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Mountain Bikes!

Discussion in 'General' started by Trainwreck, Jun 9, 2020.

  1. Trainwreck

    Trainwreck I could give a heck

    Just picked up my first mountain bike this year!

    Trek Roscoe 7. I've always wanted to get into mountain biking and figured id just get something decent for a beginner. My wife actually bought the same exact bike in teal. (mine is black)

    We actually picked them up before the COVID stuff went bonkers, from there i never really had a chance to ride it.. I work for a medical company and was immediately put on a design team for an emergency type bed for the outbreak...

    Since things have died down a bit I finally got the chance to hit the trails. I live in Kalamazoo so we have some great rides near us. We decided to check out Fort Custer on Sunday. We rode the Red Loop CCW, and had an absolute blast. I spent some time waiting for her as shes much more cautious than I am, but we are both hooked.

    I am hoping to try out Maple Hill trail today if I can get out of work at a decent time (supposed to rain) I got a nice Bell full face helmet, but i think i'm going to scoop up some more safety gear like knee and elbow pads as well.. I grew up skateboarding so i can see myself getting dumb soon. Also seem to be having issues with the gearset now. Its SRAM Eagle SX or whatever, i guess they have bad reviews. maybe I should just upgrade?

    Anyone from MI on here ride trails on the west side?
     
    bacolmm likes this.
  2. Dave K

    Dave K DaveK über alles!

    Don't get caught up in that derailer crap. Yet. Did the shop tune the SRAM? Maybe do that first.

    Really, ride the heck out of the bike and then worry about great rear derailer debate. :)
     
    ducnut, Sweatypants and stk0308 like this.
  3. stk0308

    stk0308 Well-Known Member

    The Roscoe line has always looked, to me, like a good starter package. With room to grow with upgrades. Glad to hear your enjoying it. Some friends of mine are trying to get me into mountain biking. I street ride motorcycles too much, I don't want to have to choose, lol
     
  4. brex

    brex Well-Known Member

    A full face helmet is just in the way if you aren't doing enduro/downhill, which with a Roscoe you aren't. You may want to look at a good quality trail helmet instead. The knee/elbow pads are a personal preference thing I guess, but only time I wear knee pads is when doing enduro/downhill rides. They are just annoying when pedaling. I don't have elbow pads, hardly ever see them on anyone. But all that above is totally up to you.
    The SX stuff is commodity level garbage, shouldn't be on bikes over the $500 range. But once Sram released it many bike brands saw it as a way to say "hey you get Eagle" and get a bigger profit margin.
    When it breaks (because it will) then look at replacing it. But for now just ride until it does.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2020
    ducnut and Sweatypants like this.
  5. t11ravis

    t11ravis huge carbon footprint

    I'm coming through there in late August and am looking to work my way up to TC while riding a bunch too. I'll hit you up!
     
  6. ChemGuy

    ChemGuy Harden The F%@# Up!

    K-zoo huh. I might have to dig the vintage stump jumper out and cruise up that way. Now that we have permission from "mom" to go out. :rolleyes:
     
    tl1098 likes this.
  7. Trainwreck

    Trainwreck I could give a heck


    Although my skills probably don't warrant much on these things, but I beat the ever living hell out of everything I own... It does fine on flat ground stuff without having a lot of torque run through it. But as soon as i start climbing or really hammering down on the flats its starts popping and jumping gears. Only seems to be doing it at the bottom of the cog. i looked some stuff up yesterday on how to adjust that out a bit, so I tried a few thinks last night and it seems to be much better with peddling really hard on flat ground. So hopefully it will climb better as well.

    I brought up the upgrade subject, because as i was looking up the issue, I mostly just saw every bitching about the SX Eagle SRAM stuff. It was difficult to find the info needed to even tinker with it. (im a big noob)

    The girl at the bike shop could have sold me virtually any hard tail they had there, Hardtail is pretty much the only thing I knew I wanted) and she picked out this one. lol I was eyeing the Specialized Epic hardtail, rode it and loved it.. and she suggested the Roscoe 7 would be better for me. LOL

    My wife was pretty much set on a Trek Marlin (she figured she wouldn't be as into it as me and didn't feel like buying anything too serious) But she hopped on the Roscoe, rode it around for 10 minutes, came back and told her to order two of them.. (now I can steal parts I break off her bike)
     
  8. Dave K

    Dave K DaveK über alles!

    You will eventually snap/ destroy the SRAM (like Brex said). You could replace it now but I'd go trying to get it tuned and set up for now. But that's me.
     
    Trainwreck likes this.
  9. brex

    brex Well-Known Member

    She saved you big time. The Epic hardtail is an XC rig, stupid old school geometry (Specialized is finally coming around to almost real world new geometry with the 2021 Epics), and then depending on the build you would end up with the shit brain fork.
    The Roscoe is at least a livable geometry and the 27.5+ tires are much better for the type of riding you'll be doing. Everything can be upgraded when it breaks, it is a good foundation of a bike.

