Official MTB / Mountain Biking Chit Chat

[canadianbacon]

Alright, thanks for the info earlier guys. I found a couple other bikes I'd like your opinions on.

Opus Strat - Mike's Bike Shop

Kona Lana'i - Mike's Bike Shop

My inseam is between 32 and 34", so lets say 33".

 

[hpiguy]

Brandon, those pics from Taiwan are really cool. How's the riding there overall?

Finally got a decent nights sleep and went for a ride today. There were so many bunnies out today. Saw some tree rats too. Hopefully I can keep riding and get rid of the lazyness.


Mountain Bike Ride Profile | Bunny's! near Walnut | Times and Records | Strava

I wondered what the hell was up when I saw the Strava ride titled bunnies. :lmao:


I did my normal 18.5 road loop Tuesday group ride tonight. I'm finally starting to feel some improvement. I can hammer down for longer now before running out of gas and having to take a break and spin for a while. Getting better about my pace too; I passed a couple people on one of the longer climbs tonight because I had kept some in reserve the couple miles prior knowing it was coming up.

Also, Cujo was tied up this week. That call to animal control must have worked. But, two new dogs from one of the summer home crowd, blue pit and a bull mastiff. They didn't leave their property, but the mastiff came out of nowhere from the wood line and scared the shit out of me when he popped out. :mrgreen:

Easy MTB ride tomorrow around town, just goofing off with friends to spin the legs some. Back on the road bike Thursday, then MTB trails on Sunday. "thumbsup"

 

[OTHGbronco82]

Brandon, those pics from Taiwan are really cool. How's the riding there overall?



I wondered what the hell was up when I saw the Strava ride titled bunnies. :lmao:


I did my normal 18.5 road loop Tuesday group ride tonight. I'm finally starting to feel some improvement. I can hammer down for longer now before running out of gas and having to take a break and spin for a while. Getting better about my pace too; I passed a couple people on one of the longer climbs tonight because I had kept some in reserve the couple miles prior knowing it was coming up.

Also, Cujo was tied up this week. That call to animal control must have worked. But, two new dogs from one of the summer home crowd, blue pit and a bull mastiff. They didn't leave their property, but the mastiff came out of nowhere from the wood line and scared the shit out of me when he popped out. :mrgreen:

Easy MTB ride tomorrow around town, just goofing off with friends to spin the legs some. Back on the road bike Thursday, then MTB trails on Sunday. "thumbsup"

Haha, yup. I don't think I've ever seen so many rabbits out as I did today.

Alright, thanks for the info earlier guys. I found a couple other bikes I'd like your opinions on.

Opus Strat - Mike's Bike Shop

Kona Lana'i - Mike's Bike Shop

My inseam is between 32 and 34", so lets say 33".

Both of those have a pretty good spec for a first mtb. Just go on the manufacturers web site before you buy it and check their sizing just to be sure. But a large is probably going to be the answer.

 

[Natedog]

Brandon, those pics from Taiwan are really cool. How's the riding there overall?



I wondered what the hell was up when I saw the Strava ride titled bunnies. :lmao:


I did my normal 18.5 road loop Tuesday group ride tonight. I'm finally starting to feel some improvement. I can hammer down for longer now before running out of gas and having to take a break and spin for a while. Getting better about my pace too; I passed a couple people on one of the longer climbs tonight because I had kept some in reserve the couple miles prior knowing it was coming up.

Also, Cujo was tied up this week. That call to animal control must have worked. But, two new dogs from one of the summer home crowd, blue pit and a bull mastiff. They didn't leave their property, but the mastiff came out of nowhere from the wood line and scared the shit out of me when he popped out. :mrgreen:

Easy MTB ride tomorrow around town, just goofing off with friends to spin the legs some. Back on the road bike Thursday, then MTB trails on Sunday. "thumbsup"

Good to hear you're improving, just take it steady don't bump up mileage or effort too fast.

I carry pepper spray for loose dogs, mountain lions, hobos etc. lol

 

[JeremyH]

I carry pepper spray for loose dogs, mountain lions, hobos etc. lol

A 40oz works best to keep hobos away....

 

[gsrcivic]

A 40oz works best to keep hobos away....

My 45 works best never really had to use it yet but it gets ur attention...but I only run into dogs occasionally would probably faint if I came upon a mountain lion we do have them but there far away from the bike trails

 

[canadianbacon]

Both of those have a pretty good spec for a first mtb. Just go on the manufacturers web site before you buy it and check their sizing just to be sure. But a large is probably going to be the answer.

The good thing is that the links I provided are from the major bike store about 20 minutes away from me, and they've been in business since the 80's. I'm leaning towards the Opus, mostly because it is a Canadian company and I love the look of it. I just need some stuff to sell first, then I can go be serious about inquiring about it lol

 

[canadianbacon]

A 40oz works best to keep hobos away....

a empty one upside the head, right?....

 

[C*H*U*D]

For dogs, I just use my water bottle and squirt them on the nose/mouth area as they run alongside. I had one regular that chased me every day. After about the third-fourth time of him choking on the water, he would just watch me as I rode by.

 

[hpiguy]

^^LOL, I carry a can of HALT (dog pepper spray) on the bike.

