I drive a box truck to business's and pick up documents to be stored or shredded, sometimes a couple hundred boxes at a time, sometimes a file at a store or bank. Probably doable, we have lockers but no showers, will check it out sometime, my buick is pissing me off lol.
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any mountain bikers out there
- Thread starter jbell
- Start date
[MENTION=41524]Geranimo[/MENTION]...not sure of you are ring road bike or MTB bike and also not sure of your experience. 15 miles is a pretty serious commute. Probably going to take you close to or over 1-hour. I think bikes as transportation are fantastic, but realistically, 15 miles may be a bit too much. You might just try it someday, that is the only way to know.
Well I raced in an annual 12 hour here in Maine yesterday. It was a blast usual. I race in the solo single speed class. The course is a loop of 7 miles with most all tight single track. This year there was some VERY good riders in my class! I had a strong start with 3 solid laps in the low to mid 50 min range. After the 3rd lap I stopped to get more fluids and chow on board and lap 4-5 I was dealing with my quads cramping hard (typical for me from time to time). After the cramps were gone it was just a mind game to keep pushing. The course was in good conditions for all the rain we have had this late summer and the rain that was falling up to an hour before the start. There were several water crossings and many wooden bridges varying in width from a few inches to 2 feet. The trails in this area are typical East coast and more specifically New England trails: rooty and rocky! As the race wore on the roots got slicker and slicker as did the bridges. A few of the bridges were ascending and became tricky to power up especially with only 1 gear option. As far as the roots, damn they just were slick! After 4 or 5 hours they were all peeled of the bark and were pretty tricky. I started having a hard time carrying speed through some of the off cambers due to the roots. I slid into 10 trees if I slid into 1 due to the roots. Most of the time I was able to just side swipe them but 2 times I ran straight into them (I wish I could have watched because it would have been funny as hell). The dew fell early, about 45 min before dark and made things a bit worse but at that point it was about as bad as it can get. I was following a guy down a big vertical rock face (about a 8 foot drop) when he landed wrong and went ass over and landed on his face. It was bad, I almost ran him over as I was committed when he went down. I stopped and stayed with him for a few mins. He thought he had broken his neck, but after a bit of checking him out I determined he was not really F***ed up. I was only a mile or so from the start finish line so I road on and found his team and told them.
All in all it was a good time I came out with 10 laps in 11h 32m and prob could of had time to squeak out a 11th if it were not for the dude wrecking. But it put me just behind the last lap cut off. So seeing that I was not going to podium I found a good friend who was racing on a 4 man team and just cruised the last lap in the dark with him. I wish I had some action pics but I was there by myself and didn't spend much time off my bike. Here is a morning after shot of my bike:
The ends of my grips and my bar plugs are all beat to hell now from sliding into the trees
You can see where I ripped my bib off on one of the times I hit a tree. I had to bust out some field expedient repairs (duct tape):
All in all it was a good time I came out with 10 laps in 11h 32m and prob could of had time to squeak out a 11th if it were not for the dude wrecking. But it put me just behind the last lap cut off. So seeing that I was not going to podium I found a good friend who was racing on a 4 man team and just cruised the last lap in the dark with him. I wish I had some action pics but I was there by myself and didn't spend much time off my bike. Here is a morning after shot of my bike:
The ends of my grips and my bar plugs are all beat to hell now from sliding into the trees
You can see where I ripped my bib off on one of the times I hit a tree. I had to bust out some field expedient repairs (duct tape):
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No it is a brand new chain and is about 1/2" more slack than normal, just stretched out during the race. But I do run them pretty slack. I wish I could go to Vermont but my weekends are very busy. It was hard just to get off this one. I had to miss one of the 3 tough mudders I registered for this year because of scheduling. Are you riding or running? Let us know how it is. Have fun!
I know the weather is cutting into the riding (at least it is around here) so here is a cool video to motivate you to get back out there.
Rocky Mountain Bikes - A Good Year in the Mountains - YouTube
Rocky Mountain Bikes - A Good Year in the Mountains - YouTube
Airborne Goblin? looks nice, still looking for a hvy duty Hard tail MTB / 29er or 26 for basic riding and maybe someday back to trails and backwoods if my surg. holds. Jbell et al ?? any further recs.
