Official mountain biking thread
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ChrisSkisChronic
Active member
Braap braaap
TaranItUp
Active member
Quick question for you guys, I have been pretty unsatisfied with my rear shock on my Giant Reign, it doesn't lock out and I already have way over the recommended air pressure in it and it can still be bottomed out. I brought it in to my local shop to have it rebuilt and they said the seals are fine everything holds air and it doesn't need to be rebuilt. I am considering putting a coil shock on my bike instead. Anyone know the logistics behind this and where I might be able to find a used coil shock for an affordable price? Here is my bike from a few pages back.
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howlongcanausern
Active member
13110002:Stud_Muffin said:
just make sure you know the eye to eye length. who knows what used parts are out there
howlongcanausern
Active member
13108284:*N_Wist* said:
bro tip tell the airlines it's bike parts and not a bike
ChrisSkisChronic
Active member
13110002:Stud_Muffin said:
Try dialing up the compression knob on your shock if you haven't already tinkered with the dampening settings.
b-kul
Active member
13110002:Stud_Muffin said:
do you mean it can be bottomed or you feel like it bottoms too easily or harshly? people seem to think bottoming a shock is bad but i assume you bought a reign for 150mm of travel, you should use all of it. if memory serves maestro linkages necessitate use of a high pressure. also try dialing in some compression and the correct rebound. if it is a supple, supportive ride that bottoms on hard/ big hits thats what you want.
ThaLorax
Active member
13110476:Stud_Muffin said:
Are you mashing uphill in the granny gear or sprinting while standing up and pedaling? If so, no suspension setup is going to prevent the "bouncy" feeling. There's absolutely nothing wrong with bottoming out a shock on the downhill. In fact, it should be setup so you're bottoming out at least once a ride. A lot of the problem could he your technique. I used to own a 2006 Trance with the maestro system with shitty shocks and never had a problem with what you're describing unless I was mashing in granny gear or sprinting uphill.
division.bell
Active member
13115693:immas said:
You are unable to move the seatpost up or down? Even the slightest bit? Twisting does nothing as well?
Have you taken it to your LBS for another opinion?
13115693:immas said:
Hahaha
division.bell
Active member
13115849:immas said:
Out of curiosity, how long has it been since you've been able to adjust your seatpost?
The shop you did take it to had no suggestions?
division.bell
Active member
13116207:immas said:It's been nearly two months. I've taken it to work, and to shops and no one had been able to fix it
Yeah that sucks.
If this were my bike, I would probably start with a rubber mallet and a flat piece of wood to protect your seat while trying to free up the corrosion/seized seatpost a bit inside of your seat tube. If you can get the seatpost moving, you can probably get some form of lube/grease/etc in the seat tube to help extraction. In my experience some things just need a little bit of shock and encouragement before they start moving again.
Another idea would be to take your wheels off and secure the seatpost/clamp in a vice and try to gently twist the frame back and forth to loosen it up. I'd use caution to ensure you are not putting any unnecessary torque on the frame though by twisting as straight as possible.
/my few cents
A seatpost is easily replaceable, a frame costs a bit more and requires a bit more effort to get the bike rolling again. Obviously the shops don't want to destroy anything if they can help it.
Steel frames...
TaranItUp
Active member
13110658:ThaLorax said:
I'm probably just being whiny. I'll just have to except that my friends with shocks that lock out will crush me on the uphill. Anyhow, story time. So yesterday I was up in PC doing a nice 6 mile loop. All was going well, rode like 3 miles to the top of the downhill. As soon as I got to the downhill I clipped a tree and lost all motion in my rear brake. So I decide to send it anyways. When you only have your front brake, you're going to have a bad time. I began to pick up speed and tried to slow down coming up to a corner. I proceeded on hitting a little rock and launching off about a 10 ft cliff over my handlebars and landed on a tree. If it had been my rear brakes I probably would have been fine, but I crashed another 5 or 6 times on the way down. Now I'm getting my brakes bleed and my derailed adjusted.
I was still clipped in when my bike looked like that, if you can't tell, there is a large branch going straight through the frame.
CheddarJack
Active member
13117453:Bakerpow said:
:'(
Similarly, I'm debating on buying my friend's dirt jumper for ~$450 but I may not be able to afford new ski boots if I do so...
division.bell
Active member
13117556:Bakerpow said:Yah it hurts
What are you thinking of going with?
bakedpow
Active member
13117558:division.bell said:
nomad, process something like that. i loved my nomad so much it was weird riding another bike that was more downhill oriented. im either going all downhill and having a buddy buy me a scott with his discount or going for a 6 incher. not getting another till next spring though. with school, soccer and work all starting up right now i have absolutely noo time.
cwillygood
Active member
13117605:JuliusJ said:
the new nomads can do anything
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/santa-cruz-nomad-review-2014.html
read some reviews, people say they pretty much shred up and down.
