Anita Handle

blorp

3 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Hi, welcome to Austin. You need to get out more.

The problem is that I've *been* to this "Austin" that you refer to an $2 beer is not part of the branding! 

wait... $2 beer?? 

Benefits of test rides on your local trails:

• Riding bikes on your local trails is kewl
• Something to blog about
• Possibly learn something that informs your sizeable purchasing decision

Downside of test rides on your local trails: 

I do think there is value in sampling different geometries. For example, you *think* a Ripmo would be a horrible choice for you but an Ibis bike with 160mm of fork travel will probably ride way different than a Gorilla Gravity with 130mm. Ibis, in general, are more XC oriented. Maybe it isn't the best fit but I think you'd be surprised that geometry impacts the way a bike rides more than a specific travel number. 

They're one of the oldest bike makers in the world but don't have the best market penetration in the MTB world. I personally would NOT think twice about buying a mtb from them if it was a good fit for me and was at the right price. Lifetime warranty on their bikes but we all know that the implementation of it is what's important and I don't know anyone that has done a warranty through them.

(edited, had said that I would think twice, meant that I would not think twice)

Maybe someone can swing by this morning and look?

Amazing that all of this is about ONE PERSON.

5 hours ago, AustinBike said:

*Technically* he does not have a demo right now....

 

 

I think you're over complicating the process. Go ride some bikes. Not just the frame, but the whole bike system with gears and forks and shiz. If you can't ride the bike you want on real trails, I would rank that bike low on the list EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU LOVE THE BRAND. 

Then, once you've found a bike you like, see if you can beat the price and spec of a complete bike by going piecemeal, buying a frame, keeping your fork, etc. 

You're putting the cart before the horse. 

THAT BEING SAID... comments on components:

Don't buy Stan's branded wheelsets. Don't. You keep your wheels for a long time so investing in DT/King/Hope/etc is worth it. BUT also beware that standards are no longer as stable as they used to be. Super Dooper Boost, XD driver, MicroSplines, etc... Get what you like for this bike but don't expect these components to survive to your next three frames.

I just installed SRAM Eagle NX on my new-to-me hardtail. It was cheap AF, easy to dial in (no harder than 11sp GX), and I can run a 34t chainring and take advantage of the bigger range in both directions, vs just having more climbing gear. The Eagle NX cassette mounts on a normal 10sp Shimano splined freehub body, unlike the other SRAM cassettes. Shimano 12 speed requires a new freehub standard. 

San Antonio is quite a bit ahead of Austin with respect to these concrete hike and bike trails. When they started planning the first one through our beloved Leon Creek trails we were pissed that they seemed to be following the established paths, in many cases, instead of flagging a new path, and that we were losing a bunch of trails or having them interrupted. In the end, the system of paths are a major win for bike and foot traffic. You can commute or just do a safe paved ride. A new, planned section will connect two long existing sections to create what is probably 40 miles of contiguous paved trail that cuts through the NW and NE sides of town.  https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/Parks/GreenwayTrailMap.pdf?ver=2017-03-30-141506-633

My only concern is that the Austin paths are a little on the narrow side in many spots. Like Little Walnut trail. Little Walnut also has a ton of boring-ass nothingness it passes through, but that can't be helped I suppose, until we can plant some trees and shit. ha.

I love being able to ride paved path from Mopac/Duval area to Walnut. 

Five million bucks will seem like a bargain in 20 years. That'll be the annual property taxes on an average single family home by then!

very strange.

The only thing that should be different between a 142 hub and a 135 hub from the King should be the axle, no? Shouldn’t you be able to swap freehub bodies between the two hubs?


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Is the wheel that has the cassette rubbing on the spokes the same hub as the one that the cassette lock ring kept loosening up? This all seems very strange if you pull off your cassettes you should be able to measure the depth of the splines and relative lengths of things between the two hubs. Something seems wrong.


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2 hours ago, attaboy said:

I’m a former Raxter owner. Used it for 5 years. I agree with much of what RF has to say; however mine did have some shortcomings. The velcro straps did degrade and have to be replaced. Also, those nylon arms didn’t hold up to off-road use. I take some 4wd rodes at times and on rough sections when there is side to side rocking motion, the bikes would push the arms open. I’d have to stop while on the trail and push them back as they are held in place with friction at the pivot points. Trays are parallel and this sometimes made fitting bikes on difficult. Also, mine did fold up and so I couldn’t keep on the truck for garage parking.

