Any mountain bikers out there 2.0

[corey4]

i passed on the pivot mach 6. i was on my way to check it out and the dude cancelled on me. it started to rain and he said he didn't want the bike to get wet, which if it's true that it has "zero" miles, i can respect that. on my way home, i stopped by a LBS and test rode a clearance model 27.5 that they were practically giving away along side a few 29ers. i like 29er wheel size better, i don't know why, it just feels better. and as i thought about it more, im probably better of with an alloy frame. the other day, we had 4 bikes pilled in the bed of my truck, so im guessing that wouldn't be ideal for a carbon frame (yes, i was careful of the rotors, cables and the derailers) and yes i will be getting a tail gate cover thingy. point being, i don't think i'd be a good owner of a carbon frame and i didn't care for the 27.5 wheels.

over the last few days i have learned that there are WAY more bike categories than i thought. XC, down hill racers, downcountry, gravel, trail, enduro etc. and even within the same model they can differ between the categories. it took a bit of sifting thru thru the weeds to try and figure out what models were what and i "think" i have a decent grasp of what i want and need.

i picked up a used stumpjumper from FB market place, which for whatever reason is what i wanted in the first place a few days ago.

 

[jbell]

i passed on the pivot mach 6. i was on my way to check it out and the dude cancelled on me. it started to rain and he said he didn't want the bike to get wet, which if it's true that it has "zero" miles, i can respect that. on my way home, i stopped by a LBS and test rode a clearance model 27.5 that they were practically giving away along side a few 29ers. i like 29er wheel size better, i don't know why, it just feels better. and as i thought about it more, im probably better of with an alloy frame. the other day, we had 4 bikes pilled in the bed of my truck, so im guessing that wouldn't be ideal for a carbon frame (yes, i was careful of the rotors, cables and the derailers) and yes i will be getting a tail gate cover thingy. point being, i don't think i'd be a good owner of a carbon frame and i didn't care for the 27.5 wheels.

over the last few days i have learned that there are WAY more bike categories than i thought. XC, down hill racers, downcountry, gravel, trail, enduro etc. and even within the same model they can differ between the categories. it took a bit of sifting thru thru the weeds to try and figure out what models were what and i "think" i have a decent grasp of what i want and need.

i picked up a used stumpjumper from FB market place, which for whatever reason is what i wanted in the first place a few days ago.

The used Stumpy sounds like a very good choice!

 

[blue_ridge]

Just got my trainer setup, been too busy shooting and no time for exercise. This setup is really a work out compare to a cheap statonary bike. Several apps to choose from, just did a mountain bike app which was 30 minutes of pure workout.

View attachment 7146590

Cool, what make model trainer is that? How does it attach?

 

[jbell]

 

[missed]

Well it looks like it was enough rain to wash all the mud off!

 

[jbell]

Well it looks like it was enough rain to wash all the mud off!

Ha! Yeah totally. This was the first time I have ridden in the rain and not gotten cold in years. Arkansas is pretty sweet! I am looking forward to us meeting up for a ride soon.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

The thing I dislike about Texas is the gumbo dirt here. If it rains all the trails are closed. If you try riding in the gumbo your bike will gain 20 lbs of mud and you'll fuck up the trails.

 

[missed]

Ha! Yeah totally. This was the first time I have ridden in the rain and not gotten cold in years. Arkansas is pretty sweet! I am looking forward to us meeting up for a ride soon.

Soon!


Almost all the AR trails stay open in the rain, some clay capped ones don't hold up to the wet, most of the natural trails are all weather. During freeze/thaw is about the only time the trails are really closed.

 

[Trophy Case]

The thing I dislike about Texas is the gumbo dirt here. If it rains all the trails are closed. If you try riding in the gumbo your bike will gain 20 lbs of mud and you'll fuck up the trails.

We have that same problem on our trails…..dirt turns to peanut butter when it rains. Maybe not to the extent you experience, but you simply don’t ride if it’s wet.
I narrowly escaped rain this morning. Made for an awesome photo as it moved across the valley just before sunrise.

 

[jbell]

I'm really enjoying the gravel in Arkansas!

 

[missed]

I need to find some gravel routes out here and get the gravelish bike together.

5 miles in the dirt was enough today.... We kinda drove through your area on the way to Alpina last week. I could imagine some challenging routes out there.

