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Just finished my third week of PT. Initially I was on the recumbent bike and could only move the pedals back and forth without full rotation. Now I'm spinning comfortably on the upright bike, albeit with little resistance. Also squatting pretty deep on a machine that adjust to neutralizes your own body weight, but still lets you work on range of motion. Still have to go up stairs one at a time, can't reach my right foot, and have not resumed driving yet. Overall though, my spirits are much higher now and I've also resumed my upper body gym workouts along with all of my at-home PT exercises. With the initial prognosis being 6 months to full recovery, I'd say I may actually be a little ahead of schedule but I don't want to get over optimistic. Getting ready to buy a new HIIT machine for the house so that when I do end up getting back on the bike, I won't be suffering on the cardio side.

The story of my last few trail bikes: Prolly 2009 or so and moving up from 26" wheels to a 29er (which were pretty much all XC at the time), a friend wanted to sell me his wife (girlfriends?) barely ridden Ellsworth Evolve. I rode it at least 5 times, liked it, wanted to love it, but didn't. I took one demo ride on a Giant Anthem and knew that was the bike for me even though the Ellsworth was a way better deal and component spec. Rode the Anthem for 5 years or so, wanted slacker, more travel so I bought a Banshee Prime on closeout from Jenson. Banshees were getting stellar reviews both here (Mojo) and nationally, so NBD on the no test ride. Again, I liked it, wanted to love it, thought maybe I did, then I rode a Stumpy 6fattie my buddy was trying to sell. That was love. I wasn't even looking for a new bike at the time, and if I was, that bike wouldn't have even been on the radar. I rode the Banshee once more and promptly bought the Stumpy. The point is, yeah all bikes are good these days, but love is a special thing that you can only feel by riding it. You may not get lucky enough to find your bicycle soulmate this time around, but numbers on a spreadsheet only get you so far. AND, sometimes you find love in unexpected places. Maybe you should try some of the bigger travel options or some fat tires. Who knows? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. (-Forrest Gump).

I've had three MTBs since 2013. Didn't test ride any of them. Bought these bikes off of real rider reviews from forums like MTBR. My first bike was a '12 Niner RIP9. It was a good bike for the trails around here but took a little bit to get it to where it felt comfortable, the RP23 shock was a POS and I added offset bushings to slacken the HA and drop the BB. Currently riding a V1 Following which is a great bike right out of the gate. Built all my bikes from new previous year parts at a good discount compared to buying complete. I recently rented a Ripley in Durango not the new version but the last model it was a very capable bike and felt very much like my Following except for the steeper seat angle which was really nice on the climbs. I had no problem letting the bike go on the descents and it handled very predictably. It was 120/120 and punched above it's travel especially considering where I was riding it. I don't recommend testing more than say 4 bikes, too many bikes gets confusing and you start to second guess your thoughts. Always trust your gut, the one that feels good right away is usually the best choice. Like mentioned earlier there really are no bad bikes out there right now it's just a matter of getting used to the bike and how it feels.

Benefits of test rides on your local trails: Riding bikes on your local trails is kewl Something to blog about Possibly learn something that informs your sizeable purchasing decision Downside of test rides on your local trails:

I am 90% sure that all of the bikes will feel pretty similar to me and all of them will feel very different from my current ride. And whatever I buy will be comfortable like a glove after a handful of rides. But, if you have the time and demos are available, it is worth taking a shot, what have I got to lose.

Yeah, I was interested in the Trail 429, but the entry point with the lowest build was over $6K. Yes, it has some better components and that adds up to ~$500 in price delta, leaving ~$1,300 still in pricing difference. All of the discounting in the world won't make that go away. I found this entire exercise interesting from a marketing perspective. There were a slew of bikes that all line up head to head that all have about the same components and all cost almost the identical $4,199. And the typical upsells were $4,499 and $4,899. So the price points were well established for a 130mm trail bike with SRAM components and a Fox fork. And then you had some outliers, like Pivot, that were way out of the park. And you try to figure out, is it REALLY that much better. And more importantly, would I ever REALLY notice the difference. Would love to have been in those marketing meetings.

Glad this thread popped up. I'll be riding there in two weeks. Can't wait!

This is truer than ever before. I went from a Scott Genius 27.5 with 65.5 HTA, 75.3 STA, 445 reach, 1,197 wheelbase, Fox 34 and DPS, to a Norco Sight 29 with 67 HTA, 74.1 STA, 432 reach, 1,159 wheelbase, Fox 36 and X2. In short I went from an enduro bike with trail suspension, to a trail bike with enduro suspension. Complete 180, and it’s awesome! They ride totally different, but you learn what the bike needs from you, and what each bike does differently from the other and you just run with it. Bikes are rad right now

How about a gravel rig? You can come do some miles with me in the mornings. It definitely improves your cardio.😀 I think I'm somewhere around 800 miles since July 22.

Whew, I thought you were gonna say "because it has a reputation of eating people."