Well it warmed up very nice today into the low to mid 30's with out any rain, so I decided to go for a quick ride. The trails were fast even with all the rain we have had in the last 2 weeks, all the water that would have made mud was frozen. There was a lot of streams that were backed up from the rains making the several water crossings deep, and cold... The trail system I was on today has a lot of bridges most over marshy areas and elevated up to 6-8 feet off the ground similar to this stream crossing. It was strange depending on the amount of sun they got some were nice and dry like in the summer, some were wet and slippery, some were covered in crusty snow that actually gave good traction, and there were a few that were all ICE! I didn't even try to ride the ones with ice but the others were great. I learned my lesson last year in early spring and hit the second bridge in a two bridge series at speed and ate it bad. The first bridge was clear and dry but the second one (10 yards down the trail) was covered in ice. This bridge has a series of turns in it and on the second turn my front tire went straight out from under me. I had some bad bruises and cuts and almost lost a finger in a split second. So needless to say I have been a bit cautious on these bridges during cold weather. Here is a picture from today to motivate you guys to get out and ride:
I really like this bike:
KONA BIKES | 2014 BIKES | TRAIL 29" HT | HONZO
If it were me I would buy just the frame and build it how you want it (single speed of course
) These guys are about 30 min from me and are great to deal with. Not a bad price for a frame:Bikeman Kona Honzo Frame Only, LG, Matte Gold, 2013
I am also partial to the Gunnar, American hand made frame that rides like it should cost 2X as much. I was riding one before I decided to go to Ti its the blue and white bike I was on last year there are some pics of it in this thread. I love my Cysco that I am on now but sometimes I find myself missing the Ruffian, there was just something about it:
Ruffian ? Your Single-Speed Spaceship
So trying to figure out what is Hvy duty or not ---- My Trek 4400 'special edition' kinda pops when I turn the bars 90 to the frame, like your standing flat footed at a stop sign chattin with someone. Drives me f'en batty. All it takes is a little force on the inner grip and something pops, nothing is loose though. Did it from new and not the first bike i have had do that. Any ideas?
It is a fit issue. Although no bolt is loose there is probably something that don't fit together well or there is foreign material in a joint. I would remove your bar, stem, and fork and clean all the mating surfaces and the bolts then reassemble with a little grease. Also check the headset at that time. I am having this problem with my seat post and saddle mount right now, I know what you mean about driving you nuts. I have disassembled and cleaned and reassembled with light grease, heavy grease, no grease, carbon assembly paste and nothing. I just replaced the saddle with out any change, I am just going to replace the seat post and hopefully it will be done. One of the reasons I ride a SS is because they are very quiet going through the woods, well mine sounds like a 1970's CJ on the original leafs coming through the woods...
Kinda what I figured, really wonder if theres a bearing or ?? grinding a grove inside.....either way gotta come apart. Thanks Jbell. PS - that Gold is ugly. pondering the Airborne Goblin, Trek X Cal 8, Specialized Crave 29, Felt 9-50, Niner EMD9-1star is too much but used??, Jamis Dakota D29 Comp.
I'd build, but haven't built a bike before and haven't found anyone who really knows bikes, and the LBShops are freaky so far.
I'd build, but haven't built a bike before and haven't found anyone who really knows bikes, and the LBShops are freaky so far.
Sounds like HS trouble to me. No way to know until you take it apart. Do you know if it is sealed bearing?
I do have to say that used is a great way to go. Look on MTBR.com, Pinkbike.com, and Ebay for used bikes you can get some great deals. Bikes are like a lot of things people will ride one for a season or two and then have to get the latest thing out. I have saved enough to buy an AIAX over the years buying used biked and components and have yet to be disappointed. The best part is it is already scratched so you don't mind beating the snot out of it from the get go.
As far as the bike any that you listed would be just fine, it is hard to go wrong these days. There is so much good stuff out there. Let us know what you come up with.
As far as the bike any that you listed would be just fine, it is hard to go wrong these days. There is so much good stuff out there. Let us know what you come up with.
For those that want to get to their stands faster or want to go green, check this out!
Cogburn Outdoors
Cogburn Outdoors
You guys with some of the newer bikes have much time with the 27.5 vs 29 inch bikes? Road riding getting crazy out here with all the bad drivers around so it's time to hit the dirt again and I'm looking to go to a new bike. Trying to decide if I want to go 27.5 or 29. I don't mind 26" but it seems all the bike makers are moving away from that. Finding parts alone is damn near impossible, especially wheel related.
I have never thrown a leg over a 27.5 so I honestly cant say. But it will really depend on what style of riding you are planning on (basically what type of trails), what general style of bike (hard tail geared, single speed, full suspension XC or a trail bike ect), and how tall you are. Then I may be able to throw a few ideas your way...
