Mountain Bikes!

Also, Bosch CX motor for 4 grand is awesome. If everything else checks out for you, I would have no issues with that one at all.

 

Nice! Cool color way.

 

Yeah I think it's a solid deal. I was saving for a 125, but I think long-term I'll be happy I spent the cash so my dad can ride with me.

 

Damn, Canyon is fast. I ordered the 20th, and it's out for delivery now. Won't have any real riding impressions for a bit though. Broken wrist is still tender. I'll try and get a light pedal in next week though.

 

I got my Strive frame really fast as well, was happy with the purchase process.

 

i don't understand...





jk jk... well sorta, but also this is why all my joints feel like rickety bags of loose change. so don't listen to me.

 

Delivery guys just left. Very nice and professional. Took the time to help me get it out of the box to inspect before signing etc. Bike is beautiful in person. Shipped with upgraded tires too, which was a nice surprise. Saves me 200 bucks off the bat.

 

I still LOVE my Canyon Strive... ride it more than my FSi now.

 

Picked up a leftover '23 switchblade xt pro for almost half off. Little different from a trek with 100mm of travel

 

I’ve seen a few places with DEEP discounts but not in a medium for my son. Seems the bike world overproduced a bit after the surge in 20 and 21. Anybody got a good honey hole for a descent hard tail?

My oldest has been riding more lately and I’d feel like a POS dad if I bought some new carbon wheels for my bike while he rides the junk he’s on. I’d like to get something with a good frame that will last or if he really gets going it might be something worth upgrading. A 1X drivetrain and a dropper would be awesome but not really necessary just yet. What am I missing? I’m thinking about $1,000-$1,500 price range…whatchya got?

Also, I can’t work on bikes for shit. If I go with a direct to consumer brand like Canyon I’ve heard of shops refusing to work on them. Anybody experienceof this? We are in San Antonio, I imagine one shop would take the service.

 

The bike shop not servicing Canyon thing hasn't been true for most shops for a while from what I hear. Most shops aren't really in a position to turn away business. Canyon has some goofy standards that can make them tough to work on without the right parts, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker for most shops.

 

Any recommendations for an affordable stand? Since I’m not making money running a bike shop I don’t feel like a $400 Park Tools stand is the way to go. I’d be using it mostly to wash the bike and really light maintenance.


https://www.amazon.com/Bikehand-Mec...2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
This one has close to 11,000 reviews and a 4.7 rating for $100. Am I missing something. Am I supporting the Chineseum knockoff?

 

In reality, those Amazon stands work fine for home use. They do wear faster, so if you tend to use it more frequently than normal you will find it might not keep the height or angle as long as it used to, the jaw clamp might get floppy. And you also need to make sure you don't let that clamp-style jaw too tightly. But you generally have to use them a LOT to get them to that point. I see plenty of those style at events, and have used them in the past.
I use Feedback Sports stands, they are solid under repeated use and stay where you set them. I like their spin jaw much better. It's fast and pretty much impossible to over-clamp.
The sport model is double that Amazon cost, but it will last forever. https://feedbacksports.com/collecti...anic-bike-repair-stand?variant=44723511558442

 

That looks almost exactly like the one I got a few years ago. The little tray is magnetic which is nice, but it is a bit of a pain when storing.

The stand overall has been great for my basic home usage. I fully disassembled my Strive for RideWrap and with the adjustability the stand has it made it much easier, instead of crawling all around upside down etc I just spun the bike different ways in the stand. The height adjustment is nice too.

The clamp doesn't fit so well on the Strive frame, but fits my FSi frame now issue, and being carbon you gotta be careful with that anyway, but on the seat posts it works well.

To be honest, its been a very very good stand and does everything I've needed from it with ease.

Actually - I just logged in... It is the same one. I bought it April 8, 2021.

 

Ive had that one for at least 5 years. its better than a base park tools one.

 

Funny you posted this. I bought a similar one to this last year and it has worked great. I snapped one of the plastic collars this week putting too much force into the QR - don't do that.

I just got an eMTB and even though I'm under the 65 lb limit of the stand, I don't think I'd leave it on the stand unattended for any long period of time.

But for my normal bikes, it's been a solid stand and folds up nicely. It's available a little cheaper from a different company on Amazon. I paid $90 yesterday when I ordered a new one. Put a set of latex gloves over the clamps - helps with grip.

 

I've had this one for four years. It's not rock solid stable, but it's perfectly fine. Though I did finally bite the bullet and get a Park Tool once I got the ebike. I rotate the bike up/down while bleeding the brakes and the Bike Hand one couldn't do that with the weight of an ebike on it without getting really unstable. I still have it though as something is always on a stand and it's lighter for taking outside for wash duty. Definitely feel I got my money's worth out of it and if it broke tomorrow, I would buy another one.

 

Yeah you need a legit stand for an e-bike. I had the second step up park stand but it wouldn't even hold it that well. I have a Topeak now that is the 3 legged folding type and it's been solid. Someday I'll just get a shop quality stand, those are by far the best.

 

If you're looking for a hard-tail, my friend just picked up a Kona at over 50% off MSRP. I have a Cannondale Scalpel HT and really like it if that helps. Not sure if they are on sale, but the "value" is there if you're looking for a low-cost light-weight xc bike.

 

So I took the new Moterra eMTB out today after setting it up tubeless yesterday (compressor makes a world of difference with that).

It's definitely different. Being able to just go into turbo mode to shuttle myself up the fire road was pretty awesome. It also feels more tiring upper body wise as it's noticeably more weight to move around.

Bike ran great and I was pleasantly surprised by the suspension. I had it dialed in apart from maybe some rebound.

I definitely don't like it as much as a normal bike for the downhill but it still handled great. Definitely not as poppy as the Rascal but there's a 30 lb weight difference between the two.

What SUCKED was I got a bit off balance in a techy section that gives me no trouble on the normal bike and gouged the shit out of the right fork lower.

I told myself I'm not riding it again until my dad shows up because, knowing me, I'll bust a wheel right before he arrives.

Definitely wouldn't be my main ride, but it's a nice option to have in the fleet for when I'm tired or don't have a ton of time available.