olddbrider

In a later post the OP said he was looking in the wrong place. Sounds like the jumps are still there. Everyone who rides there is supposed to sign a waiver from the FR512 website. There's signage that says this, but I doubt many people read it.

I think you've got the right plan. We typically try to get there early, but it's often 10 or 10:30 before we're on the lift. Sometimes people will ding Spider for how short the runs are, but in a way I think that's a plus - especially when it gets hot. The runs are just long enough to have a great time but not feel like you need to take a 30 minute break at the bottom. I'll be there Saturday too - hoping to get an earlier start and be on the lift by 9:30ish. I would say that I'll wear my TMW jersey, but I think if I tried to cram myself into that thing I'd pull a muscle and then probably couldn't breathe. Damn thing must have shrunk over the years...

You won't get the elevation, mountain views, or number and variety of trails at Spider, but the commute is a helluva lot better!

Turns out I actually know a guy who is going to be up there this weekend. He's not on this forum, but his name is Jacob. I would imagine his approach will be pretty similar to what you described above. He's been going to Spider with us, but isn't exactly "sending it" as the kids say... I can put you in touch if you want.

I've had the same problem for a long time when trying to post from my Android. Actually, I don't typically access the forum on my phone, so when I have tried to upload pics it's from my PC, not my phone. However I still get the -200 error almost all the time. I'll try the tip mentioned above and see if it works.

He doesn't look sorry... Awesome post, though.

Aw, shucks... you're making me blush.

Whoa! A Wookie sighting! Glad to hear you are alive and well. Congrats on the new gig! Sounds great, but I just got back from Bentonville so I can't swing another bike trip for a while...

We lucked out with the weather on our trip. We arrived late on Friday afternoon (5/28) and were able to ride Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday without any significant rainfall. The rain started Monday evening and continued throughout Tuesday, but we had a day full of non-bike related activities planned so it worked out well for us. There were a few trail closures (especially at Coler) due to earlier storms, but there's so much to ride we just moved on to the next thing on our list. We hit a couple of new places (Huntley Gravity Zone, South side of Coler, gravity/flow trails at the south end of Bella Vista Lake trails) that were amazing. We also explored some new parts of Slaughter Pen like Red Barn and Barn Burner, which were really fun. Sessioned Hammer Down (especially the big step up at the end) a few times. We also went back to a few of our Slaughter Pen favorites like Boo Boo, Choo Choo, and Schroen Train. I hit quite a few features that I haven't had the courage to do before, but my biggest victory was hitting the big rock step up at the bottom of Bone Yard. I'm already thinking about my next trip up there...

Got excited when I saw the title of this video. Unfortunately, it doesn't really provide much useful info...

It's not clear to me whether the barrel adjuster you broke is on a front or rear shifter. If it's on the front, take it off, remove the front derailleur, and replace your drivetrain with a 1X setup. I'm kidding, but in all seriousness, for shifting the front chainrings, the barrel adjuster on the shifter is really the only way to make subtle adjustments to cable tension. If you are dealing with a rear shifter, you may also be able to adjust the cable tension with the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur. Not every rear der. will have them, but many do. So, if you want to get back on the trail as quickly as possible and your rear der. has a barrel adjuster, you may be able to make the necessary adjustments there. To your original question, I'll echo what everyone has already said. Basic tuning and maintenance on a bike is not all that difficult. There are plenty of resources if you want to learn the basics and YouTube is a great place to start. Not only will it likely save you time and money, it'll make it possible for you to address many issues that come up during a ride (flat tire, broken chain, poor shifting, etc). That means rather than having to cut a ride short, you can fix it on the trail and continue your ride.

11 days til my 3rd trip. (But who's counting...) The family is coming with me this time so the sole focus won't be riding, but I'm still hoping to hit some of my favorites from previous trips (Coler, select Slaughter Pen trails) and a few things that are either new since my last visit (Huntley Gravity Zone, Mad Hatter, Wonderland) or just new to me (Railyard).

