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new new mountain bike megathread:eeenmachine posted:I splurged because I hate money.
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Dec 20, 2021 04:47
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Any tips for carrying speed through bermed corners other than not be poo poo? I was at a local downhill park recently riding with some much more experienced people, and on the easier more flowy bermed trails if I went first they'd be up my arse constantly and braking hard to stay behind. I'm pretty happy to pick up speed in the straight lines but when I get to the corners it feels like I have to brake pretty hard to make the turn, I'm worried about sliding out despite never having had that happen. I tend to lean my body over more than the bike (as I would do on a road bike) but I've heard people tell me that on a MTB going into a berm I should be tilting the bike harder into the corner and keeping my body more upright, does that sound correct? I get the feeling I need to concentrate more on my body position, I tend to get carried away and forget, but the less I think about it the more I find myself getting really low and towards the back of the bike especially when braking into a corner, while I figure I should probably be keeping more weight over the front wheel and perhaps standing a bit higher up so I've got more ability to shock-absorb with the legs... All easy to say but hard to do in the heat of the moment! Also I built my first road bike a decade ago with a Chinese carbon frame and bits I bought online and it's been great and still going strong (I'm very light, so not very hard on components). I'm pretty mechanically capable and I feel like having built up the bike it's a lot easier to service and maintain it as well as you know all the parts intimately. I've been considering building up a second MTB using a Chinese frame the same way, potentially something with a slacker head tube and longer wheelbase for the MTB park. Does anybody have experience with frames from ICAN? I've seen some really good reviews online for their P9 enduro-geometry frameset.
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Dec 22, 2021 23:58
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Blackhawk posted:Any tips for carrying speed through bermed corners other than not be poo poo? I was at a local downhill park recently riding with some much more experienced people, and on the easier more flowy bermed trails if I went first they'd be up my arse constantly and braking hard to stay behind. I'm pretty happy to pick up speed in the straight lines but when I get to the corners it feels like I have to brake pretty hard to make the turn, I'm worried about sliding out despite never having had that happen. I tend to lean my body over more than the bike (as I would do on a road bike) but I've heard people tell me that on a MTB going into a berm I should be tilting the bike harder into the corner and keeping my body more upright, does that sound correct? I could stand to be better with berms as well but generally you're correct in that it seems like mostly a body positioning thing. Ignoring the technique of outside foot down, you want to be very neutral on the bike and actually a little low with knees bent, to give you the room to get your bike leaned over to use your shoulder lugs which are designed to pull you through the corner. Aside from that, I would say pick your line through the corner before you get there. When you're entering the corner your chin should be up and you should be looking at the exit of the corner. You generally don't want to do the out-in-out style you'd take in flat corners - instead identify where the steepest section of the berm is and try to carry your speed onto this area, staying as high as you can on the berm, leaning in so that your bike is essentially perpendicular to the angle of the berm at that point. The steeper the berm the more speed you can safely carry. I try to enter berms 'early' and carry enough speed that it feels like I'm falling over and get 'caught' and brought back up by the centrifugal force you experience at the steep part generally halfway through the berm. This is one of those topics with a ton of discussion and videos up on pinkbike so I'd poke around there. The outside foot down thing is to me more of a flat corner technique where you drive the tires aggressively into the surface to minimize the angle of the corner and maximize your minimum speed through it. I don't think it applies well to berms and in bike parks where you're going to have braking bumps and blown up sections of berm I feel like keeping your feet level allows for better control of the bike. Someone like Jamal can probably coach you very well on flat corners from the cyclecross side of things.
