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Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:$2 aliexpress photochromatic glasses remain undefeated  bought a handful of them a few years back, still have 3 or 4 unused.
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Apr 2, 2024 19:19
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I always used knock around for cheap sunglasses. They're great, can get lots of customization including polarization, tints etc and usually top out around $40. Coupon codes are a plenty and they often throw in an extra free pair.
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Apr 3, 2024 21:30
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So it's been pouring rain here for the last few days and tomorrow so all I can do is sit here research poo poo. I might actually go with the walmart 29" Ozark Trail Ridge for my first actual mountain bike. For the cost, it seems like the components and construction are well beyond my current needs. Upgrading is also a thing, which is the route I want to go since I do also want to tinker. I think that was the first bike someone recommended in here too. I was comparing it to a Trek entry level and it seems about on par or slightly below, but I still don't know quite what I am looking at. Taking Youtube reviews of it with a grain of salt, but it does seem like a pretty solid entry level bike, which is exactly where I am at. Anyone have any suggestions or anything? My backyard a few hours ago so you can enjoy the rain with me: 
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Apr 4, 2024 03:32
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Polish posted:So it's been pouring rain here for the last few days and tomorrow so all I can do is sit here research poo poo. I might actually go with the walmart 29" Ozark Trail Ridge for my first actual mountain bike. For the cost, it seems like the components and construction are well beyond my current needs. Upgrading is also a thing, which is the route I want to go since I do also want to tinker. I think that was the first bike someone recommended in here too. I was comparing it to a Trek entry level and it seems about on par or slightly below, but I still don't know quite what I am looking at. Taking Youtube reviews of it with a grain of salt, but it does seem like a pretty solid entry level bike, which is exactly where I am at. Anyone have any suggestions or anything? Telling us you're considering an "ozark" from walmart would be like going to the GWS subforum and telling them you're considering getting dinner from 7/11 this year. It's definitely going to have 2 wheels I guess but honestly that's not a bike that's a disposable product from a supermarket. You should at minimum be looking at name brands if you have to buy something from that kind of place. I have to assume any Trek would be much better just because it's coming from a real bike company. If Ozark is some boutique US brand that we just don't have in Canada then I guess I take it all back but I dunno.
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Apr 4, 2024 04:33
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For not much more than the ozark trail you should be able to get something like a couple year old use Marlin 6 and thats gonna be a much better bike. The ozark is not really worth upgrading, you'll spend a lot more than the difference between it and a better bike trying to make it better.
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Apr 4, 2024 04:40
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I mean I get it, I am not a fan of walmart.. but can anyone tell me why lets say a company like Trek is better? Seems all or most bikes, even the most expensive, all have bolt on components from various manufactures, and most bike companies just produce frames and assemble the bikes.
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Apr 4, 2024 12:29
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A cheap bike is going to have lower grade components bolted on, the component manufacturers all have tiers of their stuff to choose from. The cheap stuff may work fine but over time will reveal durability or performance problems. Part availability or repairability may suffer as well.
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Apr 4, 2024 12:53
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The other issue is that Walmart bikes are built by Walmart employees. You just aren’t getting a bike built according to manufacturers recommendations with everything greased and torqued properly from Walmart. Taking that out of the equation it’s really difficult to tell anything at all about that bike. Website doesn’t list any of the frame standards so if you break a part it’s a crapshoot on what you might be able to replace with a normal name brand part.
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Apr 4, 2024 13:02
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In addition to what xzzy said, bikes show up at the stores only partially assembled, and department stores aren't going to be hiring people for their abilities as bike mechanics. You don't have to spend much time looking at r/Justridingalong to find pictures of department store bikes with assembly problems. Forks installed backwards, brakes set up wrong, every component imaginable loose, damage from screws not being torqued to spec, et cetera. If you want the Ozark, buy the Ozark, from what I've seen on the youtubes you could do a lot worse from a department store. The best bike is the one you love riding. But for safety's sake, unless you're already a competent bike mechanic, you're going to want to get a real bike shop to do a full safety check. That alone will likely cost you close to the difference between the Ozark and an entry level hardtail from a known brand, assembled by people who know what their doing. Most good bike shops will also offer some free checkup labor on bikes that they've directly sold, so there's an additional cost savings on maintenance.
