Stolen Bike

[Warren]

[Warren]

I just got back from a 28 mile ride, it was AWESOME, this thing is a beast, there was a part of the trail that was flooded, but I didn't think it was that deep, so I went for it and ended up submerged in water half way up my calf, but I still made it, and amazingly the bike never slowed down, it was effortless. The flooded part was about 40 feet long. It's a bit hard getting it to high speed, it does have 2.4" wide tires, and the gearing is made for low speed mountain trails, and on top of that there's ultra high wind today, 20-30mph. I did almost crash once, I was going fast and realized at the last second, a big branch hanging off a tree blocking half the path, so I swearved and avoided it, and the wheels were literally riding on it's sides (I was leaning more than 35* to the side), I freaked but somehow didn't crash and immediately gained control. Next I'm going to the dirt trail, but I have homework to do...

OMG THIS IS MY 3000TH POST!!!! YAY!!!! Only took over 4 years to get here .

[David Horn]

What are your trails like? Around here it's so steep that there's a "killer" loop (according to MBR magazine) that's only 13 miles long. Mind you, there are some parts that you think you'll never get to the top of, and downhills that have you carrying the bike from rock to rock.

Was riding down a muddy track the other day and found myself thinking, "these bridlepaths have gone downhill (sorry) a bit", only to find I was riding down a drainage ditch and the proper path was about 30 feet off to the left!

[Warren]

We only have a pavement trail out here, I may not get to get out to a dirt trail for a couple weeks. I don't really have a choice when I don't have a car.

[Warren]

So I've had my bike for about 2 weeks now, and I LOVE it, the thing is insane. Rides great, everything is great, I can go out tall curbs with ease, I even went down stairs (they were outside...). This weekend I'm going true mountain biking, it'll be SOOO awesome!

http://www.mmba.org/midstate/trails/Burchfield/Ramp.jpg
http://www.mmba.org/midstate/trails/Bur ... onkey2.jpg

[Warren]

Ohhh man was it an awesome time!! The trails are pretty insane, there's one called Randy's Maze where most of the way your handlebars are barely fitting through trees, going around insanely tight turns, it was AWESOME! I had 3 major crashes. The first was going down a very fast doubletrack hill, and at the bottom is a mound for jumping, so I hit it, flew off into the air, and came down with my crotch hitting the top tube then I fly forward into the stem. I laid on the ground holding my testicles in the fetal position. My friend was a little bit up the trail. Some pros came along and asked if I was okay and I told them what happened and they went to my friend and said "Sorry dude, but your buddy can't have children anymore." That's was pretty funny. The next one was going too fast on a very windy trail and hit a tree root wrong and somehow got my left knee stuck between the down tube and front wheel, I did all I could to prevent it from breaking, and only suffered a bruised muscle, that was the most painful of the day, still hurts plenty today. The last crash was awesome, going down the hardest hill of the park (a double red with warning signs saying only experienced riders), an extremely steep hill with 3 large mounds at the bottom. So we went, and you know the hills where you start doing down and it just gets steeper and steeper, well I got serious speed, hit the first mound, and went airborne and thought "yup, I'm going to die", and came down with my right hip on the back wheel and just flew off the bike. I landed in front of the bike and the bike went flying over me, luckily didn't even touch me, but when I flew off, the pedals wacked my shins (I have metal pegs sticking off the pedals, upgraded ally BMX pedals, I love them), giving me 7 puncture wounds on my shins. I wasn't really hurt from that one, it was excellent, we looked at the big gauge in the earth and estimated I went airborne for about 15 feet, fantastic. We were out there for about 4 hour, soooo good, I love my bike, I smashed off the front reflector though, I'll have to replace that. I loved the rock piles, the suspension makes going over those a breeze (well...not a breeze...but easier).

[tomdon]

Wont be long till you can start hucking off cliffs .

[Warren]

Look at this bike, the Specialized Demo 9, with nine inches of travel, insanity, click Watch on the bottom to see the video. You can also throw the bike up and down.
http://www.nine-honking-inches-of-travel.com/

If I was to buy a real real mountain bike now, which I would do after graduating, I think it would be the which the insane 29" diameter wheels, the , or the , all of which are around $2000. Perhaps the . Trek now has a thing where you can completely customize the color of the bike with solid, flame, or "dart" color schemes, very cool, but only on the most top of the line bikes (over $3000).

[Warren]

After much deliberation, I've decided to return my bike and get the one up model, the . I wanted disc brakes mainly, and the handlebar is a lot nicer, and I like blue better than red. Also the fork suspension is a lot nicer too.

[David Horn]

Did I, or did I not say, "get a bike with disc brakes."

You got a good deal, a bike with hydraulic discs in the UK is still extremely expensive. I have cable discs on my bike and they're OK provided they don't get wet.

When you're changing the pads, it's very important not to touch the brake lever, otherwise you'll have to set the brakes up again...

[NYIllustrator]

Wow I cant believe I just found this thread. I was just thinking the other day how Id like to get into mountain biking and here this is. Any of you have good recommendations for a bike? Im totally new to this so this will be my frist mountain bike. I dont know ANYTHING about them, what brakes are good, which springs are good ect.. I dont want to spend more than 500 on the bike and thought Id ask here as I dont want to get rooked at the bike shop being a newbie.

[James S]

Yeah, I'm about to buy a bike, too. I'm looking at Terk and Raleigh right now. Trying to find one that's light with disk brakes, good suspension, and low on the number of gears.

[Warren]

What I had was an excellent beginner bike, the for $290. If you want better, the for $410. You may also look at the for $330. What you want to look for is, get a front suspension, don't bother with rear yet, too expensive. Go with normal pull brakes, disc are nice but are really a luxury (oh, and mine are mechanical, hydraulic is hilariously expensive, maybe in a couple years I can...). As for frame, get aluminum alloy, not steel, you'll be AMAZED at how much of a difference just a little weight can make (I have my bad weather bike, which I call Scheißrad [shit bike], because we talk about it in German class...anyway, it's steel crap and it is so much harder to peddle... Get a quick button level type shifter, those ones that twist, it kind of makes you take your hand off when shifting, and that can cause problems on difficult terrain. As for pedals, I got alloy BMX, which are all metal and have alloy pegs sticking up that go into the holes in your sneakers making a "fake" clip-on. I love them SOO much, makes it feel like you're really connected to the bike. The disadvantage is, during a crash (and I experienced this fully), try not to fall with your shins against it, I got 7 impressive puncture wounds. As for wheels/tires, get at least 2.0" wide, maybe 2.2" (mine has insanity 2.4" for snow riding, and when you get that wide, it makes a lot of road noise, lol, which I like ). For the fork, at least 63mm, 100mm preferable but not necessary. Try to get an adjustable one if you can. The one I had on my Opie was air suspension, and my new one on my Mullet is fluid suspension, and I'm impressed with the difference, it really feels like fluid, but again, not totally necessary (I'll be stiffening it when I go out on the trails, bottoming out is very bad for it). That's all I can think of now, so ask any questions you want.

[NYIllustrator]

[Maf54]