[Framebreaker]

Once left my bike after a ride. Just leaned it up on the fence near the trailhead, cleaned up, dressed and just drove off in blissful blinders. After 30 minutes absolute panic, rush back to trailhead to find NO bike. Some a-hole took it. Huge sigh. (And blue streak). What do you do?

 

Got a new rig a few weeks later but let’s face it, I’m suffering with latent emotional scarring but hey being the trail helps 🙂

 

Another time, packed up the whole kit, beautiful weather, time was good, trail was sweet, bike was in fine shape. Arrived at trailhead to realize my front wheel was back home! (Mmm how far could I wheelie?)

 

I figure the stuff we (read “me”) forget, lose, blank out over is part of the therapeutic process of biking. We all juggle so much inside our heads and outside. Simply getting out can be such a battle and losing some things here and there shows how much we carry and how much we should carry.

 

See you out there, well, at least at trailhead looking wistful.

 

Cheers,

 

Framebreaker

 

[Framebreaker]

Both rigs look nice and come in at a great price point.

 

29 tires really do roll better, smoother over trails and rocks, etc

 

My advice is if your nearing 6 ft tall and near 200lbs you should seriously look at 29’ers.  For the reach and fit as well as the trail rolling benefit.

 

Any of these well-equipped hardtail will get you on the trails. I rode a Marin Bobcat for a few months and they are cheap and handle rough trails fabulously.

 

Hope you get out there sooner rather than later, 🙂

 

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

So coool seeing these hardcore hardtail. My opinion is only hard-asses ride hard tails. (Ok it’s a self-fulfilling and self-congratulating statement:))

Here’s my baby. Soma Juice XL, 2.5 minions

 

See you out there.

 

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

Aplam,

The case is also about weight and size and fit. You should know that heavy and large riders like me (6,4 and 250lbs) are hard to find factory bikes for that fit AND will last. My advice is born from buying and breaking several frames over the years and not from doing stunts and jumps – just riding.

Good news it can work without buying custom built therefore pricey stuff.

My first bike was a Trek hardtail and I LOVED IT and it broke after about 2 yrs. Worth the investment – yes! But prepare yourself for this kind of experience if you are large and over 220lbs. Good news, Trek replaced frame no problems, no questions. It broke later too. Anyway, I’m trying to tell you a story that will help.

Broken several brand name dual suspension units too.

The point is:

Large hardtail of steel and carbon fiber are just stronger than the dual suspension frames. Lots of sizes available.
Yes SVteam is accurate – YT does make an XXL which would likely be a great fit for you. However you should investigate with knowledge that the frame will likely die sometime.
Trek, Specilaized have great sizing and frame replacement warranties but these often have to go through the local bike shop which may help or hinder your frame replacement. Santa Cruz, Pivot etc all have great warranties too but the buy-in price can be high. AND the sizing is just too small for your body.
Recommend a Thomson setback post.
Recommend a long reach, riser stem.
Recommend a riser bar too.

My opinion is that a smile on the trail is worth the price in time, worry and money. You should sit on a ride some bikes from LBS and maybe a few from Craigslist to know what is important to your body. Again, the bigger the smile the better the choice.

I know this is a lot for a request for a simple answer but realistically there is often just more to it.

My current answer is a Soma Juice XL hardtail, steel, Fox 36 with 29er wheels, Thomson setback post, riser stem and riser bars. Because I wrenched this myself I saved some shop costs but it still falls within the $3-4K range. Fits the best frame so far and is easy to replace when it fails. I learned to build/fix bikes because I don’t have the budget or the temperament to keep purchasing whole bikes just to have them fail and then have to start over again with mismatched parts, incompatible suspension components, etc.

Good News – my hardtail keeps me cranking and smiling with the best of them.

See you out there and good luck with your search.

