Messages

61

The Lounge / Ninth Street Trails under water again

« on: May 25, 2015, 07:16:59 PM »

Got out of work early today to witness this:


Just on the other side of Shoal Creek is Duncan Park on the left and Ninth street trails on the right. I am sure it will be rebuilt.

House park is apparently under water too.

62

Bike Gallery / Re: Fixed gear bikes/ Post your big bikes V2

« on: May 19, 2015, 06:37:41 PM »

What bars are those Jonathan?

Salsa Cowbell 2. just enough flare to get your hands out wide for rough stuff, but still handles like a regular road bar.

63

Bike Gallery / Re: Fixed gear bikes/ Post your big bikes V2

« on: May 18, 2015, 04:08:22 PM »

dragged my heavy-ass touring bike up 2500 feet of elevation according to MapMyRide) for 40 miles of west Austin nieghborhood roads today. This bike is fun on gravel trails, carries momentum well on decents, and is comfy for commuting. but it climbs like pallet of bricks.  time for a proper road bike?

sceneic overlook on HWY 360. you can barely make out the city skyline in the background.


I have long fantasized about climbing up these little trails along this highway to the cliffs above the road. I finally did it and it turns out that these are not really trails at all but ruts formed by rain water. gave me a good overlook of the Pennyback Bridge.


this is the start of a good set of tan lines. see rule #7

64

Bike Gallery / Re: Fixed gear bikes/ Post your big bikes V2

« on: May 17, 2015, 12:45:38 PM »

You may want to route the front hose inside the fork leg. It offers better strike protection and it's "proper" so you won't be harassed by the PinkBike crowd.

Let the Pink Bike ninnies say what they want. I route all cables outside the fork leg because the chances of landing on your hose at precisely the right spot to damage the hose are almost nothing. the chance that your zip tie will break and allow the hose to get hooked on a tire lug and sucked into the wheel, ripping the hose out of the brake caliper, are much higher. i will take my chances with the former and avoid the latter.

65

The Bike Shop / Re: Surly Cross Check Build

« on: May 17, 2015, 09:12:40 AM »

endless Crosscheck pron here http://forums.mtbr.com/surly/cross-check-pics-please-539505.html

I had a Pake C'mute for some time and I think it was better suited for the style of riding you want to do with it. I have a Salsa Vaya now for the same reason- tall head tube and stable geometry. The Crosscheck is a great bike though.

since the CC is limited to rim brakes,  I recommend skipping the cantis and get some linear pull "V" brakes. I swore I could get by with cantis for a long time, and they certainly look better on this style of bike IMO, but linear pull brakes just have gobs more stopping power and less fatigue on your hands. get full-sized Vs, not "mini" v-brakes. Minis always seemed to have too much moosh and will limit room for mounting fenders.

*edit* however, full-sized linear pull brakes preclude the use of intergated brake lever/shifters that would go on drop bars. you could use v-drop levers (Tektro and Cane Creek make those) with bar-end shifters or Gevenalle lever/shifters with linear pull brakes.

what size frame did you get and how tall are you? drop bars= short TT, flat bars = longer TT. as I am 5'9", my mountain bike has a TT (effective) of 600mm and a 60mm stem. my road bike has a 540mm TT and a 100mm stem, but I could stand to put a shorter stem on the road bike. because drops, bullhorns, moustache bars, etc put the neutral hand position further forward than flat bars, so if you put drops on a bike that fits you well with flat bars, it's going to be too long.

my beef with the CC is that the head tube is very short, so you have to put a tall stem and a stupid stack of spacers on the headset to get the handlebar up high enough to ride comfortably for an old fart like me.

66

The Bike Shop / Re: Surly Cross Check and Front Hub

« on: December 07, 2014, 11:09:34 PM »

A bolt-on hub is also less likely to get stolen while your bike is locked up outside.

67

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: December 02, 2014, 07:51:15 AM »

I generally like my current frame but I know it's a size too small. I can't buy the exact same frame in a bigger size- Surly discontinued the OG Karate Monkey and my shop can't buy Surly stuff anymore unless I get someone to give me a bro-deal. so while I am thinking of getting a new frame, I am considering a whole new ride setup.

