• Welcome to RCCrawler Forums.

    It looks like you're enjoying RCCrawler's Forums but haven't created an account yet. Why not take a minute to register for your own free account now? As a member you get free access to all of our forums and posts plus the ability to post your own messages, communicate directly with other members, and much more. Register now!

    Already a member? Login at the top of this page to stop seeing this message.

Official MTB / Mountain Biking Chit Chat

Figured i'd join in. Been riding since June of 2013. Picked it up to get some exercise and little did i know it would turn into my new hobby. I try to ride at least 4 or more times a week. My first bike was an REI Hardtail and I quickly upgraded to a 2013 Giant X Trance 29er 0. What a HUGE difference. I just sold it last week after picking up a Santa Cruz Bronson C a couple months ago. I love this bike. Still climbs good but is so much better coming down.

bronson_zps42c6a0f7.jpg


rt-bronson_zpsa355683d.jpg


xtrance8_zps9b08edf8.jpg
 
hpiguy said:
1. It's already at 80mm, I tore into the fork and set it before I installed it.

2. I'm old and slow, no need for that. :mrgreen: Seriously though, if I were going to convert one of my bikes to a 15 or 20mm axle, it would be the 29er, and not the SS.
Click to expand...

I like the downhills and also like to just go through stuff sometimes, so a 15 or 20 is really good. It also gives you a little more confidence knowing the bike can stick to the line of you can. And it's easy, just unscrew take it out and the wheel is off.
 
Nice! How you liking the SS?

Mine is about to go through a big makeover. I'll post up pics as things arrive.
 
Put some XT hydros on mine. So much better. Had some problems on the long downhills due to hand surgery. I'm thinking these will help.

20140928_184315.jpg

20140928_184352.jpg


Saw folks talking about lights a few pages back. I got this one of amazon and it's been holding up good so far. Gonna convert it to a lipo battery as I noticed this one getting a little shorter run times.
http://www.amazon.com/Lumen-Cycling..._sim_sg_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XXZQCGE075N47Z9DWD2
 
Last edited:
Rich Trujillo said:
Figured i'd join in. Been riding since June of 2013. Picked it up to get some exercise and little did i know it would turn into my new hobby. I try to ride at least 4 or more times a week. My first bike was an REI Hardtail and I quickly upgraded to a 2013 Giant X Trance 29er 0. What a HUGE difference. I just sold it last week after picking up a Santa Cruz Bronson C a couple months ago. I love this bike. Still climbs good but is so much better coming down.

bronson_zps42c6a0f7.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice Rich, love that Bronson "thumbsup"

I have yet to make a trip to Snow Summit this year :x
 
Anyone need a cheap 27.2mm dropper post? I picked up a Raleigh RSP Plummet that won't work for me as it's not long enough. It's all mechanical similar to a gravity dropper, 60mm and 100mm drops, bar mounted remote operation. Brand new with box and papers, 27.2mm x 360mm. Shoot me a PM if so, I'll let it go cheap rather than pay to return it to the UK shop I bought it from.
 
^^Nice!

My new SS frame arrived today, aww yisss! :mrgreen: Soma B Side V.3 650b, Tange prestige HD tubing, Tange IRD sliding dropouts, etc. The attention to detail and fit / finish is outstanding. I chose steel for my own reasons, YMMV. Headed to the shop in the morning to start swapping parts over / add some updgrades, I can't freaking wait to ride this thing!

P1150210Large_zps65bb4031.jpg


P1150231Large_zps8583f4f2.jpg


P1150227Large_zpsc576ad9f.jpg


P1150237Large_zpsf0e2ff1e.jpg


Even the welds are smooth as buddah

P1150244Large_zps8230c3e3.jpg
 
^^Agreed, I get vertigo just watching.

Well, the new SS is pretty much done (I have a couple more things coming), but not without some delays. We like to have never got my old bottom bracket out, and once we did and moved on, we discovered I needed a zero stack headset. The LBS didn't have one, so as much as I hated to (and I said as much), I ran to a nearby town and grabbed a Cane Creek 40 series for it from another shop. They did have framesaver, so it got treated as it went together also. I got in a short test ride and it feels good, really good. Needless to say I'm a little jacked up to go rip on it tomorrow, and I'll get some better pics in it's native habitat.

P1150250Large_zps55fabbe1.jpg
 
Wow, there's some awesome pieces of equipment in here built for way more advanced riding than I expect to be doing anytime in the near future.

None the less, I'm curriouse what advice you guys might have for an entry level rider.

