Mountain bike riders?

[tabbibus]

Happy Red Bull Rampage day, lads! 1pm EDT on Red Bull TV app. Don't miss it!

 

[2kwik4u]

Nope Nope Nope.....ALLLLLL the effing NOPES

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/q8l6ue

 

[jawsf16]

It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden stop at the end.
Douglas Adams

 

[AZMark]

Nope Nope Nope.....ALLLLLL the effing NOPES

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/q8l6ue

That is badass and I want to know what movie it’s from so I can watch the rest if anyone knows.

My nearest local trail and many others that I’m sure you all ride that have nice exposed ledges of 30+ ft that will probably kill you just as much if you fall off, just not as spectacularly!

 

[tabbibus]

Semenuk took the crown at Rampage again! Beast!

In other news, here's me trying to clear a stupid table that for some reason gives me trouble, still clip the lip of the landing...

And heres my bike dungeon. Not sure if I had shared it before.

 

[I_squared_r]

Semenuk took the crown at Rampage again! Beast!

In other news, here's me trying to clear a stupid table that for some reason gives me trouble, still clip the lip of the landing...

And heres my bike dungeon. Not sure if I had shared it before.

I think need to push into the lip of the jump with your legs and pull the bars to your chest on lift off. I run my rebound super fast on the front and a little slower on the rear.. I’m terrified of nose casing + otb with clips on. It hurts like hell.

here is thebeginning frame of my previous jump photo. steep lip but you get the idea

 

[AZMark]

I’m jealous of you guys that ride in the woods. Not many parks here. Natural trails are great though.

 

[2kwik4u]

Any of you guys ride by yourself?

My buddy that has a bike that I wanted to ride with seems to always have a work or home thing going and doesn't have a ton of time to ride. Granted he has a 3yr old and an 8mo old, and is a top performing engineer in a sales position for a major tech company.......I mean I get why he's busy, and I'm not upset about that at all.........SO.........

Aside from the "I crashed in the woods and don't have a buddy to go get help", any downside to trail riding by yourself? Any thoughts? I'm considering going out Saturday morning to the local park and getting some ride time in alone. I've been riding the road bike (err...death machine) alone for decades, no issues there, I know the risks and how to mitigate them. Any other safety thoughts I should be aware of off-road when setting out solo?

 

[tabbibus]

Any of you guys ride by yourself?

My buddy that has a bike that I wanted to ride with seems to always have a work or home thing going and doesn't have a ton of time to ride. Granted he has a 3yr old and an 8mo old, and is a top performing engineer in a sales position for a major tech company.......I mean I get why he's busy, and I'm not upset about that at all.........SO.........

Aside from the "I crashed in the woods and don't have a buddy to go get help", any downside to trail riding by yourself? Any thoughts? I'm considering going out Saturday morning to the local park and getting some ride time in alone. I've been riding the road bike (err...death machine) alone for decades, no issues there, I know the risks and how to mitigate them. Any other safety thoughts I should be aware of off-road when setting out solo?

I ride solo a lot. I use the Strava beacon to let my wife and a designated friend where I am just in case. I also have a Ride ID band with emergency number to call in case they find me plastered to a tree.

I also never send dangerous stuff solo. No big drops or huge jumps.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Agree, I ride by myself often. But definitely tone it down a bit and err on the side of “live to ride another day”. Most phones have some sort of share your location feature if that comforts the significant other.

 

[tkeru408]

I've got access to about 20 miles of trails at the end of my street so it's nothing for me to hop on my bike and get in some miles before work or during lunch (WFH for 19 months and counting). I'd say at least half my riding is solo.

I just make sure my wife knows I'm out riding and about what time I expect to be back. Like above, I wear an ID band with emergency info and I keep my full ID and my cell phone in my pack. Have a small first aid kit in my pack, too (all that stuff is with me whether I'm solo or with friends). I also don't do anything crazy while solo.

 

[AZMark]

Any of you guys ride by yourself?

My buddy that has a bike that I wanted to ride with seems to always have a work or home thing going and doesn't have a ton of time to ride. Granted he has a 3yr old and an 8mo old, and is a top performing engineer in a sales position for a major tech company.......I mean I get why he's busy, and I'm not upset about that at all.........SO.........

