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any mountain bikers out there

Thanks…I should ride it more than I do. I have been doing more XC trail riding since moving to RI from CA. Riding on the road here is very different. In CA, drivers were very tolerant of cyclists; the roads were smooth and always had a bike lane. Clubs were also plentiful.

You must not be from L.A. The San Gabriel Valley here, is the mecca of dumbass drivers.
 
Hell come to Colorado, the women will try to keep up with you and try to do you in on the climb and the downhill, such a marvelous thing. Any guy that wants a June Cleaver deserves what he gets now a days, equality is a beautiful thing,,,LOL. Last thing is for them to register for the draft, all in then.
 
Just got a bike entry level Trek Series 3 3900 have not rode it more than a mile and already looking to up grade My LBS is a Trek guy
so Trek is easiest to come by in my parts like the way that Giant looks above.
 
I definitely know my specalized hard rock is not the limiting factor in my riding abilities... It's just my lack of coordination not my equipment! My family finds me crazy when I come home all beat up from a ride and my bike in perfect condition... They don't understand my body heals itself an my bike requires more money for repairs!
 
I road alot of downhill trails when I lived in seattle. I had a kona stinky deluxe with marzocchi junior t triple clamp. Now I live in flat mn. I ride a cannondale chase dirt jumper now. Getting too old for the free ride thing but still hit some trails now and then. At least when im not pulling a trailer with a kid in it lol.

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Single speed works good around here.
 

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Just wanted to show off my new mountain bike...I saved lots of pennies for this one as well as selling my old ride. It's a Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon. This pic was taken last fall on it's inaugural ride. it's also my first bike with 29" wheels which I love. I live in Asheville, NC and mountain biking is my favorite form of exercise. When I first started riding 12 years ago, I could barely ride a few miles on the easy trails, now it's no problem for me to climb for an hour just so I can enjoy 15 - 20 minutes of fast singletrack downhill. Other than during winter, I try to get out about 3 times a week. I'm not hard core like many in Western NC, but it gets me outside and keeps me in shape.
 
Just wanted to show off my new mountain bike...I saved lots of pennies for this one as well as selling my old ride. It's a Santa Cruz Tallboy LT Carbon. This pic was taken last fall on it's inaugural ride. it's also my first bike with 29" wheels which I love. I live in Asheville, NC and mountain biking is my favorite form of exercise. When I first started riding 12 years ago, I could barely ride a few miles on the easy trails, now it's no problem for me to climb for an hour just so I can enjoy 15 - 20 minutes of fast singletrack downhill. Other than during winter, I try to get out about 3 times a week. I'm not hard core like many in Western NC, but it gets me outside and keeps me in shape.

That's a bad ass bike.

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batex, very sweet Tallboy! I have been fighting off the temptation to get a medium travel bike like the TB LT. I am just stuck on SS. How much does that bike weigh? How does it climb?

Oh post some more pics of where you ride. I miss that area and would love to go back home to North GA and ride some!!
 
I have a Kona Satori which is a long travel 29er with all mountain ergos and I absolutely love it! it may not be best cross country but when it comes to the down hills it slays it for a 29er. My Dream bike is Transisition covert 29er!!
 
Here is a very cool video of IMO the benchmark of mountain bikes:

MOOTS SHOP - YouTube

Its a nice inside POV of the people and company. I so want to build an old school 26" Moots frame from the 90 with a rigid fork, vee brakes, and of course single speed. I have wanted a Moots since I started seriously mountain biking in 1991. One day...
 
Here is a great way to spend 30 minutes. There are some great videos out there about mountain biking, this one is kinda different for me. Most of the new stuff is all about the free riding / Enduro craze (which is fun) but I like to ride and see the country. I have always been drawn to Scotland, I think partly because of where I grew up in the hills of North Georgia and Eastern Tennessee listening to Bluegrass from day one. Bluegrass is deeply rooted in the Scottish/Celtic style of music which I also love. I think the country is beautiful in Scotland from what I have seen and I love me some good Single Malt. One day I hope to visit...

On to the Video. You can tell Hannah loves to ride and to me that's what this is all about, all you mountain bikers out there know exactly what I am talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx3PjkrRxo4
 
I also wanted to let you guys who ride more cross country style of riding know about some killer tires. I have been on Schwalbe Rocket Ron's for about a season and 1/2 now. They are on my 29" single speed, I have them set up tubeless with Stans and as of late Orange Seal. After playing with the psi I found that I have never ridden a tire that was as fast or hooks up as well. I settled on 22-23 psi up front and 25psi out back. These are 2.25" width tires front and rear and at my PSI they offer a lot of contact so traction is crazy in all sorts of conditions. Here in Maine there are a lot of rocks and roots, the soil is dark earthy not real packed but not real sticky like clay. It rains a lot so there is plenty of mud and SLICK roots. I ride hard and fast and love to rail corners. This is where these tires shine, I can push them very hard into corners and they hook up so well. Also when climbing they are just spot on. The only time I have any trouble is when climbing on slick roots, but with a single speed where you kinda have to hammer down at times any tire would slip. They also respond very good under hard breaking, it is hard to get them to break lose and when they do its only for a second and a little finesse will have them hooking up again. I was worried about durability but after untold miles on very sharp rocks I have never had one problem. I just ride them and honestly forget they are there, which is exactly what you want in a tire. I have trusted them to several endurance races (up to soloing 12 hour events) and have complete confidence in them.

