Mountain Bike - Hard tail

Pretty much what used2bfast said, although I usually start from mulberry gap with the forest service road climb to the top of Bear Creek, descend Bear Creek then take the right onto P1 (if you reach the parking lot you missed the turn) ride that and then jump on P2, at the bottom of P2 you will be on the same road that mulberry gap is on. I think it makes for a 23 mileish loop with 3500ft of climbing

 

Okay, I am looking for a 26" hardtail frame that I could ride on trails or drop the seat and take on a BMX track in the cruiser class. Most all the frames are for 27.5 or 29 now so maybe the used market is the way to go. I have a nice set of Mavic 321 disc wheels custom built laying around so I figured if I tossed those on, got some fork or another, I would just build up a little play bike. Maybe go for a 1x drivetrain with a chain guide. I don't really want a full blown dirt jumping frame, but a fun hardtail geometry. Thoughts or links?

 

hardtail

chromag
cotic
transition
on one

 

That is almost exactly what we did but we skipped the 4 mile gravel road climb to the top of Bear Creek and it was great, some of the best riding I have done in a while. Mulberry Gap rocks too, have to go back ASAP.

Monsterdood check out http://surlybikes.com/bikes

 

Ok, so I finally ordered a 456 Evo carbon and got it in the mail yesterday. :up:

 

Riding in Pisgah, Dupont, and Raccoon Mountain convinced my back that I needed another bike besides my HT.

After demoing a bunch of bikes of both sizes (Evil Following, Trance Advanced, Tallboy LT, 5010, Bronson) I ended up ordering a new Ibis Ripley LS. I can't wait for it to get in even if it pretty much killed my new race bike budget for next year.

Hoping it get in before GNF, so I can get a ride in at Coldwater

 

anyone bringin their mountain bike with them to Barber this weekend??

I've got one race tomorrow(friday) then i'm gonna ride my SS at Oak mountain state park

 

my new bike, a 9:Zero:7 Avalanche:

120mm of travel and weighs in at just 30 pounds, which isn't bad for an alloy-framed fatty w/ a shock & a dropper post and no carbon fiber.

 

of course, a week after I finish building a new bike, I have to go and ride this:


all of a sudden, I don't like my bike anymore.

 

Well ... I don't have any fatty, so, yeah, I still like your new bike....

 

I'm lookin' at this fatty real hard...
http://www.mtbcult.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1064000_2016_A_2_Farley_7.jpg

 

this is for AKdrift because i'm tired of texting at work, so he can just read this. dude wants a squishy bike, lives in socal, so has ample opportunity to do XC stuff and shuttle stuff/DH. he's a BMX wizard, but never had a squishy bike. doesn't want to break the bank. i told him, best bet is to find a 27.5"/650b bike, 140-160mm travel front and rear. it'll do nothing the best, but do everything pretty good and be fun as shit. light DH, still hit jumps, still pedals uphill (even if a little slow)... perfect for a first squishy bike.

he's a lanky fucker at like 6'4", so i told him he'd prolly be looking at XL's, but maybe L's depending on preference. to figure out what you need dude, look at:

1) Standover height
2) Reach

as long as your dick doesn't hit the top tube, or your knees on the bars, or the reach is just crazy far, everything else can be adjusted for. you can get cranks in different arm lengths if you get more particular as you get into it. you can buy stems of all lengths for pretty cheap (~$100). you can buy bars of all widths/heights/sweeps for pretty cheap (~$100). same with seat posts. AND... now a lot of mid level bikes come with dropper posts so you can lower it on the descents and raise it on the uphill. getting a seat that's comfy is the hardest part. go try a few at The Path in Tustin, and look at their clearance offerings there. especially for XL size, you should be able to find dope deals.

i told him to check ChainReactionCycles.com, then JensonUSA.com, then LamaCycles.com for NS Bikes deals, then Bike24.com, and now i'm saying go to The Path in person. any other sales places post up.

