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Last week a group of us hiked the proposed route thru Walnut Creek Park from the current "end" of the big sidewalk to the east side of the park. There were several issues to bring to the group - 1) - PARD is saying NO NEW TRAILS. After the current section of the sidewalk replaced several of the exiting trails, we were allowed to replace those trails. PARD is saying that will not be allowed this time. The new sidewalk is planned to replace a long section of the existing trail that in my opinion, is not a high priority to Mtbr's. Most of that section is along Pool Lot Trail. (see attached map). I don't see that trail being a big loss to Mtbr's. Most riders on that trail are just getting to a 'real trail' to ride. I think we can share that part with the general public with out too much trouble. 2) - Charlie has proposed and flagged a parallel path to allow Mtbr's to bypass that section. PARD was adamant that that trail would never be allowed. 3) - The climb at 250 - 252 - 254 is likely to be closed. There were concerns about trails entering the sidewalk with blind entrances. Those trails are fall line trails that are eroding and exposing oak roots. My opinion is those trails should probably be closed but only if there are allowed to be replaced. If they are closed with no replacement - then keep them open. Sorry - an adamant edict gets an adamant response. 4) - The biggest problem is where the new sidewalk will cross Walnut Creek east of the Main Creek Crossing (see lower right red circle on the attached map). That is a highly used and popular trail. The City was proposing to build "board walk ramps" to allow Mtb's to cross the sidewalk at (roughly) right angles. The theory was that the climb on to the sidewalk level (I'm guessing 5 to 6 feet) would slow the bikes down to prevent collisions. I said that riders would get as much speed as possible to gap jump the concrete. I see potential for major collisions if they build these ramps. I suggested allowing the existing trail to be moved so the revised trail could go under the bridge that will be built over Walnut Creek. This would be similar to what was done at the bottom of Powerline Flow Trail. The engineer and PARD people did walk over and look at that area. There was NO commitment that this would be allowed. There was little commitment that it would even be considered. I think the folks were we talking with were afraid to make commitments that may not happen because they are overruled by higher ups. These were worker bees - not management that sits at a desk and issues edicts. 5) - There were a large number of trees with red survey tape around them. There was MUCH concern that the red survey tape meant the tree would be removed. We were told that the red marking meant the tree was surveyed - not that it would or would not be removed. Since some of these trees were HUGE old trees - several people walking the proposed sidewalk were relieved to hear these trees were not marked for removal. 6) - Overall - I think the big sidewalk is a good thing (I hate to call a concrete, ADA compliant structure a "trail". It is closer to a road than a trail.). This can be a place to ride when it is too wet to ride dirt. We can stay away from cars with drivers on their phones. Maybe, just maybe, we might be able to build new trail off the new sidewalk like at Brushy Creek. I support the big sidewalk even if it takes out some real trails at Walnut Creek. That said, these are my opinions ONLY. I am about to hand this off to others. They may have different ideas on how to handle it. You can see what the City has posted on their web site at the link below. http://www.austintexas.gov/page/walnut-creek-trail-system WalnutCreekMetroPark_LargeKiosk_2019-09-07 NWCRT.pdf

Just buy one quickly. We need the rain.

So.....I ride with Bartman regularly. We recently had a great trip to Colorado and he hung out with my wife and I this past weekend. I’d love to see his take on the person “featured “ here for creating so many posts. Perhaps I will log on and hand things over to Bartman. I may be banned as a result, but you know it’d be some great reading! 🤣

2) I have done this at competitive and Jenson. I figure the guys there press in 100 bottom brackets every day so they'll probably do a good job. It was free with purchase. Plus while you're in touch it's free to ask if the price they're offering is the best they can do. Jenson immediately knocked $300 off a frame just because I asked. 4) I've broken a stans hub too. There are so many good cheap wheels these days, I would not bother. 5) What happens if 11 speed goes away? Will you have to... buy a new drivetrain?

Thanks for the update, summary and personal feedback. FWIW, I agree with all of your comments. I do have to say that when the initial concrete path was proposed, flagged and then began construction...I was fairly miffed that "my" long-time neighborhood single track was being encroached upon so drastically. But once it was completed, and we were also allowed to replace lost trail, it has proven to be a huge positive to the entire system. I L-O-V-E(!) seeing so many people out being active on the concrete path. I really don't care if it's walkers, families, joggers, or dogs it has brought people out into nature (sorta) and also lessened crime that used to be around that sketchy section under/around Metric. Then add-in the fact that the new trail additions are some of the best trail out there and its been a 100% win for everyone IMHO. All that being said, THIS is what I find most interesting in the link you provided: Project Funding: $2.5M from the 2016 Mobility Bond $1.5M from a TxDOT Grant $1,016,000 from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department So it takes $5 million dollars to create 1.7 miles of trail?!?

Reminded me that I meant to post this last week:

Has anyone checked out bike packing in the Sam Houston National Forest? I can't find any trip reports. There seem to be enough trails for a reasonable overnighter.

