Help me choose my Chiner ;)

[WorkingHPRs]

Hi Guys and Girls,
Having not been on a MTB in 15 years or so and having got back into cycling in the last 12 months to loose some weight I competed in my first 24 hour XC race last weekend and had a blast. Had to borrow a bike (well two as I broke the first one on my 3rd lap!) I got thinking I fancied doing a bit more of this and maybe some more traditional XC type races.

I am 6'3" (189cm) and currently 198lb (90kg targeting 85kg. Was weighing in @ 107kg not that long ago so confident I can hit the target) and inside leg is 34" (86cm). Based in the UK.

Quite fancy a 256 type bike with some 30mm hookless carbon rims but I am more than a little worried that I am too heavy! Happy for suggestions both on frame and other components as I am seriously out of touch with what is good / bad. Quite like the 1x11 setups but can you really get away with only one ring at the front?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and just want to say what a great resource this forum is!

[MTB2223]

You're really not to heavy for a 256 and 30mm rims. Carbon is a very strong material, but also flexible.
According the 30mm rims, they can easily handle a riders weight of 120 kg. And that's not said of every alloy rims.

I guess the 19" frame is good for you. You can look to the geometry in this topic http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,96.msg778.html#msg778

But, you have now 12 month of new experience on a MTB. Look at their geometry, does this fit well? And then look for a frame with almost the same geometry and keep in mind you can do some adjustments with the position of you saddle and the size of stem (and spacers).

[WorkingHPRs]

Sorry didn't explain it very well, my 12 months of recent experience is with a road / cyclocross bike so not really relevant but I guess I could look up the geometry of the two bikes I rode at the race, I definitely preferred the old 26er Alu hardtail over the 27.5 full sus (although set a better lap time on the FS after taking some advice from team mates, could just roll over most of the roots as the course got more cut up) my understanding is that a 29er is even more capable at just "rolling over" stuff?

[Sitar_Ned]

Yeah.. I weigh almost exactly what you weigh and wouldn't be concerned in the slightest about riding a 256 with 30mm carbon rims.

And at 6'3" I say definitely go with the 29er wheel size in either hardtail or full suspension. That is personal preference of course but it's pretty common that taller riders feel they fit better on 29er frames. That said.. a 29er hardtail still isn't going to be at all as plush as a 27.5 full suspension. Depends on your budget, the type of trails you ride, and if this is going to be your only chiner or not.. I think most of us will eventually probably end up building at least two.

[carbonazza]

Sitar_Ned, 3 I'm afraid!
A XC hardtail to leave our friends in the dust.
One full suspension for rocky terrains due to the age of our back.
And... a road bike to develop our heart, and be better in the two above

[jonxmack]

If you're 6'3" then definitely go for a 29er. A 256 with 30mm hookless would be awesome, throw some decent forks on it if you fancy it (or run rigid like a madman ) and you'll be laughing. 1x11 is more than enough, with a 30t front ring and 42 on the back you'll get over anything. I run 1x10 with 32x36 as my lowest gear and I've never had to get off to push!

[MTB2223]

I run 1x10 with 32x36 as my lowest gear and I've never had to get off to push!

It depends on your trails of course. For me 1x10 isn't enough. Currently I'm riding 3x10 and going to my new build with 2x10. I use everything on my 3x10.

[jonxmack]

I run 1x10 with 32x36 as my lowest gear and I've never had to get off to push!

It depends on your trails of course. For me 1x10 isn't enough. Currently I'm riding 3x10 and going to my new build with 2x10. I use everything on my 3x10.

I did a race earlier in the year which had a pretty tricky climb about 3/4 through, Strava is telling me it was around 0.15 miles, avg grad of around 15%, so not the easiest thing I've ever had to deal with, but it was still ridable. Then again I much prefer going up to going down.

[Carbon_Dude]

I run 1x10 with 32x36 as my lowest gear and I've never had to get off to push!

It depends on your trails of course. For me 1x10 isn't enough. Currently I'm riding 3x10 and going to my new build with 2x10. I use everything on my 3x10.

I did a race earlier in the year which had a pretty tricky climb about 3/4 through, Strava is telling me it was around 0.15 miles, avg grad of around 15%, so not the easiest thing I've ever had to deal with, but it was still ridable. Then again I much prefer going up to going down.

What device to you use to track your GPS data for Strava?

[jonxmack]

I use an Edge 500

[Carbon_Dude]

I use an Edge 500

I've been doing some reading and it seems running a GPS, even nice one like the Garmin Edge 500, is not as accurate as a simple, calibrated, bike computer.  Between polling intervals, small elevation changes, GPS connection losses, and short breaks, people have easily lost as much as 15% of their recorded distance which of course affects average speed.  It seems that the GPS comparison between a smart phone and a Garmin unit has been proven to be very close.  One option is to add a wheel sensor, this can help with the distance calculation but you need to make sure Strava uses that data and not GPS coordinate data for the calculations.

I think it's great to have a ride log and Strava makes it so very convenient to track your rides.  Just don't take it for granted that the data is accurate.

[jonxmack]

Either way, with 1x10 I had enough gears to get up a hill which 95% of other competitors were walking, and which if you sat back on the saddle you would pop the front wheel because it was that steep.

But I agree it depends on your trails. If you need the 22x36 on a triple then you must be going up some crazy steep 25+% stuff which isn't the kind of climbing I enjoy. The fact that a lot of high end bikes are now coming with 1x11 setups leads me to believe that generally speaking most people can get away with running it. Also SRAM are now trickling it down to lower tier groupsets so clearly the demand for it is there.

This chart offers a good comparison actually,



Looks like 24x36 is the same ratio as 28x42. To be honest I was considering moving over to a 30t ring to get a bit better use of my cassette but with the rings being the price they are at the moment I'll stick to my 32 and just pedal harder.

[carbonazza]

I was not very courageous when ordering my XX1, and took a 28 front ring.
Yesterday, I went to a ride with steep climbs, and didn't regret the 28/42 combination.

However on my usual tracks(30-40km with 400-600m of climbing).
I could have taken a bigger one. I have the impression the last 2 cogs are useless.

[Carbon_Dude]

That's the great thing about XX1, it's very easy to change chain rings.

[jonxmack]

That's the great thing about XX1, it's very easy to change chain rings.

Shame about the price of them!

I think most people could ride happily with a 30, and it's definitely what I would recommend to most people (hence my comment in this very thread).