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Sounds like you did great for your first time out! Welcome to the sport. #1) Sand is never easy, and trailbuilders usually do everything they can to avoid or mitigate it. Keeping your weight centered will help a lot - try to keep your weight off your hands and on your feet instead. It takes a lot of core strength to do and may be some time in coming but that's ok. #2) Were your wheels locking up under braking at all? If they were OK on pavement and gravel but not on-trail that may be a factor. If so, work on "feathering" the brakes: apply just enough pressure to not break traction. Keeping your heels down (way down, below the pedal spindle) while braking will help as well. Most modern disc brakes should only require one finger to operate. If you need 2 fingers just to get the bike to stop your brakes are on the underpowered side. #3) Tires are always a compromise! You're probably fine with what you've got for now. Ride a ton and wear em out and try something different next time. #4) Turning is something you'll work on forever. It's where everything comes together - bike, rider, tires, trail. There's tons of technique involved. Best I can say here is probably to keep your pedals somewhere between flat and outside-pedal-down and your weight over the bottom bracket. Work on leaning the bike more than your body. If you aren't already, work on staying standing up through corners to allow the bike to lean independent of your body, and try look at the exit of the corner and not down at your wheel. #5) Minimize pedal strikes by keeping your pedals flat when you're not actively pedaling. This also provides a platform for you to stand up on and use your legs as suspension when you hit bumps. I see from your past posts you have knee pain when you pedal while standing - you can certainly focus on seated pedaling. Still, I would work on staying out of the saddle for technical features. Probably don't try jumping yet unless you have experience from another riding discipline like BMX and know what you're doing. You can go a long, long, long way in the sport without ever leaving the ground. Most of the riders I know don't hit jumps, including people who raced at a pro level. #6) Keep riding, and ride the stuff you enjoy riding. Don't try and do everything right away. Don't feel like you're expected to be able to jump or hit drops or do high-speed corners or ride every feature on the trail. Don't be afraid to get off and walk a section, or practice one section of trail over and over, or go scope out a feature on foot before riding it. All the best riders do it and it's a great habit to get into. #7) I'd suggest sticking with the bike you have for a while longer. When you upgrade to a fancier bike you'll get a lot of niceties, but you'll absolutely have a ton of fun and learn a lot of fundamentals on your current bike. #8) Hell yeah! In general, don't overthink it and feel like you have to remember everything all the time. There's a billion cues and techniques and bits of gear that will all come with time and practice, and I've probably already given you too much here. Don't feel pressure to ride like you see on youtube. Don't feel like you have to go fast, especially if you're with people who've been riding for a long time. Staying healthy and uninjured is priority #1, so you can keep riding your bike. You may want to find a local shop and start going on group rides, especially if they have a beginner or no-drop ride. Nice job and keep us posted with your progress!
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Jan 4, 2022 03:05
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I think someone mentioned it upthread a bit, but I wanted to bring it up again, I really liked Ben Cartho's vids on the Pinkbike YouTube channel. He does a really good job walking you through a bunch of skills and how to do them correctly, but also what to not do with visual examples. Something that hasn't been mentioned, once you get onto more technical downhill sections and drops, it might be a good idea to remove the rack and top case and use a frame bag or a backpack for your snacks. It'll give you a little more room to maneuver when you need to get your hips further back.
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Jan 4, 2022 04:55
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Yeah I've been watching all the Ben Cartho 'how to bike' videos recently and they're fantastic, it's probably all too much to take in at once though and just because you see something in a video and understand it mentally doesn't mean you can immediately go and do it physically on the trail! I think one of my bike 'a-ha' moments when I started mountain biking was getting out of the saddle and moving my body and the bike a hell of a lot more when descending (or moving at speed in general), a dropper post definitely helps with that. When you first start doing it you feel really wobbly and unstable because the bike moves around so much more without the contact between your bum and the saddle, or legs and the saddle if standing up with the seatpost still up. But the ability to really chuck the bike around and move your body to either soak up features or pop over them seems absolutely critical to getting/maintaining any speed over rough terrain. I hit the local mtb park with my partner two days over the holidays and I feel like I did well in terms of maintaining a bit more speed through the tight berms, but I'm sure that I could have gone a lot faster. Next time I go I want to try pumping through the turn to see if I can get a bit of a speed boost on the way out, and a bit of extra grip too.
