Total Newbie, Jumping In Feed First With Questions!

[Bill_B]

Hi

I am trying to get back into cycling as a fitness thing mainly. My intention is to build up a lightweight, simple, solid cross country mountain bike to go riding on. I also wanted something a bit more fun (last 'fun' bike I had was my rayleigh super tuff burner in the mid 80's, ok that should give you an indication of my age ) so I won a monty 20" trials frame on fleabay, thinking (or not as it appears) this would be a good base for a 'fun project'. I could mess about on it and develop my balance and low speed skill on this and then take the Mountain Bike out at the weekend for longer rides.

so I have (when the seller contacts me to collect it) a Monty Chro-mo frame and forks (20" mod), headset and stem, nothing else. The frame looks to be fairly old but in good nick from the piccies. I know I will be needing cranks, wheels, bars and brakes. I have some Tektro V-brakes on the way from a mate but I need to know what else this is likely to cost me, and where to source the parts cheaply?

The other issue is a friend has 'kindly' ponted out my 6'4" 18stone body will look a bit silly on a 20" mod, think silverback gorilla on a monkey bike! Would I be better swapping the monty frame for a 26" stock frame before I start?

So my initial questions really are:

1)Being my size, should I continue building a 20" mod or swap the frame for a 26" stock and build that (I have some mountain bike bits, 26" wheels and the like in the shed)?

2)Is the Monty a sensible frame to build, I have no intention of competition etc, its all just for fun?

3)what sort of wheels, cranks, bars etc should I be looking for?

4)And how much should I be looking at paying for this lot, second hand?

Thanks,

Bill.

EDIT: that title should say FEET first. What better way to start, than by looking an idiot

Edited March 8, 2007 by Bill_B

[xris_x]

Yay, another 6 footer, where abouts in surrey you from, there is a small gorup of us who ride in Kingston upon Thames all the time, like tonight. If you really want to get all those answers come join us, more the merrier.

If you fancy joining us tonight email Xris_x@hotmail.com, bring a bike, any bike

As for looking silly on a mod, yeah you will, but they are much easier to learn on and if you get the right length one it will feel finie, but the monty frames always feel small because they are small, you'll need something biggger or it will hurt your back.

If you want to start on the cheap you can find what you want here and on ebay easily, but buying cheap is not the cheapest way to go about things, cheap is hardly ever good and will break or make it really dificult to learn on.

[Bill_B]

Thanks for the offer Xris. I'm in Guildford, sorry busy tonight but I'll be in touch by email.

So my impulse Monty purchase may not have been a good one???

I know cheap is not always good value, I guess I should have asked what is a good value way to go about this, knowing i'm not wanting to competer or buy top class kit etc. I don't want to buy cheap tat that will break with me bouncing on it, I want to spend the least ammount of cash to get me something that is comfy, servicable and will not be broken withing a couple of months.

Thanks,

So people, please reccommend what I should have bought

[Hendrix]

I'll be organizing a trip to Guildford soon.. loads of good spots to trial there!!

add me - tom.kent@hotmail.co.uk - come along... watch me, and many others have a laugh... watch me face plant - time and time again

Cheers,

Hendrix

[Gavyn.]

just out of interest how much did you get it for? i've got exactly that in my garage i want rid of

[MikeCottTrials]

to be perfectly honest i think your best option would be to scrap that monty and try to buy a full bike off here, you'll probably find that you can buy a top notch second hand trials bike for around £500-£600 when it would have cost over £1000 to build brand new. Also if you continue to build up that monty chances are you will have to spend alot for parts like wheels i.e. profile hub mucho expensivo also imo vee brakes really arent up to the job so id recommend magura HS33's

[eskimo]

QUOTE(Bill_B @ Mar 8 2007, 09:53 AM) ←

1)Being my size, should I continue building a 20" mod or swap the frame for a 26" stock and build that (I have some mountain bike bits, 26" wheels and the like in the shed)?

2)Is the Monty a sensible frame to build, I have no intention of competition etc, its all just for fun?

3)what sort of wheels, cranks, bars etc should I be looking for?

4)And how much should I be looking at paying for this lot, second hand?

1) If it feels good then why swap? But yeah it can feel silly riding such a small at times.

2) Monty's are cool bikes. They always have been. Compared to the other frames now they are short but hold advantages still.

3) Second hand cheap ones off here that will be compatible with your setup. Ask for advice first though.

4) £100 could sort you out considering your not after high spec stuff. It won't be worth investing loads if you don't get into as much as you previously thought.

Good luck.

[Bill_B]

The Monty frame cost me a whole £10 (had £50 but-it-now and £15 postage), I put in minimum bid and it was local, that is all it made so I don't feel too bad about it not being suitable. it was frame, forks, headset and stem.

Mike: Considering I'm not really looking at getting into trials proper, just something to 'play' on, is a £500 outlay, even just in bits necessary? where would say £250 get me (waits for the response 'a decent pair of wheels')?

Eskimo:

1) you say if it feels good, well it doesn't feel anything, I just have the frame (not even collected that yet) I have never had a trials bike of been on one, closest I have been is my BMX in the 80s and a montessa trials motorbike I had 12-14yrs ago. I'm totally new to all this, a trial virgin I bought the monty frame on a whim, it was local cheap and Monty appeared to be a 'good' make.

