Any mountain bikers out there 2.0

[Cowpokey]

Yeahi know... I'll ride around the neighborhood. Road bike on 70mph roads is a death wish around here. Tons of gravel north of me that I'll be back to hitting soon.

I want to get a gravel bike. I don't know how much gravel there is local, but there are quite a few "rails to trails" paths in MD and PA from what I understand...and a lot of those are gravel. Sure, I could use my MTB, but I don't want to pedal a full squishy on those, and my roadie is a "race" bike...it will only fit 32~34mm tires?

 

[missed]

My gravel bike is a hard tail trail bike. I didn't want to buy a full gravel bike as I have always hated the geometry of road bikes and there are only a few gravel bikes that are slacked out some and forgiving to ride. I'm not a serious gravel rider so the hard tail trail bike with gravel tires and a taller gear set does the job.

 

[jbell]

My gravel bike is a hard tail trail bike. I didn't want to buy a full gravel bike as I have always hated the geometry of road bikes and there are only a few gravel bikes that are slacked out some and forgiving to ride. I'm not a serious gravel rider so the hard tail trail bike with gravel tires and a taller gear set does the job.

Chamois Hagar

The Chamois Hagar defies classification and exudes stoke, taking what we knew gravel to be, and redefining it. 700 x 50c tire clearance, 430mm chainstays, a 66.67-degree headtube angle, 80mm of BB drop, real reach and wheelbase measurements, and a mind-numbing array of customizable...

www.evil-bikes.com

 

[missed]

Chamois Hagar

The Chamois Hagar defies classification and exudes stoke, taking what we knew gravel to be, and redefining it. 700 x 50c tire clearance, 430mm chainstays, a 66.67-degree headtube angle, 80mm of BB drop, real reach and wheelbase measurements, and a mind-numbing array of customizable...

www.evil-bikes.com

I rode the evil right when they came out and really liked it. There was one other one that I can't remember the name of, and either one of them would have been great, I just couldn't make myself spend that much on it. The pedal head with gravel tires on it will have to do for now. I have thought about getting some gravel bars for it, one of the last gravel rides some of the other guys were getting worn out in the washed out parts in the road and the 120mm fork on mine was soaking it all up. The last time I looked at them I thought they were over $8k. Looks like they are $3500-7500 now, I may pick one up once I have a good idea where the house is going to wind up.

 

[Cowpokey]

 

[jbell]

View attachment 8423156

That's a bad ass picture of Matt Hunter!

*The top one that is...

I hope your healing up well.

 

[Cowpokey]

We decided to take the original bandage off, clean up my shoulder and put a new one on this evening. It looks pretty good.

 

[jbell]

That’s a nice one for sure

 

[charbroiled]

We decided to take the original bandage off, clean up my shoulder and put a new one on this evening. It looks pretty good.View attachment 8423252

View attachment 8423253

Healing up nicely! dahmhik...

 

[Shooter McGavin]

That's what a road bike is for. My MTB only buddies give me crap about wearing spandex and skinny tires, but they are always sucking wind when we're climbing hills.

Of course I'll be sucking wind, when I can finally get back on a bike...crashing is over rated; zero stars; do not recommend.

Living where I do, I don't want to road bike and die. It's gravel roads around me and if the dogs don't get you, everyone has LGD around here, the pick up trucks will. The worst is all the new people in there expensive SUVs always on their phones and not paying attention, mostly women. You know these new SUVs have hands free and TX has laws, but that doesn't apply to them. Oh and before I forget there's a lot of drinking and driving on the back roads, so much so when you buy a large beer at the gas station in town they give it to you a brown paper bag the same size as the beer. Some people don't even wait to get out of the parking lot before they indulge.

I won't even run out there.

 

[HPIguy]

Living where I do, I don't want to road bike and die. It's gravel roads around me and if the dogs don't get you, everyone has LGD around here, the pick up trucks will. The worst is all the new people in there expensive SUVs always on their phones and not paying attention, mostly women. You know these new SUVs have hands free and TX has laws, but that doesn't apply to them. Oh and before I forget there's a lot of drinking and driving on the back roads, so much so when you buy a large beer at the gas station in town they give it to you a brown paper bag the same size as the beer. Some people don't even wait to get out of the parking lot before they indulge.