Background info:
I recently started riding an old mountain bike I'v had sitting in my parents shed for a good 8+ years, to help get in shape. The more I ride tho, mostly just 2-3 mile rides around the neighborhood and an occasional trip around the park, the more I realize that it is not in the best of shape and probably not a very good fit for my now adult frame. Once I get my endurance up to pace i'd like to start venturing onto rougher terrain and be able to go on longer rides like what I see all over this thread, but I don't think my current set up could take it for long and may be fighting me in some ways.

The plan:
I'd like to buy a quality bike around the first of the year with my bonus from work and what ever extra cash I get from the holidays ect. I'v done a little research but not knowing much about bikes I don't really know what to do with the info I find.
-It looks like I should allow a budget of at least $300-$500 for a decent entry level bike.
-Multi-speed is a must
-Front suspension is a must, I think i'd like rear also if budget allows but I'm not sure if it would be worth it for what i'll be doing (mild trails, occasional drop offs)
-I like the idea of disc brakes over rim brakes, but again don't know if they would benifit me (pretty sure hydralic would be overkill)

Knowing this, what tips and thoughts do y'all have on what I want to do verses what I think I'd like to have in a bike? What are some things I should look for when shopping?

Yes, I know talking to the folks at the local bike shop would also help educate me in choosing and geting fitted to the right bike. Might go by one or two tomorrow if I have time and see what they can tell me. You can never have to much information "thumbsup"
 
My cousin picked up an 05 Kona Coiler for $500 bucks that was in good shape for his first mountain bike. He has taken on a few lift serviced bike parks with me this year and it's held up great. If your on a budget, looking for older used bikes is the way to go, if you want full suspension and disk brakes anyways. Otherwise there are many hardtail bikes out there in your range. I have always been a Kona fan, good bang for the buck. It's just personal preference though, there are a lot of good bike brands out there.
 
I have been looking into bikes as well Andrew, Contes has some mechanical disk brake hard tails in the 450-500 range (Giant and Specialized), they sell used bikes as well. There are two locations in Richmond, one on Cary street and one in short pump.
 
Anyone familiar with the Giant revel 2 model? Seems to be a nice low budget rig with good reviews, front suspension, and mechanical disk brakes. Like Metal Militia I'm not looking to run the Tour De France just want something better than a Huffy.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/revel.2/14843/75692/#specifications

Or the 27.5

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/atx.27.5.2/18750/76228/#specifications

The talon is a little bit more but seems to have better components, and hydra brakes.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/talon.27.5.4/18769/76226/
 
Last edited:
I'm likeing the stuff Giant has to offer Chris, I'm going to check out Conte's latter this week and see about test riding some. Im leaning towards the 2015 Talon 27.5 4 if I stick with Giant.

I went by one of the other loacl shps today to look around and ended up test riding two 2015 Dimondback bikes, A 27.5 Apex Elite and Apex Trail 29er (I think i'm remebrering the models corretly), Dimondback and GT where the only brands they kept in the store.

After having some first hand contact with real bikes I think i'm going to stick with a hard tail. Also I like the feel of hydo discs over mechanical and if I can find them on a bike with in my budget like the one above I may go for them. The biggest thing I found out is I much prefer a 27.5 over a 29er, the difference in inertia when starting off was very apparent. The height of the 29er didn't feel right either. I havnt ridden a 26 inch yet tho so its still a possible choice.
 
Any name brand bike is better than no bike at all, it gets you out riding. But I'll warn you now, if you think you'll like it (and some don't), it's much cheaper to buy a higher end bike than to upgrade components one by one later on.

I got my first ride in with the new SS today. I. LOVE. THIS. BIKE. It's everything I wanted the 650b SS to be, and then some. I felt comfortable immediately, it handles very well, nice and stable, yet responsive and still playful and fun. I have GoPro footage I'll go through and try to get posted in the next couple of days now that I have a mount that seems to work for MTB'ing.

P1150274Large_zpsf2b9d247.jpg


P1150264Large_zpse993c815.jpg


This guy looks happy

P1150266Large_zpsce2dadbf.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
so my wife tried out my son's Barrage...
Replies
11
Views
1K
Shinchu
S
TheScaleAddict
The Official Road Bike/Cycling Thread
15 16 17
Replies
325
Views
32K
Levi
L
OTHGbronco82
Moto Thread
4 5 6
Replies
104
Views
10K
hpiguy
hpiguy
C
Newbie Crawler w/ ??'s /comments
2
Replies
23
Views
6K
Natedog
N
R
My FPV Wraith
2
Replies
20
Views
5K
FlexFanatic
FlexFanatic
Back
Top