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"GoldenGoose" wrote
We’ve got the vast majority. I think all but 3 or 4
yeah, most of them are here on singletracks. in fact, out of the ones i looked up the only one that was missing was the fresno-sauceda loop in texas.
i’m kind of suprised singletracks doesn’t have reviews yet for all the IMBA EPIC trails. maybe i can help fix that when i get back from this deployment. i’m planning a road trip from valdosta ga to abq new mexico. i plan on riding an IMBA epic in alabama, missouri, two in arkansas one in tx then take a few days off in abq before i hit the four in colorado and then maybe on the return trip, if i have time, i”l hit the one in tennessee. i just hope three weeks is enough time to do it all!
"maddslacker" wroteOriginal post is from 2006. Even at a slow pace, I’m assuming he finished by the ride by now… 😃
only 4 posts since 2006, so maybe he didn’t finish 😐…
that’d be a good logo for a bib, "save the taints"
i wear a bib under running shorts and tshirt. all the pros of comfort minus the cons of feelin’ like a tool!
oh almost forgot, lots of armadillos in central fl too. they’re actually really annoying on the trail because they’re practically blind so they never move out of the way. i’ve almost wrecked a couple times trying to avoid them.
i’ve seen a few deer near tallahassee, but most of the wildlife i’ve come across is at Alachua (san felasco hammock preserve in central fl). I almost had an incident like yours where I came barrelling around a conner to find 5 or six does (plural for doe?) just lounging about. I almost hit one of them and I think they were just as supprised to see me as I was to see them. i thought that was kind of odd too because normally they hear you way before you hear or see them. That same ride actually I accidentally ran over a wicked looking black snake, thought it was a root untill i was right on top of it (which by then it was too late). Other than deer the occasional snake (once i could swear i saw a turkey out of the corner of my eye) it’s mostly just ticks and chiggers. I’m crossing my fingers that one of these days I’ll run into a swamp ape but no luck yet ha ha.
it’s pretty crazy what you can do sometimes when you’re "in the zone". i can’t count the times i’ve demolished some crazy piece of terrain without even thinking about it to realize later that if i had stopped and tried to plan it out before hand i would never have made it without eating dirt.
Tallahassee is probably going to be your best bet in that area. Tom Brown Park has the most to offer (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … -park.html) but if you’re looking for something more tame than St. Marks (http://www.singletracks.com/bike-trails … trail.html) would be better. Don’t worry about the picture, there’s a paved ‘St. Marks’ and an offroad singletrack ‘St. Marks’ and I put directions on how to get to the singletrack in my review. Also I’ve been told that they’ve marked the trails there a little better recently and that there have been some recent add ons as well.
There are some die hard 29er guys out there who might disagree but I don’t think that 29ers are neccasarily the "future", they’re just a different riding experience. There are advantages and disadvantages to a bigger tire. It’s easier to get more speed on a 29er and obviously the bigger tire makes it easier to roll over bigger obstacles but you get a lot more balance on a 26 and there’s also a small weight advantage with a smaller tire. Also, and this is something that has started to become less of a problem as 29ers become more common place, if you ever decide to make upgrades, you might run into compatability issues with a 29er.
Most bike companies (ie Trek, Giant, Gary Fisher, Specialized) all have great entry level bikes and for the most part the differences between them boil down to the components and geometry (geometry determines how they handle when they climb, descend and ride on flat terrain). Determining which frames geometry is better is largely a matter of preference and the best way and really the only way to determine which is best for you is to test ride them. Most of the components (derailleurs, cranksets, shifters) are either shimano or sram and from my experience, the quality between the two brands is very comparable although certain people tend to perfer one brand over the other (again personal preference/past experience). For example, the Yeti 575 has two models for the exact same price, one with SRAM components and one with Shimano.
Since personal preference plays such a big role in determining which bike would be best it’s hard for me to give you a good reccomendation. Most of my friends who ride ride bikes that they have spent atleast $800 on and I’ve never ridden one and thought, "this bike is garbage" or that I couldn’t a have a great time owning it. Obviously there were some that I preferred over others but it all depends on your height, weight, the shape your in and the way you ride. I ride a Trek Fuel Ex 6 (if I remember correctly MSRP around $1500 but I bought it from a coworker for $600) and I absolutely love it, but just because I love it doesn’t neccasarily mean that you would love it too. The best advice I can give you is to test ride 3-5 bikes in your price range and then make a decision based on which one felt better.
I could be wrong but I believe the Shimano hierarchy (from the bottom up) goes Deore, Deore XT and then XTR. I know those aren’t the only components Shimano makes but those are the ones I’ve seen the most on MTBs. If someone doesn’t give you a different answer here on the site the guy at your LBS might be able to give you a more accurate answer. That being said, another factor you should consider too (if you have more than one LBS) is customer service. Make sure the people who work there know what they’re talking about.
Unless you’ve been riding before and you know it’s something you want to get into for years to come, I’m not sure I’d spend anything over $800 on a first bike. I’m pretty sure there was a thread somewhat recently about all the advantages of buying a bike (especially if your new) from your LBS, i.e. trail info, free tune ups etc so that’s something to consider also. As for the Heckler I’m pretty sure a brand new one starts out at $1900 (http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/heckler/#pricing.php) so no, I would not buy a 7 year old one for $1400 (even with "upgrades"). The rear brake lever is usually looser on used bikes because it’s the brake that is typically used the most, but it’s usually very simple to fix. All you need to do is loosen the bolt (usually hex head) that holds down the brake cable, pull the cable through a little more and then tighten the bolt back down. As to the differences between all mountain riding and xc riding i thought this link might be helpful especially since you’re buying your first bike http://www.hucknroll.com/mountainbike/n … n-MTB.html.
i’m like brianW, long uphill = in the saddle, downhill/short uphill = standing, flat = mixed. i don’t really understand why people buy SS. I get that it’s good for training but instead of dropping a ton of money on a new bike what’s wrong with just staying in one gear on the bike you have?
Tried Fat Billy’s tip this weekend and noticed a HUGE difference. I had to try and force myself to keep the inside pedal up for awhile but eventually it became more natural. + 10 points to Fat Billy, awesome tips!
Also I think it’s important to mention, since somebody else mentioned it and since you are new to MTB, that Florida does have a lot of really good mountain bike trails. I know that sounds crazy and when I first moved to the area I didn’t believe it either but you don’t HAVE to drive four hours to find good single track. There are two IMBA Epic trails in Florida ,Santos in Ocala and Alafia in Brandon, for example. I could name all the awesome trails in Florida (there’s a lot more then you’d think) but it would be easier to just search "Florida" here on singletracks and look at the reviews.
One of the major mistakes I’ve noticed that some people make is that they don’t focus enough on breathing when they ride. People tend to focus so much on balancing and on the lines they "forget" to breathe efficiently. You want to try and breathe just as you would for a long distance run, in other words, try to take slightly larger breathes at a normal rate. Even if you have Michael Phelp’s lung capacity, if you’re not breathing efficiently you will get "gassed" very quickly. I don’t know if that helps with your situation but it is something to think about. Locking out you’re rear suspension when you don’t need it will make it easier to climb, at least that seems to be the case with my bike.
