Mountain Bikes!

Forgot to mention, could also simply be body positioning. I finally just figured out how to get weight into the tires properly just in this class and was washing out the front everywhere previously.

 

Hmm, that's a good class for me probably, I'm always off the back trying not to endo. Only time I'm forward is maybe in pump track-like sections.

 

Second day of the class, they had us riding down ledges I would normally just make a drop out of. Your butt does end up over the rear tire, but it's not because you got back. You are just staying centered over the bottom bracket and letting the bike pivot between the cranks. So the rear tire is coming to you. For the students, this meant a slight bias forward in our heads, because our body was screaming "GET BACK!" and that ended up leaving us centered. By the end of the drill, I wasn't thinking about it consciously anymore. Frees up the front end to move up and down accordingly and let me stay in control.

 

Ah interesting. That's a good way to look at it.

That's probably also why BB height makes more difference on bikes than I normally think about too, because it changes where most of your body weight acts upon the bike.

Thanks for sharing.

 

After finally taking my bike on its maiden dirt outing... Holy Crap!!! Dropper posts are freaking AWESOME!!!!

 

This is my 2nd year mountain biking, and I recently rode a pals bike through Maple Hill here in Kalamazoo. he doesn't have a dropper, and it was my first time riding a bike without one. Holy shit it sucked. The fast flowy downhill portion with all the jumps was terrifying. I kept leaving the face of the jumps all wonky and I for sure thought I was gunna smoke a tree. lol He rode my bike though, and before we got home he had already ordered a dropper. It was his first time riding a bike with a dropper.

Quick update on year 2 so far for the wife and I: (We both have 2020 Roscoe 7's we purchased right before COVIDZ)
Me: Upgrading the SRAM SX stuff to GX on my Roscoe 7 was the absolute best move. I had actually gotten so used to having maybe 4-5 usable gears with the SX stuff, that I actually was able to make it work. However, now that I have all gears usable again I feel like I rip through the trails. I can climb like a bastard now. My wife use to catch me on climbs and had even passed me multiple times. Now she eats my dust, and I have crashed trying to wheelie past her while making dirt bike noises. lol The GX stuff, saddle, grips, and pedals are the only changes I've made to my bike.

I still struggle with hand numbness once in a while, and I think that its potentially my wrist angle. I've had about 16 fractures between both my arms multiple ulna/radius breaks, left arm scaphoid, both arms have had trapzium and trapezoid fractures, both arms have had thumb/pointer finger metacarpal fractures, etc.. I also have a rare genetic bone defect called Syndactyly Type 8. This has caused my 4-5 metacarpals to fuse together in my hands while I was rolling around in the womb at Slayer concerts with my mom. lol . On my right hand, my pinky actually sticks out to the side about a full inch further than it should. I can also bend it sideways about 90 degrees to the ring finger lol. The left wrist isn't as bad, but in both hands, I cannot bend or move my pinky without also moving my ring finger. (like at all, if I hold the ring finger, my pinky finger will just sit there while I try to move it lol) One of my pals from car racing is actually a hand specialist. He's been pretty fascinated with my issue for a while, and thinks the numbing/pins and needles pain may actually be stemming from the bone defect and not the injuries. There's not a lot that can be done about it. Some people opt to have surgery to separate the bones. However, im 34 years old... I make my living doing fabrication work, TIG welding, machining, CAD design/CNC programming. I cannot risk potentially ruining use of my hands. They're my money makers lol. They're pretty tore up, but they still got the skills.

So, I'm going to start experimenting with bars for the bike. I think I can fix the angle of my wrists by raising the bars, and maybe getting a bar with a slight back sweep. On my motorcycles I have the clip ons raised all the way up, they're tangent to the fork for reach, and I have them swept back further than most other racers. This has helped them from going numb on the race bike.. I figure, same principles could apply to mountain bikes?

Wife: She's only changed her saddle and pedals. She's had no issues with the SX drivetrain. She can climb like hell actually, and does really well through flowy downhill stuff. She struggles on roots, drops, and jumps. For the roots I think she looks down at them, gets spooked, stops pedaling, and then cant get over them. I am trying to get her to look ahead and keep her speed up. She will also forget about her dropper post and forget to stand through some stuff too. This causes her to buck out of the seat, and get spooked. For drops she has trouble remembering to lift the front and try to land flat. She has also grabbed a bunch of brake right before landing multiple times and has eaten shit because of it. She's never done anything like this in her life before last year. She didn't play sports in school or anything like that. She works out a lot and is in killer shape, but she lacks a lot of hand/eye stuff that a lot of others take for granted. I think I'm going to try and get her into a class or something. However, she's ALWAYS down to ride no matter what. I can appreciate that. She really enjoys this sport and now claims she wants to buy a full suspension bike. lol

man I always seem to type books.. holy shit.

 

A buddy of mine and I rented bikes out there last spring. It was a hoot. Top end bikes with bigger travel than the traditional XC-style bikes we ride here in Michigan. More slack, more travel, for the win out there, IMO.