Just picked up a 2014 Scott gambler. I was on a session 8 last year. Had a chance to demo the 2013 gambler in the fall and made the step up. I still have some tweaks to the slack and saddle. Any of you guys have miles on the gamblers?
I'm going hardtail because most of my rides are fast with some rolling terrain and some occasional climbs (moderately steep to very steep) and a few downhills. I will most likely go with a 1x11 drivetrain. My primary concern will be size as I'm 5'6" and not quite certain how well I'll adapt to a 29er.
Mute, I agree that the 29" wheels would be tall for you. With the hardtail I would definitely go with the 27.5. I also am a big fan of a 1X drive trail either a 1X10 or 1X11 depending on your budget. So with that said what is your budget for this bike?
Had a Titus Titanium hard tail custom made with Spingery Spoke carbon fiber wheels and XTR gear and brakes using Gore Ride On cables when Cris still owned Titus. Been riding it since 1996 without a hiccup except for changing tires, tubes and brake pads. Use narrow semi slick front tires with knobby wide rears for Arizona sand washes and White Lightening wax lube to avoid picking up grit and grime. Total cost to build in 1996 was $5500, but have ridden it over 5000 miles in the rough unforgiving desert, so it was definitely worth it!
All the vigorous exercise has kept me feeling young now near 66 and riding with guys 1/2 my age.
My Ibis MojoHD.
The goal was a 6 inch bike under 30 pounds. It came out to be 29.2 pounds. This bike climbs great for a 6 incher and is a Caddy in the chop. Very pleased with it!!
The goal was a 6 inch bike under 30 pounds. It came out to be 29.2 pounds. This bike climbs great for a 6 incher and is a Caddy in the chop. Very pleased with it!!
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Well, let me put it this way. I'm considering a Pivot Les or a Yeti ARC with a Sram x01 drivetrain. However, I'm open to any additional input.
Well I would not be able to choose between those two bikes as they are both great! It would come down to a personal decision. I really like the X01 drivetrain and would be using it if I road gears. It looks like your budget is pretty good, but are you set on a carbon frame? I only ask because I know a lot of riders that go carbon then usually end up going back to a QUALITY steel tube set or titanium. If it were me I would look into a custom built frame in Ti. Here are a few of the reasons why:
1 - I have never been a fan of carbon frames, they just don't give the ride of a quality steel frame or a Ti frame. It feels like I just cant feel the trail on the carbon where a quality steel or Ti frame feels alive, just more fun.
2 - durability Even though the carbon frames of today are nothing like the carbon frames back "in the day" they are still not as durable as a steel or especially a Ti frame. However now there are some good shops offering quality repairs for carbon.
3 - A custom frame can be made to a standard size or custom fit to your needs and likes. So best of both worlds.
4 - I enjoy riding a custom built frame for the simple fact that I know the person or people who made it love what they do. Its a lot like shooting a custom firearm made to your specs. You can discuss ideas and needs with the builder before the build so you know what you are getting. I think it just adds to the experience, maybe that's just me being odd but what-ev...
5 - You can get frame with sliders so if you wanted you can convert it to a SINGLE SPEED!!!
As you can see I am a big fan of custom built bikes. It may not be your thing and that is cool, I just thought I would throw that out there for ya. You are in a great area for custom bike builders, there are several in the Bay area which is not down the road for ya but drivable.
I hope this has helped more than hurt you, but the most important thing is once you pick a bike out get out and enjoy it!!
1 - I have never been a fan of carbon frames, they just don't give the ride of a quality steel frame or a Ti frame. It feels like I just cant feel the trail on the carbon where a quality steel or Ti frame feels alive, just more fun.
2 - durability Even though the carbon frames of today are nothing like the carbon frames back "in the day" they are still not as durable as a steel or especially a Ti frame. However now there are some good shops offering quality repairs for carbon.
3 - A custom frame can be made to a standard size or custom fit to your needs and likes. So best of both worlds.
4 - I enjoy riding a custom built frame for the simple fact that I know the person or people who made it love what they do. Its a lot like shooting a custom firearm made to your specs. You can discuss ideas and needs with the builder before the build so you know what you are getting. I think it just adds to the experience, maybe that's just me being odd but what-ev...
5 - You can get frame with sliders so if you wanted you can convert it to a SINGLE SPEED!!!
As you can see I am a big fan of custom built bikes. It may not be your thing and that is cool, I just thought I would throw that out there for ya. You are in a great area for custom bike builders, there are several in the Bay area which is not down the road for ya but drivable.
I hope this has helped more than hurt you, but the most important thing is once you pick a bike out get out and enjoy it!!
