How Far can I push it?
 

Hi everyone I am new to biking (with good bikes).. I have biked alot with walmart bikes..

This is my first nice bike its a DiamondBack Response Sport...

Im not going to try anything crazy yet, my main concerns/questions are...

How far can I push my bike about how high can I drop of a ledge? 3ft? 4ft?
First bike with disc brakes, anything I should know?
Front shocks how firm should they be?

Thanks shes in the shop gettin a tune up right now =P get her back on monday...

Didnt know tune ups cost 60$ wow...

Thanks and Im glad I found this forum seems pretty nice!

P.S. Can someone point me to a beginners forum for the bikes mechanical things?

And how high can some people bunny hop these bikes I can only get it up about a foot in the air..

all things mechanical

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

Recommend learning how to do your own tune-ups. They're really easy (and free!), and very satisfying to do yourself. The pages markh links will show you what you need to know. As for how much abuse your bike can take, I can't tell you. The only way to REALLY know is to break it then back off a little. :)

Nothing special to know about disks.

As for how firm, depends on the shock, your riding style, etc. They should at least be firm enough that you don't bottom the shock very often or at all.

Push it 'till it breaks. Then you'll know.

what are the odds of bending/braking the frame or something thats my main concern....

I wouldn't worry about damaging your frame... well what kind of person are you?

a - someone who is really cautious and takes stuff slowly at first

b - someone who pushes to what they can think through to be the best balance between safe and dangerous

c - when you first got into the driver's seat you tried to learn how to do doughnuts

If you're a or b you'll be fine doing anything that doesn't make you cringe or think "hm... this is pretty scary".

I'd keep it to no more than 3 foot drops and when you come down on the rear wheel make sure you're actively using your legs as suspension to prevent all the force of your body coming down on the bike (pedals, crankarms, frame, spokes/hubs/rims) at once.

Don't worry too much :) Also make an effort to start learning the ins and outs of what makes your bike tick. Read around on the late Sheldon Brown's website for very well written and valuable information. Try to fix it yourself, too, if you're mechanically inclined or interested in that kind of stuff.

Most importantly - have fun

PS - I'm 16 but don't consider it uncool to wear a helmet. So yeah if you don't have one I'd get on that :P

I would think fork would break before frame. i believe the general thinking is that XC bikes are designed for 2ft drops or less but you have 120mm travel up front so may be a bit more, and i would think a 12 inch bunny hop should clear most trail debris

Q- How far can I push it?
A- Not very.


XC bike, my friend.

whats XC bike like what do you mean?

I was kind of B and C but mainly B so yeah if it doesnt make me think twice I should be good? I usually dont think twice though because if I do I wont do it lol!!!

But this is my main transportation so im not gonna go nuts, was just wondering because I see some potentional drops around here ranging from 1-4ft...

I wear a helmet when Im doing dumb stuff or on the trails but other then that I dont really like them, dont get me wrong Ive had them save me a time or two tho...

Thanks for all the input, yeah I think I can bunny hop it about 12inchs maybe 9-12inchs now that I really think about it...

Any suggestions on getting a bigger bunny hop or just practice?

It's a XC bike, e.g, it will implode and kill you if you do gigantic drops.

I'm more along the Lines of... B and C lol

And My XC bike (cross country) Hasn't imploded on me yet. It may Spontaneously combust though.

When your wheels and stuff start to Look like Bannana's and your fork buckles, and your frame/crank arms crack... you've reached your limit.

60.00 is cheap for a tuneup.
My LBS charges 120.00 for a full tuneuup

you managed to break a DJ bike so...

This forum requires that you wait 30 seconds between posts. Please try again in 4 seconds.

I took it to the LBS. Didn't break it. All good now.

This proves I'm amazing.

It proves your screen name is correct.

Falsch.



I am in favor of failing. This is applies to others. Whether or not I choose to fail myself is at my discretion.

Well said.

My XC (Kona Hahanna) has yet to implode on me. It's actually taken it quite well.

Taken what?

eh, Lets not leave that open for discussion LOL.
That can go south... real south real fast.

Travel doesn't really affect how big of a drop you can do, although it can be a good indicator. I've done four and five foot drops to flat concrete with 100mm travel on a hardtail and rarely bottomed.

Take it easy, XC geometry is sketchy to jump with anyway.

Damn, Cheeto... what kind of car is your LBS owner driving with prices like that?!

Ride that bike at whatever your limits are until you break big expensive stuff. After that, get a beefier bike. I always tested how high my bunny hops were when I was younger by stacking 2x4 scraps up and jumping them on flat ground until I knocked over the stack. It's usually not the bike, it's rider. But for some reason I can hop my mom's $250 cruiser bike close to two feet without a whole lot of effort.

ignore this post.

Hah. It all depends on how big of a jerk you are. I'm a pretty big jerk, so I've been doing some crazy stuff with my Trailhead, and your front triangle looks abit beefier than mine. Obviously you and I won't be jamming lift-access runs or dropping 20-footers at the North Shore, but as long as you're willing to put abit more time into maintenance than usual, you can push your bike alot farther than the manufacturer might recommend.

But if you do go my way, and on the off chance worse does come too worse, here's one tip for dealing with manufacturer warranties: Lie. "I've just been biking the trail every day, and I just realized, they've bent out of shape! I don't think thats very acceptable!"

hes got a really really nice f-150 thats decked out. rims, tires, lift, chrome.. chrome.... chrome...