From Truck to Trail - What did you do to get your bike Ride Ready?

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StealthChesnut

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Ordered my 2018 Meta Power 29 12 days ago and can't wait for the delivery. Commencal have put the 2019 engine guard on, swapped brakes over and done suspension setup. It's in transit. To help with the kid-at-christmas excitement I'm getting everything lined up to go on the bike.

Immediate plans:
  • heli tape to put on any cable rub points

Only long-term plans so far are:
  • E6000 mode switch (and new dropper lever if needed)
  • Swap to 11 speed derailleur
  • 2nd set of wheels to have one for mud and one for hard surface
Anything else to consider / check / etc before heading out (other than duplicating @raine 's awesome looking machine)? I keep seeing crank boots, but never had them on previous bikes.
 
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StealthChesnut said:
Immediate plans:
Click to expand...

  • Charge
  • Ride
  • Smile lots
  • Charge ....
Tubeless ?

I think some people add the crank boots because you find yourself pedalling up and over things you might not normally do. So you end up catching them because it's out of your normal habits. Some really really crap riders end up swapping out for shorter cranks, like me.
 
Definitely do a full bolt check before your first ride.
Do you have pedals ordered together with the bike? Otherwise get some asap ^^
Go tubeless (or try the new Tannus Armour and make a review please).
Start to look for better grips and saddle (saddle more important).
Add a bell, drinking bottle and cage?
Don't forget the snacks!
Get a new pair of five tens :)
 
Donnie797 said:
Definitely do a full bolt check before your first ride.
Do you have pedals ordered together with the bike? Otherwise get some asap ^^
Go tubeless (or try the new Tannus Armour and make a review please).
Start to look for better grips and saddle (saddle more important).
Add a bell, drinking bottle and cage?
Don't forget the snacks!
Get a new pair of five tens :)
Click to expand...

The pedals are an interesting point. It comes with some flats, but upto now I've ridden SPD and SPD-SL on MTB/Road. I was going to give the non clippy pedals a go to see how I got on.

I don't think there's room for a bottle cage, so holding off on that. My nutrition bucket is already stocked.

Good shout on the 5-10s and bolt check though.
 
net wurker said:
One thing to consider regarding a second wheelset, unless you buy a couple rotors and a second cassette, the "quick" wheel swap becomes a bit more of a task.

Just food for thought.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 2nd wheelset would include rotors and rear cassette. That's part of the reason to change from 8 speed to 11 - the 8 speed cassettes are just shy of £300!
 
To get my bike trail ready I do these:
  • Swap out the grips for my standard Ergon GP1.
  • Put loads of helicopter tape in the usual places.
  • Reorganise the bar furniture. Every bike I get has the brakes next to the grips, with the shifter on the far side. I prefer them the other way around so that I can single finger brake and also reach the shifter levers. Similar thing on the other side with brakes and dropper remote.
  • Fit a Mucky Nutz to the fork brace.
  • Convert to tubeless.
  • Remove any bell, wheel flashers, reflectors, and the pie plate. (Actually, not had to do that for my last two bikes, or this would have been first on the list).
 
Don't mess with heli tape, just get it invisiframed.

Bolt check is vital. Buy a 1/4" torque wrench (the xtools set is good), get the service manual and torque up everything
 
Helicopter tape on bottom side of downtube, seat stays and chain stays, and anywhere the is a risk of cable rub (loose cables + grit > eats alloy!).
shorten cables to get a clean and tidy cockpit.
Go tubeless (Stan’s no Tubes), crank arm boots.
... ride and smile.
 
The fettling will have to wait :(

After refreshing the FedEx page about a million times and reading the Delivery thread, I was got a bit worried as the ETA went from Friday to "pending" and not collected. Checked with Commencal and they've looked into it - FedEx have sent my bike to someone in Germany! Comm are sorting another ASAP. Fingers crossed FedEx get this one right.
 
