What FS trail bike?
Discussion
Debating whether to try and update my 2003 sub 5 or get a new bike.
Budget would be £1500ish for a bike or significantly less on upgrades!!
What aggressive XC/freeride lite trail bike should I go for? Had to be a full susser with decent travel.
Do like the sub 5, bit it's a bit long in the tooth now. My mates Marin 'tara' bike (an east peak I think) feels rather dim witted in the twisty bits and just seems to understeer everywhere, so not keen on one of those really. Personal experience was that 90% of the people who went past me on the trails when I was riding seriously had Specialized Enduros, but not sure my budget would stretch to one really.
Budget would be £1500ish for a bike or significantly less on upgrades!!
What aggressive XC/freeride lite trail bike should I go for? Had to be a full susser with decent travel.
Do like the sub 5, bit it's a bit long in the tooth now. My mates Marin 'tara' bike (an east peak I think) feels rather dim witted in the twisty bits and just seems to understeer everywhere, so not keen on one of those really. Personal experience was that 90% of the people who went past me on the trails when I was riding seriously had Specialized Enduros, but not sure my budget would stretch to one really.
pdV6 said:
Didn't think the Kona rear suspension was rated for XC? Also, I absolutely adore the Kona freeride bikes and it just wouldn't be ride to ride a kona that wasn't as pimp as this.....
Okay, that's not a great picture, but their freeride machines are just bike porn! - sheer filth
Edited by chris71 on Thursday 12th April 15:48
pdV6 said:
Dunno - I was just impressed at the price and also
This is the bike that Kona's Les Gets XC team races on
Wiggle said:
This is the bike that Kona's Les Gets XC team races on
Hmm, I'd be wary of that quote - I'd do MegaAvalanche on this, but I wouldn't want to ride anywere I'd need to pedal... Its a fairly hefty bike that one - notice the single chainring at the front in addition to the forks that withstand nuclear attacks (I have 66's and they are FECKIN hefty)...
I'd be looking at something a little less focused - perhaps the Commencal Meta range - can take some pretty hefty hits, but still lightish.
I'll have a read and suggest some more later...
Edited by Neil_Bolton on Thursday 12th April 17:53
Neil_Bolton said:
pdV6 said:
Dunno - I was just impressed at the price and also
This is the bike that Kona's Les Gets XC team races on
Wiggle said:
This is the bike that Kona's Les Gets XC team races on
Hmm, I'd be wary of that quote - I'd do MegaAvalanche on this, but I wouldn't want to ride anywere I'd need to pedal... Its a fairly hefty bike that one - notice the single chainring at the front in addition to the forks that withstand nuclear attacks (I have 66's and they are FECKIN hefty)...
I'd be looking at something a little less focused - perhaps the Commencal Meta range - can take some pretty hefty hits, but still lightish.
I'll have a read and suggest some more later...
Edited by Neil_Bolton on Thursday 12th April 17:53
Its not the one pictured above, its this one:
Hadn't heard of commencal before to be honest, been out of touch for a few years - now trying to get me and my bike (or a new one) back into it. Can anyone tell me a bit more about them?
Interesting - why the stumpy not the enduro? I thought the stuntjumper was a bit more pure-XC. I don't really have the fitness to make use of a full on XC bike, so might as well have something a bit more hard core fro when my free ride pretensions escape!
Interesting - why the stumpy not the enduro? I thought the stuntjumper was a bit more pure-XC. I don't really have the fitness to make use of a full on XC bike, so might as well have something a bit more hard core fro when my free ride pretensions escape!
I've got two Commencals (Supernormal for XC, Meta4X for fun). Both fantastic. Have ridden a Supreme 6 (their long travel freeride bikes).
Very highly recommended. Imported by Madison (www.ultimatepursuits.co.uk ) so I would imagine any bike shop could order one in.
Very highly recommended. Imported by Madison (www.ultimatepursuits.co.uk ) so I would imagine any bike shop could order one in.
Edited by rico on Friday 13th April 11:14
Hmmm, thinking I might just upgrade my current bike. It's a base spec 2003 Sub 5 running,
* Manitou black comp 80 to 100mm fork
* Rockshox SID rear shock
* Shimano Deore brakes
* Shimano Deore mechs
I've managed to cook the brakes in the past (scary!) and they don't have much feel. The fork isn't great and could do with a little more travel (130mm) and the gears seem to slip or refuse to engage occasionally no matter how long I spend adjusting the rear mech, so I think they're due for replacment from wear if not an upgrade.
