Mtb'ers

[ronin]

Any mountain bikers around? With the surf being bunk for weeks on end this summer, I needed to get the ticker pumping so I broke out my old rigid frame 26" mtb and proceeded to carve out a flat track on 1 acre of property I live on.

One thing led to another in terms of trying to upgrade my ride and finally it became apparent I "needed" a new bike that is up to modern standards. So I found a sweet Cannondale Trail SL2 29er on sale that fit the bill and have been riding every morning pretty much, when I am not surfing. And of course the new bike still needed to be cherried out with upgraded pedals, grips and saddle.

I feel like my skills have been progressing and wouldn't mind looking around the local hills for some trails soon. Just need to get a good helmet and probably some knee pads so I don't end up in the emergency room too often. That's one thing the water has over the dirt.

What do you all ride and where do you ride it?

 

[bjorn2bwild]

As a long time cyclist (BMB), I have retained my preference for pavement, provided it is lightly traveled and mostly friendly. Rarer all the time.
Right now I have access to a nice paved trail system via ~ 1 1/2 mile dirt single track so I usually ride my trusty 25yr old hybrid bike.
When I travel the lonely roads of the west, I take the MB with dual purpose tires - ready for anything.
Great low impact sport when practiced with care.

 

[Rosie]

I'm a roadie, in large part due to the fact that I'm entirely too klutzy for single-track mtb'ing -- some of my most spectacular crashes have been while mtb'ing, and I had the bruises to show for it, heh. Where I live currently, I can ride directly from home on very good cycle-friendly roads and paved trails, w/o having to load up the bike & drive somewhere. DH & I also have touring bikes with fat(ter) tires, which are nice to take out on the bay levees near us.

That said, when DH & I relocate in a couple of years (give or take), maybe we'll have good reason to dust off our long-neglected mtbs.

 

[imoldernu]

Am getting too old for "mountains', but my Florida bike is a 1990 Offroad, Proflex2 which was 30 years ahead of its time...

MOMBAT: Proflex and Girvin Cycles History





Bought it for $5 and rebuilt it from scratch... spokes and all.

Elastomer Proflex rear suspension and a Girvin headset... a design that hasn't been equalled since. Imagine replacing a chain without using a master link. An oval power chainring, aluminum frame (before carbon fiber) and
a rear triangle designed to keep the back wheel on the ground. (see the article)

Favorite trail is the Withlacootchee State Trail from Inverness to Floral city... about all I can manage anymore. (no hills)...

 

[IBWino]

@imoldernu,
It looks like you also have an elastomer suspension stem. I still have one of those SoftRide Suspension stems on my ~1992 Miyata mountain bike. Rarely see these things anymore, but I still like mine.

-Wino

 

[savory]

I also ride the roads for exercise and tour for vacation. Just got back from a three day trip around the northern end of Lake Champlain (NY,VT Quebec). That was a great trip. Burlington, VT is a great biking town. My DW keeps the blog and here is the link to our latest multi-week trip crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Finetastic Adventure 2013, by Marti Fine

If you love bicycling, you might enjoy self-contained touring. A great way to vacation. (Even if you do not like to bike. You get to eat all you want and still lose weight You can get great maps and information from Adventure Cycling.

 

[nun]

As a long time cyclist (BMB), I have retained my preference for pavement, provided it is lightly traveled and mostly friendly.

If by BMB you mean Boston-Montreal-Boston, that's hardcore.

I do a lot of weekend road/fire trail riding and vacation touring. I just rode from Boston to Niagara Falls and had a great time. Bike touring makes life simple; eat, ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

 

[H2ODude]

Acquired a vintage Specialized Epic a year ago to provide some cardio in lieu of running since plantar fasciitis crimped me bad for ~9 months, now can run again but really enjoy the mb. I had a road bike but gave it up several years ago along with the motorcycle, too many idiots on the road. Yeah I have some bruises and scrapes from the trails, but I'll gladly risk a broken wrist or collar bone vs. getting gished by someone pulling a trailer with wheels that protrude a foot beyond their pickup. We're fortunate that we live about 3 miles from our reservoirs that have hiking and MTB trails all around them; total of ~ 30 miles of which ~ 15 allow bikes. I try to MTB about 14 miles 2-3x a week along with several runs. Keeps me sane. Also allows me to eat what I want.

