Mountain Bike - Hard tail

Just a personal opinion here so take it with a grain of salt. At 57 and with no desire to race or take it to the absolute limit you would be fine with anything between a 26 and a 29. Because I am cheap, if it was me buying one I would probably look for a higher end 26 that someone is getting rid of for cheap because they "need" a 29. IMO, the wheel size is more about successful marketing and less about need for 95% of the people buying bikes.

You probably couldnt go too far wrong with the KHS though.

 

Agree with your thinking. Even though I like new stuff I will look around at used before I buy, since I'm not in a hurry. Thanks!

Here is a used one local to me: http://greenville.craigslist.org/bik/4657373510.html

 

N Ga, theres also Stanley Gap(aka Rich Mtn) and Flat Creek(its not flat). Can be ridden together as a big out-and-back. Some might call it THE best trail in N Ga. At least if one likes big steep climbs that are more raw, sorta like Pisgah. Bring your legs. Seriously.

Then theres the very well known Bear Creek just above Ellijay on the edge of the Cohutta wilderness. A decent big-ish climb up to a lookout..then a tic higher to the upper trailhead. Then a big descent. Being an out-and-back(10 miles total I'd guess). Then branching off to the right of it as you go down near its bottom/ending, is the Pinhoti(called by most as Pinhoti section 1, or P1 for short). After a big steep climb and descent..and another bigger climb and even bigger descent..and yet another climb back out again(6 miles?)..then hit Pinhoti 2, which is close by. After another 5 awesome miles, then hit Pinhoti 3, which climbs up to the top of Fort Mtn. All 3 have some big climbs. P3 has the most, but P1 is a mofo too. P3 as an in-out, would be another 10 miles total. P2 altho not mentioned much, has a long easy-ish climb at first, then a long awesome descent. Some call it arguably the best descent of all 3 sections.

Theres P4 and P5 just beyond, but thats for later on and not as much trail mileage anyway. Enjoy.

Then if you want some serious rocky mofo technical, hit the Snake Creek Gap section on the Pinhoti. Its just west of 75 and Dalton. Each yr theres a big race there. Its a time trail format, where you race once in Jan, Feb, and March. Taking your fastest time. Theres a 34 mile, and 17 mile version. I won the 17 mile 50+ Open age group class a few yrs ago. Tough race. Its miles and miles..and more miles, of this...

 

I agree as well. I started on a 26" hardtail, then got a 29" hardtail, and just got my first FS 27.5" (Giant Trance 27.5 1).

I can tell a difference between each of them...but just barely. The rollin of the 26" vs. 29" is the biggest.

I ride mostly Bent Creek, which are the 'easy' trails around here

 

What's being said about 27.5 and 29ers is that 27.5 will be better for XXS, XS,and Small Frames and 29er for Med, LG, XL and XXL Frames. Would stay away from a 26er. Just my .02.

 

The XXS, XS and S frames being more suitable for 27.5 wheel sizes is basically a toe overlap issue.

 

I rode a Black Sheep 36'er this weekend, the owner didn't warn me about the toe overlap issue, almost binned it when I turned. Use to having the crank arms at 3 and 9 when cornering, with that beast you had to have the crank arm on the back when you wanted to turn that direction. Was a neat novelty.

 

race cyclocross, that'll break you of that habit quick.

 

i installed a 150mm KS Lev this spring and it was a game changer for me!

I started off with a Raceface 32 n/w and a 11-42 wolftooth rear with Sram cassette & chain this spring. At first, the 32t cr was a little too tall, but after about 6 weeks, i'd adapted. i put about 1000 miles on it and wore out the wolf tooth cog, breaking a couple of teeth. i only had enough $ to replace the cassette & chain, so i did that and was surprised that I no longer needed the 42t bailout gear on most climbs. i'm tempted to go with a 34t Chainring when i replace it in the spring- I'm almost due for another cassette & chain and am wondering whether to get another giant cog for winter time.

