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  • in reply to: Cold riding gear #85403

    Went for a night ride last night with temp in the mid 30’s, and here was my cold gear:

    – Fleece lined tights under shorts
    – Short sleeved breathable base layer, long sleeved breathable layer, then a long sleeve light fleece
    – thin balaclava (covers the head, ears, neck)
    – slightly insulated shell gloves that also cover wrists worn over my normal long fingered mtb gloves
    – regular mtb shoes with an extra pair of socks

    Toes get a little chilly, but other than that things were pretty toasty while on the single track and fire roads.

    in reply to: New chain causing problems #84759

    This is what the mighty Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance reference says about determining chain length when you have a standard, long cage derailleur:

    Wrap the chain around the biggest chainring and biggest cog without going through either derailleur, bring the chain ends together until they overlap one full link – that should be your chain length.

    in reply to: Crankarm (left) falling off…not good. #84534

    The 170 and 175 are the lengths of the crank arms. I would stick with the length you have if you have no issues with your pedal strokes. Google up crank length and you will find it is often just a user preference with some thinking it is a vital, crucial detail and others not noticing any differences. I just checked two of my mountain bikes I have in the house now, and the road bike, and they are all 175. I am 6’4", and some think taller means longer cranks. I am in the boat of not having a preference. It seems like larger bikes come with 175’s, though my sample size of three bikes is hardly statistically sound. Look at the inside of your cranks, near the bolt hole for the pedals, I bet you will see a 175 or 170 stamped in the crank arm.

    There are two different BB widths, but I do not think the cranks are specific to either, they should fit no matter what the BB size. It would be the crankbolt lengths, not the cranks themselves, that would be the culprit if anything is specific to either BB size.

    When you say splines on the left crankarm are stripped, are you talking about the bolt and its threads that goes through the crank into the BB, or the threads in the BB itself? If it is just the bolt, then that is a cheap fix. Bolts are sold separately. If it the threads within the BB, then you would likely need a new BB as well.

    in reply to: A gary fisher bike #82355

    To answer your questions, yes. It is a great bike for that year, and can hold its own today. Fisher is usually mentioned as being one of the founders of the mountain biking movement, and produces some great rigs. I have an ’01 Sugar with an upgraded wheelset and disc brakes added, and a fox fork makes it a pretty quick and efficient rig.

    I haven’t had many issues, and the only limitation I have found is the ability to upgrade to larger tires. The 2.1’s are a pretty tight fit on the back end, and I don’t think a 2.3 would fit, but I may measure it and try anyways at some point. It has been a great bike for me.

    I have another Fisher, a 29er hardtail and am just as happy with that one too.

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    in reply to: MTB Photo Post #79542

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    I will simply say this is CA. Legal to ride but almost always bike free, can’t advertise something like that and keep it that way.

    Why go into work at all? Get up at 8 and promptly call in sick. Grab that kick ass breakfast burrito from the local Mexican place that you never get to because you are always rushing to work. Pack up your gear and bike. On the road by 9ish, burrito in stomach, hey, morning rush hour is over! Get to that trail up the hill where the temp is a little cooler, on the trail by 10:30, where is everyone? Hah, hah. 4 hour epic ride, slip back into town by 4, just before rush hour really rears its ugly head. Unpack the gear and bike, hit the same Mexican place for that bomb dinner you haven’t had in a while, and add a Negra Modelo or three. Just before hitting the sack at 10pm, shoot the boss an email, let him know the day of rest has you back to nearly full strength. Laugh as you close your email.

    in reply to: Cyclocomputer #77865

    No prob. That avatar pic is from an epic ride of 2008. Got stuck in a couple of lightning storms at the top of two different ridges, deserted the bike, and tried to find a safer spot to ‘hide’. Saw a ground strike a few hundred feet away, but avoided getting fried. I returned to find the ‘dry ground’ outline left my my bike. I call it a bike angel.

    in reply to: Cyclocomputer #77863

    A little Google time found this:

    http://www.globetrotter.de/pdf_prod/za_35809.pdf

    in reply to: Hello from a curious beginner #76732

    There are a few REI’s in GA – that is almost rideable for you guys down there!! Ok, not exactly, but a tad closer than CO.

    I second the mention of tracking down a demo that is rolling through town. I was lucky enough to catch the Trek/Fisher VW powered demo when it was still alive about a year ago. Rode a Fisher 29er, which helped fuel my purchase of that kind of rig a few months later. Just don’t make the mistake of getting all juiced up on test rides the day before a race. I overdosed on the test rides, and a practice ride of the course on the race bike the day before, and wasn’t as quick on race day. Still had a great time though.

    Good luck in your bike search.

    in reply to: Brakes – BB7’s #76702

    I have ridden, but not owned a bike with hydraulic brakes. I do have a 29er with BB7’s, a full suspension 26er that I recently converted to disc (BB7’s), and a 26 hardtail that is in the process of the conversion to disc/BB7’s. Yeah, there is a trend there. I don’t really have enough experience to compare them, but hydraulics seemed to offer more instant stopping power, and for my XC riding is seemed easier to go the BB7 route.

