Official mountain biking thread
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californiagrown
Active member
13478832:lewis.byrd said:
That's like putting a carbon fiber panel on a 1980s caddillac.
That's a heavy, 12 year old bike. Why upgrade anything? Just ride it into the ground if you can't afford anything newer.
Leafman
Active member
Haven't posted anything in here since May, here are some pictures of various rides in the last few months
Teanaway fun, Cle Elum
http://postimage.org/
Massive rock formations
Slick rock
Joining the grader population back when Tokul was open in May
Rat Pac in the sun, Cle Elum May
Stafford Creek in the evening after Rat Pac
Inspecting
Ran out of light and had to turn around at the meadow bellow Navajo Peak, one of the more fun descents in the area I think
Miller Peak, Cle Elum, May
Assault on the summit
Storm system engulfing Mt Stuart
Ancient Lakes, Ellensburg May
100 degrees Fahrenheit
Darby lake, the six or seven lakes out here have had water in them for over a million years, hence the name
Suntop!
Kachess the next day
Went down to Oregon to do the Mackenzie River Trail. Did the out and back 50 mile option and wasn't that impressed with it. The scenery is nice but there was something about being a 1/2 mile from a major freeway at all times and massive amounts of hiker tourists that ruined it for me.
It was a good experience but I would shuttle it next time. 50 miles in 90+ degree weather was no fun.
Bed/camping set up in the Toyota
Nice camping spot near Sisters
Rode Phils the next day in Bend. Cool trail system, did all the big trails like Ben's, whoops, Phil's etc...
Solo ride on Palisades, Mt Stuart way in the distance, July
Lots of wildflowers out
Hansen Ridge, cool concept, horrible trail. Glad I did it but never again
Esmeralda Basin Jolly Mountain epic
A genuine back country ride, 28 miles and 7000 foot of climbing in fairly remote terrain. Had to bail out of Esmeralda but foot this awesome downhill/mining trail back to Salmon La Sac. There is definitely the possibility to do some multi day rides out here. Way more trails than I expected that connect from valley to valley.
Foliage
Final descent, steep and primitive
Finally summer is almost over and I can start doing some more epics.
Summer sucks, go ride outside King County
Teanaway fun, Cle Elum
http://postimage.org/
Massive rock formations
Slick rock
Joining the grader population back when Tokul was open in May
Rat Pac in the sun, Cle Elum May
Stafford Creek in the evening after Rat Pac
Inspecting
Ran out of light and had to turn around at the meadow bellow Navajo Peak, one of the more fun descents in the area I think
Miller Peak, Cle Elum, May
Assault on the summit
Storm system engulfing Mt Stuart
Ancient Lakes, Ellensburg May
100 degrees Fahrenheit
Darby lake, the six or seven lakes out here have had water in them for over a million years, hence the name
Suntop!
Kachess the next day
Went down to Oregon to do the Mackenzie River Trail. Did the out and back 50 mile option and wasn't that impressed with it. The scenery is nice but there was something about being a 1/2 mile from a major freeway at all times and massive amounts of hiker tourists that ruined it for me.
It was a good experience but I would shuttle it next time. 50 miles in 90+ degree weather was no fun.
Bed/camping set up in the Toyota
Nice camping spot near Sisters
Rode Phils the next day in Bend. Cool trail system, did all the big trails like Ben's, whoops, Phil's etc...
Solo ride on Palisades, Mt Stuart way in the distance, July
Lots of wildflowers out
Hansen Ridge, cool concept, horrible trail. Glad I did it but never again
Esmeralda Basin Jolly Mountain epic
A genuine back country ride, 28 miles and 7000 foot of climbing in fairly remote terrain. Had to bail out of Esmeralda but foot this awesome downhill/mining trail back to Salmon La Sac. There is definitely the possibility to do some multi day rides out here. Way more trails than I expected that connect from valley to valley.
Foliage
Final descent, steep and primitive
Finally summer is almost over and I can start doing some more epics.
