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Singlespeeds are stupid. I'm going to buy a FS e-mtb and be done with it. What should I get? See ya on the trails next week! Or rather, you'll see the back of me as a brap away. [Edit: happy April 2.]

Beat me to it! The visuals are great, but the smell is amazing.

We had about 70 folks start off. Good turnout for an iffy weather day. But the rain held off until the very last. Good event

Damianita and Annual Pennyroyal for those keeping score at home.

🤡 Their first ride will be intense.

Gotta take care of our peeps.

If you haven't been out on Sub Ninja in recent weeks, get out soon. The dirt was amazing today and bluebonnets have taken over the areas from the fires last August. It's beautiful.

Amazing. Life returning after the fire.

Another great year for bluebonnets at Muleshoe!

https://www.cedarparktexas.gov/521/2024-Parks-and-Recreation-Master-Plan Parks and Recreation Master Plan Pop-In Information Session #2 Wednesday, April 24, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm City Hall – Multi-Purpose Rooms 450 Cypress Creek Road, Building 3

YouTube has saved me hundreds in refrigerator repairs. Now that I am mostly retired, I'm willing to try a lot of things because I have the time to putter around with them. Since I still do a little bit of consulting, I know what my "per hour" rate is so I can judge that against the amount of time and effort to get someone out to do things for us. I still find that, despite having a decent bike workshop in the garage, I still take my FS to Bicycle House for anything suspension related. Or anything requiring me to remove the crankset because a.) it is impossible to get off even with a breaker bar and b.) DUB sucks. My next bike will definitely not have a press fit bottom bracket, that is the devil.

Man, I really shouldn't have inserted myself into this discussion. I don't have a dog in this fight...except for the fact that I spent the night at a holiday in once. I don't know the names, levels, details, categories or anything as such for these bikes. I just (think I) know that there are lightweight ones that give a little extra assist and then more robust heavier ones that have a higher output ability. (I think there are also throttle ones, but that doens't seem relevant to much of this). I was riding an Orbea Wild with the 750 watt motor, I think it weighed 52 lbs. I was riding it on some of the most techincal trail I could find. It was the day after a hard 70 mi ride for me. All I wanted to do was putter around the steep ups and steep downs. I was not trying to go fast. I truly found the experience to be closer to the way I ride my KTM 250cc enduro motorcycle. Bunny hopping was near impossible, lofting the front wheel took real effort and timing, getting the bike going on steep ups requires dirtbike type technique, and the extra power/velocity through the tight trees/tech makes this a skill all of its own. YMMV. I came away from the experience with the feeling that this activity was really a completely different sport all together. It just took place on our local mountain bike trails. And I'm not saying this as a hater, it was a fun experience, I can understand why people buy them. But it was simple NOT the same activity that I've been doing there for nearly 20 yrs. It was very much akin to if my FS MTB had a baby with my KTM MX bike. Cheers, CJB

Wear long socks.

A little fun in Northwest Arkansas. Today should be the last warm day here for the remainder of my trip. It has been warm and muggy but also crazy beautiful! Dogwoods and columbines are blooming.

I just saw this on MTBR: This is an interesting take. I had not considered the "finesse" that you can get from a bike that is just not present with an e-bike. So much of my riding over the years has become much more about feeling the bike through tight obstacles, rock gardens, etc. My Orbea Occam is exceptionally adept at helping me finesse my way through features, to the point where I often tell people to give me a little space because I have the ability to slow a climb to insanely low speed to slips through the appropriate line instead of just getting a head of steam and trying to power up something. The singlespeed really taught me this skill but the Occam lets me literally track stand in the middle of a climb or a rock garden and sneak through with the least effort.

when I worked at REI, every Diamondback bike we assembled came with a "fork direction" sticker, but it was not affixed to anything. I started collecting them and now I have a decent stack. I like to keep one in my pocket and stick it to forks at Target, Walmart, Academy, etc. There was a fat bike at Target with a backwards fork to which I adhered one of these stickers, and I came back to check on it every few months. it was still there, with the backwards fork, for several months.

They pulled the mask off and it was poison ivy. And he would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids.

Kudos to @St.Bernardo!!!

Thanks for the pics, it inspired me to get on my bike after more than a week off. I guess fire activates the seeds because that is where the bluebonnets are epic. Also, at red horn having a beer outside and what kind of jerk plays smashing pumpkins on his laptop for everyone to hear? People suck.

