Oxygen SCross MTB MK II Ongoing Review

Today I took the plunge and upgraded my trusty 2 year old, and 8500 mile Oxygen SCross MTB to the new upgraded Oxygen SCross MTB MK II

 

Here is a link to my ongoing review of the original SCross MTB that served me so well

 

Initial impressions, it is a really ice looking bike, and I am really really pleased with it.

 

I loved the first one, but this one looks so much more modern. It really does look dressed to impress.

 

It is very similar to the original with a few upgrades that I can see, and cosmetic changes.

 

The bike feels really sturdy with razor sharp brakes, and nice clean gear changes.

The crankset is now a suntour one instead of shimano, and the brakes no longer have the electronic cutouts. I think the forks are the same, but honestly, not sure on that.

I was worried when i heard that the brakes didnt have cutouts as I am so used to them, but there was nothing to fear, as while test riding it, i didnt even notice a difference. It would seem that when I am changing down gears and braking, I do it so quickly, the cutout effect makes no difference.

 

The battery now has a nice small rubber bung in the charging hole rather that a big piece of rubber that I always have trouble pushing back in after charging, so thats a nice touch, and listening to customer feedback.

The kickstand now looks meaty and solid...I did get a few annoying rattles from the old one, but this one looks a lot more up to the job.

 

The great thing about buying this bike was the fact that I knew which bits i would like to change having lots of experience with the first one.

 

Ive put some ergon gp1 grips on to replace the standard ones. I suffered really bad pins and needles with standard round grips.

Some big grippy pedals are now on and I have bought some full size mudguards. However, I did buy a set of smaller ones from Oxygen as they more "look the part". As long as these work well with the rack I am taking off the old bike to put on this one, I will keep them and return the full size ones, as I personally feel the full sized guards detract from the Oxygen's clean styling.

 

I have a nearly new set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB tyres on the old bike, so they will be swapping with the rapid robs on the new one.

Oh, and my NCX seatpost will be ported over to the new seat too.

 

These changes are personal preferences, and dont detract from the bike as standard, Ive just learnt what suits me as a rider.

 

I dont imagine I will be doing anything like the mileage I did for the first year on the mk 1, unless i get bored in my job and end up travelling further, so updates on the thread might be a bit fewer and farther between, but will update as often as I can.

 

 

 

 

 

Almost ready for Mondays first commute.

 

Just waiting for amazon to deliver some shims for the seat post. The new bike has a larger diameter post than the old one.

 

Handlebars are now full of my junk apart from the mirror. That needs some modification to fit inside the narrower internal diameter of the handlebar.

 

Painted the old rack grey for this bike... Easier to do that than look through hundreds of racks online working out if they fit or not. Might repaint it black, not sure yet.

 

NCX seatpost now on, all ready for the morning commute :-)

 

I'd suggest you fit the full rear mudguard, or at least coat the front derailleur cable with a decent amount of silicon grease where it exits the outer tubing, to prevent the elements getting in the upward facing tube and seizing the cable.

I'd suggest you fit the full rear mudguard, or at least coat the front derailleur cable with a decent amount of silicon grease where it exits the outer tubing, to prevent the elements getting in the upward facing tube and seizing the cable.

 

Good shout.

I think I will put the full size one on, at least at the back. I remember the old bike got quite mucky before I put one on there.

Well, the first commute when smoothly.

 

Bike felt nice and tight, certainly has that new bike feel compared to the old one.

 

A couple of minor irritations for me to sort out. My fault as I didn't get time to run the bike yesterday.

 

The seat needs adjustment along with the gears, so only five minute jobs for tonight when i get home

 

I'll probably put a stem riser on too as it feels a little low at the front, but that might change when the seat is in the right position.

First week on the bike has gone really smoothly.

Weather has been mostly dry, but pretty cold, although a bit of rain one day to test how the smaller mudguards work.

 

Seem okay so far, but I need a good downpour to tests fully. I really want to keep the MTB mudguards on and not have to resort to the full size ones. I've put some grease over the front derailleur cable entry as suggested by JPGiant

 

Still juggling with my seat position, I have now put the stem extender on to lift the handlebars about 3 inches which has made a difference, but Im sitting a little bit too far forward, so more seat adjustments needed.

 

Loving this bike as much if not more than the original

 

 

Stem extender:

 

 

 

First weekly wash

Done around 300 miles on the bike now, not much to say really, as the bike has been exceptional, which I would have expected.

 

One thing I have notice is the battery is a much tighter fit into the frame on the new bike, so less chance of it starting to rattle like the old one, although that was an easy fix.

 

Went out on my first decent non-commute ride last week as I had the week off work, and we had one day of decent weather!

