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There are two kinds of “bleeds” for brakes. There’s a mini-bleed (I’ve also heard it called a bubble bleed) and I tend to do that every couple-few(tm) weeks since I learned to do it. It’s not a full/true bleed; you’re really just getting air out of the system.
A full bleed I tend to do once a year, but I may do it more often than that if I keep riding as often as I do.
Mini-bleeds are fairly easy; full bleeds are more time consuming. Anyone who is unaware of how to do either can find vids from GMBN, Park Tool and even Seth’s Bike Hacks/Berm Peak all on YouTube.
@rmap01 nailed it. Go with that list.
I’d be more than happy to share my experience if it would help. I began mountain biking just on the right side of 50 . . . where I still am. I turn 51 next year.
You have a lot of people here willing to help you – myself included.
(sorry, thought I’d posted this HOURS ago.)
Awesome bike! My late friend raced a CR 250 (also 2 stroke) as a privateer back in the mid-late 80s after some time w/ Team Honda (I think that was a CR 500?)
My bad on missing the SQ2 w/o a dropper. I fully endorse having a dropper and a 1x on whatever you settle on. But TK34 is right! There’s no perfect bike; get one that fits and works for you and ride the flapjacks off the thing!
Based on what you’ve mentioned above, it sounds like the SQ2 is the best bet for you. 130mm of travel, dropper post and more aggressive geo seem to fit most of what you want. I’d put the Roscoe & Fuse 27.5 in a virtual tie for second, simply because you haven’t ridden the Fuse.
The more downhill and enduro you plan on doing, the better the SQ2 sounds for you. The more general trail/XC and mixed stuff, the Roscoe and Fuse may be better.
Granted, that’s just my take (by the way, what MC bike did you ride? Did you ever do Supercross?) and you’ll likely hear more great advice on things to check on.
You can get great deals on previous models. The 2020s are out, so the 2019s can be gotten for (relatively) cheap. Another thing to consier are your ancillary costs. Helmet, gloves, pads, ability to fix a flat, a way to carry liquids . . . I’m not sure if you’ve set aside a space in your budget for these things.
Hope this helps,
Revengel
*Go-Pro effect*
I’ll just leave this here.
INORITE???
Good point.
There was a root filled climb I started to think I’d never get. It’s right after a small creek crossing (about 1 1/2 feet wide) and it’s steep and chock full of roots. But the last time I rode that section I was able to conquer it. So that was certainly a lie I told myself.
Glad you enjoyed! I do need to work on my manual skills, however.
After watching GMBN/Seth’s Bike Hacks/Singletrack Sampler/insert youtube vid here here I can certainly add the following:
- That’s easy! I should just bunny hop that rooted section. (Goes over section, catches so little air the roots file a restraining order)
- Just Manual through that mud. I’ll be much easier! (fail so miserably, Swamp Thing asks me for my number ‘cus he thought he saw me on Tinder)
- Just look ahead down the trail! If you’ve already looked at it, you’ve pretty much cleared it! (Tried going between two trees, clipping handlebars causing a fall and transformation into a bus for crickets, spiders and inchworms)
- Hill climbs are easy! Just like Niel said, drag the rear brake and meter your power to the ground. (50+ year old legs say “@#%$%# please. Y’need all the help you can get! How’bout you get off and push for a while and not drag so much brake next time?”)
And the biggest one (for now) is
- I was an All-Star/Top Rated/Multi-Sport/Martial-Art/Whatever Accolade athlete back in (insert years normally beginning with a 19) so picking up mountain biking will be easy! I should be clearing jumps in about three weeks and be in competitive shape after six! (NOPE.)
I’d give soccer shin guards a try. An inexpensive fix (all things considered) and mine protect both ankle and shin. Just a thought.
My tremendous bad! Ok BOT
I do ride flats – Bontrager Line Pro (I did a review of them) and they are the primary reason I wear soccer shin guards.
I have a set of shin guards I wore as a goal keeper when I played for the company team. They are a fabric sock w/ hard plastic inserts at each ankle bone and a hard plastic plate over the shin. There is a dense foam for impact absorption next to the skin.