68

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: December 01, 2014, 10:27:41 PM »

I think all of this talk of what constitutes the ideal type of bike for anyone is highly dependent on the rider's style and terrain. most of the stuff I ride around here has absolutely no "flow" and lots of slow, grinding, twisty, rock-crawling gnar. there is one trail that is aptly named "Cheese Grater." a lot of the trail I would like to ride seem like they would be better suited for a trials bike than a trail bike. but that's my style- slowly cherry-picking my way through the rocks, taking time to enjoy the woods.

I can see how either of the newer tire sizes and bike styles might suit me better. I have found that a short chainstay length is important to me. otherwise, I might just have to get whatever is available to me in the industry, which seems to be shrinking all the time.

69

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 28, 2014, 06:28:17 AM »

I've been through this same cycle and thought process, the smaller frame is hurting your off road ability. The bmxer in you wants a tight feeling bike but for true MTB rocks and steeps you need a big enough bike to move around on.

this nugget is pure gold. thank you. I had my wife take a photo of me sitting on the bike in a neutral position and I look like a circus bear on a tricycle.

This is what I get for going to the internet for advice and following trends- everyone is on the "short stem, wide bars" bandwagon, so I bought a 60mm stem and 760mm bars. I think that could work if the frame fit me in the first place, but I was willing to settle for a bandaid fix.I have a longer stem that I will put on for now and look into swapping this frame for something a little longer.

70

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 27, 2014, 10:32:20 PM »

current bike w/ 100mm fork, 60mm stem, set-back post.



hard to see anything from that. the seatpost is long and it's almost maxed out.

71

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 27, 2014, 04:24:52 PM »

I'd probably go for gt out of the brands you listed

Any specific GT you like? I have been unimpressed with their hardtails. Zaskar Elite perhaps.

72

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 27, 2014, 11:17:41 AM »

My only concern with any used fs bike is availability of hardware. If the bike is past it's prime, it might be impossible or at least very difficult to find replacement hardware. Maybe a used 26er ht with a slack HA and a long fork would work, but at that point I might as well get something more modern, which means 650. With my (limited) industry discount, there is usually no point in getting a used bike.

73

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 26, 2014, 04:59:10 PM »

I would be all over an Explosif if I could but I don't work for a dealer but it could not hurt to ask them.

74

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 26, 2014, 10:18:58 AM »

thanks, that's good for perspective. I think that author has a little more bike in mind than I ever did. According to him, my bike does not even qualify as a mountain bike.  maybe he's right. 120mm+ and a dropper post sounds excessive to me, but I am coming from the retrogrouch world of single-speed rigid bikes. maybe something in the middle would be nice. I don't have anything close to a need for a 160mm FS bike (nor the budget) but a short-CS 120mm hardtail would be nice.

I might be able to afford one of these if I sold the KM:

http://www.ghost-bikes.com/bikes-2015/bike-detail/kato-pro-6/
or
http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-mountain-hardtail-all-mountain-29-mason
or
http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-mountain-hardtail-xc-trail-27-5-axis-pro

75

The Bike Shop / Re: hardtail mountain bikes

« on: November 26, 2014, 09:34:10 AM »

I am borrowing a 100mm fork to try on on the Karate Monkey for now. I have a set-back seatpost, 60mm stem, and 32"  riser bars on it, so it's certainly a frankenbike at this point. I had a Vassago Jabberwocky for a little while and I could not stand something about it. I had the 16" frame, which had a 600mm ETT, which is what most 17-18 inch "medium" frames have. the KM has a much shorter ETT. I don't know if it was the longer ETT or the longer CS that I hated about the Jabber, but it rode like ass.

I could potentially put a 120mm fork on the KM but that would be pushing it. its' designed for a 80mm, so 100mm is fine. the HA is relatively steep, nothing I can do about that other than getting a new bike.

I work in the industry so I have only a few bikes that I can get a decent price on- Diamondback, GT, Cannondale, Surly (maybe), and that German Ghost brand, which I have not seen yet. I would have to sell my KM to afford a new bike, so I don't want to sell it and regret it.