loop_out

Since I bought a Stache (29+ HT) more than a year ago, I've been riding it almost exclusively. I have so much fun riding this bike that I recently sold my FS 27.5 bike, which I basically stopped riding. As much as I love the Stache, I still think about replacing it with a FS 29er for a couple of reasons. One is that my margin for error when riding up features with bumpy lead up to them (e.g., multiple small ledges leading to a big ledge) are smaller with a HT compared to a FS. Second is that I am starting to feel more beat up during and after rides. To an extent, I think I can address these two issues by improving my skills and fitness, but … NEW BIKE!! Plus, I'm getting old. I just don't know that I can find a FS 29er that can match the fun of the Stache, though. I think it's a combination of the wide tires, instant response of a HT, and a super short chain stays.

I agree and was exaggerating about the soil content. Yes- the trails have changed significantly as I recall vividly the first time I discovered them. My parents who walk the BCRT would tell me that they would see people on bikes like mine pop out randomly from the woods. One Saturday on the way home from a long ride on BCGB back trails, I decided to investigate, thinking it can't be much. I was so happy with what I was seeing that I ignored the fact it was hot, and I had no water and was starting to cramp, to keep exploring. The trail kept going and was getting better and better. I was also pretty sure I was going to be on the most ridiculous episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" where I nearly die in a well populated suburban area. At that point, I think the trail ended near EBD.

I rode Deception West yesterday after work, and it was great. Obviously only a couple of spots of this trail are actually made of dirt, and even those areas were fine to ride. The only problem was that somebody must've been barbecuing in their backyard - made me so hungry that I contemplated cutting my ride short every time the trail looped back near the neighborhood. I still can't believe my luck that a trail this good exists so close to where I live such that I can go for short rides on weekdays. Up until 5 or 6 years ago, I used to count down the days until Saturdays so that I can ride BCGB or City Park (I would occasionally ride Thumper and Walnut during the week since they are relatively close, but I don't completely enjoy riding them for very different reasons).

Thanks for all the helpful comments and suggestions. Looks like I will be visiting local bike shops very soon to check out what's left in their inventory for me to blow up my budget. Please don't tell my wife.

My 11 year old son, who is 5 foot tall on the dot, is currently on a 24 inch bike. I think the bike is holding him back at this point, which frankly makes him a less than an ideal riding partner (apparently rides with you kids are supposed to be no-drop rides). I am starting to get tired of sneaking out for rides when he's not paying attention, so I decided to get him a new bike. After not seeing anything good on the used market, I am thinking real hard about a small Rockhopper with 27.5 wheels. I am thinking about the "Elite" model to get an air sprung fork and tubeless ready setup. That puts me at around $1000, which seems like lot to be spending on an 11 year old's bike. If anyone has gone through a similar recent transition, what size frame and wheels did you go with? I would also appreciate it if anyone wants to share experiences with particular bikes for a similar aged/sized kid.

Thanks! I will be checking these trails out next time.

I occasionally visit the DFW area (particularly areas near the Grapevine Lake). I have read reviews of this trail system, but could someone give me a sense for how these trails compare to what we have here? I am trying to see whether it would be worthwhile to pack my bike next time I go up to that area. Thanks!

A lot of puddles, and streaming water in some areas. No mud sticking to tires, but my bike and I were a mess from all the splashing.

I finally got out yesterday to ride since the recent direction change. Due to circumstances, this was probably my first time riding the clockwise direction in 15 years or so. It was a lot of fun, but for me, the climbs seemed more challenging, and it wasn't as natural to pop off the ledges descending. I think I ended up rolling down just about everything (I'm sure some of you just send it over all of Triple Bitch). How do you guys like the new direction?