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Jan 5, 2022 08:41
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Blackhawk posted:Yeah I've been watching all the Ben Cartho 'how to bike' videos recently and they're fantastic, it's probably all too much to take in at once though and just because you see something in a video and understand it mentally doesn't mean you can immediately go and do it physically on the trail! You should google around to see if there is a pump track near you. Go check it out and challenge yourself not to pedal, and to instead use weighting and unweighting to keep speed up.
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Jan 6, 2022 01:17
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VelociBacon posted:You should google around to see if there is a pump track near you. Go check it out and challenge yourself not to pedal, and to instead use weighting and unweighting to keep speed up. Unfortunately whoever builds pump tracks around here has the nasty habit of either making them concrete, really tiny and tight, have huge aggressive jumps or all three. Luckily there is one locally that's concrete and tiny and tight but just big enough that I can rip around it on the mtb. I do need to go back there soon and just practice pumping with no pedals and see how fast I can go. It has a decent bermed corner at one end I can practice holding speed through too, and if I get fast enough I could potentially double some of the lumps (unlikely though as it's probably just too tiny to build up that kind of speed).
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Jan 6, 2022 02:30
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This is something I need to work on. Last time (read first time) I tried a pump track it felt so alien. I couldn't make my body and the bike do what I wanted them to do.
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Jan 6, 2022 02:50
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A cool feel good track story: https://bikerumor.com/khothalang-leuta-is-the-fastest-girl-in-the-village-after-learning-to-race-on-a-pump-track-for-peace/
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Jan 6, 2022 06:01
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PolishPandaBear posted:This is something I need to work on. Last time (read first time) I tried a pump track it felt so alien. I couldn't make my body and the bike do what I wanted them to do. Same but all the time
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Jan 6, 2022 10:56
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Spent last night with a group fixing up and maintaining some of the local off-piste natural trails around me. Was super satisfying to get rid of some horrible muddy ruts, drain lots of puddles, and rebuild some jumps and turns. It's the 3rd time I've done some trail work now and it really makes you appreciate how much effort goes into making and maintaining all the stuff you ride. Everyone should volunteer their time once in a while, it really pays off.
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Jan 6, 2022 15:39
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H13 posted:#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?
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Jan 6, 2022 16:45
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Aphex- posted:Spent last night with a group fixing up and maintaining some of the local off-piste natural trails around me. Was super satisfying to get rid of some horrible muddy ruts, drain lots of puddles, and rebuild some jumps and turns. It's the 3rd time I've done some trail work now and it really makes you appreciate how much effort goes into making and maintaining all the stuff you ride. There are off-piste mtb trails?
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Jan 6, 2022 20:26
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Finally have a mountain bike again after 2 years! Can't wait to shake it down tomorrow and dust off my trail riding cobwebs. Stumpy EVO comp 160/150
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Jan 8, 2022 07:57
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Very pretty
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Jan 8, 2022 23:59
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Russian Bear posted:Finally have a mountain bike again after 2 years! Can't wait to shake it down tomorrow and dust off my trail riding cobwebs. Stumpy EVO comp 160/150 Incredibly good looking bike. Quick question while I'm here: is there a MTB equivalent to motorcycle 50/50 tyres and if so what is the term for it? Basically knobbies that have some of the pavement endurance of a street tyre, but also have some of the traction of a real knobby on loose surfaces. I find bicycle tyres extremely confusing. I just want to be able to ride somewhere on pavement (perhaps 20-30km at a stretch) without destroying the tyres, and then go on the trail/beach/whatever and not feel like I'm on slicks. Speed and efficiency on pavement doesn't concern me, just longevity + dirt grip. My bike came with CST jack rabbits, they work fine on pavement and hard pack but are utterly hopeless everywhere else. Slavvy fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Jan 9, 2022 |
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Jan 9, 2022 00:08
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rowdy MTB's on subcompact/absolute beaters continue to be the best thing.
