Orbea make really good riding bikes, a mate has a Rallon, it's a few years old now. It's meant to be an enduro bike? We did a ride to Swanage and back, mostly on the road, he was on that and I took my singlespeed, obvious choices for basically a road century

I'd happily go bikepacking on that, the Oiz and Occam I'm sure are just as good.

I'm yet to hear a bad word said about them.

I did smile when Neil said that FS bikes have come a long way in the last 5 years My Spearfish is a 2012

I doubt there is much difference between this and the early Blur classic [2004 ish] other than wheelsize and head angle

sean_iow wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 9:43 pm Orbea make really good riding bikes, a mate has a Rallon, it's a few years old now. It's meant to be an enduro bike? We did a ride to Swanage and back, mostly on the road, he was on that and I took my singlespeed, obvious choices for basically a road century

I'd happily go bikepacking on that, the Oiz and Occam I'm sure are just as good.

The Occam has successfully challenged my perception of bouncy bikes versus rigid. I bought ScottL’s, that has seen the Colorado Trail. It’s a really excellent bike and once we’re allowed out again I’ll likely take it around a bikepacking route or two over here.

My first dalliance with bouncing bikes was the Trek Y bike, the experience traumatised me so much I waited 30 years before trying pickers Salsa Spearfish. I was impressed, so much so I was gutted when I missed buying it.
In my mind I see a Trek procalibre with wide drops

htrider wrote: ↑Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:32 pm https://bikepacking.com/plan/bikepackin ... ike-video/
. Still happy to ride my slightly flexy big tyred rigid things but of interest if you like your wheels to move independently of you.

Apart from the cost my main gripe with suspension is the ludicrous service intervals. We've really been stitched up with this...

Hi htrider et Al! I agreed suspension is getting very expensive and you seem to get less for your hard earned bucks.
I had a pair of 100mm Marzocchi 2003 mxc's for for over 15 years. I think they were £120 from cycle promotions mobile velo market sports hall sales , picked up at base at Rotherham or in the vacinity...
They of course were 26" the only choice back then, unless you wanted to go smaller!). I had them for over 15 years and between bike . I only set the pressure a couple of time, after the single service (literally fit & forget! ) . Air seals never had a problem. I didn't go mad down hill, but they gave me confidence. I only upgraded to get lock out and disks! I got a deal on Magura (via Merlin Cycles), now on a,29er. unfortunately they are 140mm travel, but so far they to have been reliable and I can service them as they are air sprung and oil-less. They use very expensive low viscosity PTFE grease instead- food GRADE hence £££!
(to get short travel ~100m Magura advised to run a low pressure and >30% (high) sag. - it seems to work)
I don't know what happened to Marzocchi, I think they were to reliable. And they didn't have a international presence of their brands. Their high oil volume low air pressure probable didn't do it for weight weenies. . . That & finding a low pressure shock pump (dial 0-50 psi rather than 200psi), made tuning fun.
I won't mention the thud buster.. Oh dear I have, keep stum....

*** I also hate the bike cleaning chore so have fuller mudguard and chain ring guards.
see franken bike below... (homebrew). Eric robo has witness their effectivness and shaf has observed them as a crime against ultra light and current trends.... So what.,
sod'em & go 'tomorra'

I don't know what happened to Marzocchi

I recall they switched production to a different country and reliability suffered. At the time, I also recall they seemed to focus heavily on big hitting, long travel forks while others were producing much better and lighter trail forks. I suppose people 'want' something new and what they perceive to be better, in the quest to service that demand (or perhaps actually fuel that demand) reliability seemed to drop off and prices rocket across the board. Was it something from Fox that was meant to be serviced every 20 hours or something equally daft?

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:24 am

I don't know what happened to Marzocchi

I recall they switched production to a different country and reliability suffered. At the time, I also recall they seemed to focus heavily on big hitting, long travel forks while others were producing much better and lighter trail forks. I suppose people 'want' something new and what they perceive to be better, in the quest to service that demand (or perhaps actually fuel that demand) reliability seemed to drop off and prices rocket across the board. Was it something from Fox that was meant to be serviced every 20 hours or something equally daft?

Is it better to be first adaptor in this case. I won with tried and tested....
You sound like you player the suspension game more than me...

You sound like you player the suspension game more than me...

Haven't had suspension for years. I kind of got priced out and realised that I don't miss it or at least don't realise I do

This thread has reminded me I was going to service the lowers on my SIDs over Christmas and didn't get round to it, I'd better get on it tomorrow. The service interval is 50 hrs, they've done

B150 20 hrs
SD300 27 hrs
BB300 30 hrs
CL 30 hrs
LTL 30 hrs

And that's just the ITTs I can think of, somewhat overdue with other use they must be over 200 hrs if not 300 or more.

Sticking strictly to the service interval I should have done it at the campsite after the CL as the LTL would take them over the hours, but on that day I was too busy eating and applying sudacream to my undercarriage to bother taking the forks apart my own servicing was more of a priority. It does highlight how short the service interval is*

* Forks not my undercarriage

l

ledburner wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:01 pm l

I thought the were service interval for different forks. Doh
they're big rides and the duration you were out.. .

The local village bike shop will give your undercarriage a service. Fork and by hand servicing a speciality...
So a bloke in a pub told me....

I overlooked how many hours I'd done on them as they aren't on the bike all the time, they were on the hardtail but only for the summer of 2019 then taken off and the rigid put on for the winter.

When I built the Spearfish they went on that and I forget they had a precious life.

I suppose I should also look up what servicing the shock needs but at least that was brand new when I build the bike.

Just looked up the service intervals for the shock, new seals every 100 hours they'll just have to last longer than that.

It also says

Clean the outside of to the shock with mild soap and a toothbrush - every 8 hours

So I'd have to have stopped and done that 3 times on the Cairngorm Loop, does plundging it into a fast flowing icy cold Scottish river count? I did that more often than every 8 hours

I remember now why my other bike is a rigid singlespeed

Seals, Design in and only for California....or continental weather-long dry summers for riding, cold snowy winters, where you'd ski/board instead. Short 'shoulder' transion season, when you get your bike serviced & into storage for next year...
The UK seems to be a perpetual shoulder season with an unusual glorious summer once every decade....

Recommended service intervals are just a tool for denying warranty claims.

sean_iow wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:46 pm
It also says

Clean the outside of to the shock with mild soap and a toothbrush - every 8 hours

So I'd have to have stopped and done that 3 times on the Cairngorm Loop, does plundging it into a fast flowing icy cold Scottish river count? I did that more often than every 8 hours

I love dual use equipment- no excuses really Sean for not doing the shock and your teeth at the same time

sean_iow wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:46 pm Just looked up the service intervals for the shock, new seals every 100 hours they'll just have to last longer than that.

It also says

Clean the outside of to the shock with mild soap and a toothbrush - every 8 hours

So I'd have to have stopped and done that 3 times on the Cairngorm Loop, does plundging it into a fast flowing icy cold Scottish river count? I did that more often than every 8 hours

I remember now why my other bike is a rigid singlespeed

I discovered that the fox float on the '5 needed similar treatment. After I'd run it for 5 years..... The vanilla R on the Patriot did 8 years and is still mint. Its mince isn't it, just serviced the forks on a 50 year old motorcycle (first time by the looks) One seal had leaked a bit and the oil resembled pus but otherwise fine....

I've just got around to putting my fox floats into the shop today for a service, fingers crossed. It will be first time they've been serviced since I got the bike in 2010