Any suggestions for new bits? At a guess I'd say I could get a better bike from spending a grand on bits than £1500 on a new one. I like the frame - it handles superbly and the weight isn't bad.
Just priced it up (largely based on bits fitted to the new, higher specced sub 5's) and from a mixture of Wiggle and Chain Reactions, I'm estimating....
Fork - really like the Marzochi MX Comp ETA on my old hardtail and I see there still around for £210. Fox float is probably the ideal fit, but that is £400.
Rear Shock - Fox Float RP3 £220
Mechs - XT front (£20) and rear (£35) £55 in total
Brakes - hope minis (£100 a wheel) £200
So, that'd be about £875 including the Fox Float. Throw in a hundred quid for odds'n'sods and you're still well under the cost of a new Enduro!
* Manitou black comp 80 to 100mm fork
* Rockshox SID rear shock
* Shimano Deore brakes
* Shimano Deore mechs
I've managed to cook the brakes in the past (scary!) and they don't have much feel. The fork isn't great and could do with a little more travel (130mm) and the gears seem to slip or refuse to engage occasionally no matter how long I spend adjusting the rear mech, so I think they're due for replacment from wear if not an upgrade.
Any suggestions for new bits? At a guess I'd say I could get a better bike from spending a grand on bits than £1500 on a new one. I like the frame - it handles superbly and the weight isn't bad.
Just priced it up (largely based on bits fitted to the new, higher specced sub 5's) and from a mixture of Wiggle and Chain Reactions, I'm estimating....
Fork - really like the Marzochi MX Comp ETA on my old hardtail and I see there still around for £210. Fox float is probably the ideal fit, but that is £400.
Rear Shock - Fox Float RP3 £220
Mechs - XT front (£20) and rear (£35) £55 in total
Brakes - hope minis (£100 a wheel) £200
So, that'd be about £875 including the Fox Float. Throw in a hundred quid for odds'n'sods and you're still well under the cost of a new Enduro!
Edited by chris71 on Friday 13th April 14:10
Hmm, given this new info, I'd definitely go the upgrade route. What you have, is essentially a very good quality, lightweight frame, yet the bits hanging off it are letting it down.
The Manitou black would be first to go, replace with something along the lines of the MX or a Rockshox Reba.
Blacks are old technology and not renowned for being great forks.
What I would say, is don't skimp on the fork. If you can afford a Float R, go for it. They are a world apart from the manipoo. I'd even maybe suggest a 2nd hand 130mm float over a new, cheaper fork. They really are very good, and as you say, pretty much the perfect match for the sub5.
Rear shock, not so sure. A Fox Vanilla air or RP3 would definitely be an improvement, but on a budget, send it off to timmy at www.tftunedshox.com and he can get it working to its full potential for a 2 figure sum.
Brakes, well Deore may not be ultimate, but they are damm good brakes if working right, paricularly for XC use. If your suffering boil/fade then your either riding Downhill courses, in which case get a DH bike, or theres something up with them.
One litre of Shimano mineral oil, take your time and bleed em up. Add in a set of new pads, and you should see a big improvement.
Beware - mineral oil only. Not Dot rated brake fluid, put that in and your brakes can go in the bin. Mineral oil is available from the Chemist, but Ive always used the genuine Shimano stuff. 1 litre is 12 quid, will bleed your brakes probably 30 times over. Much better than regular brake fluid, cleaner, less dangerous, and easier.
If you need help with bleeding the brakes ask or look it up, but shimano's are well easy.
Personally I use LX with 130mm rotors (effectively the same as the Deores just silver) on my XC bike, and Saints wih 205mm rotors and braided hoses on my DH bike. More than enough stopping power.
They have a similar feel, but the Saints have more ultimate power thanks to one piece calipers and bigger rotors, bigger pads etc.
You should find that with a good set up set of brakes, power is not the limiting factor, rather control and the grip offered by your tyres and suspension set up (just like a car).
New brakes of choice at the moment would be either the Avid Juicy 5 or 7, or the Shimano XT/Saint, very similar performance, your choice. Try a few out.
If you actually want to ride your bike more than you want to look at it and fix it, avoid Hopes. Really, trust me.
