WLemke

I’m going to take a guess that the trails are a little too saturated. Especially with no wind, sunlight and high humidity.

When the teeth on your cogs start to look like shark teeth. Example

Woah. I was not aware there were trails east of peddlers. Worth the pedal over there?

Would love to hear your thoughts on the bike once you get it. I've got my eye on the Carbon Ripmo with the GX build. Also considering a Yeti SB130 C1. I've demoed the SB130 twice in Colorado and it was the best bike I've ever ridden. The ripmo seems to be a slightly better value though...

Bike has not been shifting great over the past two weeks. Pulled out the DAG and my hanger was in near perfect alignment. Messed with the cable tension knob. It helped a little but shifting was still a bit on the sloppy side. On Monday I dropped my chain while riding, which has never happened before. Felt like an idiot because I didn’t think to check for chain wear. Sure enough I popped in my chain wear gauge and the chain was just past .5%. it always amazes me that half a link of extra length can make such a difference in drive train quality. Anyways, new chain is on and looking forward to the trails today.

If you're ok with an aluminum frame, I've heard and read nothing but praise for the Ibis Ripmo AF. A true climb anywhere, jump off anything trail bike. The SRAM NX build is $2,999 and the Shimano SLX build is $3,999. They also make a carbon version but it starts at $4,399 for the SRAM NX build. https://www.ibiscycles.com/bikes/ripmo-af I believe Cycle Progression in Central Austin in a Ibis dealer if you were to go check one out.

First, I want to apologize in advance for being “that guy”. Have you considered upgrading to a more capable bike? Your riding an entry level short travel cross country oriented bike. If you were only riding easier trails like picnic, I wouldn’t even mention getting a new bike but your interest in riding 1/4 notch compels me to at least mention it. With Austin’s rocky terrain, a longer travel trail oriented bike would make a world of a difference. 130mm fork, stronger wheel set with tubeless tires, dropper post and a 1x11 drive train would put you on a path to feeling much more confident at brushy, especially on the more challenging, rocky trails. There are a lot of great hard tails in the $1,200 range. Now don’t get me wrong, there is an argument to be made that the skill of the rider is what matters and not the bike they rolled up on, but having the right equipment can certainly help.

I'm going to check out trail conditions at Brushy around 4pm today. It looks like the 48 hour rain total in the area was only 0.17" and we got some great sun yesterday. I'm about 3 miles away from Brushy and the super shady spots in my yard are looking only slightly damp. There's a good chance that 1/4 notch and DD are ready to ride. Possibly some other trails too. If anyone gets out there today before I do, please post an update!

I rode 1/4 notch somewhere between 1:45-2:00pm. Was heading E-W and only passed one person heading W-E. Got home around 2:30pm and it start pouring. I had a gut feeling I needed to get my ride in sooner than later. Edit: And by "gut feeling" I mean diligently watching the radar as a storm moved in from the west.

Nope. Not me. No problem!

Left my house this afternoon with a saddle full of optimism. Rode into brushy from the west side at the YMCA trailhead. Headed up the trail to the start of the downhill section with that 8-9 foot drop that only lunatics would huck themselves off. (Not sure what the name of this trail section is) The ride up was nice and tacky. No mud sticking to the tires. Started to head down the downhill section but could tell it was still too wet so i turned around. I'm estimating it should be good to ride on Wednesday assuming no more rain. I next poked my head into a few spots on picnic. The trail was for the most part nice and tacky but unfortunately there are still to many muddy spots. Maybe Wednesday depending on the amount of sunshine we get. Lastly, I rode down to the east entrance to quarter notch. Thankfully, quarter notch was just dry enough to ride. Word of warning though, the rocks are still super slick. Should be better tomorrow and maybe even optimal conditions on Wednesday. Lost of evidence of people ripping up trails that are too wet to ride but it is what it is.