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I want a hard tail


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4 hours ago, St.Bernardo said:

They do OK on the trails?  Put some On One Midge bars on the roadie and like them.  Currently evaluating gravel bars for my Hard Tail.

Dunno yet. Just finished wrapping bar yesterday. Haven't ridden but parking lot here at home. Still need some minor tweaks, but might try Walnut later today, since it missed the downpour over Brushy.

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I made a few attempts at putting dirt drops on mountain bikes and I could never make the fit work. Drop bars add a lot of reach and reduce the stack on a bike, so a bike that fits you with a flat bar is usually going to feel enormous with a drop bar. Getting the hooks in a position you can reach comfortably usually means a bike with a tall head tube or a very uprights stem. Kudos if you can make it work without too much drama.

Edited by mack_turtle
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3 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

I made a few attempts at putting dirt drops on mountain bikes and I could never make the fit work. Drop bars add a lot of reach and reduce the stack on a bike, so a bike that fits you with a flat bar is usually going to feel enormous with a flat bar. Getting the hooks in a position you can reach comfortably usually means a bike with a tall head tube or a very uprights stem. Kudos if you can make it work without too much drama.

Well, sadly, this Haro Mary SS has been a bit large since I bought it. Added a much shorter stem to bring original bars back a bit. With these drop bars, man am I strung way out front, even with a shorty stem.  Might consider turning the damn thing around backwards even.  Does work, though. Needed to lower seat a bit and tilt bars up a tad. Also need to tweak brakes a bit more. Got to bottom of powerline and over-ran first berm 'cause I couldn't slow enough. Made sure to keep speed in check after that. Upper log loop was pretty fun, though. 

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Seriously, I love wrapping bars. It's therapeutic to get the spacing just right, wrapped the right direction, tucked in the ends, neatly taped at the center. Hotter line up those shifters first though. I recommend a tailor's tape measure for the job.

Edited by mack_turtle
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On 6/28/2019 at 7:11 PM, jcarneytx said:

Well, sadly, this Haro Mary SS has been a bit large since I bought it. Added a much shorter stem to bring original bars back a bit. With these drop bars, man am I strung way out front, even with a shorty stem.  Might consider turning the damn thing around backwards even.  Does work, though. Needed to lower seat a bit and tilt bars up a tad. Also need to tweak brakes a bit more. Got to bottom of powerline and over-ran first berm 'cause I couldn't slow enough. Made sure to keep speed in check after that. Upper log loop was pretty fun, though. 

you need a limp d*ck. STEM, an LD STEM.

https://velo-orange.com/products/cigne-stem

Cigne-2.jpg?v=1520611723

 

You can also get drop bars intended for this purpose. 

https://www.analogcycles.com/product/nitto-super-flare-heat-treated-dirt-drops/

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44 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Seriously, I love wrapping bars. It's therapeutic to get the spacing just right, wrapped the right direction, tucked in the ends, neatly taped at the center.

Also, when the 2 trimmed pieces are within an inch of each other, on every wrap.

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52 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Seriously, I love wrapping bars. It's therapeutic to get the spacing just right, wrapped the right direction, tucked in the ends, neatly taped at the center. Hotter line up those shifters first though. I recommend a tailor's tape measure for the job.

I used to be just as mesmerized/compulsive about taping hockey sticks.  Then, I'd immediately go trash the wrap job with a flagrant tripping and then bemoan the wrap from the penalty box.

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11 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

 

What on Earth is happening here? Lemme know if you want help taping a handlebar. I can't stand knowing that this exists in the world.

20190701_121602.jpg

🙂 I'll have to post the TAPE job next. Take video of your skin jumping off... 😛

Also, 'amateur' implies at least a modicum of previous experience. This being the first time I've attempted such a thing,  I watched a youtube video by Park tool, then wrapped the bars. I still need to wrap my actual road bike bars as well, so I'll apply lessons learned there. 

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10 hours ago, Anita Handle said:

probably cheaper and accomplishes the task with less of an erectile issue. The LD is something of a classic design from the old Charlie Cunningham days, though, and I find it to be an elegant solution.

CHEAP was the overriding factor, here. Didn't even know if I could get all this to play nicely. Thx to JRA for rear wheel and some minor tweaking, as well as observing chain was much too short (a stopgap at best, as I had yet to order new chain/chainring, and the borrowed bits from the 575 were just barely cutting it.) I won't spend anymore for THIS build, as it will only be used sparingly. If I get a smaller frame someday, I'll put more into it then.

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8 hours ago, jcarneytx said:

CHEAP was the overriding factor, here. Didn't even know if I could get all this to play nicely. Thx to JRA for rear wheel and some minor tweaking, as well as observing chain was much too short (a stopgap at best, as I had yet to order new chain/chainring, and the borrowed bits from the 575 were just barely cutting it.) I won't spend anymore for THIS build, as it will only be used sparingly. If I get a smaller frame someday, I'll put more into it then.

Yep, I get it, I've put together similar projects. It might be worth finding a super cheap or free super high rise stem to see if it feels better. You might ride it less sparingly if it actually fits and is more fun to ride. I tried to do something similar with my old Dekerf but needing a similar stem and bars pushed me to just stick with flat bars.

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I would look into how true "dirt drops" are supposed to be set up. With a traditional drop bar on a road bike, you set it up so you can ride on the hoods or in the hooks. For a true dirt drop setup, the hoods are useless because you set it up for riding in the hooks only. The brake levers will be much farther down the bend than on a road setup. The in-the-hooks position means you need to get the handlebar quite high in the air, which is why you see those Carlie Cunningham style bikes with tall headtubes and freakishly tall LD stems.

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