Purchased 1Up double heavy duty a few years ago and couldn’t be happier. Those problems were solved as well as having improved departure angle given the stacked height of the rearmost 1Up tray.

Ok, so one bonus for the 1Up in your opinion is that the arms lock into place with a ratchet mechanism. ✔️

Regarding the tray orientation relative to the other trays, the Raxter advertises (WITH ZERO MARKETING BUDGET) that you can slide bikes fore and aft on the tray to make bikes nest better. You didn't find this to be true? That is one PITA with the Thule but I can usually slide trays around to get things to fit if I'm loading four bikes for a multi-day trip. Definitely not fun if I just want to load them for a quick trip across town.

1 hour ago, Ridenfool said:

That description reminds me of the NorthShore 4 bike rack I had for a while. Weighed a ton, but made it easy to carry the bikes well off the ground on a great adventure. Eventually, a buddy in Houston wanted it for his Casita camper, dubbed the Stay-Puft. I was happy to cut him a deal on it.

That is interesting that you abandoned a NorthShore for the Raxter (or any other rack of the tray style) because I mentally cross-shop the NorthShore style vs my current rack (T2). The downside of the NorthShore (or specifically, the Recon Rack) is that it sticks up so high even when you only have one bike to carry. Also, not sure if I'd like it with a pick-up truck since it would tower over the bed, at least until I have outfitted my non-existent Ford F-350 with the overland Hallmark Milner 6.5 that I will never buy.

What made you decide against the NorthShore?

48 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

Actually, I mentioned that in the original post on the Raxter. You are right, people should get what works best and aesthetics is part of that.

Or maybe it's anesthetics?

 

 I do like a good value but I can't let this go without a meme. 

13 hours ago, jcarneytx said:

Thanks for the tips. For now, I'm cheating with a tube. When time for new tire, I'll set it back up tubeless. I'm a bit impatient and didn't want to wait for it to dry out, then clean, then attempt the patch, then wait to see if patch holds.

Given the price of Schwalbe tires, I'd fo dang sure give a patch a chance to work. At the least would be to dry the spot from the inside, add another plug and let it sit overnight and then attempt to inflate. Running tubes around here is just roulette, you will eventually be swapping out that tube.

IMO the Eno eccentric isn't worth the hassle. I had one on an old 26er and it would occasionally loosen up but more problematic for me was that style of mounting a cog, freewheels. If I do another singlespeed I'll use a splined interface, like a mini cassette freehub. Pulling off a freewheel can be a super PITA. Also, the eccentric meant that you changed the geometry and brake pad interface a little depending on how you mounted it. Also, you have to have a specific wheel built up so it isn't the cheapest option. Beautifully made components (White Industries). Just get tensioner and be done with it.

I've asked my wife to try to do short one-way messages while I'm on the bike, to let me know something, but to call me if she needs me to respond, since I likely have my headphones on. What does she send me in the text? "do you need anything from the grocery store?" 😙

I haven't re-enabled the text notifications since I moved over to an iPhone but here is a pic from the internets (caution, picture appears to be written in metric):

4 hours ago, AustinBike said:

If anyone who has a Garmin Edge 420 wants to take a picture of a text notification for me, that would be cool. Been thinking I need an updated one eventually, that might push me to get off my ass and actually buy one.

ahh yisssss, Edge fo tweezy... 

5 hours ago, TAF said:

I'm a fan of anything which has no plastic parts, especially in the Texas heat. We've had a 2" 1Up with add-on rack for a few years now, and I recently found, buried away in their website, a $99 add-on rack hitch mount. So now I have two 1Up racks, one for each vehicle.

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/add-on-hitch-adapter/

I'm not conversant in 1Up. What does this allow? You can take one of your bike trays and attach it to this add-on thing and then you have a non-folding, single bike, 1Up rack?

I seem to recall that the Sherpa is one of the lightest two-bike racks available. I researched weights a while back and was surprised that it was lighter than the 1Up. The NV is pretty heavy so I figured it would be similar but it isn't close.