notyal

“Hey whatcha doin? Pooping or something? Need a large dog in here with ya?”

I have a Bontrager Ion 800 RT that's pretty sweet. It's bright enough for road or gravel rides by itself and nice because it's all self contained. Most of my rides that require lights have been of this variety lately. I especially like it for those times where 80% of the ride will be daylight. I can just put one unit on the bars, a red flashy in the back, and that's it. I had the original Magic Shine, but the battery failed on me mid-ride on some gnarly shit in BCGB. It didn't just run out. It was completely fried. Luckily, I was riding with another guy running the same light and had an extra battery in his pack. I would have been walking out with a cell phone light if I was alone or with a less prepared riding partner. For trail riding, one on the bars and one on the helmet is a minimum. At least if one fails, you can limp home on one or the other. I think I bought a replacement battery and another light+battery at the same time, but the light only worked for one or two rides, so I got another (nicer) one off Amazon. Now, I don't ride trails at night much anymore and can never remember which ones work and which ones don't. Once I figure it out, they work pretty well. I haven't done a legit trail ride since getting the Bontrager. I'd probably bring all 3. Worrying about vital equipment failing on a ride is sort of a buzzkill.

What about taking the air out of the shock, fork, and seatpost for the flight? I was thinking the fork and shock are probably fine, but if the seatpost is compressed to save space in the bag, it's probably smart to take the air out so it can't pop up right when TSA is going through my shit. I'm leaving in 2 days. Highs in the low 60's, lows in the mid 40s. Pretty stoked.

I have dozens of these floating around for yard work, etc., but they don't fit nearly as nice as my MTB gloves. However, the first pair of gloves I ever bought were a pair of Mechanix gloves (expensed to my job at the time because they were "work" gloves 😁). They were the kind with a little impact protection around the knuckles. They were great gloves for riding and lasted forever. My only complaint about them was they were hotter than the MTB specific gloves I've had since.

I rode with a guy once who had 2 cheapo LED flashlights ziptied to his helmet alot like the Tip's setup. It wasn't until I complimented how clean the setup looked that he revealed that he picked them up in the checkout aisle of Home Depot. I think a lot of times as mountain bikers, we totally overthink/overpay for MTB specific shite.

I'm always pushing the lower limit of tire pressure. Larger tires for me just means lower pressure and the same amount of rim strikes.

I've been doing the same with halloween candy. Nothing builds that father-son bond like drugging unsuspecting kids together.

That's the one! I didn't see it on the link given. They must not make it anymore.

I ran a pair of Panaracers several years ago. I can't remember the model name, but the tread pattern looked like a direct Nevegal knockoff. They were heavy, but grippy and lasted a long time from what I can recall.

"Mellow out or you will pay"

Just my opinion, you would look good with a handlebar.

I run my tires at 15 psi. I just like to overthink things. 🧐

I'm good with only a mini pump anyways. I'm thinking REI will be one of the first stops off the plane for on bike nutrition and various lubes and butt creams. That's the kind of stuff I have trouble NOT packing when looking around the garage the night before. There is nothing to worry about with pressurized tires and a fresh few oz. of sealant, right?

Y'all ever do any fly fishing up there? I'm a complete noob to that sport. My buddy that I'm visiting mentioned it as a possibility when we're not riding, but only has one rod. I'm debating buying a cheap one and trying to cram it in the bike case.

Renting an EVOC travel case from BSS. That's another curveball. I won't have the case until the night before. I'm actually more concerned about all the other crap I want to bring. I've never been to that part of the country. I hear I should possibly pack some rain gear.

This almost looks photoshopped.

Any packing tips? This will be the first time I fly on a plane with my bike, and I'm a notorious heavy packer.

Glad this thread popped up. I'll be riding there in two weeks. Can't wait!

The story of my last few trail bikes: Prolly 2009 or so and moving up from 26" wheels to a 29er (which were pretty much all XC at the time), a friend wanted to sell me his wife (girlfriends?) barely ridden Ellsworth Evolve. I rode it at least 5 times, liked it, wanted to love it, but didn't. I took one demo ride on a Giant Anthem and knew that was the bike for me even though the Ellsworth was a way better deal and component spec. Rode the Anthem for 5 years or so, wanted slacker, more travel so I bought a Banshee Prime on closeout from Jenson. Banshees were getting stellar reviews both here (Mojo) and nationally, so NBD on the no test ride. Again, I liked it, wanted to love it, thought maybe I did, then I rode a Stumpy 6fattie my buddy was trying to sell. That was love. I wasn't even looking for a new bike at the time, and if I was, that bike wouldn't have even been on the radar. I rode the Banshee once more and promptly bought the Stumpy. The point is, yeah all bikes are good these days, but love is a special thing that you can only feel by riding it. You may not get lucky enough to find your bicycle soulmate this time around, but numbers on a spreadsheet only get you so far. AND, sometimes you find love in unexpected places. Maybe you should try some of the bigger travel options or some fat tires. Who knows? I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. (-Forrest Gump).

Whew, I thought you were gonna say "because it has a reputation of eating people."

What was your weight when you were breaking those frame?

They taste good at any age.

I read somewhere recently that kids eat their boogers to naturally boost their immune systems....or maybe they just taste good. Gotta love science!