Aside from the "I crashed in the woods and don't have a buddy to go get help", any downside to trail riding by yourself? Any thoughts? I'm considering going out Saturday morning to the local park and getting some ride time in alone. I've been riding the road bike (err...death machine) alone for decades, no issues there, I know the risks and how to mitigate them. Any other safety thoughts I should be aware of off-road when setting out solo?

I ride alone most of the time. Trails are busy enough that someone will usually come by before too long.

I feel like most mountain bike crashes don’t end with much emergency help being needed as long as you have adequate water (the biggest danger here). It might suck a lot to walk/ride out with a broken bone but you won’t die at least.

Edit: proper safety gear and enough to get your bike home from common issues (tire stuff, extra chain links) goes without saying. Always always wear glasses, get some that can swap in clear lenses if needed.

 

[I_squared_r]

I used to ride alone a lot and I never thought about the dangers of it, but the trails here are heavily trafficked. When I ride trails with bears and no one would hear me scream then I put music on my phone to scare away bears.

 

[tabbibus]

I used to ride alone a lot and I never thought about the dangers of it, but the trails here are heavily trafficked. When I ride trails with bears and no one would hear me scream then I put music on my phone to scare away bears.

Timber bell is also very good to ward off wildlife and non bike traffic

 

[2kwik4u]

Well........Had my first ride yesterday on the new machine. It's a mixed bag.

Lets start with the good.

• The thing rolls exceptionally well. the 29x 2.5in tires feel ginormous, and I had plenty of traction it felt like.
• HOLY CRAP the handle bars feel so wide. I'm sure I was missing trees by feet, but it felt like millimeters. That is going to take some getting used to.
• I think the frame and wheels are plenty stiff, it responded well to pedal inputs.
• Clipped pedals are no big deal, I think I'm going to keep them. I clipped in/out with no problem, was able to put my foot down a few times when I needed to. Overall no big deal here.
• Weather was PERFECT. Sunny 65deg riding through the woods in Cherokee Park here in Louisville. Was cool enough to not get hot, but warm enough to not get cold. Had shorts, a long sleeve "thermal" shirt, and a jersey over the top (for the back pockets). Worked out great.
• The grips aren't bad when I have my gloves on. They're "sticky" with bare skin, but appropriate with gloves. Again, non-issue

Now for the bad.

• I had to ride by myself. Had a friend scheduled to meet me there with his bike as well. He got caught up in work stuff. That sucks, but we're adults, and it is what it is.
• The trails I chose was more technical than I remember.
  • Here's a link to it on MTBikeProject.com
• I only got about 2miles in before I got a flat. Best I can tell it was a pinch flat, guess 35psi isn't enough.
  • Gonna try 40 next time and see if that helps. I'm guessing my weight and no rear suspension did me in on some rocks along the way.
  • SOOOO....I hiked the two miles back to the car. That part sucked.
  • Random rider stopped to help. He happened to have a tube and a pump, but his tube had a seam rupture already, so it didn't work either. No idea where my patch kit was, it usually lives in my seat bag that I transferred over from the Road Bike.....errr Death Machine....
• Once I made it back to the car I loaded up and headed to the LBS. I wanted them to check the headset and a few other things. Really glad I did, they ended up spending about an hour working on the bike.
  • New rear derailleur hanger. Old one was cracked and about the fail
  • Trued rear wheel
  • New tube in rear wheel since they had it on the stand
  • Added air to the fork (was at 45psi, supposed to be 110psi for my weight)
  • Tightened front disc
  • Adjusted and lubed driveline. Shifting is MUCH better now, had the crispness I was talking about before.
• I have a TON of mud in the car to clean now. I seriously have to get on that roof rack project.

A question for you guys running the 1up trays.....How do they work if you have a flat? Does the clamp just rest against the wheel? Do you lose any stability? Obviously I came home with a DEAD flat rear tire yesterday, and if that happens with a full car of people I won't have the option of "tossing it in the back" like I did this time. Any thoughts?

