AustinBike

I always use a percentage over actual pounds. I set my sag to 25-30%. I have no idea what the actual pressure is.

Anyone know where to get the rubber straps for a Glowworm battery? Their website does not have battery straps. I have the Velcro strap and it just bangs through the whole ride, would like to find the rubber straps.

Eh, the trails listed there are pretty pedestrian. 99% is between Zilker and the 360 trailhead. 99% of what we would ride is past the 360 trailhead.

But it is interesting to see office park on there.

11 hours ago, endo_ said:

As someone who has actually managed the ARR site for awhile, thank you to the three of you who visited! I really appreciated your support. Managing communication for email, a Facebook site,twitter site,Instagram site, mojo, arr website and a meetup page all for the different needs of the people is painful at best and to be honest not worth it. Consolidating forums had to happen. I suggest if you are adamant that ARR reinstate their site, join the board and take over managing the program. I’m sure Charlie and team would love some new blood and new ideas.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I can tell you as someone who manages a site, I would not want to touch discussion forums. Keeping up with content itself is time consuming. If it wasn't for the healthy salary from the AB world HQ I could not get by. I don't bemoan them going to FB but I do know that I do not use FB much because of their privacy issues (amongst other things) so there is a part of the population that they will not reach. All of it is a balance, and having someone to take on that task is difficult.

1 hour ago, crazyt said:

The city has explicitly said that cat cannot be "open to the public". Everyone who rides there is my personal friend or a friend of a friend. Also Freeride 512 has volunteered to help to patrol because of theft and other mischief on the trails. 

The point is that I can drive traffic on a regular basis to you. Posting a trail review and pictures with no location and a "contact these guys for access" link will help keep you in control. It is no different than the other places like RPR or RHR that charge you to ride, just a different arrangement. Without directions you limit the ability for someone to just show up.

I haven't looked lately but I get a few hundred people a day hitting my site, it's basically free advertising and free traffic if you want it. And anytime you are doing a membership drive or event I can put a notice up on my site. I don't charge for advertising because that would make it feel like a job and I am not vey good at jobs these days.

OK, my KS i950r was getting a little long in the tooth, dropped fine, but would not spring back. Even with service this condition has been a problem for most of its life. I was going to go have it serviced again (at ~$80-100) and then decided to try a PNW Components Cascade dropper. Holy crap, what a value. It is solid, well built and performs well. It is a bit slower than some of the other higher end droppers on the market, but that is something you get used to over time. I did 3 rides on it, 2 on the GB and one at Lakeway and it performed flawlessly. Not a huge fan of the lever but I can probably get used to that over time (they do sell an aftermarket lever that is an additional $60...)

We'll see how this goes over time, but I am real impressed with it. Not as cheap as the Brand-X but it comes from Canada and is sold through Amazon so I could get it easily, with prime shipping. Installation and adjustment were a snap, had it on and ready to go in about 15 minutes, including getting the saddle mounted.

You can shop for them here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XZ7TQ6N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For those of you that want the full run-down with pics:

http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/product-reviews/341-review-pnw-components-dropper-post

1 hour ago, Seths Pool said:

there is apparently a common misconception about cat mtn where everybody seems to think the place is nothing but big drops, crazy jumps, or scary features.. while there are a few of those sprinkled about, cat mtn is a great trail system as a whole and offers a shit load of variety. raw, technical, rocky terrain, steep, berms, catch berms, jumps, drops or varying sizes, lumber features, challenging climbs, g-outs, fast flowing trails, off camber stuff, narrow single track with exposure, big gap jumps, jump trails, you name it, its pretty much all there. 

 

but as I have mentioned before, cat mtn is pretty good about weeding people out who don't belong there. but for those who do seem to belong, people absolutely love it. its my happy place 🙂 

This is why I made my offer to you the other day 

I am thinking about a city park ride depending on how the rain goes. Haven’t been in a few months. 

2 hours ago, larlev said:

After being off the bike for 8yrs, I could use a area like that. Needless to say my jumping skills are going to need to be started from scratch. Some things are coming back, some seem lost. Haha

It’s just like riding a bike

Coler over blowing springs, every time.

11 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

FR512 is $90/yr. unlimited access to FR512 RHR and Cat Mtn

 

cat mtn has about 350-370' elevation change, and about 12-15 trails. and is in austin. just thought id throw that out there..

i already contributed hugely to spider mountain by lending A LOT of help building the existing trails there, and will be a supporter after they open, but want to see more trails there

Are these places "publicly available", ie. are you actively trying to recruit customers?

Let me know. I'm not talking about advertising, but neither of those places is on my site and I drive a lot of traffic from people looking for places to ride...

As a person who overthinks everything, my recommendation is that riding the bikes is sooooo much better than looking at geometry numbers. For instance, a 17" chainstay vs. a 17.5" chain stay will probably not be noticed because there is a degree of difference in the head angle, yada, yada, yada.