2) Is short going to cripple my back though? I'm 6'4" and not of slight build (I know where the pie shop is )

3) I still need a lot of stuff to complete my setup though, I'm wondering if its worth continuing or there is a beter way to go.

4) I don't want to invest more than I need to for starters, its a hobby I can build on, at the moment I see trials as a small bike to play on and learn balance and manovering skills in the back garden etc.

thanks for your input guys, I am listening.

Edited March 8, 2007 by Bill_B

[Lee Cable]

QUOTE(Bill_B @ Mar 8 2007, 11:58 AM) ←

Eskimo:

2) Is short going to cripple my back though? I'm 6'4" and not of slight build (I know where the pie shop is )

3) I still need a lot of stuff to complete my setup though, I'm wondering if its worth continuing or there is a beter way to go.

4) I don't want to invest more than I need to for starters, its a hobby I can build on, at the moment I see trials as a small bike to play on and learn balance and manovering skills in the back garden etc.

thanks for your input guys, I am listening.

2. Short isnt that bad, i suppose, i can ride a short mod and im 6'3, although I do prefer stock. Its alot comfier, and doesnt give me back ache. I also like the pie shop

Well once you get validated, which wont be long at the rate your posting, then try buying a wheel set, and cranks from the forsale/wanted section. Tektro brakes will be fine, aslong as your running decent pads, and its setup good. If anyone reccomends magura's dont listen, v brakes, so much easier and so much better.

Thanks.

[Brian Bleech]

QUOTE(Bill_B @ Mar 8 2007, 11:58 AM) ←

The Monty frame cost me a whole £10 (had £50 but-it-now and £15 postage), I put in minimum bid and it was local, that is all it made so I don't feel too bad about it not being suitable. it was frame, forks, headset and stem.

Mike: Considering I'm not really looking at getting into trials proper, just something to 'play' on, is a £500 outlay, even just in bits necessary? where would say £250 get me (waits for the response 'a decent pair of wheels')?

Eskimo:

1) you say if it feels good, well it doesn't feel anything, I just have the frame (not even collected that yet) I have never had a trials bike of been on one, closest I have been is my BMX in the 80s and a montessa trials motorbike I had 12-14yrs ago. I'm totally new to all this, a trial virgin I bought the monty frame on a whim, it was local cheap and Monty appeared to be a 'good' make.

2) Is short going to cripple my back though? I'm 6'4" and not of slight build (I know where the pie shop is )

3) I still need a lot of stuff to complete my setup though, I'm wondering if its worth continuing or there is a beter way to go.

4) I don't want to invest more than I need to for starters, its a hobby I can build on, at the moment I see trials as a small bike to play on and learn balance and manovering skills in the back garden etc.

thanks for your input guys, I am listening.

The shortness will be fine. You could always get a different stem.

£250 will be able to get you enough decent kit to finish your build. Looks on For Sale/Wanted section on here

the vee brake will do just great try http://www.heatsinkbikes.com or http://www.tartybikes.co.uk for pads and buy some decent cable odyssey linear slic from bmx shops is great

[rider_01]

dont worrie about the height because i ride 20" and im 6'3 and 13stone 10 so as long as you feel oki with the bike who cares what you look like

[20inchsuperstar]

in my opinion, your height and weight could make a mod difficult, a stock would be much easier for you to ride.

i love my stock soooo much, it feels really tight and flicky, its my first bike so if anyone says anything about stocks being hard to learn on, ignore it, im doing great! most mods, to me, feel very slack and squishy, i hate it, they're so small too!

look around in the for sale section, you could get pretty far on £250, i think there is an 03 Koxx Levelboss for about that in there, it would be a great bike for the money.

good luck! if you need any help, dont hesitate to contact me, ill try my best to help you! my e-mail adress is in my signature VVVVVV

matt

[OD404]

Personally I woud stick with the Monty for now and just get some cheap bits to finish off (for sale section here is a good start as people have already said). That way you can have a play without the fear that you have spent money on something you might not want to continue with. And you can always upgrade bits at a later date if you feel the need.

I stared for similar reasons, thought a few trials skills might help my general off-roading, so started having a go at learning the techniques on my current off road bike. My bike at the time was a fully rigid £200 Claud Bulter, which probably wasn't ideal for any of the riding I did on it, but it was all I had at the time and it certainly didn't hold me back (even the 22" frame ).

I think what I'm getting at is that you don't need to worry about getting the "right" parts straight away, just get enough to get the bike functioning then have a play and see how you get on.

[Bill_B]

Well thanks for all the advice guys (and girls if any of you replied ) I'm taking advantage of the classifieds as I have evidently spammed my way into a respectable position today I'm going to grab some bits to sort the Monty out (if the damn seller responds to my emails) and if it doesn't suit I'll look at another frame, something respectable, probably larger and in need of some TLC (I have access to cheap powdercoating facilities ).

thanks for all the help, the questions will continue

Bill.

[trialsking 55]

welcome to the sport

if i was you i would get down to one of the rides people mentioned in your area. get down there and watch, even have a go on other peoples bikes, as you may feel more comfortable and be better on a more modern bike.

[eskimo]

QUOTE(Bill_B @ Mar 8 2007, 11:58 AM) ←

2) Is short going to cripple my back though? I'm 6'4" and not of slight build (I know where the pie shop is )

Remember we have knees for a reason.

dont worrie about the height because i ride 20" and im 6'3 and 13stone 10 so as long as you feel oki with the bike who cares what you look like