h3r0n posted:

I shout "TO VALHALLA" and just shoulder people out of the way.


Real answer is I generally say something along the lines of: rider up, passing when you have the chance etc etc. Please and thank you tend to go a long way too.

iospace posted:

Some of us ride in snow using 700x38cs!

Safety Dance posted:

I'd warrant that a lot of bikes went to cities so that people could stop huffing other people's coughs on public transportation, not to people who own garages.

vikingstrike posted:

Just buy a mid 90s Stumpjumper, its clearly what you want. Itll only be 200 too

PooPooMcNotme posted:

Cuntpunch posted:

That awkward moment when you realize that the shop that sold you a somewhat expensive bike made not one, but multiple mistakes during assembly.

Having never ridden with a clutched RD before, I early on noticed the weird little lever on the RD - and that when I flipped it, the RD wanted to 'lock up'. Weird, I thought, being naive - that must be some sort of lockout position for working on the mech or something. And thus, left it how I received the bike, lever down, arm able to easily be moved about.

2 months, 1400km later, idly reading the blue book with regards to the tubeless conversion process - it notes that to remove the rear wheel, I'm going to want to turn OFF the clutch, which will make the rear mech easier to move. Wait, the thought occurs, it's SUPPOSED to be in that difficult-to-move state by default? Surely not! So off I go, to flip the switch, ride around the neighborhood, and notice how much more pleasant shifting feels.

This does not inspire confidence, and I get to draft an awkward email to the shop today explaining my concerns. Upside: riding has gotten more pleasant on, quite literally, the flip of a switch.

Cuntpunch posted:

Yup, SRAM has that cute little lockout button to hold slack - going to be super helpful when it comes time to change that chain.

And not really flipping out on anyone, it was an awkward "Hey FYI - just wanted to let y'all know I found these issues, would kinda suck if other customers actually had this stuff develop into issues, have a nice day" email. They gonna find out somehow, why not try to ensure it's in a chill polite way.

Excepting the fact that I've had some really rough shifts since adding that extra link of slack to the chain, which have also now gone away under identical conditions, sure. It's also pleasantly less noisy.

And I'm sorry, Karen, I'll get right to reading the manuals for every component on the bike - because the bike's manual itself definitely doesn't cover this. Should I start ground up with the tire compounds and the spokes, or maybe interface-down with the grips and stem?

There's a lot of bits and bobs to go over, and I'd hardly expect them to go over most generalized service concerns like turning off the rear mech clutch, lever bleeding, or any such thing. Any more than a car dealership stopping to explicitly teach replacing a spark plug. Mostly a "right-and-tight at purchase, there's a service schedule in the manual - including some self-service like cleaning and lubricating the chain."

Cuntpunch posted:

Generally pleasant replies all around barring, uh, your weird gently caress-off-newbie snobbery.

Suburban Dad posted:

Ray's owns. Plenty of stuff to dick around and do for a couple hours until everything hurts. I have taken my own bike and rented, and renting was how I'd do it in the future (coming from 3 hours away). Now worth getting the bike dirty/wet outside during the drive for the small cost. Last I was there (a year or two ago?) they were trek 29+ hardtails that were pretty great and purple to boot.

eeenmachine posted:

Just ordered a Spot Rocker single speed after my gravel bike left me wanting more and realizing I’m almost always riding either road or mtb trails and my dentist road bike is much better suited for the road half.

Kind of nervous about the single speed thing though. Always intrigued me but I’m worried I won’t be able to get fit enough to properly enjoy it. At least it can be converted to 1x relatively easy if I bounce off it?

e.pilot posted:

This is absolutely fine, I’ve got a mishmash of shimano, sram, and god knows what else on 3 of my bikes.

I have had 105 levers shifting a GRX derailleur on an e*thirteen XD cassette for literal thousands of miles.

Boogalo posted:

My dropper got to be like that after 2 years of muddy riding and just needed a disassemble, clean, and re-lube.

dreesemonkey posted:

Incoming annoying new guy questions.

I'm a road bike hobbyist (typical 40ish out of shape guy), some former coworkers have been hounding me to come and ride mountain bikes with them for some time. I ride road bike solo, it would be nice to have some people to ride bikes with.