I won't even run out there.

Sounds a lot like here. I truly loved road biking. But there's no way in hell I'm getting on the road now.

 

[jbell]

I hope the gravel roads are bike friendly where I'm moving. I am looking forward to some long days out on them exploring my new home.

I took the MTB out last weekend and did the Battenkill Grand Fondo. I didn't push too much, just a decent pace. I road it with a good friend who hasn't been able to train much this year due to work. So I told him I would ride the MTB and he could try and hang on his road bike.

I ran my Epic Evo with 2.35 Fast Track tires at 18 & 20 psi and the suspension set up normally. I did lock out the shock and fork occasionally on the steep climbs but other than that I wanted to see what it could do.

I definitely could have cut quite a bit of time if I was giving it, but I executed my nutrition plan (110-120 grams of carbs per hour) and felt great the whole ride. Here's the specs of the ride:

And here is the bike, I got serval comments riding it at a road Grand Fondo...

 

[missed]

I hope the gravel roads are bike friendly where I'm moving. I am looking forward to some long days out on them exploring my new home.

I took the MTB out last weekend and did the Battenkill Grand Fondo. I didn't push too much, just a decent pace. I road it with a good friend who hasn't been able to train much this year due to work. So I told him I would ride the MTB and he could try and hang on his road bike.

I ran my Epic Evo with 2.35 Fast Track tires at 18 & 20 psi and the suspension set up normally. I did lock out the shock and fork occasionally on the steep climbs but other than that I wanted to see what it could do.

I definitely could have cut quite a bit of time if I was giving it, but I executed my nutrition plan (110-120 grams of carbs per hour) and felt great the whole ride. Here's the specs of the ride:

View attachment 8423822


And here is the bike, I got serval comments riding it at a road Grand Fondo...
View attachment 8423824

Damn that is a reminder of how out of shape I am. Lol. I rode my enduro bike on a 30 mile gravel ride last year, it was pretty entertaining, I was about 90% of the group pace on it.

 

[HPIguy]

I hope the gravel roads are bike friendly where I'm moving. I am looking forward to some long days out on them exploring my new home.

I took the MTB out last weekend and did the Battenkill Grand Fondo. I didn't push too much, just a decent pace. I road it with a good friend who hasn't been able to train much this year due to work. So I told him I would ride the MTB and he could try and hang on his road bike.

I ran my Epic Evo with 2.35 Fast Track tires at 18 & 20 psi and the suspension set up normally. I did lock out the shock and fork occasionally on the steep climbs but other than that I wanted to see what it could do.

I definitely could have cut quite a bit of time if I was giving it, but I executed my nutrition plan (110-120 grams of carbs per hour) and felt great the whole ride. Here's the specs of the ride:

View attachment 8423822


And here is the bike, I got serval comments riding it at a road Grand Fondo...
View attachment 8423824

Holy seatpost batman!!

I would have died, that's a LOT of climbing.

 

[steve123]

I can't even imagine doing 76 miles. Good job Jbell!

I'm a tuckered old guy right now. Just got back from 12 miles of single track in pretty rough terrain for my ability level, with steep drops off in various places right off the trail, tight corners on the switchbacks, and lots a big rocks. Pretty much 6800ft to 8800ft uphill then downhill. It took me 3 hours even.
Nice to have the EMTB for going up but downhill was way more fun.

 

[jbell]

Thank you, but that was actually a fairly short easy ride for me...

 

[Trophy Case]

Thank you, but that was actually a fairly short easy ride for me...

Outstanding!! 76 miles is beyond me on a MTB….maybe on my old Colnago road bike. You down play it, but holy cow that’s a huge ride in the gravel. The elevation gain is way beyond my ability, 2500 feet is about my max.
Nice ride jbell

 

[jbell]

I am pretty excited, I ordered a new Specialized Epic World Cup pro level build today. I am planning on changing out a few parts to cut the weight a bit. It should be a killer long distance rig. My goal this year is to have only 1 bike for everything: endurance mountain bike races, gravel races, training, fun rides ripping single track, and some of the ultra endurance events that I am hoping to get into soon (Vapor Trail 125, Arkansas Gravel Doom & Despair, then possibly the High Country Race, Colorado Trail Race).

