Mountain Bike - Hard tail

We did two elk trail in Vail Saturday with the altitudebicycles.com dudes on the latest Stumpjumper FSR. 2 mile hike from hell followed by a 9 mile long decent. It was sick

 

I just sold my Specialized Epic World Cup and bought a CRF150... couldnt be happier. I still have the HT SS.

 

Bear creek was fun, It's a two way trail and around the point where the tree is I ran into a family of 5. Almost mowed down a three year old girl she was ran right in my path. I was mobbing on my nomad. At the bottom almost to the parking I took a right and rode that a few miles then came back down. Tucked the front on a corner and nearly went off a huge ass cliff. Forgot the front was locked out.

I don't think I would go back unless I had a few guys and we shuttled bear creek.

I recently went to Washington and Oregon and broke myself the fuck off. Downhill out there is another ball game. Broken hand and my ribs still hurt from 10 weeks ago. I'll post up some pics later.

 

Used to do an grass roots outlaw race (started as a yrly birthday ride for locals) there around Bear Creek. We'd start over at Windy Gap trail head way west from there tho (trails more for the motorcycles)..climb it to Milma and over to Tibbs...climb Tibbs up to the FS rd way up high...ride all the way over to Mountain Creek trail..ride it down to the pavement below Bear Creek....up Bear Creek and then the FS rd up to the top again...then over to Windy Gap and down it. =Fire Water 50 (miler). Took about 4.5 hours.

 

Right after busting my ribs and hand on thrillium in Washington. Awesome awesome 2k elevation in 1.8 miles. Huge jump runs.
Backyard in Washington
Post Canyon Oregon.
Sandy ridge oregon
Silverstone Washington. Crazy ride rode down those mountains got picked up 30 miles away no cell service or maps it was a battle

 

Not intended to thread jack but if anyone is interested in a FS 26" that's in great shape, check mine out. I think it's priced pretty fairly, would be happy to split shipping with a forum member. PM me for any additional info. Thanks

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2077919/

 

NI

Nice bike--Ive been riding a Mojo HD3 for the past 9 months--awesome bike. I balked at getting the CF 40mm rims--but super glad I did

 

What did you think of the Following?
I currently have a 5010 and wanting to spend some time on the Evil.

 

The Following is heavy and not a super efficient pedaler. The bike is cool as hell looking and it definitely has some advantages on descending over a typical DW rear bike.

I love my Ripley and now that I live in Asheville I can't think of a better bike that is as fun going up and handles all the super fun gnar going down that Pisgah offers me . The only trail I wish I had a bit more bike is Farlow or for going to a Bailey Mountain Bike Park.

 

I almost bought an HD3 when Ibis was having special this summer to cover having a spare bike duties as well as having a more capable bike for Bike Parks.

I am digging wide rims as well, although I am a lot less baller with Easton Arc 30's. I just ordered some new 2.4 WT Minions to mount up on them, and a 2.5WT Shorty for the front for when it gets real nasty this winter

 

Popping this to the top. Season is almost here and I figured its time to retire my 02 Fuel 80 and jump into something new.

Picked this up for a great price today! The fork seems a little bouncy, but other than that its ready to go. I already put some bar ends on and my SPDs (not pictured).

2016 Orbea Alma 29er

 

Guess its too early for mtn biking lol...

Anyway took it out for about 4mi ride yesterday and WOW was I stuck in the stone age! What a difference in every single aspect. The brakes - Amazing. The acceleration and climbing - Amazing. Shifting was about the same, but the ratios are sooooo different. I used to ride in the top 4-5 rear rings only, with this thing I was in the bottom half of the cogset the whole time, even on climbs!

The fork leaves a lot to be desired. My old Minute:1 is much smoother and quieter. I may be looking for a Fox soon

 

is it an air fork? Did you try turning any knobs?

 

My local trail was open for about 6 hours today.

Finally dry enough after weeks of melting and rain, and then it rained this afternoon.

The only local (snow) rides that haven't been cancelled are gravel grinders. I have 2 coming up.

 

Oh yeah I tried it all. I ended up on preload all the way out (basically no preload), and rebound on fastest, and I still was disappointed. Its a RockShox XC30, so mid-grade shock at best. Coil/Oil setup best I can tell.

My old bike has an air/oil/coil fork so it was really nice, espeically with the SPV.

 

Yes coil forks are pretty disappointing these days.... I would recommend and Manitou Marvel Pro as an excellent replacement at a great price. I have an entry level hardtail that I built up (Airborne Guardian 29er). The stock fork was a coil spring XC30 (same as yours I think). Definitely flexy. The only original part to the bike now (aside from the frame obvisouly) is the seatpost. Every other piece has been upgraded and I am very happy with that fork. I didn;t want to shell out $500+ for a Reba or Fox equivalent and feel this is just as good, and some reviews prefer its damping better.

It's full on riding season here in Tennessee. Taking 1/2 day this Friday to go for a longer ide at a local trail. with two kids under 2, I don't get a lot of time, even on the weekends. Luckily I get 6 weeks vacay at work, so this year will be a lot of day off riding trips!

 

Alright - i need advice from the veteran cyclists...

I can't tell whether I'm in decent shape or not, and race season starts in 3 weeks. This winter has sucked for riding. Nothing was frozen long enough to get any time in on the trails. I have been stuck on the spin bike at my gym twice a week, and trying my best to put in 20 miles (or more) on the road on weekends. I've done hill repeats on the weekend rides where I don't have time to go 20 miles on a fat tire bike.

I've been doing interval training on the spin bike (which sucks) and then an out-and-back route on the road. Strava says i'm getting faster every time. Not in every segment, but my average speed is increasing even as I push my turnaround point further from home.

I also did a 42 mile "gravel grinder" with some varying terrain that included a soupy mess of shit. That was actually fun, because I was able to catch and pass some people who were on CX bikes, and had been leaving me for dead on the hard-packed down-hill sections.

Is it too soon to enter a race? It will be a blow to my ego if I'm dead last, but I want to see how I stack up against people who fancy themselves as competitors. Should I focus on training more instead? The race coming up on 4/22/17 is an 8-mile race for the novices, but 24 mile loop for the sport and expert riders. Because the race was rained out and rescheduled, there is also a group ride scheduled to start an hour after the race starts. That would be the full 24 mile loop.

the next race on my radar is a 3-hour endurance event, with a fat tire division. That will be a real test, because I won't be able to use the bike as any kind of excuse :P

 

Lol, our season is gonna start winding down soon for most riders. Gonna be too hot real soon. Night ride season is coming! Gotta get my light charged up. And haul ass to stay ahead of the Mosquitos... Yay Florida.

 

What level do you race at? Sounds to me like you've done a decent job preparing. I don't think you'll be disappointed with your result. Get out there, let 'er rip and have some fun.

 

^^ What he said.... You're definitely ready for a race and there will surely be someone there coming in last that isn't you. Not everyone that does a race is a "racer". I'd say more are weekend warriors, etc. that are just doing it for the environment and fun. Also, it's another way to challenge yourself and body that isn't just against your own strava times.

I'm am very much a weekend warrior. I ride one weeknight every now and then, but it's pretty much one ride every weekend is all. I have two kids at 2 and 7 months, so that's all the time I have. I did a race last year at 25 miles and 2800ft of elevation. It was the baby version of the 50 miler that was alongside the 25. My age group was 19-49 and had 40 people in it. I finished 4th. Never thought that was even a possibility. Do the race and have a blast! My first of the year is coming up the week after yours on 4/29