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Dec 23, 2021 00:35
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Blackhawk posted:Any tips for carrying speed through bermed corners other than not be poo poo? I was at a local downhill park recently riding with some much more experienced people, and on the easier more flowy bermed trails if I went first they'd be up my arse constantly and braking hard to stay behind. I'm pretty happy to pick up speed in the straight lines but when I get to the corners it feels like I have to brake pretty hard to make the turn, I'm worried about sliding out despite never having had that happen. I tend to lean my body over more than the bike (as I would do on a road bike) but I've heard people tell me that on a MTB going into a berm I should be tilting the bike harder into the corner and keeping my body more upright, does that sound correct? Some thoughts on berms that helped me learn them better this summer: - Practice on easier lower angle stuff so you can concentrate on technique and not making it through the turn - Try to do all your braking before leaning the bike over, even if you have to enter at a walking pace. Being off the brakes helps you set up in a neutral position and only worry about turning vs turning and slowing - Most of your weight should be through your feet, with a bit through your hands to have active control on the front end. Being too far back will make the front end feel sketch, which will make you want to lean further back. Also as you start speeding up if you're too far back you'll have to pull on the bars to not fall off the rear, this is bad. - Lean the bike more than your body. Your bike to ground angle sets your turning radius, your body to ground angle sets your balance for the turn. Most of the time on the road its large radius turns at speed, so you need more body angle to balance due to speed but not much bike angle because its a wide turn. Most of the time mountain biking its the opposite and you need more bike angle than body angle. - I think feet should be pretty level and your knees and arms slightly bent, not like a full squat but not all the way extended either. Just a normal body position. - Look all the way through the turn at your exit point. Its scary to not look at the tire and you might feel like you're gonna ride off the top of the berm, but looking at the exit helps turn your body into the corner and cues your hips and torso to help lean bike over. - Don't be afraid to get up onto the berm, if you're too low its basically a flat corner. - Again because its the most important part, separate your general riding from your practice riding. I made an effort to ride easy trails and go slow on berms so I could think it through an practice skills vs riding like I normally do and falling back on old habits. If your friends are behind you and its stressing you you'll have a harder time getting better than if you're behind them on easier stuff specifically to practice. Also if you ride with people who are better than you, see if they'll watch you on a couple turns or go slow and let you follow to watch.
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Dec 24, 2021 22:45
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Does anyone have experience with some of POC's more downhill oriented armor? I have their VPD air knee/elbow pads which I use for trail riding, but I'm planning on spending a good bit more time at the Northstar bike park next summer (and racing the enduro there if it's not cancelled due to smoke again), and figure it would be prudent to get something a bit more protective, and I'm placing an order with them for some winter stuff right now anyway. Any recommendations for general type of protection? I'll be riding a decent mix of their trails, probably with more of a focus on the steep technical stuff but also the big-ish jumps here and there (but not going huge usually)
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Jan 1, 2022 00:15
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Steve French posted:Does anyone have experience with some of POC's more downhill oriented armor? I have their VPD air knee/elbow pads which I use for trail riding, but I'm planning on spending a good bit more time at the Northstar bike park next summer (and racing the enduro there if it's not cancelled due to smoke again), and figure it would be prudent to get something a bit more protective, and I'm placing an order with them for some winter stuff right now anyway. Any recommendations for general type of protection? I'll be riding a decent mix of their trails, probably with more of a focus on the steep technical stuff but also the big-ish jumps here and there (but not going huge usually) I've never tried their armor but I have their pants for DH and they're incredible, I love wearing them and they're everything I could ever want. I wear them when it's hot out I don't care they're perfect. e: hot where I live is 24C
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Jan 1, 2022 00:19
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Hey there thread. I have a long history with mountain bikes. Been riding for 20+ years and really seen the sport grow up around me. It's absolutely nuts how many people mountain bike these days, I was mostly used to having trails almost to myself, and I live in a hub for riding. Now the same parking lots that were empty when I was biking 15 years ago are now full every day. Anyways I got into the corporate life a while back and biking unfortunately was a casualty of that transition. I own a Santa Cruz Bronson, which is either a 2013 or 2014 (I suspect it's a 2013). 36 front, Fox air rear suspension. It's in ok condition and everything:  I've been getting back into riding and I'm just wondering, how bad is my current mountain bike in the grand scheme? How have mountain bikes improved in the time since my 2013 was created? What should I upgrade, up to and including the entire bike. What kind of downsides do I have, owning and riding this bike in 2022? Can anyone see some immediate upgrades I might want to put in there? One thing that gets recommended to me is one of those seatposts that rise and lower. Anything else? I basically just want to make sure I'm not stunting my return to biking by riding on super outdated gear, or missing components that have gotten better over time since I was in it, etc. My understanding is that bike geometry and components have dramatically improved since 2013. Taima fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 00:51