So I need some advice.

Some of you already know I use Strava to track my rides and progress. I also have a Polar HRM that I bought a couple years ago for different training, and I have a separate computer on the MTB since there's is no cell service in a lot of places here. I'm looking to buy one device to replace all that clutter and just be done with it. I'm currently looking at the Garmin forerunner 110 watch with HRM. I don't need cadence, power output or any of that stuff (at least I don't think so). Just GPS ride tracking with speed, and HRM functionality. I can buy that for about $150, and use it on every bike and for other things also.

OR, do I just wait, save a bit more and buy one of the Garmin Edge GPS cycling units? Anyone using one? I have a friend that has one and loves it. He claims buy once, cry once and be done with it. You can find the Edge 800 bundle for about $250 off if you shop around. There's a ton of roads around here I'd like to ride and having the map / GPS would come in handy at times. I could also likely use it on the motorcycle as well for navigation since it's waterproof and all that good stuff, so it would actually be a multi use device.

 

[JeremyH]

For dogs, I just use my water bottle and squirt them on the nose/mouth area as they run alongside. I had one regular that chased me every day. After about the third-fourth time of him choking on the water, he would just watch me as I rode by.

That's a good idea. Should work on Hobos too."thumbsup"

 

[C*H*U*D]

Garmin forerunner 110 watch with HRM.

I don't know if they've improved the Forerunners or not, but my girlfriend had one a few years ago, and it had terrible battery performance. Research that before plopping down the cash.

That's a good idea. Should work on Hobos too."thumbsup"

For Hobos, squirt them with water and throw a bar of soap at them...they'll keep their distance in the future.

 

[JeremyH]

For Hobos, squirt them with water and throw a bar of soap at them...they'll keep their distance in the future.

What about body gel and a loofa (part of my regular ride is through the gay part of town)? Same effect?

 

[C*H*U*D]

What about body gel and a loofa (part of my regular ride is through the gay part of town)? Same effect?

Have you ever wondered why cycling jerseys have all those pockets in the back? It's for carrying all of these grooming accessories "thumbsup"

 

[OTHGbronco82]

Good to hear you're improving, just take it steady don't bump up mileage or effort too fast.

I carry pepper spray for loose dogs, mountain lions, hobos etc. lol

I just have a big ass knife in my water pack. I also have a small pump and a full sized tire iron that would hurt like a mofo.

 

[hpiguy]

I don't know if they've improved the Forerunners or not, but my girlfriend had one a few years ago, and it had terrible battery performance. Research that before plopping down the cash.

The new ones seem to be better, around 8hrs or so on a charge from what I've read. Given all my options, and what I'm looking for at this point, I went ahead and ordered one. Should be here on Friday, I did however buy a 2 year accident / wear & tear replacement plan just in case. A decent cycling computer with the same features would have cost me the same or more, so if it works well it's a win for me being able to use it on multiple bikes, and other activities.

 

[canadianbacon]

Welp, bought the 2013 Opus Strat yesterday, $100 off since it's a brand new left over. I took her out for a quick rip today (only 7km's) and holy hell I am out of shape haha. I still need to go a couple adjustments to fit it perfectly (raise seat a touch, move it forward a little bit) but other than that it rides great. Also got a Topeak Comp 140 trip computer free with it, better than nothing, just got to figure it out. It's the large frame, my stand over height is pretty tight so I don't know exactly how they measure their frames. I tried the 2014 Trek 3500, 18.5", and the cockpit (or whatever the correct cycling term is) was too tight, everything seemed too compact.

 

[Natedog]

Welp, bought the 2013 Opus Strat yesterday, $100 off since it's a brand new left over. I took her out for a quick rip today (only 7km's) and holy hell I am out of shape haha. I still need to go a couple adjustments to fit it perfectly (raise seat a touch, move it forward a little bit) but other than that it rides great. Also got a Topeak Comp 140 trip computer free with it, better than nothing, just got to figure it out. It's the large frame, my stand over height is pretty tight so I don't know exactly how they measure their frames. I tried the 2014 Trek 3500, 18.5", and the cockpit (or whatever the correct cycling term is) was too tight, everything seemed too compact.

Cool. Standover doesnt' matter much, it's how it fits while YOU"RE RIDING. "thumbsup"

 

[canadianbacon]

Cool. Standover doesnt' matter much, it's how it fits while YOU"RE RIDING. "thumbsup"

Defintely, they gave it a complete tune-up before I left with it, now it's just some slight tweaking to where it'll be perfect. I have a year of free tune-ups from the shop with it, so I'll definitely be taking them up on that lol.

Edit: I'll get a pic tomorrow, going for another ride, and going to try to fit it in my Slowbalt haha, no roof racks that I could find for the coupe, and I'm not jimmy-rigging something...

 

[hpiguy]

Congrats on the new bike man!! Throw a sheet over the back seat to prevent chain lube and such from getting in the interior. Throw the passenger seat forward and leave the seat back angled towards the windshield, remove the front wheel, drop the seat post (after marking where it's at), put the rear wheel behind you, and put the forks on the floorboard behind the passenger seat. It might fit, depends on the car.