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Apr 4, 2024 13:08
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Are there service manuals from bike manufactures and such with proper torque values?
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Apr 4, 2024 13:27
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Polish posted:Taking Youtube reviews of it with a grain of salt, but it does seem like a pretty solid entry level bike, which is exactly where I am at. Anyone have any suggestions or anything? The Ozark will feel like a huge improvement over what you’re currently riding. This is true of nearly any mountain bike that hasn’t been sitting in a garage for 30 years, but if the Ozark is in your budget I think you should go for it. It doesn’t seem appreciably worse than an entry-level name-brand hardtail, especially considering the type of riding you plan to do. (Caveat: I wouldn’t trust a wal mart employee to competently assemble a boxed mountain bike, so make sure your stem clamps, headset, saddle and axles are properly tight before you ride.) Edit: this thread gets way more traffic before 7AM than I would have guessed, lol.
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Apr 4, 2024 13:29
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Polish posted:Are there service manuals from bike manufactures and such with proper torque values? From a known brand with good customer service and documentation, yes. Jesse Ventura posted:Edit: this thread gets way more traffic before 7AM than I would have guessed, lol. We wake up, get to the office, and start thinking about biking instead of working.
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Apr 4, 2024 13:32
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afflictionwisp posted:We wake up, get to the office, and start thinking about biking instead of working. I actually changed my office hours to come in an hour early specifically to start riding my bike when I get home.
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Apr 4, 2024 13:46
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Bottom Liner posted:
With the latest sale I bought 5 more pairs for $1.65 each. I ruined a pair at a gravel race this year where I was constantly wiping mud off the lenses and they wound up scratched to hell from all the grit
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Apr 4, 2024 13:48
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Berm peak has talked about the ozark before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLPpTFLgEb4 Been a while since I watched it but he didn't think it was terrible.
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Apr 4, 2024 14:28
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Yeah I watched him and a couple other people talk about it. Like I said, grain of salt, but it doesn't seem bad. The fork is the same fork on a Trek Marlin 6. Most components seem to be industry standard fits, and half decent quality. For that price point really the only argument against is "buying from Walmart" and "qualifications of who put it together". I am probably going to pick one up and I'll document how it goes here and the ups and downs from a new rider. Hopefully it doesn't bite me in the rear end, but we will see.
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Apr 4, 2024 15:16
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I still think a used bike is a better choice for you, but I'm also interested to see your perspective as this is a question that comes up often when people know you're a "bike person"
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Apr 4, 2024 17:36
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Polish posted:all have bolt on components from various manufactures On the Ridge Mountain, this one is a bit surprising: 11-42T 9-Speed L-TWOO Rear Derailleur L-TWOO is a new but legit Chinese component manufacturer going after this cheap OEM space. Getting their stuff on a Walmart bike is a big coup, but it should certainly remind you that these bikes are specced by bean counters, so you're hoping that L-TWOO's component that's 0.5c cheaper than a Malaysia-made Shimano component (with a decades-old design) has comparable reliability and utility. 11-42 gearing is a great option for beginners compared to a cassettet that would be part of a 2x9 or 3x9 setup. Anyways, assuming it's on the established 9spd standard cable pull, at least it should be pretty easy to replace with a different part if it does blow up. Polish posted:Are there service manuals from bike manufactures and such with proper torque values? Jesse Ventura posted:(Caveat: I wouldn’t trust a wal mart employee to competently assemble a boxed mountain bike, so make sure your stem clamps, headset, saddle and axles are properly tight before you ride.) In addition to checking those regularly for a few rides, the other one I'd spend some time on is the headset preload. If it's done too loose on initial install, your fork will be wiggling around in the headtube and quickly distort the frame there, which is unfixable and costs you the frame (or the bike really, given the cost to swap parts over to another frame). This is a perfectly serviceable video on headset preload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBLMvqQ1J_8 kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Apr 5, 2024 |
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Apr 4, 2024 18:25
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Thank you kimbo that was very informative and the kind of information that I'm looking for. How do I start bunny hopping? I've watched a bunch of videos explaining it and I understand the positioning and movements needed. I just have two issues, first being a mental block and building up confidence in my abilities. I'm still building confidence in maintaining balance and handling the bike, which with time I will solve all of that. The second is my seat is too high. I raised my seat based off of your guys suggestion and its in a really nice position when riding. I'm getting better power out of my pedaling and its much more comfortable. However, it seems that its too high to get into the first position to do a jump. I stand up, and then try to crouch down to get my thighs at a 90* angle and by that point I'm basically on the seat and that doesn't quite work for the rest of the jump. I am mostly following these guys procedure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTEWDBU-FSY&t=190s Obviously my first issue isn't making any of this easier, but I also feel I can't physically get in to the proper position. Is it as simple as, when I am going to be in a jumping type environment, lower my seat? Is constantly adjusting your seat height a thing? I am still doing the incorrect method of just pulling up on my handlebars which I know is wrong, but I can't jump over logs any other way yet.