Lots of good advice above, but I'd also add that there are tons of good tutorial videos on YouTube. I'm not saying that watching a video is a replacement for physically attempting to do something, but sometimes it's good to watch somebody who really knows what they are doing break down a particular skill or technique. I particularly like the way Kyle Warner explains things and he has a YouTube channel where he works with his girlfriend (a relative noob to mountain biking) on lots of essential skills. Of course, you have to be aware that there are also videos out there that may give questionable advice so don't take everything you see/hear on YouTube as gospel. https://www.youtube.com/c/KyleAprilRideMtb/featured I also like this guy a lot: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCucbPdaUiex4Atyl2XCP18Q

I tell everyone I can about the pedals I've been running for over a year now. https://www.transitionbikes.com/Store_Detail.cfm?C=&SC=&P=12925 Anvl is Transition's house brand. The size is good, it's got a nice concave shape, it's got replaceable pins, and it's held up well to the local chunk. I get a lot of pedal strikes (unfortunately) and these things seem to take them in stride. Also, the price is super competitive and it comes in a bunch of colors (well, when they are in stock, that is...). They are also very easy to service.

We're leaving 5/28 for a long Memorial Day trip.

PM sent

The new line out there is a great start, but having a few more flow/gravity lines would make Reimers more of a destination. Reveille Peak is a great example of a place that's embracing that style of riding and it seems like it's paying off with way more riders out there on any given weekend.

I think I know a guy who might be interested if you still have this.

Agree with the above posts. I'll add that it kinda depends on what you are looking for. Slaughter Pen has a little bit of everything. Wait, scratch that. They have a lot of everything. But if you are more interested in gravity and flow trails, I'd point you to Coler. Of course, there's some newer stuff up in Bella Vista (just north of Bentonville) in the Little Sugar trail system that looks amazing if you are into jumps and flow. Check out the Huntley Gravity Zone which includes Air Raid, Shock and Awe, etc. I could easily spend a few hours sessioning those trails. In fact, that's what I'm planning to do on my first day there in a few weeks!

Um... cool?

Man, I finally got my bb replaced (big thanks to @WLemke for the use of his 12 notch bb tool) but not after struggling to remove my cranks. Having removed/installed numerous cranks in the past, I felt confident that I was doing it right. But the 8mm extractor bolt was not moving at all. A quick online search revealed that this is a common issue with SRAM cranks. I'm not sure whether it's a design flaw (queue the SRAM haters) or just over torquing during the install, but it seems that lots of people run into trouble when trying to remove their cranks for the first time. I ended up stopping by AutoZone after my ride yesterday and picking up an 18" breaker bar to get some more leverage. That finally did the trick and everything went smoothly after that.

I can't remember his name, but I knew someone that took a few lessons from the guy that runs Team Trail Party. Just looked on their website and they have a section for clinics, but nothing current is listed. It might be worth contacting them to see if they are doing lessons or clinics.

Does anybody in the Cedar Park area have a 12 notch bottom bracket tool that I could borrow? Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/BIKEHAND-Bicycle-Bracket-Install-Compatible/dp/B07RY2XXRJ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwxuuCBhATEiwAIIIz0W0KObriyaZdLN8sGG4WEDn5-0IxWV_xWYWOqfl9xp7rqaHmBR-9FhoCkcMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=267964730599&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9028226&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12938180961498615779&hvtargid=kwd-470747757802&hydadcr=2430_9914346&keywords=12+notch+bottom+bracket+tool&qid=1616599101&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySVlVREY4WUtVTFMmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyMjMxMTcyM1E1VUEwWVhIQ1VLJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0NTczODlYUjQwTTI4RlFXQTImd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl I thought I had a tool that fit the SRAM Dub external cups, but I guess not...

That's not just a saddle, it's the whole damn horse!

But, if this solves all the issues with tires that we have today what will we talk about here?