fontarin

I'm out of town this year unfortunately. 😞 I'll try to promote it to the folks I ride with though.

Yep, this one is on my radar. We really need more funding for the parks - stealing it to prop up some other program has always annoyed me.

I'd check prices before going with this deal. I was interested so I checked on a Vivoactive 3 and with discount is was $2 more than it was on Amazon. Checked a few more and they were cheaper by up to 20 bucks on other retail sites.

I don't think much is needed. I just think they'd need to add in some channels to direct water and repair a small portion of trail. There's only one spot where I think it'll just continue to get worse and if they added in a concrete channel on both sides and a place for water to flow under the trail with reinforcement, it'd be fine. Probably would involve adding 30 ft of channels and replacing one slab for something under the trail. I will disagree about using Duval for commuting, though. Mopac - Duval is pretty heavily traffic during commute times and I personally wouldn't feel safe riding it if I had to commute there. The trail lets you at least get out at Duval close to the bike lanes.

Yeah, I know which section you're talking about without even looking at the site. I knew it'd be a problem and start cracking eventually - and the gravel fill they've been using makes it super sketchy on a road bike. I'm not sure who looked at it and thought 'this is good!' and signed off on it.

Here you go: https://goo.gl/maps/3T27nNR9FGa63Zar7 Pin didn't stick, but it's the little paved circle where the trail starts. You can park outside the gate and ride there. When you take the road in from DB Woods, you'll see the gate house to the left, park to the right.

Yeah, 99% sure that's a scam. Other 1% is stolen. I see lots of similar bikes posted for cheap and they're generally all on multiple CLs around the country with the same scammy text.

Solid so far. I rode Cedar Breaks - Russell and back and had zero complaints. Held up well and grip was good. Hoping to get out to City Park soon but haven't had the chance yet.

Depending on your riding style and clearance, here are some options: Assegai 2.5WT + Aggressor rear 2.5WT - this combo has lots of grip but is heavy. Assegai 2.5 WT + Assegai 2.5WT - LOTS of grip but very heavy. I have these on my bike at the moment and the traction is awesome, but you pay for it on the smoother stuff. Minion DHF 2.5WT + Aggressor 2.5WT - Good grip overall. Nice overall choice if you rider rougher stuff constantly. Minion DHF 2.5WT + Rekon 2.4WT - Good grip and decent rolling resistance. Great overall feel and what i'll probably swap to, unless I try Assegai + Rekon. Rekon + Rekon - Grip isn't as good but will roll faster. Here's the Assegai I use. There's a lighter option with just Exo that I'm assuming is a little less tough. TB00172500 29X2.50WT 63-622 120 FOLDABLE 1,125 3C MAXX TERRA 50 3CT/EXO+/TR Black MOUNTAIN

Yeah, I had some Crests a few years ago that were pretty flimsy on rocks, but I know they've recently made some improvements (or so I've heard) so I wasn't going to judge the new version. They are XC wheels though, and for general riding I'd go with something a little burlier/wider.

Yeah, there are plenty of aluminum options out there if you want to go cheaper.

Also, if you want to go to something like a 2.5 WT or 2.6, something around 35mm internal seems to be ideal. Not sure if tires that big would fit on a Spark though clearance-wise.

I'll throw in a shout out for a local wheel builder/company - Solid wheels from what I've seen and I'll probably get my next set from them. https://www.dirtcomponents.com/29-36-1mm-rc-1 Other options: Roval makes both a ligher (1700ish g) and a heavier (1800g) version of carbon wheels. They just announced a 2 year replacement warranty, so even if you crash and break, they'll provide a rim replacement. Both have DT Swiss hubs. https://rovalcomponents.com/collections/trail/products/traverse-carbon https://rovalcomponents.com/collections/trail/products/2019-traverse-sl Bontrager makes some decent carbon wheels too with same warranty (I think): https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipment/cycling-components/bike-wheels/c/E209/

It's rough in the summer as it's super hot but there is water at every camp at least. I generally do the loop a few times a year, but I usually go sometime late fall - early spring. Bummed to miss the dragonslayer this year but will be travelling to AZ for riding during the last two weeks of Nov. If you want to do the loop, that's a great event to try it on.

I've got some 780s on the new bike, but I'll probably cut down to 750. I've tried shorter and longer handlebars but that seems to be the sweet spot for me. I can see longer bars if you do quite a bit more downhill than up on groomed trails because it does give more control, but may not be practical for everyday riding around here.

There are definitely some bikepacking routes. I've seen some pretty long routes but am coming up blank searching for them at the moment. I'll see if I can find it. If you're a member of the Teas Bikepacking group on Facebook, you may be able to ask for some routes there.

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.

Yep, I just picked up an Ibis Ripmo. I thought it'd be way too much travel for me. After riding it and the Ripley, it only gave up a little on the climbs and made bigger drops/rock gardens feel so much better and is a blast at Spider Mtn. I will say the steep STA takes some getting used to. I felt unusually fatigued after the first few rides but I feel like I've adapted mostly and it's starting to feel more natural. It still isn't really a bike I'd pick up for 80 mile rides on mixed terrain - I'll likely do the EB on a much shorter travel bike, where I'll have to be more careful at BCGB and City Park but the majority will be easier to pedal.

Make sure you read up on the issues with the SB100 too if you end up considering it. While it's not universal, quite a few people have had issues with creaking and then a ton of flex after the 'fix' from Yeti. I know of at least 2 folks in town who had issues and ended up getting rid of theirs due to it. I really wanted one because it checked off a bunch of boxes of stuff I like, but decided against it. I'll probably look at the Mach 4 SL when I want another XC bike.

Yeah, they still have e-bikes for rent in the normal commuter variety, just not the full squish ones.

BSS no longer has rental eMTBs. They did for a few years but haven't picked any up the past two years or so.

I tested the Ripley a few weeks ago. Awesome bike. I wanted more travel so I went with the Ripmo instead. Talk to Wes at Velorangutan about a demo on the Ripley - I know he has a medium and I think a large.

1. Unless you're spending a good bit of time looking for great deals, full bike will generally be a better deal. 2. I haven't, but I've heard good things. I've ordered one from Jenson and it was mostly assembled and took probably 30 minutes to set up - most of that getting it out of the packaging. 3. Depends on what you get. 4. I'll echo everyone else - Stan's hubs have been meh. Most of my hubs are DT Swiss and are super reliable. 5. 11 Speed is fine for around here. It probably won't be specced much on new bikes since there are some really affordable 12 speed options. If you're interested in used, depending on what you're looking for, I've got a med Canfield Riot (asking 2100 but willing to negotiate, mostly asking that for the inevitable craigslist lowballers) up for sale and will be posting a Trance Advanced Pro 29 soon (will likely be asking about 3k) (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/trance-advanced-pro-29-1).

I've also got a new HD 2.35. Was going to mount it to a wheel earlier in the week but went with another tire instead.

Might have just been Niner's EBB setup specifically then. That's where I heard of most of the creaking problems.