 

[Cooked]

I also ride the roads for exercise and tour for vacation. Just got back from a three day trip around the northern end of Lake Champlain (NY,VT Quebec). That was a great trip. Burlington, VT is a great biking town. My DW keeps the blog and here is the link to our latest multi-week trip crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Finetastic Adventure 2013, by Marti Fine

If you love bicycling, you might enjoy self-contained touring. A great way to vacation. (Even if you do not like to bike. You get to eat all you want and still lose weight You can get great maps and information from Adventure Cycling.

That is quite an impressive 'resume' that you have on CGOAB. We have done some 2-4 day ventures and plan our first long trip in the spring.

We have MTBs but our trails here are quite a way from the house. We prefer to ride our the front door and ride back in a few hours later so we use road and touring bikes primarily.

 

[savory]

That is quite an impressive 'resume' that you have on CGOAB. We have done some 2-4 day ventures and plan our first long trip in the spring.

Where are you going for your long trip, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Cooked]

Where are you going for your long trip, if you don't mind me asking?

We plan to start from the house in Tucson and go north to the ACA Southern Tier and go as far as New Orleans. Two important family stops in Kerrville and Austin. We plan to take Amtrak home and be home by 6/1. Then off to the Washington/Oregon coast in July.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

If by BMB you mean Boston-Montreal-Boston, that's hardcore.

BMB - before mountain bikes

I was pretty hardcore in my younger years with many long distance tours - coast to coast, border to border and beyond into Canada north of Jasper, down the west coast, The rocky mountains, and many, many roads in between.

 

[savory]

The Oregon coast was one of my favorite rides. You may already know about Salt Lick BBQ in Austin. During our southern tier ride, it was right up there for one of our favorite food stops. If you want beer, it is byob. Enjoy!

 

[ronin]

Does anyone listen to music while you ride? Obviously, the road is one thing, and I tend to like the environmental sounds but on my private track, I think I might start listening to something to buss it up a bit.

 

[dessert]

I can access the back roads from my house too on a road bike. I ride ~15 miles each time I get to go. I try to go often but other things tend to get in the way. When we go to the Lake we have hybrid bicycles there and we ride more leisurely for 10 miles at a time. I just enjoy riding and it does keep the pounds off for sure.

 

[dessert]

Does anyone listen to music while you ride? Obviously, the road is one thing, and I tend to like the environmental sounds but on my private track, I think I might start listening to something to buss it up a bit.

Not while I am biking because I want to be aware of my surroundings for safety. However I walk on a dead-end road for 3 miles just about every day and I love listening to my favorite tunes then. I don't like walking without my tunes.

 

[UtahSkier]

Mountain biker checking in here... figured I had better speak up before the roadies overrun the place!

I am a Cannondale fan and ride a 2008 Rize. Great all around MTB. I prefer climbing over downhill and my riding terrain reflects that.

I see your bike is a hard tail... nice and light. I love my full suspension setup as the terrain I ride is never smooth.

When in AZ, I ride the rocky trails of the desert. Love the little climbs and various technical features.

When in Utah, I ride the many trails at elevation. One of my favorite rides/challenges is the Little Cottonwood trail. This is an out and back 3.5 mile ride (one way) with 1300 foot elevation gain. I use this trail as my cardio development trail. I sometimes post my results on the workout thread.

Basically, I ride this trail 4 times a week all summer long with the simple goal of getting to the top as quickly as possible. This summer, my first ride was about 49 minutes. My last ride was just under 35 minutes with an average heart rate of 151.

DW also rides and rides the same bike. Together, we will ride many other scenic and enjoyable trails around Utah; such as Wasatch Crest and Mid-Mountain (Deer Valley).

Don' know much about the 29 inchers. I keep my bikes at least 10 years, so I don't have any need to look at the new toys. Besides, my current bike has 4 inch shock travel (front and back) and can handle all the rocks, roots, lumps and bumps I am willing to attack.