I know this bike will not be as comfortable as my Epic Evo, but I expect it to be more efficient putting power down. I think I can handle the rougher ride because I spent so much time on a hard tail single speed racing 12-24 hour / 100 mile plus events, even set up as stiff as possible it will be much more comfortable than a hardtail.

Looking forward to new bike day soon…

 

[Trophy Case]

I am pretty excited, I ordered a new Specialized Epic World Cup pro level build today. I am planning on changing out a few parts to cut the weight a bit. It should be a killer long distance rig. My goal this year is to have only 1 bike for everything: endurance mountain bike races, gravel races, training, fun rides ripping single track, and some of the ultra endurance events that I am hoping to get into soon (Vapor Trail 125, Arkansas Gravel Doom & Despair, then possibly the High Country Race, Colorado Trail Race).

I know this bike will not be as comfortable as my Epic Evo, but I expect it to be more efficient putting power down. I think I can handle the rougher ride because I spent so much time on a hard tail single speed racing 12-24 hour / 100 mile plus events, even set up as stiff as possible it will be much more comfortable than a hardtail.

Looking forward to new bike day soon…

Woo hoo!! New bike day will be upon you soon! Post some photos when it arrives.
That bike looks incredible, what will be the target weight? S4 size?
I’ve demoed a bunch of bikes but never a specialized. We see them everywhere here, for good reason.
Outerbike Moab in October I’m looking forward to riding the Stumpjumper in a S6 size. On paper it looks perfect. I really think the 130mm rear 140 fork will be good….lighter weight as well from my Yeti.
I just looked up the Colorado trail race. 550 ish miles, 70,000 ft. Vertical gain is simply jaw dropping. Incredible goal for sure.

 

[Trophy Case]

My bad looks, like the Epic World Cup Pro is available in small, medium, large and XL.
Wonder why they move to “S” sizing for the more trail oriented bikes?

 

[jbell]

Woo hoo!! New bike day will be upon you soon! Post some photos when it arrives.
That bike looks incredible, what will be the target weight? S4 size?
I’ve demoed a bunch of bikes but never a specialized. We see them everywhere here, for good reason.
Outerbike Moab in October I’m looking forward to riding the Stumpjumper in a S6 size. On paper it looks perfect. I really think the 130mm rear 140 fork will be good….lighter weight as well from my Yeti.
I just looked up the Colorado trail race. 550 ish miles, 70,000 ft. Vertical gain is simply jaw dropping. Incredible goal for sure.

I hesitate to try and predetermine a weight, the frame and shock weighs more than my current Epic Evo by a few grams & that brain damper adds 200g to the fork. Plus transmission is quite a bit heavier than AXS or mechanical XO1 Eagle. That said the bike is supposed to be sub 23 pounds without pedals, my Epic Evo is 23.6 with XTR pedals, tools in the SWAT box, 2 cages, Garmin and mount (everything less bottles). I can cut about 200 grams with my wheels, another 100 or so with my bar / stem / post / saddle. If I can find a 104 BCD chainring for my Quarq XX1 power meter cranks that works with the 55 mm chain line of transmission I can cut about 200 more grams out of the bike and keep the XO transmission. If not luckily there is a port in the headset (yes this has headset cable routing) & chain stay for a shifter housing, so I can go full XO1 Eagle mechanical which will cut another 150 grams in addition to the crankset. So on paper I possibly could be in the 21.5-21.6 pound range ready to ride. I may go full weight weeny and replace the brain damper in the fork with a Charger Race Day 2 damper and cut another 200ish grams out of the bike.

I know it’s crazy to go from a similar weight but much more capable bike in my Epic Evo to this World Cup, but it’s not really about the weight for me with this build it’s more about better power transfer and hopefully a faster climbing bike. I love to climb, and really love to climb fast! We shall see.