However, again like the shock, a few pounds spent setting the existing ones up could very well improve them enough to make them worthy for another summer at least.
Without being patronising disc brakes can be VERY susceptible to dodgy mechanics and misuse. When working in a shop a common complaint was poorly working disc brakes. 99% of the time a GOOD bleed right through with fresh fluid, good alchohol clean of the rotor and caliper, and new pads, and there sending people right back over their handlebars.
Transmission - Replace the stuff you have when it breaks or wears out. Replacing a fully functional deore mech for an XT at a cost of 40 odd quid, is a silly thing to do.
By all means buy XT when the original has broken, as it will perform better and save a teeeny bit of weight, but not until then.
Same goes for all transmission bits, other than cables, see below.
Odds and Sodds is a very good idea, little touches can make the bike. Get full new cables, new chain. Strip the whole bike and replace any worn bearings, including your pivot bearings if neccassary.
Not sure on the cable routing of your bike, if you ride proper XC a lot I'd suggest a full length outer for your mechs. Indeed, I believe being an Orange your frame may already be set up for this, otherwise get busy with the cable ties.
More help available if you need it, sorry if it sounds like im preaching but its hard to know what to 'pitch' without knowing your knowledge or mechanical skills!
I am an utter mountain bike geek.
Edit - you dont mention wheel specs.
Frame is obivously the most important factor here. Wheels along with suspension and brakes are equal next in terms of what makes the bike it is.
If you have a low quality wheelset, thats everything from hubs, spokes, rims, tubes, tyres, there can be a lot of scope for improvement there.
Edited by snotrag on Friday 13th April 16:36
Edited by snotrag on Friday 13th April 16:46
Hey Snotrag 
Thanks for the post - loads of great info, feel free to geek away Hmm, where to start?
Wheels - I must admit I hadn't thought of these. Nothing really feels that wrong with them - they feel reasonably light weight, without me ever having broken them. They're the WTB Speed 24 Disc wheels fitted to all the sub 5's of that era.
Fork - yep, not impressed with the Manitou, especially now it's a few years old. The MX I had was awesome, but that was on a light-ish hardtail, wasn't sure how it would fair on a full susser? The Fox Float is nearly twice the money, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them and both the top spec 2003 sub 5 and current 5 use variations on them. I completely agree from my (limited) experience of upgrading bikes in the past, that this is the best area to spend money on!
Rear shock - much like the wheels, I've never had much of a problem with it and I haven't done very much set up on it at all. Do get some annoying pedal feedback on steep climbs, but I presume that's due to the geometry, rather than the shock. Unless there are massive improvments to be had over the SID for a sensible price(?) I might just get it recon'd.
I am a bit of frustrated downhiller and to be fair, but despite that I've only encountered serious fade once on a long downhill in hot weather. However, even when brand new they never had much feel to them, whereas the modulation on my old Giant MPH discs was superb, bordering on telepathic! This is the main reason I was thinking about changing them, although a little more stopping power wouldn't go a miss either. Pretty sure the fluid in there is dot 4
Will be avoiding Hope I think based on those remarks and might have a go at cleaning up the current brakes, but like I said, even fresh out the factory they weren't up to much.
At the risk of a silly quetion, how can I tell when the mechs are worn out? I probably don't adjust them as often as I should, but again, the bike had occasional minor shifting problems pretty much straight out the box and I've never been able to get it quite right.
Don't worry about 'preaching' - I've only done very basic work on my bike before and I haven't really kept up with mountain biking for a couple of years, so any help you can give is more than welcome. Infact I was thinking about getting a haynes manual/idiots guide to bike maintanence type thing!
PS Think you made the right call on the MX5. Great fun as they are, I'm not looking forward to attaching my bike to the back of it!!
Thanks for the post - loads of great info, feel free to geek away
Hmm, where to start? Wheels - I must admit I hadn't thought of these. Nothing really feels that wrong with them - they feel reasonably light weight, without me ever having broken them. They're the WTB Speed 24 Disc wheels fitted to all the sub 5's of that era.
Fork - yep, not impressed with the Manitou, especially now it's a few years old. The MX I had was awesome, but that was on a light-ish hardtail, wasn't sure how it would fair on a full susser? The Fox Float is nearly twice the money, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them and both the top spec 2003 sub 5 and current 5 use variations on them. I completely agree from my (limited) experience of upgrading bikes in the past, that this is the best area to spend money on!
