ATXZJ

34 minutes ago, crazyt said:

pretty amazing we got 10-11 inches west of austin which was perfect for the watershed. Travis is now at 696 (681 is full, 714 is dam topped)

they did predict an el nino year which are wetter than average.

Yeah, the footage from the highland lake dams was pretty intense but like you say, thats where we needed the water most. I read 710' was 1991 record, so no too far off at LT 

Fox factory with the matt black looks bad ass.

41 minutes ago, Chongo Loco said:

 

 Those big ass freak of nature lineman can do a 40 yd dash near world class sprinter pace. The best athlete to ever come out of your area may make a top 25 university roster. Of the thousand plus of those guys a couple dozen can make it to the pro’s.


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Those dude are scary fast for their size. Science has pushed all sports to next level performance

55 minutes ago, TheX said:

Punch them in the throat.

Now we're speaking my kind of language

17 minutes ago, throet said:

Nothing rideable of course, but anybody paying attention to what's going on with area lakes? Looks like Lake Travis has come up 20ft in the last week, primarily due to the raging Llano River. Won't be surprising if it exceeds 100% full with the continued rains. Saw something in regards to the San Gabriel flooding as well. Anybody know what's happening at Lake Georgetown? Are we at risk of having parts of the Goodwater Loop underwater?

EDIT - Just saw that Travis is now at 102% full. I remember it getting to 95% or so a few years back after heavy rains, but can't remember the last time it was over 100%.  

Think 91 or 92' was the worst where it was just a couple of feet from cresting the dam. Checking levels now......

1 minute ago, throet said:

Haha can't argue with that! The latest pro sports ploy is the split screen commercial playing on one side with a live lens still on the action. Initially you think, oh how nice that they're letting you stay tuned into the game. Then you realize it's only being done to allow for more commercial time. I'm getting to the point where I just want to record everything and start watching at least an hour into the live cast. That way you can fast forward through all of the commercials and still finish near the end of the live feed.  

 edited my response above with a little more detail.

Yep, the commercialism, flyovers, graphics on the screen, just get on with the f@cking game would you. I stopped watching sports (besides UCI DH) on TV in the 90s after the packers, cowboys and spurs had some great seasons and the old guard commentators retired. The only thing i really enjoy now is going to see MiLB teams play. God d@mn, theres nothing better than sitting in your local ballpark after a long winter with a beer, dog and watching these guys play for nothing but glory.

Rant/Off

Whats wrong with football? Big money, just like everything else we at one time enjoyed. If there's a dollar to be made, there's for sure gonna be some f@ckery involved.

I've worked with several retired NFL players, including one that played in a superbowl. When i asked what it was like playing pro ball there was a big difference between what the guys who played in the 70-80s vs 90-2000s had to say.  The older guys had a much fonder view of playing and talked about their buddies and the fun they had on and off the field. The newer guys mainly talked about the business side of the sport first and then gameplay. It may have been time coloring their glasses but it was pretty consistent. 

BTW, all of these guys ended up working at car dealers, even the baller.

1 hour ago, HoneyBadger said:

I call BS on them "checking" the trail. I've had a few people say the same thing to me when I ask them not to ride muddy trails. It always seems like they are quickly coming up with an excuse for something they know they shouldn't have done. Anyone that is going to take the time to check on the trail is most likely more than a beginner and would know it's not ridable with the amount of rain we have had. Also, if you think the trail is muddy why would you ride your bike on it, just walk in and check it out. 

Exactly. Guy was mad because you caught him doing something wrong and then makes excuses online afterwards *rolls eyes*

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

yeah, i want to try some of those boney headsets. any particular recommendation? I did have more fun with some music pumping in my head some days, but I can't find an earbud that stays in my ear but does not block out sound from outside.

There's a special place in hell for earbuds and ill never use a set again. With that in mind, i bought the bone conducting style for use at work for the same reason you'd use them for riding (listening to audio while still being able to hear your surroundings). One issue i had was how well the reproduced music. They were fine for podcasts etc but music was like an AM radio. The manufacturer provided earplugs so you could improve the sound quality, which defeats the purpose of me buying them. If you own a pair of these style of headphones, try plugging your ears, its a night and day difference. The overarching issue for me was dependability and comfort. To get the best sound quality and volume there needed to be sufficient pressure on your head for the drivers to work best. That results in fatigue and broken parts as the bands were never strong enough to last more than 3-4 months before breaking. 

https://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Conduction-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headphones/dp/B017VXP5EO

20 minutes ago, Jessica said:

Yeah, someone said something shitty to me on Strava about riding wet trails. I suppose that individual was more interested in being shitty than actually showing concern. On Strava we clearly started riding a hard packed trail, but when we saw the trail was soft (with 4.9 tires) got off and turned our bikes back to the path and finished a meandering ride to Opal Divine.

WTH is wrong with ear buds? It seems super neurotic to have opinions on how others choose to ride that has an occasional minimal impact on your experience.




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No offense on the earbud comment and i should probably clarify. The persons actions of saying FU and then quickly stuffing their ears and going back to something else seems like a convenient way of hiding from confrontation and having to own what they did. To me, it seems immature and cowardly. 

