cape wrath MTB build quality..

Quoted message said:

also... I've just been out on the racer this afternoon, I'm getting
fast enough to get into trouble on it now. I almost ran over some
stupid ( and/ or blind ) bloke crossing the road, then overtaking
daudling cars.. and then some absolute fool in a 4x4 just pulled out
right in front of me ! People seriously underestimate my speed. ( 20-22
mph on flat, not bad for a fat bloke! ) Does any one else here have
this problem ?

Not if they read the road properly and anticipate the foibles of others.....

On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:52:46 -0700, mr p wrote:

I found the lockring

Quoted message said:

was only finger tight! so this has to be added to the list of things
that went wrong in the first year of use.

Interesting. I bought a Cape Wrath about six months ago and have had
similar issues with the lockring coming loose. I had it fixed
'professionally' at my local Evans shop twice but it came loose
again during rides. I then bought the tools myself and did it and it
has been fine since..

These bikes are delivered as flat packs apparently so any loose nuts or
bad adjustments are not necessarily the manufacturers fault. Taking it
back to the people who originally assembled it does not mean they
will/can fix it either of course!

My most major issue was with the supplied Cane Creek Direct Curve brakes
which I posted here a few months back with pics. Basically there was no
power in them and I was forced to pack all the concave spacers, washers
etc onto one side of the arm in order to get the pad close enough to the
rim. Some of the chaps on here commented that the brake arm tops were too
close together to garner any leverage. I realised that these brakes
would never work on my Cape Wrath frame and had this confirmed
at a specialised MTB shop.

This issue has since been resolved by an anonymous donor sending me some
lovely Avid ones and I can happily report these work much, much better.

Cheers
Noel

Pics are still here: http://lolith.net/direct-curve/index.html if you want
to see them.

Noel said:

On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:52:46 -0700, mr p wrote:

I found the lockring

Quoted message said:

was only finger tight! so this has to be added to the list of things
that went wrong in the first year of use.

Interesting. I bought a Cape Wrath about six months ago and have had
similar issues with the lockring coming loose. I had it fixed
'professionally' at my local Evans shop twice

did you buy it from Evans then ? I read on this group that you are
supposed to set the torqe of the lockring *whilst holding the cassette
with the whip * my theory is that the 'bike mechanic' did not do this,

Quoted message said:

but it came loose again during rides. I then bought the tools myself and did it and it
has been fine since..

well worth the investment IMO , what were the symptoms when the
lockring came undone? Mine had a slipping chain in gears 7-9..

Quoted message said:

These bikes are delivered as flat packs apparently so any loose nuts or
bad adjustments are not necessarily the manufacturers fault.

maybe the flat pack helps keep the shipping cost down then, but they
are supposedly 'made in England' My Felt racer was in it's flat pack..
but the dealer had done his job with it.

Quoted message said:

Taking it
back to the people who originally assembled it does not mean they
will/can fix it either of course!

.... my thoughts entirely, they wanted me to courier it back to them
when the chain broke, yeah right..

Quoted message said:

My most major issue was with the supplied Cane Creek Direct Curve brakes

mine is the disc version, I am pleased to say that the brakes work very
nicely, although I don't doubt that they could be a major pain in the
[censored] when they do eventually fail . It's not the sort of sh!t you
expect to have to fix on a new bike though is it.

Quoted message said:

This issue has since been resolved by an anonymous donor sending me some
lovely Avid ones and I can happily report these work much, much better.

.... what am I looking at exactly, the old ones ? did some scrote in
the shop nick the brakes it should have had or somthing ?

They ain't bad bikes I'm looking forward to getting mine back in action
for Friday, but I think people reading this thread will be well advised
to check CB or cyclesmart bikes very carefully before doing too many
miles ! I'm returning to cycling and sometimes I never keep my eye on
things, until problems arise.

happy biking !

Simon

mr p said:

did you buy it from Evans then ? I read on this group that you are
supposed to set the torqe of the lockring *whilst holding the cassette
with the whip * my theory is that the 'bike mechanic' did not do this,

I don't think a chain whip would actually make any difference when fitting
the cassette.

Anthony

vernon said:

Quoted message said:

also... I've just been out on the racer this afternoon, I'm getting
fast enough to get into trouble on it now. I almost ran over some
stupid ( and/ or blind ) bloke crossing the road, then overtaking
daudling cars.. and then some absolute fool in a 4x4 just pulled out
right in front of me ! People seriously underestimate my speed. ( 20-22
mph on flat, not bad for a fat bloke! ) Does any one else here have
this problem ?

Not if they read the road properly and anticipate the foibles of others.....

I agree, but leads me to a question.. how do other road users who glance
at you for a spilt second know your traveling at speed (before they turn
in front / cross the road)?

I'm thinking a high cadence and riding in the primary position help...
and perhaps some lyrca clothing (I don't know.. I wouldn't inflict that
sight on anyone yet!)