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Having been built with higher end components that bike will probably treat you pretty well. The geo will be a little dated but if it’s mechanically fine go nuts until you figure out what you’d want to upgrade to, it’s not woefully outdated.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:57
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Thanks, I guess that kind of gets to the crux of the matter, which is I get that geometry and components have improved, I just don't get what that actually means in terms of older geometry/parts and how much of a downside it is at this point.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:58
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Dropper is 100% mandatory if you want to enjoy yourself. Tubeless would also be nice. Otherwise don’t touch it.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:18
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n8r posted:Dropper is 100% mandatory if you want to enjoy yourself. Tubeless would also be nice. Otherwise don’t touch it. I disagree on the dropper but that said I wouldn't buy a bike without one. They're great. New geo means slacker head angles and steeper seat posts mostly. Also much longer and bigger. A medium now is sized like a large used to be. Most modern bikes will pedal better uphill and be more stable downhill. 29ers feel less clunky than they used to. Feels like they were still figuring it out back then.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:24
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Taima posted:Hey there thread. I have a long history with mountain bikes. Been riding for 20+ years and really seen the sport grow up around me. It's absolutely nuts how many people mountain bike these days, I was mostly used to having trails almost to myself, and I live in a hub for riding. Now the same parking lots that were empty when I was biking 15 years ago are now full every day. That's a nice bike! The first thing I'd do is verify that the shocks are functional and hold pressure. Then I'd air it up and go for a ride, or two, or ten. As for upgrades the first thing I would suggest is a dropper post. It's a significant creature comfort upgrade. After that you might look into converting the drivetrain from 2x to 1x, but that time and money might be better spent on a newer platform. Taima posted:Thanks, I guess that kind of gets to the crux of the matter, which is I get that geometry and components have improved, I just don't get what that actually means in terms of older geometry/parts and how much of a downside it is at this point. I think that the best way to grasp the difference is try out a newer bike at your local bike shop and make your own comparisons. Arishtat fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 04:10
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I think I'd vote to ride it as is (except tubeless with new, non-hardened tires) and shop around for something new after confirming you really want to ride. There's not a lot of radical movement in design currently so it's probably a good time to buy - that Bronson is from a time smack at the solidification of what makes a modern dual suspension MTB. What has changed, in my opinion, is that bikes with less travel can do a lot more than they used to. Otherwise it's mostly refinement these days - decide what meets your needs and then grab something. The biggest change you're going to see if the heart stopping expense of bikes and parts. It's absolutely ridiculous.
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Jan 1, 2022 04:52
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n8r posted:Dropper is 100% mandatory if you want to enjoy yourself. Tubeless would also be nice. Otherwise don’t touch it. I'd probably actually go tubeless before dropper, but I feel both are mandatory
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Jan 1, 2022 07:09
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Eejit posted:I'd probably actually go tubeless before dropper, but I feel both are mandatory  I’d get an overhaul on the fork/shock too after that many years. Still that’s a drat good bike, a little tune up and it’ll rip.
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Jan 1, 2022 07:19
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I don't think tubeless is mandatory at all or even that big of an improvement personally, especially since he'd be trying to do that on rims that weren't designed for it etc. Dropper absolutely though, but could be a pain with mounting since he has a front derailleur. Solutions exist for the lever but I dunno how good they are.
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Jan 1, 2022 10:10
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VelociBacon posted:I don't think tubeless is mandatory at all or even that big of an improvement personally an extremely bad take
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Jan 1, 2022 10:41
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VelociBacon posted:I don't think tubeless is mandatory at all or even that big of an improvement this person went back in time when the clock struck midnight
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Jan 1, 2022 10:45
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It's not that different and if I put you guys on a bike and didn't tell you if it was tubeless you wouldn't know either (this is the part of the age old tradition of SA controversial opinions where as a goon I have to double down on my take and become increasingly incensed). Try to imagine you're coming back to the hobby after that long and you spend $80 on tubeless stuff and then trying to deal with the frustration of getting it to work on rims from 2013. It's super discouraging. If he's buying a new bike then yeah obviously go tubeless but it's a headache he doesn't need at this point.
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Jan 1, 2022 17:48
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I didn't go fully tubeless until last year lol. Unless you have a lot of goat heads or something in your area or refuse to run more than 20 psi it's not that big of a deal. Dropper on the other hand is non negotiable.
