Trailrider

$200 for a pro to fix it. You can save a lot by not having it finished to match. Leave an ugly carbon wrap for all to see so he can think about taking care of things in the future.

10 what? km/hr? mi/hr? m/s? mi/s? ft/s?

Yes, that does help. I dislike horses and ATVs far more than a few tree gates. I'll keep that in mind next time I labor through them.

Now I question if you have even ridden Juniper ridge. With 780mm bars, you cannot go through some of those "tree gates". They aren't even features; they are just hazards.

Juniper ridge trail was always in need of a widening. Why don't one of you guys with a saw take care of all those trees that have been smashed so often by bars that the bark is ripped off? Then at least it would be rideable.

If you ride a lot, you should do the lowers service yourself. At the shop, the tech is usually going to pull up the pdf instructions for video and follow the steps, just like you would doing it at home. If you make less than $60/hr spending money, it makes sense to do it yourself. For damper service and seal replacement, you can find a good shop or diy. You should have an Excel spreadsheet with all your suspension units listed - their model year, date purchased, and ride time. Yes, ride time updated at least monthly. Follow the manuf. instructions on service interval at first. If your oil or foam rings still look pretty good, you can fudge on that. If they look terrible, go more frequent. Riding in the dry with a mud guard protecting the stanchions, my foam rings and oil still look good at 2x the Fox recommended lowers interval. But I service my shock more often than recommended. Air suspension performance begins to degrade from the moment you throw a leg over the bike. It's not in your head.

Just download their "new" map and give it a good eyeing. It's useless! I'm avoiding the place for now. Jimmy at Flat Rock does an awesome job in comparison with marking trails, improving trails, and keeping the public posted on the facebook page.

If you ride a particularly well laid section of trail and whisper a thank you to the trail builder for his skill.

Without a lot of pedaling? Not interested. Flow trails are boring.

I don't compromise on anything except maybe time. If there's a bike I want, I might wait until there's a deal. There is a pleasure in owning something and knowing you got a deal on it. There are a lot of other areas in my life that I don't care much about yet spend a lot of money on compared to bicycles - house, cars, health insurance....but none of these brings the pleasure of a nice bike, or keeps me strong or healthy. I built the last five bikes from the frame up with new parts.

Use one of the cheap hydration bladder packs that only has thin fabric against your back. Freeze the bladder. It's good for at least an hour of cool. '

Started on 720 Bought 800 Cut to 760 Got +20mm by moving my brakes near the grip so my hands sit near the end of the bar. This also helps your brain figure out how wide your bars are.

Conditions are good, northern loop is fine.

Whenever carbon has broken on my bike, it has happened in stages and there was a convenient cracking sound that let me know what was happening.