Any other sugestions?

"mr p" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

did you buy it from Evans then ? I read on this group that you are
supposed to set the torqe of the lockring *whilst holding the cassette
with the whip * my theory is that the 'bike mechanic' did not do
this,

And the point of the whip in that case would be... what, exactly? Since the
ring is a normal thread, it'll tighten in the drive direction. You only need
the whip for removal.

Tim

--
Sent from Birmingham, UK timdunne at blueyonder.co.uk
'God's electrician sparked up the heavens once again, heading northbound
on the 7:10. And the lord said let there be commuters...' - Thea Gilmore
Look, mum, an anorak on a bike! Check out www.nervouscyclist.org

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

mblewett said the following on 11/10/2006 00:21:

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking a high cadence and riding in the primary position help...
and perhaps some lyrca clothing (I don't know.. I wouldn't inflict that
sight on anyone yet!)

I suspect that with the media's focus on "lycra louts" that lycra would
have a negative effect. I wouldn't know though, because I wouldn't
inflict that sight on anyone yet either!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

[email hidden] wrote on 11/10/2006 06:58 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Oh, I must be dead then. Shame, I was enjoying life.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

[email hidden] said the following on 11/10/2006 06:58:

Quoted message said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Whoops - too late.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Quoted message said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Curious. I hadn't noticed the large number of Zombies in this group until
you mentioned it, but it does go some way towards explaining why my grate
frend Bambi has recently acquired a Scholarly Monograph on the subject of
Prevention of Zombie Attack.

(Goes off to snack on David Miliband)

--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
Stop press! Pope still dead...

Tim Dunne said:

"mr p" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

did you buy it from Evans then ? I read on this group that you are
supposed to set the torqe of the lockring *whilst holding the cassette
with the whip * my theory is that the 'bike mechanic' did not do
this,

And the point of the whip in that case would be... what, exactly? Since the
ring is a normal thread, it'll tighten in the drive direction. You only need
the whip for removal.

My theory was that if you torque it up againts the freehub then it's
just possible that the friction between the cassette and the hub will
stop the hub sliding all the way . If you hold it still all the force
goes into tightening the nut and less is used overcoming the friction
between the cassette and the hub. This may well be total nonsense but
having bought the stupid thing I thought I may as well use it anyway !
Has anyone ever actually read the instructions from Shimano ?

--
Simon

"mr p" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

4This may well be total nonsense

Yup.

Tim
--
Sent from Birmingham, UK timdunne at blueyonder.co.uk
'God's electrician sparked up the heavens once again, heading northbound
on the 7:10. And the lord said let there be commuters...' - Thea Gilmore
Look, mum, an anorak on a bike! Check out www.nervouscyclist.org

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Oooooooooohhhhh Nooooooooooo it won't (all together now)

Quoted message said:

Curious. I hadn't noticed the large number of Zombies..........

"Brains.........big juicy brains.........."
The Zombie Robert

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Doh - should I take the car instead?

Going fast is one thing, too fast another. If you average 20mph and hang
around in the primary position, I think this feels safer than 10 mph in the
gutter. I guess the trick is to keep expecting people to do silly things -
I've done enough to recognise them ;-).

Colin

Paul Boyd said:

I suspect that with the media's focus on "lycra louts" that lycra would
have a negative effect. I wouldn't know though, because I wouldn't
inflict that sight on anyone yet either!

I think people equate 'cyclist in lycra' with 'fast(er) cyclist' which
can help.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

Quoted message said:

I've just been out on the racer this afternoon, I'm getting
fast enough to get into trouble on it now. I almost ran over some
stupid ( and/ or blind ) bloke crossing the road, then overtaking
daudling cars.. and then some absolute fool in a 4x4 just pulled out
right in front of me ! People seriously underestimate my speed. ( 20-22
mph on flat, not bad for a fat bloke! ) Does any one else here have
this problem ?

Constantly. Read Cyclecraft (google 4 it) or similar and develop your
'vehicular cycling' and 'assertive/defensive/whatever you want to call it'
cycling.

Basically the first sticks you out where drivers can see you, the second is
a way of riding that anticipates the idiocy of others and has you take
avoiding action *before they've made their mistake*.

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Paul Boyd said:

I suspect that with the media's focus on "lycra louts" that lycra would
have a negative effect. I wouldn't know though, because I wouldn't
inflict that sight on anyone yet either!

I think people equate 'cyclist in lycra' with 'fast(er) cyclist' which
can help.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

Me in Lycra would help no one!! :-)

(I agree with your point though!)

Colin

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

Do NOT cycle fast in traffic in town or suburbs. You will get killed.

Oh, don't be ridiculous. In many traffic situations the closer you can get
your speed to the speed the traffic is doing the safer you are.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Tony Blair's epitaph, #1: Tony Blair lies here.
Tony Blair's epitaph, #2: Trust me.