AustinBike

Yep, gonna be nice weather today. Got sausages and a few tortillas. Early lap at 4, social lap at 5.

My two hardtails have 130mm forks. The pike on my geared bike is a 35mm, the Fox factory on my singlespeed is a 34. Personally the 34 is fine for the hardtail, and would also be fine on my full suspension based on the way I ride.

Considering your size, I'd say a 34 is more than enough. Take a look at some of the take off options. If you get a new enough model the probability of abuse is greatly diminished. I bought a used fork from Seth, so you'd expect a high abuse factor but it was fine 😉

On 7/18/2019 at 8:21 AM, mack_turtle said:

I am barely used to Mac OS. I am bilingual in that regard, but Windows is more natural to me at this point.

In my last job as a newspaper proofer, we all used Mac desktops with a AWS Windows virtual desktop inside, with 4 to 6 different Windows virtual desktops within that one all running at the same time. Logging out at the end of the day was like being kicked out of a scene in Inception. Confusing, apparently inefficient, but that decision was ten levels above my pay grade.

As a strongly biased Mac guy (after being a strong PC advocate for 30+ years) I have to say buy what you are comfortable with. Your OS should be a tool that is invisible to you.

FIRST pick the apps that you want to run, THEN choose the platform/OS. Starting with the apps is like deciding which trail you want to ride before you start shopping for bikes.

Eh, born in Chicago in February. My thermostat has changed a lot since being down here. Can't handle the cold weather anymore.

On 7/17/2019 at 10:17 AM, mack_turtle said:

Still, my drive to document and share stuff is strong. I need to focus on my blog and maybe just take more candid cell phone photos to share instead. Shared memories of those places, people and rides will last longer and be more appreciated.

Yep, I totally get this. Some people spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to share trail knowledge with others. It is a thankless task.

Borrowed a 3rd 1Up Rack and was able to easily shuttle bikes back and forth downtown to town lake. But, yeah, the bike wobbled a lot. 

2" hitch ordered.

2" replacement for the 1Up is on its way.

Guess I should have done the smart thing from the beginning and not been cheap about the cost. I'll be more comfortable with the 3 bikes on a stronger rack.

16 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

People listen to music in headphones while riding. I think this is mostly a bad idea, but it can be done. 

That is part of my point. A podcast encourages it. I like Antonio's version - go out and get lost. When I learn trails it is typically by riding with someone else that knows the trails. Otherwise I try to look at maps to see the general direction, but with those trails that is impossible. I like Antonio's plan of just wandering. But I'm an old man and cranky.

36 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

Learning my way around the BCGB, and unmentionable trails, was always best handled for me by attending an AB led "no drop" ride.

 

I still do this but now it is a drop ride. Buyer beware 😉

55 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

@AustinBike I see what you are saying, but the whole point of this is to create an audio only guide that people can use while riding on the trail. How would one watch a trail video while riding? How long would you phone battery last? I would not recommend anyone strap a phone to their stem and wear out their battery trying to watch a video while pedaling. It's possible that it would not work at all, but I can make the narration work if it's done right.

"Ride through this rocky section until you get to this profoundly indistinguishable landmark. Hit pause and resume when you get there. I am Xx.xx miles from the start at this point." Most headphones have a control button on the cord that the rider can flick without stopping until they reach the next reference point.

Also, I don't have the funds to buy a decent action camera right now, nor a computer/ software to handle editing it, let alone the time to do all that. Acquiring all the gear would rival what I've spent on my bike for a lot less fun. 99% of the ride videos I have tried to watch are boring AF so I am trying to do something more useful and interesting. No one wants to watch a video of ME bumbling through the woods, as riding it themselves would be way more interesting.

My thought would be that you watch the video before you ride, (or after to see where you should have turned). Definitely not while you ride. That is my other issue with a podcast - people trying to pay attention to where they should be by podcast vs. having the situational awareness that there are other riders, obstacles and snakes to watch for. 

11 minutes ago, CBaron said:

At this moment in time, I think I'll be on the skinny wheels...

-CJB

Shouldn't be an issue, the trails are pretty tame 😉

5 hours ago, Shinerider said:

Thanks all for the suggestions.  I will have to check some of them out.  deadtokevin - I looked but couldn't find it.

But, I did find Velorangutan's Devinci Troy on sale for $2700 and another older one for $1700.  Anybody know who "pittzer" is on Pinkbike?

Yeah, I think I know him (front yard looks familiar). Ping me tonight and I will share my guess.

Most of you probably don't know Jay (853) but he busted his collarbone at Muleshoe back in the day. He told me the biggest challenge he had working through the injury was 25 years of always wiping his ass with his right hand. As a precautionary measure, I might start trying to alternate.

I believe the video would work better for 2 reasons.

