ATXZJ

I have a couple 35mm

The jake has been into brushy including some of deception. It does really well on picnic, peddlers, and carcass. Can be a PITA in some of mulligan and some definite oh sh@t moments in that loose shale stuff on the turns in deception. 

The steps/ledges arent too bad in SC as long as you're clipped in and can Lenosky up them. Inadvertently ended up racing some lycra dude on a mtb in slaughter creek who unsuccessfully tried to pass in a corner without saying anything beforehand. Held him for more than he would've liked to admit and longer than my nerves /fitness could withstand;)

Those bikes can be dumb fun for sure

14 hours ago, MrMentallo said:

 I'll wait for a generation or three until the technology filters down to an affordable level and the inevitable kinks get worked out. 

Pretty much this. Its coming and will be a welcomed improvement over fiddling with knobs but it's gonna need a little time. Magnetic suspension is the end game.

36 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

The picture above of the squatting man has me thinking... I have been working on relearning how to move like that. It's an essential, normal, natural ability that most Westerner s have lost. It's very likely that I enjoyed my brief experiment with a dropper post because it caters to my specific kind of laziness and inability to move.

I have to wonder how much a dropper post and other affectations of modern mountain bikes are made "necessary" by the poor health and movement of modern living. Sitting all day at a desk, in a couch, and in a car, lousy diets, overly- supportive footware, movement that is restricted to compartmentalized "exercise." I live this way too for the most part, but I am aware of it and work to limit my helplessness. Riding my bike is one of the few aspects of my lifestyle where I can choose to use or restrict my reliance of the crutches. Maybe a dropper is not a crutch, but I don't find it to add anything to my riding experience just yet.

Started out with a 75mm dropper that i also never used but have changed my mind now that STs have gotten shorter and dropper travel longer. I found the dropper can really add some room to move around during the slow speed rocky trialbike riding here.  Once you get to some elevation and let go of the brakes , the first thing you want to do is lower your CG. Dropper again.

For exercises, I started doing squats on a wobble board a couple of years ago and it really improved not only my balance and controlling my CG, but also strength. I also incorporated a handlebar into my routine to simulate simulate being on a bike performing a manual. Looks odd at gym but no worse than the morons pushing a tire around the parking lot when its 100*.

8 minutes ago, TheX said:

So I took the new to me Kona Private Jake out to Walnut today. Did ~11 miles, and crashed twice. I remember why I have a full suspension bike now. It was a lot of fun but I had to unlearn a lot of my lines. Windy was interesting to say the least, and severe tried to OTB me in a couple places.  I need to try it with less pressure in the tires also. 

All in all it was a really fun day, but I prefer my Scalpel out there.

Glad you made it out okay and i have to give you props for hitting a mtb trail the first time out. You are definitely right about having to learn new lines. That bike taught me a lot about picking lines and staying committed to them. It can be a little intimidating at first but youll be a better/faster rider on your MTB because of it. Also glad to hear its still solid as a rock;)

IMHO, 2 wheel drifting in gravel was one of the funnest and scariest things i used to do on that bike.

2 hours ago, Chief said:

I had an E-ten on my first bike. Lasted about eight months before it started acting up. I like the brand X I currently have on both my bikes. Over a year and still working like new. IMO best dropper for the price. 550gms isn't really that bad for a dropper, to get lighter then that you have to spend a sh*tton of money.

Second the KS dropper issue. Those things had infected all of my bikes at one point and the Lev i would make it 6-8 mos before needing a new cartridge. The raceface turbine 9.8 knockoff is not much better either. So far the brand X on my wife's rig has been good and the action is much smoother than the levs.

Next dropper i buy will be the one up. If i'm gonna run a dropper I want the seat slammed as far down as it will go when compressed.

Admin, could add a forum in the for sale category similar to the "pay it forward" thread on mojo? I looked and didn't see anything like that on here (maybe is missed it) and think it would be helpful to post bike related items that are taking up space in the garage that i'd either give away or trade.

Keep up the good work

M

2 hours ago, JRIDER said:

what are some good tires for this event if you have a 29" hardtail mtb?  

X2 on the ikons, and you can use them on the trails also.

If all else i have some lighter, fast rolling WTBs and geax i dont uses that'll let go for a good deal if you need.

Dumb question but, do you get full travel with all the air out of the shock?

