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Here's a data point. I rode Walnut last night with someone riding a 1988 mountain bike. He absolutely shredded and despite having 26" wheels, 7 speeds, pull brakes, and NO suspension, he had a great time and kept up with a fast group of skilled riders. We hit every big drop we could find including the jumps. The lesson here is that you don't need an expensive/new bike to enjoy riding. If you find out that you enjoy the hobby, you will naturally gravitate towards the bike, trail, and style of riding that you enjoy the most.

It's a sinkhole which dispersed into the creek bed, and every time the water level rises it will continue to erode beneath that section of the bank until it eventually all collapses. The Army Corps might be able to fix it, but our easiest solution is an inland re-route.

Gettin' weirder........

I agree with all of what you are saying. But that's making the assumption that our OP actually sticks with it and becomes a regular rider. In my 25 yrs of cycling experience, a few of which were while owning a bike shop, the majority of the people buy a bike and then it turns into hanging 'garage art' after about 3 months. Quite often, my advise is to buy used, buy cost-effective, and give it about a year of "test riding" to see if you actually pick up the sport. After that 1st year is over and you've proven to yourself (and wife/family?) that this is now your thing....tee off on something nice! Under normal non-pandemic circumstances, I usually recommend a used $500-600 bike (which can equate to a new $1200 bike). If bought used, then when it gets sold in a year it will still be with close to what the newbie paid for it. If hooked, then I'd probably recommend trying to step up to $2-2.5k and he could have a bike that could be ridden definitely. But its true, given the lack of both used & new bike availability, it makes 1st time bike purchasing very challenging. Good luck, CJB

get a google chomecast for your monitor. That's what we had to do here.

I use my smart phone(Pixel 3XL) on a quad lock for zwift, my phone isn't compatible with my monitor. I really dig Zwift and the fitness gains are serious. I get more in a 50 min zwift training plan workout then I do a WC loop for sure. I sure was late to the zwift party but I'm all in. I dig hear training, so this is an addition to trail riding when I recover and can ride outside again, I had one glorious ride until my cardio proved stronger them my handling- Zwift related from a previous injury.

Found a photo of our tent. We run an extension cord/power strip from the Jeep to fill the tall Q air mattress and charge phones. Propane burners from Hannah Mart is easier than a grill imho.

I was asking about bike computers last week and I bought a Wahoo Bolt. I also have a Garmin watch that serves as a GPS route tracker for shorter rides when I know exactly where I am going, as well as a HR monitor that syncs with the Bolt. I was looking at the apps on my phone and I feel like i have a severe glut of tech now! I would not call myself a minimalist, but I don't like having extra stuff bogging me down. Garmin Connect syncs with my watch records and organizes my activities that are recorded on the watch. I can also change the settings and the order of the screens on my phone with this. this seems essential. Garmin IQ is where I can get new apps and stuff for my watch. seems a bit superfluous as I don't need a "back to the future skin" on my watch. this might go away because I have not changed anything on my watch in a long time. Strava is the Facebook for riding. I like the social aspect of seeing what other people are doing on their bikes. I can save other people's routes as favorites and download the GXP files and hopefully put them on the Bolt for navigation. I use this enough to be worthwhile, even if I only use the free version. Trailforks has some really detailed maps of trail systems with trail names, including trails that are "not official." I wonder if I can jettison this one from my phone. in the past, I've used it to navigate unfamiliar trails by pulling my phone out of it's safe hiding place. that's kind of a drag and why I bought the Bolt. it's pretty darn nice, even just the free version. Wahoo app- I set up the Bolt with this initially but I don't know if I need it because I have... Wahoo Elemnt app: I think this is what really allows my phone to talk with my Bolt. I should be able to upload and export map files to the Bolt from my phone. I am sure this is essential. My fitness Pal: this is Under Armor's fitness tracking app. I was mostly using it because I can enter foods that I eat to know if I am overstuffing myself with calories on a lazy day. it syncs with Garmin to determine approximately how many calories I spent on activities. I rarely have take the time to enter foods anymore and I have a pretty good sense of when I am being a glutton. Ride With GPS (RWGPS): I don't keep the app for this on my phone, but I use the mapping feature with a free account on my desktop computer often. It as several useful layers of maps that show a surprising amount of trails. you can string together a route and get a darn accurate idea of distance and elevation. the line will snap to known routes accurately most of the time, and when it fails, you can just draw lines. then you can export the GPS file and use it on other devices. Komoot: honestly, I don't know what this does. someone told me I needed it. Do I? Gaia GPS: I have not tried this one yet and I don't know if it's useful. Supposedly it competes with Komoot and similar services. That's a lot of stuff to keep track of. something has to go! I wrote these down partially to assess what I am doing, and also to discuss what everyone else is using. props to you if you're a curmudgeon who just rides and navigates by sticking a moist finger in the air! for the rest of us techno sapiens, what's in your navigation/tracking arsenal? what is the bare minimum? what works best? what did you try and find to be not worth the processing power?

