Official Mountain bike Thread!

Originally Posted by kuksul08

I went with my uncle last year and he handled it just fine, I'm sure you could do it. It had been a whole year since I rode MTB at all, and it reminded me just how sketchy and dangerous it is.

OK, I'll go. But you lead. I'm not interested in being your next GoPro super slow mo over-the-bars subject. LOL

Originally Posted by kuksul08

I have a couple friends who raced it, I could never do it. The longest stretch I did was the whole third divide to the road without stopping and it pretty much killed me. You can even see me stretching my fingers in the beginning of the vid cause it hurt so bad, and this was near the beginning.

I know that feel, bro. See my previous post about Mt Pinos. There were such long downhills on that my hands were KILLING me. I had to stop to rest them. Not my legs, or butt, or lungs. My friggin' hands. If someone had voice operated brakes, I'd have paid a pretty penny for them at that point.




Did Tour de Cure in Orange County today. This was their first year, but I think they did a pretty good job. They had some conflicts between the website and their emails about starting times for the various routes. But once we got to the starting line event this am, they did a pretty good job of telling everyone where to be when.

One route option was a combo road ride and mountain bike ride. I signed up for that, so did the 20 mile road route and 10 mile mountain bike route. I figured that would be pretty popular, but it turned out that of the few hundred riders they had today, only 1 other guy besides me opted for the combo.

Anyway, the 20 mile road ride was hilly, but well laid out and through some nice areas. It was supposed to be hot today, but we got lucky with some cloud cover and a little breeze for most of the road ride.

Took me about 2 hours to do the road ride, swapped shoes and bikes and did the mountain bike ride in a little over an hour.

The 10 mile mtb route was basically just an out-and-back on a dirt road. There was some bumpiness along the way, but nothing wild. Actually, the only hairy parts were the spots where the sand was deep and loose. Thankfully there were some good long stretches in the shade of trees, because by the time I was riding the mtb route, it had gotten HOT. The 20 mile mtb route incorporated some climbs up the ridge, some of which I rode a few weeks ago. After 2 hours on the road bike, I was glad for a cakewalk mtb ride.

The finish line event was cool, good sammiches, free six pack of some all natural 0 cal soda I've never heard of before.

I actually wasn't going to do this ride cuz it's a little over an hour drive from me. But I recently found out that my neighbor's 10ish year old son was diagnosed as diabetic. The day before his mom told me that, I had "fixed" his bike for him (meaning I put air in the tires and adjusted the brakes) and when his friend showed up later that day, I overheard him telling his friend "that guy's like the best bike rider ever". Which I'm not, but it's touching that he thinks that of me. So anyway, I decided to do the ride and make a small contribution to ADA through Tour de Cure.

In before coolstorybro.

Google Earth, note that N is to the top left corner. The uneven "V" shape on the far left is the mtb route. The road route consists of the two loops linked by the single line.


Garmin showing elevation and speed. The road route is the first 20.5ish miles, the up/down from 21 to the end is the mtb route.

Quick vid of some of the downhill portions of a new trail system in Minnesota. All of the video was first runs.

That looks like a fun place to ride, although I wouldn't get down nearly as quickly as you do. Its easier to enjoy the view of the river watching the vid than when hauling ass on the bike.

Did you fall over right at the end? LOL

What are you riding? Have you posted pics of your bike here?

Originally Posted by Xcelratr

That looks like a fun place to ride, although I wouldn't get down nearly as quickly as you do. Its easier to enjoy the view of the river watching the vid than when hauling ass on the bike.

Did you fall over right at the end? LOL

What are you riding? Have you posted pics of your bike here?

The place is awesome, unfortunately its a couple hour drive. The water is actually abandonded open pit mines. Some are hundreds of feet deep and the water is perfectly clear.

I didn't really fall, just jumped off my bike at the end of the vid.

I've never posted pics, I will have to take a couple of my bikes. The bike I'm riding in the video is a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp. I also have a Haro Sonix vl120 that's a singlespeed.

Originally Posted by Xcelratr

Where do you live?

Check out geoladders.com to find SoCal mtb trails. If you have a compatible gps bike computer, you can download turn by turn route directions from that site.

There are tons of sites similar to geoladders where you can find rides.

Good beginner ride in the Santa Monica Mountains is Westridge - Sullivan Canyon. Long steady fire road climb, fast and mostly easy singletrack descent. In north OC is Fullerton Loop. Combo of multi-use trails, dirt roads, a few surface streets and RR track beds to make a loop. A few semi-technical ascents and descents, but nothing too hairy and anything you didn't want to ride is short enough to walk the bike over.

LMK if I can help. Nice bike!