Rear shock - much like the wheels, I've never had much of a problem with it and I haven't done very much set up on it at all. Do get some annoying pedal feedback on steep climbs, but I presume that's due to the geometry, rather than the shock. Unless there are massive improvments to be had over the SID for a sensible price(?) I might just get it recon'd.
I am a bit of frustrated downhiller and to be fair, but despite that I've only encountered serious fade once on a long downhill in hot weather. However, even when brand new they never had much feel to them, whereas the modulation on my old Giant MPH discs was superb, bordering on telepathic! This is the main reason I was thinking about changing them, although a little more stopping power wouldn't go a miss either. Pretty sure the fluid in there is dot 4
Will be avoiding Hope I think based on those remarks and might have a go at cleaning up the current brakes, but like I said, even fresh out the factory they weren't up to much. At the risk of a silly quetion, how can I tell when the mechs are worn out? I probably don't adjust them as often as I should, but again, the bike had occasional minor shifting problems pretty much straight out the box and I've never been able to get it quite right.
Don't worry about 'preaching' - I've only done very basic work on my bike before and I haven't really kept up with mountain biking for a couple of years, so any help you can give is more than welcome. Infact I was thinking about getting a haynes manual/idiots guide to bike maintanence type thing!
PS Think you made the right call on the MX5. Great fun as they are, I'm not looking forward to attaching my bike to the back of it!!
chris71 said:
Hey Snotrag
Thanks for the post - loads of great info, feel free to geek away Hmm, where to start?
Wheels - I must admit I hadn't thought of these. Nothing really feels that wrong with them - they feel reasonably light weight, without me ever having broken them. They're the WTB Speed 24 Disc wheels fitted to all the sub 5's of that era.
Fork - yep, not impressed with the Manitou, especially now it's a few years old. The MX I had was awesome, but that was on a light-ish hardtail, wasn't sure how it would fair on a full susser? The Fox Float is nearly twice the money, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them and both the top spec 2003 sub 5 and current 5 use variations on them. I completely agree from my (limited) experience of upgrading bikes in the past, that this is the best area to spend money on!
Rear shock - much like the wheels, I've never had much of a problem with it and I haven't done very much set up on it at all. Do get some annoying pedal feedback on steep climbs, but I presume that's due to the geometry, rather than the shock. Unless there are massive improvments to be had over the SID for a sensible price(?) I might just get it recon'd.
I am a bit of frustrated downhiller and to be fair, but despite that I've only encountered serious fade once on a long downhill in hot weather. However, even when brand new they never had much feel to them, whereas the modulation on my old Giant MPH discs was superb, bordering on telepathic! This is the main reason I was thinking about changing them, although a little more stopping power wouldn't go a miss either. Pretty sure the fluid in there is dot 4 Will be avoiding Hope I think based on those remarks and might have a go at cleaning up the current brakes, but like I said, even fresh out the factory they weren't up to much.
At the risk of a silly quetion, how can I tell when the mechs are worn out? I probably don't adjust them as often as I should, but again, the bike had occasional minor shifting problems pretty much straight out the box and I've never been able to get it quite right.
Don't worry about 'preaching' - I've only done very basic work on my bike before and I haven't really kept up with mountain biking for a couple of years, so any help you can give is more than welcome. Infact I was thinking about getting a haynes manual/idiots guide to bike maintanence type thing!
PS Think you made the right call on the MX5. Great fun as they are, I'm not looking forward to attaching my bike to the back of it!!
Thanks for the post - loads of great info, feel free to geek away
Hmm, where to start? Wheels - I must admit I hadn't thought of these. Nothing really feels that wrong with them - they feel reasonably light weight, without me ever having broken them. They're the WTB Speed 24 Disc wheels fitted to all the sub 5's of that era.
Fork - yep, not impressed with the Manitou, especially now it's a few years old. The MX I had was awesome, but that was on a light-ish hardtail, wasn't sure how it would fair on a full susser? The Fox Float is nearly twice the money, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them and both the top spec 2003 sub 5 and current 5 use variations on them. I completely agree from my (limited) experience of upgrading bikes in the past, that this is the best area to spend money on!