 

well shit

Got the deraileur fixed and all that. Went out on sunday, everything seemed fine. Went out tuesday night, everything was fine, UNTIL the last mile or so. was on the slight downhill back to the truck and all of a sudden was dealing with some weird chain suck issue. When I was coasting, it was like the free hub was getting stuck and the chain would get all wonky for a second, pulling the deraileur forward then it would sorta free up and snap back to normal before doing it again. So I put a different wheel on when I got home, just to be sure and everything was cool. SO it is for sure something with my hub. Its a stans 3.30 and I just had a shop replace the bearings in it like a month ago.

 

IIRC those Stan's house brand hubs are OEM'd by DT Swiss and not the most robust. Might be time for a rebuild kit with pawls, etc..

If you beat on hubs get Chris King, Hope Pro II, high end DT Swiss or Industry Nine. I fragged so many shimano XT freehub bodies that I lost track and the Shimano rep suggested Hope Pro II or Chris King.

 

Take the casset off and take a look at the "Star Ratchet". Your symptoms sound like issues I had when mine wasn't seated properly. One of the techs at my LBS said that he has seen people break them

 

If rebuilding it will fix it, i will be happy. And yes a more sturdy hub will be in order someday. I beat the shit out of everything. Its tucson, which means its super rocky. Im a big dude and on a hard tail. So yeah.

Shitty thing is, i just had that wheel built (busted spokes) and the bearings replaced.

 

well, son of a bitch. The shop has had my bike for 4 days. Finally call me today and say "yeah uhhh we are not going to fix this. Like, I mean we will, if you pay for it"

So.... the dude said the pawls and internal casing of the hub is done. SO I am gonna go pick up my bike from them tomorrow, and take it to a different shop. Im tired of them fucking around. They are a bunch of arrogant roadies and will not be getting my business any longer.

 

With your description if the original failure it's pretty obvious to me that you had an internal freehub problem. Some will do that if tightened too much and if that's not the cause it's usually shit the bed. Shop should have known to check this but the tech was lazy it seems. Roadies are not to be trusted, this is proof of that.....just saying.

Now suck it up, get out the CC and get a new rear hub....Industry Nine, Hope Pro II, DT Swiss top of the line or Chris King. If you want a rear wheel that will last and last... use your current Stans hoop (as long as it's in great shape one of the above hub options, good quality spokes and BRASS nipples (not aluminum). If you never want to say "on your left" again get the hope ProII, they're really loud!

 

dont know if anyone recalls, but got some good advice here previously and have since been pedaling my balls off for the last few months. lovin it.

so, another question for the experts: i have a RS Lyric "RSR+" fork, which i've determined is somewhat unique to my scott genius. i believe it is slightly longer travel than the standard/normal Lyric. Anywho, i noticed some oil weeping from the drive-side leg, up on top where the lockout adjuster is located. i'll note that currently the lockout doesnt appear to actually lock the fork, but that could be b/c it is not set properly (i.e. the holes on the bottom of the cartridge are not getting completely covered).

i determined that the oil weeping was actually coming from teh damper itself, between the adjuster and the body.....NOT from between the cartridge body and fork outer, which would be the case if it was simply one of the o-rings.

i'm guessing i need to replace the cartridge, but wondering:
1) anyone have experience disassembling / rebuilding the cartridge itself?
2) any thoughts on possibility this is related to the lockout not locking? ....i know, speculative, but....

hope the q is clear!

vince

 

If it's leaking out if the lockout that's a more "serious" problem, beyond seals and wipers for sure. Ive seen lockouts not work many times due to internals broken. Its not all that uncommon. Send it to Max or Shockspital, etc...

 

2015 Mountain Bike Get Together???

Guys and gals,

Seems there are a lot of present and former WERA peeps and BBS'ers who ride MTBs, I'm one of them.

I'd like to extend an invitation for a group to come out to my playground in 2015. Google "Gooseberry Mesa" and "Little Creek Mesa" for a sample of our technical mesas and Barrel Roll and/or JEM Trail for our singletrack.

The riding here is pretty spectacular and I know the area better than most.

If anyone is interested chime in.

 

I just drove through southern Utah on my way to LA a few weeks ago and it was spectacular. Bluff, UT and Zion national park being a couple of my favorite spots. If I can get my shit together by next year I'll take you up on that.

 

We're 12 miles west of Zion.