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Apr 5, 2024 03:51
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Polish posted:Yeah I watched him and a couple other people talk about it. Like I said, grain of salt, but it doesn't seem bad. The fork is the same fork on a Trek Marlin 6. Most components seem to be industry standard fits, and half decent quality. For that price point really the only argument against is "buying from Walmart" and "qualifications of who put it together". I am probably going to pick one up and I'll document how it goes here and the ups and downs from a new rider. Hopefully it doesn't bite me in the rear end, but we will see. That ozark trail does look pretty legit. It has a tapered head tube which is surprisingly uncommon in the cheapest bikes from name brands. The old straight style has very limited suspension upgrade options. Polish posted:Are there service manuals from bike manufactures and such with proper torque values? This does exist for fancy parts for sure, sometimes it is even printed on the part, and I think big players like Shimano and SRAM will have torque specs for the low end, too. If you can't find anything for the exact parts you have, you could try to crib a rough idea of the torque from the manual of an expensive similar thing. e.g. stuff that clamps to the handlebar with an m5 bolt is all going to be roughly the same torque -- tight enough to keep the thing from rotating but not so tight as to deform the bar. Which you don't really need a torque wrench for, unless you are talking about carbon parts or you can't resist going gorilla tight. Honestly, if you are mechanically sympathetic and typically avoid striping out bolts on things you work on, you can basically just tighten everything up and be good without searching out torque specs. The headset topcap, as mentioned above, is a little special even though it looks like you'd just tighten it up to help hold the fork on. taqueso fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Apr 5, 2024 |
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Apr 5, 2024 04:36
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Polish posted:my seat is too high. I raised my seat based off of your guys suggestion and its in a really nice position when riding. I'm getting better power out of my pedaling and its much more comfortable. However, it seems that its too high to get into the first position to do a jump. I stand up, and then try to crouch down to get my thighs at a 90* angle and by that point I'm basically on the seat and that doesn't quite work for the rest of the jump. taqueso fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Apr 5, 2024 |
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Apr 5, 2024 04:52
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Also, while bunny hops are cool and fun, just go ride and you'll get comfortable having fun on the trails and your bike. Then it'll be much easier to learn when you are more confident on the bike, and realise you don't actually need to bunny hop over much too.
