Any mountain bikers out there 2.0

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