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Jan 9, 2022 00:11
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Slavvy posted:Quick question while I'm here: is there a MTB equivalent to motorcycle 50/50 tyres and if so what is the term for it? Basically knobbies that have some of the pavement endurance of a street tyre, but also have some of the traction of a real knobby on loose surfaces. I find bicycle tyres extremely confusing. I just want to be able to ride somewhere on pavement (perhaps 20-30km at a stretch) without destroying the tyres, and then go on the trail/beach/whatever and not feel like I'm on slicks. Speed and efficiency on pavement doesn't concern me, just longevity + dirt grip. My bike came with CST jack rabbits, they work fine on pavement and hard pack but are utterly hopeless everywhere else. They make semi slicks but they're really not good enough for proper mountain biking so you'd really need a very specific use case for it, maybe that's you I don't know. Here's an example: https://www.maxxis.com/us/tire/minion-ss/ 
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Jan 9, 2022 02:57
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I do a good amount of riding across town to ride trails and like the vittoria mezcal. Smooth and fast rolling but has fairly ok grip on trails. Not real searous dh/trail tire grip, but I prefer the trade off. Currently have maxxis minion dhf front, aggressor rear, and don't really like hauling them around. https://www.vittoria.com/us/en/tires/mtb-xc/mezcal
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Jan 9, 2022 05:09
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Right I see, I haven't encountered that term before outside of cars/motos. It looks like semi slick can mean anything from the above, to a purely street tyre with sipes cut in the rubber. A lot of tyres seem to be marketed for racing, which I'm definitely not, but at the same time I like difficult (for me) terrain and my current tyres are hopeless in that regard. I'm on a hard tail MTB, typically I want to ride about 20km on pavement to the forest and ride around in there, without destroying my tyres on the journey to and fro. What about this? Would I expect to see mileage in the tens, hundreds, thousands...?
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Jan 9, 2022 05:53
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Schwalbe wear fast ime. Ymmv of course.
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Jan 9, 2022 07:37
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Slavvy posted:Right I see, I haven't encountered that term before outside of cars/motos. It looks like semi slick can mean anything from the above, to a purely street tyre with sipes cut in the rubber. A lot of tyres seem to be marketed for racing, which I'm definitely not, but at the same time I like difficult (for me) terrain and my current tyres are hopeless in that regard. I'm on a hard tail MTB, typically I want to ride about 20km on pavement to the forest and ride around in there, without destroying my tyres on the journey to and fro. I found wtb rangers alright when bike touring when running them tubeless. Might want to go for something grippy upfront like a rekon though.
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Jan 9, 2022 09:14
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VelociBacon posted:They make semi slicks but they're really not good enough for proper mountain biking so you'd really need a very specific use case for it, maybe that's you I don't know. Here's an example: I used a specialized tire similar to that came on my enduro and you know it was better than I expected even in damp pnw conditions. I did eventually switch to a "proper" tire but in dry conditions it was pretty ok since they still have good side knobs. I only had on in the rear and they certainly not as good as a full tread. Honestly I think it will be tough to find a tire that meets both needs, look for something with a harder compound and it will last longer but at the cost of trail performance but that may be fine for your use case.
