Kyle

For slow rock crawl rides I've been experimenting with setting my fork up extra soft, slow rebound, and extremely progressive.  It makes the beginning of the travel very supple so it's easier to shove the wheel over that last obstacle at the end of a tough climb when you're out of momentum and position.

I haven't got my spider mountain settings dialed yet, but I'm gravitating towards higher PSI and much less progressive, still with pretty slow rebound.

My rear shock setup is less refined.  PSI to set sag to exactly what Yeti recommends, curb test for rebound (erring on the slow side) and I 3D printed a bunch of spacers to experiment with until I was routinely using most of the travel.  All compression damping always wide open.

You're not going wrong with a Fox 36.  Riding 4+ years definitely puts you in the window of being able to appreciate it too.

On 6/13/2019 at 4:22 PM, ATXZJ said:

That fork is actually a decent platform to build off of.  Have you considered a charger 2 RC2 and MRP ramp control or luftkappe upgrade?

This is exactly what I was going to say.

If you're just upgrading for variety, check this out: https://mrpbike.com/products/ramp-control-cartridge-for-rock-shox/?variant=12922378518570

Ramp control is awesome.  You can learn a ton about suspension behavior by having progressiveness easily available to adjust.  I change mine all the time for the type of riding I'm doing.

14 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

Lastly, Ive had pretty good luck with 5ten and still have a pair of maltese falcons from 2012.

It looks like they were bought by Adidas relatively recently.  Doesn't quality always suffer in situations like that?

I use this stuff to make my bike shoes last:

https://www.amazon.com/Repair-Adhesive-Fixing-Shoes-3-7-Ounce/dp/B002L9AL84/

It's not quite as good as the original rubber, but it dries to a reasonable approximation and bonds to the shoe better than anything else I've tried.  I have old Five Tens that are 100% shoe goo in places.

I'm not complaining about the vegetation or technical features.  It was always a trail about flow and cornering, but now it rides like a green trail at a bike park except with zero elevation.

It was a fun challenge to ride hard enough to get on the berms and really use them, or to not go into the bushes on the flat turns.

After the machine work those turns are evenly slanted edge-to-edge.  It might possibly be faster but it's boring.  Yeah some parts are still ok, but a whole lot has been dumbed down in the fun department.  

Basically the original trail builder did a great job, and this KOM company should consider changing their company focus to digging koi ponds.  At least in Texas.

2 hours ago, cxagent said:

Different people like different trails. Ride the parts you like and let others ride the parts they like.

 

I disagree, I think it's the same type of trail for the same type of rider, it's just worse now.

This thread used to generate pages of rage about someone putting a rock in front of squeeze play...

Trigger warning:  Dissenting opinion

I rode the new Peddler yesterday for the first time, and the machine built stuff is boring.  It contrasts so sharply with the excellent hand built parts.  I'm confused because I've read so many positive opinions of the new stuff here.  I mean it's not even close.  

Hey squares, unless it's busy you can ride the trail whatever direction you want.  

When I built my last FS bike I used 170 cranks. after only ever using 175.  5mm made a very noticeable difference.  It felt like I lost a low gear, but I definitely had less pedal strikes.  I think over the last year I've adapted and learned how to peddle in even more precarious situations and get the pedal strike number back up.

Edit: I'm 6'2"

Great color.  

I have a pipe cutter you could borrow for that fork...

Turns out my brain was out of spec when I bought a cinch crankset.

Look up how to service your rear hub.  It's easy enough that I wouldn't take it to a shop, and it'll allow you to check for damage.  If you ride hard you're probably going to break parts in the rear hub/axle area eventually.

You could change the lower oil in the fork and the air can oil in the shock.  It's very easy and makes a big difference on Fox stuff especially.

Wasn't your bike a demo before you bought it?  If you're actually at 1000 miles the bottom bracket bearings might be toast.  See if the cranks wobble any way they shouldn't.  Also check that the headset is adjusted properly.

36 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

ramp control

I generally want to set and forget my stuff, but the ramp control on my MRP Ribbon was my gateway into tweaking stuff for the ride, and it makes a big difference.

25 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I would not say that frame was designed for a 140 mm fork. It came with a short rigid fork and it can handle a 140. That does not mean it's a good idea for me.  Stiffer and better damping would probably do me good, but I have yet to feel like "oh man! If only I had more travel on my fork!"

The way to get that feeling is to ride a bike with more travel for a while and then go back.

9 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

GXP bottom brackets are pretty cheap, but IME the bearings shit the bed if you get them wet AT ALL. I would ditch the SRAM cranks for an Aeffect set. I bought mine for $110 online and found chainrings for as little as $15. 

I replaced so many GXP bearings on my old hardtail...  I think in 2 years I replaced the whole BB once and one side individually another 2-3 times.  

I have properly torqued a cassette lock ring exactly once, and then never again after it took forever to get off.  Never had one come loose.  Is your lock ring just worn out?

When you say climbing, do you mean traction or efficiency? 

I love my Yeti 4.5 because of the degree to which it stays active while peddling.  I didn't like the dw-link on a Pivot Switchblade because it just got too stiff.  Around here, including at Spider, you still gotta pedal if you want to go fast, and it's nice if the suspension still works while you're doing it.

I have a buddy who bought a Cannondale Habit in... 2016?  The lefty fork was always messed up right from the beginning and parts were always unavailable.  He missed a bunch of rides.  Then the rear triangle broke after barely a few hundred miles.  Great experience.

2 minutes ago, cxagent said:

Are you saying I'm an endangered species??? Maybe I can start riding behind some fences!

I'll convene the committee to decide if you're desirable. 

I had no idea there were so many people on this forum without droppers.  

You're like another species to me.

It depends on the size of the feature and how hard I want to hit it.  Also I do trigger my dropper 100 times a ride probably.  Usually it's all the way up or down, but if I'm in an extended rock crawling section I'll just drop it an inch or so.

Once you get used to it it's not just about descending, you use it to get low in hard corners too.  And to bunny hop higher.  Everywhere really.  

1 minute ago, zrx24 said:

The bars on this used bike were most definitely too wide for me.  Definitely better now.  They're at 720mm now, so still wide by today's standards.

*Furious typing sounds*

Where were you riding?

This often happens with really short segments.  When the segment is only 0.06 miles long the effect of a single GPS glitch can be relatively huge and the times and calculated speeds get weird.

Every single multi use path in town has tire marks on it somewhere, so...