olddbrider

I just ordered a new set of Magura brakes from Merlin. I placed the order on a Sunday afternoon and they were here by Tuesday. $27 for shipping via DHL. The same day I ordered the brakes I ordered rotors and a bleed kit from Tree Fort Bikes in Michigan (Merlin didn't have any 203mm Magura rotors in stock). Free shipping on that order, but it arrived 2 days after the brakes. I would have paid to get that stuff here sooner but Tree Fort isn't currently offering next day or 2nd day because the carriers aren't consistently able to deliver stuff on time. I'm sure it depends on what you get from Merlin, but I felt like $27 for 2 complete brakes was pretty reasonable, especially considering their price was about $15 less per brake than anywhere else. Now, if I was ordering a $30 pair of gloves I'd never consider paying $20 for shipping (unless I really needed them in a hurry, of course).

The time change and all this talk of lights prompted me to dig out my old lights (NiteRider MiNewt and a first-gen MagicShine) and see what condition they were in. To be honest, I was fully expecting neither battery to hold a charge given that both of these lights are over 10 years old and haven't been used in at least 5 years. I was also a bit worried about even trying to charge the batteries, especially since those early MagicShine batteries had some, uh, let's say, issues. So, I got my trusty metal bucket and put it on the back porch and started charging. Surprisingly, neither battery exploded or burst into flames. Both indicator lights turned green after a while so I hooked up the lights, turned on a fan to keep things from getting too toasty, and fired them up. The NR burned brightly (well, as bright as it can) for 90 minutes, then started to fade over the next 30 minutes. It was still technically on after 2 hours but I'm not sure how useful it would be on a trail at night at that brightness. The MagicShine was still going strong after 2 hours with no noticeable drop in brightness. My setup certainly won't be as bright as some others mentioned on this thread, but hopefully it will allow me to keep doing at least one after-work ride during the week.

All too often, stories about bad customer service dominate reviews and forums, making it hard to know whether the company really has bad customer service or if the comments are just dominated by a small number of vocal critics. Don't get me wrong, I'll post a bad review if it's warranted, but I also try to make a point to leave reviews/feedback when I receive exceptional service as well to balance things out. I recently had a great experience with DVO and I thought I'd share it with the forum... I noticed some side-to-side play in the upper/forward shock mount area on my Ripmo AF. In trying to diagnose the cause of this play I needed to remove my DVO Topaz shock, but I wasn't sure if I needed to let the air out of the bladder as well as the main air can. I called DVO to find out. First surprising thing was that an actual person answered. I explained the issue I was having and asked my question, but rather than just giving me the answer and hanging up, the guy spent some time talking through my situation. By the end of the call, he had offered to send me new bushings (just in case that was the cause) and an extra set of spacers that are slightly wider than what is spec'd for my frame (just in case the shock mount was out of tolerances). I had my credit card handy to pay for this stuff, but he never asked for it. That was the second nice surprise. A few days go by and I get an email apologizing for the delay. A few days later I get a package and not only did he include the mounting hardware we talked about, he threw in a DVO beanie (I'm guessing to apologize for it taking a few extra days). Surprise #3! Anyway, my experience with DVO was great and I'd highly recommend them the next time you are considering purchasing a fork or shock. Any other stories about great customer service?

I haven't seen anything about work days posted lately, but there is still some work being done out there. The launch pad and first jump look to be complete and there's now a pretty scary looking ramp with a dirt landing right after that. I'd call myself an intermediate jumper - comfortable with all the jumps and drops at the church - but that second feature scares me. It's all still closed to riding as far as I know...

Trail maintenance has never been great out there, but these days they are devoting their energy and resources (or others' like Team Trail Party) into the flow/gravity trails. With Spider Mtn right down the road and more and more riders looking for the enduro experience, they are clearly trying to capitalize on that demographic. I thought I saw something months ago that suggested they were going to start shuttling riders out there. Maybe that's still in the works, but renting e-bikes out there is perfect for folks who want to shred the gnar but need a little help getting back up the hills.