These are the old 406 non=snake skin tires by the way. I have just installed a new 438 2.1" with snake skin on the rear and will give it a go tomorrow. My rear was about completely worn out after 1.5 seasons. I should of replaced it sooner but I wanted to see how long it would go. It would still be going but I have a 12 hour coming up and don't want to push my luck. Here is a few pics of the rear as of today so you can see how badly worn it is. Notice the center nobs are about gone and the side lugs are now heavily cupped out on the inside. When the side lugs wear this much they lose the ability to hold up in a hard corner and fold over on themselves but this tire was still cornering like new. Actually I could not tell there was any wear until I look at them. I am very impressed to say the least...

rear:







front (much less wear):





 
Love my Salsa Colossal! First road bike in 30 yrs, been riding Turner MTBs for last 15 years, but last year moved to flatter TX from Northeast so ended up seeking to ride on the roads which are pretty new here and with bike lanes. Steel frame with carbon fork is nice riding combo! I keep up with the all-carbon guys on the Saturday AM shop rides, not doing too bad for 53 yrs old :) Still have my 08 5-Spot, last of the 4-bar Turners. Need to go to 2-10 soon, rarely use the 3rd big front ring LOL, looks really odd at this point.
 
JBell,

How did I miss this thread... I started riding bikes as a roadie in the 80's. Discovered MTB's in the early 90's, and bought a GT Avalanche. I still have that bike... the only thing that's still stock is the frame. Lot's of XT and XTR, but very old school, so this spring I bought this:

20140914_182639.jpg

I rode it a bit on the trails here in Montana, but the moraine here beat the tar out of my old guy lower back, so it's on the chopping block and got replaced with my very first squishy:

20140903_174032.jpg

I am absolutely loving this bike and the little bit of give in the rear is giving my back a much needed break.

Thanks for starting this thread and giving us guys who have a life other than shooting ;) a chance to share.

BTW... if anyone is interested, the Scott Scale is for sale in this thread:

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/options-accessories-sale/270200-2014-scott-scale-950-hardtail-mtb-size-l-*reduced*.html

The plan is to ride the Epic in the Butte 50 in July, if my back cooperates..... wish me luck.
 
jrob, very nice bikes. Good luck with the sale of the hardtail, I sometimes wonder why I still ride a single speed hardtail. New England is VERY rooty and rocky, so your body pays the price. Like you I started riding mountain bikes in 1991 and have been hooked ever since. I try and keep this thread going and from time to time people reply, but I usually end up talking to myself HAHA.

I do a lot of long distance rides and if you train properly for them they are not that big of a deal. Chow is always the most important thing for me over a long ride, it will make you or brake you. Start training now for the 50 and you will destroy it!!
 
I also wanted to let you guys who ride more cross country style of riding know about some killer tires. I have been on Schwalbe Rocket Ron's

I have to second this about the RR's. They came OEM on my Scott in 2.1x29 and offer a *TON* of grip in every direction and are reasonably light. They do wear quick, but like JBell said... just don't look at them, they stick the same.;)

I did NOT like the price to play, however... so looking for a cheaper alternative led me to the Specialized Fast Trak. I use the S-Works up front in 2.2x29 and the Control in back in 2.0x29. They don't offer quite the rear braking of the RR's, which actually lends to a very controllable trail-braking oversteer that's very fast, but not very trail friendly, so left best for races.... but *nearly* the same cornering grip and front braking. They DO roll better... it was immediately noticeable, but the RR"s had a slightly more supple feel over roots and rocks. But at $65 and $55 they were an enormous improvement over the RR's. The only one's I could find were over $90... I still have a hard time paying that for a car tire. :mad:

Both the RR's and FT's make very fast road tires as well when they are no longer useful in the loose stuff. I rode a half-century with my wife last weekend and we averaged nearly 17 mph on our FS bikes on knobbies. :cool: No... I no longer own a road bike. :(
 
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I have heard very good things about the Specialized Control, and also a Bontrager (cant remember which model now) having great grip at a good price point. You think they were faster than the Ro-Ro? I may have to try them. I too have a hard time paying the price but they just work so well. I did find that they need a more specific PSI to be at their best as opposed to many other tires I have ran tubeless on similar bikes, but the time it takes to find the sweet spot is well worth it.

EasyGravy, nice ride!
 
Thx. I love that bike. Best hardtail Ive ever owned. 29er feels goofy for couple years. Dont like it on really tight, or techni rocky terrain. But most my riding round here is singletrack downhillish on dirt.
 
It has taken me some getting used to, but now that I am I don't think I could ever go back. I am 6'1" and the 29ers are about the perfect XC tire size for my height.
 
I have heard very good things about the Specialized Control

Specialized branding can be a bit confusing. I'm using the Fast Traks... they also make a Ground Control.... BOTH are available in a Control casing (thicker, more resilient, a little heavier) and a S-Works casing (light, supple, but sidewalls are vulnerable). Fast Tracks are their all-conditions XC race tire. the Ground Controls are more on the end of the scale. Bigger, more aggressive knobs. Still a fairly fast tire, but not in the same class as the RR's and FT's.

You think they were faster than the Ro-Ro?

I do. I really do. They roll/coast faster and I nothice it topping out a climb, spinning up rpm. It's little things, but I think the FT's ARE faster.
 
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