I have never been a brand loyalist but I do think Specialized builds one of the best bikes on the planet for everything from TT to road to gravel to light XC to even enduro & DH. However as a company they have done some shitty stuff, but I want the best bike so…

 

[Trophy Case]

Truly amazing technology on that bike, it will be interesting to hear how it compairs to the Epic Evo. Shaving around 200 grams from a damper seems very significant as well as the 350g or more from the XO1 mechanical conversion and xx1 cranks. I have personally not ridden the new transmission set up, but I hear it's worth the hype. I currently run all mechanical X01 and have no problems, just have to be mindful when shifting and putting power down. I guess I struggle with the whole battery charging thing.....one less thing to go wrong when running mechanical.
Kinda like fuel injection vs carburetor I guess.....whatever gives you peace of mind at the end of the day.
Good luck with the build!!

 

[steve123]

My friend just got a almost new custom 2022 Specialized Turbo Kenevo EMTB with 20 miles on it. Has 180mm travel front and back. Said friend couldn't get this model bike out of head, he had to have one so we looked and looked and I found this on Pinkbike classifieds. A neurologist in Bend OR had won it in a raffle and he's a road biker so.... here it is.

We're going riding next week?! Glad I'm not riding alone all the time anymore.

 

[Rerun7]

If you didn’t see it, we had tornados and severe weather over the weekend and it completely destroyed Bikefest. Sad time for many in the area and all those vendors lost tons of things that were at the event grounds.

Most trails are closed here now due to downed trees and debris. This is a pic looking across my fence to the neighbors behind us.

Looks like a war zone in my area.

 

[missed]

If you didn’t see it, we had tornados and severe weather over the weekend and it completely destroyed Bikefest. Sad time for many in the area and all those vendors lost tons of things that were at the event grounds.

Most trails are closed here now due to downed trees and debris. This is a pic looking across my fence to the neighbors behind us. View attachment 8426686

Looks like a war zone in my area.

I was going to send you a message this morning to see how y'all fared. Some buddies were there and said it was pretty bad. All those storms started over by us and kept rolling east.

 

[Rerun7]

Yeah, it’s bad. Never seen so much damage from straight line winds. I saw an update from the power company that they had identified over 270 broken power poles here.

 

[jbell]

If you didn’t see it, we had tornados and severe weather over the weekend and it completely destroyed Bikefest. Sad time for many in the area and all those vendors lost tons of things that were at the event grounds.

Most trails are closed here now due to downed trees and debris. This is a pic looking across my fence to the neighbors behind us. View attachment 8426686

Looks like a war zone in my area.

Damn! I heard Bentonville got some weather but I didn’t know it was that bad. I truly hope you and yours made it through safely with minimal damage. I am looking forward to a few of us meeting up for a ride soon.

 

[jbell]

I spoke to my builder this morning and he lost a storage building with material in it. As far as I can tell Jasper made it ok. He hasn't been to my house yet, hopefully it's still there

 

[missed]

Hope it's all ok! We haven't been able to even get started. I'll be back out there in two weeks to do the pad prep.

I spoke to my builder this morning and he lost a storage building with material in it. As far as I can tell Jasper made it ok. He hasn't been to my house yet, hopefully it's still there

 

[jbell]

Hope it's all ok! We haven't been able to even get started. I'll be back out there in two weeks to do the pad prep.

From all my research my area was in the clear.

 

[Trophy Case]

On my typical 1-2 hour rides during the week I’ve been getting a side “stitch” or cramp about 3/4 of the way through my ride. Typically I’ve run my heart rate up pretty high several times on technical steep sections of trail then spin and rest/recover on the easier flat sections and rarely stop to catch a breather.
Anyone else get this dreaded side cramp right at the base of the rib cage while riding? Any thoughts on prevention?
I’m getting old and slow, but this isn’t helping.
Also, do you run any additives or supplements in your water bottle/water pack on your ride…..what has worked for you?

 

[jbell]

The side stitch usually is associated with higher exertion than you are conditioned for, I have occasionally experienced it when running hard W/O training into it. So consider that aspect of it. If you are wearing a chest strap HR monitor pay attention to your heart rate when you feel the stitch, but be mindful that HR is a delayed metric. Meaning it responds slow, normally a few seconds after the highest level of exertion you will hit your peek HR. The other thing that comes to mind is bike fit, has anything changed about your bike recently?

