just got an Alpine trail....?

With what you've spent, and looking at the spec, nothing needs changing. At all. Okay, saddle, grips and pedals are personal choices, but the functional differences between XT, SLX and even deore are now extremely marginal. get out and ride the damn thing!

you've got a set of forks worth maybe £800.... they're nearly as good as they get without getting silly. Seriously, that's a hell of a bike.

FYI, what the others said is true, Hope stuff really is MADE in the UK, not just finished or assembled. I love it, and for the quality, I'd agree that it's decent value. But, don't fall into he trap of thinking that all MTB companies are owned/run by the same people as the 90s... Nukeproof didn't *change* as much as the name was bought by a larger company; in this case, the struggling brand 'Nukeproof' was bought by chain reaction cycles. Hope, however, are still the old, awesome, Hope.

 

[mattr]

Re: Re:

The bike we bought has STX everywhere except an XT rear mech,

STX hasn't existed since shortly after you bought your last bike..... SLX now

Only thing i upgrade is wheels, until you're spending north of something like £3k on an MTB, the wheels are usually OE spec versions of a known model.

Had several over the years that once they fail (6 months in) getting spares is a nightmare because they aren't the super duper X387963 lightweight race wheels, hand made in Switzerland by virgins. They're the XR387963.1 thrown together by disinterested minimum wage people in a nondescript factory unit in Barrow.

Same colours, same stickers, and there the similarity ends.....

Oh, tyres as well. They quite often fit OE spec tyres.