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Any mountain bikers??

#321
Mark Reccord said:
It's been dry and warm (for March anyway) here with low snow pack so I was hoping for an early start to dirt riding. However there's 30+ cm of snow in the forecast overnight so I guess I'll have to keep the Ice Spikers on for another while. Oh well, at least snow/ice riding is a hoot!
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The grip on those Ice Spikers looks unreal, I was interested in getting a set a while back just to try them. From the pic of the frozen lake ride you posted back there they look like they have some serious bite to them, nice.

elgecko said:
Such a great perspective! I'd like to see it covered in snow!
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It's a beauty to hike with a dusting of snow.

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iamdenialNJ said:
That is one sweeeeeet picture! :eek:
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It's a stock pic that shows both sides of The Gap Road, this is one from the ride below, the first pic would have been taken from the end of the ridge up there, good scenes.

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bassteban said:
Snagged one of these for wifey, who fills it nicely:
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Yeah, it's tri suit- but hey, I'll *tri* it. ;) $74! :hyper:
You shall very likely NOT see pics- that would undo all my evil scheming...:D
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That's a foxy little number there :)
 
#328
bassteban said:
Why would a 10-speed climb any better? I could see better shifting or better selection of ratios, but you still pedal it, right?
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When using a very low gear ratio like a 39-15 technically you aren't reducing the amount of work needed to get up a hill. You are reducing the amount of power needed in each rotation, but you need to pedal faster and more often. And I'm pretty sure ten speeds are old news as well.
EDIT: you obviously know what you're talking about and I feel like a fool for explaining such an elementary concept to you. Haha
 
#330
jmercer91 said:
When using a very low gear ratio like a 39-15 technically you aren't reducing the amount of work needed to get up a hill. You are reducing the amount of power needed in each rotation, but you need to pedal faster and more often. And I'm pretty sure ten speeds are old news as well.
EDIT: you obviously know what you're talking about and I feel like a fool for explaining such an elementary concept to you. Haha
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That's my climbing style! :p

They're "new" to Shimano's mountain gruppos.
 
#331
Skitch it! said:
The grip on those Ice Spikers looks unreal, I was interested in getting a set a while back just to try them. From the pic of the frozen lake ride you posted back there they look like they have some serious bite to them, nice.
Click to expand...

They're utterly ridiculous. I don't have pics but after a big thaw/freeze a couple of weeks ago I rode some pretty intense singletrack that was basically just a sheet of ice. The traction the ice spikers provided was pretty much equivalent to regular tires on dry trail. Lots of fun and a cool way to keep riding through our winter.


It's a beauty to hike with a dusting of snow.

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It's a stock pic that shows both sides of The Gap Road, this is one from the ride below, the first pic would have been taken from the end of the ridge up there, good scenes.

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Beautiful country! Gotta get over to Wales someday.
 
#332
elgecko said:
Anyone running that new 10-gear stuff? My buddy says I could do ridiculous climbs without having to put out my cigarette.
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bassteban said:
Why would a 10-speed climb any better? I could see better shifting or better selection of ratios, but you still pedal it, right?
Click to expand...

jmercer91 said:
When using a very low gear ratio like a 39-15 technically you aren't reducing the amount of work needed to get up a hill. You are reducing the amount of power needed in each rotation, but you need to pedal faster and more often. And I'm pretty sure ten speeds are old news as well.
EDIT: you obviously know what you're talking about and I feel like a fool for explaining such an elementary concept to you. Haha
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10-speed rear cassettes for MTB are a pretty recent development.

I'm running 2x10 on my bike, simply because it was part of the build kit and I didn't see the need to change it. I previously ran a 3x9 setup with the big ring replaced by a bash so it's not like I used the big ring anyway. The only places I'd ever get to use it would be on the occasional fire road. The 2x10 setup shifts better than any other drivetrain I've encountered and the ratios of the 2x10 give me a bit more range than 3x9-big ring did and a bit finer gear selection. I find I have less situations where I find I'm just slightly in the wrong gear. You know those situations where (say) 3rd cog is too easy and 4th is too hard? 12-36 in the rear makes the lowest gear really easy, which suits me because the places where I need the granny ring, I really need it. I'm a convert, though there's not really any reason to upgrade if you have a 9-speed setup in good working order.

Next up, as soon as I smash my current RD which shouldn't take long (:D) is a SRAM Type 2, with the clutch that eliminates derailleur slap and keeps chain tension more constant throughout the range of gears...

Oh and SRAM FTW for MTB!
 
