Official MTB / Mountain Biking Chit Chat

[JeremyH]

That's completely understandable. Sometimes my time is worth more than my money....sometimes not.

[hpiguy]

Exactly Jeremy. Hell, I haven't even worked on anything RC in months now, and even the motorcycles take all my chi to get motivated to turn wrenches.

[Natedog]

I've reached the point in life, where I can fix almost all my car problems except rebuilding automatic transmissions...but I don't want to do that anymore. I just want to get in, turn the key and drive.

[twisted]

anyone into 29+ bikes?

[gdb85]

A few guys in the group I ride with weekly are into the 29+ bikes. We have a Krampus a Stache 9 and one fella just got a LENZ full suspension 29+.

I think they're great for taller riders, like over 6' 1" and up. I'm 5'11 1/2", 6' if I stand up straight, lol. I had a Stache 9 for a 4 day test ride and it just felt a little tall to me. The guys that ride them swear by them, personal preference I guess.

[twisted]

Originally Posted by gdb85

A few guys in the group I ride with weekly are into the 29+ bikes. We have a Krampus a Stache 9 and one fella just got a LENZ full suspension 29+.

I think they're great for taller riders, like over 6' 1" and up. I'm 5'11 1/2", 6' if I stand up straight, lol. I had a Stache 9 for a 4 day test ride and it just felt a little tall to me. The guys that ride them swear by them, personal preference I guess.

i bought a Gravity 29+ from bikes direct to see how they felt. I like mine. It does feel a little tall (im 5'7") but the geomitry on this bike is real nice. I am currently putting a wingbar and a kore stem on it.

[canadianbacon]

Originally Posted by gdb85

A few guys in the group I ride with weekly are into the 29+ bikes. We have a Krampus a Stache 9 and one fella just got a LENZ full suspension 29+.

I think they're great for taller riders, like over 6' 1" and up. I'm 5'11 1/2", 6' if I stand up straight, lol. I had a Stache 9 for a 4 day test ride and it just felt a little tall to me. The guys that ride them swear by them, personal preference I guess.

29er felt too tall for me as well, 650b is perfect. I'm also 6'1". It also helps getting a bike sized for you, and setting it up. I finally found the perfect seat height for me where I don't hurt my groin anymore, but can go for distance.

[Natedog]

I'm 6'2" sold my 26" bikes and ride 29ers exclusively for years now. If I was doing tricks and stunt maybe 26". 27.5" (aka 650b) is a great wheel size for shorter riders or those who don't like 29er. Any change take time to get used to and need to give it more than one ride to know. Each wheel size requires different riding style.

Edit: gotta get properly sized and fitted on every bike!!!

Canadianbacon glad to hear about fixing your saddle problem! Saddle too high and what?

[gdb85]

I hear what you're saying Natedog, but the 29+ tires are even taller than the normal 29er and give a little different ride. The guys that have'em love'em. They say if a 29er rolls over stuff good the 29+ is even better. Larger circumference, wider contact patch, the whole bigger is better thing.

I agree that the right size frame, stem length, saddle height, bars ,all factor in the bike feeling good and being the most efficient for each rider.

I know I'm diggin' the poop out of my FSR 6fattie. Wouldn't trade it for anything right now. Ride on my friends!

[Natedog]

Oops sorry, not 29er+. Regular 29er for me, I should read closely. . I don't care for the fat bike look and don't have a need for it, ride what works for you.

[twisted]

This is my 29+ in stock trim. I am currently changing the bar and stem. Shorter 50mm Kore stem and a DMR braced Wingbar.

[canadianbacon]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Edit: gotta get properly sized and fitted on every bike!!!

Canadianbacon glad to hear about fixing your saddle problem! Saddle too high and what?

Yeah, and it was only off a mm's, but it was enough that I was having to stretch on the down stroke and it was causing issues.

[johnnyh66]

Finally got the fatbike out... I just finished up a month of pretty much just working and sleeping and finally got a break. I took the fatbike out 2 days in a row, it is so much fun!

