olddbrider

This reminds me of a concept I talk about almost every time I go to Spider. The Enduro-brero. It's like a sombrero, only for Enduro!  Something to give you shade while you are in line or on the lift, but then still allows you to shred the gnar...

There are so many of these "which is faster" type videos, but none of them really set things up in a way to get meaningful data. One guy doing a few timed runs on different bikes completely ignores so many variables that could account for minor differences in the times. Familiarity, fatigue, etc... I'd love to see one where they actually try to come up with a methodology that follows scientific rigor, but it would be really hard to pull off. Until then, I don't think anyone will ever be able to definitively say one wheel size setup is faster than any other.

Disclaimer: I still watch the videos.

18 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

Anyone have a tensiometer?
 

I've got this one https://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-tools-and-maintenance-nc/park-tool-tm-1-spoke-tension-meter/10772242.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=USD&shippingcountry=US&shoppingpid=TOP10_buyerspicks_201217_&&thg_ppc_campaign=71700000008665604&gclid=CjwKCAjw4MP5BRBtEiwASfwAL6uwm5gOLqdl7b9Zz-gjwKIX34BASuMovGazy_4ZUniyqKIvbu1McBoC2YIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Admittedly, it's not super accurate, but it gets the job done. I've built numerous wheels using it and never had an issue. You're welcome to borrow it but I live pretty far north, like 1431/Lakeline area.

5 minutes ago, June Bug said:

Yup, the lady I quoted upthread isn't wrong!  

 Zipped over to WC even though things looked ominous, because the temps fell a little and there was a (relatively) cool breeze.  Started with a half Inner Log, whole Outer Log and a full Inner Log and headed home when it began to thunder.  A few drops fell, then eventually enough to get the pavement wet, barely, and that was it. 

This is consistent weather pattern; it seems our area up here is in a rain shadow of sorts. I've often watched a sure fire line of thunderstorms break apart and leave us dry. 

Maybe it's all the gasses escaping from the poop bags that create a high-pressure dome over Walnut Creek and the surrounding area.

I ran into Dale yesterday at the church jumps and he mentioned that there might be another work day for the new line on Saturday. He was working on a very cool feature at the beginning of the line...

Is this happening? If so, what time and what tools would be useful to bring? Dale mentioned the potential for doing some decking and if that's the case I can bring my drill and spare batteries.

7 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Oh, and the most important tool for me is an Amazon Prime membership. The secret is that you do not need to buy every single tool right now. What you DO need is the ability to have what you need delivered in 24-48 hours consistently. Get the basics then be willing to overpay a tiny bit to get stuff delivered as you need it. There is no need to put out the money today for something you may need once a year. But the stuff you will use every week now to get set up and then worry about all the specialty tools as needed. This is especially true for the folks that only get to ride on the weekends. Knowing you can order something on Sunday night, have it in your hands on Tuesday and be back in business for Saturday morning is great.

And if you find that you need a tool you don't have, just borrow it from AustinBike!  He has a great "loaner" program...

Pilots are actually very roomy and (I think) they all have a 3rd row of seats. We just bought a used Pilot a few weeks ago and love it so far. With the 3rd row folded down, you can put a lot of stuff in the cargo area, not to mention the added space of a cargo box on the roof.

Never really had the opportunity to do this kind of traveling, but one thing that came to mind is that you might find yourself needing your important personal documents at some point over the course of a year (SS cards, birth certificates, immunization records, passports, etc.).  A good fireproof, waterproof lockbox might be a good purchase.

21 minutes ago, Kobra Kai MTB Guy said:

After being told there's an 8 1/2 week wait on repairs at Peddler's (good for them, but it's a little upsetting given the loyalty I've had to them), I finally decided to start doing repairs myself.  I'm relatively handy when it comes to working with wood and around the house, but a novice as it relates to mechanical issues.  I came up with the below list of tools that I'll need.  I'm planning to do basically every repair if I'm going to drop this kind of investment in tools.  Can you guys take a look and let me know if/what I'm missing?  If there's anything here you don't think is necessary, I'd be happy to know that too.

 

Wheel truing stand

Bike stand

Chain whip

Grease

Carbon paste

Digital caliper

Brake bleed kit

Lockring remover

Screw drivers, allen keys, wrenches etc (already have)

 

Diagonal cutters (for snipping zip ties and crimping cable ferrules)

Cable/housing clippers (perfect example of "the right tool for the job"; yes, you could cut these things with diagonal cutters but it works so much better with this...)