Summer sucks, go ride outside King County
foodisfun
Active member
hit a tree a while back and bent this piece. the brake still engages fine but doesn't release. anyone know what it's called and is it a simple fix?
IMG_0144 by Keith Upton, on Flickr
IMG_0144 by Keith Upton, on Flickrcaliforniagrown
Active member
^^^ Stafford creek is super cool. You missed out on the super surfy long, wide open volcanic ash field above the meadow.... It felt like skiing. Lapped it 3 times. The rest of that trail is such a fun, not overly gnarly descent. Just perfect for my trail bike.
You were about 1.5 hrs to Navajo peak at that meadow, and totally missed out on the crazy cool view of the enchantments... Check my post in here from back in early may.
You were about 1.5 hrs to Navajo peak at that meadow, and totally missed out on the crazy cool view of the enchantments... Check my post in here from back in early may.
NinetyFour
Active member
13479417:foodisfun said:
It's called a brake barrel adjuster and you might be able to buy them online or at the LBS. The fix should be as easy as threading the old one all the way out, aligning the splits on the barrel and the nut, pulling the outer housing away so that the brake cable is exposed, and then cable can pass through the splits so you can remove it. Install your new one then just re-adjust. Worst case scenario I'd take it to an LBS, it shouldn't be terribly expensive or long to fix. But IMO if you have some decent bike experience it should be an easy fix.
division.bell
Active member
13479262:Leafman said:
Thanks for the continued awesome local stoke. You've had some fun this year so far by the looks of it.
13479424:californiagrown said:
You ever end up getting a new bike?
californiagrown
Active member
13479795:division.bell said:
2015 Enduro 29er Comp. picked it up today. Swapped the bars from my old bike and promptly fucked up the shifter setup somehow. And one of the pedals from my old bike is frozen on, so i need to take it to the LBS and see if they can get it off so i can go ride at tiger tomorrow!!! For a moment i thought about just using those shitty pastic reflector pedals, but I forgot how utterly useless they are haha.
first time ever riding another mtn bike so it should be interesting... Gonna probly lap sections of OTG and try to dial in the suspension and just get used to a totally new feeling bike. Pretty excited!
What are the odds hancock personel would find out if i rode out at tokul? lol i miss that place.
californiagrown
Active member
13479882:GANDALF said:
Want to ride tomorrow?
californiagrown
Active member
13480184:mike759 said:
Steer with your feet, hips, and shoulders. not your hands.
When in doubt starightline out. If youre skidding, youre braking wrong.
Dont fall. Itll happen, but try to avoid it by progressing slowly. You know in skiing how 90% of the falls dont hurt, 9% hurt but nothing happens, and 1% you get injured? In MTB 90% of the falls hurt, 90% you end up bloody and bruised, and 10% you end up injured haha.
turnt_table
Member
13480433:byubound said:
look on pinkbike/local craigslist.
division.bell
Active member
13479881:californiagrown said:
Nice. What color did you end up with and how are you liking it so far compared to your Stumpy?
Tokul finally opened back up yesterday actually, I will for sure be heading out there at least a few times this week. I've never seen anyone out there checking for permits but I know they do, just not sure on frequency or locations of their stops.
-PoonHammer-
Member
threads
californiagrown
Active member
13480815:division.bell said:
Fuck Yeah!! Im for sure heading out there this week. I bought a day pass the first time i went out there, but havnt the last 20 times lol.
the new bike is sweet! shes white, and i call her Margaret Thatcher:
The bike just smashes. i was going so much faster than normal, launching off stuf i usually scrub, blasting through things i normally try to snake through, and generally just getting much, much rowdier than before haha. the backend was super easy to play with and made the bike easy to whip around corners, and snaked through tight areas. Just a super fun bike!
3 small downsides though...
I got worked within the first 1/2 mile of the Tiger fire road. Im used to dropping into the lowest gear and sitting and spinning at a high cadence for an hour. this bike is NOT geared for that. I finally figured out about halfway up that i could just grunt out a 1/2 speed cadence and wouldnt be wasted in the next 1/4 mile haha. I will be putting a OneUp components 42 tooth chainring very soon haha.
the wheels felt very grabby when taking oblique hits from roots or rocks. Like it would grab me offline if I was going relatively slow- it wouldnt knock me off line line. Is it because of the 29" wheels?
