Any mountain bikers out there 2.0

Not sure how I missed this thread, Ive been working in the bikescene for the better part of a decade before I changed path. I still ride a bit, usually with my son. I picked up this gem last summer, it had been left in a garage for too long. One of very few Ellsworth bikes in Sweden;

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Is that a Truth? Damn classic! Ba when Tony was making cool bikes.
 
After doing some research on changing my bike to a 2-10 and what the cost would be I decided to get some spares to keep it around a little longer as 3-8. I ordered a spare set of wheels and then went looking for a XTR cassette only to find out they cost what new cassettes cost. At least I'll have a new bike in 6 months and I can keep riding my HT when I want to.
 
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So this happened today...

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2021 Santa Cruz Blur XO1 AXS RSV in the ugly salmon color, but right now you have to get what you can. It's 22.8 pounds as you see it in the picture, I have plans to get it down to hopefully 22.5 with pedals and my power meter! Stand by for more in a few days...
 
Do they make any bikes that are like not where you have to be all hunched over all the time? Am I missing something? I raced BMX many moons ago and well I rarely ever sat down on a bike and it seems mountain bikes or road bikes are made to primarily be ridden sitting down and hunched over?
 
Do they make any bikes that are like not where you have to be all hunched over all the time? Am I missing something? I raced BMX many moons ago and well I rarely ever sat down on a bike and it seems mountain bikes or road bikes are made to primarily be ridden sitting down and hunched over?

The trend in mountain bikes has towards taller front ends (read: higher bars). Combine that with a dropper post, and a modern MTB feels to me much like a big BMX cruiser. Even with the seatpost fully extended, the bars are still higher than the seat on my enduro/all-mountain rig.

XC race rigs will still be set up with lower bars because that's typically more efficient (to a point).
 
So this happened today...

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2021 Santa Cruz Blur XO1 AXS RSV in the ugly salmon color, but right now you have to get what you can. It's 22.8 pounds as you see it in the picture, I have plans to get it down to hopefully 22.5 with pedals and my power meter! Stand by for more in a few days...
Nice ride!!
Wow you have all the cool guy parts on that sucker. Agree with you on the paint...Santa Cruz comes up with some cringe worthy options. My son has a 2020 Bronson in that Brick/Pink color. Got a good deal on her tho.
Enjoy your new ride!!
 
Mountain biking has come a long way. I remember going fast as I could downhill on some funky trail on a bike without suspension and all that fancy shit, eating dirt along the way, managing to not get myself killed, and ending the trails with my wrists feeling like rubber and partially numb. I sure would like to get back into downhill mountain biking but my lower back and dome have a different opinion.

Something like this course seems like an awful lot of fun my durabl teenage self would have had.
 
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Nice ride!!
Wow you have all the cool guy parts on that sucker. Agree with you on the paint...Santa Cruz comes up with some cringe worthy options. My son has a 2020 Bronson in that Brick/Pink color. Got a good deal on her tho.
Enjoy your new ride!!
Thank you! I'm on the fence about AXS for what I do (endurance racing and rides, especially my 24 hour events). I know a battery is super light and only $55 but I also know I can get a cable shift system repaired on the side of the trail or in the pits 99.99% of the time even if I had to change parts which I bring to races. But I'm not bringing or owning a spare $1000 AXS controller and derailleur. Plus I'm taking the DT350/reserve wheels off and putting my Hydra Enve wheels on which should cut 1/2 of a pound off and make up for pedals.

I'm looking forward to getting it out and dirty!!
 
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Mountain biking has come a long way. I remember going fast as I could downhill on some funky trail on a bike without suspension and all that fancy shit, eating dirt along the way, managing to not get myself killed, and ending the trails with my wrists feeling like rubber and partially numb. I sure would like to get back into downhill mountain biking but my lower back and dome have a different opinion.

Something like this course seems like an awful lot of fun my durabl teenage self would have had.

Agreed, I started this thing in '91. It's not even the same sport now...
 
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Thank you! I'm on the fence about AXS for what I do (endurance racing and rides, especially my 24 hour events). I know a battery is super light and only $55 but I also know I can get a cable shift system repaired on the side of the trail or in the pits 99.99% of the time even if I had to change parts which I bring to races. But I'm not bringing or owning a spare $1000 AXS controller and derailleur. Plus I'm taking the DT350/reserve wheels off and putting my Hydra Enve wheels on which should cut 1/2 of a pound off and make up for pedals.

