Teamsloan

I'm the out of shape version of Mack_turtle. 6 years ago I ruptured a disc in my back. Since then I've "re-ruptured" it 3 times with minor tweaks happening about once a year. A lot of it is genetics, my discs are apparently thin anyways. But I've certainly not helped it by sitting most of the day staring at screens. My core strength sucks probably as much as my discipline. So it's been tough to get in to a routine to fix it. I pretty much want to stay in shape so that I can ride.

Um...I saw where you placed and who you placed close to. "on the mend" must mean something different to you than it does to me.

Dang, still can't manual. But I can wheelie for about 50ft on a good day! 😛 I did the EB 2.3 times all on my pure XC racing oriented Scott Scale Carbon. 24lbs of twitchy carbon with 26 inch wheels. Over the years I put on the thickest grips I could find, converted it to 1x9 with a bashring, traded out the wheels for trail bike ready Mavic 819's and the widest tires that would fit between the chainstays. That race bike was ridden on trails it was never designed to ride. It was a great teacher. So, there is something to upgrading what you have to suit your purposes. I just don't advocate for dropping much cash on it in the process. Frankenbike and Craiglist/FB marketplace is your friend.

Looks like Shinerider struck a nerve! These are all generalizations people! Of course you can get technical chops riding a FS. OF COURSE you can learn to "flow" over centex gnar while exclusively riding your #enduro sled. No one is saying that it isn't possible. I for one after learning how to ride in Austin on a 26er hardtail and continuing to do so for years, finally got a FS. After a year of only riding my blur, I get back on the hardtail and ride WC. It sucked...or more accurately, I SUCKED. I had forgotten how to weight and unweight each wheel when rolling over whatever obstacle I had gotten too lazy to find a line around. I didn't even finish the ride. I know that if I worked hard I could get those skills back while still riding my FS but lets face it...I have no time for that. Someday hopefully I'll have time. And when that day comes, I'll be hammering my hardtail to beat those skills back in to me.

$6.50 and a sixer of the Oktoberfest of your choice, you deliver.

So you're saying I'm doing it wrong. I get it. *My MRI sounds similar you. Tomreece, don't forget core workouts!

Keep that Rockhopper and only upgrade/replace the consumables (tires, chain, cassette). In a couple of year it'll make a great back up bike assuming it's not the base model like Mack_turtle explained. Don't forget the used market is strong here in Austin. You can save a ton of cash that way if you know what you're looking for, and you will after a couple of year of riding and pay attention to bikes around you and spend time researching. Suspension is a luxury, you don't need it. Build the skills first. I've ridden with many people on fully rigid single speeds that can clean any trail Austin has to offer aside from maybe the FR512 stuff out there. Suspension makes the ride more enjoyable for longer to me. My hardtail gives me back pain at the end of hard rides.

Yeah, not saying people shouldn't do it. Just a warning to people who may not have thought about it. Good points about clamping to the top tube though.

It's much easier to over clamp the frame than it is the seat post. The thin walls of our hydro formed AL frames and Carbon tubes were not designed for clamping loads. I'd rather risk scuffing a replaceable seat post than crushing my frame.

Last time I drove from Loyal Valley to Castell in the outback, there were long stretches of deep sand by car standards. I couldn't imagine doing on a bike. But blasting along with AWD was a ton of fun.

Didn't read, but gearboxes have been tried on bikes since I was in college. They never catch on as anything but a niche product. It's so easy to keep today's drivetrains clean, so simple to take apart, so simple to replace the parts...and they're super efficient mechanically. The gear box has a few advantages, but a majority of people (me included) don't think they're big enough to leave the traditional drivetrain behind. How much do they weigh? Does that weight include the (?)ccs of oil? How much drag does the drivetrain have compared to the chain and cassette setup? A big downside I see is the limitations the bulky gear box puts on frame designers with regard to rear suspension. We've seen a significant number of advances in suspension now that they only have to work around the location of the bottom bracket instead of being hampered by a front derailleur mount. Having a big box to work around is a step backward even if it still allows a single chainring.

I see that there's a workday tomorrow evening, but I can't make that time. I could be available tomorrow morning (Thurs. 10/4) to take care of some things though. I recently found out that my employer will pay for a certain amount of volunteer hours. So, I can start helping out a couple hours here and there during the week.

I can back up this report. Barring any additional rain today it should be hero dirt this afternoon/tomorrow with only some mud in the usual spots.

I'm sick of missing ridable conditions. I haven't ridden on dirt in a month. I'm showing up this evening. If it's too muddy, I live close enough that it won't be too much wasted time to have checked.

That's pretty sorry of them. They live on Cat Mountain, is that not enough?

I was really going to be interested to learn about any gravel routes around town. While this is a bike forum, I'm always looking out for places to "soft road" my outback. Especially when the weather is too bad to ride. The best route I've found is around SW of Llano from Click to Loyal Valley to Castell. Lots of graded gravel and low water crossings. Pretty countryside too.

Grave Digger rocked that color scheme. You just need to put a red blinkie on the front and you'll be able to roll over everything in your path.

Make mine with independent suspension and a locking rear diff please.

Nice...but how long did it take you?

2nd Anita Handle and Mack Turtle's posts. Some easy checks to do at home with basic tools, then take it to the shop. There are two groups of people on here. Those that wrench, and those that don't. You just have to figure which one you want to become.

I don't write the copy, I just make it look nice.

Get approval from the trail steward first though.

That's before my time...thank the Lord. No doubt that stuff hammered in to you to do it right the first time though! I'm so thankful for Cmd Z. We've very successfully derailed this thread in to typography nerdiness.

It comes with a microfiber cloth to keep the aluminum frame clean.

No Letraset please!