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Mountain Bike - Hard tail

Discussion in 'General' started by Game, Jun 8, 2011.

  1. rob748

    rob748 Well-Known Member

    niner

    the xt build kit looks good but its $$$ for a hard tail,and its a very steep head tube.
    where in ohio you riding ?
    if you riding the same trail a lot what about a single speed, its a a lot fun.
    not a 29 fan but l get the idea and it makes sense for a HT, but since riding a 27.5 bike l dont see me going back to 26 unless its a gravity bike
     
  2. Lizard 1

    Lizard 1 Well-Known Member

    I have a chance to buy a Scott 700 which is the 27.5. I don't think I am a single speed guy... If I rode more I would consider. But we have a nice trail system here that I think the HT will be better...

    From what I have read on the Air Carbon, it is well received though. Not sure about the steering angle... I'll have to scope out info on that.
     
  3. used2Bfast

    used2Bfast Still healing

    Nope. No bell found..at least I think. Some reflectors were in a plastic bag. Didn't look in it too close tho. Just thru it away.

    I still have all my 26" bikes(5). All pretty high end builds:(. Oh well.

    Swapped around the brakes today so its moto style(right hand front brake). And otherwise fine tuned it up.

    Rode it again this afternoon at Tsali(its only 10 miles away). Its absolutely a total blast to ride. Handles great. Rails corners. Stable thru any rocky/rooty tech. Fast. The carbon HT soaks up a chit ton of trail noise and hits that my carbon rr chain stayed 26" just slams the chit out of me while knocking teh bike somewhat off line. Couldn't be happier.

    Here it is again today enjoying the Mouse Lookout view towards the Smokys.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. rob748

    rob748 Well-Known Member

    looks like a nice bike, but for ohio maybe stick with a hardtail, less to go wrong or maintain.

    that 9 HT looks very XC/race, l prefer a more relaxed ride with slacker head angle and shorter stem. a lot bikes going away from that xc race position.

    have a look at the Devinci troy, good frame and fork for the $$

    you riding Mohican ?

    try a bike with a dropper post on it, its makes tech trails so much better
     
  5. Gigantic

    Gigantic Maverick Moto Media

    Angry Single Speeder wrote a great diatribe in praise of primitive trails: http://reviews.mtbr.com/the-angry-singlespeeder-we-need-primitive-trails

    In some ways, we're lucky here in Philadelphia not to have a functioning IMBA chapter. 2 of our 3 local city trails, Wissahickon and Belmont, are relatively gnarly and primitive. Wiss is 20+ miles & 3500 feet of trails ranging from technical rock gardens, both up and down, lots of roots and forested flow sections; although, since it's a multi use trail, it's gotten dumbed down in recent years, but it is still a solid intermediate trail, with several expert only sections.

    Belmont, it is very technical and not even remotely beginner friendly. There's not a whole lot of elevation, but what is there, tends to be challenging. The trail system might be best regarded as deliberately primitive. A casual look at the trails might suggest that they're barely maintained, but nearly every log (there are a LOT) rock and other feature is there on purpose. The trails run through abandoned street car and rail right-of-ways that were built nearly a century and a half ago, and if you look carefully, you'll see historical remnants throughout the park- long disused bridge abutments, rail platforms, dry laid stone walls and and the ghosts of building foundations laid nearly 200 years ago and long abandoned. in addition to the logs and rocks, the trails are quite tight, a throwback to the clunker days when a mountain bike meant no suspension, 26" wheels, 1.95" tires and a steep, 73-71º head tube angles. it's a challenge to find the trails rhythm and go fast, but if you can, it's very rewarding. In these days where most trails, especially in public parks, are bland, IMBA-certified flow trails that are dumbed down, easy to ride, beginner friendly trails that a decent rider can ride half asleep, Belmont is a punch-you-in-the-face blast of Philly attitude.
    The attitude there, can be summed up as "if you can't ride here, maybe Belmont is not for you," which is not so much a local's only manifesto, but a challenge to HTFU and raise yourself to what the trails offer. Many riders try Belmont once and never come back, which is their loss. Personally, I hated Belmont for the first 2 years that I rode there. At the same time, I kept coming back, partly because I'm lazy and Belmont is closer to my house than Wissahickon. I also came back because the trails pissed me off- they were hard as f@¢k to ride and nothing inspires me more than a challenge. Now, Belmont is my favorite place in the city to ride. I still haven't mastered it all, but each time I ride there, I leave a better rider than before i arrived.

