The Giant XTC 4.5 2008 a month later
After my first cycle to work I’ve been trying to bike every other day on my 10 mile commute a month later and there are a few things I’ve noticed. The stock stem on the 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 was still snapping, so I bought a shorter, taller stem. Changing my riding position so I wasn’t as stretched out as before, the stitch stopped happening almost immediately. The 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 is great now that the riding position has been worked out as it seems to have worked out the weight distribution and the rear tire doesn’t seem to spin like it used to.
The Panaracer Trailraker 2.1 tires on the 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 seem to have fit. They find a purchase in some of the nastiest sludge you could ever want to go through. I got slime inner tubes due to the amount of blackthorn bushes along the route and sharp flints, but I seem to have avoided things to this point (anyone complaining about the extra weight is probably riding an indoor track) . Green goo is fantastic when it comes to punctures as you can usually travel to your destination and top up with air somewhere else, if the leak lingers for a bit and you’re off again, job done.
On a completely different note, a lady from Washington asked me on Twitter what was the best way to protect yourself from the cold when riding a bike. Her immediate suggestion was a face wrap which, for convenience, is excellent, although it does get quite wet with your breath, which is not surprisingly pleasant. I use an Arctic Fox pull bow that doubles as a hat (good as a face wrap and doesn’t fall off). The most expensive options are a full face mask which will keep your head warm, breathe and protect you, but isn’t great in the summer (if you’re like me, you’ll sweat no matter what you wear). If you don’t want to use anything around your face, just make sure you moisturize it really well to help keep your face from drying out.
The 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 is already feeling the effects of the abrasive compound that is British tracks with an interesting grinding noise starting to come from the bottom bracket. The flat pedals I replaced the swamp standard ones with on the 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 have started to crumble a bit, with the bumps they take, due to the bumpy edges. I find the suspension adequate if a little stiff at times, even when I set the return spring as soft as possible. Oh! and the handlebars are starting to make a weird creaking noise that I need to investigate further.
I bought some Raleigh LED lights on Ebay which cost me about £15.00 a set (front and rear) so I bought two sets and fitted them. They’re absolutely brilliant with a battery life of around a month so far, but they’re still as bright as before. LED is the way to go with this, you can buy sets for stupid money but personally these do exactly what I need and with the addition of an Energiser LED headlight I can see where I am going even on the cloudiest of nights. An additional suggestion is to use some zip ties to secure the lights in case the ground gets too much and you find your lights fall off (has happened to me)
Once again, I’ll update again as soon as I can with more tips and reviews on the 2008 Giant XTC 4.5 and other details I find.