After riding yesterday we got back to our campsite and I promptly locked the bikes to a picnic table before realizing that I didn’t have the keys with me. Fortunately the camp host texted the LCRA maintenance guy that night and he came by camp the following morning as I was finishing my second cup of coffee with his new bolt cutters and cut the padlock for me. It is always a little disturbing to see how easily a lock can be removed.

Cedar Park had a "kaleido-spoke" festival on Friday night. It was an impressive event for being free. Great for kids.

I've been off the bike since January 1 this year with a shoulder injury. Riding any bike in any configuration is agony... until now. As I'm working my way through rehab, this is my new ride. Built around a Univega beach cruiser I found at Yellow Bike, I ditched most of the parts and started over. I had to buy the bottom bracket adapter cups and a shim for the handlebar, so I've spent less than $25 on it.

I rented one once. Let's just say that it can hold its own against a deer.

I had a Forester for a few years. After owning an Impreza for several years. Both were great for MTB trips. The AWD will get you places you wouldn't expect to drive to, and through rain, snow, etc. if need be. Subaru have changed their drivetrain since then, Better mpg, but I have no experience with anything recent. Might check if there are still discounts for IMBA members. If so, join Austin Ridge Riders for IMBA benefits.

Non mountain biking friends (in the 60 to 70 yr old range) who have done extended bike touring in Europe, New Zealand, Japan bought e-bikes this past year. Their bikes are Specialied S-Works somethings, they swapped out the drop bars for flat bars and added about 1.9" tires with a smooth rolling tread. They set it up so the battery is external and not inside the frame. This lets them pack the battery in a carry on when they fly with their bikes. Also, one can just carry the battery inside a hotel room for charging. We did a partly gravel (caliche!) road ride with them in the Round Mountain area a few weeks ago, and I picked up one of the bikes -- it's 30ish pounds, if that -- feather light. They are in Spain/Portugal right now and reported that the bikes did great on some incredibly steep roads. Side note: Google "e-bike + solar panels". Lots of interest on the topic of charging e-bikes with solar panels.

🤣

https://www.mtbatx.com/bigassride2024 April 20, 2024 - 8:00 AM Rainout Date: April 27 This is a social ride around South Austin Trail Network (SATN) focused on the east theatre, open to everyone, with no registration, entry fee or donation required… this is just for fun! There are 2 routes totaling 42 miles: a 16-mile loop with Mary Moore Searight as the most westerly point. Or the full big east loop of 26 miles. This event is organized by volunteers from the SATN community and sponsored by Fast Friends Beer. The purpose of the Big Ass Ride is to share the joy of The South Austin Trail Network. Not only the 130 miles of single track, but also the fantastic SATN community of mountain bikers! Schedule 8:00 AM: Ride begins; please be ready to roll at this time. Do Not start early! 12:00 PM: Food, Brew, and prize drawing (sponsors announced soon). Location Fast Friends Beer313 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd NB Austin, TX 78744 Routes TBA? I don't know, I'm out of the loop and just copy-paste stuff from the website. Im mostly stoked that I might be back on the bike in time to join, and Fast Friends is my current favorite spot in Austin for drinks and food.

Had an electrical company come out to give me a per-job bid on this. The cheapest was $688! However, during my conversation with him on the front-end prior to the quote, I gleaned enough basic info to further my own troubleshooting. With that and yet another YT video regarding GFCI outlets, I GOT IT FIXED! The wife was impressed and thats truly all that matters. (I wouldv'e lived without the electricity in the bathrooms) 🙂 Cheers, CJB

The weather doesn't look perfect, but it looks like it might work. So it's happening. Fast Friends is going to give all participants a dollar off their first post ride beer. Hey, it's something.

We used Klock Electric in Austin when we had a lightning strike to fix some issues in the house, they were fast, did good work, and as I recall, pretty reasonably priced. Also, Mark Bedell who posted on the old Mojo site as "silverback" is an electrician: https://www.facebook.com/mark.bedell1/ I think he works for a solar company these days so I don't know if he is in the service market but if you are friends with him you may want to reach out to him.

Thanks. Let me know what he says.

It's Back!!! 🤬 I was checking out some mystery trail and ended up doing quite a bit of bushwacking last night. Looks like the dish soap will be in the shower for the time being. 😐 Funny that the original post was also on March 29th.

