CBaron

I've pretty much been one of those guys. Born and raised here in TX and I quite like the heat. To be fair once the thermometer gets above 96-97* it becomes less bearable. But, I was dropped off yesterday after work at Suburban Ninja (at 4:15pm) and rode 3.5hrs of trail and street all way back to my house near WC. Not once did I think to myself if was overly hot or I should not have been doing it. In fact, I only had 3 water bottles with me. Admittedly I was a little under-watered by the end and wish I had consumed one more during my ride. But I'm all-good today. Later, CJB

Now you are correct in your assessment of STA. I did leave my Ripmo test ride thinking..."Sure is fun to bomb down God's, and even climb back up. But I'd HATE to have to pedal this thing 10 miles home on the road {or ride the EB on it]". Modern STA is a problem for me in that I pedal to the trail a good bit. Back when I was custom making my own frames, I'd spec a 72* STA in my personal bikes (with no setback). I considered seat post setback a sign of incorrect dimensions. -CJB

Possibly. Part of my non-cycling life is carved out buying, selling and (basic) restoration of classic cars with my son and his best friend. My oldest has paid his own way through college so far by doing this. Cheers, CJB

I find this an intriguing statement. My personal proclivities for a MTB are slightly different than most people, but I do share that appreciation for a reactive bike. However, I test rode an Ibis Ripmo 2 yrs ago and was very surprised at how well it performed. On paper, and from other peoples comments, I'd like to spend a weekend on the OIZ TR. Later, CJB

Man, I'd love to own this. I've got a work bench left over from the HH bike shop with a stainless steel top. I've been planning to bolt a vice onto. I've got a very decent sized basic vice for that purpose, this one just looks like a solid old beast. I'm not exactly sure what i have to offer for trade. I need to go dig around my garage stuff. I might have some road wheels, I do have an old beater fork, maybe some carbon seat posts, Magura disc brakes (that need a bleed)... nothing terribly exciting Just thinking out loud. -CJB

Thanks for the info. I was contemplating buying a shirt, but I already have 2 with a white background and a small blue question mark box in the center. I don't need another one. Thanks CJB

PM sent

"Back in the day" we would all ride through the TOL and then ride 'parade-style' down congress and then it would turn into a quasi-critical mass ride as everyone splintered off around downtown. I believe 2006 was last year for the big congress parade style and it was so massive that it got larger than the logistics could handle. Then in 2007 (tandem photo), we were only allowed to ride through the TOL and no congress avenue (although a group still cruised down there albeit bandit-style). My family road all along the town lake HAB trail back to our car parked at Austin High. I don't think anything goes on now (bike related). Later, CJB

I found my tandem+trail-a-bike+trailer photo. I dug it up from our Xmas photo box. Circa 2007. I believe this was one of the last times we were all aloud to ride out bikes through the trail of lights.

Me either. It also helps with it being lower cost in summer-time (lower season). Looking fwd to seeing it all on Strava -CJB

Yikes! Thats a hot time of the season there. My family and I went there (GJ) in August a few years ago. Being from ATX helps, but by noon things where quite hot (and I love the heat). The problem is that there is not really any shade anywhere. Telluride is a whole nuther story...that place will be great. Cheers, CJB

And listed for $600!...aMaZinG. I sure hope he gets that kind of money. I've got a few bikes I need to sell and hope the market is THAT strong

His family is just happy he got his license at the nice young age of 16....both of my sons have friends who graduated HS WITHOUT a license!

But thats my point if it is snugged up against the frame, I see absolutely ZERO way for that side of the sliders to move fwd. Thus it would point to the other side being the sliding culprit, which means braking forces. I had a dropout doing this exact think on one of our TF bikes that were running 'experimental slider' DO's. It was very unintuitive until the clues all lined up.

I suspect its this. Not slipping due to pedaling torque, but due to braking forces. With the tensioner screws on the end, it simply could not move fwd (but rather only rearward). Its not a super intuitive problem to solve. But I'd start by taking it apart and filling down the paint (& black anodizing) so that you can have some purchase between the two surfaces. Than as @AntonioGG suggested, maybe getting higher quality bolts and increasing torque to them a good bit. But I suspect your culprit is the (lack of) friction between the two surfaces with allow it to slip FORWARD under (disc) braking loads. Later, CJB

One of the neighborhood kids bought this bike about 6-9 months ago. He's barely ridden it and now that he's got his drivers license, he's wanting to sell the bike. Go figure. I know the family and can vouch for the bike. I also know he'd take a few hundred less. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/741178053958363/ Cheers, CJB

I'll see this tandem with a tag-a-long....and then raise you a Burley trailer. We've got a MTN tandem and when our kids were young we'd do a setup like the above, but we'd also add the littlest dude into a Burley trailer. We could have all 4 of us on the same rig. I'll see if I can find a photo somewhere. I know it was our Xmas photo a decade ago or so. Later, CJB

Great, glad to hear you liked it so much. Sounds like you need to sign up for the DS this coming fall! 😉 Cheers, CJB

Holy crap that is genius! I've never really needed to tighten or loosen my cassette while out on the trail....but....during the EB my rear center lock disc rotor kept loosening up on me. I had to stop about every 5 miles and snug it up best I could. This thing would have been invaluable in that scenario. Cheap, small, effective. Love it -CJB

All my heroes are are packing it in....I feel like I'm about to enter the movie Cocoon. Next thing you know @Hakalugi will be running dropper posts...

Yeah and in some ways I'm in a mini-funk again after my crash back in October. I feel like the key is to 'know yourself'. And I know that I'm sentisitve to the seasonal changes in the year. Once the days get short and weather gets cold I find myself getting a little melancholy. WRT the bike and my personal life. So I have to find ways to trick myself into riding. For me, a like being around people, so that means more group rides (R&I, C&D, TnT, Bagel ride, etc..) Additionally, in the middle of a cold winter when a warm 'blue bird' day pops up, I'll take the day off work and go riding in the middle of a nice warm beautiful day. It really helps to restore me. What @AntonioGG is referencing, is that the few times I've really thought about being done with the bike/cycling, I've simply walked away for a while and tried something else. I moved into the MX world for about 3 yrs at one point....I tried trail running for many months. But eventually, I come back to my 1st love and find that my return is usually with vigor. If I FORCE myself to ride against my desire/urges not to, then I find myself loathing in the situation. I know this all may sound strange, but like I said, you've gotta know yourself. And sometimes I can be a head-case! LOL Good news for me is that the warm weather is knocking at the door and that is when I really start to get rejuvenated with the season change! Good luck in your endeavor. CJB PS- I'm a dedicated hardtail guy and I've got a M/L Trek Stache you are welcome to demo for a weekend if you want to try some 'strange'. Seriously, take me up on it if you'd like

Every day seems to be demo day if you happen to be interested in anything Velorangutan sells. @xl_cheese has a pretty permissive demo policy and I think they have a decent assortment of options. Outerbike would be a bit more complicated but could be made into a fun MTB getaway with a ton of demos thrown in. I attended the one in Bentonville a few yrs ago. It rained every day. 😞 Later, CJB

I know that back when 1/4 notch and DD had dirt, someone riding a dirt bike out there had been a thing (MANY yrs ago). Do you think this was the same guy by any chance?

I'm interested in the cam-lock straps along with the wider auto transport straps if available? Thanks CJB

I've been up in Georgetown all day. I don't really know. My guess is that they may be ok. -CJB