20 minutes ago, TheX said:

I think I'll sign up for the 50K chill ride, just to get out there and meet some new people.

Nice! 

The manager at my old LBS (Buda Bike Company) used to be/is still involved with these. You might check their social media for map/info etc. Good luck to you guys

Check out kessler if you get too crowded in bentonville. Its basically brushy and greenbelt but with elevation. If you can stick to in town trails, the back 40 would be my first if i were hitting it in the fall.

Enjoy!

Killer! Thanks for taking it off my hands and nice to have met.

Marcus

Perfect time of year to go. Trails might be a little greasy if there's leaves on the ground. There's so much trail up there, you'll find something good to ride. coler alone is worth the trip.

Hotels might be spendy

Picking #2 just modernize the rider and colors/art a bit. Maybe direct mount crank...lol....also, there are no mountains in austin .....

5 hours ago, throet said:

I see that now, and the cockpit is massive, both seated and standing. Would be interesting to get a leg over one. Maybe Medium is the new Large. Both of my local bikes are out of commission right now, and I've been salivating over all the new models being introduced. With 2 mid-travel FS 29ers and a traditional XC 29er HT already in the stable, I think anything new for me would come in the form of an aggressive 650B HT, something like the Transition Throttle that would be fun on the trail or as a dirt jumper.       

Been there man. I had so much overlap in bikes i ended up buying a cross bike. I'm currently thinning the herd down to two not counting my wife's rig.

You should talk to chief about trying out his B+ hardtail. 

running 29 x 2.6 on my HT

5'10 with 30" inseam. Fits well for me, but probably wouldn't want if you have a shorter inseam.

Only had one yeti, an SB66. Spent a little time on a SB95 and both platforms felt really active under power, kinda like the evils do.  I have no experience with the 2nd gen models but im sure they are just as good/better without the bearing failure. 

The 3rd gens seems like they (finally) nailed the geometry and updated the switch platform. They also kinda succeeded in making the bike look like a santa cruz and a pivot went to a party and got roofied.

I'd be down for one but at $3800 for just the frame, it better come with gold-plated bl@wjobs.

Peddler for the win if you're buying local.

A 29er with 100-120 seems sweet spot for here but 130mm would be completely fine with an active rear suspension, plus you can get it on if you get to ride out of state on bigger / faster stuff . The only thing that would concern me about the mondraker would be the near 49" wheelbase on the large.  My old process 111 was 48" and was an absolute tank on tight trails like deception.

That blue one is sexy as f@ck though..... 

I do recall going to reimers one weekend and ended up with a defective dropper stuck in the extended position. It sucked . The thing that stood out as being the worst was the fast (ish) downhill section along the back fence with the jumps being really awkward compared to having the seat slammed. I guess i like being down way low at speed with a little tire buzz for novelty.

At some point you guys are gonna get tired of hitting your gunts on the seat😁

2 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

does this fit a pike or lyrik?

 

both, as long as they're boost. CSU threads are different between 15x100 & 15x110

https://www.mrpbike.com/rampcart/

cross bike is my only one without dropper and has been so in years. My input might not be 100% applicable. On my X bike i had to put an ultra short (specialized powr) saddle to keep from getting hung up on my shorts etc. More than getting back on the bike for descents, i like dropping the saddle on techy climbs and fast corners so i can move all around the bike. F@ck having to straddle that barstool.

Give it a shot as there's only one way to know just leave the cable in the ST in case you want to reinstall. Worst case, go with a light, shorter travel XC oriented post. There's a ton out now.

usually aluminum nipples. bought a salvaged specialized hardtail from yellowbike and 60% of the nipples were broken

3 hours ago, TheX said:

I had weeping with Schwalbe at times. I'm running Maxxis right now and that is no longer an issue with Stans.

WTB are even worse than schwalbe.

59 minutes ago, RidingAgainToo said:

This forum was a few days old and some gloryhole-seeker thought it necessary to hijack my Mojo user name for the purpose of attempting to mock me.




 

you gotta admit it was pretty funny......

god-like skillset. Gwin is a true professional.

When i was in mt st anne for the race i could hear the locals talking about how they were as fast as some of the elites because of the times on their go-pros (rolls eyes). I cant even imagine hitting these courses at a fraction of the speeds the juniors do.