RedRider3141

I would believe that for that for 2000's an up Craftsman. When new, for the money the HF is probably a better deal. But the older Craftsman stuff is solid. I was lucky enough to inherit my grandfather's Craftsman roll-away that he custom built in the late 70s for his job as a diesel mechanic with the DOT. It has been through him (grandpa), my dad and now me and has held up extremely well, even after a cross country move, loaded with tools. If needed a "new" tool box one I'd wait for an older craftsman, waterloo, mac, etc. If you need real new, then yeah, the HF are hard to beat.

I dunno, while I do have a selection of HF tools in my garage, CL, FB Marketplace, etc. usually always has some better constructed tool boxes for the same or less. https://austin.craigslist.org/tls/d/austin-craftsman-tool-box-180/6850862202.html https://austin.craigslist.org/tls/d/austin-craftsman-roll-around-tool-box/6844532392.html https://austin.craigslist.org/tls/d/austin-tool-box-tool-chest/6836096941.html

This video actually does alot to show how much lateral load there is on the frame. My gut check said that this thing was going to spread out like a beach cruiser on a 30ft table but it makes a sense now seeing it that the springs are softest in the side-to-side direction.

As an Engineer, all machines even the big 'ol 'merican V8 is just a floppy bag of parts. Minimize and control of the flex is all you can do. I'm actually shocked it's taken this long for MTB forks to go inverted (at least sorta mainstream) and large diameter (40mm+)

Good News! Strava says you got 19:16

As long as someone makes a new segment (which they did) it will work automatically. It's called Peddlers Pass 4.0.

I'm not the only one?!?!

You inspired me. I'm officially a (1 day) licensed MTB Racer and have registered for the race!

I feel and my Strava times show that I'm faster on my HT. The only section I KNOW that I was faster was the old direction creek crossing. I could bomb through that in my FS before but never my HT. Now that it's reversed I bet the difference through the creek is minimal.

Not to burst your bubble, since we're on the same one. But that's only the Austin VooDoo List. Here's the full 4.0 leader-board. I move from a respectable yet tenuous #10/12 (I already got bumped) to #66/84

That sounds much more enjoyable!

My Mistake, is it not 3 continuous laps?

All I've been seeing is Squirrels and Lizards!

Better than I thought I would do, although I know I couldn't keep that up for 3 laps. I had to take 2 decent breathers/ water breaks as it is. I would say my lap time would definately be in the 13-14 range had the course not been partial reversed! 😉

I'm just starting to practice as well. If you want a digital competitor whose times will make you feel good find me on Strava. https://www.strava.com/athletes/redrider3141

A lot of comparisons have been made to motorcycles which is fair, but maybe a more applicable comparison is boats. Many small lakes are wind/ people power only or have HP limitations. I could see certain trail systems adopting rules based on their capability to handle E-bikes.

Something I've noticed is that I haven't got a single email from the site in a few days even though content has been added. Usually I get several a day. I don't remember changing anything, did something "break"?

Tires are gone, rims are still available.

I agree! Riding in Austin is technical and challenging which has been fun to push through but as a mediocre skilled rider it has been challenging to find trails with features that build skill rather than test it. I've been pushing myself to ride 1/4 notch lately and one by one I've been working on cleaning features but there are a few that I don't know how to work up to, they seem so far above my skill set. While I am not above walking a feature I appreciate the B-line strategy, especially if it was a B+ line to help build my skill. Sometimes I feel like I have two choices, Picnic or Basket Drops... I've actually really liked Peddlers, especially East (central now?) because it had some great introductory features and more are being added. The park I started riding at (Duthie Hill in Sammamish, WA) had a great system of Y's and well marked black diamond route with a challenging but a less than death defying route right next to it. One trail in particular "Ryan's Eternal Flow" was a great example. Sometimes even the B-line had a B-line. These weren't just easy go arounds, they were paths of staggered skill designed to build up on. The park also had a skills area with multiple height drops, jumps, skinnies of various widths, etc. All designed to build skill and prep you for the trails. It was relatively compact and extremely helpful. Here is a video of Ryan's. At 0:45 sec you see two paths, the 1st right goes directly to the trail 2 corners ahead via a double black step up. The 1st left has a drop or a ride by and goes to yet another split (0:49) to a single black step up. That left goes to yet another drop with a rollable side route. They all meet a the same corner at 1:01. In 15 seconds of riding you have 3 choices of varying skill level with 2 side options. It's hard to tell from GoPro but this trail is built down a gully, using both sides of the hill like a half pipe in the woods.

As if I don't have enough to pay attention to while riding but have any of y'all noticed that the embedded rocks (limestone) at the bottom of 1/4“ is smoother than the stuff at the top? Next time I'll take some pictures. Is it from more run off as you go down the hill or because people are just wimps and aren't finishing the loop?

I switched from a minimal backpack with 3L water and room for tools/tube to a minimal hip(ster) pack with room for tools and 1 water bottle. I purposely wanted a hip pack without a bladder. I figure if I am out and I need more than 3 water bottles (2 on bike and 1 on me) then I'll bring the backpack. For me it was a quick transition and I like it a lot. I could imagine if I weighed it down alot then I might agree with you.

They list helmet rentals for $15, cheap IMO. +1 for wearing a full face when recommended. It saved my pretty face a few times. 1 in particular was very helpful in a OTB at Duthie:

Yeah, I'm trying to be extra legit as a way of justifying being mildly un-legit when there isn't an option. 😉

While we are on the topic. What's the "right" way to get from Gnar/ Caddyshack back to the BCRT? I used to ride across the dry portion of the creek bed to the west/south side of the bridge but they fenced that. Now I hop over the fence. During warmer weather I might cross the creek but still...