    I've been riding the hell out of my 9:Zero:7 fatbike- they're not just for snow... Mine's the yellow one.
    [​IMG]
    Typical Wissahickon:
    [​IMG]
    every thursday for the past 25 years, there's an underground mtb race that we affectionately refer to as MTB Fight Club:
    [​IMG]
    There are some seriously fast guys there, mostly sport, cat 1 and a couple of top-20 pro XC & superD riders. I've won my division for the past 2 races, it might be time to cat up to sport soon.
    [​IMG]
    afterwards, we grill and have :beer:
    [​IMG]
     
  6. rob748

    rob748 Well-Known Member

    pisgah

    thanks, a good read
    we are lucky we have bent creek, which 90% people ride here, its wide fast and groomed but keeps most people off the good tech trails
     
  7. Gigantic

    Gigantic Maverick Moto Media

    we've got a ton of trails in the Philly metro area within an hour's drive, ranging from buffed flow, to rocky gnar, several DH lift trails, one of which just hosted the MTB nationals, but to have tech in public parks, within a city of 1.5 million is almost unheard of; it seems the trends seem to be going the other way, everything is so buff and boring these days.
     
  8. STT-Rider

    STT-Rider Well-Known Member

    Bonnie and I are founding members of our IMBA chapter, we just don't allow Trail solutions to design or build any trails in our area. We have a unique way of dealing with trail sanitizers, we remove two valve cores from their truck/car tires and place them is a small plastic baggie with a note. Second time is all four...people pretty much don't fuck with our trails.
     
  9. Dave K

    Dave K DaveK über alles!

    If I can sell my roadie (not really trying) I'm going to look for a Santa Cruz Chameleon or maybe a Yeti 575. Can't find a 26" so 27.5 might have to do.

    I'm not allowed to add another bike without getting rid of one. :(
     
  10. STT-Rider

    STT-Rider Well-Known Member

    Me too.....just sold the Tracer 26er yesterday so i'm shopping!!!!!!
     
  11. Dave K

    Dave K DaveK über alles!

    See, I'm looking for a 26. I love my Salsa but hate that it's a 29er.
     
  12. dakh

    dakh Well-Known Member

    Look into Transition TransAm if you're considering Chameleon. Steel frame is better on a hardtail.
     
  13. used2Bfast

    used2Bfast Still healing

    But its also heavier then just about everything.

    Agree tho. Steel does have its advantages.

    Altho, a good carbon frame rides good too AND its very light(typically. but not always).

    The end
     
  14. Gigantic

    Gigantic Maverick Moto Media

    Belmont's Trail Ninja is a middle-aged african-american postal worker named Walt, who's about my size. He manages about 80% of the trail building there and is usually around somewhere in the woods when he's not at work. on several occasions, i've crashed and shouted. "goddamn logs!!!" only to hear in response from the trees "Don't you mess with them logs!" Walt rides a vintage rigid 26er and has been known to track down riders and give them a finger wagging just for skidding their rear wheels down hills or corners. :tut: All of the Belmont regulars are very protective of the trails, they even bitched when a number of 2' logs were bench cut to make the trails more rideable. because there is such a ridiculous amount of logs, roots and rocks, people generally don't modify this trail, they just ride somewhere else, which is fine by me.
     
  15. used2Bfast

    used2Bfast Still healing

    The new carbon 29r with some equally new Stans ZTR Crest wheels mounted tubeless(no rimstrips), with Conti RaceKing tires(650gms). 23lb 1oz including pedals, waterbottle bracket, heavy saddle(287gm), oem post-cranks-bars-stem, etc. Soon to be mid 22lb range.
    [​IMG]

    Saved 1lb 15oz total with the wheel swap out.
    [​IMG]

    Yesterday's 3 hour ride at Tsali.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Fontana lake overlook. Smoky mtn Park beyond it.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  16. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    eff u... usedtoB!:D Nice shots!
     
  17. Joe Morris

    Joe Morris Off The Reservation

    I want a fat tire bike. Specifically I want the Foundry Broadaxe 29'er fat tire bike. I got to ride one in Polebridge, Mt a couple weeks ago. I don't know if there are two of these builds running around but the one I rode was this exact build. The guy was part of an Adventure Cycling Association Great Divide Tour.

    The ride was sublime. The drivetrain was just about as smooth as my SS. Ergo's were great too. Now I just need to put my hands on ~$4k in disposable bicycle money.....
     
  18. crazymofo

    crazymofo Then i was like...Braaap!

    all this talk of weight wheenie-ness just made me want to put up my latest steed....

    all 27.3lbs of it, its a craftworks frame which is a small Australian company.

    hands down the best bike ive ridden. craftworks themselves describe this bike as a Downhillers training bike. so fun!

    granted I wont climb the hills the fastest, but it does ok, but as soon as the trail turns technical or anything within a sniff of gravity based.. it comes alive.

    6" travel out back, 7" up front. I use it for everything from 30km trail rides to shuttle runs on DH tracks

    saint driveline (less descendant cranks), xt brakes, rockshox cushy bits, WTB rims on saint hubs, kore/answer/Thomson/nukeproof round out the cockpit.

    just ordered some XTR rotors for it, next item on the shopping list is a dropper post (RS Reverb)



    cheers.joe
     

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  19. dakh

    dakh Well-Known Member

    Are you sure you're not confusing lbs with kilos? :) That thing is unbelievably light for the kinda components that are on it, I'd guess 32-34lbs.
     
  20. Ty

    Ty Well-Known Member

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