I'm looking forward to getting it out and dirty!!
I don't think you will have any problem with the AXS system, I've heard nothing but good things about it.
Wow you are going to have a super light bike.....taking off carbon hoops to replace with lighter carbon hoops and hubs!!!

My 2021 Yeti SB130 XL Lunch Ride comes in around 32 lbs!! Love the ride but the Fox X2 and DT Swiss EX 1700 wheels add some weight for sure. We also don't have much of a choice other than running the Maxxis DHF and DHR with the EXO casing on our trails and they are heavy as well.
I've completely destroyed lighter weight/CC tires in a very short time period on the rock and chunder we ride in so they are not an option, but that's OK by me.
Yeti SB130.jpg
 
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I am loving this bike more and more. I have cut more weight off it, it's down to 23 pounds with cages and pedals. I am thinking about selling the ENVEs and getting some Berd wheels and going from the 2.4 Aspens back to the 2.25 Aspens and that should get it down to 22.5 pounds which is EXTREMELY light for a full suspension large frame 29er!!

This was from today, getting in some road hill climbs after riding single track.
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Well I finally got my 13 year old son out on a morning bike ride. He's riding a new Trek Marlin 5, which the wife made me buy instead of what I would have gotten him. I would have at least gotten him SLX components, but his components can be upgraded in the future if needed. It's amazing to me how much faster my 26 is compared to his 29. I am old and fat too, lol. Hopefully after a while of riding consistently he will get faster and I'll lose some weight.
 
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Well I finally got my 13 year old son out on a morning bike ride. He's riding a new Trek Marlin 5, which the wife made me buy instead of what I would have gotten him. I would have at least gotten him SLX components, but his components can be upgraded in the future if needed. It's amazing to me how much faster my 26 is compared to his 29. I am old and fat too, lol. Hopefully after a while of riding consistently he will get faster and I'll lose some weight.
Hey, you have to start somewhere when buying a bike for your son. If he likes it and enjoys the sport then upgrade to a different bike. Bottom line is you got him a decent one to start with.....thats Awesome!! Out here in Colorado we have a HUGE youth MTB program and all to often I see kids on department store bikes that are simply not up to the task with regards to the trails that surround us. Yes they are expensive and yes I understand not everyone has 1K plus to throw at their kids bikes so we do the best we can as parents to help with trail side repaires and encouragement. I love seeing these kids as young as seven and eight in a big 'ol group tearing up a trail.
 
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I am loving this bike more and more. I have cut more weight off it, it's down to 23 pounds with cages and pedals. I am thinking about selling the ENVEs and getting some Berd wheels and going from the 2.4 Aspens back to the 2.25 Aspens and that should get it down to 22.5 pounds which is EXTREMELY light for a full suspension large frame 29er!!

This was from today, getting in some road hill climbs after riding single track.
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You are not kidding when you say EXTREMELY light for a large full suspension MTB.....Impressive!! It gets VERY expesive to get the weight down that low. Your riding area looks beautiful to enjoy that lightweight rocket.
 
I am loving this bike more and more. I have cut more weight off it, it's down to 23 pounds with cages and pedals. I am thinking about selling the ENVEs and getting some Berd wheels and going from the 2.4 Aspens back to the 2.25 Aspens and that should get it down to 22.5 pounds which is EXTREMELY light for a full suspension large frame 29er!!

This was from today, getting in some road hill climbs after riding single track.
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Pics on scale or it didn't happen
 
I don't think you will have any problem with the AXS system, I've heard nothing but good things about it.
Wow you are going to have a super light bike.....taking off carbon hoops to replace with lighter carbon hoops and hubs!!!

My 2021 Yeti SB130 XL Lunch Ride comes in around 32 lbs!! Love the ride but the Fox X2 and DT Swiss EX 1700 wheels add some weight for sure. We also don't have much of a choice other than running the Maxxis DHF and DHR with the EXO casing on our trails and they are heavy as well.
I've completely destroyed lighter weight/CC tires in a very short time period on the rock and chunder we ride in so they are not an option, but that's OK by me.
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AXS is the shit. I have it on two bikes and I will never go back to cables.

Did you notice a big difference going from dpx2 to x2?
 
AXS is the shit. I have it on two bikes and I will never go back to cables.

