basscyclist thread picture thread

[DirtDog]

I've been out on my good ol' Santa Cruz Superlight almost every day since May 15th. There's about 10km of tight and rocky (but relatively flat) singletrack not far from my front door. Too easy. And not very many people on the trails when I go out (mid-afternoon). I figure I've gotten at least 500km of saddle time this year. I haven't put that much on any of my bikes in the last 10 years total (too many other competing activities). Well, Covid changed that.

Yep, that's an old school 26" 3x9 speed bike. Santa Cruz VPP FTW! It's been a challenge finding replacement parts for it.

Here's a pic from one of my first rides in mid-May. Looks like fall, but it was definitely springtime.

 

[fdeck]

That looks like a great bike. A friend of mine got a brand spankin new Santa Cruz crabon superbike, and like a couple months later his job got moved to a region that's mountain bike heaven. So he's pretty happy.

One nice thing about 26" is, there was never a good reason for it to go out of style, but it means lots of people are selling off their 26" wheels and tires, and you can get practically un-used stuff practically for free. A friend of mine gave me some really high quality MTB tires because none of her bikes take 26" any more.

 

[DirtDog]

That looks like a great bike. A friend of mine got a brand spankin new Santa Cruz crabon superbike, and like a couple months later his job got moved to a region that's mountain bike heaven. So he's pretty happy.

One nice thing about 26" is, there was never a good reason for it to go out of style, but it means lots of people are selling off their 26" wheels and tires, and you can get practically un-used stuff practically for free. A friend of mine gave me some really high quality MTB tires because none of her bikes take 26" any more.

Thanks! I really like it.

I was a Cannondale guy for a long time, even raced Cannondales for a time. But got hold of this SC *just* as my race career was winding down and then I injured myself early one season on my CX bike. Was off the bike for a year after that and never really went back to it the same way. I had probably two full seasons on the SC and it's largely sat in storage for the last 10 years. It was a joy to dust it off, pump up tires and lube it up this year!

I had a hardtail 29er for a couple of years but didn't really ride it much - I bought if from a buddy sight unseen but it was one size too small. Sold it to another buddy right away - he's still riding it! It was OK, but I felt the 29" lacked the front end responsiveness in tight corners compared to a 26". Around here, it's tight woods riding, so maybe it's not the right bike. Hence why 27.5" has become all the rage?

I never thought about 26ers that way. Extra 26" parts. I've been having trouble sourcing drive train parts. Not sure if it's due to Covid or obsolescence. Was jawing with an old MTB buddy of mine yesterday and he's in the middle of a 27.5" and 1x11 conversion of an old Foes FS bike, including machine shop surgery on the rear swingarm! Sounds like a lot of trouble to go to 27.5".

Was looking at a new SC Blur 29er - my LBS has one in my size. Only $6300!!! I could get another small motorcycle for that much cash! I paid around $2500 for my Superlight in ~2007/8. Has the market really gone that crazy in the last 12-13 years???

 

[dlb1001]

If you can get parts for the fork, the shock and bearings, it should last for awhile longer. I tried a 29er SC when the 29er's just coming out...just couldn't get used the steering response in tight singletrack. On my first group ride on the 29er, I must have went into the bushes four or five times because I couldn't get the thing to turn quick enough!
Eventually, I got 27.5 and have been happy with the wheel size. I get the ability to roll over things and still can handle tight singletrack. I got a new Stumpjumper but the bike shop took my old SC in for trade-in so I only ended up on paying $2,800 for it.
The newer geometry tends to favor a slacker head angle (<66 degrees) with a steeper seat angle (>74 degrees), which is what the Stumpjumper has. Took some time to get use it.

 

[fdeck]

Ah, drivetrain. I forgot that on MTB's the rear derailleur is a consumable. And they discontinue the old stuff pretty quickly. I almost think if you like your bike, you should invest in a spare derailleur while you can still get one.

 

[elgecko]

The Trail Smurf with Mt. San Antonio (aka Mt. Baldy) in the background. It has a leaky fork but I might try to squeeze one last ride out of it before I take it in for service.