If price is a determining factor, the Karoo isn't it. I have both Karoo versions, I like them now that the software has been refactored and the UI changed. You can sideload apps also.

The tacos are all that. The crunch is perfect. I tried one carnitas taco too which is really good. I don’t know how I’m going to ride back up north with all this food in my stomach. It was worth it.

Mostly, the Karoo costs nearly twice as much. I was choosing between the Garmin Edge 530 and the Bolt because they are similar in price and features, but it seems like the Bolt is easier to work with and has fewer superfluous features. b&w screen and no silly metrics like "grit score."

I'm having pretty good luck so far by just finding routes that others have ridden in Strava (free version), and saving them as one of my own routes. I can't edit those routes with any detail, but I can give each one a name. Since Strava is linked to Wahoo, all those routes show up on my Bolt without any additional drama. I think I can make routes from scratch using RWGPS and connect them. I can create routes on Garmin Connect but it appears that I can't link those to Wahoo. I'll keep playing with it.

Log in to the dashboard and create/import/etc. The routes show up on the device automatically.

Agree. That was a pretty good bike in its day and looks to be well taken care of. I abhor Avid juicy brakes but at that price, like you said, he could upgrade a few things easy. Finding some lower cost brakes is not difficult. And converting to 1x is very simple too (while bing pretty low cost also). IMHO he could be all in for around $800. If this bike fit well and has not been 'put away wet' I think it would be a great starting point (for a 6-12 mo MTB experiment).

Yeah, 1x is nice for sure. Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go, it can be a simple upgrade. You could technically go to a 1x9 (or whatever number of gears that cassette has) by simply buying a cheap narrow/wide chainring and throwing the front shifter and derailleur in the trash. Of course, you'd probably want to go to a clutch derailleur and wider range cassette while you're at it. Looking at your trailer setup, you may run into some compatibility issues with the rear hub if you go with a new bike. Most newer bikes use a thru axle, so you can't use the skewer that most of those trailers use. I think there are adapters, but it's just one more thing to keep in mind.

I totally understand the advice to be patient, but as a reference, I have been taking the kids riding every day for the last few weeks, and this is my current setup..... I don't even think this bike is all that safe... its been making some scary noises lately 😐

@WLemke did say he had fun. And he kept up very well. But... to be faaaaaaaaair... he did say he'll be bringing his Ibis to R&I from here out. But still, most any mountain bike built in the last 10 years, with 29er wheels and a suspension fork will be significantly more comfortable than that awesome old Stumpy.

CBaron is generous to offer this, but one piece of advice, don't ride a nicer bike that you own (or can afford to own) if you are not ready to buy it. A used, quality hardtail 29er for under $1K is not hard to find. Be patient. Similar to the advice above, the most expensive upgrade you can make to a bike is $5000 carbon full suspension bike you'll want to buy after riding a crappy entry level bike for a few months.

