[Jeremiah Johnson]

I ride a Norco Range and get around the trails great but definitely feel its weight when climbing @ 33lbs I wouldn’t want to ride anything more that that uphill myself… but its a blast back down!

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks! mine didn’t have any tape just a strip, I used an orange seal kit but after doing it I think im going to clean it up and go stans.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Great shot! I severely need to take a skills class myself so far all I have been doing is reading or watching the advice posted here and going out and focusing on one skill at a time and adding it to my rides, so far pedal/heel positioning and cornering techniques has been the major focus… still have much to improve.
Nice car looks clean the bike looks good up there! I Just sold my 97 Jetta GT for a diesel liberty as I needed a 4wd and towing capacity, I’m building a building an ABA 16v motor for when I find a mk1 rabbit to put it in though. I know this a bike forum so sorry for the non bike photo all.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Welcome to the board lots of great info here and congratulations on the new bike, nice ride! I am fairly new to the sport and have learned a lot of things I didn’t know I needed to know on here. Ohh yeah and assuming your handle is in reference to the best hot hatch out there we’ll have to wax VW sometime!

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Whidbey island has had some of the smoothest easiest trails I have ridden so far.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I just recently upgraded to the Norco range 7.1 from a cheap hard tail. First I love my bike and I rode a lot of bikes out there before making up my mind. I was originally looking at the Sight, Stumpjumper FSR, Fuel… etc. and rode them all several times over even got the stumpy on a demo for the day and got to actually play in the dirt with it great ride too however when all was said and done I rode the range on a whim and ended up really liking it. With tax it came to $3100.00, yes I could have gotten a lot better deal on another bike and did I get a bike that was capable of far more than my current skills, yes but it just fit me well and was really comfortable to ride and had a decent component package and bike that will last and be able take whatever I can throw at it… plus its just a damn good looking rig. Just make sure you get out there and ride a broad cross section of brands, get a feel for what feels good for you and get a feel for the guys that will be working it for you aka local bike shop, quality support is a big thing and was a major factor in my choice as well.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"gar29" wrote

Are you near Leavenworth, WA? Supposed to be some good riding there. A documentary, "Pedal Driven" was made about how the local mountain bikers were building illegal trails, then got together with the US Forest Service and what it took to make trails legally. It’s an excellent watch. You can see it on Netflix.

Trailer for Pedal Driven

That was a great reccomendation! I pedaled through it on the trainer I have never pedaled that long straight… wow felt great the stairs were interesting after. Lol
I don’t live to close to Leavenworth its a good 2hr+ drive but after seeing that I’m definitely going to check it out!

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"fishboy316" wrote

I used to live in Portland Or. Really liked it there. Family wanted to be near the rest of our family here in Maryland so the rest is history! I do still miss the Steelhead fishing and the salmon. Now I fish stripers in the Chesapeake. I like it but not the same. Enjoyed Mt Hood also.
Never know I may get back there again!
Bill

Oddly enough I have never fished steelhead here I have done lots of lake fishing in float tube and built a short 3weight rod for small creeks but that’s it. I used to have q lot of family in upstate new York but they have all moved out this way now or down to Georgia.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"fishboy316" wrote

Jerimiah I have never ridden a fs either! We should hook up and trade off sometime!LOL

Great idea!
You live on the right coast though don’t you?
If you ever make make it to the north west let me know your more than welcome to rip it up on my bike I’ll huffle along behind on my hardail. 😀

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks that makes a lot of sense I don’t think it would be a huge deal anyway since I would more than likely leave it on the trainer most of the time.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"dgaddis" wrote

[quote="Jeremiah Johnson":1bk4pojg]still having a hard time swallowing the cost of bikes today but man am I loving it!

You should see the look on some of my family member’s faces when I tell them how much some of the wheels I sell cost 😆 My prices range from a little under $400 for a set of lower end road wheels up to about $1700 for a set of carbon rim’d MTB wheels with Made in the USA hubs. Most folks wouldn’t spend $400 on an entire bike, so when they hear how much some wheels cost…well, I’m pretty sure they all think I’m a thief. 😆

But it’s like anything else, the more you get into it and the more serious you are about it, the more value you see in the higher end expensive stuff. If I only rode on a greeneway once a month a WalMart bike would be perfectly fine…but that’s not what we do at all! Yeah, I’ve got a few thousand dollars tied up in bikes, but I ride several times a week, and log a few thousand miles a year. A cheap bike wouldn’t survive the riding serious riders do.