I don't have a mountain bike so I'm considering buying one. Through conversation with my friend, I asked details of what they ride and what I should consider:

• "All mountain" riding
  
• Recommends a 29" wheel (seems to concur with the fist post wiki)
  
• Recommends 130-150mm travel full suspension
  

They all more or less have Fezzari bikes, though that is not a requirement. I assume that's a bang for your buck brand as they're not rich dudes. I have 2 LBS that sell specialized/trek/cannondale, but as you can imagine no one has any stock to speak of so I'm not opposed to ordering direct from fezzari/canyon/polygon or similar if I could get one in a reasonable amount of time.

What would be some good options for a beginner? I'm a run-what-you-brung type guy, so I kind of would just like to get a bike and ride it without messing around too much. I'm not sure if that means I should get a slightly higher spec bike up front vs. getting something to then modify.

Not sure what my budget is or how likely I am to actually buy something, but let's say up to $3k-ish budget, but lower would be nice.

There is an outside chance that I might be able to ride a spare bike to see how I like it, but they've been saying that for years with no followthrough so I dunno. Ideally, I'd get to ride with them first before I spend thousands of dollars on something.

e.pilot posted:

if you have an air compressor setting up tubeless is a piece of cake

if you don’t and it’s your first time you’re in for a messy world of pain

related:
got some new wheels for the trail pistol last night, 35mm wide vs 27mm wide, the 2.5” tires have a much nicer profile on these





and mounted an old set of 2.1” thunder burts I had laying around on the 27mm wheels, I forgot what a pain in the rear end they are the mount

jamal posted:

There are current versions on the website with 2.1s and 2.25s in stock. Schwalbe availability has seemed to be a little more spotty than some other brands though. I waited most of last year for a racing ray 2.35 to show up. It was kind of funny because we ordered a couple sets and then had a bunch of the rear specific racing ralphs sitting around. So I had 2 different sets in the mean time. They're on my bike now but I still haven't ridden them.

VelociBacon posted:

Looks cool, what's this thing? Looks almost like an allen bolt or a small pivot but I can't see what it might be doing?

meltie posted:

Hey everyone, i'm moving soon to somewhere where temps are below freezing for half the year. What should I do about tubeless sealant there? Are below-freezing temps an issue?

Nohearum posted:

I was weak and bought a $49 gravel frame today

Nohearum posted:

Product listing explicitly said no fork but it came with one anyway as a bonus (and thru axles). Also shown is the gravel wheels. WTB i23 rims. One issue is the fork is 12mm thru axle and the front hub is 15mm thru axle. Might have to source a different wheel if I can't find converters.

Nohearum posted:

I yanked on the end caps a bit but couldn't get them off. Ended up sourcing a cheap 15mm to 12mm converter axle sleeve thing off scamazon that I think will work.

ddiddles posted:

My hitch rack and bike completely covers my rear license plate it rules my cars registration ran out a year ago.

MuadDib Atreides posted:

It doesn't come with pedals so I copped some flat pedals to go with it. I will NOT be blowing money on upgrading components, though they say the tires it comes with are very slow rolling. I will wear them out. I will not be buying 5-10 shoes either. I did cop a new helmet and knee pads, as safety is paramount. Also some gloves.

There is a suspension setup guide with the bike for which I fear I may need to go to the bike store and have them do it. Not sure how they will take that. Ages ago I went with my motobecane and got some guff for having a meme bike. I could also buy a shock pump but I am hesitant to mess around with suspension. If I have the shop tune the suspension to my weight is it basically one and done or is it like tires where it needs to be maintained all the time?

Guest2553 posted:

Welp! I spontaneously went to do a tubeless upgrade because tires were on sale. LBS left me with the impression my rims were notube ready but they're not.

Is there a relatively economical way to get to tubeless? I have a rockhopper comp which doesn't even have clincher rims. Complete wheelsets seem pricey but so does the labor cost of swapping rims.

Polish posted:

I just started riding again. My current bike is a 20 year old 60 dollar NEXT from Walmart that was sitting in my buddies parents garage for 17 years before he gave it to me and I made it function. I ride around a hilly neighborhood, some easy dirt trails in the forest, and a gravel flat canal path. Would some 100 dollar bike from amazon be a decent replacement for my needs or should I avoid it at all costs?

Comedy option: I keep shot gunning parts at my current bike until its been completely replaced.

I was thinking something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Ktaxon-Mount...4721&th=1&psc=1

Bottom Liner posted:

bought a handful of them a few years back, still have 3 or 4 unused.