 

It's definitely beneficial to ride it like a dirt bike. Push the front end down to get grip/more weight on the front. There are some corners I'll drag my inner foot like a roadracer and that does seem to help the bike turn - or it's just fun to do .. YRMV.

What helps me .. in a left turn - right hand is loose, like I'm cradling an egg. Left hand is pushing the bar down to help it turn. If I'm tight on the bars (like any bike), the bike wants to run wide, and I'm trail braking to make the corner, slowing down, losing momentum, and all that bad stuff..

 

That's why getting a proper fitting is so important. That issue you have from the wrist can come from any part of your body that's compensating for something not being ideal.

For me, I try to position the controls down where my wrist is level when I'm using them. My hand/fingers don't have to reach up/down to get to them. It's finding a natural position mainly, just like roadracing. And sometimes, I'm just holding on too tight and need to relax. My two cents, YRMV.

 

Agreed you might be high on the pressure. Try lower and see. Everyone is different, but I've found what works best for me (all setup tubeless):

MTB: 19-22 front / 22-26psi rear, depending on the trail and conditions. That's with 2.25"/29" tires.
Gravel: 30-35 front / 35-40psi rear, depending on gravel/some paved road conditions. That's with 2.1"/700c tires.
Fatbike: 4-10psi / 8-12psi rear, depending on conditions/temperature/snow, etc. That's with 3.8"/27.5" tires.

I used to get sucked into wanting to run higher pressure for "rolling gains", but a more compliant tire rolls/rides better. Again, YRMV.

 

I’m totally new to mountain biking. I have the opportunity to get a 3yr old Scott Aspect for $350. I know it’s not top shelf but is it good enough to figure out if I’m gonna like it?

 

A $2K bike for $Tree Fiddy?
Why the fuck are you even asking us.

Worst case you don't like it and re-sell for $600.

Giddy up, Hoss.

 

if anything it will allow you the budget to buy proper gear... helmet, bibs, jersey, gloves, or even a Garmin. Start out doing 5-10 miles a day a couple times a week. Get used to the bike before throwing yourself onto trails.
See if there is a LBS dealer close by and establish a relationship.

 

$2k? https://bikeattack.com/scott-aspect-950/

 

Ahh.. the one that popped up when I looked was $2K.

 

Got a neighbor that’s going to get me hooked up with his MTB club. I’ve got many miles on road bikes, so I’m off to a decent start on the gear and have a good relationship with LBS. I’m the one freak that would never wear weasel squeezers. I always wore mountain bike shorts because I know the reason I average less than 15mph on the road has nothing to do with me not wearing spandex and not shaving my legs.

 

lol that's my favorite. for a time like 15 years ago, I had a carbon Kuota road bike, with carbon Mavic wheels and full SRAM Red gear, it weighed like 14lbs... and I would ride it with flat pedals and sneakers and a tshirt and baggy shorts. a handful of times I'd pull up to a red light, and some old man spandex dude would pull up next to me, and I'd get crazy looks and scowls like wtf is this kid doing with this bike. one guy asked me if I owned it one time suspiciously, as if to say "did you steal that bike?" haha. fuck em'.

 

lmao... my local bike shop owner is horrified when I wear a MTB kit to road bike with their group on occasion. Even with their discounts many of those guys have an easy 5 figs in their road machines...
Bike shorts work great for many other riding activities like dirt biking and road racing. I move around on the seat too much to wear anything "loose"... and have had my baggy shorts grabbed by a seat at inopportune moments.
I would probably just get the bike properly fit and figure out what pedals you want to run. Nobody I ride with does the manscaping thing... that must reserved be for strava pros! What cracks me up is when some skinny 140lb guy shows up to take KOMs and wonders why he cant get around a pack of clydesdales... lmao Doesnt the top tube of your bike say PEDAL DAMMIT?

 

I completely sliced a rear tire on my bike the other day and am in the market for some new ones. The Trek Roscoe 7 comes with 27.5x2.8" Maxxis Rekon's and I run them tubeless. I mostly ride single track MI trails that are decently hardpacked, but will often times have a lot of sand and loose spots, especially after heavy rainfall. Should I replace them with the same shit or try something new?

I don't know if I have any complaints because this is the only bike I've ever really ridden so I don't know how tires are supposed to feel. lol However, I am getting to the point where I will slide the front and rear coming into corners I am familiar with, during fast downhill stuff. I have just been playing with pressures to find where I like it.

 

they are supposed to feel planted... not squishy or vague like a bean bag chair.
2.8 is pretty big... you could start by seeing whats in stock and weigh them. Last tires I did were vittorias in 2.8 about $65 each in the wide knobby style. Add $10 for new stems if yours have any age.
I got some unsolicited advice on roll resistance from a guy that cant make it over an 18" tree trunk w/out carrying his bike...
If anything my corner speeds have picked up and I have no complaints. This in mostly sandy, hard packed dirt & limestone with copious tree roots. Run them around 24ish on a bike with 6" of travel at either end