Do You Mountain Bike?

[Sidewalk]

I put a hitch on the wife's car. Bolt on, done in no more the hours, and simplifies many things.

40 MPG > 20 MPG

 

[PhoS]

http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2005_Acura_TL.htm

 

[cvzx6r]

*warning: shameless plug inbound*

Endless Cycles rides Lake Chabot every Tuesday evening at 6:30. We start at the shop (3300 East Castro Valley Blvd, next to Caspers.......for now ) and ride until about 8:30 followed by food and beverage(s)

We break up into as many groups/fitness levels as needed. It's getting dark toward the end so a headlight and tail light are recommended.

Good to know. I was able to ride with my friend on Wednesday which was more fun than riding the trails by myself. Just got me some new enduro riding shorts and sexy chamois underoonies to boot as well. Shit's getting expensive for fatties nowadays. I spent over $120 for the set, I have big legs and a big waist for now, still working on losing more weight and size in the coming months if not years. I think I have an old light set I can steal, I mean borrow from my brother's bike

 

[Sidewalk]

I had previously written off Sram brakes. My Meta came with Guides which I was going to replace immediately with XTs but tbh after riding them a bit I lost interest in dealing with it as they're actually acceptable. I don't like the feel as much as the XTs but the power is definitely there. When it comes to DH gimme Zee or Saint any day.

I've never done DH, and have limited experience with other brakes. I do know that I was surprised at how little I liked the XTR's on the FSi I demo'ed (Carbon 2, all carbon with full XTR parts with 11th and Stan's Crest wheels). I could never get to the edge of traction, though I don't know how much was the bike. I'll be riding those trails again in a couple of weeks for an Enduro and XC, so I'll be able to compare. I'll have races those trails in enduro or XC on 4 different bikes by then (FSi, Trigger, Salsa Bucksaw, and my Jamis 650b Pro).

 

[ndirienzo]

Thanks for the info! I need to find a solution to transporting the bike asap. I have a 2005 Acura Tl and I needed to remove the wheels and the handle bar in order for it to fit in my trunk to get it home. I am leaning towards the Allen 2 bike rear rack due to cost and ease of removal. With the moto and new MTB, a small pickup would be ideal, sigh, it never ends.. Anyways, any feedback on those trunk mounted racks?

Stay far away from trunk mounted racks. They're just a giant pain and overall much less secure. As others have stated, just put a hitch on.

I can't say enough good things about one up bike racks: https://www.1upusa.com/bicycleracks.html. They are awesome given they hug the car closely and scrape way less than any of the other brands. Super secure, easy to use, no wobbling, and folds up super compact. Just amazing racks. Everyone I know that has bought one loves it.

 

[squid vicious]

Stay far away from trunk mounted racks. They're just a giant pain and overall much less secure. As others have stated, just put a hitch on.

I can't say enough good things about one up bike racks: https://www.1upusa.com/bicycleracks.html. They are awesome given they hug the car closely and scrape way less than any of the other brands. Super secure, easy to use, no wobbling, and folds up super compact. Just amazing racks. Everyone I know that has bought one loves it.

+1 for OneUp.

The only downside is it won't take a true fatbike tire. I haven't tried a 27.5+ yet so I can't say if a 3" tire would fit.

 

[ndirienzo]

+1 for OneUp.

The only downside is it won't take a true fatbike tire. I haven't tried a 27.5+ yet so I can't say if a 3" tire would fit.

You just need the spacer kit: https://www.1upusa.com/product-spacerkit.html

 

[ndirienzo]

Just knocked out 50+miles of singletrack and 10,000' feet of elevation gain this last weekend in Brevard, North Carolina. What an amazing place! Miles and miles of every style of trail imaginable. I didn't want to leave.

I managed to break my camera so not too many pictures to show for the effort

A friend leading us down an old airstrip to some killer downhills in the Dupont National Forest.

Fun water crossings

Miles of wet, rocky, rooty climbs. Here's some friends at the top of a 6.5 mile, 2000' gain climb. Those trailers are for the bear hunters in the winter.

Even some fun gravel roads

Black Mountain, NC

Blazing fast downhills in Pisgah. Slick roots abound

This was actually in Chapel Hill, NC. Came ripping down a twisty downhill to find a couple turtles going at it. I jumped over them. The male didn't budge, but the female pulled back into her shell.