Rear shock - much like the wheels, I've never had much of a problem with it and I haven't done very much set up on it at all. Do get some annoying pedal feedback on steep climbs, but I presume that's due to the geometry, rather than the shock. Unless there are massive improvments to be had over the SID for a sensible price(?) I might just get it recon'd.
I am a bit of frustrated downhiller and to be fair, but despite that I've only encountered serious fade once on a long downhill in hot weather. However, even when brand new they never had much feel to them, whereas the modulation on my old Giant MPH discs was superb, bordering on telepathic! This is the main reason I was thinking about changing them, although a little more stopping power wouldn't go a miss either. Pretty sure the fluid in there is dot 4
Will be avoiding Hope I think based on those remarks and might have a go at cleaning up the current brakes, but like I said, even fresh out the factory they weren't up to much. At the risk of a silly quetion, how can I tell when the mechs are worn out? I probably don't adjust them as often as I should, but again, the bike had occasional minor shifting problems pretty much straight out the box and I've never been able to get it quite right.
Don't worry about 'preaching' - I've only done very basic work on my bike before and I haven't really kept up with mountain biking for a couple of years, so any help you can give is more than welcome. Infact I was thinking about getting a haynes manual/idiots guide to bike maintanence type thing!
PS Think you made the right call on the MX5. Great fun as they are, I'm not looking forward to attaching my bike to the back of it!!
No problem!
The Marzocchi is a great fork for the money. My only worry would be that is is still a little short for the bike. They are still 100mm travel i think, a 130mm travel one would probably be ok.
Marzocchi's tend to be thge most reliable and cheapest forks to fix, so a second hand 130mm travel model could be a bit of a bargain. Theres also tonnes of different models available.
The brakes definitely use mineral oil as standard. Dot oil will rot the seals, so if its got in somehow, change it quick.
As for Hopes, they do make great brakes, however the quality control seems to be poor, and there is a huge difference and more than a bot of luck in you getting a monday morning or a friday afternoon product.
If you don't want grief, avoid.
The mechs, like anything mechanical really. The pivots get sloppy, the cage will wobble about a bit. The jockey wheels wear. New teeth should be nice and squared off with tall peaks, when they start to look like sharks fins with pointed ends, thats when there worn. Same applies to the teeth on chainrings and sprockets.
The shifting becomes less imprecise and slower. The springs also lost a bit of their tension so they can rattle about more.
Main thing that wears is your chain, and worn chains accelerate the wearing off the other bits. You can get through 4 or 5 chains before replacing rear cassettes, but only if you dont let the chains become too worn. Prevenatative maintenance here.
If you take a ruler, and lay out 12 links alongside it. Each link should be exaclty 1 inch. If there is stretch of more than about 1/12th of an inch over 12 links, bin it.
You can get cheap little chain checkers from your LBS.
Perhaps a maintenance course would be good, tend not to be too much ££ and usualyl informative.
As for books, not sure off the top of my head, although they do exist. Haynes do actually do one, however its pretty outdated and not particularly relevant to a modern suspension bike.
As for the MX5... funny you should say that, I've jsut been out for a drive in the Sun, and was wishing i was in something a little more fitting. I saw a silver mk1 parked up for sale, stopped to have a look. At that point right there, I really, really wanted one, but its such a gamble as to wheter it would drive me mad living with it.
For carrying bikes, I was set on buying a towbar, and then a rack from www.aistoncycleracks.co.uk/, which are very good quality and value.
Doh! The ETAs are indeed 100mm and Marzocchi don't really seem to do many medium travel forks, it's either 80mm or 200!! Suppose if I was to update it in satges I could justify the cost of Fox Float
The brake fluid hasn't been changed in several years I don't hink (in my defense bike hasn't had much use!) and theres no signs of leakage. Might be wrong about the synthetic oil - I don't know a huge ammount about bike mechanics so if I did replace the fluid at any stage, the new fluid would only have been at the recommendation of my dealership, who would hopefully know better! Maybe it was my previous bike (I quite like the idea of that one having complete brake failure whilst the thieving scrote who pinched it was doing a really really steep downhill
)
At the risk of sounding a bit stupid - do the brakes tend to just refer to the calipers, or a disc and caliper set? Wonder if different 'rotors' would improve matters. Like I say, stopping power isn't the key problem, it's largely been a chronic lack of brake feel since new.