 

[starjag]

When I feel nostalgic, I ride this one.

 

[Hot Rats]

I've been out on my good ol' Santa Cruz Superlight almost every day since May 15th. There's about 10km of tight and rocky (but relatively flat) singletrack not far from my front door. Too easy. And not very many people on the trails when I go out (mid-afternoon). I figure I've gotten at least 500km of saddle time this year. I haven't put that much on any of my bikes in the last 10 years total (too many other competing activities). Well, Covid changed that.

Yep, that's an old school 26" 3x9 speed bike. Santa Cruz VPP FTW! It's been a challenge finding replacement parts for it.

Here's a pic from one of my first rides in mid-May. Looks like fall, but it was definitely springtime.

View attachment 3903310

Sweet Bike! I almost got the superlight but went with the blur. Santa Cruz just sent me new bearings for my 2009 Blur LT, so I'll be putting it back together soon. It's been about 5 years since I had it together.

 

[DirtDog]

Sweet Bike! I almost got the superlight but went with the blur. Santa Cruz just sent me new bearings for my 2009 Blur LT, so I'll be putting it back together soon. It's been about 5 years since I had it together.

View attachment 3904917

Sweet ride!

Good know those bearings are still available...I'm starting to hear a bit of creaking from the rear swingarm. Yikes!

 

[DirtDog]

Ah, drivetrain. I forgot that on MTB's the rear derailleur is a consumable. And they discontinue the old stuff pretty quickly. I almost think if you like your bike, you should invest in a spare derailleur while you can still get one.

Consumable by rocks!

 

[4Mal]

If you can get parts for the fork, the shock and bearings, it should last for awhile longer. I tried a 29er SC when the 29er's just coming out...just couldn't get used the steering response in tight singletrack. On my first group ride on the 29er, I must have went into the bushes four or five times because I couldn't get the thing to turn quick enough!
Eventually, I got 27.5 and have been happy with the wheel size. I get the ability to roll over things and still can handle tight singletrack. I got a new Stumpjumper but the bike shop took my old SC in for trade-in so I only ended up on paying $2,800 for it.
The newer geometry tends to favor a slacker head angle (<66 degrees) with a steeper seat angle (>74 degrees), which is what the Stumpjumper has. Took some time to get use it.

29'er geometry has changed a lot. My Devinci Django isn't super quick but it is quick enough. The approach angle of the 29 tires is amazing. I blow over stuff that would have blown me off my old SJ Pro. Interesting there is a frame chip for the Django that allows for 27.5. They used to sell it both ways. Now it's only stock in the 29.

A couple of pro riders I know are really high on 27.5. Their skill levels are so far beyond mine it's just no comparison in any way though. These folks aren't top tier but good enough to hang on as team riders, I think mostly because they hold a lot of skill clinics. Bike handling they can do !

 

[JMacBass65]

Finally getting some decent miles in (and have lost 7 pounds as a result) over the past three months. That's what loosing your dream job to COVID 19 will do for your riding time. Weather in NoVA was perfect today so got out for about 25 miles. Stopped by this farm on the way to check on a baby calf that was born this spring. Yeah, shoulda got a pic of the calf as well, but.......

 

[DirtDog]

Finally getting some decent miles in (and have lost 7 pounds as a result) over the past three months. That's what loosing your dream job to COVID 19 will do for your riding time. Weather in NoVA was perfect today so got out for about 25 miles. Stopped by this farm on the way to check on a baby calf that was born this spring. Yeah, shoulda got a pic of the calf as well, but.......

View attachment 3905340

im unfamiliar with that brand (or is it a custom?). Anyways looks like a sweet vintagey steel framed beauty.

 

[Mark Reccord]

I've been out on my good ol' Santa Cruz Superlight almost every day since May 15th. There's about 10km of tight and rocky (but relatively flat) singletrack not far from my front door. Too easy. And not very many people on the trails when I go out (mid-afternoon). I figure I've gotten at least 500km of saddle time this year. I haven't put that much on any of my bikes in the last 10 years total (too many other competing activities). Well, Covid changed that.