 

[jbell]

Honestly around here a short travel FS (maybe a hard tail) mountain bike is the best gravel bike…

 

[missed]

Honestly around here a short travel FS (maybe a hard tail) mountain bike is the best gravel bike…

I have a Guerrilla Gravity hard tail with a Manitou Mattoc that I am planning on using for a gravel bike. I need to service the fork and do some odds and ends to it. The full suspension short travel would be nice. If I am riding enough gravel I'll eventually go to that. We should have some time to get back in shape while waiting for the house to sell.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Honestly around here a short travel FS (maybe a hard tail) mountain bike is the best gravel bike…

I use my Canfield Yelli Screamy as a gravel bike. It's a HT so it's good enough for gravel. I just put light weight XC tires on it, Maxxis Ardent Race. Cheaper than buying a gravel bike as it rips on trails too.

 

[charbroiled]

If you try riding in the gumbo your bike will gain 20 lbs of mud and you'll fuck up the trails.

We have the fish police driving our wet trails and rutting up the works...

 

[steve123]

I did two rides/34 miles last week on my Extreme Cross, this was in somewhat rocky terrain - half up and half down. The weather here in Flagstaff up on Mt Elden and the San Fransisco peaks has been so nice, like in the
high 60's to low 70's during our morning rides.

This pic was around 9000 ft elevation. Can't wait for the Aspens to start changing to fall colors! Will get some pics of those in 3-4 weeks.

This one at about 8000 feet on a jump line trail called Full Sail.

 

[bobke]

Didn’t do the race, but did SO for a Guns and Gears mountain bike biathlon yesterday in the Hill Country outside of San Antonio. And coached my friend to a women’s 2nd place, and she was using a loner Savage single shot pink 22LR, she’d only shot once the day before to do it. Good day.

 

[jbell]

 

[jbell]

 

[charbroiled]

View attachment 8507832

Bluffs remind me of S. IL Garden of the Gods area and some areas I've been in around Mtn Home AR...

 

[jbell]

Bluffs remind me of S. IL Garden of the Gods area and some areas I've been in around Mtn Home AR...

That is taken at Kyles Landing in Jasper Arkansas. It is a solid climb up out of there…

 

[missed]

And all I've been doing is playing in the mud in the equipment.....

 

[steve123]

I made it to Sunrise ski/bike park in eastern AZ last weekend for two days.
As soon as I got off the lift some nice guy who said he was an ambassador for the resort asked me if I had any questions. I said sure I do, which trail would you suggest for mostly blue difficulty and with medium jumps? He said follow me and took me down a cool trail. It was pretty much perfect for me with jumps small, medium, and large.
I hadn't been there in 3 years so I was surprised that they had made more than a few new trails. Long story short I finally cleared a 25-30ft table top. Once again the EMTB was great because I could ride back up to the top of the jump line, "yes staying way off to the side", then go learn how to do them.
That was a fun weekend and only 3 hours away from home, also no wrecks.

 

[jbell]

And all I've been doing is playing in the mud in the equipment.....

Not much mud around here lately.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

You know, if you're not going to run a dropper, that's actually a really sweet way to carry a pump.


I went to mount a new fork this week, and found I cracked my Rallon swingarm at a weld. Shop helped me put in a lifetime warranty claim & I'm really hoping they happen to have an old stock one, because there's a pretty big gap between the $2300 I paid for frame & shock in 2014 and the cost of most 2024 models that almost no parts will transfer to...
Is anyone riding a gearbox bike? Or any bike with a belt drive? I ask because Florida trails are sandy, and any amount of wet sand becomes a coarse polishing slurry. I think a belt drive gearbox may cut down on some daily maintenance and drivetrain wear, but I'm not sure it's worth the faff over a chain.

 

[missed]

You know, if you're not going to run a dropper, that's actually a really sweet way to carry a pump.


I went to mount a new fork this week, and found I cracked my Rallon swingarm at a weld. Shop helped me put in a lifetime warranty claim & I'm really hoping they happen to have an old stock one, because there's a pretty big gap between the $2300 I paid for frame & shock in 2014 and the cost of most 2024 models that almost no parts will transfer to...
Is anyone riding a gearbox bike? Or any bike with a belt drive? I ask because Florida trails are sandy, and any amount of wet sand becomes a coarse polishing slurry. I think a belt drive gearbox may cut down on some daily maintenance and drivetrain wear, but I'm not sure it's worth the faff over a chain.