Triflow (or some other lightweight oil for things that need to be lubricated but not greased)

Spoke wrench

Pedal wrench

A friend of mine has one of these and it seems to work really well.  You might only be able to use it with their packs though...

https://www.uswe-sports.com/c-phone-pocket-black

17 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

I think people who ignore the recommended sag settings should be called "sagnostics".

I said-

I had a chance this weekend to get out to Reimers Ranch this weekend for some riding. The main mission was to find and ride the new Flow Trail that was recently opened.  Thankfully, there were some signs as soon as we entered the MTB parking area, which made it easy to find the hub at the bottom of the new trail.  We did 3 laps of Flow Trail and had a great time getting to know the features and trying to hit everything cleanly.  I can't tell you how excited I am to see this type of trail being built at Reimers. It shows that people are paying attention and realize that this style of riding is gaining popularity and will bring more riders to the park. Having seen the "master plan", I sincerely hope that the decision-makers will follow through and commit to building additional lines in this area of the park.

They said -

Thank you for your review of our new Flow Trail at Reimers Ranch Park.  Input like yours helps us plan for future improvements.  I’ll make sure your feedback is seen by others higher up in the organization.

If you have suggestions or further comments be sure to let me know.

Already got a response from one of the guys so they are listening!

Done!

2 minutes ago, The Tip said:

Did you see any hand made signs directing riders to the Flow Trails? There were two right at the intersection of the road up to the MTB parking lot on the Multi Use trail

Yes, from what I recall, there was a hand-made sign right where you turn into the MTB parking lot from the main road.  I don't recall if there were any others, but I had a good idea of where to go and I talked to a guy in the parking lot who had already been up there.

12 minutes ago, First-Blood said:

Yea it definitely Sat too long without wheels on it. And now with this pandemic no one wants to host a group event to make it more known to public. Word of mouth on social media will be the only thing that can draw people in now. I'd also suggest writing to the county or park staff and ket them know you specifically enjoy the flow trail and hope to see more of it. The more they hear that the better.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

Anyone in particular I should write to?

Rode the new Flow Trail a few times at Reimers on Saturday and it was a blast!  I was able to hit everything except the last big gap which looks to be 12+ feet by my estimation.  After the ride I was kicking myself for not hitting everything, but I just wasn't feeling it so I chickened out on the last feature. As stated in an earlier post, the trail needs some wheels on it.  Even though it opened recently, you can tell it's been sitting there a while. The return trail is a mellow climb of just over a mile, which makes sessioning the Flow Trail bearable. 

The MTB parking lot was absolutely packed by 9am, so there's tons of people going to ride out there.  However, we only saw 1 other person riding the Flow Trail while we were in the area.  Happy to have more and more options like this in the area.  Hopefully the county will follow through with the master plan for this area.

Ah, the power of public shaming...😀

This topic has gotten so many responses it got the HOT badge on the main page.  How fitting.

I think Kyle Warner could clean up if he started doing clinics across the country (well, after the pandemic eases up of course). I really like his teaching style and he seems to have a real knack for breaking down difficult concepts into easy to learn chunks.

Oh, and we also hit Spider early on Saturday.  We got there shortly after 8:30 and were in the lake at Thunderbird Resort by 1.  I can't imagine riding out there much past noon in this heat, but it honestly wasn't that bad in the morning.  VERY short lift lines were a big plus too!

We did about 10 miles yesterday evening out at Suburban Ninja and the Church Jumps.  We didn't start until just after 6, but the heat was still brutal.  I didn't notice it so much in the trees, but once we started sessioning the jump lines by the church we all started feeling the effects really quickly.  I did put ice in my Camelback yesterday, which I hardly ever do...

I seem to recall that you used to be able to get into both Pace Bend and Reimers with the same day pass.  Does anyone know if that's still the case?

Also, I've seen reports of some new stuff at Pace Bend (honestly, it's probably been over 2 years since I've been out there so "new" is relative...) like enduro lines and new wood features.  Are these easy to find if you are riding the main loop or are they tucked away somewhere?

Any insights into what you guys will be working on this week?  Seems like most of the corridor clearing has been done...  Mainly wondering what tools to bring/not bring.

The "new" stuff on Snail is amazing!  I had not ridden BC proper for about 4 months due to a number of factors (health issues, 'Rona, crowds, ...) but we ventured over there yesterday. The plan was to check out Snail and then hit a bunch of other stuff, but once we started checking out all the new lines at Snail we ended up spending most of our time there.  It's crazy to see how much has changed and how much has been done in a relatively short amount of time.  Kudos to whoever is building all that. I'd like to help out some time if there is a scheduled work day.