They have come in handy in a couple ways. I’ve had a pedal swing and strike my shin with no long term effect on me (sure, it didn’t feel great but my shin was fine) and the other is general protection for my shin . . . even when I’ve had to push. Allow me to explain.
With the pedals I have, those wonderful spikes that make the pedals so grippy certainly stick out. When I’ve been dog tired and have not paid close attention . . . those guards helped me when I would a) kick the pedal with my tired leg and/or run my leg through some brambles.
Many/most MTBers I’ve run into don’t wear shin guards; I can’t vouch for their experience. Me? i don’t leave home for a trail ride without them.
Sadly, I don’t have a model number I could provide.
I personally prefer having two separate pads – Knee vs. Shin – in part due to my personal needs. I don’t ride park (#IFHT) and I don’t encounter major rock gardens. As a result while I have a full body armor jacket on my wish list . . . I don’t feel the need for *my* riding. What I have for my legs covers what I feel is necessary. Knees are covered front, top, bottom and side and my shins are covered vs. pedal strikes and brambles. I have not had a pedal slap my calf as yet.
Hopefully that helps. I’ll respond as I can.
Now that I have a better feel of what you wanted (the initial post made me think this was a high school project) i should be able to help a bit more.
- I ride on average about 90 minutes per session. I’m limited more by my schedule and how much water I can carry (I’ve gone 2+ hours a couple of times) and I don’t crash that often. The trail I ride is the Seneca Greenway (in Germantown, MD) which you can find on this site.
- Adjustments: I’ve never really needed to take off/move/significantly adjust my pads during a ride. The Velcro does a great job of keeping the pads in place. After a scrape I will certainly check both pads to see if they need adjusting, but so far they’ve been great. The only thing that can happen – and anyone who’s worn Velcro near the skin can attest to this – it may snag the occasional leg hair.
- Impact protection: the few times I have been down, they’ve done a wonderful job of protecting me. They haven’t budged on impact, the straps have stayed in place and because of how large they are . . . nothing got between them and my shin guards.
Would they be more comfortable if they had more airflow? Perhaps for some, but I’m fine wearing them in the heat. I ride on the east coast in woods in temperatures in the mid-upper 90s during the summer. I wear padded shorts and (as yet) have not tried to wear these over/under any clothing. That will likely change come late fall/winter.
You may want to ask a moderator to merge the two threads. One stop shopping.
I just responded to your original string. Hopefully that helps.
I wear pads; my background comes from Motorcycles where I wore All The Gear All The Time. For Mountain Biking, here’s my list:
- Elbow pads. The pair I have are soft, comfortable and allow for plenty of movement. I’m not riding very rocky terrain, otherwise I would look at getting a set of hard elbow pads.
- Knee pads. The kind I wear are by Herobiker (I believe I did a review on Singletracks) and they are rather substantial. You may want to read my review on that to get a good breakdown. Unless I’m just riding in the parking lot w/ the family, I wear these every time.
- Shin guards. Yup, I wear my soccer shin guards for my trail rides as well. The old Addidas hard shell guards aren’t the most comfy, but they protect against brambles (I ride in the woods and the single track gets narrow here on the east coast) and pedal shin strikes. I’m first degree in TKD and used to compete, as well as playing LaCrosse and Soccer. My shins have been through enough.
- Helmet. I wear an Exclusky helmet. I’ve done a review of that as well.
It appears you’re mostly interested in the knee pads. I hope my review and response is helpful.
Greetings! Let me toss a couple things out there which I hope will help you.
Your pads need to be engineered to be the following:
- Protective. That’s the whole point.
- Non-restrictive. The best way to protect the body from a crash is to avoid one.
- Comfortable/Breathable. This comes next.
- Look cool. That’s nothing but vanity.
With that as a general guide, begin by looking at what you want to protect. What are the areas of the arm/leg/torso/etc. that need the most armor? How much protection does that need? How can I protect it? For example, for a knee we tend to focus on the kneecap. You may decide a hard shell w/ foam behind it is the way you want to protect the knee.