Thanks man. I do have some news though. That bike was stolen 2 weeks after I bought it. Scumbags I tell ya. So I didn't get to fully enjoy it.

This past weekend I got the 2013 Specialized Sport Disc 26, a step down from the 29. I like the color scheme and figured the profile would be lower. Although I have my hesitations, I did pick up a Kryptonite u-lock also.




I'm wondering if this truly is a good mtb bike since it's also listed as "recreational." i figured it'd work well for me as a mtb n00b.

Originally Posted by Joe Trojan

Thanks man. I do have some news though. That bike was stolen 2 weeks after I bought it. Scumbags I tell ya. So I didn't get to fully enjoy it.

This past weekend I got the 2013 Specialized Sport Disc 26, a step down from the 29. I like the color scheme and figured the profile would be lower. Although I have my hesitations, I did pick up a Kryptonite u-lock also.




I'm wondering if this truly is a good mtb bike since it's also listed as "recreational." i figured it'd work well for me as a mtb n00b.

Go out and have fun on it. Upgrade it if it breaks. Don't look into a new bike for at least a season.

This bit is from personal experience:

Just like with cars, don't hang out on mtbr too much. It's a great knowledge base, but it will make you unnecessarily unhappy with your gear, and it will in turn cost you lots of money. Bikes are about riding, and I think you've got a good one! Enjoy it, and enjoy the experiences you'll have on it.

Originally Posted by kuksul08

Did a sick MTB trip last week to Downieville in north Tahoe. Check out my vid:

Lol, you hit a Death Cookie @ 0:57 (Textbook example of the term)

Great riding through the fast stuff

Also, nice to hear the sound of the wind and the trail (glad you didn't dub music over the video)

I just bought a new bike like a month ago 2012 demo 8 !! Ill upload pics tonight!
The geometry just works only way to describe it

Originally Posted by Joe Trojan

Thanks man. I do have some news though. That bike was stolen 2 weeks after I bought it. Scumbags I tell ya. So I didn't get to fully enjoy it.

This past weekend I got the 2013 Specialized Sport Disc 26, a step down from the 29. I like the color scheme and figured the profile would be lower. Although I have my hesitations, I did pick up a Kryptonite u-lock also.




I'm wondering if this truly is a good mtb bike since it's also listed as "recreational." i figured it'd work well for me as a mtb n00b.

Total bummer about your other bike. My dumb ass left the garage open when I went to work one morning and came back to find someone alleviated me of the burden of continued ownership of my Rockadile. Scumbags indeed.

Article from Outside about bike theivery: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor....html?page=all

I second what zhp43867 said. Go ride, enjoy your bike.

Your Hardrock has an 80 mm front fork, which is not a ton of travel. So I would recommend you avoid any bomber high speed downhill stuff or really bumpy technical stuff with it. But for any kind of "normal" riding, I'm sure it will be fine.

Ride lots. Be safe. Have fun.

Originally Posted by Xcelratr

Total bummer about your other bike. My dumb ass left the garage open when I went to work one morning and came back to find someone alleviated me of the burden of continued ownership of my Rockadile. Scumbags indeed.

Article from Outside about bike theivery: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor....html?page=all

I second what zhp43867 said. Go ride, enjoy your bike.

Your Hardrock has an 80 mm front fork, which is not a ton of travel. So I would recommend you avoid any bomber high speed downhill stuff or really bumpy technical stuff with it. But for any kind of "normal" riding, I'm sure it will be fine.

Ride lots. Be safe. Have fun.

How do you like the Tora? Is it still a coil spring fork? I'm looking into a 29er that comes with the Tora after selling my (too expensive) bike.

Originally Posted by zhp43867

How do you like the Tora? Is it still a coil spring fork? I'm looking into a 29er that comes with the Tora after selling my (too expensive) bike.

Well, according to the orig spec sheet, my 2007 Rockhopper has a:

RockShox Tora 302 SL, 100mm, Mag lower, coil spring, alloy steerer, 32mm Cro-Mo stanchions, rebound adjust w/ lockout and preload adjust

It has worked just fine for me. I'm a heavy rider (200) and I don't have any trouble with bottoming it out. It seems to me to be smooth and it's now almost 5 years old and has never needed service. I've read that it's a comparatively heavy fork, and thats probably true. My bike is no featherweight, but despite the fork, it doesn't feel particularly nose-heavy to me.

There are two *s on my assessment, though. First is I don't really ride a bunch of gonzo terrain. A fairly big drop for me is something about 4 curb-heights high and a really big uphill bump is about 2 curb-heights tall. So it's not like I'm out there pushing the limits. Well, I'm pushing my limits, but probably not the bike's, lol.