Congrats on the bikes fellas, and welcome to the sport![/quote:1bk4pojg]

Thanks!!
With my schedule here at work I’m not getting the time I want to in but the time I do get I was pretty hard on the old bike. Does anyone have any advice on setting it up on a trainer I have never dine that before and don’t know what to expect.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"fishboy316" wrote

God bless the BONUS! That’s one of the things that made it so I could buy the lefty! Have I told you guys I love that bike?

That’s awesome! Its a neet bike the guys at the shop all raved about those when I was looking for my first bike… still haven’t ridden one I wrote it off as too much $$ at the time. Lol

[Jeremiah Johnson]

It is such a hard balance recommending a bike to a new rider. You don’t want to scare people off (the more the merrier, right!?) by making them think they have to break the bank to get into the sport. At the same time, I hate to recommend a cheap bike that isn’t really going to meet the person’s needs after a couple months. What I’ve found successful is try to get a budget and then go from there, recommending brands like Airborne, that doesn’t have the high overhead of the big boys.

I hear all to often people say that they will upgrade components later, for example not realizing that to upgrading the crappy stock fork is going to cost as much as the bike did originally! And that is better than the rider realizing that they really want a full suspension instead of a hard tail.

I have a friend that bought a $500 29er hardtail. To a new rider used to buying a $200 Huffy, that is a lot of money! How could those other components cost so much more… Unfortunately, at that price range, he was stuck with a bike that either had a bottom level SR Suntour or a Rockshox XC 28 TK fork, both of which are total crap. Of course, the bike he bought had a fork with huge stiction and rebound problems. We got it to work to some degree, but really, the only way it’s effective is if it is locked out… The next step up on that fork costs about $300, more than half of the original bike price.

That is exactly what I did with the hard rock bought it used for $250 rode it till the sun tour fork just quit damping period, while looking through craigslist I saw a fox 32 in good condion come up for 200 that and 50 for service and install and I was back in businesses a couple days later I ended up getting that bonus here we are now. Unfortunately I need to get a trainer and use it inside since I have been stuck working overtime every day and weekends since. Only had a couple chances last week to get out.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"JSatch" wrote

if a newbie, that is a pretty advanced bike. i wish i could afford it, it fits exactly the style of riding i prefer.

generally new riders here are advised to purchase a used bike, or one not crazy expensive, until they figure out the style of riding they grow into. the range is a pretty aggressive bike more for the ride down (and the jumps on the way) than a goater. the bike has huge potential for you to grow into as your skills improve.

great choice. good luck!

I bought a used hard rock about 8 months ago and rapidly figured out I really like the quicker descents and rougher trails and if I hadn’t gotten a good bonus from work recently I would not have been able to purchase the Norco. I still have a lot to learn and many skills to improve and I know now my limits are me not the bike.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Nice I hit couple trails at the state park last weekend and took the hard tail there this week lots of wet patches to watch out for but all are easily avoided that’s why its my go to spot when its wet. Both bikes climb pretty good the norco is far more forgiving on weight distribution than the specialized is but I lack the stamina for most long climbs anyway.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Ha!! makes sense now.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

"fishboy316" wrote

You were looking at that norco weren’t? You still thinking about it?

Yeah I got it and have put about 20 mi on it already, its a totally different ride from the hard tail I’m loving it!
How is thef29 lefty treating you? Hit up any good trails?

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks Gar29!
Yes it is a blast and loads of fun on the down hill!
I have to loose a bunch of weight and my knees are toast so that’s why I started. Way to go yourself good inspiration keep it up?

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Thanks!
Nice bike!!
I just went through what you did a few weeks ago and fell in love with the Norco Range rode several other brands/models and just kept going back to that one… still having a hard time swallowing the cost of bikes today but man am I loving it!
Jeremiah

[Jeremiah Johnson]

To Mountainbiking? To late for that!
Thanks!
I hope to post lots of pics from rides to come this season probably bore you all. 😏

[Author]

Posts