How tall are you? Unless you can't swing your leg over a 29r, just say no to the 27.5 bikes. This is a post written by a good friend of mine:
I'm not dead yet! - Drunkcyclist.com
But I'm on the retail side of the industry and I am not impressed with any of the 27.5 bikes out there. Give it at least a year for them to fine tune things before buying. Look at 29rs, they where huge lumbering pieces of turd when they first came out. Someone just modified a bike to take a bigger tire and rubber stamped it into production.
1 - I have never been a fan of carbon frames, they just don't give the ride of a quality steel frame or a Ti frame. It feels like I just cant feel the trail on the carbon where a quality steel or Ti frame feels alive, just more fun.
2 - durability Even though the carbon frames of today are nothing like the carbon frames back "in the day" they are still not as durable as a steel or especially a Ti frame. However now there are some good shops offering quality repairs for carbon.
4 - I enjoy riding a custom built frame for the simple fact that I know the person or people who made it love what they do. Its a lot like shooting a custom firearm made to your specs. You can discuss ideas and needs with the builder before the build so you know what you are getting. I think it just adds to the experience, maybe that's just me being odd but what-ev...
5 - You can get frame with sliders so if you wanted you can convert it to a SINGLE SPEED!!!
I dunno, I have a custom Ti Litespeed and a custom steel Marinoni, but I prefer riding my carbon bikes for most of my riding. With that being said, the custom bikes I've always kept in the stable where as I rotate through all my other bikes every 2 years. My Marinoni is 10+ years old and my Litespeed is 6+ years old.
You could always go with a bike with a Pressfit or standard BB30 and use the EBB30.
Eccentric Shop « BEER Components
We are using these on a bunch of Cannondale Flash Carbon 29r and Cannondale SuperX Cyclocross bikes for our race team. Easy to set up, maintain and we stick with standardized parts with the rest of the bike.
It really is a personal opinion and this is a very good point of a different opinion.
Liyenhang, what is it about the carbon frames you like so much? I have only been on a few carbon bikes and just wasn't that impressed. It may have been I just didn't give them a good chance. I also don't ride with many people who like carbon frames and the ones who have usually give up on them to go back to what they left. I am interested to hear what you like about them. Maybe I am missing something...
Carbon definitely grows on you. The first time I road a carbon bike it was comfortable but it lacked acceleration and was slow on handling.
But within the last 5 years I've found that I can ride harder and faster on the new carbon bikes compared to my steel and ti bikes without feeling beat up for the next couple of days.
So if I know I'm going on a hard road ride with a group I'll opt for my carbon bike. But if I'm riding for the sake of riding no what fast and I know I have a few easy/rest days then I'm riding metal.
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But within the last 5 years I've found that I can ride harder and faster on the new carbon bikes compared to my steel and ti bikes without feeling beat up for the next couple of days.
So if I know I'm going on a hard road ride with a group I'll opt for my carbon bike. But if I'm riding for the sake of riding no what fast and I know I have a few easy/rest days then I'm riding metal.
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Just spent some time on Drunkcyclist.com, very cool site. Ill be spending some of these long cold winter months there. Thanks for the link!
Gotcha
I really think that is why I ride steel and Ti bikes, because I enjoy riding them. I am very competitive and can usually do well enough to not embarrass myself even when I do enter a race or two, but I do it because I love to ride nothing more. The last several years I have found that I love to ride a quality SS steel or Ti frame. I guess I am just biased.
Damn sucks about your back! Yes I do like the theme over there, seems to be right down my alley. I think Ill go over and read some more. What part of the country do you ride?
Well I would not be able to choose between those two bikes as they are both great! It would come down to a personal decision. I really like the X01 drivetrain and would be using it if I road gears. It looks like your budget is pretty good, but are you set on a carbon frame? I only ask because I know a lot of riders that go carbon then usually end up going back to a QUALITY steel tube set or titanium. If it were me I would look into a custom built frame in Ti. Here are a few of the reasons why:
1 - I have never been a fan of carbon frames, they just don't give the ride of a quality steel frame or a Ti frame. It feels like I just cant feel the trail on the carbon where a quality steel or Ti frame feels alive, just more fun.
2 - durability Even though the carbon frames of today are nothing like the carbon frames back "in the day" they are still not as durable as a steel or especially a Ti frame. However now there are some good shops offering quality repairs for carbon.
3 - A custom frame can be made to a standard size or custom fit to your needs and likes. So best of both worlds.