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Apr 5, 2024 06:15
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Polish posted:I just have two issues, first being a mental block and building up confidence in my abilities. I'm still building confidence in maintaining balance and handling the bike, which with time I will solve all of that. Knowing that, just progressively work upwards to understand how close you are to the limit. If you fall quickly forward back onto your front wheel, you're not even close. At lower speeds, you're almost performing a pogo stick hop with the rear wheel. Without having your stance leaned back so your hips and center of gravity are over the rear axle, you dissipate a lot of your jump power into pushing your front end back down. This is a good visualization for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSX5rZktlhg&t=8s When you first try to lean back that far, every bodily position alarm bell starts going off that you're going to fall backwards. Note that because of the longer reach on the MTB, the rider has to wait for the front wheel to compress then lift off the ground and for the bars to start coming back almost a foot before he springs up. In the BMX slo-mo, the rider pops up first and then brings back the bars on the way up. The wheelbase of an MTB is not trivial when combined with some decent fraction of your weight going to the front wheel. So you have to space things out timing wise to deal the extra inertia you're wrestling against. quote:Obviously my first issue isn't making any of this easier, but I also feel I can't physically get in to the proper position. As with any technique, the more efficient you get at it, the less extreme your movements need to me. So yeah, starting out, you'll probably want the seat lowered to help you squat down lower. But once you get all your motions working in harmony instead of partially canceling each other out, you can get a lot more hop from the same effort. e: forgot to mention -- it will really help you focus on the jump mechanics (and overall riding) if you have soft flat soled shoes and good pedals (with actual metal pins). The Ridge Mountain has pretty typical plastic pin bumps on its injection molded pedals. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Apr 5, 2024 |
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Apr 5, 2024 07:27
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walmart/target bikes have had their poo poo-tier reputation for so long and so universally that it wouldn't surprise me if the quality has gone up some just because "people too lazy to look up 1 thing on their phone and be warned away" are a rapidly shrinking demographic. but yeah in my experience there's always a balancing act between what enthusiasts on the internet say is the absolute bare minimum you need to even think about doing this hobby (whatever the relevant hobby is), and what you can actually do. if you've read what people posted and still want to give walmart a try, go nuts. if you need a higher quality bike, you'll find out soon enough Cactus Ghost fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Apr 5, 2024 |
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Apr 5, 2024 08:17
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It’s like a prestige thing with Wal-Mart now with the trails system in Bentonville.
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Apr 6, 2024 03:10
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Today was a beautiful day out, and I didn't ride, and I feel bad. However, I did ride on Saturday for 3 hours so I figured I'd give my sore legs a rest today. Put my one nephew on his first bike with gears vs his little bmx style bike and while he found it harder to ride at first, he quickly found out why gears are good on hills. Also found a great little loop in the trail behind my house that has some potential jumps, hills, and climbs that seems really good for building skills. So I took my two nephews through that like 20 times or so. So this brings me to needing a helmet. I know I should be wearing a helmet at all times, and doubly so to show my nephews that wearing a helmet is the thing you do. So any suggestions? Also, gonna pick up gloves because gently caress these rose bush vines.
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Apr 8, 2024 04:11
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Polish posted:Today was a beautiful day out, and I didn't ride, and I feel bad. However, I did ride on Saturday for 3 hours so I figured I'd give my sore legs a rest today. Put my one nephew on his first bike with gears vs his little bmx style bike and while he found it harder to ride at first, he quickly found out why gears are good on hills. Also found a great little loop in the trail behind my house that has some potential jumps, hills, and climbs that seems really good for building skills. So I took my two nephews through that like 20 times or so. Gloves: fox ranger (don't bother with gel version probably unless you need it) Helmet: whatever feels the best in your budget at your local bike shop.
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Apr 8, 2024 05:30
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At the very least, you have to try on a variety to learn how oval vs round your head is. Each brand tends to stick to a certain aspect ratio.
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Apr 8, 2024 07:44
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Polish posted:Today was a beautiful day out, and I didn't ride, and I feel bad. However, I did ride on Saturday for 3 hours so I figured I'd give my sore legs a rest today. Put my one nephew on his first bike with gears vs his little bmx style bike and while he found it harder to ride at first, he quickly found out why gears are good on hills. Also found a great little loop in the trail behind my house that has some potential jumps, hills, and climbs that seems really good for building skills. So I took my two nephews through that like 20 times or so. Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings - https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html#! they do a very in-depth helmet testing. Berm Peak did a video on them to explain the process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKbYaOiz5U4, and brought a helmet to test - https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html#166. Glove wise, I've got a couple of pairs of Firm Grip work gloves from Home Depot, that work well and were cheap. Like helmets, you gotta try them on to get what fits.
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Apr 8, 2024 12:45
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I like fox dirtpaw for gloves. They have a lil bit of armor on the kunckles and have saved me from some scrapes that would have been much worse. Please dont ride anymore without a helmet. No matter how easy your ride is things can happen outside of your control that will put you into the dirt or a tree.