These came off my Ripmo AF and only have about 6 months of riding on them. They work well for pretty much everything around here, but I was experiencing a bit of brake fade when I go to Spider or other places with prolonged descents. I never really had to work on them other than replacing pads, so I can't speak to ease of bleeding or anything like that. I can say that they have good modulation and the stopping power is what I would call adequate. Full disclosure: My frame has internal cable routing, so I had to drain the rear brake and cut the hose to get it off my bike. I cut it near the caliper to make it easier for me to route the new hose through the frame, so you should probably grab a bleed kit and something like this to just replace the entire rear cable: https://www.jensonusa.com/SRAM-Guide-Hydraulic-Line-Kit I didn't measure the hose lengths, but they came off a size Large frame (which is a fairly long frame as well) with a 160mm travel fork, so I suspect you could just bolt the front brake on without any issues for most bikes. Pads have some life left, but are definitely not brand new. Rotors included: 200mm front and 180mm rear. Rotor bolts included. $100

mack_turtle beat me to it...

Definitely hit up Blackbird at the north end of Slaughter Pen Phase 1. Don't let the signage scare you. There are no mandatory gaps, everything is smooth and flowy with the exception of one section that is a big berm made of flat rocks.

I can confirm that as of yesterday evening The Peddler still seems to have a ton of helmets in stock. I didn't go inside the store (they close at 5 now, apparently) but there were helmet boxes stacked 5 or 6 high along the windows at the front of the shop.

That's the kind of info I'm looking for. In a race where it's hard to find any discernible differences between candidates, a story like this is enough to swing my vote one way or the other. Yes, I know, there are more important issues than bike access. But when all the candidates are saying the same things - Transparency! Equal rights for everyone! Improve infrastructure! Promote business growth! - it's hard to find a reason to vote for one person vs another. For me, actions speak louder than words, so the fact that this guy would make the effort to go by a bike shop and apologize for another council member's comment says a lot about his character.

With the election upon us, I am spending time trying to learn about the candidates on my ballot so I can make an informed decision. Unfortunately, almost everything available online boils down to meaningless platitudes that don't give much insight into what each candidate actually stands for or against. Especially when it comes to local elections (Cedar Park/Williamson County in my case), I realized what I really care about is electing people who are friendly to MTBers. Does anybody know anything about the current crop of local candidates in terms of their stance on land/trail access, opening up new areas for access, etc.?

Yeah, I know he's seen that 3rd party rocker arm. I think the $300+ price tag scared him off. Heard back from him today and he just ordered a RS Super Deluxe Coil shock. He's been wanting to try a coil shock and figured he'd rather spend a little more to get a brand new shock vs. dropping $200+ to fix his current one...

Throet, thanks for the generous offer. Woulda been a great option if it was the right size... I'm curious to know more about this. The stroke on the stock shock was 57.5mm, which apparently is achieved by Fox installing a spacer to limit travel. In looking around, there are very few options with the exact measurements to match the stock shock. There are quite a few shocks with 60mm of stroke, but I wasn't sure exactly what that extra 2.5mm of travel would do. Rocker slamming into the back of the seat tube on big hits? Rear wheel rubbing the seat tube? I just don't know enough about how suspension systems work to understand the implications...

My buddy has a 2018 Transition Sentinel and his Fox DPX2 has sprung an oil leak. Unfortunately, it sounds like it's going to have to be sent back to Fox, which could take a while. I know this is a longshot, but I also know some of you people have a bunch of spare parts laying around. Anybody have a spare rear shock he could borrow while he sends his off for repair? Best I can tell, here are the relevant measurements/info: Rear Shock Size: 205mm x 57.5mm Shock Hardware: Trunion Mount Top / 25mm x 8mm Bottom

Sounds EPIC!