Once you figure out what you’re trying to protect, next think about how you can secure your armor/pad to protect that area. Following that, look at how your attachment solution impacts how a person can move her knee. That’s a hinge joint, so keep that in mind.
Now that you have the type of protection, a way to attach it and you’ve taken mobility into account, you can look at how to ventilate the area. The last part would be to make it look cool . . . but that’s subjective.
Hopefully this post will help you with your project.
I have a Trek Stache 7 (2019) with a SRAM NX Eagle shifter, deralieur and cassette (crank arms are not SRAM) and I happen to love it. It does everything I ask of it; I just clean the chain every ride or so (when I come in off a trail I clean it but if I’m just pedaling around the community w/ my kid . . . not so much.) I have a Yari front fork, so I can’t help you with the 35 from first hand experience.
However I have to ask if your concern is geared toward weight/racing or if you’re just curious. My bike is built for fun . . . not KOM or anything. I personally doubt I could tell the difference between the two while I’m pedaling through my local woods.
I’m like renehlarue. I ride a hardtail and any time I need to pedal that post goes up. When I see the slope drop ahead of me and/or Whoop sections . . . dropper down.
I’ll still do the same thing when I get a full suspension bike.
Hey there! Welcome to the forums!
Rather than cover some bike models (totally agree with adding the Roscoe on the list to look at) let me instead pick up m.krupp was writing on: Gear.
Here’s a good starter list of what you’ll want to have:
* Helmet – $30-200 dollars. Big spread, but there are tons out there. The lower end are single impact helmets and normally don’t have the MIPS system. Try on several if you can.
* Spare Inner tube – $10-15
* Small travel pump – $15-30. I have a version that can be both a tire pump and a shock pump, and can be mounted on a frame.
* Patch kit – $5
* First aid kit – you can bring some things from home and carry it with you as you ride
* Multi-tool – $12-$35. These are small things for on-the-trail repairs and adjustments. Higher end ones will often include a chain tool.
* Quick Link/Master Link – $10-$30. It a pinch, this can help repair a snapped chain.
* Bike Shorts – $25-$45. Slightly more for those that include a bike pad inside the shorts.
* Eye protection – $5-$145 bucks. Let me say this – you can get a 3 pack of orange safety glasses (Amazon Basics) for about $15 bucks. Best eyewear I’ve had out on the trail by far.
* Some way of carrying all this stuff – $15-$50. Frame straps and saddle bags can carry a lot of very small things, but a hydration pack normally has more room. Some items can attach to your frame, while others can go in your short pocket.
Hopefully I’ve given you some basic prices to help estimate what your ancillary costs will be so you can lock in on your bike price point.
Have fun!
Welcome to the forums! Hope you stay a while!
I think it’s great you have an e-bike and it’s gotten you back to what you’ve enjoyed in the past. This is one of the great things in my opinion about e-bikes and technology in general. Be that an Amazon Echo that restores the variety of music a person once listened to (as with my mother) or pedal assist that gets you back out in nature without gas and fumes . . . this is what we should strive for (personal view.)
Folks here can be mixed, but the debate is generally healthy. I think opening up the trails to those who need the assistance goes hand-in-hand with taking the grind out of climbs. I see them both as huge positives.
Care to share a picture of your new ride and your new discoveries in the wild?
I like the Matte/Flat colors that are out, but I approach this differently than what I’ve read in the string so far.
To me, the flat colors (especially Black/Dark Gray/etc.) provide a canvas to stand out against. Grabber blue pedals and matching lock-on grips. Hot Orange seats paired w/ zip ties to match. Fenders. Shoes. Shirts. Shorts. Gloves. And don’t get me started on stickers . . !
With a basic frame, you have a strong background to stand out against. I’m not suggesting there’s nothing wrong with wanting colors; I just view it differently.
Semi-related . . . anyone know where I can find stickers of Marmaduke from the old comic strip? I have a fender that needs at least one.