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Apr 8, 2024 15:07
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Ok, in person it is very obvious that a dirt road with a few inches of snow is not an appropriate place for a mountain bike with normal tires lol. Did find a bunch of really nice trails semi-nearby though -- would definitely recommend if you ever end up north of Fresno for some reason: https://www.trailforks.com/region/s...ygon%2Cwaypoint
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Apr 8, 2024 20:06
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I currently have a RockBros shock pump, The pump screws onto the schrader valve pretty far, and then while unscrewing it seems like half the air escapes and I have to start again. I usually way overfill, and then adjust with my digital gauge. Is that the way to do it, or do other pumps not let a lot of the air out. Having said that, any recommendations on a shock pump? Would a Fox, or RockShox work better?
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Apr 8, 2024 21:38
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The air is released from the pump and hose only, they are designed to close the valve before the seal is broken. Maybe a rock bros doesn't do that but every shock pump I've used works that way. Rock bros stuff generally seems to work correctly despite being cheap, honestly I'd expect their shock pump to be fine. This is a super common misconception, I remember thinking the same thing when I got my first air shock. taqueso fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Apr 8, 2024 |
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Apr 8, 2024 21:44
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This is also why if you hook the pump back up it will read lower than it just did when you took it off; it takes some air from the shock to repressurize the hose/pump.
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Apr 8, 2024 21:48
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I always over-inflate a tire and then use a nice gauge to air down to my desired pressure, this is coming from automotive tires but I do it on my bike tires too. I almost never trust the pump gauge.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:38
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That's what I do for tires because I have a silca pump from the 90s but my shock pump is digital and probably accurate enough. Also, even if the shock loses air when you unscrew the hose (it doesn't), if you're setting pressure based on sag like you should it doesn't really matter the final pressure in the shock as long as sag is correct, so who cares if 190 gauge pressure ends up as 185 in the shock anyways.
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Apr 9, 2024 14:02
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Thanks for the replies. I went and played around with everything for awhile. Think I got it, or at least worked out a system with the pump I'm happy with. It's attach as schrader, pump up the pressure, then do the conversion to the pump nozzle that converts it to presta, closing the schrader faster. I was filling up to 130PSI, as read by the pump, then after removal my digital guage would read about 90. The above way has the pump guage reading 130 and the guage reading 125, leaving me with plenty of pressure to play with.
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Apr 9, 2024 15:15
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MarxCarl posted:I currently have a RockBros shock pump, The pump screws onto the schrader valve pretty far, and then while unscrewing it seems like half the air escapes and I have to start again. I usually way overfill, and then adjust with my digital gauge. Is that the way to do it, or do other pumps not let a lot of the air out. I went down the shock pump rabbit hole once and almost all the low cost pumps are made in the same factory in Taiwan (iirc) and each company slaps different branding and finishes on it. The generic fox pump might even be the same pump. Save your money until it breaks and then upgrade or buy whichever one is on sale.
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Apr 9, 2024 17:36
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MarxCarl posted:Thanks for the replies. Unless your pump is broken the Schrader connector on the pump should be releasing the pin on the valve, sealing the shock, before the connector unscrews enough to break the seal between the connector and the valve body on the shock. If unscrewing the schrader bit from the presta but on the shock pump works better I think there's something wrong with your pump.
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Apr 9, 2024 17:42
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meowmeowmeowmeow posted:Unless your pump is broken the Schrader connector on the pump should be releasing the pin on the valve, sealing the shock, before the connector unscrews enough to break the seal between the connector and the valve body on the shock. You should be able to verify/convince yourself that this is true by unscrewing the shock pump until you start to hear air escaping, then stop. You'll hear just a bit come out, and it will stop, and your shock/fork will not lose all the air, because what you are hearing is the compressed air inside the pump escaping, as has already been explained. You will never get the same reading after reattaching the pump, for this reason: you lose air in the shock when you attach the pump and the pressure equalizes it, not when you detach it.
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Apr 9, 2024 21:12
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