Those were the first two trails I took my 10 year old son to after getting him his first real mountain bike. He can sometimes be timid, so I thought it was just awesome when he decided to immediately retry one of the features after taking a spill on the first attempt. Having convenient access to trails like Peddlers is actually the main reason why we bought him a real mountain bike. That also led to my relatively recent purchase of a HT to match his bike. Thanks to the builders, I have these great moments with my son, but much more importantly, an excuse I readily used to buy another bike.

I will talk friendly to birds, but screw them squirrels. I find their trail manners to be pretty shitty. The same goes for bunnies.

Thanks for the feedback. I am running Bontrager Line Pro 40s with XR2 (Chupacabra) tires. I believe that the rims are internally 41mm wide. The drop that caused the crack is the EBD at Brushy. The thing is I usually take the same setup and take it down the bigger Picnic X drop and the Basket drop and haven't felt anything odd. Even when the rim cracked, the tire remained intact (no pinch flat), which to me seems to suggest that the impact wasn't all that significant. I won't do anything crazy, but I like to ride all the drops I encounter at City Park and Brushy. I assumed that this setup would be fine for this type of riding, particularly given my weight, but is that a poor assumption?

I'm new to the world of carbon rims, and I recently cracked my month old rear rim on a moderate drop. I was running about 20 PSI with a 29X3 tire, which from everything I can tell is relatively high for someone who weighs less than 160lbs. In fact, at that pressure, I felt like climbing traction is merely very good, but not out of this world as one might expect from the 29+ format. As I look to replace the rim (hopefully covered by warranty), I find myself thinking more about tire pressure than I ever have before - particularly since I had previously never even dented a rim running low enough pressure to get the occasional rim strkes. Those of you running carbon rims, do you find that you have to run them at higher than normal pressure to guard against rim failure riding the local trails? Prior to this failure, I was really enjoying the carbon rims, but if I need to run them at higher pressure levels, I guess I will be a jackass, unhappy with another first world problem.

Of course, I don't *actually* believe that everyone should ride the setup I discussed. With the Stache, I think I'm just happy because this is one of those rare occasions where a product totally exceeded my expectations. This bike basically enhances everything I like to do on trails - technical climbs, popping off ledges, maneuvering through rock gardens, etc. Climbing traction was a given with the larger tires, but I am shocked by how nimble and flickable this bike is. I still suck at manuals, but the longest intentional manual I've ever held was on this bike (I've had several longer unintentional manuals, where I am holding on for dear lifer before eventually looping out - usually initiated by poor landings). I'd hate to contribute to making the Stache more mainstream, so I will throw this out. I have a harder time leaning this bike over in fast corners. I suspect this would not be the best bike for trails like Walnut or Peddlers, but it's more likely because I do not have the required skills.

I'm not sure that I'm qualified to speak on this topic given that I've been riding a hard tail as my primary bike for all of 3 weeks, but I formed a firm opinion that 120mm Pike and 29X3 tires are what everyone should be running in the Austin area on their hard tails. Like Schoolie, I can't overstate how much I like the Trek Stache - let's just say I love hitting the trails with my 4th grader, but lately, I've been ditching him so that I can ride the Stache on more interesting trails. Go ahead and judge me - I don't care. I thought I would never go away from full suspension bikes, but I have not touched my 150/140mm trail bike since I got the Stache. At this point, I would be happy with it as my only bike. When I eventually make it out to Spider Mountain, I will most likely take the Stache instead of the FS bike.

I agree with this. I recently had to really think hard about how I descend so that I can teach that to my son who started riding trails with me. What I realized is that it wasn't so much about getting your weight back behind the saddle, but letting the bike move underneath you as your body (and therefore the weight) stays balanced/centered relative to the terrain. Sometimes the effect of this is that my body is behind the saddle. However, I am thinking this is just a byproduct of the terrain and the bike's movement rather than any conscious decision on my part to move my body that way. I think many of us ride this way and have done so for long time before droppers came on the scene (perhaps without even realizing it as was the case for me). Think about some of descents at City Park where your are rolling multiple small ledges and roots before dropping that last big ledge. I just think droppers make things so much more natural and fun for that type of riding because the saddle is out of the way and not constraining your bike's movement relative to your body and vice versa.