First the podcast is great, but there is a reference point issue. Much like a museum narration, it requires you to start and stop a lot, which is not ideal. You will move at a different speed than the listener, creating a timing/sequence issue.

Second, the real learning for most people will be visual. "when you get to the place where the trail veers to the left" sounds easy, but on a twisty trail, was it that spot or this spot? Being able to SEE the transitions would be a big help.

Just my 2 cents.

14 hours ago, rockshins said:

Super solid advice, XT/XTR shifter with a SLX derailer for instance, saves money and you'll feel the difference much more at the shifter than at the rear mech.

Really? I had always run SLX on the shifter and XT on the derailleur because I figured the smoothness came from the back, not the front. Upgrading the Niner this week but it is XT end-to-end so I guess I will not know. In the past shops had told me to use the SLX shifter because it was essentially the same as the XT at a lower price.

The biggest mistake I made in our last remodel was not getting an outlet installed behind the toilet. I wanted a Japanese toilet, wife said no. If I had the outlet I'd have the ability to easily do it in the future once I wore her down a bit.

9 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

One of my rides last week had a mission of blindly finding as many breweries as I could.  Sadly it was during lunch in the workweek so I couldn't partake.  I knew where AB, OB and Adelberts are, but I didn't know where 4th tap was...and now I know.  That area seems perfect for a taproom-crawl.

When it rains, if I do an weekend urban ride it ends with beer. Hops and Grain, Lazarus and Zilker are all close. Blue Owl is as well, but I don't like sours.

looking like tomorrow will be fine. Who is riding?

Yeah I went through a few rear triangles on a bike. If both of those are in the same spot it probably means manufacturing flaw on a stress point.

OK, we were reading some article that was talking about economic distribution (long story, don't ask, it will kill the mood.)

Anyway, in that article they said that since ~2014 or so 33 new breweries opened in the Austin area. My wife refused to believe that there were that many breweries in the area. So I checked, and here is my list (which stands at 50+ right now):

• 4th Tap
• 512 Brewing
• ABGB
• Acopon
• Adelberts
• Austin Beerworks
• Blue Owl
• Bluebonnet
• Brewer's Table
• Brewtorium
• Celis
• Central District 
• Circle Brewing
• Compadre
• Draught House
• Family Business
• Flying Man Brewing
• Friends and Allies
• Frontyard Brewing
• Ghost Note
• Guns and Oil
• Hi Sign
• Hops and Grain
• Independence Brewing
• Infamous
• Jester King
• Lazarus
• Live Oak
• Middleton
• Nomadic Beerworks
• North by Northwest
• Oasis Brewing
• Oddwood
• Orf Brewing
• Oskar Blues
• Pinthouse Burnet
• Pinthouse Lamar
• Pinthouse Round Rock
• Red Horn Brewing
• Rentsch
• Rusty Barrel
• Skull Mechanix
• Southern Heights
• St. Elmo
• Strange Land
• Suds Monkey
• Thirsty Planet
• Treaty Oak
• Twisted X
• Uncle Billy's 
• Vista Brewing
• Zilker

Our plan is to start making a weekly pilgrimage to somewhere neither of us has been - pretty sure I have been to half of them. And the brewery needs to have a both on-site brewing AND a taproom. I left some off that looked like brewing only.

What am I missing from my list?

5 hours ago, Anita Handle said:

I successfully navigated my insurance landscape and saw an Ortho on Friday. He said the knee feels loose, maybe an acl issue. MRI on Monday. At this point I'm struggling to walk any distance without pain which sorta puts a damper on my family trip out west this next week and my 40 miler in Telluride in two weeks. I mostly want to make sure I recover as fully and quickly as possible.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 

Focus on fixing the leg first. The worst thing you could do is ignore it and end up in surgery for something that could have been prevented. You may want to get a knee brace for your trip, even if the doctor does not recommend it. Just an extra level of protection to keep you in the right position. But, if you ask, the doctor would probably say it can't hurt, even if they don't recommend it.

I have some cheap knee braces from skiing if you want to borrow one. It's not the robocop looking one with the metal braces, just the softer flexible ones.

Depending on schedule I might be available to help out as well. I can't work weekends but if you do something on a weekday I might be able to lend a hand.

Never on a fork, those are expensive. Drive train components (individual) are relatively cheap and don't all need to match beyond vendor (Shimano XT derailleur works fine with an SLX shifter...)

Brakes are a tough one, but if you have experience and a bleed kit you can usually upgrade cheaply.

Rode WC on Thursday AM (7/11) Trail was fine. One wet spot on Mark's but not bad at all.

I'd look like a real bonewipe with those on my legs 😉

Walnut was perfect this morning. Other than the poison ivy I brought back with me.