Bought a new bike on the weekend after months of slathering over the GT Avalanche expert I went into another shop and fell for a Giant XTC 4.5 2008 which came in a lot cheaper with all of the spec's that I was after.
As I cycle around 10 miles a day across country, I needed something that was lighter than the rigid frame I normally use, i needed hydraulic disc brakes (to prevent the build up of muck and leaves in my V breaks) and front end suspension (to reduce the amount of shock my wrists were receiving)
I needed to replace the standard tyres that came with the bike for some Panaracer Trailraker 2.1 tyres. I Will be testing it out on my normal route tomorrow but the Trailraker 2.1's should be fantastic on the mud that I have to deal with (lots of horses on the track that I follow).
The other alteration was the pedals on the bike for a sealed set (the name eludes me but i will add at some stage) they were just very smooth so should cut down on overall resistance.
The guy I was speaking to at the shop said that I'm probably going to be in and out of the shop quite frequently, as the mechs and bottom bracket are going to be submersed in water quite frequently and covered in crud. This is an ideal way to create a grinding substance for all those moving parts. Alas it seems that alot of the manufacturers are from regions where its dry most of the time so they don't really consider the semi submerged nature of British off road biking.
I'm not saying my route is the most normal, as I wear wellies to cycle to work (water comes over my ankles when I'm cycling through the water filled ruts), but for people like me that actually use their bikes daily for fitness, transport and fun, grinding substance terrain and grass filled mechs make the cost of running a bike higher.
I wash of the bike daily (not with a pressure washer as this just pushes muck into the bikes working parts) and i still need to constantly (weekly) take bits apart to remove grinding goo. I know you might say why don't you use the road, but have you seen some of the people driving out there, and it adds an extra 4 miles onto my journey. Admittedly if i was into the whole spandex, techno riding gear and space age Cervelo road bikes i'm sure it would be a dream, but me, i'm a little more grunge with my BMX helmet, Skiing gloves and wellies on.
Will keep you updated on how the Panaracer Trailrakers do and give you an overall gist of what the Giant XTC 4.5 2008 rides like. I'm 6 foot and went after a Large frame which looks and feels right but i do wonder whether I need a slightly shorter, raised stem (i just need to settle in with the new bike).
Anyway a point i meant to make is if you have any bike experiences you would like to share drop me an email and if I don't feel like your trying to sell stuff ill put them on my blog.
Giant XTC 4.5 2008 is a great bike, not as light or fancy as a Cervelo road bike but for off road I'm looking forward to finding out if it cuts the mustard.
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