In the world of not sweating the offset, I took a look at how Niner positions offsets for my current Rip9: "The trail bikes like RIP 9 and JET 9 do well with 44mm offset. It’s best to find out your current fork offset and use the same for your new fork." So they recommend a 44mm offset and I have been riding 51mm Pikes for the past year with no issue. My guess is that this would not be an issue for me, I am not a princess, I probably won't notice the pea.

What Kyle said. I have never called Jenson with a problem that wasn't solved immediately, and usually included a discount. Even when the problem was my fault, like ordering the wrong part. If you call them they will probably do you a better deal than simply clicking on the webpage.

I still drop by mojo and post at him now and then.

It's all relative. Like I posted earlier, plenty of people do it and it's fine. But Austinbike is German and takes pride in following specifications, so I had to put it out there.

We have re-opened a trail at City Park. I doubt MTBR's know about or ever used this trail. So chances are good MTBR's will never find this trail or start using it. But it exists and is rideable now. There is short bypass near the top of the Main Loop. This trail starts on that bypass and parallels the drainage channel until it hits where the fork of the drainage comes together. From there, there is a trail to the west that ties back into the Main Loop. This trail was EXTREMELY important to the motorcycle trials riders so they could get to their riding areas without doing the entire Main Loop. Since it was clearly outside of any critical water quality zone we were allowed to reopen it. If MTBR's want to ride it - it is legal trail. Please stay on the trail and don't create bypasses or new trails. This is a two-way trail so be careful of on coming traffic. You should plan to yield to motorcycles regardless of who is up hill or down hill. You know they are there but they don't know you are there. Attached are two maps. One an aerial view where the trail is located but it is hard to see the other trails. The other map has TONS on old information but shows the other trails. I 'circled' the re-opened trail in red so you can find it among all the info shown. Ef LongMotorcyclePark-1996 Existing Trails - Shaded Sections - N-S Trail.pdf

1. There are ALWAYS bike deals to be had. Brand new, month old, or year old. Know what you want, know where to find it, be patient and you will find a great deal out here. 2. No experience. 3. I’d sell it and apply all funds to the new purchase. 4. I’m running Stan’s Flow MK3 wheels with Neo ultimate hubs right now. They’ve been an excellent wheelset so far, stiff, light and fast. 5. I just went from 12 speed 10-50 eagle to 11 speed 11-46 Shimano. I prefer the 46 to the 50, and the 11 to the 10 is negligible to me. Again, I would sell off everything and start from a fresh new build you shop around and be patient for. I cannot say this enough, there is always a deal out there if you do your due diligence and be patient.

Stan's hubs have a bad reputation. Maybe they have gotten better, but if you're going to go to all that trouble, buy something from a reputable hub manufacturer- Hope, Hadley, King, I9, Onyx, etc.

Mid 90s tomorrow. Bring a jacket 😜

Ibis Ripley, Devinci Django, and Pivot 429 Trail would be on my shortlist. All are very efficient peddlers while being quite capable going down steep stuff. The Ripmo & Hightower are awesome as well but probably more bike than you're wanting. For riding around here and the occasional trip to Gnarkansas-like destinations, I would think you can't go wrong with any of the DW-link bikes in the 130 travel flavor. My top pick would be the Ripley. Considering it's an Ibis, they're actually are attainable at below boutique prices as well. I'm happy to take your money though and order you up something like this...Ibis Ripmo XT build with i9 hubs and Cane Creek Helm fork. If you don't care about things like Kashima Coat on your suspension and XT, then $5099 gets you a stock Ripley with SLX. Not bad at all.

No, you're f@cking far from good.

The free hubs may look the same but the shoulder where the cassette makes contact on the free hub may be different heights. I only know this because of the Hope hubs I have on my HT. The Hope hubs require a spacer behind the cassette for 10/11 speed Shimano to get the correct spacing. I have an extra spacer I'll let you have if you're interested.

For the back, I'd run an aggressor, ikon or at worst rekon. I currently run a griffin on the back and a dhf to steer on my xc bike. The extra 150-200 grams is worth the peace of mind. Don't get me wrong, tired like the nobby nic is actually a pretty good all around tire until it isn't, and washes out. In places like ATX probably won't be an issue. The new HD2.0 is actually pretty nice and has found a place on the front of my wife's 29er. All my schwalbe have been evo snakeskin or whatever they are called now so tubeless was never an issue.

The only thing that should be different between a 142 hub and a 135 hub from the King should be the axle, no? Shouldn’t you be able to swap freehub bodies between the two hubs? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Shit post Haiku: Shit posts eight comments, Maybe thinks more is better, Futile exercise

Shitpost 101: Post a lot of questions about stuff you'll never buy.

Man all this rack talk makes me wish my Thule will break. It's been years and it gets uglier by the moment but wont break Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Hi, I'm looking to buy an full-suspension eMtb for my wife to equalize our fitness levels and enjoy riding together but I'm having a very hard time finding some to test ride. Does anyone know where you can rent one for the day? I'd like to try the Giant and the Specialized or maybe something else. We're looking for 150mm suspension or less. Thanks.