Tried adjusting my front mech at the weekend. Didn't really seem to respond to change the endstop screws very much and there seems to be quite a lot of play in the cage. It has lasted over 4 years without change though. Will take a look at the teeth etc.
Also noticed the rear wheel is in fact warped. I think this is a result of playing around on the jumps a few weeks back
Would immagine it's just a few (slightly) bent spokes, but might mean I do need stronger wheels afterall!
Actually managed quite a decent ride yesterday, but sadly it only involved connecting up bits of local parks. It might, technically, be singletrack, but it's a world away from the stuff I used to ride when I lived at home in the westcountry and then at uni in wales. Suddenly seems harder to justify spending money on a bike!!
edit: Can I also ask whats involved in changing the fork? As I understand it from the Park Tools site (thanks Orangesrule!) the steerer tube tends to come longer than required. You can trial-fit it with all spacers etc, scribe the top of the stem and then the steerer tube at a level about 3mm below that. Meanwhile is a sort of bearing that fits onto the bottom the steerer tube (the crown race?) - I'd either need to pull this off the old fork or supply a replacment. This is then pressed onto the new steerer?
The brake fluid hasn't been changed in several years I don't hink (in my defense bike hasn't had much use!) and theres no signs of leakage. Might be wrong about the synthetic oil - I don't know a huge ammount about bike mechanics so if I did replace the fluid at any stage, the new fluid would only have been at the recommendation of my dealership, who would hopefully know better! Maybe it was my previous bike (I quite like the idea of that one having complete brake failure whilst the thieving scrote who pinched it was doing a really really steep downhill
) At the risk of sounding a bit stupid - do the brakes tend to just refer to the calipers, or a disc and caliper set? Wonder if different 'rotors' would improve matters. Like I say, stopping power isn't the key problem, it's largely been a chronic lack of brake feel since new.
Tried adjusting my front mech at the weekend. Didn't really seem to respond to change the endstop screws very much and there seems to be quite a lot of play in the cage. It has lasted over 4 years without change though. Will take a look at the teeth etc.
Also noticed the rear wheel is in fact warped. I think this is a result of playing around on the jumps a few weeks back
Would immagine it's just a few (slightly) bent spokes, but might mean I do need stronger wheels afterall! Actually managed quite a decent ride yesterday, but sadly it only involved connecting up bits of local parks. It might, technically, be singletrack, but it's a world away from the stuff I used to ride when I lived at home in the westcountry and then at uni in wales. Suddenly seems harder to justify spending money on a bike!!
edit: Can I also ask whats involved in changing the fork? As I understand it from the Park Tools site (thanks Orangesrule!) the steerer tube tends to come longer than required. You can trial-fit it with all spacers etc, scribe the top of the stem and then the steerer tube at a level about 3mm below that. Meanwhile is a sort of bearing that fits onto the bottom the steerer tube (the crown race?) - I'd either need to pull this off the old fork or supply a replacment. This is then pressed onto the new steerer?
Edited by chris71 on Monday 16th April 10:00
Pretty much bang on there.
The bottom bearing seat sits on the steerer tube at the bottom.
Use a pipe cutter for the steerer, gives a nice straight clean cut.
Its best not to cut it right down though, leave some extra spacers on there on top and below the stem when measuring it. Thus, gives your room for adjustment, and an easier re-sale (Ie more likely to be long enough for someone else).
Your back wheel may well be fixable, bike shop should be able to decide that. Be around £15 to have it re tensioned up. A skill definitely worth learning.
Brakes - yes, generally one 'brake' refers to lever (master cylinder ), caliper (slave cylinder) and disc rotor.
Larger rotors are availalbe for all brakes, and do increase power. Cost around 25 for the rotor and neccasary new caliper mount.
The bottom bearing seat sits on the steerer tube at the bottom.
Use a pipe cutter for the steerer, gives a nice straight clean cut.
Its best not to cut it right down though, leave some extra spacers on there on top and below the stem when measuring it. Thus, gives your room for adjustment, and an easier re-sale (Ie more likely to be long enough for someone else).
Your back wheel may well be fixable, bike shop should be able to decide that. Be around £15 to have it re tensioned up. A skill definitely worth learning.
Brakes - yes, generally one 'brake' refers to lever (master cylinder ), caliper (slave cylinder) and disc rotor.
Larger rotors are availalbe for all brakes, and do increase power. Cost around 25 for the rotor and neccasary new caliper mount.
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