I love my nomad, its obviously not a XC bike on the way up but the way down is so worth it. Bronson is awesome too but its nice to have that extra suspension when you get into gnarly stuff.
JuliusJ
Active member
13117633:*cgski* said:
I have read the reviews, but i've also heard its overkill on a lot of things. I haven't actually ridden either, but I feel like when he's saying he wants a more xc/all mt bike, a bronson is more fitting. both would shred though, just depends on what he wants (or what he can spend haha)
ThaLorax
Active member
13117237:Stud_Muffin said:I'm probably just being whiny. I'll just have to except that my friends with shocks that lock out will crush me on the uphill. Anyhow, story time. So yesterday I was up in PC doing a nice 6 mile loop. All was going well, rode like 3 miles to the top of the downhill. As soon as I got to the downhill I clipped a tree and lost all motion in my rear brake. So I decide to send it anyways. When you only have your front brake, you're going to have a bad time. I began to pick up speed and tried to slow down coming up to a corner. I proceeded on hitting a little rock and launching off about a 10 ft cliff over my handlebars and landed on a tree. If it had been my rear brakes I probably would have been fine, but I crashed another 5 or 6 times on the way down. Now I'm getting my brakes bleed and my derailed adjusted.
I was still clipped in when my bike looked like that, if you can't tell, there is a large branch going straight through the frame.
First off I want to be clear that I don't want you to take this as an insult. After reading this and seeing the bike you're riding in that picture, it's definitely a technique issue and not the suspension you're on. Your buddies aren't "smoking" you uphill because they have lockout. They probably have better technique and endurance. What gave it away that it was technique over the suspension being setup wrong was you saying how riding without a rear brake is worse than riding without a front brake. Front brakes are way more important in stopping your momentum than rear brakes are. I would shit myself if my front brake went out on a downhill section. I would hardly sweat if my rear went out. When you're riding uphil, don't mash so hard in the high gears with too much RPMs, find a gear where you've got a steady pace and stay seated. With that bike, it wants to goat it's way uphill. If you stand up and spring up a section, you're going to get pedal bob, if you get in a high gear and get into fast revolutions at a slow speed, you'll also get pedal bob. If you find a smooth ratio between the two, you should not have a problem. I don't have lockout on my Turner 5-Spot and I've never had a problem keeping up with people who do have lockout. Work on keeping your eyes further ahead on the trail so you can anticipate what's coming up and get into the gear you need before you think you actually need it.
13117586:Bakerpow said:
If you want more trail oriented, look at the Blur Tr or TrC. They're 125mm in the back and everyone I've talked to that rides one says they're a better ride than the Nomad... in every way. Even the downhill (except for bigger hits of course). Everyone I've talked to about this either has ridden both or owned both. If you're going to ride resorts a lot as well as the trails, the Nomad would be a better option though. If you're just sticking to mostly trails, I'd go the Blur Tr for sure. Santa Cruz just discontinued them for next year so there should be some good deals next spring. The Blur Tr is essentially a trail oriented throwback to the Blur 4x. The carbon model with a thru axle in the back is stiff as fuck.
cwillygood
Active member
13117645:JuliusJ said:
very true. The bronson would be sweet for all mtn. I really enjoy the nomad knowing i can do it all, i feel like taking a bronson to a bike park wouldnt be as fun, and i was doing strictly XC i would go with a 29er or something with a less laid back geometry. Thats just me tho!
Someday i hope to be able afford a new nomad, i can barely afford keeping my 2008 nomad running haha. Dam mountain biking is expensive
13117645:JuliusJ said:
Having ridden a bronson, I wasnt too impressed, seems like the nomads can be built up in 26-29lb range and pedal fairly well, considering that, i dont see how its overkill, seems like it would do well going up and destroy going down.
the bronson I rode wasnt anything special on climbs, not enough to justify choosing it over something with more travel, and it just didnt feel very fun or confidence inspiring on the downs. Rode that back to back with a transition bandit 27.5 and the bandit was MUCH better imo, more sensitive to pedal bob going up, but if you were smooth with your pedal strokes, it was faster, much more lively and fun, it actually took advantage of its smaller travel where the bronson felt like a bigger travel bike without actually having much more or taking advantage of its travel, if that makes any sense.
point is, if your gonna go with a lower travel bike vs longer travel, go with something that actually takes advantage of it, like a bandit, spitfire, 5010, etc.. otherwise, if you can have a sub 30lb 160+ travel bike, do it.
bakedpow
Active member
i take the random trip to whistler every summer so the nomad is definitely needed in that respect. iv ridden a bronson and really liked it but couldnt justify taking that to whistler. and wasnt absolutely blown away by its pedaling compared to a nomad. who knows, im going to be browsing pinkbike all year for the exact thing i want so i may end up buying something before spring.