Overall, I figure I'm about $23/min into the fun at this point. I'm sure that number will go down as I use it more. Was really nice to be out and about spinning pedals though.

Couple of pics:
Bike at the car before the ride. Lighting is terrible here, but it's the only other picture I took.


DEAD FLAT rear tire. Ugh. Hope this isn't a common theme with these tires.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Convert wheels tires to tubeless and don’t look back. Lots of yourube videos on how to do eevn if don’t have tubeless wheels or tires.

1up still works with a flat, been there done that.

Sounds like you are having adventures already

 

[tabbibus]

That sounds like a very appropriate first outing! A few thoughts on your thoughts:

1. Agree with above post. Go tubeless. I used to get flats all the time. I don't remember how much you weigh. But 35-40 psi also makes for a rougher ride and less traction. But higher PSI is needed on tubed tires. For comparison, I run 18-20 PSI on my tubeless tires (weight 170 kitted up), and traction and suppleness is fantastic. Once you go tubeless you basically need to slash your tire (usually sidewall) to end your ride.

2. Until you go tubeless, bring an extra tube with you and either a CO2 canister or a minipump.

3. That trail looks like fun!

4. Check the fork air at least once a month. More frequently if you can. You will need a special pump for that. Look up shock pumps.

Keep the rubber side down brotha!

Lastly: little clip of me sessioning a jump yesterday

New video by Eduardo Egea

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[2kwik4u]

Nice dude that stopped on the trail talked to me about tubeless as well and echoed essentially the same thoughts as here. I'll look into it. Mechanic a the LBS said basically the same thing as well. Enough people in enough places talking about it, must be something to it. might try to finish the small remainder of this season on tubes, and swap to tubeless over the winter.

I'm probably close to 230lbs all kitted up at this point. REALLY REALLY want to be down under 200 again (I'm 6'2" tall, so 200 is still a shade heavy). So I started at 35psi and it still felt somewhat soft. Probably go to 40psi due to my weight and yesterdays experience. Tires say they're rated to 65psi, but I can't imagine how rock solid they'll feel there.

I had levers, CO2 canisters, CO2 adapter with me. Just didn't have my patch kit. Attempted to use a $20 bill as a patch with some spit around it to seal. That didn't work and burnt a cartridge. Then tried to use some mud and a couple leaves as a patch. Also didn't work and burnt the last cartridge. I'll probably just carry a spare tube with my from now until I make the swap.

@tabbibus We don't have any jumps like that around here that I know of. The stuff yesterday was super technical with lots of rock paths, tons of exposed roots, and a few places where there was a 20-30ft drop exposure on one side. They call that section "no net" I'm learning, and it makes sense. Not sure how I'de feel about flying around like that. Every single jump experience I can remember as a kid ended poorly for me, and I'm not nearly as pliable as I used to be.

Side note, my quads hurt so bad this morning that I'm having significantly difficulty transitioning from stand to sit and back to stand. OOF I'm out of shape BAD.

 

[tkeru408]

Congrats on the first trip out!

Tubeless is definitely the way to go, there's a little bit of maintenance to learn but plenty of videos to show you how to keep them running smooth (essentially just add a little sealant every 6 months). You can also consider adding a tire insert, like a CushCore or similar, which helps prevent flats and helps prevent rock strikes to your rims. I run tubeless with CushCores and haven't had a single flat in the 7 months since I went to that setup (knock on wood!). I'm similar in weight to you (and similarly want to get back under 200lb) and I run 21/23psi with that setup. MUCH more comfortable than running 35-40 psi.

 

[I_squared_r]

I'm running tubeless + cushcore after destroying my last set of wheels. 22/25psi. weight 160lbs
I went to mountain creek on sunday and made a lot of progression. I went down a size on the coil spring and slowed the rebound on the fork. You can see when my rebound was too fast and the front would come up. I tend to run faster rebound in the front because i'm terrified of nose casing with clips.

New video by Michael Balducci

photos.app.goo.gl

New video by Michael Balducci

photos.app.goo.gl

New video by Michael Balducci

photos.app.goo.gl

New video by Michael Balducci

photos.app.goo.gl