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so... 20 years later I am back on a bike and have a question and a problem

4K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  XCSKIBUM 
#1 ·
So I went into a bike shop about 1 week ago, I told the guy there I haven't rode in 22 years (in 35 now), I want a bike that I can take on trails, ride around town, ride along the beach path etc etc

so he told me to buy 2011 Giant revel 1 - I said fine and bought it.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/revel.1.black.red/7509/44108/

What I didn't tell him is that in my youth I used to race BMX at competitive level, because I though I would not really remember much anyways so whats the point.

Well, its kind of like I never got off a bike. Within 1 day I was already doing all sort of tricks again, and after 3 days I was already doing some decent sized jumps on more advanced trails.

But here comes the problem: last time I rode a bike, I was about 5 foot 5 five and maybe 105 lbs.

1) Now I am 6 ft 3 and 220 lbs (and not fat). And In 1 week I have gone through 6 inner tubes. I am blowing them up like crazy. The holes are never in the same spot, and are usually on the INSIDE of the tube facing the rim. 5 of the 6 punctures have been on either landing jumps or jumping over things like sidewalks, or riding down stairscases.
Why is this happening? am i too heavy? the tires are kendra small block eight. I bought the giant in the largest frame size i think it comes in. What can I do to fix this? I cannot replace 1 tube per day, its pretty annoying.

2) on the more difficult trails I notice I am about the only person not riding a full suspension bike. I have never been on a full suspension bike before. Do i really need it? is it like a 10% difference on full suspension? better or worse for jumps?
factor in I have a propensity to break all sorts of equipment in every sport I do.
 
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#2 ·
Next time you blow a tube look under the Rim Tape and make sure there is nothing under there. My rims had metal shavings where they drilled the spoke holes! I had to file them off and have been fairly flat free since.

More tire pressure helps too, if there is nothing wrong with your rims you may be running the tires too soft for your weight. I run 40PSI in my mountain bike tires and weigh 225 hardly get flats.
 
#4 ·
The holes are never in the same spot, and are usually on the INSIDE of the tube facing the rim.
I would remove the rim tape and put a wrap of Gorilla tape around the rim. After making sure there was not spoke heads sticking out. Replace the rim tape if you want.
Increase the air pressure in your tires
. I have never been on a full suspension bike before. Do i really need it?
is it like a 10% difference on full suspension? better or worse for jumps?
No you don't need a full suspension bike, You might want one.

A lot of jump bikes are hardtails. If you are riding hard it is just a matter of time before you break the Giant. Maybe better off to sell at a loss now while it is still a good bike and buy something stronger.
 
#5 ·
jasonjm said:
1) Now I am 6 ft 3 and 220 lbs (and not fat). And In 1 week I have gone through 6 inner tubes. I am blowing them up like crazy. The holes are never in the same spot, and are usually on the INSIDE of the tube facing the rim. 5 of the 6 punctures have been on either landing jumps or jumping over things like sidewalks, or riding down stairscases.
Why is this happening? am i too heavy? the tires are kendra small block eight. I bought the giant in the largest frame size i think it comes in. What can I do to fix this? I cannot replace 1 tube per day, its pretty annoying.

Pinch flats - gauranteed
2 things contribute to these: Tire pressure generally a bit on the low side resulting in the tube being "pinched" between the rim and tire when you hit a square edged obsticle such as a curb and hitting squre edged obsticles too hard.
Solutions
- Increase tire pressure, minimum 35PSI
- Try to avoid square edged hits such as curbs, stair edges etc, ride with this in mind and "unload" the rear wheel when crossing these types of things


2) on the more difficult trails I notice I am about the only person not riding a full suspension bike. I have never been on a full suspension bike before. Do i really need it? is it like a 10% difference on full suspension? better or worse for jumps?
factor in I have a propensity to break all sorts of equipment in every sport I do.

You dont need FS but a HT does limit your speed on very rough trails.
HT's are increasingly being left to either the hardcore Xc crowd or jump and park bikes
And yes before anyone comments i know this is a gross generalisation
Are they 10% different?
Nope - more like 20% chalk and cheese, ride one on a rough trail and be amazed
 
#6 ·
jasonjm said:
Well, its kind of like I never got off a bike. Within 1 day I was already doing all sort of tricks again, and after 3 days I was already doing some decent sized jumps on more advanced trails.
:thumbsup:

Better than me... After about 10 years or so off a bike, it still feels sketchy and I roll over bumps that I used to catch air off of. I had a rigid bike back then, and recently got a low-end FS, a Diamondback Recoil (although my wife would argue that a $500+ bike is more than low-end). Anyway, it just feels wierd when I get ready to jump something and the front end squishes as I get ready to hit it. Maybe it's just the cheap fork, but it does feel a lot better after cranking up the preload.
 