I like Strava's route builder pretty well. And it helps that you can overlay your personal heat map and/or the global heat map. And you can set preferences for maximizing or minimizing elevation. And you can set preferences for paved or unpaved paths. But I don't particularly like using Strava for navigation. And the act of route building is a bit cumbersome other than the advantage of those preferences. RideWithGPS works amazingly well for navigation, with turn by turn like Google Maps. And while it doesn't appear to have mapping preference settings like Strava, it isn't quite so cumbersome to use as a route builder. Another one is Caltopo, which @schoolie has used with great success. But I've only used it to download his files. I did try Garmin Connect once. I don't recall why I dismissed it. I'll give it another shot.

My wife works for the state so I logged my hours to help her agency move up since spouses were allowed to participate...but they were not the best. TCEQ I think had a dominant lead. That was months ago and she changed agencies and hasn't asked me to log any more.

I have not tried using Connect for mapping, just tracking what I just did. Did you say you're using a Garmin bike computer too? that might make a difference. Texas government agencies have a program called Get Fit Texas. for a few months, you're supposed to track your active minutes. the agency that has the most consistent record for getting off their butts 150 minutes per week gets a reward. they have a way to sync it to Fitbit but no other programs. linking health insurance to activity could be problematic, but it seems like a good idea. it seems that people who can and do stay active ideally should not pay as much for health insurance. addendum: whoa! I just discovered that Garmin has a route-making map function. this is new to me. might replace RWGPS. thanks!

Garmin Connect replaced ride with GPS for me as far as mapping. My fitness pal I only used for when we had to log stuff (steps, workouts) for work in order to get healthcare credits. As soon as they stopped requiring that I got rid of it. Strava, I'm with you on this. Trailforks I've only started using it recently, but did run into some issues with its maps of RPR.

Trek would be fine if you're willing to wait. Good support after the sale Giant- dont buy anything this cheap new. I bought my kid a $600 kona MTB and just about everything on it was a mish mash of junk. Marin- Look kinda cool and not a bad option. Be aware that is gonna be one HEAVY mofo. Steel frame, 2.6 wire bead tires and entry level components. Wouldn't be surprised if that marin is close to 33-35 lbs Was gonna recommend a honzo Admittedly, i'm super biased but the honzo was probably one of the most fun bikes i've ever owned. Just modern enough geo to keep things interesting but not too long or slack for the switchback/ledge rockbike riding here. Just fun AF. This CA bike shop is legit and has some older honzo models left over. This DL has a good fork, decent wheels, drivetrain and dropper. Wont need much of anything except a water bottle. If you call and talk the the owner he will usually work with you on shipping or lowered price. At 6ft I'd grab the large as they are pretty roomy already. https://centrecitycycles.com/2017-kona-honzo-al-dl/ Just my crap 2c

I went up there a few weeks ago for a change of pace. Parked at the marina and went up the road and through the gate on the left. Rode in and was very surprised how much and how fun the trails were on that side. As it got flatter and closer to the lake there was a huge uptick in hikers and people. A local husband and wife said it was their local trail and locals tend to stay and ride on the marina side (dont know if that's the west or east end tbh) the terrain is different and hikers thus dont bother. MtB Project has great maps of it all. My way back i found a trail that ended up next to the gate house on the road leading back to the marina. Across the road above the marina is newish trail. I talked to a dude parked next to me and he said behind the bath room building is a trail that winds around a few miles and crosses the road up by the gate house. But seems to me the normal entrance where it should start gets a ton more traffic then the end I was at. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

if you can squeeze another $600-700 into your budget this would be a good option. https://www.theproscloset.com/products/kona-big-honzo-st-mountain-bike-2019-x-large

Correct. And also goes under the tree line a bit. Re route. But ultimately isnt it AJ's? Maybe he is concocting a plan of attack? Anyone actually ask him personally? Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

So weird it's almost delirious...