JuliusJ
Active member
13117666:XtRemE11 said:
i agree. especially if it rides alright on uphill, ie a nomad.
13117679:Bakerpow said:
ok so a nomad would ride whistler fine? slightly related, would an enduro ride whistler just fine? I might be able to get specialized EP prices and trying to figure out if its worth it.
bakedpow
Active member
i mean i wouldnt ride a full season at whistler on a nomad but a few days here and there yah. depends what trails youre riding as well. idk if you have ever been there before but when i went with my nomad last i mainly stuck to dirt merchant/aline/bline/karate monkey, crank it up etc.
TaranItUp
Active member
13117661:ThaLorax said:
Can't say I disagree with you, I have been riding for 3 months now and get crushed by my friends who have been on bikes for 3 of 4 years now. My technique is lacking and my endurance is pretty far behind as well. While I agree that the majority of your braking should be done with your front brake, for this particular section the front tire would start skipping and I would carry to much momentum in to turns and for the life of me I couldn't whip my back tire around without a rear brake and got launched over the handlebars. Plus I am still getting used to being clipped in and was unable to get my foot out coming up to the turn.
Also for the first few months of riding I didn't notice the bounce in my rear shock, it wasn't until my friends tried it who said there was to much slack. I was just curious if it was possible to put on a coil shock instead of air on a reign; I have heard they are smoother while riding downhill. I apologize if I am being ignorant, I am still learning and will take any advise to improve my technique up or downhill.
bighomieflock
Active member
Looking for some quick advice from my bike knowledgeable NSers. I only have about $500 to spend on a bike right now and I need something for getting around town and trail riding. Originally I was going to buy a new or slightly used basic hardtail, something like a giant revel or xtc 2. However, I found a 2003 Norco Fluid 1 within my price range that appears to be in good condition. Is there anything I should inspect in particular when I take a look at the bike, and should I be worried about the age apart from outdated geometry?
division.bell
Active member
Pedaled around on a Specialized Fatboy Expert this morning, so damn fun! It helps the wife wants to start riding in the snow...so there may be some fat bikes coming soon. So many options out there now.
I was considering a Nomad when I was bike shopping too. Along with the Slayer, SB66, Mojo HD, etc. And to be honest, I am happy I didn't go with something with more travel. I pedal uphill more than I was thinking when looking at my options. There are so many awesome trails in our state, but lots of them require some serious effort to get up. Granted, 160-170mm down to my 140mm Endorphin isn't a huge difference, but the 140mm rides like a whole lot more than 140mm compared to some of the other bikes I've been on. Santa Cruz definitely makes some fun bikes.
If I was going to ride Whistler or bike parks a few weeks every summer, I would much rather rent and beat up on someone else's bike, while keeping my bike ready for everything else. I still need to get up to Stevens and finally check out their park. I haven't ridden a DH bike on dirt, so it would be damn fun to rent something squishy for the day.
13117586:Bakerpow said:
I was considering a Nomad when I was bike shopping too. Along with the Slayer, SB66, Mojo HD, etc. And to be honest, I am happy I didn't go with something with more travel. I pedal uphill more than I was thinking when looking at my options. There are so many awesome trails in our state, but lots of them require some serious effort to get up. Granted, 160-170mm down to my 140mm Endorphin isn't a huge difference, but the 140mm rides like a whole lot more than 140mm compared to some of the other bikes I've been on. Santa Cruz definitely makes some fun bikes.
If I was going to ride Whistler or bike parks a few weeks every summer, I would much rather rent and beat up on someone else's bike, while keeping my bike ready for everything else. I still need to get up to Stevens and finally check out their park. I haven't ridden a DH bike on dirt, so it would be damn fun to rent something squishy for the day.
division.bell
Active member
13117661:ThaLorax said:
...yeah. I'm going to be the one to completely disagree with you.
If I only had one brake, it would damn sure be the rear brake. Front brakes are definitely the most important one in regards to good cornering and speed management techniques, but only if the rear brake also exists.