When I go looking for a bike (and I am now), I start with some really high level things (warranty, price, etc.) and then see what drops into the bucket. My goal is to get out to as many demos and ride the bikes because if I obsess on the numbers I will never get off the dime and make the purchase.

Geometry, to me, is something that you "feel" when you ride the bike. It's like wine. I drink it but I don't know shit about it. However, when I get a bad one, I know.

All of that being said, my short list right now (all carbon) are Santa Cruz (Tallboy and Hightower), Pivot (Mach 429) and other options in those ranges. I'm a retiree on a fixed income, so some of the nice carbon options out there do nit fit my budget unfortunately. Like you, I have broken ~8 frames, so warranty is critical.

It feels like it is going to greenbelt this morning...

It is interesting that RA thinks that somehow having a magazine will help socialize the views of mountain bikers to the rest of society. And on this forum, full of mountain bikers, he struggles getting people to agree with his opinions. If he can't win over mountain bikers how can this magazine win over the hearts and minds of others?

This thread is a dead horse. Clearly there are multiple groups at odds and continuing to beat on this is not helping either side.

58 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

awesome let me know! I'll come get them as soon as they are available. 

A pair of 160's on my front porch. Have some old chain rings too if you need them, I can put 'em out with the rotors.

I might have some, let me check

My guess: it's gonna be chilly. I believe this is why they call it a death march.

22 minutes ago, TheX said:

Root drop has an alternative, and I use it. I walk my bike down. did it yesterday. Of course I had to walk up the first climb on Windy. It was pure mud and water running down the rocks from somewhere.

 

 

 

yeah, I spun out on my singlespeed on that climb. Gonna be a while before that is dry again, it was a mess.

11 minutes ago, cxagent said:

I call BS on that. Even PARD used some of what Austin Bike said on their web site. But they changed it just enough to not get sued for copyright infringement. 

Oh, wait. I copied that from the AB site and modified it because PARD said they needed something to indicate the trail was not beginner friendly.

The legal department at AB World Headquarters is so understaffed that we don't worry about suing people for copyright infringement. We are focused on root removal lawsuits.

2 hours ago, cxagent said:

Since signs don't seem to be the answer, maybe posting on the internet so people will have some idea of what to expect - 

PARD posting - http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Planning_and_Development/Description_of_Emma_Long_Motorcycle_and_Mountain_Biking_Trail.pdf

Austin Bike posting - http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/austin/6-citypark

Trailforks posting - https://www.trailforks.com/trails/emma-long-mx-park/

I bet MTBProject and others have similar warnings.

You can't please everyone no matter how hard you try or what you do. Somebody will bitch and complain if you gave them a $100 bill. As long as it is just talk or posting on the net - fine. That is their opinion. When they starting cutting trees - I start ranting. And I don't just complain and not do anything about it. 😉

I would not trust that AustinBike guy, he doesn't know what he is talking about.

On an unrelated topic I was discussing City Park with someone last night at the R&I. I have done the math and I believe I have somewhere north of 1000 laps on that trail. I have been riding it for almost 20 years, and many times did multiple laps. And, to this day, I am still careful, because it is a dangerous place. Walnut Creek sees more injuries because people are not paying attention, there is lots of traffic (including non-bike), and it is a 2-way path. But more people probably get hurt at CP while focusing on exactly what they are doing.

Ordered a PNW based on the reviews online and comments here. 

Basically my KS i950r is to the point of not rising back up. It is ~$80-100 to service it, so $200 for a brand new one with a 3 year warranty is a good deal. I'll keep my old one as a warranty backup to put back on the bike if I have to ship the PNW in for service. 

14 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

might be a good idea to hit up Performance Bike.

Yeah, they hit that and it was pretty picked through.  

They are looking at this one: https://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Bonafied-Wheel-Mountain-Frame/dp/B06XX8G66L/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1545141645&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=schwinn+29+inch+mountain+bike&psc=1

Based on the fact that his last one was stolen this one seems to be in the right price range. Better than a Walmart bike and probably ok for commuting back and forth.

Probably a large. He’s about my height, maybe a bit taller as I get shorter with age. 

Need a 120-125mm dropper, 30.9, externally routed. I was interested in the One Up but that does not meet my specs. The Brand-X looks interesting but based on the service of my current KS I am hesitant to jump on something from the U.K. 

looks like the PNW meets my specs, is anyone here riding one? Interested in your feedback. At $200 it makes it really hard to justify the $350-400 on a new LEV. I can get a 2017 LEV for $229 but I question the wisdom of an almost 2 year old dropper when the technology is changing so quickly. The KS lev on my SS is solid (2017 vintage I guess) and the ~2015 i950r I am replacing feels anchient in comparison. 

Any input is appreciated. 

My neighbor had a mountain bike that he was using as a commuter, to and from UT. Stinking thieves nicked it last week. He needs a replacement, wants a 29er HT. Realistically it will never see dirt, but you never know. 

Does anyone have anything for a few hundred that they would like to get rid of? Ping me.