 

Went out with my drone to places you cant get to in the car, and had a great day.

Just over 23 miles covered and had around 35 volts left when I got back.

 

Parts of the ride were a bit muddier than I expected, but saying that it had peed it down non stop for weeks before....

 

 

Hello all. I hope everyone is keeping safe in this very different world we are now living in.

 

Thought I should pop back and say hi and give a small update on the Oxygen

 

Well, for the last 4 weeks, I have been working from home, so commuting has gone.

 

The bonus is, I have been going out most days to do some pleasure riding.....which despite doing loads of emiles over the last few years, is something I hardly get to do.

 

Unfortunately, most of the best trails/routes are filled with runners and dog walkers, so Ive been sticking to the roads, which are significantly emptier than before.

 

The bike has been running smoothly as always, Ive hit just over 1000 miles now.

Slight issue with the battery not fully charging which has lost me around 20% of my range, but I can live with that until we get to the point when I can go visit Oxygen and Ive no doubt they will fix that for me.

 

Most likely will replace the chain soon, but apart from the break pads nothing changed of late.

 

Must admit, I am so, so grateful for having the bike right now. just like many on here, it helps me retain some sanity!

Just a small update to the above.

Speaking to Oxygen today, the problem with the battery came up in the discussion. I was more than happy to live with the reduction in mileage until we get through this, but I have been offered to send my battery in for inspection, and at the same time borrow a loan battery to keep me on the road :-)

 

Cant ask for better service than that, thanks Oxygen.

NCX seatpost now on, all ready for the morning commute

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="32664]32664[/ATTACH]

Andy what’s the correct size and length please

Also how easy is it to set up the onboard computer ? What’s the correct wheel size 27.5”‘I haven’t been out on mine yet as arrived yesterday with 17.5 ah battery and thumb control throttle

Andy what’s the correct size and length please

This is the one I have, but i bought it for the original MTB which has a slightly narrower seatpost

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BIQN9UC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

So when I got the MTBII i had to buy some of these to make it fit better

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007C4KCTG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also how easy is it to set up the onboard computer ? What’s the correct wheel size 27.5”‘I haven’t been out on mine yet as arrived yesterday with 17.5 ah battery and thumb control throttle

Its a piece of cake. The wheels are 27.5, but the onboard computer has to be set at 28 as thats the closest one.

Thank you

Andy now once I’ve set the details for the first time onto lcd screen does this not have to be done every time has it got some sort of back up battary, also to change settings echo , normal , power can this be done riding or do you need to really do this before setting off

Next job today is fit throttle control

You wont really need to change anything in the settings when you have the bike. Its all setup for you to work.

Yes, the different power modes can be changed while riding.

You hold the set button a couple of seconds until the lcd display flashes. Press set again until you see the power mode flashing. Press plus or minus to set it where you want it. Hold set for a couple more seconds and you will go back to the normal display screen.

 

I might be slightly wrong on the above, its jsut something i do without really paying attention to what exactly im pressing now.

Thanks Andy loved reading both reviews well past midnight . Just about to go out for a ride on my no mileage lol mk11

Thanks Andy loved reading both reviews well past midnight . Just about to go out for a ride on my no mileage lol mk11

Have fun :-)

Have fun

Andy another newbie question , on the lcd screen it says trip 1 and trip 2 do theses auto reset back to zero after each ride ? If not how do you reset them please

All the info you require is here... OXYGEN ... it's a download from the Oxygen website.

I got a hard copy with mine.

All the info you require is here... OXYGEN ... it's a download from the Oxygen website.

I got a hard copy with mine.

Many thanks

All the info you require is here... OXYGEN ... it's a download from the Oxygen website.

I got a hard copy with mine.

Pmd you

Just done 12.5 miles all in normal mode pas only on 2

awesome loved every minute

just ordered a Xcl suspension seat post 31.6 mm as that’s my only grip with having hard tail mtb £65 delivery

something I did notice I couldn’t reset trip distance from yesterday ?

plus if you come to a stop whilst out and the lcd screen goes off after a few minutes when you restart the lcd screen the distance resets itself ?

so far overall distance I’ve done is 21 miles in two days and love it so much more enjoyment I’ve ordered also a drink bottle mount to attach to post under the seat . Plus the battery does rattle a bit even the new limited edition 17ah battery I paid extra for so will have to look into this maybe some draught excluder ?

I really fancy some red tyres like to be noticed lol what’s the biggest dia tyres you can fit I’d like some chunky ones ?

the new 17ah battery doesn’t have any graphics as per oxygen web site so once lockdown is over il get a place to make me some