Makes sense. How old were these frames that you're breaking? You can also try and buy one cheap enough that it doesn't matter, especially if the parts are worth more than the bike. I've gotten over 40% off by calling and negotiating. https://www.cambriabike.com/collections/mtb-bikes?page=1&rb_vendor=Niner https://www.jensonusa.com/Mountain-Bikes?brand=Niner

The moon machine is what I called it. I had to do treadmill wearing that harness. I hated it but got me up and walking faster. Great to hear your spirits are higher. Awesome news on the progress!

There are things in Lake Conroe more worrisome than Bigfoot. ... news helicopter photo of gator out for a swim with a deer in its jaws. When bikepacking, that lovely overnight spot with a lake view may require further consideration before setting up camp.

There is a whole lot of trails in Sam Houston Nat. Forest. In the early 90's a buddy and I got lost back there for 13 hrs. Luckily hit a fire road at dusk and found a house that helped us out. it was hot af and we were dehydrated and fly bitten from hell. Quite an ordeal before cell, gps, and bikes were heavy. Also Tx Bigfoot country so heads up.

Agreed

Man that's too bad. I've really enjoyed your contributions / insights and hate to see you go.

Funny you ask. Took a pic of this at the museum of American history last month. Don’t know shit about their bikes but thought it was cool.

I am almost there! I cut/filed the material on the dropout away until I had enough room to tension a single speed set up. Grinding was a lot of work. Slapped a 16 tooth as cog and wrapped a chain around the middle ring. Perfect! I reused an old hybrid tire on the front and a slick from @AntonioGGon the back. Brakes from @Txn will stop me when I need it. I think I just need to grab some cables and housing for the brakes now. Beater away! Now I just have to stop myself from putting dirt drops on it an making a ridiculous monstercoss bike.

Walnut is perfect right now. Just finished and didn’t pick up any dirt at all. Get some. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've been a rain rider for many years, just not here. Nothing wrong with being muddy as long as the trail is OK with it.

Hm, maybe? Still has the steep STA that I feel isn't as good for lots of long flat road miles, but I'm still getting used to it. That may change after I get more than 3-4 rides on the bike. Also you probably wouldn't have the absolute boat anchor of a tire that is the Maxxis Assegai (seriously, they weigh nearly 1200g a piece and came front/rear stock) on there. They're super awesome for grip and confidence, but you can feel them anytime you're on something smooth. I may swap out to something like a Minion front and Rekon WT rear at some point, which would make the Ripmo more likely to be a longer day bike.

Good to know I'm not the only one that doesn't demo a bike before buying. Besides a quick ride in a parking lot to make sure the frame size will fit me I just buy off of specs.

I'll offer a bit of heresy, I suppose: Don't bother with test rides! Read reviews from riders who test ride for a living, decide what you 'should' like, and pick a bike based on how many boxes it tics off. There are so many variables when test riding - from bike set up to trail conditions to how you feel, etc - that I know I can't really tell how well a bike is suited for me. Hell, when I jack around with my bike's set up, I can go from loving it to meh. And set up can be everything from suspension to cockpit config, etc. Granted, I may be especially sensitive. But then again, if you're not, then it may be impossible to accurately assess a bike, let alone differentiate. Like me, you'll more than likely 'adapt' to the bike you get, once you get it set up optimally for you. Test riding extremes may be worth while - very steep STA or slack HTA, lots or little travel, for example. My last 3 bikes have been bought, ridden, and loved with test rides... YMMV

I've started working on the area between the detention pond and Brushy Creek Road on the East side. It was kinda boring imo. The roller/dips/berms (see pics) will add more fun and the trail will align better with the left turn up the hill towards Brushy Creek Road so you'll be able to carry more speed to get up the hill. In the pics the trail looks close to the chain link fence, once the bench cut is done it will be a few feet further away from it.

When I was 15 or 16 my mom took me to grocery store and sent me in to get her something while she waited outside. Inside I ran into a few girls I knew from school. I said hi. They giggled and smiled. My ego was stoked. I go back out to the car and my mom asked how it went , noticing my shit eaten grin. I told her about the hot chicks I ran into and how they were all smiling at me. She asked me if it was because they liked me or was it the gigantic booger on the end of my nose. What I thought the girls were all smiling at wasn't me after all. I was the fool thinking one thing when in fact I couldn't have been more wrong. Call it how you want. You are wrong Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

This thread become so much more than I could have ever dreamed.

A buddy and I have discussed doing this recently. In the warmer months the black fly swarms are unbelievable, so I wouldn’t do it then. We may do it this winter though. Should easily be able to cover 50+ miles before camping.

I would love to give bikepacking a shot. I'm pretty sure my gravel bike can carry a lot of stuff.

For those who prefer a smooth IPA, this is a good one to try!

Fortunately I haven't been injured, but with all the humidity I've been riding my gravel bike everyday for the last 30days doing 20miles a day. The fitness level is night and day. Good luck to all of you injured riders and keep in mind the only thing you're missing right now is HEAT AND HUMIDITY.

I check in once a month to see if he is here and then promptly leave. If the admins want value of the website, they would IP ban and all future users that appear to be him under discretionary authority. See you in a few months. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk