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Rode clipped into SPD’s for 25+ and actually had no complaints but after a rather strenuous hike-a-bike day on Mt Elwell above Downieville, I swore that I was going to try flats “so that I could try some of those comfy looking 5.10 shoes”. Well, I bought some 5.10 Hellcats that could do SPD’s or flats and bounciest ed back and forth for a few months. Then I was on a ride in Hurricane, Utah (Little Creek Mesa) and we were sessioning some features. I was going up one that was super steep and I was going to be one pedal stroke short and started to fall back but since I was wearing flats, I was able to push the bike away and jump back/down 6-8 feet and land flat footed. That was my epiphany and I’ve been on flats since that day.
I know everyone, including me, always says they have no problem getting unclipped when they need to but anybody that’s been riding clipped in for long knows there’s times when it just doesn’t happen for some reason…no matter how rare it is, it happens. Well, just this weekend on Grafton Mesa in Hurricane, my buddy was riding clipped in on his Crank Brothers and didn’t make a steep feature (like my example above) and started to fall back. He got his right foot out but there was nowhere to put his foot and he couldn’t get his left foot out so he slammed down on to his left side and elbow. He was able to ride but I honestly believe he would have been unhurt if he was on legit flats.
My personal *opinion* is that Intense thought that the Carbine would appeal to the Enduro crowd who wanted a 29er but it wasn’t nearly as slack as many of the bikes out there so it felt less like a sled hauling the mail going down. Their sponsored female rider that does very well in Enduro rides the 27.5 Tracer.
I feel that the Carbine is more of an all-mountain bike, Intense’s version of the Ripmo (which of course came later). I have two friends onto Tracer and they both are very happy with it. One is 55 and while he used to ride “big” rides with us, he now rides occasionally with his wife so it’s actually more bike that he needs as he is touring the US by motorhome full time. The other guy will be 60 in September. He had a heart attack in April 2018 while riding his SC Tallboy LT. After 45 minutes of CPR on the trail and 10+ days in a coma, he survived to ride again after being given about a 5% chance of survival. The 2018 Carbine was his gift to himself in late 2018. He rides it all over and we just came back from 4 days in Hurricane where we rode blues to double blacks. The bike is VERY capable.
I would *guess* that the SC probably has more updated geometry and of course SC comes with a great warranty and lifetime bearing replacement. They also have better resale value if you flip your bikes often. I personally like riding bikes that everybody else is not, plus most of SC’s paint and graphics choices are hideous to me. I’ve had multiple Intense bikes in the past and currently have a 3+ year old Primer that has been a fantastic, jack of all trades bike like the Ibis Ripley. I cane get a deal on a Ripley so I’m going to do a frame swap next month but wouldn’t hesitate to buy an Intense again.
I’d personally saving up and expanding your options. I’d look for a bike with a 1x drivetrain and thru-axles for the frame and fork though admittedly, I don’t know what price point they start at.
If I was forced to choose between your two bikes listed, I’d go with the Trek because you’ll at least have dealer support at Trek stores wherever you are. Keep in kind that those tires it comes with won’t be worthy on anything other than a graded dirt path.
Jeff….it does it to me *usually* when I try to log in from the dropdown on the upper right when I’m on the FORUMS page but it has also occurred from the main page when I then try to go to the Forums. It actually did it this morning as well. I looked in while on the Forum page and it automatically sent me to the Main page where I showed logged in. I clicked on the Forum tab and I was logged out. I then went back to the Main page before logging in and it allowed me to come back over to the Forum to post this response. 🙂
Enjoy your weekend. I’m off to Gooseberry Mesa!!
wm1…there is absolutely nothing wrong with your plan and I know many people that started out exactly as you are **BUT** once again, Bike Nerd is correct. I’ve been riding since 1989 and generally buy a new bike at least every 18 months. I also travel out of state/country to ride several times a year so you could say I’m hooked. My friends all know this so they usually come to me for bike buying advice. I give all my friends the same advice that Bike Nerd posted.
Done but I will answer in simplistic form here….I travel to experience new trails & diversity in terrain. We have it pretty good here in SoCal with the weather and variety of trails but if you want to ride some LOAMY, magical dirt in a dense forest, you have to travel. Same goes for experiencing places like Sedona, Hurricane or Moab if you prefer the wide open desert scenery with views that go on forever and I may only be speaking for myself….but you haven’t ridden until you’ve experienced Squamish & Whistler (at least in North America).
Good advice from Bike Nerd about trying stuff on. The “fit” of these things is all over the map.
We have a group of 10-12 riders that I’ve labeled Team AARP since most of us qualify for benefits. I’d say about half wear lightweight knee pads like the G-Forms https://g-form.com and only one guy (our oldest at nearly 66) wears elbow pads. I personally only wear pads on BIG feature rides or when riding in the bike parks in which case I’m also wearing a full face helmet as well. To be honest, while I’ve scraped up my knee 100’s of times over the years, I don’t crash often enough where I’m willing to sacrifice my comfort to climb all day in pads. I’d also cook wearing them in Austin as heat is my nemesis.
