Fettling a new (modern) bike?

[mattr]

Also, i go over every bike i buy, not to check bolt torques, just to check they've actually built it/PDIed it.

Dunno why, but shops i've had work on bikes more recently have been far more miss than hit.
I mean, indexing gears isn't difficult, apparently it is to some....

 

[d8mok]

Re:

It’s very rare I buy a built bike (usually frame builds) but when I do I tend to strip it and start again.

My mrs bought a Cannondale Topstone late last year and I’ve not had chance to do it yet but will prior to summer. But since owning I’ve had to sort gears and brakes.

 

[MartinYorkshire]

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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.

This is very good to hear, we need homegrown companies like that, especially now. I actually think the Hope stuff seems relatively cheap for what it is if its truly made here. I just ordered a seat clamp bolt for £20. £20, for a CNC machined piece of aluminium loveliness. Cannot possibly go wrong.

 

[MartinYorkshire]

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.

Yes thats the one, the carbon 2 version. I couldn't get near the same spec with most other brands for that price. The wheels let it down a bit, but I can handle that. It was expensive, but I think it will probably be my last ever "modern" MTB purchase, so I felt like pushing the boat out.

The suspension I'm told, is sublime. I haven't even gotten to ride it properly yet as my wife wanted first dibs so we set it up for her. Once we had dialled it in as per the spec sheets, which actually wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, it rode brilliantly by all accounts (as it should). We share a frame size, so a few pumps of the shocks and I'll be having a bash at the weekend.

I dare say some Hope stuff will find its way here at some point, starting with a clamp, which I ordered today.

 

[MartinYorkshire]

Also, i go over every bike i buy, not to check bolt torques, just to check they've actually built it/PDIed it.

Dunno why, but shops i've had work on bikes more recently have been far more miss than hit.
I mean, indexing gears isn't difficult, apparently it is to some....

My bike has been mostly OK aside from some clumsily fitted seat clamp bolts which had been mashed, probably by a ball ended allen key. My sons Marin came with a stripped spoke nipple on the rear and another very loose spoke on the front wheel which also has a runout of >5mm in one position and around 3mm in another. It's going into the LBS for truing ASAP.

It's just a lack of care on assembly, which is disappointing. I will probably let Marin know in due course, as a fully loose spoke is not really acceptable. It should not have passed PDI either, so I'll have to make the supplying dealer aware too.

Anyway, anything new has niggles, but as you say, a good check over is well worth doing.

 

[MartinYorkshire]

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.

Good point on SLX

The bike was £4k dead, but most of it went on the other bits, with little left for wheels, which are Marin's own economy version. They seem strong enough but are pretty heavy. Once I've bashed them up a bit I think that will be the first major upgrade.

You can get wheels made by virgins without going to Switzerland. The local Halfords, for example. (sorry Halfords trainees!)

I take your point and you're absolutely right. Happens in all sorts of industries where a sort of lite version of something, made to lesser specs, is shipped out to OEM's and marketed as being equivalent to a full price item when it absolutely isn't.

 

[brocklanders023]

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Agree on the wheels, use them for now, then upgrade to Hope!