4 - I enjoy riding a custom built frame for the simple fact that I know the person or people who made it love what they do. Its a lot like shooting a custom firearm made to your specs. You can discuss ideas and needs with the builder before the build so you know what you are getting. I think it just adds to the experience, maybe that's just me being odd but what-ev...
5 - You can get frame with sliders so if you wanted you can convert it to a SINGLE SPEED!!!
As you can see I am a big fan of custom built bikes. It may not be your thing and that is cool, I just thought I would throw that out there for ya. You are in a great area for custom bike builders, there are several in the Bay area which is not down the road for ya but drivable.
I hope this has helped more than hurt you, but the most important thing is once you pick a bike out get out and enjoy it!!
Thanks for the input. I'm not adverse to steel bikes, since my current off road is an old (and I mean old) Breezer steel frame. However, I've been riding carbon for some time on road and I love carbon. It feels great to me to not experience every jolt and bump the way a metal bike does. I guess at my age (47) I just can take the same beating I used to. I'll probably wait a bit and see if I can test out the ride difference between the 27.5 and the 29ers. Nothing beats hands on.
I started mountain biking 4/12. I really enjoy it. I bought a new Rockhopper from my LBS. It's funny when I talk to some other riders, "You can't ride (insert trail name here) with that bike". Yeah right. This bike hasn't let me down yet.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Good for you. That's a silly thing to say. Some of us remember riding dirt when all bikes were made of steel and suspension was your arms and legs. Never stopped us.
Yep, I started mountain biking in 1991 and the suspension fork was just coming out. The big thing was still the large diameter rigid fork.
Yeah, don't let people tell you what you can and can not ride with your bike. I rode down Plattekill on a hard tail 15 years ago, albeit I was the only one on a hardtail, spandex and non-full faced helmet. Probably one of the dumber things I've done, but it sure was fun!
I got this BMC frame for free and did a complete build from the ground up.
BMC Virus 17 inch frame
Mavic 26 inch wheelset
Specialized Fast Trak 2Bliss tires( It is wearing mountain kings in the picture but i changed them)
Manitou Drake 100mm adjustable fork with lockout
Full X9 2X10 drivetrain, Shifters, Deraileurs, Cables, Crank
SRAM Black Box bottom bracket
Avid hydraulic brakes
SRAM PG1091 cassette and chain
Titec "El Norte" bars
Ritchey 120mm headstem
Cane creek ceramic headset
Specialized top cap
Red Jagwire cable housing
Clip in shimano pedals
Its 24.3 lbs. not bad for a full aluminum bike. Hard tails are the most fun!
BMC Virus 17 inch frame
Mavic 26 inch wheelset
Specialized Fast Trak 2Bliss tires( It is wearing mountain kings in the picture but i changed them)
Manitou Drake 100mm adjustable fork with lockout
Full X9 2X10 drivetrain, Shifters, Deraileurs, Cables, Crank
SRAM Black Box bottom bracket
Avid hydraulic brakes
SRAM PG1091 cassette and chain
Titec "El Norte" bars
Ritchey 120mm headstem
Cane creek ceramic headset
Specialized top cap
Red Jagwire cable housing
Clip in shimano pedals
Its 24.3 lbs. not bad for a full aluminum bike. Hard tails are the most fun!
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Yeah, I put on my buddy's hockey pads the next time I went down!
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For you guys that got it in your blood and you want to commute to work but you want to punch it out, try a Salsa Fargo. I put a suspension fork on mine which gets a bunch of looks when you are on the road. It has road bike gearing but the derailleurs are mountain bike. I got a spare wheel set so that I could take the mountain bike tires off of it and put on the road bike tires. It is a 29er and it is a great commuter and gravel bike, you cannot get crazy on it like you would your mountain bike. I have a set of bags for it and I ride to work on it daily when there is no snow. Lots of rides to Golden and back on it. I ordered a Knolly Chicoltin this summer and I had to cancel the order because Knolly gave me four different delivery dates. Great bike but if they are going to play with the big boys they had better shake out their production problems. You don't want to take delivery in the winter after they promised you it would be here in the fall. I have just out grown my Kona Cadabra, the lateral stiffness is not enough for mach 1 down the mountain.
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Thanks…I should ride it more than I do. I have been doing more XC trail riding since moving to RI from CA. Riding on the road here is very different. In CA, drivers were very tolerant of cyclists; the roads were smooth and always had a bike lane. Clubs were also plentiful.
In RI, none of that is true. You take your life in your hands when riding on the street. So, MTB is taking precedence.
In RI, none of that is true. You take your life in your hands when riding on the street. So, MTB is taking precedence.