 

[squid vicious]

^^^^niiiiiicce

 

[Map8]

Cool. Western North Carolina is really beautiful. I'd love to ride back there sometime.

 

[DTM74]

Atop Lagoon Valley Park...hazy from the Valley fire.

 

[mikev]

I just inherited an old MTB from my dad to turn into my work commuter a day or two a week and to ride around with my kids sometimes.

It's been sitting for awhile. Needs tires and tubes for sure, maybe a chain, and then just a good 'going over' basically.

Can someone recommend decent tires&tubes that are more street than offroad oriented?

What kind of other stuff should I be looking at doing? Also the seat is crumbling, what's a decent one I could replace with?

I wanna keep this as cheap as possible, seeing as it was a free bike and all.

 

[ndirienzo]

I just inherited an old MTB from my dad to turn into my work commuter a day or two a week and to ride around with my kids sometimes.

It's been sitting for awhile. Needs tires and tubes for sure, maybe a chain, and then just a good 'going over' basically.

Can someone recommend decent tires&tubes that are more street than offroad oriented?

What kind of other stuff should I be looking at doing? Also the seat is crumbling, what's a decent one I could replace with?

I wanna keep this as cheap as possible, seeing as it was a free bike and all.

I'd say pump up the tires first and see if the tubes hold... it's actually very rare for tubes just to go bad. Go to the local shop and get a basic 26 x 1.5 to 1.75" slick/semi slick/urban tire. There are a ton of brands out there, so just buy whatever is in your budget.

As far as the seat, ask the shop if they have a bucket of take off saddles. Normally they have a bunch lying around that they'll sell for $10-20.

Try lubing the chain well and seeing if it frees up. Again, it's pretty easy to get a chain moving again. The biggest issue that you're going to have is that the shifters probably won't want to shift. This is because the grease in the ratchet mechanism thickens up and doesn't engage properly If this is happening you can flood them with some carb clean or strong degreaser and work at them for a while. After you're done toss some tri-flow in there.

Good luck!

 

[ABC]

I'm looking for a good entry level bike. I was looking for a 29er hardtail. Something around 500-1k I'm 6'6 175lbs what do you think would be a good setup?

 

[ndirienzo]

I'm looking for a good entry level bike. I was looking for a 29er hardtail. Something around 500-1k I'm 6'6 175lbs what do you think would be a good setup?

There's a bunch of bikes in that price range. Honestly, they're all going to be really similar - aluminum frame, basic disk brakes, heavy but strong wheels, decent fork.

Something like this would do the trick: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/cross_country/x_caliber/x_caliber_7/#. I'm partial to Trek because I worked in a Trek shop for a decade. They really are great bikes. Like I said before, though, most other brands will have a similar bike at a similar price. So, just buy what you like and what's a decent deal... trek, giant, specialized, raleigh, whatever.

 

[PhoS]

Just spent 2 days riding in Bend, so much stuff to ride i'll need to make a return trip soon.....

 

[ndirienzo]

Just spent 2 days riding in Bend, so much stuff to ride i'll need to make a return trip soon.....

Nice, what did you all ride? I think South Fork was my favorite of the trails that are right in town.

 

[ghebinkim]

I just inherited an old MTB from my dad to turn into my work commuter a day or two a week and to ride around with my kids sometimes.

It's been sitting for awhile. Needs tires and tubes for sure, maybe a chain, and then just a good 'going over' basically.

Can someone recommend decent tires&tubes that are more street than offroad oriented?

What kind of other stuff should I be looking at doing? Also the seat is crumbling, what's a decent one I could replace with?

I wanna keep this as cheap as possible, seeing as it was a free bike and all.

I've always wanted to do a MTB commuter conversion using Schwalbe Big Apples...

 

[PhoS]

Nice, what did you all ride? I think South Fork was my favorite of the trails that are right in town.

Phil's , Tiddilywinks, Whoops, among others. Had the wrong bike unfortunately, they only had a '16 Nomad, need something more in the 120-140mm range and not vpp..

 

[DTM74]

I'm looking for a good entry level bike. I was looking for a 29er hardtail. Something around 500-1k I'm 6'6 175lbs what do you think would be a good setup?

When I bought my hardtail 29er I rode a few different bikes. I liked the Cannondale and Trek. I liked the Cannondale a lot more as it felt more nimble as it was lighter. Looking at Cannondale.com, it looks like they're hardtails are all 27.5 now...