On the nutrition question the simplest answer is somewhere In the range of 70-120 grams of carbs per hour with 900-1200 mg of sodium. This varies a bit based on body size, sweat rate, levels of exertion, and duration of exercise. But in general for the average man doing over an hour of medium to high intensity (even lower “endurance” work) the starting point should be 80-110 grams of carbs, 1000mg of sodium, in about 24oz of water per hour. That should be a very good starting point for you to maintain energy during the activity, replenish electrolytes, and have the right osmolality for good absorption / preventing GI distress. I can go WAY deeper in the nutrition conversation if you are interested, either shoot me a PM or if others are interested I’ll post it here. I just want to bore people with it.

 

[Trophy Case]

The side stitch usually is associated with higher exertion than you are conditioned for, I have occasionally experienced it when running hard W/O training into it. So consider that aspect of it. If you are wearing a chest strap HR monitor pay attention to your heart rate when you feel the stitch, but be mindful that HR is a delayed metric. Meaning it responds slow, normally a few seconds after the highest level of exertion you will hit your peek HR. The other thing that comes to mind is bike fit, has anything changed about your bike recently?

On the nutrition question the simplest answer is somewhere In the range of 70-120 grams of carbs per hour with 900-1200 mg of sodium. This varies a bit based on body size, sweat rate, levels of exertion, and duration of exercise. But in general for the average man doing over an hour of medium to high intensity (even lower “endurance” work) the starting point should be 80-110 grams of carbs, 1000mg of sodium, in about 24oz of water per hour. That should be a very good starting point for you to maintain energy during the activity, replenish electrolytes, and have the right osmolality for good absorption / preventing GI distress. I can go WAY deeper in the nutrition conversation if you are interested, either shoot me a PM or if others are interested I’ll post it here. I just want to bore people with it.

After picking around on the web there seems to be no definitive answer to the side stitch issue other than what you have mentioned here. I don't ride with a heart rate monitor, but maybe I'll invest in one just to see what's going on during my rides. Sounds like I'm riding just out side of my conditioning level and it bites me in the ass when I don't slow down, and take a break for a minute to recover. I don't race or train for events, I just love to ride and enjoy the scenery as we have some of the finest trails anywhere.
Thanks for the quick info on the nutrition side as well. I tend to ride after an 8-10 hour work day on my way home and sometimes the ride is great and I feel strong, but other times my legs feel like cement and struggle to finish with a decent attitude. Hopefully paying more attention to hydration and nutritional needs will help.

As far as bike fit, nothing has changed. I probably just need a new bike, I'm sure that would solve most of my issues
What a great time to be a Mountain Biker!!
Thanks Jbell

 

[jbell]

After picking around on the web there seems to be no definitive answer to the side stitch issue other than what you have mentioned here. I don't ride with a heart rate monitor, but maybe I'll invest in one just to see what's going on during my rides. Sounds like I'm riding just out side of my conditioning level and it bites me in the ass when I don't slow down, and take a break for a minute to recover. I don't race or train for events, I just love to ride and enjoy the scenery as we have some of the finest trails anywhere.
Thanks for the quick info on the nutrition side as well. I tend to ride after an 8-10 hour work day on my way home and sometimes the ride is great and I feel strong, but other times my legs feel like cement and struggle to finish with a decent attitude. Hopefully paying more attention to hydration and nutritional needs will help.

As far as bike fit, nothing has changed. I probably just need a new bike, I'm sure that would solve most of my issues
What a great time to be a Mountain Biker!!
Thanks Jbell

Very cool, I love riding / training / nutrition strategies. I'll put a bit more info later today after work.

 

[HPIguy]

The side stitch usually is associated with higher exertion than you are conditioned for, I have occasionally experienced it when running hard W/O training into it. So consider that aspect of it. If you are wearing a chest strap HR monitor pay attention to your heart rate when you feel the stitch, but be mindful that HR is a delayed metric. Meaning it responds slow, normally a few seconds after the highest level of exertion you will hit your peek HR. The other thing that comes to mind is bike fit, has anything changed about your bike recently?

On the nutrition question the simplest answer is somewhere In the range of 70-120 grams of carbs per hour with 900-1200 mg of sodium. This varies a bit based on body size, sweat rate, levels of exertion, and duration of exercise. But in general for the average man doing over an hour of medium to high intensity (even lower “endurance” work) the starting point should be 80-110 grams of carbs, 1000mg of sodium, in about 24oz of water per hour. That should be a very good starting point for you to maintain energy during the activity, replenish electrolytes, and have the right osmolality for good absorption / preventing GI distress. I can go WAY deeper in the nutrition conversation if you are interested, either shoot me a PM or if others are interested I’ll post it here. I just want to bore people with it.