    As for the chain jumping around, take it to the shop and ask them to have a good look at the b-gap. Eagle is super dependent on that being set right. And it goes out of spec really easy, especially with the plastic SX stuff. That and the hanger being straight are two things that are the basis of getting Eagle to shift OK.
    If you want to do it yourself, the Sram B-gap tool makes it easy, but the measurement is basically 15mm between the pulley wheel and the largest cog teeth when in that lowest (largest cog) gear.
     
    ducnut, TurboBlew and Trainwreck like this.
  10. Trainwreck

    Trainwreck I could give a heck

    The Bell helmet has the removable jawline. I have broken a lot of bones throughout my life and am paying for it big time in my 30's.. So I'm just trying to be more cautious so I can stay healthy enough to keep trying to race/track motorcycles. I crash things a lot more then most people I personally know. I don't think this hobby will be much different.

    Thanks for the info on the gearset stuff.. Any recomendations on what to replace it with? Do I stay with the SRAM Eagle stuff? How much stuff is interchangeable with bikes? Are there whole different gearset companies that work with my frame/wheel/whatever? lol When I say i'm a noob I mean NOOOOB

    Thanks for all the tips/info guys. I appreciate it.
     
  11. brex

    brex Well-Known Member

    This is the can of worms/rabbit hole. You can stay in the Sram family, I would skip NX and go to GX when stuff breaks. It is all interchangeable. You don't have to replace the full group, you can do one thing at a time. That said, Eagle has some real quirks that once you get to a certain level you will notice and it will annoy you at times. But for the vast majority of riders, they never notice or just live with it since it was the only 12 speed for a while. The AXS level brings the electronic bling and puts a band-aid on Eagle quirks because it shifts faster and removes the user-induced shift lever issues, but sync still remains as it is simply part of Eagle.
    You wouldn't be able to go to a GX cassette without changing out the freehub as it uses the XD freehub, but the GX shifter/derailleur work with an NX or SX cassette.
    The new Shimano 12 speed stuff is just much better. It shifts more smoothly and while B-gap is important, it doesn't bump out of spec as easy as Eagle and it isn't as big a deal. The SLX level 12 speed is such a bargain, and better IMO than GX Eagle. The XT level is even better as it introduces the multi-release (you can double shift up with one press), no need for XTR unless you are looking to shave every gram. Shimano did go with a new freehub spec, so going to full Shimano would require a new freehub or rear wheel.
    I no longer have bikes in my garage with Eagle. I do have to work on them as Eagle is so prevalent (I have a small private shop mostly for kids on the mountain bike teams and friends) with so many manufacturers using Sram builds, but it's one of those "once you use XT/XTR, you won't go back" things.

    Short answer - stick with it until it breaks and then decide how much you want to put into the bike for upgrades or if you want to upgrade to a new bike.
     
    ducnut and Trainwreck like this.
  12. shakazulu12

    shakazulu12 Well-Known Member

    I've got a hardtail with the NX drivetrain which I think shares some parts with SX. Just as everyone has already mentioned, you will want the B gap tool. It's a couple bucks on Amazon. There are tons of videos to get you through adjusting it. You will get pretty familiar with how to do it soon =)

    It doesn't bother me enough to replace it until it's actually worn out though.
     
    Trainwreck likes this.
  13. redtailracing

    redtailracing gone tuna fishin'

    Just a heads up, go try out the Merrell trail in Rockford when you get a chance. I don't know Michigan that well but have spent some time up there visiting in-laws and often will get away for a day or two to ride so I've hit a few trails around the Grand Rapids and Big Rapids areas. Merrell is one of the most fun non-destination trails I've ever ridden. Looks like it's about an hour from you. Let me know if you get out there what you think of it.
     
  14. RichB

    RichB Well-Known Member

    You can get various degrees of armour from you will notice it sitting there not moving, to it being subtle but there if you need it. Obviously more wearable stuff generally has less protection, but more than nothing. Event small wipeouts scratching up knees etc are a pita, so it's worth it if I'm exploring new areas or at risk of coming off. I wouldn't bother with elbows unless shuttling/dh runs. Also have a think about small tools/spares to get you and the wife out of trouble if you have a flat or other mechanical issue mid ride, without going overboard.
     
  15. Spooner

    Spooner Well-Known Member

    I'm just about to get back into it myself, just waiting for my bike to ship out.
     
  16. sharky nrk

    sharky nrk Rubber Side Up

    1 ER trip to get stitched up buys ALOT of gear. Learned that the hard way.
     
  17. Kris87

    Kris87 Friendly Smartass

    I crashed Sunday morning, pretty simple lowside railing a downhill turn. Got my knee, and outside leg like heck. Looks like hamburger, with some yellow goo....scares my kids to look at it. That said, no way I could ride in knee pads. Just give me the scabs and limit crashes. :)
     
  18. ton

    ton Arf!

    I lived and rode in Kzoo for awhile. Al Sabo is good fun for being right there. Custer is great. Generally a good cycling community around those parts.

    As others have said, don't go upgrading yet. Even the relative "junk" should work correctly for quite awhile. Get it properly set up.

    What shop did you get the bike from?
     
  19. r6fast

    r6fast Well-Known Member

    Strange, i have the complete opposite feeling on Sram vs Shimano drivetrain. I have a bike with the latest eagle and the latest XTR and I prefer the Eagle. Actually everyone I race with has stopped using shimano drivetrains. Sram for drivetrain Shimano for brakes is my setups on all of my bikes, even the downhill rig.
     
    ducnut likes this.
  20. redtailracing

    redtailracing gone tuna fishin'

    agreed although all of my shits at least 3 years old at this point.
     

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