I have always wanted one of the Pinion drive train bikes with the gearbox. Now that they have an integrated Ebike drive maybe I'll get one in a year or two. I know a guy that has a short travel bike with one and he loves it. Says there is a bit of loss in the drive, but zero maintenance. His has the belt drive. It is absolutely silent also. This guy rides like 4k miles a year. He just changes the oil and puts a new belt on it every other year. Frame selection is still pretty limited

 

[jbell]

I have raced with guys running a belt drive (single speed stuff) and they can / do get noisy! Plus they are ran so tight I feel like there is noticably more drag vs a chain. But that's just me

 

[Trophy Case]

The kid and I hit the iconic Moab Slickrock loop yesterday and several trails at Navajo Rocks today before heading home. Crazy good views but smoke rolled in from a fire in northern Utah. So much fun!
I originally rode the Slickrock trail back in 1992 on my old Gary Fischer CR-7….good memories revisited with my son.

 

[Ichi]

 

[jbell]

View attachment 8527818

Basically… ha

My normal disclaimer when I am on a road or gravel group ride (usually I’m riding my MTB) to anyone I don’t know is “heads up, don’t follow my line too close”.

 

[missed]

Basically… ha

My normal disclaimer when I am on a road or gravel group ride (usually I’m riding my MTB) to anyone I don’t know is “heads up, don’t follow my line too close”.

You weren't kidding about a FS short travel bike being the optimal choice for a gravel bike here.

 

[Sandhog308]

That is taken at Kyles Landing in Jasper Arkansas. It is a solid climb up out of there…

That’s one of my favorite places in the world

 

[jbell]

You weren't kidding about a FS short travel bike being the optimal choice for a gravel bike here.

That’s one of my favorite places in the world

Give me a shout anytime y’all want to get together for a ride. I have made some pretty sweet gravel routes here in Newton County. There are some sweet trails in the Buffalo Upper Wilderness. I am going out to Kessler next Saturday (10/26) to do a little recon & test and tune for a race. There is a cool event in the afternoon (1400-1800) called Chasin Payson I am going to stick around for. Check it out & let me know if you can make it.

https://bentonville.simpleviewcrm.com/webapi/rsvp/v2/?action=details&noredirect=1&eventId=452

 

[jbell]

Here are a few of my last rides around Newton County, as you can see there is plenty of climbing to be had. I routinely see pitches over 20%, there are a lot of 22%-26% grades and I have seen a 27%. That's just when I have that screen up on my Garmin.

 

[Sandhog308]

Give me a shout anytime y’all want to get together for a ride. I have made some pretty sweet gravel routes here in Newton County. There are some sweet trails in the Buffalo Upper Wilderness. I am going out to Kessler next Saturday (10/26) to do a little recon & test and tune for a race. There is a cool event in the afternoon (1400-1800) called Chasin Payson I am going to stick around for. Check it out & let me know if you can make it.

https://bentonville.simpleviewcrm.com/webapi/rsvp/v2/?action=details&noredirect=1&eventId=452

10-4 !! I have some good friends outside of Jasper where the Little Buffalo and Buffalo rivers meet.
You need to give Mt Nebo a spin. Better during the week , weekends full of Texans.
No riding or running for me for awhile. I knew I was having R knee issues but I could fight through it ? First major setback health wise in many moons.
Going to have a total knee replacement November 7th.

 

[missed]

Here are a few of my last rides around Newton County, as you can see there is plenty of climbing to be had. I routinely see pitches over 20%, there are a lot of 22%-26% grades and I have seen a 27%. That's just when I have that screen up on my Garmin.

View attachment 8527864View attachment 8527865View attachment 8527866

I will, been working on getting legged up lately. Last 6 months have been so crazy I don't think I've have 100 miles on the bike which totally sucks.

 

[jbell]

10-4 !! I have some good friends outside of Jasper where the Little Buffalo and Buffalo rivers meet.
You need to give Mt Nebo a spin. Better during the week , weekends full of Texans.
No riding or running for me for awhile. I knew I was having R knee issues but I could fight through it ? First major setback health wise in many moons.
Going to have a total knee replacement November 7th.

Bro that's rough, best wishes. Let me know when your all healed up and we will go for a spin.

 

[Sandhog308]

Bro that's rough, best wishes. Let me know when your all healed up and we will go for a spin.

It’s going to be a bitch to rehab I hear.
. One of those “there’s no other choices in life but the knife” things .
Claim it’s built with Titanium , so I got that going on for me. I
had an awesome routine going , running and biking every day , few exercises thrown in ….to being a gimp.
I can guide , make good burgers , have cold beer !
Just holler
PS:
Nebo is 7 miles from me

 

[missed]

It’s going to be a bitch to rehab I hear.
. One of those “there’s no other choices in life but the knife” things .
Claim it’s built with Titanium , so I got that going on for me. I
had an awesome routine going , running and biking every day , few exercises thrown in ….to being a gimp.
I can guide , make good burgers , have cold beer !
Just holler
PS:
Nebo is 7 miles from me

Nebo is a 2 hour haul for me. Dang those pesky Texans clogging up the trails on the weekends! I am going to make a trip once im in a bit better shape.

