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I rode with a guy once who had 2 cheapo LED flashlights ziptied to his helmet alot like the Tip's setup. It wasn't until I complimented how clean the setup looked that he revealed that he picked them up in the checkout aisle of Home Depot. I think a lot of times as mountain bikers, we totally overthink/overpay for MTB specific shite.

I use four Niterider lights. Two on my handlebars, two on my helmet. I initially rigged one light's handlebar strap to the side of my helmet with some zip ties. I did this because I hit the top of my helmet all the time on rides. I didn't want a light on top catching and ripping my head backwards. But the weight on one side made my helmet slide to one side. "If I can only come up with some counter weight..." Duh, it finally dawned on my dumbass...another light! So here's my rig. With my four lights blazing I joke that I could film a movie! I use to think that people that rode at night were crazy. But when I finally did it I felt the same way I did after I finally got lasik surgery; why did I wait so friggin long?

No, that's a box of Ardents

I've never ridden in the dark much at all, but in 2010 while doing the Enchilada Buffet I had a true light FAIL. As they were lining us out at the beginning of the ride in the dark, my cheap light fell out of the camel back and fell into multiple pieces. When we got back to Walnut at dusk and started our lap I grabbed a cheap borrowed handlebar-light out the car but it wouldn't stay in place and pointed straight down almost immediately before it quit working altogether. I had to get between two riders who had lights and just hope for the best. By that point I was hallucinating a bit from exhaustion and the spotty lighting just enhanced the delirium. I only pegged one tree and at that point in the day it was just a minor inconvenience.

Rode SN to the new stuff last night and it's going to be awesome. Such a big canvas to work with including some really cool natural features. Should make for some incredible trails but the dirt seems like a challenge with all the rocks. Nothing new for Gringo and crew so I'm sure they have a plan. If you guys need any help out there, don't hesitate to make a work call.

Whatcha using? It is that time of year. Currently, I have a MiNewt750 and Lumina 550, both Nightrider products. The MiNewt has two big li-ion batteries in a pack attached by a cable that strap on my frame, the big light on the handlebar. The smaller light has the battery inside and gets strapped onto my helmet with a rubber strap. These are the first and only lights I have ever used. Am I missing out on something or is that a solid setup? Seems like it would be nice to have something with two lights on the handlebar and something not so heavy on the helmet.

Yup, my cheapo lights have a battery warning light that works most of the time, but when they go out, they go out. There is no dimming, or reduced power-save mode. They go black. But since I always ride with two and an extra battery in the pack, I've never been all of a sudden riding blind.

Look, I get not wanting to sanitize the trails too much, but did you see the .pdf? That crack is almost half the height of a penny! How the hell am I supposed to ride up that?

?Comment Removed Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Bastards

True dat! And speaking of Home Depot, I feel like a genius wearing my $3.50/pair gloves ($9.88 per 3 pack):

The heat just makes any ride tough and that was no joke hot. I ran 38's and double cork bar wrap. 41 cassette helped spin thru the sand a little better.

I was less than a month away from turning 15. Lived in San Mateo at the time.

Ha! No worries at all. The intent is that the trails will be open to the public - some of them are just not ready for prime time. Also, I'm not sure I can adequately explain how to ride over there. Currently, if you're dropping in from the Peddler to SN, right after you cross the second ladder bridge (the one by where the fence stops) you pull off the trail where the fence stops and take the new single track to the left. From there, it's a mix of jeep road and single track that winds toward the church. There is a map posted at the Peddler, but I'm not sure it includes the new stuff. The trails coming from SN are very new and a bit rough, so riders are welcome to help bed it in. As mentioned earlier, we're in the early phases, so we will be adding more and more features. As to the trails at the church, just keep in mind that they are a work in progress and need refinement, so ride with caution - however, more tires on the dirt will help pack it in and get running better faster. As Cafeend said, this will likely take a bit of searching, but once you put it together, it's pretty easy to figure out.

It was my quads. I think the quads are not a bike fit issue necessarily (been doing weights and other things lately that are not my usual), but I'm not discounting it being tied to the lower back pain. At some point during the race I just stopped feeling the pain and leg-wise and back-wise I was super comfortable for the rest of the race. Maybe it's a matter of loosening up a bit more before such a ride. No warm-up and hard start is more likely my issue. Toward the end I suffered with hand pain. That's my main focus at this point. I may give the Whisky no 7 12F bars a try. I like their 68mm reach. I'm at 95mm (yep, I think it's that drastic a change I need). I've also never gotten used to the weird angle on the woodchipper drops. The other bars I should look into are the Specialized Hover. That's what I have on my road bike and I like them. They have a rise on the flat (which I don't use often except for during a break or when drinking). They're 70mm reach and shallow drop. What are opinions on the Spank Vibrocore? Worth it?

awesome you sold it, and here I was starting to look online for a bike to buy or a frame to build form someone this morning! I was about to message you. haha

🤷🏻‍♂️

Wow. I did not know this was going to hit the forums yet. Yes, we cut in some trail before we went to Whistler for the summer. The trails are still rough and need work so if you ride, ride appropriately. Christ Church gave us (FR512) permission to build on their land and we will be adding much more (when it gets cooler - still haven't acclimated back to TX heat). In the meantime, if you ride there, please be respectful, don't ride/park in the parking lot. Enter either from Suburban Ninja or by the fire station. Having trails there is new for them and we want this to be a positive experience for them. We're still figuring out logistics. As it grows and we get more features in, we will be doing skills clinics and possibly Wednesday Night Rides with the Peddler. We have already had machines out there, but we would like to do much more. If there's interest, we will set up a Go Fund Me to accelerate our building and perhaps organize some dig days if anyone wants to pitch in and help. There is a lot of potential out there and we're excited to have progressive park-type trails so close to BC. BIG THANKS to Christ Church for making this available.

Very well done!