The annual R&I spring party is next Tuesday, 04/09 at the usual place! The Goddess of the Shiny Silver Canisters will be bringing two shiny silver canisters full of cold golden nectar. Keg #1 - Pacific Northwest style Pale Ale and Keg #2 - East Coast IPA with Mosiac and El Dorado hops. There will also be hamburgers! Bring chips, dip, snacks to share and someone bring a couple of bags of ice.

NXNW is no longer, but I have good connections at Pinthouse ........

Thanks again for everyone's feedback/advice, you guys have great community here! I tried out the XL Fathom 2 today... it was too big. I loved the features, but its was obvious that the bars were just out of reach. too bad, because otherwise it was a great bike. I also stopped by Bike Farm, Trek and ATX bikes today. A few things became pretty clear to me... - This is a horrible time to buy a bike... 😐 - @ATXZJ is right, I'd need to up the budget to 1200-1700 to get all of the features I want in a quality bike At this point I have 3 options that I'm considering... all new bikes and available at local stores today. (Availability is the biggest issue I'm dealing with) 1) Giant - Talon 2 ($650)- cheap, basic, but ticks some of the core features I'm looking for. might be a good choice to test the waters before I dive in too deep. I'd likely consider a dropper post as the first upgrade. Also, I don't think tubeless is an option with the stock wheels... 2) Marin - Pine Mountain 1 ($1450) - ticks most of my features, but I'd have to bump up my budget quite a bit. 3) Trek - Marlin 8 ($1200, I think?) - I'd have to preorder this as its not officially released yet. I think it fits what I'm after, but I've never seen one and would have to wait for it to get delivered to find out (expected delivery is end of May?) I did ride~10 different bikes today, so that's progress! Any thoughts on the bikes I listed above?

A Chumba frame is around $1600. awesome bikes, but probably 5X the author's budget once the parts start adding up!

We started doing stealth car camping in NY. We would go to Ellicottville NY, ride the trails- park in an abandoned parking lot half a mile from the brewery for post ride dinner -back to the car to sleep on an air mattress in the back of our Jeep with the bikes locked to the rack. The second day of our trips, we would hit up Jakes Rocks Pa. In Texas we started doing a little car camping in the interior of BBRSP. I do a bit of solo car camping- Barry really was hung up on running water for a while. This winter we upgraded to a tent and queen sized air mattress from the full size that we were limited to in the Jeep. Most camp sites have showers so this is a pretty good plan until we upgrade to a 5th wheel.

I added this to the chain stay.

Finally got to get all the software and hardware working just in time for the motherboard on my primary PC to fail. Had to steal the backup PC from the trainer until the new MOB gets here. Can say the kintec R&R worked perfectly with zwift and has been kinda fun to ride. Wife is consistently using it with just the standard kinetic app, and that in itself says a lot. Took the downtime to get the massive combo out of my living room and move it to another section of the house with less traffic. Threw down a rug, ghetto fabbed a wireless bridge to ethernet and connect to a fire TV and 21" monitor I had laying around. Also converted an old music stand to a pseudo TV stand🤣. Should have zwift back up and running by the weekend. Bottom line, if you want an affordable smart trainer that plays well with MTB, id get the R&R. https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/kinetic-rock-and-roll-control-trainer-t-6500/rp-prod198082

Got the axle and lazy susan wheel stand. Set wife's bike up with almost zero sag and suspension locked out and swapped some XT pedals on as well. I was able to have her test it out a bit while I dialed in some drivetrain issues she'd been having that I couldn't fix. and also get her seat position optimized. Now just waiting for the cheap cellphone mount for handlebar and the PITA of hooking it all up and updating all the software. So far she really likes it. It's quiet and the rocking of the trainer feels natural, especially with wheel stand.

Zwifting is awesome and definitely will help improve/maintain fitness, but I spent my money on a quality commuter ebike. It doesn’t provide the structured training as a smart trainer can, but I get to hammer for two hours on my round trip. Besides the increased fitness, my mental state improved and my truck stays parked at home most days.