if you're buying a complete bike, find something that was $3000-4000 new and 50% off of that. should be able to. then you'll get good level fork/shock, and mid level brakes/derailleur/cassette/crank that you won't have to worry about.

stock wheels are usually OK, or suck, on any bike less than $6000 pretty much. i like building my own. Shimano XT brakes for the price are money. i like Formula brakes and Hope brakes are my favs but loot. Shimano XT everything is pretty much the best bang for your buck. SRAM X.9 or X.0 stuff always treats me well. Hope hubs are the best... most stuff that comes on pre-built bikes will be Taiwan hubs that actually usually aren't that bad any more. Cane Creek DBair shocks are the dickboners... Rockshox Pike or Reba fork will be good, or a Fox 34, and whatever Fox/RS shock they offer up... prolly what you'll find on most stuff as a package.

i run clips on my XC bike, flats on my DH. i like flats more. i'm putting them back on the XC bike too after making it more burly and jumpy. 5.10 shoes are the best. the rubber compound and pattern grips like holy fuck. there's a ton of good flat pedals. expect to spend like $100. Loaded are amazing, DMR, Nukeproofs, blah blah blah there's a million.

try that for now.

 

look at The Path's clearance area on their website. this bike... godamn...

http://www.thepathbikeshop.com/sales/clearance/mountain-bikes/item/giant-reign-2-27-5-blem

or

http://www.thepathbikeshop.com/sales/clearance/mountain-bikes/item/giant-reign-2-27-5

or damn...

http://www.thepathbikeshop.com/sales/clearance/mountain-bikes/item/kona-process-134

dope...

http://www.thepathbikeshop.com/sales/clearance/mountain-bikes/item/santa-cruz-cc-tallboy-xt



go there and try some of those out. they let you demo bikes there and put it towards a purchase i think.

 

So what's the bbs consensus on 26" FS these days? I have been riding a 29er hardtail and been toying with the idea of FS. I have seen MANY folks in my area (Chattanooga, TN) still rocking the 26" FS, then found this up on CL. It was way to cheap to pass up and was owned by a guy who ran the service shop of one of the local shops for several years.

I knew nothing about John Tomac, but definitely know his son Eli, motocross stud. From what I read, Tomac was the EBR of the bicycle world. Great frame (appears to be true) and quality, just never gained a foothold. Anyway, thoughts?

 

Cool bike! I knew Tomacs dad was an avid MTB rider/racer and trained with his son. Didnt know he had his own boutique bike!

Not to many OEMs are kicking cross country bikes out in 26" these day... mostly DH or jumpers. Some guys are putting 27.5s on 26er frames with success. Otherwise that looks like a fun bike to pedal. Maybe a dropper post is the only addition Id make!

 

Word is some companies will be out of 26 in 2 years time. Hard to believe. Tomac was way bigger than the ebr of mtb. He did frames at the end of the piece.

 

I just bought a Stance 1 FS. I have ridden it to my neighbors and back a few times (about 300 yds). I hope it ends up working out. I got a really good deal on it so we shall see.

 

I didn't either! And turns out it was actually pretty big. I think he was making frames, etc beginning in maybe mid to late 90's all the way through 2011.

I think I will have a good time one it. I got it out on a couple different of the local places and it definitely doesn't have the outright flat ground and climbing speed of the 29er. It still climbs well, just not as fast. But once the ground turns down, the size difference goes away. PLENTY of downhill speed and this things freaking rails for sure. I think it will be all around more fun than the 29er HT. Maybe not faster, but more fun.

You're right. It was really the best analogy I could think of at the moment . I guess I get the 26" going out, especially with the 27.5 becoming big. The 29er is not for everyone, but the 27.5 will effectively remove 26. Sad.

 

Pulled the pin on this: http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222396239/916/Salsa-2015-Beargrease-2.html Picking it up tomorrow.

Gordon

 

Nice fatty.

I recently decided to upgrade my existing 29er HT (Focus Raven), after riding quite a bit lately. Upgrading all the components, going to a 1x11 setup, lighter wheels, tubeless, etc. Might even swap out the forks.