Did you notice a big difference going from dpx2 to x2?
Yes the X2 is a much more robust shock and handles everything simply better. I have the 2021 version and if you like to tinker with settings this shock has plenty to offer. I found Fox's suggested settings gets it real close for most humans and with just a couple of tweeks this thing is money on the rock/chop and drops we encounter everywhere on our trails. I'm also 6'5" and around 220 geared up so in my opinion being a larger rider warrants a more robust shock and at 50 years young it helps me keep up with the kids. It gets abused and likes it!!
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NW Arkansas , Central Arkansas ( Mt Nebo State Park ) ....around Hot Springs have some really nice Mt Bike trails 👍
I‘m a Runner mostly , seems i have more than my share of crashes, plus i don’t fall as good anymore 👎 May be putting a “For Sale sign on my Wheel” soon. That’s what my 94 old aunt calls ALL bikes! This is my Niner ....with mace & my lil friend , a S&W Airlight in 22 cal. Works on all animals👍
May go for a ride ....only 92*f. 🍺
 

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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.

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Call that going nowhere ...fast 👍 Cool setup ...literally !
 
Must be nice to get to ride! It's just rained the last 2 months here....
It rained here this morning, so we are going to try again after I get off work. However, it may rain again. This week looks like rain every day which it great for keeping the temps down but sucks as all the trails get close around here and then we are stuck on country roads. Well that's actually not bad since we don't have to travel any where for that ;)
 
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.

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I need something like that. I have a stationary bike, but the resistance on it is either full stop or so light that you could spin your wheel all day and not get any benefit from it.
 
I need something like that. I have a stationary bike, but the resistance on it is either full stop or so light that you could spin your wheel all day and not get any benefit from it.
I do have a Stages SB20 stationary that I use with Zwift, but being inside on it only gets me so far. We do have some drying weather ahead and a trip to Colorado coming up soon.
 
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I do have a Stages SB20 stationary that I use with Zwift, but being inside on it only gets me so far. We do have some drying weather ahead and a trip to Colorado coming up soon.
I would love to have some of your rain!!
We are in a drought big time here out west. Where in Colorado you going to be? If you get out to western Colorado let me know, maybe we can hit a ride or two.
 
I do all of my training on rollers, mine have resistance built in so I can easily get up to 650-700 watts on them. After years of using a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (which are great) I have been on Quick Motion rollers the last 3-4 years and cant imagine doing all of my indoor training on anything else. I am sure I could dig a bit deeper on some like a Kicker in ERG mode where I don’t have to think about anything but pushing, but I think the cognitive engagement of staying on the rollers during training is important for me with the type of endurance racing I am training for.
 
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We would love to have some of your rain!!
We are in a drought big time here out west. Where in Colorado you going to be? If you get out to western Colorado let me know, maybe we can hit a ride or two.
Were gonna go to Colorado Springs and the Cheyenne mountain state park. I really wanted to make a trip further west this summer, just couldn't get all the pieces together.
 
NW Arkansas , Central Arkansas ( Mt Nebo State Park ) ....around Hot Springs have some really nice Mt Bike trails 👍
I‘m a Runner mostly , seems i have more than my share of crashes, plus i don’t fall as good anymore 👎 May be putting a “For Sale sign on my Wheel” soon. That’s what my 94 old aunt calls ALL bikes! This is my Niner ....with mace & my lil friend , a S&W Airlight in 22 cal. Works on all animals👍
May go for a ride ....only 92*f. 🍺
We have been trying to make a trip to NW AR every time something has come up. And I'm only like 6 hrs ...
 
Out for a ride this morning with my son and I feel a pain in my left knee. It was going up a tiny hill and not even pushing it. Now when I bend my knee it sound like shatter glass. No swelling as of right now, but damn I'm getting old and I don't like it.
 
Ahhh yes, getting old.

I came to this Forum for guns but ran across this thread.
Pretty cool reading through the posts.
New and vet riders. Getting kids started.
All the sweet equipment... Awesome!!

I used to know how to ride a bike; wouldn't be safe trying to ride across the lawn now.
Reading the posts made me go dig through all my old crap. That was a mistake as it just made me think "I can remember when"
Found a bunch of old parts and photos.