Man, that seems like a lot to me, but I don't doubt that you're right. Then again, I'm not big on eating while I ride, especially if it's hot out. I usually have an LMNT pre-ride, which is 1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, and 60mg magnesium. During the ride, I'll just eat sugary stuff like sour patch kids etc. That's for easy flow trail rides of 2hrs or so.

Longer/harder rides I'll mix another LMNT and put that in my bottle cage, and possibly take a PBJ or the like and take a longer break to get some actual food in me. Should I be packing more real food for long rides? Like a balogna sandwich and some chips or something?

 

[MTB doc]

1 more week and back up to Whistler for MTB. Can't fucking wait!!

 

[jbell]

First ride on dirt with the new Epic World Cup. It was a downpour for the first 30 minutes so the trails were either underwater or greasy as can be. I was not able to open it up to test the suspension at speed but with somewhat limited speeds the bike feels great! It is noticably more efficient than any other full suspension bike I have ridden. It accelerates and climbs like or better than a hardtail. Like a HT because the suspension is sitting at no sag and does not compress with pedaling forces and better because the suspension does absorb most all bumps and chatter. I was concerned the rear would be so inactive that it would lose traction or bounce me off a line. But it doesn't at all. I had planned on changing the brain damper out for a non-brain damper to save a few hundred grams and because in years past I didn't like the brain damper, however this fork rides excellent with the brain on or off & how the brain allows the fork to not compress under my body weight (especially when I move around the bike) it matches the rear suspension perfectly.

The bike came out a bit heavy at 23.4 pounds ready to ride (pedals, SWAT box and my trail tool kit, Garmin & Mount), but I think I can live with that with how well it rides. I have 70-75 miles on the road on it as well and it rides better than any MTB (full suspension or HT) that I have ridden. I can't wait to get more time in the woods with better conditions and try it on gravel.

If anyone is interested in a top level build large Epic Evo let me know, I think this World Cup is going to stick around a little while.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

For anyone interested in a YT sale

Mid Season Sale

us.yt-industries.com

 

[Shooter McGavin]

20% off bike tools

https://thundermountainbikes.com/collections/tools?mc_cid=47da6fc724&mc_eid=3238a2923d

 

[Trophy Case]

First ride on dirt with the new Epic World Cup. It was a downpour for the first 30 minutes so the trails were either underwater or greasy as can be. I was not able to open it up to test the suspension at speed but with somewhat limited speeds the bike feels great! It is noticably more efficient than any other full suspension bike I have ridden. It accelerates and climbs like or better than a hardtail. Like a HT because the suspension is sitting at no sag and does not compress with pedaling forces and better because the suspension does absorb most all bumps and chatter. I was concerned the rear would be so inactive that it would lose traction or bounce me off a line. But it doesn't at all. I had planned on changing the brain damper out for a non-brain damper to save a few hundred grams and because in years past I didn't like the brain damper, however this fork rides excellent with the brain on or off & how the brain allows the fork to not compress under my body weight (especially when I move around the bike) it matches the rear suspension perfectly.

The bike came out a bit heavy at 23.4 pounds ready to ride (pedals, SWAT box and my trail tool kit, Garmin & Mount), but I think I can live with that with how well it rides. I have 70-75 miles on the road on it as well and it rides better than any MTB (full suspension or HT) that I have ridden. I can't wait to get more time in the woods with better conditions and try it on gravel.

View attachment 8437844


If anyone is interested in a top level build large Epic Evo let me know, I think this World Cup is going to stick around a little while.

That bike is absolutely incredible!! Sounds like it didn’t take long to make the change from your old whip.
I had to laugh at the weight 23.4 lbs. WOW! I think I’ve got about 9 pounds on you.
I have read that specialized is launching a new stumpjumper soon. Like to give that one a try….I’m starting to lean towards the 140/120mm trail bike and lose a bit of weight.