As far as elbow pads…good luck. I rode dirt bikes from age 6-48 and have been mountain biking since 1989 and I’ve yet to find elbow pads that stay up properly with all the shaking & jarring of riding dirt bikes and mountain bikes. The best ones were some Troy Lee options from my dirt bike years that covered my forearm and elbow together.
It happens to me about 25% of the time.
If you ant to carry a minimum of 3 bikes, this style by Curt is your cheapest option. I have the original which was made by a company named SportRack if I remember correctly (it was back in 2010/11) so I apologize. It was in the $250 range at the time. https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Curt/C18087.html
However, if you know you’re going to be biking for the long term, there is nothing better than the 1Up already mentioned by a few others. If you ever go to a bike festival where everybody is rolling around with multiple $5000+ bikes on their car, 50-60% of those people have the 1Up racks. The design isn’t perfect but it’s pretty darn close. https://www.1up-usa.com/product-category/bike-racks/
??? Every city that has mountain bike trails has hotels and 99% allow you to have your bikes inside the room. Even when they don’t, we still bring our bikes inside the room.
Jordan, nothing wrong with your plan but you can buy the tool for about $30 to remove and install cassettes. It’s so easy even *I* can do it without messing it up. Worst case scenario, watch a youtube video to see how it’s done. For $250, I assume you’re talking about the new 12 speed cassette and micro-spline driver needed. If not, the 11 speed cassette’s can be found for $80 and doesn’t use micro-spline. You could also use the same driver and a SRAM GX cassette to save some money.
Nice job on the videos.
If our Whistler trip get the kibosh, we’re thinking about trying MT for the 1st time. Long drive from SoCal though. We’re thinking about heading to the Kalispell/Whitefish areas and then hitting Jackson Hole on the way back home.
Just sold a set of Thule rook racks yesterday. Met the guy in person in the local BevMo parking lot and had my mask handy just in case he was one of the paranoid types….but he wasn’t. We didn’t shake hands but he did handle the racks after I did and I did take money from him w/o spraying sanitizer on it. Oh, THE HORROR!!!!
I agree with Bike Nerd and I’m constantly telling friends who come to me for advice to avoid the lower end stuff but I also understand that sometimes, there really is no option. Now I’m not saying this is a great bike but the reviews have actually been positive considering it’s price. The review says it runs big but at 6-3, you still may be a touch tall.
I haven’t needed anything or had anything to sell at the moment but I wouldn’t hesitate to do so if that was the case. I still ride 4 days a week and have a trip booked with 3 other friends in a few weeks.
If you can’t tell, COVID doesn’t scare me. It’s not the plague.
If the i29 is a legitimate 29mm INSIDE diameter, you’re fine running 2.6 tires.
@dlawson had the best advice as it was specific and direct. Crested Butte has amazing riding, scenery and food. The town itself is amazing. The only downside is the altitude is going to effect you so be prepared to take your pace back a notch. Look up Colorado Backcountry if you wanted to spring for a guide, shuttle or just need some trail advice. The owners, Ben and Janae, are world class riders and year round residents. Nobody knows the area like they do.
FWIW, I have family in Durango and go every year for (2) weeks. It does have many riding options for sure and Phils World in Cortez is nearby but overall for RIDING, I like pretty much everyplace else mentioned better…Fruita, Grand Junction, Crested Butte, Steamboat. I’m no weather expert as I’ve never been to Fruita in August but it might be scorching down there at the time of year.
Not sure where you are located but go check out the article on Pinkbike where they were reviewing “value” bikes. They were actually pretty impressed with the Calibre Bossnut which fits your budget. We don’t have this brand in the USA but you may have access to it https://www.pinkbike.com/news/field-trip-calibre-bossnut-the-boss-of-low-cost.html
Good luck with the advice above because it’s all over the map. Needless to say, everybody has their own based opinions. Since you’re new to the sport, you might want to stick with something sold by a local shop for maintenance and potential warranty work. I don’t know much about the bikes on your list but a quick search of reviews from ACTUAL owners shows that most people are pretty happy with their Kona Mahuna https://www.mtbr.com/product/bikes/29er-Hardtail/kona/mahuna.html It definitely looks better specced than the Talon I looked at.
I’ve definitely been seeing people post up about riding in Fruita so I guess they are open but I can’t say for sure. Phil’s World is technically on privately owned land that’s leased by the Kokopelli Bike Club so it’s up to them if they wanted to close it. I suggest calling the Kokopelli Bike shop in Cortez (they are open for repairs) and ask them about Phil’s World….or you could ask them on their FB page. https://www.facebook.com/pg/KokopelliBikeandBoard/posts/