#333
bassteban said:
Well, the shock is still dragging it's feet- I can't get the lower eyelet away from the link/bellcrank- I have a few gurus helping in that dept, though. Thinking happy thoughts... . more positively, I will mail the fork off to Mendon Cycles for a rebuild. Gonna temporarily swap brakes from Gemini(fully functional Hayes)to Scalpel(squishy rear- gotta hate that :D)and I'll be UP. :eek:/:cool:
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This begs the question of why the hell Cannondale did this in the first place?!? It doesn't make sense to require proprietary tools to get parts on and off a bike. Sheesh!
 
#335
Mark Reccord said:
They're utterly ridiculous. I don't have pics but after a big thaw/freeze a couple of weeks ago I rode some pretty intense singletrack that was basically just a sheet of ice. The traction the ice spikers provided was pretty much equivalent to regular tires on dry trail. Lots of fun and a cool way to keep riding through our winter.

Beautiful country! Gotta get over to Wales someday.
Click to expand...

That is a nice spot, great views on a good day.

Mountain biking trails are a major investment by the forestry commission here luckily, they attract riders from all over the country. Scotland is supposed to be excellent for biking, my biking mate I ride the trails with had a great time there.

We were forecast a long cold winter, which didn't really happen but that's when I started looking at ice tires, sounds like they do the business v.well, I might have to try them next year, interesting.
 
#336
Mark Reccord said:
10-speed rear cassettes for MTB are a pretty recent development.

I'm running 2x10 on my bike, simply because it was part of the build kit and I didn't see the need to change it. I previously ran a 3x9 setup with the big ring replaced by a bash so it's not like I used the big ring anyway. The only places I'd ever get to use it would be on the occasional fire road. The 2x10 setup shifts better than any other drivetrain I've encountered and the ratios of the 2x10 give me a bit more range than 3x9-big ring did and a bit finer gear selection. I find I have less situations where I find I'm just slightly in the wrong gear. You know those situations where (say) 3rd cog is too easy and 4th is too hard? 12-36 in the rear makes the lowest gear really easy, which suits me because the places where I need the granny ring, I really need it. I'm a convert, though there's not really any reason to upgrade if you have a 9-speed setup in good working order.

Next up, as soon as I smash my current RD which shouldn't take long (:D) is a SRAM Type 2, with the clutch that eliminates derailleur slap and keeps chain tension more constant throughout the range of gears...

Oh and SRAM FTW for MTB!
Click to expand...

That's the kind of feedback I was looking for.
 
#337
elgecko said:
That's the kind of feedback I was looking for.
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Yeah, it's a bit better but not "gotta upgrade my entire drivetrain right now!" better. If your cassette, chainrings and derailleurs have seen better days or you're moving to a new bike then it makes sense to go 10-speed.

The Type 2 derailleur, OTOH. It's basically going to make chain tensioner devices obsolete.
 
#338
Skitch it! said:
That is a nice spot, great views on a good day.

Mountain biking trails are a major investment by the forestry commission here luckily, they attract riders from all over the country. Scotland is supposed to be excellent for biking, my biking mate I ride the trails with had a great time there.

We were forecast a long cold winter, which didn't really happen but that's when I started looking at ice tires, sounds like they do the business v.well, I might have to try them next year, interesting.
Click to expand...

That's very cool! We're just starting an IMBA-affiliated MTB association here. We're hoping to legitimize the "illegal" trails around here. Luckily, most the land involved is crown land (i.e. public) and the only land manager to deal with is the provincial government. With a recent fitness initiative by them, we hope they'll be receptive to MTB/hiking trails on public land.

The only downside of the Ice Spikers is that they need to be broken in for 40k on the road at very low pressure to seat the studs. Apparently they fall out really fast if you don't do it. It was a bummer to have to do that in January here but I think it was worth the effort as I haven't lost a single stud yet. I can't overstate how much grip these things have on ice. They also shed snow really well. My summer tires (Super tacky Minions) pack up almost immediately in snow but the Ice Spikers don't do it at all.
 
#339
Mark Reccord said:
It doesn't make sense to require proprietary tools to get parts on and off a bike. Sheesh!
Click to expand...


I use to work in a bike shop and all the forks brand needed some kind of tools for special duties.
Snap ring , O ring , seal , bullets , etc....

I can un-mount and tear apart my Lefty and will only need a Castle tool to remove the cartridge , everything else is standard Shimano. (Park tools)











BTW , a BB , a chain , a head set , a crank arm etc .. will all need special tools.
I didn't mind buying one for my fork.
 

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