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Jan 1, 2022 17:58
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You guys rule thanks, you've given me a lot to think about. Good to hear that for the most part the bike is still decent. I do have to admit re: a dropper post, I bought my wife a dropper post for her bike a couple years back and somehow I ended up getting like... the wrong part? It didn't work based on her cable routing or something (interior vs exterior routing?). Then i got busy and lost the window to return it. I am still kinda salty about it. That's about when I realized that standards changed while I was out of the game and poo poo that would just naturally fit our bikes, because frankly they were top of the line at the time, are now old and you need to be careful about the poo poo you buy for compatibility reasons. In fact I would say that's something that's changed a lot; for most of mountain biking's history it kinda felt like parts generally swapped across bikes. I now get the impression that standards have deviated while I was away. These newfangled chainless/wireless drivetrains look loving rad, idk if they're actually a big deal though. I have always had issues with my chains since like, forever though, so the idea of skipping them altogether is seductive. PS this conversation has me feeling old af, I'm 36 is that old, please send help
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Jan 1, 2022 23:40
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I'm 36, you're fine.  Old bikes have to use external routing most likely. Buy a cheap tranzx or whatever the chain reaction cycles version is that's externally routed if you really want one. Have to do some measuring to see how much travel you can fit for one but it's pretty easy. Mark the current seat post and see how much it's inserted in the frame and also measure how much frame insertion (how far you can jam a stick down your seat tube) you've got to work with. They've got pretty good diagrams on their site for figuring out how much travel you can fit. The more, the better. Probably less is possible on an older frame (longer seat tubes) but I had 100mm on my old bike that was better than nothing. New clutched derailleurs are great for keeping chain tension. I've literally never dropped one. I don't think gearboxes are going to be mainstream for awhile, but I'd love to be wrong.
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Jan 1, 2022 23:56
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Well gently caress, my bike was stolen. It was only a base model Timberjack that I got for $700, which is still a lot of money, but better than losing a $6,000 carbon full suspension bike. I succumbed to my girlfriend's wishes to get it out of the apartment so I locked up in my building's car garage, and of course yesterday was the day that the doors malfunctioned and opened by themselves. I've been having upgrade-itis for some time now anyway and have started saving up for a Hightower. Looking at Pinkbike buy and sell, being 6'-7" my choices of XXL bikes are limited. I was looking at this, but the chips kind of concern me on a carbon frame. Is that something to worry about? https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3131436/ There's also this, but a bent dropper and only a single stock photo? https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3188714/ Fork looks like a recipe for leaks and headaches. https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3113367/ Other bikes all seem to have lots of travel: https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3213966/ https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3223414/
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Jan 2, 2022 00:21
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Spime Wrangler posted:Unless you have a lot of goat heads or something in your area or refuse to run more than 20 psi it's not that big of a deal. PolishPandaBear posted:I succumbed to my girlfriend's wishes to get it out of the apartment
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Jan 2, 2022 01:00
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Taima posted:I do have to admit re: a dropper post, I bought my wife a dropper post for her bike a couple years back and somehow I ended up getting like... the wrong part? It didn't work based on her cable routing or something (interior vs exterior routing?). Then i got busy and lost the window to return it. I am still kinda salty about it. I say follow this saga from the road thread: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3933899&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=130#post513960871, and DRILL IT! Yeah, new bike will definitely live in the apartment. Just looked at a shop near by and they claim to have XXL Trek Fuel EX 8's in stock on their website.
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Jan 2, 2022 01:59
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Taima posted:You guys rule thanks, you've given me a lot to think about. Good to hear that for the most part the bike is still decent. So regardless of whether your Bronson is a 2013 or 2014 model it has a 30.9mm seat post tube. You'll have to DIY the insertion depth measurement yourself as I haven't been able to locate that bit of information. It does look like you're in luck that the frame was designed for internal routing of the dropper post control cable. Look at the non-chainring side of the seat post tube just above the bottom bracket for a port. My guess based on looking at the frame is that you can fit a 120-130mm dropper post at full insertion; however, you'll need to verify that with a real measurement and then look up the insertion depth requirements with the dropper post manufacturers. Although I didn't end up buying from them I found KS Lev's spec sheets to be really informative as far as what the measurements mean.  As you can see the insertion depth (D) for an internally-routed dropper is quite a bit longer than the travel (B) because of the combination of the shock and the bell crank actuator assembly at the bottom end of the dropper post. My guess is that you can put a 120mm travel dropper post on it if you would like to. Also as your bike's set up with a 2x-something drivetrain you'll need a lever that's compatible with the left-hand derailleur lever such as this one: https://www.pnwcomponents.com/collections/levers-1/products/replacement-lever-kit?variant=28766929190989 PS I'm 43, on your left Junior! 
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Jan 2, 2022 07:27
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36 crew  I think we're well represented because we were the perfect age, there wasn't a ton of great reasons to stay inside yet and the 90s were when this all took off.
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Jan 2, 2022 11:51
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VelociBacon posted:36 crew
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Jan 2, 2022 13:26
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Also 36 but this was my first year riding MTB.