#8 ·
jeffgre_6163 said:
jasonjm said:
1) Now I am 6 ft 3 and 220 lbs (and not fat). And In 1 week I have gone through 6 inner tubes. I am blowing them up like crazy. The holes are never in the same spot, and are usually on the INSIDE of the tube facing the rim. 5 of the 6 punctures have been on either landing jumps or jumping over things like sidewalks, or riding down stairscases.
Why is this happening? am i too heavy? the tires are kendra small block eight. I bought the giant in the largest frame size i think it comes in. What can I do to fix this? I cannot replace 1 tube per day, its pretty annoying.

Pinch flats - gauranteed
2 things contribute to these: Tire pressure generally a bit on the low side resulting in the tube being "pinched" between the rim and tire when you hit a square edged obsticle such as a curb and hitting squre edged obsticles too hard.
Solutions
- Increase tire pressure, minimum 35PSI
- Try to avoid square edged hits such as curbs, stair edges etc, ride with this in mind and "unload" the rear wheel when crossing these types of things


2) on the more difficult trails I notice I am about the only person not riding a full suspension bike. I have never been on a full suspension bike before. Do i really need it? is it like a 10% difference on full suspension? better or worse for jumps?
factor in I have a propensity to break all sorts of equipment in every sport I do.

You dont need FS but a HT does limit your speed on very rough trails.
HT's are increasingly being left to either the hardcore Xc crowd or jump and park bikes
And yes before anyone comments i know this is a gross generalisation
Are they 10% different?
Nope - more like 20% chalk and cheese, ride one on a rough trail and be amazed
Great answers to both questions.
 
#9 ·
jeffgre_6163 said:
jasonjm said:
Pinch flats - gauranteed
2 things contribute to these: Tire pressure generally a bit on the low side resulting in the tube being "pinched" between the rim and tire when you hit a square edged obsticle such as a curb and hitting squre edged obsticles too hard.
Solutions
- Increase tire pressure, minimum 35PSI
- Try to avoid square edged hits such as curbs, stair edges etc, ride with this in mind and "unload" the rear wheel when crossing these types of things


[/B]
hmmm don't know if things have changed, but I remember back in the old days you never wanted that much tire pressure because handling became shitty because you had much less surface area of tire making contact with ground because tire had so much pressure? I certainly remember i never liked riding with massive tire pressure.

maybe i should look into some sort tubeless kit.
 
#12 ·
Sounds like you are not very concerned about being smooth. In that case, a FS bike will help some since the suspension will absorb the shock easier than the full weight of the bike on the rear tire.

Unless you are riding long XC trails or racing I'd definately recommend a FS bike. If you do, make sure you get one with air shocks so you can pump them up to match your weight. Sprung shocks are typically designed for 170-180 lb riders and won't be optimum for your weight.
 
#13 ·
If you're getting pinch flats, you'll need to do something:

a) run higher pressure
b) get larger volume tires that will allow lower pressures
c) change riding style

2.1" Small Block 8's are not a super-robust tire, especially for a 220lb rider. I would guess you'd have to run at least 40psi in those, maybe more to prevent pinch flats.

I see from your profile you live in "LA". It's a big place, but if you feel like driving out to the Santa Clarita area I'll help you get it sorted out and show you around some of the local trails.

PS: You can still get pinch flats running tubeless.
 
#14 ·
thanks for all the replies, helps a lot

I am going to do the following

1) keep my current bike, and put at least 40 psi in tires, and use this bike to mess around the city and beach, chain it to poles while I go eat and go to gym, etc etc and do all the stupid stuff on this bike.

2) buy a better bike to only use for trails, will buy a full suspension setup (with air), and look after this bike better.


thanks again all.


PS I am in west LA / century city to be specific, maybe once I all my stuff sorted out I can head out that way.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I run my tires @ 65psi on my MTB, 85psi on my Crosstrail Sprt hybrid. that's max for the tire on both bikes..

I never have had a pinch flat & the tires grip just fine. Try running @ the max recommended pressure.

BTW: I weigh 245#..
 
#17 ·
bad mechanic said:
Unless you're really heavy, or just riding on pavement, this isn't a good idea. You sacrifice a lot of traction doing that.
The best approach is to inflate to the max psi & see how the traction is. Then you can deflate if needed. Aways run the most psi that conditions will allow.

I have never felt it neccessary to run any less than max psi on the terrain I ride. And yes, 245# is a bit heavy.
 
#19 ·
XCSKIBUM said:
I run my tires @ 65psi on my MTB, 85psi on my Crosstrail Sprt hybrid. that's max for the tire on both bikes..

I never have had a punch flat & the tries grip just fine. Try running @ the max recommended pressure.