Yes, locks don't stop dedicated bike thieves. They only prevent thefts by opportunity.

Don't forget. You were promised 620mile range teslas within two years in back in 2015. There's laundry list of empty promises and grift that techbros conveniently ignore. I guess I just lack "faith". Go ahead and keep supporting a regime with a long history of totalitarian behavior and human rights abuses. Social credit score? No thanks. Oh. And they are also the largest polluter in the world. #winning https://chinadialogue.net/en/business/new-three-china-solar-cell-lithium-battery-ev/#:~:text=China accounts for more than,than 20% of electric vehicles. I don't see many green washers calling for downsizing the us military and cutting their budget. That would get their dick slapped in the renewed red scare world we currently find ourselves in. How much money does Elon receive from the GOVT again? https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/10/pentagon-climate-change-neta-crawford-book/ Let's not forget this little incident that I also don't hear the greenies calling for the end to conflict. In fact I just see yellow and blue flags on their social media. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-47290-7#:~:text=It is estimated that more,contributing to global warming1. This EV BS is just a way to shift guilt and blame onto the public and not the real drivers of pollution. The ruling class will never change their ways, and will keep the plebs arguing about absolute nonsense while they line their pockets. It's all a grift and like any other organized religion, I'm not buying what they're selling.

I have a buddy that has a Kuat Transfer V2 Rack with a 2" receiver. Hardly ever used, probably less than 10 times. If you are interested ping me and I can put you in touch with him. Here's more info on the rack: https://www.rei.com/product/187294/kuat-transfer-v2-2-bike-hitch-rack There is nothing wrong with it, but they have 2 e-bikes and need a heavier duty rack to handle the extra heft of a battery bike.

Not trying to stoke any coals here but The Tip shared almost 70 miles of trail maps with me, and i wasn't on any social media. Most of which I'd never even heard of. Pretty cool

sigh. I really didn't want to address this but, to protect what little reputation I have, I am compelled to do so. I am not sure why I am having to endure TAF's unrelenting wrath. It started with his suggestion for a cleanup of a particular spot in the SATN. I didn't immediately jump on it and make it happen. He has been very angry at me since. I'm not sure why he didn't organize this event himnself if it was so important to him. But I'm amazed that he accuses me of "doing nothing for the community." The irony being that I would be willing to bet that there are less than five people in town that have given as many hours to trail building, maintenance, organizing clean ups, putting on community building events, and participating in other's events too, (ARR etc), as I have. For example, I've used Strava to track my walking miles at trail work for eight years now. I average over a hundred miles a year. That includes just walking to do hours long projects at single spots. It would be fun if Strava tracked all time hours at each activity too. He wants The SATN Facebook page to be an open forum. Well, that is not why that page was created. It is only for information dissemintation. There are at least two other local mtbing Facebook pages that are designed for open discussions. So his ire about that perplexes me too. I have nothing against the man. This all just seems so strange to me.

No, you are not being too cheap. Check out swapping the front and back. I have a a regimen for my tires, the good bike gets the new ones, passing down its tires to the singlespeed, and then the singlespeed tires go to the urban bike for the final grinding down. I get years out of a set of tires across multiple bikes.

One more season. Lower knobs = less rolling resistance on the BRCT.

LoL at hearing the crowd cheer when he gets into police reform. APD is short 500 cops so crime will just worsen regardless of what this pencilneck says/does.

Still in Patzcuaro, Mexico. Yesterday’s ride was 10.2 miles with 1,510´ of climbing.

Yep. The council will have to grow some spines and actually give the taxpayers what they want. 99% of those camps are open drug and prostitution markets. Laws have long been on the books to start addressing this, if the coward judges will prosecute. Seriously hoping the city i loved so much turns it around.

I rode BMX Loop last week and there was a crew cleaning out all of the camps! Glad to finally have this trail back.

I have struggled with cholesterol for years. It's a hereditary thing because I have tried everything and can't seem to bring it down. For a while I had a doctor pushing me to get on statins because my overall number was well over 200, which is why I tried everything to avoid statins. My new doctor was much more pragmatic. Her position was that as long as my LDL was less than 160 I was fine to stay off statins. Because I ride every day, my HDL was high and my eating/drinking habits kept my Triglycerides in check. 7 years ago I had a calcium scan and the score was ~25. Just had one in January and my new number was 140. Statins it is. Step aside lifestyle this is a job for science.

Let's take it back!