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Jan 9, 2022 09:27
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I'm having deja vu like I've asked this but I don't really think I have. How do I know what torque wrench to buy? I bought a 2021 Fuel EX 7 last year and the pivot bolts seem to vary between values around 10 and 27 NM. I've heard the beam style torque wrenches are good, and on the Park Tools website they have two - a 0-14nm and a 0-60 nm. What advantage is there in buying the one with limited range? I'm no looking for a wrench to adjust linkage bolts and not much else (no carbon on my bike). https://www.parktool.com/category/torque-tools Also, my wheels seem to have easily removable valve cores. When I put air in my tire, I find sometimes the valve is loose (via the lock ring at the base of the valve). My old wheels are eleven years old and I believe this type of valve core is a thing now, which makes it easier to put in sealant. Is this true or is something messed up? The wheels are whatever Bontrager came stock.
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Jan 9, 2022 19:28
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It's easier to accidentally over torque a bolt using a bigger wrench at a low setting. With the beam type that goes from 0-60 it's probably pretty difficult to differentiate between like 4, 5, 6 nm if you tried to use it on stem and seatpost bolts and such. But it should be fine for pivot bolts in that 10-27 range. For small stuff I have this tiny tekton wrench that is good and not too expensive https://www.tekton.com/1-4-inch-drive-dual-direction-micrometer-torque-wrench-trq21101 For medium stuff that isn't super critical I have a cheaper 3/8 drive wrench from harbor freight. I do need to go buy an actually nice 3/8 wrench one of these days though.
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Jan 9, 2022 19:50
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me your dad posted:I'm having deja vu like I've asked this but I don't really think I have. This one seems reasonable: https://www.parktool.com/product/ratcheting-click-type-torque-wrench-tw-5-2?category=Torque%20Tools I don't think you need more than 14Nm of force right? Might want to check your frame manual for the pivot bolt spec.
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Jan 9, 2022 19:54
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I've been very happy with this little torque set. The only space it has trouble fitting is the front bolt for tightening seat rails. Looks like rebranded tekton in a nice case. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JKJTDWC
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Jan 9, 2022 20:22
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jamal posted:It's easier to accidentally over torque a bolt using a bigger wrench at a low setting. With the beam type that goes from 0-60 it's probably pretty difficult to differentiate between like 4, 5, 6 nm if you tried to use it on stem and seatpost bolts and such. But it should be fine for pivot bolts in that 10-27 range. Thanks. I imagined it may be a matter of precision. I may get the 0-60. VelociBacon posted:This one seems reasonable: https://www.parktool.com/product/ratcheting-click-type-torque-wrench-tw-5-2?category=Torque%20Tools I've looked at the bolts. They range between 10 and 27 nm (and there may have been a thirty).
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Jan 9, 2022 20:53
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Did my first ride in 2022, and first post-COVID ride today. I felt pretty good, excited to drop some pounds that I've been stacking on my belly the past few months.
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Jan 9, 2022 22:00
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evil_bunnY posted:rowdy MTB's on subcompact/absolute beaters continue to be the best thing. I love my Fit, easy to drive in the city and cargo room that embarrasses most small CUVs. Honda how could you have not brought over the new hybrid one you bastards!  (the answer is money ofc)I'm SO happy to be back on the trail holy poo poo! Rode with my friend today who is a really amazing rider, he had many opportunities to wait and enjoy the scenery hah. Perfect winter weather here this weekend too, 70 in town and a nice 60 at altitude where the riding is.   me your dad posted:I'm having deja vu like I've asked this but I don't really think I have. The lock rings can unwind sometimes as it's just friction holding everything together and there are like 3 threads in the lock ring. Just check periodically and hand tighten. Don't crank em down with pliers or something (or if you do just a quarter turn). Russian Bear fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Jan 10, 2022 |
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Jan 10, 2022 00:45
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Man that looks like an awesome place to ride.
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Jan 10, 2022 01:46
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Boogalo posted:I've been very happy with this little torque set. The only space it has trouble fitting is the front bolt for tightening seat rails. Looks like rebranded tekton in a nice case. Same one I have after doing a bunch of research and then using it once. Jealous of folks who have nice enough to ride weather this time of year. Looks great.
