ENJOY THE JOURNEY
Back in Easter 2017 whilst on holiday with my then 12-year-old son in Mid Wales, we visited Bikepark Wales. We were on poor quality hardtails, inappropriately dressed and underprepared. We had no idea what we had stumbled upon. Cue a journey of discovery, of great expense and of great fun. All with so much father and son (and then later, father, son and daughter) bonding over riding, improving and getting better bikes, parts and gear. All the way through guided by mbr and your reviews.
Both my teenagers now leave me for dust on
TAKE A BRAKE
any trail and indeed ride trails I wouldn’t dare to.
But what fun it has been and how lucky I am to have found a shared love of mountain biking with my two teenagers.
It may have left me with an empty wallet but we have all gained so much along the way – and I am so pleased that they look forward to weekends away with dad, and of course our mountain bikes, whatever the weather.
Why oh why do mountain bike brakes squeal and howl so much in anything other than bone-dry conditions? And before anyone wants to lecture me on looking after them, I’ve been there and done that for many years. For 30+ years I’ve had motorbikes and cars and it’s never been a problem, whether that’s road bikes, MX bikes, enduro or trials machines – not once have I suffered squealing brakes. Ever. For some reason with mtb brakes, as soon as they get slightly damp or cold, it’s howling banshees. With new pads I bed them in, if I use any sprays like GT85 and the like, I cover the discs. I have Isopropyl alcohol to clean the discs and have tried all the different pad compounds; it might be OK for one ride yet the next time I take the bike out they squeal.
Surely there must be a solution that manufacturers can agree on to get
WINS
a Madison Zenith waterproof jacket round this problem, we have so much tech on bikes these days yet brake noise seems to be ignored, we have ABS now yet no anti-squeal brakes!
I’m not the only one with this problem as there are plenty of videos on Youtube with the likes of Mctrail rider, Tommy C Hype, Street Pigeon to name a few where you can hear squealing brakes quite often.
We have bikes costing upwards of £10k yet as soon as it’s wet they sound like a cheap kiddies bike from Halfords!
Ed - I guess it’s the last great frontier, silencing harmonic resonance. The trouble is those rotors are so skinny in comparison with moto brakes, and much larger than CX brakes, that they make perfect amplifiers. On that note, I’ve noticed SRAM’S HS2 is quieter, probably thanks to its thicker and stiffer construction.
BUSTED
Just been enjoying reading the Trails by Rails piece in the January 2023 issue of mbr and was surprised by the claim that the X62 Borders bus is unique in the UK because it can take bikes on board. I know this is not true, as I recently took my bike between Hull and York on the X46 to do a ride bit further from home without taking the car. A quick Google search reveals other buses in the UK that take bikes. This is all great news for cyclists whether commuters, tourers, bikepackers or mountain bike riders. A bit more fact checking needed by your editorial team.
WORTH £119.99
LOONEY LUMEN
I suspect I am a little late to the party with offering an opinion on the Scott Lumen. Clearly the price is a talking point, fair play to those who can afford it! What I can’t get beyond is that, from a quick internet search, a family of four could get a fairly decent bike each along with a campervan and enough money to run it for a year for the RRP of the Scott! Surely it’s better to introduce the next generation to the joys of biking?
Ed – You’re right, there won’t be many families bombing round on a fleet of £10k e-bikes, and we’ve always said it doesn’t matter what you’re rolling on – Just Get Out and Ride.
POWER PLAY
Thanks for the great review of the midpower e-bikes. The test is the first that I have seen that attempts to compare the new bikes and mid-range motors in this category. It wasn’t a surprise that the higher-power motors draw more watts but the ‘power hour’ and calories/metre elevation comparison is a really useful way of looking at the different motor systems. It would be interesting to see the effect of a constant rider input and cadence on the figures.
I took the plunge last year and bought the Turbo Levo SL when this was really the only low-power e-bike on the market. It provides enough assist for my aging body (62) to let me zip along while still giving me a good workout. Sure, my full-fat mates can drop me on the steeper climbs but then they tend to get the dreaded range anxiety if they keep it in boost for too long, so overall the Levo SL keeps up.
It’s great to see the mid-power e-bike market expand and provide more choice. The one bike missing was the carbon Orbea Rise with its RS motor and 360Wh battery.
Keep up the good work.