Mountain Bikes

[Evan]

you should see the back yard.


If I could find a mexican who would actually show up to cut my lawn.....

..dude...you live off of Rt 50. now you're just being lazy

key words being show up! make an appointment, they dont show up. call them they dont call back.

finally broke down and bought a mower and did it myself :bootyshake:

[ScottyB]

so finally converted my bike to 1x9. i never use the big ring and it killed my ground clearance, and i don't really use the tiny ring anymore now that i'm stronger. so far i really like it, less crap to adjust and i can enjoy concentrating on riding instead of screwing with more gears. i'm a little nostalgic too, makes me feel like i'm riding my first 5 speed bike back in the day.

i took the cheapass route, and all it took was:
- n-gear jump stop
- BBG bashguard 32 x 104BCD
- sunrace friction shifter (don't laugh, i LOVE this, my old index shifter stripped out and never downshifted right to begin with). i really like being able to dump multiple gears so easily which i do alot of on our local trails. plus its bombproof. i grew up with these so it feels pretty natural.

can't wait to ride this weekend, i love this time of year.

[Sijray21]

pics or it didn't happen

;-)

actually i'm thinking of converting my 29er over to a 1x9 as well. i rode Ginger's 26" 1x9 with grip-shift and was impressed with its capability (despite me looking like [and-i-quote], "a gorilla on a tricycle") with his 15" or whatever small frame he had. do you find yourself running out of gears on fire roads or x-country trails with the 32?

[ScottyB]

pics or it didn't happen

;-)

actually i'm thinking of converting my 29er over to a 1x9 as well. i rode Ginger's 26" 1x9 with grip-shift and was impressed with its capability (despite me looking like [and-i-quote], "a gorilla on a tricycle") with his 15" or whatever small frame he had. do you find yourself running out of gears on fire roads or x-country trails with the 32?

yeah yeah i'll take a picture this weekend...too lazy right now. LOL i would love to see you on a 15" bike, that would be awesome comedy.

the only time i find i run out of gear is on rails-to-trails or straight pavement. as it is it tops out plenty fast for trail work. if you do XC i would look into a 34 tooth.

[.RJ]

My niner is 1x9 and I ran it with 32/34/36T chainrings/11-34 cassette depending on the trail and/or race. Most of the year was with the 34T.

Next year I'm going to race it at the SM100 and I'll probably go 2x10, with something like a 28/42 up front.

[Evan]

for XC stuff there isnt any need to for a granny ring.
AM riding...holy crap thats a different story, I was in the 24/34 today for most of the climb up the mountain!

not much need for a big ring either. a 32/11 cruises comfortably at 20mph which is fine if you ride to the trail on pavement.
and ripping that ankle shredder off the bike is a must just for its potential damage it causes your legs

[.RJ]

If it wasnt for my retarded SM100 time goal next year I wouldnt even bother with that whole front deraileur/shifter mess. I dont think its worth the hassle for most of the stuff I ride, and now you can get 11-36T cassettes.

[Mike]

how the f do i back off the pads on my hydraulic brakes? kjgsjkgfdjkfdg

[Mike]

yessss @ adjust caliper mount.

[ScottyB]

pics or it didn't happen

its actually still a 2x9 since i don't have a crank puller to get the small ring off. i might break out the dremel and just cut it off :lol: it's not like i'm going to use it again?

i love the ground clearance more than anything. sailed over some logs expecting to get hung up. i never felt like i was out of gears - going downhill i topped out at 20 and i wouldn't have wanted to go any faster on those particular trails.

[mrbaggio]

I have a crank puller that you can borrow if you like unless your location is indeed accurate.

[ScottyB]

I have a crank puller that you can borrow if you like unless your location is indeed accurate.

thanks, but unfortunately it is.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Found this... Thought it was pretty cool..

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.topeak.com/products/Bike-Tent/Bikamper">http://www.topeak.com/products/Bike-Tent/Bikamper</a><!-- m -->

[Goodspeed]

So.

I plan on buying a mountain *more on this later* bike soon. I planned on getting one this past summer but never got around to it and my fat ass is now evidence of that :thumbup:

I know about this >| |< much about bicycles; I haven't seriously ridden since about junior high, and even then it was on a normal, craptastic kids bike. I got my miles in though and did a healthy amount of street and trail riding. Missed it ever since and I want to get back into it as part of a normal fitness routine.

Thus.