Oh almost forgot to say that GT and Marin make nice size bikes with decent components and would make a great starter bike. I rode a Marin for a few months. No it didn’t break but was stolen after a few months so who knows 🙂

[Framebreaker]

1. More bugs in my teeth – “How can u tell a happy biker? – bug’s in the teeth”
2. Friendly meetings on trail with hikers and bikers
3. Replace that 2 yr old front tire – cracks but still holding 🙂
4. Bleed brakes without cussing a blue streak
5. Get espresso listed as a health food
6. Develop a cheap, screw-in spoke hole cover for tubeless setups
7. Savor the tasty moments of life as they pass.

Cheers,

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

Glad it helps. C u on the trail.

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

I’m a bigger dude too – 6,4 about 250lbs give or take :). My advice is for general fit regarding the common apparel makers: Pearl Izumi xxl works for me (bottoms and tops). Pearl stuff is just top-notch quality and fit for me. For cold I actually wear a Marmot insulated shell, XL. The key issue for tops for me is the arm reach. Marmot and in fact Mountain Hardware seem to have extra give and length in the shoulder and arms.

Related tip: Icebreaker, maker of Merino-based clothes fit me well but the price points are really high but they seem like they will last long though. Related, related: the now-out-of-business Ibex wool clothier jerseys fit me very well and last FOREVER. AND Amazon still has some available.

Ok I forgot one other: Kuhl fits and wears well too.

Ok there’s more: Zoic shorts fit me well even though I prefer the stretchy Lycra Pearl chammy shorts for comfort and cooling.

Hope this stuff helps.

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

Aww. The Trek 4300 with Rockshox Jett fork. Was so excited about it took it up to Whistler in 2000. Wore thru the v-brake pads and had a blast – no jumps, just fun through the trails off the lift. Should’ve seen the natives’ look at me. The love of riding outweighs the snobbery and elitism and common sense. The 4300 met a sad end with the chain side chain stay separating from the bottom bracket while climbing. Ugh, we had just started our ride too.

Since then . . .
Trek 8500 – actually didn’t break frame but Goodwilled it before that happened
3 GT -Idrives – they were a lot of fun
3 Foes Flys – they were fun but a little pricey
Soma Juice 29’r – sweet hardtail but frame cracked too
2md Soma Juice – she’s gonna last a few more (ahh but when will the bad news come?)

Cheers and see you on the trails.

[Framebreaker]

Ride to smile. Smile to ride.

No GPS, no odometer, no hearttracker, no training zone goal, no miles ridden, no elevation gain/loss – just sweet sweat, glorious nature, perhaps good company and tasty donuts.

[Framebreaker]

Jeff,

You likely know this but on the preventative side: Maxxis Minions DHR and/or DHF (I’ve used both) with the Exo protection are simply hard to beat. I’ve put about 3k on my rear tire from Pacific NW roots and rocks to Prescott and Sedona. I replaced after about year when sidewall showed abrasive wear (slanted fatigue lines and a few threads showing) HOWEVER the sidewall never failed. I’m heavy at about 250lbs and ride over everything on my hardtail 29er. I run low pressure (10-25lbs depending on trail). My front tire is showing cracks in rubber but is still running strong (no bulges, or significant abrasions). Front tire has about 4.5k on it. I’ve got a new Maxxis for it but will replace when time comes.

It seems these heavier tires have significantly stronger sidewalls which equals crazy performance and longevity

Anyway, over all this dangerous terrain the Maxxis are simply insanely strong and dependable and I hope you and my fellow MTB brothers can benefit from my hard-won advice on keeping the rubber rolling.

Framebreaker

[Framebreaker]

The primary weather enemy of your bike parts on rack during travel is mineral and/or dirt, grit anything gritty. Easy albeit redneck solution is to forget about protecting tires, rims and cover the bearing surfaces, those with exposed cracks (steering tube, stem) and open exposed area like derailleur, with painter’s masking tape (glue won’t leave residue). When you arrive at trailhead you can rip off the tape and go riding. Tape it back up after ride. I’ve done this for my roof rack bike. Seems like a waste but is actually really quick and means you don’t have to store another piece of mountain bike tech – just a roll of tape. Also makes your bike less appealing to wannabe thieves. Cheers and see you on the trail.:)

[Author]

Posts