 

[Trophy Case]

Time has come to move my rides to the morning as temperatures are approaching 100 in the afternoon.
My wife usually hikes with the brown dog but she has been out of town for a few days so we went out on a short ride at sunrise. Had a great time even though it was slow….he’s a good boy!!

 

[jbell]

Time has come to move my rides to the morning as temperatures are approaching 100 in the afternoon.
My wife usually hikes with the brown dog but she has been out of town for a few days so we went out on a short ride at sunrise. Had a great time even though it was slow….he’s a good boy!!View attachment 8438493View attachment 8438494

“Such a good boy” (in the voice of Wayne). I love early morning rides! What bikes are you looking at other than the Stumpy?

 

[ECK]

One of my favorite trails to ride in central UT. San Rafael Reef, Good Water Canyon rim trail.

 

[mikeshaw2]

I want to get a gravel bike. I don't know how much gravel there is local, but there are quite a few "rails to trails" paths in MD and PA from what I understand...and a lot of those are gravel. Sure, I could use my MTB, but I don't want to pedal a full squishy on those, and my roadie is a "race" bike...it will only fit 32~34mm tires?

I used to ride gravel on 23c road bikes, so 32-34mm wide tires will be fine depending on the time of year. At least here on the other side of the Potomac, they go thru and regrade and regravel in the spring which makes riding anything but hardtails toiugh

Later in the summer (now onwards) your 'road' bike will be fine for the C&O type trails and the smoothed out dirt roads you're likely to encounter.

40c tires and up are nicer, don't get me wrong, but 32-34c tubeless are ok to go exploring on. Go ask your LBS about gravel. They probably have a good idea of where to ride.

M

 

[mikeshaw2]

After picking around on the web there seems to be no definitive answer to the side stitch issue other than what you have mentioned here. I don't ride with a heart rate monitor, but maybe I'll invest in one just to see what's going on during my rides. Sounds like I'm riding just out side of my conditioning level and it bites me in the ass when I don't slow down, and take a break for a minute to recover. I don't race or train for events, I just love to ride and enjoy the scenery as we have some of the finest trails anywhere.
Thanks for the quick info on the nutrition side as well. I tend to ride after an 8-10 hour work day on my way home and sometimes the ride is great and I feel strong, but other times my legs feel like cement and struggle to finish with a decent attitude. Hopefully paying more attention to hydration and nutritional needs will help.

As far as bike fit, nothing has changed. I probably just need a new bike, I'm sure that would solve most of my issues
What a great time to be a Mountain Biker!!
Thanks Jbell

do yourself a favor and get something like a Fenix or whatever the tactical watch that has AB on it, or 9XX/7XX series Garmin. They do so much more than HR for not tons of money.

M

 

[mikeshaw2]

Sounds a lot like here. I truly loved road biking. But there's no way in hell I'm getting on the road now.

Having seen the suburban sprawl and folks from inside the Beltway moving 'into the country' the country isn't the country any more. ...But I've been riding these roads for darn near 40 years now and am NOT going to be bullied off them.

I have changed the routes I ride and depending on the time of day, the direction I ride them, but eff em they can wait.

I started riding my bicycles like I ride my motos: assertively. If it isn't safe to pass, I can be found darn near on the DY till it IS safe to pass. Kept a dump truck from passing at the crest of a hill (as I car came over the hill) just yesterday. Since no one else is concerned that I get home safely, it's up to me to make sure I'M safe. I get fewer unsafe passes riding like I do.

TL/DR: ride like you own the road because you do. Eff the cagers. They can wait the 30sec it takes for it to be safe

M

 

[vwhugger]

35 years ago.

 

[jbell]

Not much time to ride lately, but I am starting to figure this bike out. It's a very different ride than anything I have been on before.

 

[steve123]

1 more week and back up to Whistler for MTB. Can't fucking wait!!

How'd it go?

 

[ECK]

Not much time to ride lately, but I am starting to figure this bike out. It's a very different ride than anything I have been on before.
View attachment 8439966

My other bike is a hardtail and I ride that every now and then. Agreed, it handles differently but not in a bad way. Very light and flickable compared to my eMTB. I spend a couple months van-lifing in the AZ desert each winter and usually the hard tail is the one I bring because it’s light and no need to charge.