I found some cool photos of the 1st RB Rampage; even found my number plate from the event. This year will be 20 years since that thing kicked off. WTF

My first bike race was in 1981. What a hoot.
Judy Butter, straddle cable, link wires, Tuff Mags, Steel is Real, World Class Ti BB.... Lol

My first 3speed was yellow and blue to match my Moon Boots.. oh yes.

My 20" weighed 24 lbs... Now duce niners with 413" of travel weigh under 20 lbs. I had to drill out so much crap to get my hard tail near 20 lbs. Straight death trap.
Pretty cool.
Ride on Brothers.
 
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Ahhh yes, getting old.

I came to this Forum for guns but ran across this thread.
Pretty cool reading through the posts.
New and vet riders. Getting kids started.
All the sweet equipment... Awesome!!

I used to know how to ride a bike; wouldn't be safe trying to ride across the lawn now.
Reading the posts made me go dig through all my old crap. That was a mistake as it just made me think "I can remember when"
Found a bunch of old parts and photos.

I found some cool photos of the 1st RB Rampage; even found my number plate from the event. This year will be 20 years since that thing kicked off. WTF

My first bike race was in 1981. What a hoot.
Judy Butter, straddle cable, link wires, Tuff Mags, Steel is Real, World Class Ti BB.... Lol

My first 3speed was yellow and blue to match my Moon Boots.. oh yes.

My 20" weighed 24 lbs... Now duce niners with 413" of travel weigh under 20 lbs. I had to drill out so much crap to get my hard tail near 20 lbs. Straight death trap.
Pretty cool.
Ride on Brothers.
My lightest bike I ever had was a Giant with a steal frame. I did everything to get that thing light. I even took my RockShox Judy and had it air only. I got the bike under 20 lbs. The problem was it wasn't reliable enough for racing or that was my excuse to get a new bike.
 
My lightest bike I ever had was a Giant with a steal frame. I did everything to get that thing light. I even took my RockShox Judy and had it air only. I got the bike under 20 lbs. The problem was it wasn't reliable enough for racing or that was my excuse to get a new bike.
That must have been about a '97..?? Who made the cartridges for the Judy.. I'm thinking it was White Brothers..
My lightest was also a Giant but it was the MCM Team Carbon frame with a SID Race. Shock was 2.6lbs w/ full steerer and the frame was 2.64 size 17"
Rest of the parts were hodged together.
Think that was the year the CT2 Carbon seat post came out. It lasted about 15 minutes before the seat clamp mounting hardware exploded. If I remember it was 185 grams. Lol
Speed play pedals titanium shaft of course. 1 burrito away from exceeding their weight limit.
All good fun!!
 
That must have been about a '97..?? Who made the cartridges for the Judy.. I'm thinking it was White Brothers..
My lightest was also a Giant but it was the MCM Team Carbon frame with a SID Race. Shock was 2.6lbs w/ full steerer and the frame was 2.64 size 17"
Rest of the parts were hodged together.
Think that was the year the CT2 Carbon seat post came out. It lasted about 15 minutes before the seat clamp mounting hardware exploded. If I remember it was 185 grams. Lol
Speed play pedals titanium shaft of course. 1 burrito away from exceeding their weight limit.
All good fun!!
I was bummed to see that the Speed Play frog pedals were discontinued. I have two sets and extra cleats for them, so I'll continue to use them. I never got the ti shafts because I was lifting at the time and was a heavier rider at 220 lbs. Yeah the bike was a 97. Can't remember who made the cartridges for the shock.
 
MTB shoes (clipless) what do you use? I am looking for something different than what I have, which is Gyro Ranger black.
Here are a few of my favorite:


 
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Those Lake shoes look interesting. I mostly ride in my 5/10 hellcats or free rides. I don't like them if you have to scramble off the bike or your hike a bike. There used to be some Sidi's I really liked but they changed them and the new ones I just can't get comfortable on long days.
 
Sidi Dominator series. Buy once, cry once.
I wish I could get the Sidi shoes to fit me, they just don’t. Honestly I really struggle with cycling shoe fit, especially considering a short ride is 2 hours and a long ride for me is 24 hours non stop (but I suppose nothing will be comfortable after that duration)…
 
About ten years ago I got waived through by two ladies on horseback stopped at the bottom of a trail.
It was a riding lesson in session.
As I rolled past them, with my Chris King rear hub whirring, I got kicked.
Wound up on my ass, bike in the air, still clipped in.
 
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