I went to Duthie today to get comfy in the air on this bike and took the dual slalom down to the clearing... I coulnt pump anything. Like it was bad haha. My timing, or something was all fucked up. Is that because of my big wheels, or big travel?
But this bike, so far, is everything i hoped it would be. Im really stoked on it!!
LC.
Active member
13480428:GANDALF said:
Bad advice. You need to learn why falling sucks. Ride hard until you have your first few bad crashes, then you really understand. Riding hard with not much protection and the fear of falling ingrained in my mind is what made me improve a lot. Sincerely.
onenerdykid
Active member
13480858:californiagrown said:
That's awesome haha. *insert joke about railing Margaret Thatcher
onenerdykid
Active member
Summer here in Austria has been all-time: sunny during the day, with a bit of rain at night. Couldn't have asked for better weather, hopefully this post doesn't jinx it...
From the world cup track at Schladming this past weekend
From the world cup track at Schladming this past weekend
ThaLorax
Active member
13480858:californiagrown said:
The 2nd and 3rd "problems" definitely sound like they're just how big wheels react. You'll get used to it. I occasionally ride DH with some kids on 29ers and they are the only 2 people who consistently get to the bottom wayyyyyy ahead of me. You'll get used to it.
Tinga
Active member
Stoked on Duluth, MN getting named an IMBA Gold Level Ride Center. Coggs our local IMBA chapter has been working really hard on a project they call the Duluth Traverse. There are five large trail hubs in Duluth and this Duluth traverse will connect them all together. With this trail completed we will have over 100 miles of single track WITHIN city limits. It doesn't sound like much when talking about places like whistler and BC but you have to understand they have hundreds of miles but its all in different cities. ALL 100 miles will be within Duluth Proper. SOOOOOO STOKED.
Anyway, I'm headed out to Copper Harbor this weekend to ride bikes, get drunk in tents, grill meat and shoot off fireworks. Much excitement.
Anyway, I'm headed out to Copper Harbor this weekend to ride bikes, get drunk in tents, grill meat and shoot off fireworks. Much excitement.
kung_powpow
Active member
For sale: 2008 Specialized sx trail 2
Awesome freeride and all mtn bike. 160mm front and 170mm rear travel. A ton of upgrades on this and in great condition. I'm in Maryland with the bike until August 29th when I go to back to school in Colorado.
Fox 36 rc2 160
Fox DHX 5.0
Juicy 7 brakes
203mm front rotor and 180mm rear rotor
Mtx 33 wheels on Specialized hubs
Xo rear derailleur
x9 trigger
maxxis DHF 3c tubeless front tire 80% tread
maxxis DHF 60a tubeless rear tire 80% tread
Raceface 32t chainring
e13 chainguide
Truvativ holzfeller crank
Deity dirty 30 bars 760mm
Truvativ holzfeller 40mm stem
WTB volt saddle
Thompson elite seatpost
Lizard skin lock on grips
Awesome freeride and all mtn bike. 160mm front and 170mm rear travel. A ton of upgrades on this and in great condition. I'm in Maryland with the bike until August 29th when I go to back to school in Colorado.
Fox 36 rc2 160
Fox DHX 5.0
Juicy 7 brakes
203mm front rotor and 180mm rear rotor
Mtx 33 wheels on Specialized hubs
Xo rear derailleur
x9 trigger
maxxis DHF 3c tubeless front tire 80% tread
maxxis DHF 60a tubeless rear tire 80% tread
Raceface 32t chainring
e13 chainguide
Truvativ holzfeller crank
Deity dirty 30 bars 760mm
Truvativ holzfeller 40mm stem
WTB volt saddle
Thompson elite seatpost
Lizard skin lock on grips
Leafman
Active member
13479424:californiagrown said:
I ended up riding Stafford the day after you. Had another go at it a few weeks ago during the "blue moon" night, the plan was to be at the summit for sunset and then ride down at night. Ended up having an oil leak comparable to exxon vladez in my Toyota unfortunately and had to turn around at the trail head.