BTW: I weigh 245#..
You want to run your tire pressure as low as possible without pinch flatting. Right now I'm running 24psi in the front and 28psi in the rear (I'm embarrassed to admit I'm sitting around 230# right now). When I get my weight back down I'll lower the pressure some more, at 180# I was running closer to 20psi front and 24psi rear. With my tubless setup I run lower even :)
 
#20 ·
XCSKIBUM said:
The best approach is to inflate to the max psi & see how the traction is. Then you can deflate if needed. Aways run the most psi that conditions will allow.

I have never felt it neccessary to run any less than max psi on the terrain I ride. And yes, 245# is a bit heavy.
Go do a 10 mile loop as fast as you can with max psi, record the time. A few days later do the same loop with the minimum psi you can get away with. I'm willing to bet your second loop will be a lot faster.

There is a reason so many people on this site recommend you run low tire pressures.
 
#21 ·
XCSKIBUM said:
The best approach is to inflate to the max psi & see how the traction is. Then you can deflate if needed. Aways run the most psi that conditions will allow.

I have never felt it neccessary to run any less than max psi on the terrain I ride. And yes, 245# is a bit heavy.
That's backwards. You should always run the least psi that conditions will allow.

245 pounds does NOT merit 65psi. My friend weighs in at 230, and he only runs 45psi in low volume tires (he have lower pressure with a higher volume tire). You really need to try lowering your tire pressure. Traction is just too much fun.
 
#22 ·
bad mechanic said:
That's backwards. You should always run the least psi that conditions will allow.

245 pounds does NOT merit 65psi. My friend weighs in at 230, and he only runs 45psi in low volume tires (he have lower pressure with a higher volume tire). You really need to try lowering your tire pressure. Traction is just too much fun.
Maybe it's the terrain here, but I seldom experience any traction problems. Even when climbing, it's usually my lack of strength trying to push my considerable bulk up steep hills that causes problems, not spinnig the rear tire.

I don't even run knobby tires. I have Kenda Kross Plus tires on my MTB. The Kenda Nevegals I had on the bike really slowed me down even in the dirt.

Most of the time I do not have to deal W/loose surfaces on steep grades. If I did, then yes, lower tire pressure W/knobby tires would help.

I have only twice encounterd another MTB on the trails I ride. I don't see many other vehicle except for the ocassional ATV for that matter. I've met as many horses/riders as anything on wheels.

I also ride pavement to get to trails. I may ride 30-40 miles on an average loop W/1/2 of that pavement & the rest hard pack or firm turf. If I'm not slipping, I prefer the less rolling resistance of a hard tire. I seldom haul my bike on a car to access trails.

Not everyone rides the same terrain.
 
#23 · (Edited)
XCSKIBUM said:
I don't even run knobby tires. I have Kenda Kross Plus tires on my MTB...Not everyone rides the same terrain.
If you're riding Kenda Kross Plus tires are 65psi on your terrain without issue, I'm not entirely sure I'd even call it mountain biking. At a minimum, your experience here simply doesn't translate over to other mountain bikers, and I'd recommend you don't give people advice about this. It's only going make things harder for them, or even get someone hurt.

For reference, the Kenda Kross Plus:
 
#24 ·
bad mechanic said:
If you're riding Kenda Kross Plus tires are 65psi on your terrain without issue, I'm not entirely sure I'd even call it mountain biking. At a minimum, your experience here simply doesn't translate over to other mountain bikers, and I'd recommend you don't give people advice about this. It's only going make things harder for them, or even get someone hurt.

For reference, the Kenda Kross Plus:
I totally agree.
As a rider/racer with 22 years MTB experience I have never ever heard of anyone running 65 psi in any type of tyre used for genuine MTB riding.

Just becaues you do it certainly does not make it right, in fact its bordering on dangerous and flat out stupid

For the record XCSKIBUM what sort of bike do you ride?
 
#26 ·
tshulthise said:
Sounds like you are not very concerned about being smooth. In that case, a FS bike will help some since the suspension will absorb the shock easier than the full weight of the bike on the rear tire.

Unless you are riding long XC trails or racing I'd definately recommend a FS bike. If you do, make sure you get one with air shocks so you can pump them up to match your weight. Sprung shocks are typically designed for 170-180 lb riders and won't be optimum for your weight.
I disagree. Coil spring shocks and forks, when fitted with the correct spring for the rider's weight are more durable, and more suitable for heavy riders. The pressure in an air fork or shock ramps up dramatically when a heavy rider lands a big jump, which can lead to blown seals. A coil fork or shock with the correct spring rate will be more reliable than a comparable air fork or shock. You can order coil sprung suspension components with springs to match your weight requirements.
 
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