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Nice, large Specialized BIKE SHIPPING BOX, with lots of padding!  Must pick up before Monday AM, 7/23.

If not then....anyone have a shipping box for medium sized enduro bike? Preferably in the northern reaches of Austin, but I won't be too picky.

Edit* picked one up from the Trek bike shop. They had 1 left in the size I needed.

This is the fork I am using.

https://www.identitibikes.com/products/xc-rigid-steel-forks/

Seems like it has alot of natural dampening and I really enjoy the feel of it. I wish I had a bit more stack on the bike so the BB sat a bit higher, but no real complaints.

The seatpost is nice as well. It has a decent amount of flex in it which makes it alot more comfortable in the saddle when the going gets rough. Way too expensive for something I would personally buy, but if you have the money I would highly recommend it. I am just glad it had too much set back for my brother lol.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/cg-r-carbon-seatpost/p/156334

Looks so much a like mechanical brake caliper from this angle.

Following up now that I have had some time on the Bianchi scavenger.

I have about 150 miles on it now and freaking love it. Not sure if an older MTB is the perfect gravel bike for everyone, but it certainly is for me. It pedals pretty great on the road, but I can really get this thing into some janky stuff and it still rides very well. I have ridden it on pretty much every trail aside from Deception at Brushy. Even took it down Snail trail once which was super fun. The best stuff I found on it is the new SN/Church property. Those are some primo dirt miles back in there if you dont mind getting a little rowdy on you gravel rig.

I originally thought gravel bikes were about just riding a bike on wet days on mixed surfaces. I did not think it would be something I picked to do over a good MTB ride, but the miles and the ability to get even more lost is very appealing to me. 

4 hours ago, TheX said:

Actually, I say 95% because of the monthly cheat lunch. It would actually be more like>98% but point and laugh if you like.

By cheat lunch I mean having some chicken with my otherwise vegan lunch at Zaika.

Yeah that is what I mean too. I eat sushi once every month or so and potatoe and egg tacos a couple times a month.

Just curious...why did you decide to start the vegan thing since it was not ethical?

Skip eating the animals and just eat their food! Screw the animals!

Edit: Also 95% Vegan lol. Because breakfast tacos and sushi.

Riding them front and rear at the moment and I am sold on them. Traction for days and they will just make me stronger on climbs right?

Sold!

2016 Kona Process 111 - Size Medium

Looking to get $1800, but make me an offer. Local is much easier than shipping on PB.

I picked this bike up in Fall of 2017 and it was my primary bike until early 2019. My plan was to fully service it and then keep it around as a spare bike for friends coming into town. My wife had different plans for it so needless to say I am now selling it.

The bike has been fully serviced at the beginning of this year and only ridden a handful of times since. New linkage bearings, fork and rear shock serviced, new cables in dropper and shifter, brakes bled, new brake pads, tires with maybe 50 miles on them, new chain.

Many of the items are original to the bike, but are in great condition. Here is a link to the original bike https://2016.konaworld.com/process_111.cfm

*Upgrades*
-Fork travel increased from stock 120 to 140mm
-203mm Ice tech rotors front and rear.
-New ice Tech Brake Pads.
-Ethirteen TRS+ 11spd Cassette - This has the range of eagle without the weight penalty.
-Brand new Truvativ Decendant 6k Crankset and chainring

This bike is an amazing all around bike and does everything well and has served me incredibly well the past couple of years. The frame has some cosmetic defects in it which I have tried to capture in the photos for complete transparency. Normal scratches on the frame, hairline cracking in the white frame decals, and a very small dent in the down tube (also pictured). Happy to provide higher res photos on request.

What color are these squares and are they heavily textured? Interested for my garage, but do some wood working and would need to be able to vacuum them easily.

My newest bike came with Assegais front and rear. I thought I would hate them for the rolling resistance and weight, but man I love this tire. I did not think I would find a tire I like more than a minion, but this is a solid competitor at this point. I certainly would not want it for anything remotely flat, but techy climbing and steep descents are amazing on it. 

1 minute ago, notyal said:

What size tires are you running? I run 27.5+ and while I love the low pressures I can run, a volume reducer to ramp up the bigger hits sounds awesome. On the other hand, the last thing I need is more rotational weight. 

I ride 29 with anywhere from a 2.3 to a 2.6 depending on the bike and tire. Works very well in that range. As to the rotational weight I think it is pretty negligible, but I run heavy tires anyhow so I do not even notice it. It is only about 100g per insert if that helps at all. At under 40 bucks though it may be worth a shot. If that saves a tire in the long run as well it more than pays for itself.

11 minutes ago, notyal said:

It technically is a volume reducer. It reduces the amount of air in your tire and changes the compression rate.

Yeah. That is what I was getting at. It changes the tire in the same way it changes a fork. I really like it.

I am using the nukeproof version of cushcore which is much easier to install and still provides a decent amount of protection and sidewall support.

I run it in the rear of all my bikes as I like the peace of mind, but I also really like the way it makes the tire ride. Much like a volume reducer in a fork it provides a bit of a softer feeling tire for more traction, but does not compress as easily at a certain point. They are on sale at the moment from chain reaction for a very reasonable price if you are interested. Highly recommend giving them a shot. They maybe add 10% effort to the install of a tire.

 https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/nukeproof-horizon-advanced-rim-defence-ard-pair/rp-prod172999   

Classic tire thread.

Get ardents. Corner hard. Profit.

48 minutes ago, St.Bernardo said:

Good lookin' Rig.  Where's the maiden voyage going to be?

Thanks!

Not exactly sure yet. I am thinking I will start by just riding from my house in Lakeline area and ride the entirety of Brushy and see how I feel at that point. Never done any gravel riding before so I am open to suggest routes in North Austin as well.

Heard you guys like this sort of thing.

12 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

Very cool looking... Got a bit of a retro thing going on. Let us know parts, costs and other build details.

Thanks! Looking forward to getting some rides in on it. Cost was free as a I scavenged all the parts I did not already have from my family/friends who ride cx/road.

2005 Bianchi SASS frame (SS)

Scavenged 26" wheelsetwith rebuilt DT 240s with Maxxis DTH 2.2 tires. I also have a 700c wheelset, but thought I would try these first.

Identiti 26" rigid fork

Zee crankset

Specialized CG carbon seatbost.

Shimano mech brakes (BR-CX-77)

Easton carbon bar/stem with fizik wraps

Random origin 8 seat to match.

Not exactly sure what it is, but I built this thing up this week and I am going to find out tomorrow.

I think a side advantage to drop bars (this may be my perception) is a gained power transfer to pedal due to body positioning. Its a bit less comfortable but when I get into drops on a straight away or stand up to power through a climb I feel like the increased hunch lets my get more power into each pedal.

15 hours ago, TAF said:

The guy in the pic is wearing capris - clearly not a serious gun owner.

What makes you serious as a gun owner? Capris wearing hipster douches also own guns... (Source: Me)

Non drive side photo. Cannot buy.

Anyone have an older 9speed drive train laying around? Preferably with a short cage mech. 

Building up my sons first geared bike and want to upgrade it from the original 7 speed hunk of junk that came on it.

Happy to compensate with whatever is fair.

This thread become so much more than I could have ever dreamed.

He was also very adamant about the sanctity of maintaining trails and not modifying them. Unlike some people...