 

[Clob McStrunk]

Pinning on a number plate for the first time in almost 10 years tomorrow. Raccoon Mountain Enduro here in Chattanooga, should be a rockin time. Its my home trail so I know it like the back of my hand....but "rubbing is racing" so we'll see.

 

[jbell]

Pinning on a number plate for the first time in almost 10 years tomorrow. Raccoon Mountain Enduro here in Chattanooga, should be a rockin time. Its my home trail so I know it like the back of my hand....but "rubbing is racing" so we'll see.

Killer! Give it hell. I grew up in Ringgold. I would love to get back down there and ride sometime.

 

[Ichi]

I love riding local trails at night. But you would not see me on this trail even during the day...

 

[jbell]

Remy Metailler is bad ass!

 

[Trophy Case]

Remy is very interesting to watch not only for his extreme content and off the chart talent, but he comes across as very calculated in his actions on the most absurd lines he rides.
His accent cracks me up

 

[Sandhog308]

I love riding local trails at night. But you would not see me on this trail even during the day...

Hell , I crashed just watching this !!

 

[jbell]

Haha

 

[steve123]

Have you guys watched the 2024 Redbull Rampage yet?!

Last week on the same ride I had two fall overs however thankfully I wasn't hurt in the least. I've got surprising control falling yet I can't stop it is all.
One was odd because my rear tire spun out on very round rock 5" in size while at the same time my front tire had stopped on a larger one that was firmly planted, so down I went.
Another was I've been trying riding over ever larger and pointier rocks to see when I'll bottom out on the lowest point of my bike just below the motor. I found out the hard way, lol, and there was no way my foot was gonna reach that far down.

Not being too hard on my old self these two trails are the rockiest ones I've been on yet. Started way up on the Peaks at almost 10,000 feet then on down to 8000 feet. Just barely snuck that last ride in up there because it snowed 10" a few days later.

Trees not changed yet was two weeks ago and the other during my mentioned ride.

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

Have you guys watched the 2024 Redbull Rampage yet?!

I watched both the ladies and the men's live (VPN'd into germany to watch on youtube). I actually liked the woman's event a little better, it was like watching 2003 rampage again- rawer, with a lower trick emphasis and more on just getting to the bottom. I'm not super compelled watching a bunch of flip whips at rampage...

I got a RAAW madonna built up last week, but they shut our local trails down since the park is a hurricane debris center. Hopefully touch dirt this weekend since a couple of our state parks reopened. I'm still waiting on a new freehub to arrive get rid of the DT swiss noise anyways. Coming from an onyx, anything feels stupid loud.

 

[steve123]

I watched both the ladies and the men's live (VPN'd into germany to watch on youtube). I actually liked the woman's event a little better, it was like watching 2003 rampage again- rawer, with a lower trick emphasis and more on just getting to the bottom. I'm not super compelled watching a bunch of flip whips at rampage...

I got a RAAW madonna built up last week, but they shut our local trails down since the park is a hurricane debris center. Hopefully touch dirt this weekend since a couple of our state parks reopened. I'm still waiting on a new freehub to arrive get rid of the DT swiss noise anyways. Coming from an onyx, anything feels stupid loud.

Up until a year ago I didn't know the RR existed so watching for the first time was a BIG eye opener. Watching it I'm amazed people can do what they do! My BIL left the room when I put the video up. I didn't know he was so squeamish.

That RAAW looks like a really well thought out bike!!! How much does yours weigh?

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

That RAAW looks like a really well thought out bike!!! How much does yours weigh?

It's not light... 38# as it sits. It's a full 2 pounds heavier than my old bike and most of that is in the frame since i moved components over. I am running a dorado up front (bought a used one, then the used frame. I'm killing the classifieds game) so dropping maybe a pound and a half or two is really all I could reasonably cut if went to a single crown and a mixed wheel setup.

I really wanted a gearbox bike, but the maintenance of the pinion smart shift being service center only put me off this time. Between that, and not having ridden a bike with geometry newer than 2014 made me jump on this deal as a couple year in-between while I figure out what I can live with. Riding a full 29r around the neighborhood still gives me early days "I'm sitting IN the bike not ON the bike" vibes, and that's with the high BB shock mount. We'll see.