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Jan 2, 2022 13:28
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PolishPandaBear posted:Well gently caress, my bike was stolen. It was only a base model Timberjack that I got for $700, which is still a lot of money, but better than losing a $6,000 carbon full suspension bike. I succumbed to my girlfriend's wishes to get it out of the apartment so I locked up in my building's car garage, and of course yesterday was the day that the doors malfunctioned and opened by themselves. Dont trust any of these fully - but especially dont trust somone using stock images. The chips on the Tallboy dont look too bad to me at all from what i can see I have a YT carbon capra 2019 with the e13 lg+ carbon rims and both wheels and frame have been pretty bomb proof - so i wouldnt be too scared of any small scratches or chips. With carbon i think you need to look for impact cracking from crash damage and pay attention to any unexplainable creaking. The Carbon YT Jeffsy might be ok - the main issue seems to be the scratches on the fork uppers. If they are deep then i would avoid it(or haggle a discount to at least some part of the value of new uppers) - if they are superficial it will probably be ok(check if any of the burrs stick up in any noticable way). These shouldnt leak noticably in any way even if the scratches are bad - id be more worried about stiction(general performance of the fork) and or wear on the lower bushings. Regardless of what bike you think about - i would inspect first hand and take a long a shock pump and ask to depressure the shocks(maybe to 30 percent of norm) to make sure the actions are smooth through the travel and there is no play in the linkages(and repressurise to test ride it).
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Jan 2, 2022 13:44
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Arishtat posted:Super helpful stuff Thank you friend!! 36 crew represent ^_^ You guys just reminded me of a 36-adjacent story i had completely forgotten: my biggest mountain bike claim to fame is that my dad used to be an engineer at Santa Cruz bikes. This was a long time ago. At the time I was obsessed with the Fox 36 front fork while it was in testing / pre production. Fox is really close to Santa Cruz, geographically and otherwise, in fact my ex-roommate used to be an engineer for Fox as well before eventually cashing out at Apple since Fox pays poo poo. Small world now that I think about it. Not sure if it's still true but Fox relied on brand image to take on engineers and employees at well below market, that's a different story though. Anyways the close relationship, Santa Cruz was testing the 36 on a few of its bikes/ pre production rides so I got to ride with it a few times and was just beyond hype to get one. I became so known as the "kid who loves the 36" and bugged the warehouse guys so often about it that they actually gave me the first 36 that SC bikes had in the warehouse for retail use (not that 36s would ever actually go to retail at that point since the guys at SC all wanted one). I may be the first non-Fox employee to ever own a retail boxed 36. I still vividly remember seeing literally ONE of them in-warehouse and just going like holy poo poo nothing will ever top this day. Anyways sorry not trying to flex, just thought it was a kind of interesting story.
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Jan 3, 2022 00:23
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38 year old fart reporting in that I can see the fun in single speed when rides with sustained climbs are avoided. Attacking small hills with battle cries is invigorating. I forget who was looking at the Spot Rallye, but I was looking at it again today and was bummed to realize it was aluminum and not carbon.
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Jan 3, 2022 00:46
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Taima posted:Thank you friend!! Awesome! I grew up racing DH in western Canada but stopped before fox starting making front suspension. I did have a Super 8 though! I loved that bike. If anyone remembers the Santa Cruz Superheroes, my bike was Brian's frame that I bought and built up. My bike was 55lbs I think when it had a monster T, 3.0 gazzies, and doublewides front and back. Absolute unit. I've posted it in here before so I don't want to spam, but if your dad had anything to do with that design please tell him I loved it.
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Jan 3, 2022 01:06
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Lol I'm clearly old at 39 which is why my humerus shattered. That said I'm on the mend and once this snow fucks off im going to start light trail riding again.
