AustinBike

No, between work, school and some other commitments it was gonna be too tight. Busy week this week, Bentonville the next, I just couldn't swing a second trip.

When I am done with all of this I'll be posting reviews of everything I ride.

I actually agree with this. I would not make the final purchase unless I had some saddle time, but in all honesty, the geometries of all of the bikes in my class are strikingly similar. As are the components. If you are spending in my budget, there is about a 90% chance I can tell you most of what you are going to buy, regardless of the manufacturer. More to the point, bodies adjust. I rented a canondale in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. For the first 10 miles I was all over the trail. But for the second 10 I had my brain dialed in and I rode it like it was mine. No matter what I buy it will be different from what I am riding now, so I am going to have to adjust. The first ride told me a half dozen things that I needed to know about these newfangled "modern geometry" bikes. Pretty sure that ride would be similar to all the others. The biggest thing for me is the checklist: XT brakes, 130mm fork (preferably 51mm offset - Fox is preferred), XT drivetrain but would settle for SRAM GX and decent wheels (DT Swiss is a leading contender). And with that being said, Santa Fe is off the agenda for this weekend and I might try to demo again. Stay tuned.

I love Yeti but HATE those little pistons on the SB4.5. Basically it is a.) a proprietary design, b.) probably a pain to service and c.) something that will have to be serviced. I want a bike with a rear shock, not 3, that is only going to bump up the service costs and make tuning it a pain. The SB100 looks more like my style, but that is only 120mm and configured bikes start ~$5100, so after discount it will probably still be $500-700 more than the competition. I'd get one in memory of Anthony (had a great demo the last time I saw him) but the premium is a bit steep.

Chuck, if you need to borrow one while you sort all of this out, I have one that is not installed right now. Won't need it for a week or two I believe.

Thanks, I was hoping you would weigh in, you've got a lot more experience in all of these brands than I do. Already in contact with Wes, that is what started all of this. Sounds like it needs to be on the demo list.

Interested to know your experiences, good and bad, with the company. My own (probably ignorant) perception is that Orbea is really a road company that happens to have mountain bikes but they do not seem to be their primary business. Whenever I see people on Orbea mountain bikes they tend to be racers, people that I think spend more time on pavement than dirt. Anyone have any better input on the company?

No, he lost it on Tuesday.

The Transition Smuggler would be more of what I am looking for. ~$4K, ~140mm, 29". Seems like there are a bunch of bikes in that range. STA is 75.8deg, so a bit steeper than I would like. Rode a Specialized Stumpjumper around the parking lot. That had the seat tube angle that I prefer. It had fallen off the list but is now in contention with the rest of them.

I'll be expecting you to buy my Chris King 135mm wheel set soon.

Yesterday, demoing the latest Ripley "Wow, I like this bike, just don't know if it is THE one...someone send me a sign" <Starts pouring> Later, at the brewery... "Yeah, I liked it, just not sure if it is the one, I really need a sign" <Literally a goddamn rainbow appears> One last jaunt on the greenbelt this morning... "Starting to warm up to this bike, I just wish I knew if it was the right one, I need a sign" <Starts raining again> I just wish I knew for sure...

Will keep that in mind. Heading out of town for a couple weeks, so all of the bike demo fury started and ended pretty quick. One down, several more to go.

That is an interesting bike. The price is right, but the travel is only 120mm on the fork with the only dealer being out in Dripping Springs. Will add it to the rotation and see what happens.

Got in 10 miles at WC (started at 3). We got off the trail when it started raining but we were all the way in the back. A bit slippery, but the ground was so try that it was not turning to mud. My guess is that it should be ok today, but someone should give it a visual before we say good to ride.

OK, did a Ripley demo last night at WC before the rain hit, but the real test will be today (gonna hit the greenbelt). Initial thoughts are that this thing is smooth and sweet. I liked it, but the one nagging feeling was that the seat tube angle seemed too steep. It felt like I was sitting on top of the crank instead of sitting more towards the rear wheel. In beer conversations after the ride it became apparent that 76deg seat tube angle is the new black and everyone is heading in that direction. Oddly, that puts the Stumpjumper back on the front burner and pushes the Tallboy to the back. Truth be told, a 76deg seat tube angle is not the worst thing in the world, I could live with that if I had to, but it was not that 110% fit like a glove ride. The cockpit felt a little cramped so I pulled the 35mm stem and put on a 70mm stem. Instant difference. Here's the impact: slow speed steep climbing, where you need a lot of torque and tend to stand, is easier with a longer stem. The shorter stem is better for longer, sustained climbing where you are actually seated most of the time (or have enough speed that when you stand for the last few cranks it still feels stable.) An immediate stand at the start of a climb with a 35mm stem is really noodly. As a bonus on the Stumpjumper, it has the 51mm offset for the fork and comes with a Fox 34 standard (and I could hold on to my Pike as a backup). It is becoming more interesting as I think about it. More bikes to try, more riding to get done.

You will see it tonight. Gonna do an easy ride on the trails and then give it a harder workout on the greenbelt tomorrow morning. Had to adjust the stem, a 35mm stem does not feel right for me. Put on a 70 and it is much better. More to come, stay tuned.

*Technically* he does not have a demo right now....

Medium will be too small, I am a large. 11-speed is actually preferred, for the most part 10-speed works fine here. Mostly concerned that 12-speed is diminishing returns (1 more gear but more finicky to adjust and more prone to damage.)

Yeah, far be it for me to overcomplicate the process. Going to try to ride a few, but if I happen across a killer deal, I could pull the trigger today. Because I can't compare the total discounted price until I have actual quotes, I am going off of list to list comparisons, but the final number will require a little more work. But the two top bikes (on paper) are the Ripley and the Tallboy. The new Tallboy is not available yet. Both at list are identical for the most part.

Awesome, will add them to my list and report back next week.

Because I am bad at math, I can't figure out if running the fork at 140mm instead of 130mm makes the problem better or worse. Because I'd take it up 10mm to fix something but would be hesitant to take it down to 120 because 130mm seems to be my sweet spot.

What you will find about sleep as you get older is that the wakeup time is anchored in stone. If you want to impact your total sleep time, you need to work on starting earlier.

Yeah, I used to ride my Ross 10-speed to work every day in Chicago as a teenager, including all winter when temps at 6am were often -20F. Here people bitch that anything under 55 is too cold to ride. My Austin record is 28F for a ride to work.

And as quickly as our plans departed, we now suddenly are planning to hit Santa Fe, leaving on Thursday morning. Taking our urban bikes (wife's in a Townie cruiser). Any tips on town lake-style riding? Crushed granite or paved, no gravel grinding. I see the Santa Fe River Trail and the Santa Fe Rail Trail as good options so far. Will probably be hauling a dog in a trailer as well. Also, any food/beer recommendations, especially dog-friendly would be appreciated. In case you are wondering, Low 70's during the day, upper 40's and low 50's at night. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I had a Hammerhead (the old Titus) and that was a killer bike, loved the rear linkage. Pivot is the legacy of Titus, but they just are not as affordable as some of the other competitive bikes in the market.