Second is that most of the other bikes I've ridden have been WAY higher end bikes than mine and usually not on terrain I've ridden before. Going from my entry-level aluminum hardtail to an $8,000 carbon fiber full suspension Kashima 29er is not a great way to isolate the fork for sake of comparison.

So I like my Tora, but you've gotta take my endorsement with a grain of salt.

Went back to Mt Pinos with Cynergy the weekend of Nov 17/18.

Much smaller group this time. It was rainy, windy and cold in LA that weekend, so likely some people decided not to go.

On Saturday, that might not have been too bad a call. It was cloudy, then foggy, then misty during the day, getting cooler in the afternoon. At one point it was 38 degrees at the top of the road. Brrrr. We rode through snow on the trail at 8,300 ft in the morning. All in all, though, I think the mountain weather was actually better than LA's weather that day.

Sunday the weather was friggin perfect. Mid 50s, so it was still cool, but the sun was out most of the day, so it didn't feel that cold.

Did 2 downhill runs and 1 uphill road climb on Saturday, and then 3 downhill runs on Sunday. Had a great time, only fell twice, nothing dramatic either time.

It was interesting to me that the moisture (mostly mist and light rain) actually made the trail a little tackier and less sandy. So it was more grippy than it had been in June, when it was so sandy in spots that it was harder to ride.

Rode a BMC TrailFox TF02 for both days this time. When I posted in June, I thought it was all aluminum. Turns out it's a CF frame with aluminum stays. Really enjoyed the bike, it felt very capable and predictable from my rookie perspective.

Both days, some of the more expert riders in the group went to Mt Abel, which apparently has some bomber trail. I like to keep my neck intact, so I stayed at Pinos both days.

This past weekend, I rode at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, NV. Was with my dad, so we rode up a fire road and down a trail called Girl Scout. The trail is rated a 3 and the road didn't look that steep. But it was a hard damn ride. The buzz is that Bootleg Canyon is one of the best mtb spots anywhere. I doubt very much I'll be tackling any of the harder trails there, so I'll just have to take everyone else's word for it.




For the Pinos trip, I bought Novara leg warmers from REI. They're super comfy, but they won't stay up unless I stay in the saddle (keeps the knees bent, I guess). Every damn time I got up out of the saddle, they'd start to fall down. I tried the tops of the warmers inside and outside of the liner of the shorts, it made no difference.

I'm going to take them back to REI, but wonder if anyone else has used leg warmers that are great about staying up?

I haven't seen the whole thing yet. My LBS did a screening night but I couldn't make it.

Looks awesome, though. Wonder if those guys have special saddles to accommodate the size and composition of their nuts.

My dad has a 5ish y/o Trek aluminum hardtail. Came with Bontrager tires that are pretty knobby. It's time to replace them.

After considering the riding he does and reading about a zillion pro and crowdsourced reviews, I ordered him a pair of Kenda Slant Six tires for Xmas.



He'll be 71 in a few months and is still fit and strong, but doesn't do any crazy riding. He rides mostly dry, high desert kind of terrain. Fire roads, railroad beds, smooth singletrack and some pavement. No jumping, no gonzo technical descents.

Anyone ridden these tires? Feedback on them?

The small block 8 tires are nice also

I looked at the SB8, but the reviews and marketing propaganda made it seem that the S6 would be a little more capable in looser, sandier stuff. Not as good as the Nevegal, but better than the SB8.

He rides mostly in southern Nevada. So it's pretty much always dry. Mud isn't really much of an issue, but it does get a little sandy sometimes.

Have you ridden the SB8 and if so, what kind of terrain/conditions?

SB8 is fantastic on hard packed dirt and mild loose terrain. But its horrible in anything wet. Its also an extremely light tire.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Bimmer App

Rest in Peace to a fellow XC racer and great talent. I watched him fight hard in races last season, as well as the Olympics.

Be careful out there guys

South African cross-country racer Burry Stander was killed Thursday while training in his native South Africa.

According to reports, Stander, who rode to a fifth-place finish in the London Olympic Games, was struck by a taxi near Shelly Beach and died from his injuries.

Stander, 25, was the 2009 U23 cross-country world champion and won the fifth round of the 2012 World Cup in Windham, New York.


Stander won the overall at the Absa Cape Epic in 2011 and 2012 with partner Christoph Sauser..

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/...dium=whats-hot

Damn, that sucks. Car/bike collisions are rarely good news for the bike.

Doubly sad because he was so young. +1 on the be careful bit.

Originally Posted by Xcelratr

I haven't seen the whole thing yet. My LBS did a screening night but I couldn't make it.

Looks awesome, though. Wonder if those guys have special saddles to accommodate the size and composition of their nuts.

Just ordered this.... looks good!