We have a pothole in my neighborhood near the trails that I use as a handy rain gauge/trail condition indicator. Judging by the amount of water in the pothole, I thought the trails might be OK yesterday. I rode Double Down and counted only three small puddles that were easily avoidable without going outside of the defined trail. I am often surprised by how dry Double Down is even after a day of rain like we had on Tuesday. I am obviously not advocating riding wet trails, but I generally find that Double Down is good to go sooner than one might expect.

While most everything we talk about is subject and a matter of personal preference, I could not disagree more with this statement after recently starting to ride with one. No matter how capable I am of adjusting my body on a bike, nothing changes the fact that the saddle is in the way for maneuvers like dropping off ledges or hopping over logs. As recently as a month ago, I also though that dropper posts were overrated and not worth the downsides. Like many who swear by them after running with one, I think it's the best upgrade for most trails we have around Austin.

I am with you and it appears my lawn is very similar to yours (although mine probably has a lot more weeds). Looks like I am not getting a new bike. Mere 24 hours ago when I created my account, I was so happy about the prospect of buying a new bike. I guess I better go hug my kids or find some other way to feel happy.

I am very intrigued by this bike, but if I replace my FS with a Stache, I worry about taking some of the bigger drops on it because I'm just not that smooth. I once took my Monocog with a 80mm fork down the bigger drop on Picnic X, and it wasn't much fun. With the all the time I am spending posting on here, I should have just gone and demoed some bikes!

2014 Transition Bandit 27.5 running 150mm Pike up front. It has 420mm reach on a medium bike - pretty short by today's standards. Head angle is around 68 degrees. I should give up talking like I know anything about bike geometry since I am about as sensitive as a toilet seat when it comes to how a bike rides and is setup. As an example, I rode a Yeti SB95 just prior to the Transition, and I could not tell any loss of pedaling efficiency going from the complicated Yeti Switch platform to a single pivot.

Now you have truly ruined it for me. Given that I have liked pretty much all bikes I have ridden around here, without regard to setup/geometry, and my strong propensity for confirmation bias, I should have just gone ahead and bought a new bike without asking here. Then again, maybe the geometry on my 90s Gary Fisher Aquila was beyond its time.

You guys suck with all them reasoned opinions. What I needed were unqualified endorsements of the recent geometry trends, and how they were going to transform my rides so I can buy a new bike with less guilt. Even better would have been talks of added safety I can show my wife. I did like the comment about really needing three bikes, and I am 2/3 way there with my singles speed 29er and my 140mm 27.5. I wish I could find time to ride another bike, but my neighbors already look at me side ways when I head out to ride instead of tending to my admittedly weed infested yard. Oh well, I guess I'll go look at some new handlebars or something ....

I rode West portion of Deception (Double Down?), and it was fine to ride, but slick as shit.

After nearly 4 years away, I started riding again recently. I have a nice 5 year old FS bike I am perfectly happy with, but got bit by a new bike bug, as you are bound to be after rekindling an old passion. In short, I'd like to buy a new bike. In an attempt to rationalize this irrational thing I want to do, I've been reading all the internet chatter about long, slack, and low, which seems to be all the rage nowadays. For those of you who made the change to one of these new bikes with modern geometry, what were your experiences like for Austin trails? Was it a game changer? If it's relevant as a reference point, I have the most fun launching drops, but get the most satisfaction out of making up big ledges riding Brushy Creek, City Park, BCGB back trails. I don't really care too much for the smooth flowy stuff. I should mention other than just wanting a new bike, I am not particularly motivated to change. I am also unsure about the benefits of the modern geometry, since they mostly seem applicable to extended technical descents, which we generally lack in this area. I suppose I can go try riding some of these new bikes, but I just don't have time, and would rather rely on you fine folks/strangers on the internet.