Albert

On 8/21/2022 at 2:33 PM, Ridenfool said:

The current loop is just over 13 miles.

Not much trail has been added over the Summer, though the signage factor has gone up considerably.

There is another mile that will come online in the Fall if all goes well. It will hopefully be on par with Black Trac and SofaKing for fun factor.

Edit: There may be some new stuff on Black Trac since your last time out.

Thanks, that's considerably more distance than was out there my last visit!  Look forward to seeing what you've been up to, and thanks for keeping everyone updated with your progress.  And I'm very appreciative of good signage on trails, that's one weakness many of the Austin-area trails suffer!

I've been gone for a bit -- how much trail is out there now?  Definitely need to get out there again, it's been months since I last visited!

That all sounds great, look forward to getting back out there!  Thanks for your continued updates!

5 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Very possibly.

Wednesday and Thursday look OK right now but I *may* have a work thing that I have to attend to, so I would say I am 80% good for those two days at this point.

Thursday is looking better, as it'll be a bit cooler (high of 82 instead of 90).  Less wind as well.  But that can always change, of course.

Great, thanks for the update.  Will try to make it out there next week.  @AustinBike -- you still interested?

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

The tire is touching the frame: on which side? If the tire is shifting to the left and touching the NDS chainstay, that's the right side slipping. If the tire touches the right side, thats the left side shifting under breaking.

Good question, and I don't remember if it was only happening on one side (probably).  I'll go pedaling around on the bike to see if I can reproduce it.  Once I put some pedals back on the bike. 😄

1 hour ago, schoolie said:

Just making sure... are you snugging this bolt up against the frame and locking the lock nut?

Yes, and I will make sure to do that when I examine all this again soon.  🙂

Thanks for the advice, everyone, much appreciated. I'll take it apart and look at the surface, and if it's still the smooth paint, I can sand it down a bit to make it rougher.  I'll also check the space between the dropouts.  I don't think the bolts are coming loose, I think it's just sliding, whether it be from pedal torque or braking.  Never even dawned on me previously that it could have been hard braking causing the issue.  Are these chain tensioners (of this style) fairly standard?  That is, could I buy third-party tensioners and expect them to work on this bike? 

5 minutes ago, Taco Man said:

I had two different Redline Monocogs that used that type of Chain Tensioner.  Worked great with Rim Brakes but not with Disc.   I hard rear brake would shift the tire against the frame every time.

Yeah, when I get another singlespeed, I will certainly be avoiding this design!  That's an interesting bit about disc brakes, didn't even think about that (and this bike has them, as you can see from the above photo).

7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I doubt the bolts on the sliders are coming loose if you're putting any reasonable amount of torque on them.

Well, considering I had a shop attempt to fix this and they also failed, I figured they would know how much torque to apply.  They are definitely slipping, what else would cause the wheel to come askew?  And I have, multiple times, "fixed" this myself by loosening the bolts, repositioning the sliders, and tightening them back up, including while on rides.  I haven't ridden the bike in several years because of this, and I'm quite eager to ride Suburban Ninja on it. 😄

7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Remove the wheel and measure the space between the dropouts as it should be nearly exactly 135 mm. This assumes you're also using a 135 mm rear hub. If there's a discrepancy between the space between the dropouts and the width of the hub, it cuz could cause things to "want" to shift.

I will check that out, thank you.

7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

What's the condition of the interface between the frame and the dropout insert? Is it smooth or is it rough? If it's smooth it could stand to be sanded down or have friction paste but between those two parts.

I'll take a look at this also, I've not heard of "friction paste", but I see Park sells some (and I'm sure a million other sources):

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-SAC-2-Assembly-Compound/dp/B005Z4BAAK

7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I have experimented with putting gears on a bike but I think it's safe to say that I've dealt with every single speed option on the planet.

This is the first singlespeed bike I've owned, so I don't really have a lot of experience with them at all.

Thanks for your advice.

10 minutes ago, Chief said:

Have you tried a couple of lock washers under those bolts?

Nope.  I could certainly try that, though.  It's a bit of a pain getting the wheel lined up and chain properly tensioned while trying to adjust these bolts on both sides of the bike.  Do not like.  I'd rather pay someone else to do it, someone who knows what they are doing!  I'd like to get another singlespeed soon to replace this bike, but I'd like to get this issue resolved before I sell it to someone else.