Yep, that's an old school 26" 3x9 speed bike. Santa Cruz VPP FTW! It's been a challenge finding replacement parts for it.

Here's a pic from one of my first rides in mid-May. Looks like fall, but it was definitely springtime.

View attachment 3903310

SMH? That and Fortune were where I cut my teeth on mountain bikes in the early 00s. The trails around Ottawa are quite technical. Especially the Skyline side of Fortune... lol It was a good base for riding down here, where trails are even more technical.

As for 26er parts, I recently spent some time trying to source tires and stuff for a friend of mine and had a really hard time finding any tires in anything other than the hard compounds. It really is pretty much a dead wheel format save for fat bikes. For drivetrain, it's not a big deal to go from 3x9 to 1x11. An 11-speed cassette will fit on 9-speed freehub splines no problem and they make chainrings for all configurations of BB. Going from 26 to 27.5 is generally a bigger deal and probably not worth it. I know Intense actually made dropouts for the Tracer 2 that you could just bolt on to change the rear over and if you had a 160mm Fox 36, the 27.5" wheels would clear the arch without replacing the fork. I was trying to remember if SC made bolt on dropouts but I can see from your pic that your bike doesn't.

I recently went from a 26" Tracer 2 (2011) with a high end build to a fairly pedestrian 27.5" Devinci Troy and while the Tracer was a great bike, the Troy is actually unbelievably better, both up and down. The geometry is dialed. The head angle's about the same (66) but the seat tube angle is steeper which makes it better going up. Going down the seat is dropped anyway so it doesn't matter what the angle is but the lower BB, shorter chainstays and boost rear end with a 12mm thru axle give it a really confidence inspiring feel. High end bikes are really really expensive but if you don't want Carbon you can get a really well-spec'd aluminum bike in the $3k range (especially if you wait for a closeout sale). The Troy is actually an ideal bike for the trails near you, nudge nudge, wink wink...

 

[dlb1001]

Finally getting some decent miles in (and have lost 7 pounds as a result) over the past three months. That's what loosing your dream job to COVID 19 will do for your riding time. Weather in NoVA was perfect today so got out for about 25 miles. Stopped by this farm on the way to check on a baby calf that was born this spring. Yeah, shoulda got a pic of the calf as well, but.......

View attachment 3905340

Nice Landshark!

 

[dlb1001]

29'er geometry has changed a lot. My Devinci Django isn't super quick but it is quick enough. The approach angle of the 29 tires is amazing. I blow over stuff that would have blown me off my old SJ Pro. Interesting there is a frame chip for the Django that allows for 27.5. They used to sell it both ways. Now it's only stock in the 29.

A couple of pro riders I know are really high on 27.5. Their skill levels are so far beyond mine it's just no comparison in any way though. These folks aren't top tier but good enough to hang on as team riders, I think mostly because they hold a lot of skill clinics. Bike handling they can do !

High level guys have great handling but even they crash. I saw Jeff Kendall-Weed on YouTube attempt to make a 30 foot jump. Somehow, he went too far to one side and hit a tree really hard...not a good day for Jeff. And this is the guy who can do wheelie down a trail with no effort.

 

[fdeck]

Consumable by rocks!

There's a MTB park near my workplace, and folks go there during lunch. When they come back, almost every time one of them has a screwed up RD or hanger. If it's just a little bent, they ride them until they're intolerable.

 

[JMacBass65]

Belgium Knee Warmers™: Andy Hampsten's Land Shark

im unfamiliar with that brand (or is it a custom?). Anyways looks like a sweet vintagey steel framed beauty.

Thanks, yes it's custom. John Slawta is Landshark. I met him at an industry trade show when I was in the business. His bikes were being used at the Ultimate Workstand booth. Ultimate was a new company at the time (many here will know them now as a maker of lightweight speaker stands) and had a cool product, but were were drawn to the booth because of the wild paint jobs John does, and then after inspecting the workmanship. Anyway, he also had a booth, and I checked his stuff out and spoke with him a bit. He's a bit of an oddball, an artist (hence the wild paint he can do), and is best known for building the "Huffy" that Andy Hampsten won the Giro de Italia on, while the rest of the team were on "Huffys" made by Ben Serotta.

