Mountain Bikes!

That website fried my brain…so many options! I’m going to have to call during business hours and get an education

 

I see your point but looking around a little and it seems lifetime warranties aren’t hard to come by. I’m definitely not chasing trophies but if I bring home another gun my wife is gonna kill me. If I look hard in the mirror I don’t need anything I’ve posted about. I’m just looking for something else to tinker with and geek out on and there seem to be PLENTY of options with bicycles.

 

Calling and discussing your bike, trails, what you want out of the wheels, etc. can only help.
But the DT 350 hubs are a solid all-around go-to. With DT, the 36 tooth ratchet is the way to go, 54 teeth give you a faster engagement but more maintenance to keep from breaking a tooth. The Hope, Chris King and I9 hubs get you a different engagement and bearing setup, louder, etc. In the case of I9 (IMO) all for nothing unless you want a loud and buzzy noise chasing you everywhere. It's the "cool kids" thing that give zero benefits on the trail. For spokes, the D-Light are great. Going to the CX-ray gets you bladed and a bit lighter. You'll never need that. Straight vs j-bend, you'll have an easier time finding a j-bend spoke if you ever break one and need an emergency replacement. Aluminum nipples are lighter, but corrode with some sealants, so can be more maintenance. Just stick with brass.

 

If you're wanting the lightest suspension fork for your weight weenie XC bike, then no. The fox step cast and rock shox SID are your friend. But those forks are all about weight, not suspension performance. If you're more into a better damping experience, a fork that does a better job keeping your wheel planted, yes Manitou has a hands down better damper setup. As does DVO. The DVO Sapphire is heavier, but a night and day different ride from a step cast, sid or 34.

 

Sweet! Thanks for breaking that down.

I don’t dig the noisy hub thing but I think I would like the quicker engagement. I started talking with a guy a few days ago at the trailhead. I see his van a bunch. It’s a Sprinter with the Revel treatment, it’s kind of hard to miss. He was riding a Pivot that had aftermarket unobtanium errrthang and I mean absolutely errrrrrrrrthang. The neatest part to me was the Onyx hubs. They were instant engagement and dead silent. If I do end up spending close to half the cost of my bike on wheels I think I need those hubs.

 

So if you've ridden Onyx, then you will notice a difference. They are slightly heavier, but the instant engagement and silence are amazing. And if you spin an Onyx rear wheel next to a loud buzzer like an I9, you will see the Onyx spin MUCH longer and more freely.
If you want to go all out, you can go Berd spokes on the Onyx hubs and carbon rims. But then you really are getting into the BIG coin spend (well, about the same as those Rovals).
Nobl is another great custom build shop, they are connected to the Light Bicycle guys. They work with Onyx regularly. They do use aluminum nipples, but they say the coating on their sapim nipples is corrosion resistant. I haven't used those as yet, so I have no opinion there.
https://noblwheels.com/

Berd/Onyx - https://noblwheels.com/shop/tr35-onyx-hook-flange-custom-berd-wheelset/

 

I have Berd wheels, mostly because reasons. But if I needed a set of bombproof carbon wheels with known killer warranty coverage. I would just get some We Are One's. Really good quality for your money there. And known track record of after sale service if you do manage to kill a set.

On that note, I did manage to kill the front wheel on one of my sets of Berd's. Not even sure how I did it, as it was still holding air just fine and I only noticed it while taking it off to service the bike. Anyhow, they just had me send it in and rebuilt it for a 60 dollar fee and shipped it back. No issues or excuses. Come to think of it, I believe their rims are actually contracted out to WAO.

 

My dad and I are looking to go 50/50 on an eMTB. I found this deal at REI for what seems like decent spec. This is far from my primary bike, and really is mainly so my dad has a rig to ride when he visits from flatlandia.

Is there anything else in this price range I should be looking at? YT seems to be the only brand with comparable or better spec for the price, but they are mostly OOS for a while.

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/electric/e-mountain/moterra-neo/moterra-neo-3-c65372u

 

Nothing stands out as a "bad deal", so if you like it then go for it. Good components, good motor system.
Cannondale isn't what they used to be, but they also aren't junk.
There is a lot of this price slashing going on in the industry, so you could wait for something else to catch your eye, but again if you like this one, no real reason to wait.

 

Yeah I thought it was decent. I love old school Cannondale and still have a 2012-era SuperSix.

That deal runs for a while longer, so I'm going to keep an eye out and see if anything else goes on promo.

Thanks!

 

You can get an Intense Tazer MX expert for $4k and a pro for $5k and have quite a bit better spec than that. The pro is carbon, ohlins fork and shock, MT7 brakes, etc. Yeah its a grand more but the forks alone retail for $2k so its a smoking deal.

 

Looks like the 4k Tazer is sold out on the intense site. I saw a few other sites that have them in stock, although they seem a little sketchier. I think Bosch is regarded as having the better motor vs. Shimano, no?

4K is really about what I want to spend. It's really the loaner bike and not something I see myself on all the time.

 

The standard tazer is different than the MX which is only available at motorcycle shops and they definitely are still available. Pretty much any dealer can order them through PU. Bosch is great for sure but Shimano is right there too. The main one that seems to have issues is the Brose in the specialized.

 

Have you ridden an EBike? All my buddies that got them and expected to ride their regular bikes were quickly converted haha

 

I am a fan of Intense, but I wish they put the 801 in the Tazer already.
The MX carbon pro is certainly higher spec and lighter, but I don't know that I've seen any dealer under $5K yet, so it's a decent bit more.
Of course, one could always shop around their Motorcycle dealers that sell them and see.

 

I have. They are cool, don't get me wrong, but I ride primarily for fitness without going full XC.

Looks like there are a few PU dealers near me. Hmmm. May have to make some calls.

 

I just ordered an Ebike. Main thing I had decided early on was that I wanted a Bosch motor. Then it was just a matter of finding the platform and spec I wanted. The newer Shimano's seem to have fixed a lot of quality issues, but for me it was just ease of warranty or repair if needed at multiple locations near me.

 

Yeah, I’m leaning Cannondale due to the motor and the geo is closer to what I want. What’d ya get?

 

If your in the St Louis area https://www.mototireusa.com/ has a couple leftovers on the floor they'd make a deal on. Sue and Steve are good folks. They make the No-Mar tire changers. MotoTire is their shop.