Well, I’ve been out a few times now. As I mentioned, I live in a special place where there are lots of trails originally built for Hiking and some for Horseback riding. They are not mountain bike trails, but I can navigate them for the most part. I’m working on mastering one short circuit, and then, as my stamina increases, I’ll start on wider loops. There are a couple of places where I have to dismount and walk. There is also a rocky section through a drainage area that I think I should be able to manage but have fallen both times I’ve tried (unfortunately, without clip release). Yesterday evening, nursing a very sore and stiff hand that took the brunt of the fall yesterday, it occurred to me that a little trail modification might be in order. Next time I go out, I’m going to snap some photos.
1. Is there a forum here best suited for trail-building/maintenance questions?
2. I have discovered that my bike is likely to suffer damage as I get up to speed. Even at 52, my body eventually heals — but my bike doesn’t. As a roadie, the idea of catching a pedal on the road never occurred to me. I find that I am crunching my pedals/crank arms occasionally on rocks. I’m worried that I might trash my chainrings — are these typical problems on rocky trails?
3. I continue to be a little frustrated with the downstroke power loss to the rear shock. I bought a shock pump — is the first step to just add some air? The shock is a Rockshox Ario 2.1.