Do a Praxis Works 11-42 over the OneUp ring. Works quiet well with the type 2 derailleurs and gives you just about the same range. All the OneUp conversions are meh, great idea, they just need better ramps on their rings.
13479795:division.bell said:
I feel like I've barely ridden. We'll have to go ride one of these days.
13482044:RockShoxTora said:
Single speed hardtail + Sid/brain fork = The Millennium Falcon
Ran a rigid on my crave for a bit but it was too hard on the hands. I prefer the fork much more. Mad fun bike though, super fast and a good way to throw up.
NinetyFour
Active member
13487715:Sklar said:
How'd you like the Krampus and 29+?
californiagrown
Active member
13489944:GANDALF said:
Damnit! It better not be the white one or we're gonna look like our mother dressed us the next time we ride together haha.
thats a ridiculous deal though.
californiagrown
Active member
13489969:GANDALF said:
I'll be at Stevens pass Saturday for a buddy's bday, but if we can find another car I'd be super down to come up Sunday or Monday to shuttle.
Btw, turns out I work with one of the guys who built the big jump line above iron horse(the one by bullseye).
yungsteeze
Member
does anybody ride at night? im thinking about buying the bontrager ion 700 since its starting to get dark earlier. is it scarier?
byubound
Active member
13491062:yungsteeze said:
Wouldn't say it's scarier, but definately different. You will be surprised how far you typically look ahead when you're riding and cant anymore. Familiar trails can feel totally different. I use this on my helmet:http://www.google.com/shopping/product/4431420741810051442?lsf=seller:1209243,store:16299840698052955989,lsfqd:0&prds=oid:15168904746344953973&q=NiteRider+Lumina+750+Front+Bike+Light+Black/Silver&hl=en&ei=0VboVYS1Do7VoASH54ngBQ&lsft=cm_mmc:cse_LIA
And this on my bars
http://www.leftlanesports.com/product.aspx?p=NRD01231&a=GoogleBase&gclid=CJ-f8NmH28cCFZFafgod-mAHkQ
NinetyFour
Active member
13491062:yungsteeze said:
Yep, I ride with just one of those lights on my bar at the low or medium setting. It's definitely something you'll want to take slower, and it's probably best to stick to trails you know that aren't also too gnarly. I wouldn't be sending jumps or drops or anything like that at night because it would be super hectic. I'd definitely aim for good weather forecasted riding to because you usually can't see anything crazy roll in. Other than that it's really fun, it's a mellower different kind of riding.
ShredAZ
Active member
13491062:yungsteeze said:
Riding at night > riding during the day.
Us desert rats only get out at night...
Much faster paced ride. You need to be able to react quickly. Good gear is imperative. I would get something around the 1000 lumen range or brighter.
Don't waste your money on an expensive light. I've been riding one of these the last two years:
http://www.amazon.com/DODOLIGHTNESS-Cycling-Bicycle-HeadLight-Headlamp/dp/B00OZ1J3TY
Most of the guys I ride with run them too. Insanely bright. Independent light reviews estimate the lumen output to be around 1200 (not the Chinese "5000 lumens). More than enough light if you run it on your helmet. And cheap enough that if you bust it, just buy a new one.
Night riding is a whole new game! I think you'll enjoy it.
ThaLorax
Active member
13491959:RockShoxTora said:
It's got a Cree lamp in it. Cree is a top of the line commercial light manufacturer.
Also, I'm visiting home and found out the bike park Bob Weir organized here (Marin County) called Stafford Lake Bike park finally opened last week, so I went to check it out yesterday. They have a badass dual slalom course and some great progression jumps from small to gi-fucking-gantic table tops. Aaaand that's only Phase 1. They're working on a DH course and a bigger pump track too. The Ranger took a few (terrible) pictures of me on the medium jumps. Wish they came out better but what can ya do when a State Park Ranger with chew in his mouth offers to take pictures of you.
