My MTB journey...

Sorry for the delay in putting up a post - work and other stuff keeps getting in the way!

So, my bikes then........

I suppose I should put up a picture of my first mountain bike - although it's probably closer to a BSO (Bicycle Shaped Object) than an MTB.

This was a Saracen Element 2 that I purchased in 2009 and was in fact the first bike I'd had since my Raleigh Super Burner BMX when I was 11......



Getting 'back on a bike' came about due to a running related knee/calf injury I picked up on New Years Eve 2008. I had intensive physio and was told not to run - but cycling would be OK. So I went and got a bike. I got the Saracen based on my previous experience of them (which was back in the early 90's when I worked at Halfords as apart time bike sales assistant/repair butcher...) and I had a thing for the Saracen Tuff Trax Elite which was a £500 bike at the time and had Shimano Deore LX kit - sexy!!

So fast forward 20 year and I walk into a shop see the Saracen and go into Andy Pipkin mode - I pointed and said 'I want that one....'

It was a beast (OK, not quite....) it had the following awesome spec:
*SR Suntour XCT-V2 suspension forks with 75mm travel

*Lightweight & profiled 7005 T6 aluminium frame

*Shimano Altus 24 speed gear system with trigger shifters

*XC-D double wall alloy rims with alloy quick release hubs

*SR Suntour alloy chainset fitted to a sealed cartridge B/B

But it did one thing - got me back out exercising and back on a bike for the first time in over 20 years! I stuck with the riding until my injury was sorted and then it went back in the garage and I went running again! It came out a few other times later that year for a ride round some lanes with a mate.

Then fate threw the worlds worst (well from my point of view anyway....) kidney infection at me early 2010 (which may or may not have been linked to running around Dubai for 5 Months of an evening training for the London Marathon where they spray 'untreated water' on to the grass of an evening....). Suffice to say I didn't do the London Marathon in 2010, as I spent 2 months on antibiotics feeling quite rubbish. So how does this relate to MTB's? - well, i also used to dive a lot at the time, which I also couldn't do with dodgy kidneys, and my instructor was a keen Mountain Biker at the time too - so he suggested that I join him for a ride over Cannock Chase one morning for a lap of Follow The Dog. I have to say it was the most fun I'd had on a bike since I was 12 jumping of the school steps or riding the local BMX track.

Anyway, I didn't get much riding over The Chase after that due to the arrival of our Daughter late 2010 and a house move in late 2011 - to Cannock......

Cannock Chase is awesome - not just for riding, but for general outdoorsy stuff! - but don't just hang around the visitors centre at Marquis Drive (like 90% of the population of Cannock) - there's way more to explore and enjoy!

It wasn't until early 2014 that I dug the bike out again and started riding as it was about this time my Daughter started riding a bike and my Son got his confidence back.

It started as a ride around the visitor centre paths and then I'd go off and explore a bit while the kids hit the playground, I'd also do a couple of little rides locally on Shoal Hill Common.

I also joined a local group called Chase Riders and tagged along on one of there evening rides. This is when I realised that I liked MTB - a lot! And I also realised after a couple of rides with these guys that my Saracen just didn't cut it.

I wasn't sure if I could upgrade the Saracen or get a new bike, so I started doing a bit of research and after reading a couple of reviews and consulting a few forums I settled on a new bike instead of upgrading the Saracen as it would work out cheaper.

So I ended up with a Carrera Fury - this was the 26" wheel 2012 model and was being phased out to be replace with the new 650b wheel version. So with some British Cycling discount, online discount code and some cash-back I got it for around half price - bargain!

This was a major step up from the Saracen as it had 120mm travel air forks, trendy 2x10 SRAM gearing and hydraulic disk brakes.



This bike was head and shoulders above the Saracen and was more confidence inspiring. It's been all over the Chase, The Peak District, Long Mynd and the Wrekin - and has handled them all brilliantly.

I've made a few upgrades over time - which I'll cover in another post about each of the bikes.

So the Fury has served me well for over 2 years, but I found myself wanting a bit more travel and a bit of rear suspension.

Last year I built my Son a new bike instead of buying something from the shop as I could build a better spec for less with decent used parts (will also do a post on this at some point!). I quite enjoyed doing the build and decided to have a go at building a Full Suspension for my self.

I'd been looking at frames with a view to swapping all the bits over from my Fury and doing it on the cheap, I'd looked at Giant Trance frames and had missed out on a couple of bargains. I eventually ended up with a Nukeproof Mega TR - 130mm travel trail version of the long travel Mega AM and a nearly new set of 140mm travel Fox forks.

So the plan of swapping all the bits of the Fury kind of went out the window....... As it was such a good frame I decided to put some decent bits on it and build it to a good spec.

So after a few months of sourcing bits and a couple of weeks building I ended up with this:



It's an awesome bike, and is way more capable than I am. Hoping to get it over the Peaks and eventually ride Snowdon on it.

Thanks for reading - I'll do some more indepth posts on each of the bikes.