Disclaimer:  ive never once used strava or ridden with headphones/music. 

Initially i would've said don't share but after his response, i'd say fair game.  The whole earbud/comment thing from him probably would have set me off and escalated it further. I commend you for being reasonable.

I really don't get the whole riding in the wet thing here. The mud in ctx is full of clay and is just absolute misery to ride in and clean off your bike afterwards. It also has lots of little rocks/pebbles that like to get into the bridge area of your fork and scratch the sh*it out of your stanchions. I'll pass.

25 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

Kristin Butcher is a damn good writer. Her column makes that magazine.


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and she's also a d@mn good rider to boot

https://www.instagram.com/that_butcher/

Spent more than enough time behind the wheel of my share of death wagons. 4 wheel drums in the rain, stuck carbs, points, bias ply tires, fires, just absolute garbage, all of it.  Learning to drive those cars on the edge gave me more intuition into where the limits were and recognizing the feedback the machine was giving me.

I built and raced cars in my 20s and started out overly aggressive, slow, and hard on parts. As time went on i used what i'd learned from driving those aforementioned deathwagons to improve my times on the track. It did take a while for me to learn that smooth=fast.  

I'm applying the same methodology to MTB. I thought i was fast just monster trucking over everything, but all i was doing was beating myself and my bike up while the person in front of me pulled away. Riding a HT or cross bike on trails made me pick better lines and look further down the trail than my front wheel. It also taught me to use the feedback the bike was giving to ride smarter not harder. The end result was more time on the trail riding rather than recovering. This carried over into the confidence when i'm on a full suspension bike to let go of the brakes and get into the flow. Im able to ride blind faster now than i had on trails id ridden a dozen times prior. 

Do i race MTB? No

Am i "fast"? Probably not. 

Do i have fun when riding? Absolutely!

Keep your HT and buy a full suspension when time/money allows for a solid purchase

I learned to ride MTB on a full suspension 29, and clipped in. Lots of bad habits there. Going back to a HT and flats helped push my abilities in the right direction and had me focusing on refining my techniques . The cyclocross bike really helped me fine tune my ability to pick lines rather than just steamrolling everything. 

Each bike has its place.

As others have said, my 2c is to do very basic upgrades when needed and save your pennies for a closeout or used full sus, when you are ready for one. 

E-bikes are lost in this strange no mans land of 2 wheeled activities. Too dorky for both the moto guys and mtb crowd. 

I wrap the post with a microfiber towel and clamp just tight enough that it doesn't slip. The odds are most all droppers will fail from 99 reasons other than clamping it in a bike stand.

1 hour ago, notyal said:

Last night I browsed through my stash of used tires to bring a spare on a trip and thought I should at least peel the dried up sealant out of there. I got it all in one piece. 

THE PERFECT PEEL!!!

Awesome! How in the hell did you manage that?

4 hours ago, olddbrider said:

Interested in the saddle and the 29 X 2.4 king black chili tire if they are still available.

 

I'd also pay $10 to be there if/when you and RidingAgain meet up to do the deal...

Cool. send me a PM and we'll work something out.

New Mexico 2013

Finally made it up this feature on the trail network behind my house. Definitely helped to prepare me for central tx trails

Cool. when do you want em?

2 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Very nice pic, how does it ride?

Thanks! Haven't had much of an opportunity to hit the trails as it seems to have been raining since the build started. Basically, all of the parts came off my process 111 so I have a reasonably good baseline of how the frame feels. It pedals way better than the 111 but still seems fairly planted since the geo is similar and also has the same 2* works headset and 40mm offset CSU. Overall it will be a better bike for the trails I ride here in central texas and give my legs/back a break from riding the hardtail.

The PIKE is my biggest issue as i swapped the 130mm air shaft to a new debonair 120mm and im getting a large amount of air migration to the lower legs. I've had this issue in the past and serviced the seals on the air shaft and that seemed to help. This debonair is brand new with same O.D. as standard shaft it replaced but will seep air even when not being ridden. My buddy did the swap on his Yari and had the same issue for a few weeks until it stopped. I suppose it could be a seating issue like rings in a rebuilt engine and may need some break in time. It certainly makes setting up the fork a total PITA.

The decals have held up really well considering ive had the tires on and off multiple times (long story) so thats a good thing. If someone does a set I recommend using a heat gun when applying to soften them up a bit and fit the contours of the rim. Made life much easier.

Thanks for the props. I was a little on the fence about purple, but that was all that was available. Figured might a well let the freak flag fly

For the money and XC purposes, these are hard to beat:

https://www.treefortbikes.com/Stans-No-Tubes-Arch-MK3-Rim-26?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp3332224162249138&sc_intid=3332224162249138&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_7HdBRDPARIsAN_ltcKAO1f0Id6TF9Mmu3mEPWyz2ceynToZ9nio40POgNi2wJk_FMRBkCMaAm4AEALw_wcB

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

is that actually a 31.9 seatpost or 30.9?

Sorry, fat fingered that one. 30.9

X2 on just buying and entire wheelset, especially when 26 stuff can be had cheap. Bought some flow wheels with house hubs from these guys and was happy with them.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/bicyclewheelwarehouse/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=