I agree with everything you said about MIPS except the cost thing. I finally bought a MIPS helmet recently and I'm glad I did, but there is usually a fairly significant price bump. Of course, you typically don't see MIPS on lower end helmets, so it's hard to say how much of the price is attributable to MIPS alone. Probably not relevant to this conversation, but I recently got a Bell Super 3R. I needed a new full-face helmet to replace the one I bought when I only used it a few times a year (at most) and usually in cooler climates. Now that we have Spider Mountain, my old helmet just wasn't practical or comfortable due to it's weight and lack of ventilation. I had a decent trail helmet made by 7IDP, but it didn't have MIPS and it was a couple of years old. After doing some research, I decided to get the Bell Super 3R, which has a removable chin bar. I was a bit skeptical, but I really liked the idea of having one helmet that I could use for both trail and park riding. Thankfully, it fits well and the chin bar seems really secure and fairly easy to put on and take off. I like it better than my old trail helmet and it's WAY better than my old full-face. I managed to find last year's model, so I got a good deal on it too. Like I said, probably not relevant to AB and this conversation, but I thought this info could be useful if there are others that are considering a convertible helmet.

I thought that video was going to be about handlebars, not some weird, curvy thing with tape on them and some wonky rubber horn things coming out the front...

Never mind... I'm not good at the computers.

Gotta be Thumper, right?

No, our contact's name was Mark. Address for the place we stayed was 1202 NE 2nd St.

I think I just stayed in the house you are talking about. As we were rolling in, we saw Rich in the front yard working on a bike. After we got settled in we headed out for a ride and he was still outside so we stopped and chatted for a bit. He's a super nice guy and had some good recommendations for what to ride. It's definitely a good location. From the house, it's an easy 3 minute ride to the top of a trail called Ravine, which starts near the Buckyball (google it). That trail ends up at a new feature called Masterpiece which is this ridiculous flow line made of metal and dirt and rocks. From there, you're right in the heart of Slaughter Pen and can jump on All American or hit Boo Boo/Choo Choo. Rich's #1 suggestion (he mentioned it every time we saw him) was to go to Mt. Nebo. It's a couple of hours from Bentonville, so we didn't even think about trying it on this trip. It's on our list for future trips though... We did drive over to Eureka Springs and check out the Lake Leatherwood DH trails. It was fun, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless you love to jump and are looking for big features to hit. Maybe it was because it had been really dry up there, but many of the corners were so loose it was hard to carry enough speed to clear some of the jumps. Coler was a blast, but we really only hit 3 of the trails. Fireline was amazing and just perfect for my intermediate jump skills. Small tables at the top that get progressively bigger as you go down the hill. The last couple are probably 15-18 feet, but there's no penalty for coming up short so it's easy to progress. We probably rode it 4 or 5 times, which is why we didn't get to many of the other trails. Every time you go down a trail, it's a couple hundred feet of climbing to get back to the top. Cease and Desist starts with some bigger tables and then gets to the stuff everyone sees on YouTube - Drop the Hammer. That one's too big for me, but I did a couple of the other drops. We also rode Rock Soft which was a fun trail - a few jumps, a bit of tech - but had too much climbing for our liking on a day where we were already having to climb a lot. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably pick Rock Solid as it looks like there's less climbing. All these trails are best accessed from the North parking lot. We had hoped to check out some of the stuff on the South side of Coler, but after a few hours in the heat and humidity we all needed a break. I've got no experience with Rich's clinics, but having watched a bunch of his videos I'd give it a shot if I had the time (and of course depending on the cost). The restaurant scene can be tricky. Most restaurants seem to close by 9. The Pedaler's Pub is worth a try. As of a couple of weeks ago, they were only doing outdoor seating. They have a good selection of food and drinks, although it felt a bit pricey for what you got. We've been to the Pressroom a couple of times. They have outdoor seating but seem to be offering a pretty limited menu right now (not sure what it'll be like in November). I'd say our favorite place we ate was Oven & Tap. The menu ranged from salads to pizza to seared tuna with delicious, interesting appetizers and some good specialty cocktails. The closest we got to the bar scene was having a few drinks at the bar outside The Momentary, a satellite location of the Crystal Bridges museum. Nothing too special, but it's a nice spot to hang out if the weather's nice. Hope that helps.

That takes "face slappers" to a whole new level...

I saw this trail mentioned in a social media post but can't seem to find any info on it. Anybody here have any idea where it is? (If this falls into the category of Things That Shall Not Be Mentioned, feel free to delete this post...)