Bike finally delivered today, but it's left me disappointed with Commencal. The bike I've got is a stock bike, so doesn't have the extras that were agreed (2019 motor guard, swap brake levers over). I can give them the benefit of the doubt and they probably just tried to get a bike to me ASAP, and swapping the brake levers round was simple enough.

However, the new motor guard was agreed as part of the order, and they've not answered either of two emails asking about it in the last 2 working days.
 
StealthChesnut said:
The pedals are an interesting point. It comes with some flats, but upto now I've ridden SPD and SPD-SL on MTB/Road. I was going to give the non clippy pedals a go to see how I got on.

I don't think there's room for a bottle cage, so holding off on that. My nutrition bucket is already stocked.

Good shout on the 5-10s and bolt check though.
Click to expand...
I tried the flats and they are really nice. But, Have failed to master bunny hopping and am getting a lot of damage to my shins and calves from the pedals when wearing shorts. Saw an EMTB chanel video and am going to try SPDs again.
 
StealthChesnut said:
Bike finally delivered today, but it's left me disappointed with Commencal. The bike I've got is a stock bike, so doesn't have the extras that were agreed (2019 motor guard, swap brake levers over). I can give them the benefit of the doubt and they probably just tried to get a bike to me ASAP, and swapping the brake levers round was simple enough.

However, the new motor guard was agreed as part of the order, and they've not answered either of two emails asking about it in the last 2 working days.
Click to expand...
If the brakes are SRAM swapping is simply a matter of swapping the levers from one side to the other (take care of cable routing). If Shimano, google it - I've managed to do to sets of swapping by unplugging the cable from the lever and not need to bleed them. I originally went for Canyon and after 3 months of "stories" cancelled my order and went for the Commencal. Could only order stock bike and more setup but ordered Wednesday pm and arrived Monday morning!
 
Janc said:
I tried the flats and they are really nice. But, Have failed to master bunny hopping and am getting a lot of damage to my shins and calves from the pedals when wearing shorts. Saw an EMTB chanel video and am going to try SPDs again.
Click to expand...
If you haven‘t been using flats before then it takes some getting used to. Give it a second chance if you have some good FiveTen shoes it should work.
Find your position on the pedals - you‘ll need to place the foot a little further forward than with SPD, almost at the middle. Once you’re placed on the pedals do a few small pumps to get the bite of the pins to the rubber sole. When bunny hopping you need to virtually grab the pedals with your feet, meaning toes down, and then you virtually pull the bike up.
 
Trail-Niels said:
If you haven‘t been using flats before then it takes some getting used to. Give it a second chance if you have some good FiveTen shoes it should work.
Find your position on the pedals - you‘ll need to place the foot a little further forward than with SPD, almost at the middle. Once you’re placed on the pedals do a few small pumps to get the bite of the pins to the rubber sole. When bunny hopping you need to virtually grab the pedals with your feet, meaning toes down, and then you virtually pull the bike up.
Click to expand...
Thanks Neils, I'll give it a go.
 
StealthChesnut said:
Bike finally delivered today, but it's left me disappointed with Commencal. The bike I've got is a stock bike, so doesn't have the extras that were agreed (2019 motor guard, swap brake levers over). I can give them the benefit of the doubt and they probably just tried to get a bike to me ASAP, and swapping the brake levers round was simple enough.

However, the new motor guard was agreed as part of the order, and they've not answered either of two emails asking about it in the last 2 working days.
Click to expand...

I don't know it this helps but I added comments to my order to communicate with them rather than email. This was pre-delivery though.
 
tedturbine said:
I don't know it this helps but I added comments to my order to communicate with them rather than email. This was pre-delivery though.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ted. I saw your post, emailed in about the motor guard before placing the order. Agreed it with Eric, and to swap the brakes. Both items were put on the order, so it's in the Special Instructions part of the order.

@Janc The brakes are SRAM, and were easy to swap so it's no big deal. I am worried that there's a part of the order missing, and Commencal now seem to be ignoring me. I last got a reply on Wednesday last week.
 