About seven years after meeting him, I was getting out of the biz, and had a child on the way, so decided it was something I should buy before life got in the way. The frame is laid out to fit like my Bridgestone RB1, but has a tighter wheelbase, and is notably stiffer, using Reynolds 853 OS tubing. I've had it for 20 years now, built it to be bombproof with that old school MAVIC components. Been thinking I'd like to get a modern group on it, and perhaps a carbon fork from John, painted to match.

What I'd really like to do is have him make me a carbon frame, which is all he builds with now. I ain't got the cash for that though. My uncle in Seattle got one and it's sweet. John is based out of Medford, Oregon, so his bikes are better known out west. Here in the DC area, I have only seen one other 'shark.

Here is his site: Land Shark Bicycles | Pro Carbon Bike Frames

Here is an article about Andy's 'Shark: Belgium Knee Warmers™: Andy Hampsten's Land Shark

Nice Landshark!

Thanks. Like my old Rick 4003, it nearly always gets a comment or two when I'm out.

 

[4Mal]

Quick spin up the hill today. Ya gotta squint but there is a river down there ;-)

 

[DirtDog]

SMH? That and Fortune were where I cut my teeth on mountain bikes in the early 00s. The trails around Ottawa are quite technical. Especially the Skyline side of Fortune... lol It was a good base for riding down here, where trails are even more technical.

As for 26er parts, I recently spent some time trying to source tires and stuff for a friend of mine and had a really hard time finding any tires in anything other than the hard compounds. It really is pretty much a dead wheel format save for fat bikes. For drivetrain, it's not a big deal to go from 3x9 to 1x11. An 11-speed cassette will fit on 9-speed freehub splines no problem and they make chainrings for all configurations of BB. Going from 26 to 27.5 is generally a bigger deal and probably not worth it. I know Intense actually made dropouts for the Tracer 2 that you could just bolt on to change the rear over and if you had a 160mm Fox 36, the 27.5" wheels would clear the arch without replacing the fork. I was trying to remember if SC made bolt on dropouts but I can see from your pic that your bike doesn't.

I recently went from a 26" Tracer 2 (2011) with a high end build to a fairly pedestrian 27.5" Devinci Troy and while the Tracer was a great bike, the Troy is actually unbelievably better, both up and down. The geometry is dialed. The head angle's about the same (66) but the seat tube angle is steeper which makes it better going up. Going down the seat is dropped anyway so it doesn't matter what the angle is but the lower BB, shorter chainstays and boost rear end with a 12mm thru axle give it a really confidence inspiring feel. High end bikes are really really expensive but if you don't want Carbon you can get a really well-spec'd aluminum bike in the $3k range (especially if you wait for a closeout sale). The Troy is actually an ideal bike for the trails near you, nudge nudge, wink wink...

No, this was in the city - a little collection of urban forest trails near Island Park Dr.

Small world! Similarly, I've ridden SMH more times than I can count, starting years before the Terry Fox extension killed half the system - and before that guy built the house on the top of the hill on Huntmar. But still super fun. Last time I was out there, though, the system was pretty congested with families, dog walkers and all manner of mountain bikers. Sucked considering you used to be able to ride for weeks without seeing too many other people. Except for Outback. That still takes some skill - flat-ish, but yes quite technical. I raced at Fortune for years and been riding the Gats since 1988. Firetower, Wolf, Foreplay, Multiple Orgasm and all that good stuff. Good times!

I am looking into a drivetrain conversion. Just got a message from the online vendor that half the parts I ordered are no longer available. Not backordered, no longer available. I'm fine with 26" wheels - I have a small cache of 26" tires for some reason - but how much longer will I be able to keep this 9 speed drivetrain going....covid or not. The 1x11 looks interesting, if I can keep my current wheelset.