dlstyley

I pretty sure it had me at “one rider has been helicoptered out of here to a hospital”…

Ha! Must be a migration pattern…. Came here in ‘94 on a rigid GT Avalanche (couldn’t afford the “team” version) and bought this guide book at a local shop. First trail we hit was Forest Ridge, in toe clips of course. A little different than Memorial Park. 😳 I quickly saved up some money and bought a used elastomer Manitou fork from a guy at work. I thought I was in high cotton. thanks for the memories! A real kick digging out that old book and reading the descriptions. Also a bummer we’ve lost some great trails.

I’ll second both recommendations. Driscoll was great.. not biking specific but a good ortho surgeon if you need it. But from your description, I’d recommend a visit to Sellers now. He is excellent, and one visit is pretty low commitment. Most PTs I’ve been referred to (well, all of them actually) don't provide much value. They are just milking the insurance from the referral and going through the motions. I was also highly skeptical of chiropractors having heard all the stories but having not actually visiting a good one, but as a serious chiro/PT, he has an excellent grasp of anatomy, biomechanics, and how that translates to a lot of athletic endeavors, including cycling. My only complaint, which really isn’t, is that each visit you only spend a few minutes with him, but it’s amazing how quickly he diagnosed a really old shoulder issue and helped me understand the root cause and treatment. Then he sends you to his PT room where less skilled people work you through his prescription. Go see him once, and if you don’t find it extremely beneficial, then just don’t go back.

Thanks for the update. I can just use a browser. No big deal. Let me know if I can help test something.

Does anybody else use Tapatalk to browse the forum? Recently quit working for me just for this site. Wondering if it is due to the update. Behavior is that I get “server configuration” errors when I login and when I try to browse forums they appear to be empty.

Found this useful from Virginia Tech: https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html

FWIW - I put on an oval ring, 2 teeth smaller, and then went from 175 to 165mm cranks, all in hopes of heading off some new, currently occasional but sharp knee pain. I can tell the difference in the ring (duh, 2 teeth of addition gear ratio) but the only thing I feel with the shorter cranks is a sense that they are more stiff - less lever to bend? Don’t notice any decrease in power and in fact am cleaning shit I hadn’t previously, probably because of the smaller ring. Also noticeably less pedal strikes. I went straight for 165mm because I wanted to make sure it was short enough on the first buy. 170mm could be the sweet spot for me, but I have no motivation to try longer since I don’t feel like I lost anything. Pain seems less frequent and decreasing. Hoping that continues but it’s early yet. BTW - I mostly ride steep, slow tech, so have no use for higher gears. I’m 6’. Agonized over spending money on this, but no regrets yet. so +1 for shorter cranks.

Ride the tightest, twistiest, most technical stuff you can find. Then you don’t have to worry about speed. Problem solved... I feel your pain, literally. Had a bad crash about a year ago that, besides broke bones, spooked me a good bit. I do ride slow tech a fair amount and have yet to get hurt beyond flesh wounds <knocks wood>. I seem to get hurt on the non-tech stuff where I’m not paying attention or am too tired Mentally or physically. Speed just ups the damage when you go down. oh, and stay off the pavement. When you hit it, that shit doesn’t give at all!

Another rec for Wes at Velorangutan. Trying before you buy is worth a lot if you aren’t sure what you want, and his prices and service have been excellent.

How frequently do you lube? The bike chain I mean... I ride a lot of steep technical trail with lots of short, punchy climbs and since my fitness is still not there, the miles are pretty low, but frequency is high. Say 3-6 miles and 500-1000’ of climbing, 3-5x per week. Do you lube based on number miles? Rides? Hours? Squeaks? Whenever you are feeling it?

Thought this might be of interest/use for the guardians of our precious resource. I don’t know much about building or maintaining trails, but this is supposedly a science-based study showing that MTB isn’t much different than hiking in terms of trail impact. https://www.singletracks.com/blog/trail-advocacy/a-science-backed-mtb-impact-review-has-arrived/