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Jan 10, 2022 02:50
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Boogalo posted:I've been very happy with this little torque set. The only space it has trouble fitting is the front bolt for tightening seat rails. Looks like rebranded tekton in a nice case. I have this and I would recommend it.
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Jan 10, 2022 06:22
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ought ten posted:There are off-piste mtb trails? They're basically unsanctioned/unofficial trails that the forestry commission are fine with as long as you don't make any dumb features on them.
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Jan 10, 2022 09:34
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  First ride on this thing and it was disappointing only because of the weather. This was the only clear section because it's south facing and slightly exposed. The rest was fatbike worthy and didn't work on 2.5s. I love the seat tube angle, and love love the oval chainring. I couldn't do any hauling rear end or steep stuff due to the ice and snow, but it was a really great ride on the little bit of dirt and chunk there was. I think it's going to need two weeks to get less lovely barring a drastic warmup (currently just above freezing). For those just joining, it's a 2022 Marin El Roy, a bike with pretty extreme geometry. I've got CushCore Pro front and back, and an Absolute Black 32t oval. Not that I'm being a weight weenie but the stock FSA chainring was 200 grams lol, this one is 66g. Ergon GD1s on OneUp carbon bars with 35mm rise and a Deity stem which I only got because Marin specced a 31.8 clamp on the bars for some reason. The compound section of the OU bars really takes a lot of the edge off, I think they're essential. Also that Pro Stealth I had kicking around. I've got to Ride Wrap it but I don't believe I've heard anything from Ride Wrap since I ordered and paid like 3 weeks ago. I suspect the last change would be probably some Hunt Trail Wides to get a bit of suppleness in the back, and a far lighter cassette would be nice, but I think I like the setup as is.
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Jan 11, 2022 00:19
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compressioncut posted:
Loved the look of the El Roy (I'm a sucker for steel). I hope that its super fun in nicer weather, please keep the thread (me) updated.
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Jan 11, 2022 00:30
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Whoa that is one slack hardtail and an amazing looking bike 😍
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Jan 11, 2022 02:04
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That El Roy is sweet! Rowdy hardtails are awesome especially if you don't live in a place littered with rocks. My buddy had commencal trail hardtail and really enjoyed it, except replacing rear tires super often but that's just because of our terrain and he loving sent it a lot.
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Jan 11, 2022 07:24
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Sup goons, I just bought a new Cannondale Trail Eight, after many many years of not riding. Went out for a 4 mile ride, and oh boy does my butt hurt. I know mountain bikes are mostly for standing up, but I'll probably be taking it a bit easy these next few weeks. What do you guys suggest for a saddle in the meantime? Within 2 minutes of riding, I knew I wasn't gonna poo poo right for a week.
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Jan 11, 2022 14:05
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First, are you wearing padded liners? I'd start there if not. But yeah if in 2 minutes you're hurting then maybe it's not 'right sized.' I've only ever bought one from sq labs but have very little mileage on it. There's ways to find your sit bone width with a piece of cardboard and a tape measure to see how close you measure vs your current saddle to see how close the fit is or for a new one. Suburban Dad fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Jan 11, 2022 |
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Jan 11, 2022 14:41
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Hoppin Tin posted:Sup goons, I just bought a new Cannondale Trail Eight, after many many years of not riding. Went out for a 4 mile ride, and oh boy does my butt hurt. I know mountain bikes are mostly for standing up, but I'll probably be taking it a bit easy these next few weeks. Go to a bike shop and get your sitbones measured. That'll drive size, as far as what brand/model, that's all pretty individualized. What hurt? Is it your sitbones, taint?
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Jan 11, 2022 14:58
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Cannon_Fodder posted:Go to a bike shop and get your sitbones measured. That'll drive size, as far as what brand/model, that's all pretty individualized. What hurt? Is it your sitbones, taint? My sit bones, bit of a sharp pain. Taint seems fine.
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Jan 11, 2022 15:08
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