    I think the BB7’s are great. I have never had any issues with either bike that has them now. I just recently rode in a wet/snowy environment and the full suspension with BB7’s performed great. I haven’t gotten to the stage of pad replacement, so moderate usage so far, but I like them.

    in reply to: upgrade to disc brakes #75680

    What about the fact that they just look cooler? Plus it opens up the world of cooler looking rims as the side of the rim can be used for the manufacturer’s logos.

    They really just lend themselves to better performance, reliability in adverse conditions, and more consistent braking power. I guess I get a free pass because I often ride in the wet and snowy stuff in the winter and I am over the 200 lb mark – but they do look cool

    in reply to: MTB Holiday Wish List #75780

    Just in case Santa is actually for real……I would like a beautiful, female, South American riding partner, who has recently moved to the U.S. – Northern California would be convenient. Santa, she can be from any South American country – Chile, Brazil, Colombia, really, no preference in this area.

    If the scenario above is a little ‘too much’, I would honestly just settle for more/any time to ride. Three bikes collecting dust, or I guess that would be not collecting dust, as they haven’t touched dirt in a while. Two jobs and school makes for little trail time, but some South American ‘motivation’ would really change that.

    in reply to: Good Maintenance Stand? #75708

    I have a Spin Doctor Pro G3 and like it. It is my first stand ever, and I too bought it for cleaning and to get into maintaining my bikes a bit. It has been great, and offers lots of different positions in which it will hold a bike. In just a few seconds you can have your bike in the stand and both wheels towards to sky for any access to the under side of you bike. I recently used it while converting one of my MTB’s to disc brakes.

    It is very portable too, and can easily go with you to the trails or the race. Link below to Performance Bike, which is where I bought mine. The Customer Reviews seem to match my thoughts on it as well.

    http://www.performancebike.com/shop/pro … ry_ID=4216

    in reply to: Night Riding #72400

    Fire roads are great for nightriding, not very technical, and a larger margin for error. I only ride singletrack at night that I am very familiar with, and I would avoid anything too technical. I look forward to riding with a group at night, as I have only ridden solo or with one other bike. The more people, the better chance they’ll find my body.
    The first to find the body should get the bike. 😀

    Part of it lies in the intensity of lighting, whether it be a high end light, or multiple light sources. I have a two beam light on the bars, and a single light on the helmet. Works great, and lets me see what is lurking trailside while still keeping the track in front of me lit. I have yet to see the trail lined with bikini clad models out on a night run…..one day.

    in reply to: Night Riding #72399

    Riding at night is a whole new ballgame, with such a small window of focus when compared to riding in the light. I just found what looks like regularly scheduled night rides on a weeknight here in my area. I need to hit the trails and get back some endurance before joining that ride. This time of year is always a little tough – the long summer light is all but gone, with little time to fit in a ride after work. Time to charge my lights.

    in reply to: Anyone Got a Tube recomandation? #75344

    Carry an extra tube, etc.!! Yeah, genius suggestion, I know 😀 . I have two tubes, patches, levers, multi-tool, and a subpin in a wedge pack under the seat of each bike. The pump and a couple of additional items stay in the camelback. I have yet to need ’em, except for the random puncture, but as soon as I deviate from carrying that gear I’ll probably break a chain and blow out both tubes in the same mile.

    in reply to: deciding on a bike #74800

    I would recommend a used bike, if you are comfortable with that and looking to get the most for your buck. You can find a great deal out there at your price range. I have seen some suspect ads, as well as recalled bikes for sale, but with a little caution and luck you can find a good deal. I picked up this one below a couple of years back for $725 (I have recently added disc brakes and wheelset to update it).

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    in reply to: Pre-Ride Eats! #74413

    I am pretty boring, but I prefer pasta and red sauce before a ride. Ill even eat it first thing in the morning if the ride is early in the day. Definitely some caffeine as well. I like to ride on an empty stomach for the most part, so eating is usually finished at least a couple of hours before a ride. Leading up to the ride I hydrate with plain old water.

    I am not a huge proponent of snacking on the trail, I read somewhere that is takes a few hours to gain actual energy from snacks, so they seem pretty useless if you ride is shorter than that if the goal is to gain energy from them. The exception to that was those gel products or some others that are designed to be quickly converted to energy. I usually have a snack with me on a long ride, or a ride that takes a couple of hours to drive too. This is just to stave of hunger during the ride, not really to gain energy. Works for me, and makes the post-ride Mexican Food even more to look forward too.

    in reply to: Are Bear Traps Still Being Used? #74690

    Yeah I just kind of lucked into finding those Kores. Grew up BMXing it like most, and don’t like the ‘connected to bike’ thing. If your’s have similar pins then I am sure you pay the price occassionally with a little bloody shin music. Occassionally I don a low profile set of soccer shin guards when on a super rocly trail where I have shed blood before to avoid a sequel.

    in reply to: Are Bear Traps Still Being Used? #74689

    You can turn back the clock and get the real deal now on ebay:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi … 0284117447

    Or what I prefer, and ride on all three of my bikes:

    http://www.kore-usa.com/products/elite_pedal.html

    I paid anywhere from $40-75 for these brand new over the last couple of years, so it may take some hunting to find the best price. In my opinion, great pedals.

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 28 total)