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Jan 3, 2022 01:11
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Actually gently caress it posting it again because what a bike Also such a shitmix of parts because when I was in early highschool a 50mm stem was basically unaffordable so you just took anything you could find and put it on there. This is after I traded my Monster T for a Boxxer.  Those original Shimano 4pot brakes were horrible too, but notice how I was 25 years ahead of the curve with the mullet!  Hello yes I'd like the short wheelbase please. I probably should have been using the longer wheelbase but my chain wasn't long enough and back then I couldn't afford a new one. e: Okay now I'm looking at this folder: Other old bikes I owned! 2001 Intense M1 that I bought with my insurance payout of 2 grand after I got rear ended:  Note the 5th Element rear shock - completely unserviceable after they went out of business but you could in theory adjust the compression and rebound for each half of the stroke of the shock.  That 888 fork was actually really incredible and I'm surprised I don't see people still running it. VelociBacon fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Jan 3, 2022 |
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Jan 3, 2022 01:17
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mashed_penguin posted:Lol I'm clearly old at 39 which is why my humerus shattered. Dude I’m 56…
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Jan 3, 2022 04:16
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Yeah, I'm 46 and sure as poo poo don't feel like it. To wit: I just got this Marin El Roy but haven't been to any trails due to epically (probably epochally, actually) crappy weather. 63* head angle, 78* seat tube, 515 reach and just short of 1300mm wheelbase with a low BB. It's real dumb sled but should work great on the shockingly steep stuff around here. I've done some crawling around on the neighborhood rock slabs and seated climbing with that STA is pretty amazing. If it's not pointed up or down though, it's weird. And that's OK. It's a pretty good build too, the Z1 feels really good and the brakes and shifting are perfectly decent with the addition of metal pads. I added Cushcore front and back, some grips and a saddle. My favorite OneUp bars are in the mail and I'm going to try an oval chainring. I could definitely run a 210mm dropper (175mm installed) and I bet a good set of wheels would be of benefit, but I'd like to get some miles on it first. It comes with Assegais front and rear, which is definitely a choice (the back is a DD/MaxxGripp too). I'll put a DHR2 or similar on come spring.
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Jan 4, 2022 00:28
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Blackhawk posted:I'm worried about sliding out despite never having had that happen. Not sure if anyone in between this touched on this - when you compress the bike(this applies to ramped steep jumps too) make sure you are loading the bike in the right way - im struggling to explain a bit, but its super easy to load the rear and cause front wash out conditions(or in jumps load the rear which causes the buck forward). Try experimenting with compressing the bike into turns by dipping the knees forward(with rear end straight down into the direction of compression and dipping your chest to the bars). I used to make this mistake when moving down on the bike to compress - i was more loading up the rear by moving my rear end down and back. When you push into corners you may be loading the rear more and losing the front grip a touch and this is causing apprehension of what might happen causing you brake and lose speed. On the subject of a berm - there are many opinions on what a berm actually is. So make sure you are actually riding a berm and not a flat turn with a uptick at the sides and apply the correct thinking of where you need to be on the bike. Ben Cathro finished a great series on how to bike on pinkbike - i think that's pretty great place to look for tips(though i would say he is a pretty 'lanky' rider and that might reflect how he rides).
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Jan 4, 2022 01:33
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I did my first trail yesterday! Went up to the You Yangs with my Big W (K-mart) bike and did the Green and 1 blue trail.  (Type 1 diabetic. Rear bag has emergency sugar supplies to not die) THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS: #1) My biggest challenge was sand on the track. Often it would slow the front wheel down which would make the back wheel kick out, kinda like I had slammed on my front brakes. Also there were times where the bike would over-steer and slip out sideways under me. I can't figure out if sand was put down "tactically" to slow people down at times or if it was part of the track. Any tips on how to deal with sandy sections? #2) Holy poo poo the brakes suck. They did fine on road surfaces and gravel, but on actual trails they were shite. Is there a reason for this? #3) MTB tyres now make sense to me. On trails they grip and make uphills not suck. On roads and gravel they're probably too sticky and give unneeded resistance. Hate going uphill on roads and gravel, it was fine on a trail. #4) There were times that the bike just wasn't turning enough. How much if this is due to Big W bike and how much of it is due to a 0 experience rider? #5) Pedal striking is goddamn terrifying. Do you ever get used to this or do you just figure out ways of not sucking? #6) Any other suggestions on how to not suck based on what you're seeing here? The trails I went on had a few berms and parts were jumping was suggested, but I couldn't get enough speed to get air on any of those jumps. #7) Based on difficulty handling the bike, poo poo brakes and bad gear shifting, strongly considering getting an actual MTB. However I'm wondering how much of these issues were due to poo poo bike or poo poo rider? #8) It was fun as hell even though I sucked. However I never ate poo poo so I'll call that a win. H13 fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jan 4, 2022 |
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Jan 4, 2022 02:08
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| # ? May 20, 2024 15:21 |
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A lot of what you need to do is just go ride the bike. That will teach you how to ride sand, turn, etc. Just go and ride and have fun. Pedal strikes happen to the best of us but you start to see the trail better and know how to move the bike and pedals to avoid them. A nicer bike is for sure nicer, but a bike you ride is even better. I would probably ride a bunch more and then get something more fun and suited for the trails.
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Jan 4, 2022 02:58
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