I was thinking you might be able to put an update in to the order about the missing motor guard as a means of communication ? I have the phone number they called me on in my phone history I can message to you if you want it ?
 
tedturbine said:
I was thinking you might be able to put an update in to the order about the missing motor guard as a means of communication ? I have the phone number they called me on in my phone history I can message to you if you want it ?
Click to expand...

Cheers, that'd be great if you don't mind. (y)
 
Janc said:
I tried the flats and they are really nice. But, Have failed to master bunny hopping and am getting a lot of damage to my shins and calves from the pedals when wearing shorts. Saw an EMTB chanel video and am going to try SPDs again.
Click to expand...

I'm allways clipped in on my analog MTBs.
When I got my first eMTB, I used flats the first couple of rides....just to make it easier to unclip if I needed to put a foot down.
This was a mistake...did not work for me.
So I clipped in and never looked back - so much better control :-)
 
OK, time to wrap up the delivery saga.

I called Commencal on 25th October as by that point there was a week's worth of unanswered email. They checked the order number, and asked me to send a photo of the bike to confirm the new cover wasn't fitted. I did so same day, and they confirmed a few hours later that the 2019 cover would be posted out as a "commercial gesture". It may be something lost in translation, but it's not a commercial gesture to fulfil the order! It arrived Friday 1st November.

In summary, the bike is great, I've ended up with what I ordered, but the process was not smooth. In hindsight, if the same bike, or a similar one was available for a bit more in a local dealer I'd get that rather than the back-and-forth from a distance seller.
 
StealthChesnut said:
OK, time to wrap up the delivery saga.

I called Commencal on 25th October as by that point there was a week's worth of unanswered email. They checked the order number, and asked me to send a photo of the bike to confirm the new cover wasn't fitted. I did so same day, and they confirmed a few hours later that the 2019 cover would be posted out as a "commercial gesture". It may be something lost in translation, but it's not a commercial gesture to fulfil the order! It arrived Friday 1st November.

In summary, the bike is great, I've ended up with what I ordered, but the process was not smooth. In hindsight, if the same bike, or a similar one was available for a bit more in a local dealer I'd get that rather than the back-and-forth from a distance seller.
Click to expand...
Great that it finally all got sorted.
I must say that from my previous experience buying from a local bike shop isn’t always unproblematic, and I’ve had better service from direct to sales has been better than buying local. I once bought from a large local Specialized store, and the service was virtually non existing, whereas the service from both Canyon and Commencal has been smooth. In august I ordered a 2020 Meta Power from Commencal, and it was announced to be shipped on November 15. last week I got a call that the delivery time was postponed by 4 days, something that wasn’t experienced at the local bike shop.
 
Trail-Niels said:
Great that it finally all got sorted.
I must say that from my previous experience buying from a local bike shop isn’t always unproblematic
Click to expand...

Can't argue with you on that. The first (adult) bike I bought was a Boardman road bike from Halfords and I had to reject it. When it was assembled they'd snapped the screw in the front calipers, but somehow it was enough to still keep them together. First time I gave the brakes a hard test-squeeze before riding they basically fell apart. Found a few other issues and that was that.

There's a certain reassurance that if it all goes wrong you can go somewhere and get a response, rather than feel like you're being ignored. I think I've averaged about four emails to Commencal for each one of their replies. I was leaving a couple of days between each one. After the order was placed and paid the speed of response definately dropped off. I will give them that had DHL not lost the first bike it would likely have been much better.
 
For anybody else considering purchasing a 2019 bike my Meta Power Race 29er came with a E7000 switch and a KS under bar dropper remote, not the E8000 switch and the over bar remote, which was a nice surprise. I guess Commencal saw sense changed the spec.
 
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AndyActual said:
For anybody else considering purchasing a 2019 bike my Meta Power Race 29er came with a E7000 switch and a KS under bar dropper remote, not the E8000 switch and the over bar remote, which was a nice surprise. I guess Commencal saw sense changed the spec.
Click to expand...
What frame size?
 
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