I have a 29'er On-One Singlespeed, and I haven't ridden it in a while because one or two parts on the back of the bike that keeps the rear wheel in place will slip while I'm riding, resulting in the tire rubbing against the chain.  Here's the part I'm talking about:

It's the black part with the two bolts and a screw on the end, and there's one on each side.  I have no idea waht this part is called.  I've tried adjusting this myself, but invariably after a while it slips again.  I've even had at least one shop also adjust these, and even then at least one of them comes undone over time.  Seems like a poor design to me.  Is there anyone familiar with this design and how to properly secure it to prevent any play in the wheel at all?

Thank you!

Glad you were able to retrieve those items and move them over to the current trail system!  That Gingerbread Bunny was slightly terrifying in its old location.  🙂

Looks great!  Looking forward to getting out there again. Thanks for the update!

1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

@Albert if you want to ride out there, midweek, in the next couple weeks, let me know. I can be flexible.

1 hour ago, Ridenfool said:

Post up! I'll be glad to join y'all.

That might keep me from working on trail for a change. 😉

I'd be up for that, maybe we can get together sometime next week when the weather is nice.

15 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

I've made some significant progress on Litterbox and should bring it into the fold in the next week or two with any luck. Another 1.25 miles of single track expected.

I'll go back out there again once you have that additional 1.25 miles completed!  I didn't even get eight miles during my last visit, so I may have missed something.  I was following the race loop (still visible arrows on the ground and elsewhere), so I didn't think I missed anything, but it would seem I did. 

7 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

I have suggested they put a sign about the map can be found on MTB Project in the sign-in, or mention it on their website.

That's a good idea, especially as they still have a pile of the old maps at the pay station.  I'm sure not everyone is aware of the changes taking place out there, so that could be pretty confusing!  A sign recommending people use MTB Project (especially during this transition) is a good idea, and I'm glad you've been keeping that up to date!

7 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

Once Litterbox is done and a few more signs are installed I'll make a new map for them to print up. When finished, Litterbox could get the full loop close to 12 miles.

That's awesome, thank you for the work you are orchestrating out there, it's really nice to see new trails being built and existing trails getting maintenance.  As well as new signage--I'm a big fan of signage, which is usually terribly lacking in Austin, and I'm reminded of this many times when I ride trails in other states.  When will Litterbox be done?  Where is that trail?

Great to see the work out there, thanks for the continued updates.  Also, I like the new signage I saw out there when I visited last week (such as the Corkscrew signs, Lemonade, etc.)  The more signage the better, especially to point people to a full 10.5 mile loop. And especially given there are no current printed maps at the entrance, and I don't expect new printed maps for a while given the trails are currently in flux.  🙂

I did go out there yesterday and rode a lap (I followed all the race arrows).  I noticed it took over 2.5 miles to get to the top!  I think that's the most circuitous route I have ever taken to the top, but I did enjoy it!  Once up at the top, it was remarkable to see how much has changed out there, and I do miss much of the trail that's not longer accessible.  I look forward to the arrival of new trail, and having a goal of 13 total miles sometime in the Fall is great! 

Thanks for all the work you and others are putting into these trails. 

That's really great!  I still haven't gotten out there since the back half was closed, but it's looking like I will be able to go tomorrow.  I haven't been on my mountain bike in over a month, so really looking forward to a fun ride on dirt.  Is the course still marked from the race?  I assume the stuff that was cut last week isn't yet rideable?

That's perfect, thanks for writing all that up!  Will try to get out there tomorrow!

Thanks @mack_turtle for the description.  I was aware of use of the main BCGB trail and Sweet 16 up to 290, but wasn't sure what had been done beyond that.  Sounds like this is going to take quite some time to reach the 30 mile goal.

Thanks for the link as well as speculation on what existing trails this new trail may interact with.  How much of the Violet Crown Trail has actually been built to date?

With what's out there now, is it easy to do a complete loop of all the trails that are out there?  If not, can you describe a route that does?  I may go out there this week to ride.  Is the course marked for the race?

Thanks!

Look forward to checking this all out when it gets warmer!