As someone who has a lot of miles and years on dirt, and had the misfortune of riding out with just my front brake this summer; if I were to only have one brake, it would definitely be the rear brake. For safety's sake above nothing else, if I'm running only one brake, it's pretty obvious that I am not going to be pinned and pushing as if I had both brakes functioning properly.
One wrong squeeze with the front can easily cause a wreck, while the same isn't necessarily true for the rear.
steezburgereddie
Active member
Not sure if this qualifies for this thread but this is the bike i put together this summer.
specs:
NS Capital Frame
NS RNS Fork
NS Proof Bars
NS Quantum Stem
NS Radiance Pedals
Odyssey Thunderbolt Cranks
Odyssey MDS Sprocket
Odyssey Hazard Lite 24" Rims
Profile Mini Hubs and Aegis Hub Guards
Fiend Integrated Headset
Shadow Corvus Spanish BB with bearings from a Profile BB
1664 Easy Slider Pegs
KMC K710 Chain
Stolen Joint HP Tires
Odi Longneck Super Soft Grips
Tioga D-Spyder S-Spec Pivotal
ThaLorax
Active member
13120540:division.bell said:
I mean, I've been mtn biking for 15 years and had my brakes fail many times. I'd much rather have only the braking power of the front and risk the "screw up" (as you call it) than not be able to stop in time because my bike did nothing but skid over a long distance from using only a rear brake.
division.bell
Active member
13120592:ThaLorax said:
Since you brought up the past, 15 years ago I was working in my first bike shop, during that same time I purchased my first bike with suspension. I was riding rigid steel bikes before that.
I also did not say "screw up", I said "one wrong squeeze with the front can easily cause a wreck, while the same isn't necessarily true for the rear."
My ultimate point is, assuming an emergency pull of either the front or rear brake (your opinion vs. mine in this case if you will) there is a much higher likelihood of a crash if your weight is not balanced correctly, your bars are turned, you are on loose terrain/gravel, etc. on your front brake.
Locking up the rear tire will cause a skid, yes I get that. However, it is also easier to correct the skid, or get back in control with loss of rear tire traction than the front, especially when a strong braking force is introduced to the front wheel. Again, from a safety's sake point of view, I'm going with a rear brake.
I'm not assuming anything regarding your skill, or anyone else's for that matter, merely your own opinion on this braking situation. Riding along a gravel road and grabbing the front brake to avoid a dog would probably cause a lot of people to crash, while grabbing the rear brake would at least give them more time to maneuver or correct. That's it.
I had never had to ride out all downhill without a rear brake before, so first time for me there. In hindsight I would have been better off swapping my only functioning rotor to my rear brake for the descent. Loose sand and dust on the hardpacked dirt and rocks was tricky in spots with just the front brake, but nothing extraordinary. I would've been far more comfortable and riding faster if I was just rocking the rear brake.
b-kul
Active member
i would agree, if i had to use only one brake it would be the rear. at least in that case if you over cooked a turn you could grab a handful of rear and probably save your self. do the same with a front and you are going otb. front brakes allow you to ride fast but stay in control in conjunction with a rear brake. you would have to ride like a granny but rear only would be the safer option.
NinetyFour
Active member
+1 for the rear brake. I might be biased though because the bike I ride around at work only has a coaster brake. On the brake note, what levers control what brake for you guys? I never realized that some geographical locations have different standard setups. Personally my bike controls is left lever to the front brake, right lever to the rear brake.
Anyone here running tubeless as well? When my fat bike gets here I'll probably run it tubeless to save some rotating mass; thinking of buying an Orange Seal or Bontrager TLR kit. Stan's is popular but I've heard better of Orange Seal's and Bontrager's products.
Anyone here running tubeless as well? When my fat bike gets here I'll probably run it tubeless to save some rotating mass; thinking of buying an Orange Seal or Bontrager TLR kit. Stan's is popular but I've heard better of Orange Seal's and Bontrager's products.
division.bell
Active member
13120876:NinetyFour said:
Left: Front
Right: Rear
The only people I've seen switch up their levers are guys that grew up riding and racing dirt bikes and motorcycles.
You went with the Farley 8 correct? If so, what's the lead time on that and did you pay MSRP or were you able to score a deal?
My local shop said the Farley's weren't even inbound to them as it was so hard to get orders in. They just got a Spec Fatboy Expert in after waiting a long ass time apparently. It was so fun to pedal around, even if it was just on the sidewalk/parking lot. Much lighter than I expected it to be as well, was right around 30-31lbs for the Large I guess. Want fatbike so much.