I'm looking at mountain bikes, as I do want to be able to throw it in the Jeep and hit up trials, fire roads and stuff, but also ride on the street - I live right on the W&OD trail which I imagine will be convenient as hell. What I've gathered so far from people at Spokes and the internets is that:

1. Crossovers don't do anything well
2. Don't buy anything under 500 if you want it to last after the first time you hit a trail
3. Get this fork/gearset/brake system, and a ton of other shit I don't really understand.

Thing is, my prior budget of 500 is more like 800 thanks to some Christmas monies, so theoretically I can now get some features to help me ride like a boss. I do want a bike that I can grow with and not have to upgrade in a year.

Any recs? And can someone explain the importance of baller gearsets, forks, etc? About all I know is that I'd like disc brakes - rode both disc and standard back to back and definitely preferred discs.

So far the Specialized Rockhopper Comp sounds like a good buy.

I have barely touched a bike in years so I don't want to screw myself with a bike I don't need, nor do I want a turd that'll be in the dumpster in a year - trying to find a happy medium to do it right the first time.

[.RJ]

For $800 you're better off buying a used bike. Specialized, Trek, etc.

[Evan]

RJ is forgetting that his used bikes fell apart in 6 months.

I really dont like used bikes. Bikes can wear out fast if they arent taken care of and you really dont know what you're getting. And if you dont have a $hundred or so to spend on bike tools and time to learn how to fix stuff then you're really going to be hurting.

With the top tier brands like Specialized and Trek you arent getting much bike at all for the money. Youre paying for the brand and at that price range they are all about the same especially for a hardtail.

Personally for that budget I would go with a 2nd tier brand like GT or Fuji or even a house brand. Catching a good sale at Performance Bike will get you a killer deal. Bike snobs will look down on you since Performance is the walmart of bike shops, but its a great way to go for a beginner and they have great post sale support with lifetime free shifter adjustments.
For example this GT beats the pants off the Trek and Specialized in the same price range <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1078446_-1_1563505_20000_400308">http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1078446_-1_1563505_20000_400308</a><!-- m -->
and if you can catch a 10% or 15% sale (hopefully will happen soon for after xmas) then its even sweeter.

[D_Eclipse9916]

These guys somehow know what they are talking about when talking about bikes. That "cheap" $400 bike I bought that they recommended is still running strong after 3-5000 miles. I really have no "need" to upgrade still. Maybe in a year or two, but thank god for them as id have felt like a chump spending $8-900 and then realizing the supporting stuff costs another $2-300 itself. (tools, gear, etc)

[.RJ]

RJ is forgetting that his used bikes fell apart in 6 months

I rode, i mean, crashed over the bars that stupid too big for me Trek 8000 for years.

IMO, if you're patient, there are plenty of great deals on very lightly used bikes that were purchased with good intentions and never really used. I wouldnt buy something that was used up and ridden hard as a beginner.

[Goodspeed]

A used bike is likely out - I don't feel like chasing CL ads around/would rather get the store add-ins like free service for a year and all that. I looked a lot at GTs from Performance before (namely the Avalanche 3.0), and have likely added the '11 Trek 3900 to my list.

I guess the main question I wanted to pose to you all - does $300 more in Shimano this and baller fork that really equate to relative, measurable added performance? Especially for what I want to do - I don't see myself tackling Mt. Everest on the thing but I want quality components that won't break immediately after the warranty is up. New for new, is a $800 bike 300 dollars well spent over a $500 bike?

Also - any good trails around here? Looked at some maps and local riding sites and found a bunch of paved tracks that go straight to BFE - turn around and come home - likely not my thing. Are there any designated, hard pack off road "courses" around here, in a local national park or something?

[Evan]

yes, performance durability and reliability are noticably better on better parts. at the low end of bikes where the margins are already thin, an extra $300 does get you a much better bike.

Spend as much as you can afford on a bike BUT, as Ive always said, buy whatever gets you out on the trail!

a few good ('real') mountain bike trails in the area, especially for beginners and intermediates. lake fairfax/difficult run in reston, wakefield in annandale, laurel hill and fountainhead in lorton. It will take you a while to master fountainhead.
there is also the county connector trail that is mostly smooth gravel but i wouldnt call it mountain biking.

Then out by harrisonburg and further west in WV there is lots of stellar big mountain riding. As challenging as you want it to be.
an hour drive up into MD gets you into the mountains, either gambrill/watershed or patapsco park. good challenging riding there too.