[ped453]

hi guys,
Just want to share our recent trip with you guys. I live in a fairly flat landscape, so coming to this part of our province is sort of freeride and downhill paradise. There is also tons of bike and hiking trails. Anyway here are some pics.




found a little creek to rest and just enjoy the quiteness of the place. No cars just birds and the occasional black bear.


poison ivy is abundant in this place. Every turn on the trails they are there taunting you.

some posser pics.lol


and of course after a long day of ridin.

[Natedog]

Patrick, Awesome looking trip!

[ped453]

Thanks Nate. We always try to have at least a couple of days out of the year mountain biking/hiking trip just for the boys. Got to give it to one of the guys, he's got balls. We went downhill topping around 42mph on a semi loose dirt road on a 29er hardtail with 80mm of travel and short bars and clipless. I personally would die.lol

Next year we are crossing the border to go to Maah Daah Hey Trail. 144 miles of non motorized single track trails. Borders of North and South Dakota. This one is on our bucket list.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ma...D4EQ8gEIgQEwDg

[OTHGbronco82]

I want to ride again damn it! Stupid ankle, why you no heal faster?

[Shoei1]

I would really like to get a new bike because right now Im out riding my current 2010 Santa Cruz Superlight. Its a great bike and was when I weighed 160lbs and being a bit heavier and I am really preferring the enduro style of riding so I want something I wont be afraid of breaking in half. What I would really like is a Santa Cruz Nomad but that is a bit out of my price range. So I have come to the Commencal Meta SX which the specs are pretty much where I wanna be. So what do you all think? Is there another bike I may have missed?

COMMENCAL 2017 | META SX V3 650B BLACK 2017

[hpiguy]

I think that unless you're riding some really, really gnarly stuff all the time, and really crushing the descents and jumps, it's overkill for 90% of the riders out there for a trail bike. I was the same as you, I thought "Well, I'm a big dude, and I need a big bike to take what I'm going to put it through." In my head, that sounds awesome, and I had epic visions of hucking huge gaps, rock drops, you name it. So I really need a lot of travel, and a big burly bike to do all that stuff. So I went to some demo days, and it turns out those long travel burly bikes pedal and climb like, well, big burly squishy long travel bikes.

In reality, I'm a 41 year old hack of a mountain biker who might get four feet off the ground on occasion. So in the end, a well specced 130F/120R trail bike is what I fell in love with at a demo, and it's what I ordered. I did some suspension tuning, namely volume spacers, and it's never once let me down, nor does it feel like super overkill on tamer terrain (it's my only MTB with gears).

I'm not saying this is all applicable to you, just in general I feel like I see a lot of people huffing and puffing around on way too much bike for the stuff they ride the majority of the time. We have about a 75/25 ratio (by time it takes to cover the distance) of climbing vs descending where I live also, and that definitely played into it.

I also highly recommend you demo anything you're interested in, I almost ordered a bike without riding it. Turns out I didn't care for it at all when I went to one of the demo days. Also, I would try really hard to get something that you can get local support from a shop should you need warranty work, etc. Just my $.02

[gdb85]

I highly recommend one the new 27.5+ bikes. They're great trail bikes, right between cross country and enduro. They are such a great bike that even "NINER" just released two models in 27.5+. NINER!

I swear by my 6fattie! Specialized has 4 models, Santa Cruz just released an aluminum version of theirs to keep the price point affordable. Trek has there new 27.5+ starting under 3,000.00

IMO the mid-fat (2.8 or 3") tires are the cat's meow. I come from a dirtbike background and most of these bikes are perfect for hardcore trail riding. Wider tires, dropper post, wide riser bars, relaxed geometry, man you just can't ask for anything better.

Gram counting cross country guys will never buy into it, old school guys will say "meh", others say it dumbs it down, makes it too easy. I say "F" that you still gots to pedal it! You may take a bit longer, just a tad to get to the top of the hill but when you get there they better get out of the way. Anything that makes a rider more confident and feeling smooth on a bike is a no brainer. Trust me, demo a 27.5+ bike, I mean a real demo, on some trails in the saddle for a while and you'll want one.

OK I'm done spewing my opinion on everyone, lol. I'm just passionate about MTBing. Got to get ready for our weekly Wed night ride!

One more thing...as long as your riding it don't matter what it is...