 

[Cat-tirement]

DW just bought a Santa Cruz Ultralight 29er, and I have an older Santa Cruz Blur. We ride a range from flat rail trails to more technical single track. Our recently purchased future retirement home is across the street from an access trail, which leads to a canal trail, which leads to a river trail, which leads to - well, you get the idea.

Now, if only I could carry my kayak on the bike to get to the river...

 

[Cooked]

DW just bought a Santa Cruz Ultralight 29er, and I have an older Santa Cruz Blur. We ride a range from flat rail trails to more technical single track. Our recently purchased future retirement home is across the street from an access trail, which leads to a canal trail, which leads to a river trail, which leads to - well, you get the idea.

Now, if only I could carry my kayak on the bike to get to the river...

Options do exist...here is an example Kayak Trailer | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

My big dummy only carries groceries...so far.

 

[H2ODude]

Does anyone listen to music while you ride? Obviously, the road is one thing, and I tend to like the environmental sounds but on my private track, I think I might start listening to something to buss it up a bit.

Good question. I do, but keep the volume pretty low. My MTBing is on single trails, fair amount of curves and moguls, and I always worry about someone coming head on around/over a blind spot, even though in a 1-2 hour ride I usually only see one or two other riders (I deliberately only MTB on weekdays to enjoy the solitude - one of those retirement benefits). There are some younger riders out there who are really into the speed and if they came around some of the spots there'd be trouble, hence I try to listen for them as well as look.

 

[grasshopper]

I have a Specialized Rock hopper that's a decade old. My biggest trail problem is sneaking up on bears, and running over rattlesnakes. Happy trails.

 

[Brdofpray]

I ride a bit of both, but prefer the little used, back roads, roads of SC. Each year I try to do an extended week long tour. I find the preparation and training for a long tour, keeps me motivated to ride on a regular basis throughout the year.

Next week I leave for Cycle North Carolina (CNC:Mountains to the Coast). I will be cycling with 1000 of my new best friends. Can't wait!

 

[imoldernu]

Does anyone listen to music while you ride? Obviously, the road is one thing, and I tend to like the environmental sounds but on my private track, I think I might start listening to something to buss it up a bit.

If I ever had a peeve about technology, this is it. I too, like to ride and enjoy my surroundings, but in our Florida Community, a one mile circle, it's just for exercise, and it helps me to listen to NPR or books on tape to pass the time. Since it's dangerous use headphones and blocking the sounds of vehicles or danger, a single earphone solves the problem, after all, the first 15 years of my life were BS...
(before stereo).

So here are the problems... #1, my MP3 player has a built in radio, but it needs the earphone cord (as an antenna) to receive a signal. That means a wire from the player to my ear... a damnable nuisance while riding.

Now, I still have my walkman radio/tape player, which works without an antenna, but that still needs a wire to the earphone. (hanging down and getting in the way, or across the back, which inevitably pulls the earphone out of my ear.

The solution, of course is a bluetooth single wired-wrapabound earphone that stays on the ear, with no connection to the player/radio/tape device on the belt.

It seems to me that this is an absolute no-brainer... not just for bikers, but for anyone who exercises or works in a profession that is more or less "rote"... as construction people or those who are in repetitive type jobs.

And yes... for about four or five times the cost of the actual technology, there are some offerings of bluetooth players that couple with headphones. There are also a few wierdly shaped plug in blue tooth transmitters of various sizes, that plug in to the earphone jacks of players or radios... again, with few exceptions, outrageously priced for the technology involved, and adding extra wires and bulk to the system.

Seems to me that this is an untapped niche for someone who can see a need, and satisfy it. I mean really... woudn't you be willing to spring $25 for a unit that would clip to your belt, with an earphone that allowed the freedom to bike or exercise and enjoy your favorite sounds without that doggone wire?

EOR (end of rant)

 

[savory]

First one there gets a hot shower - enjoy the ride

 

[Koogie]

Hmm... it must be a natural progression I guess because I have been MTBing for about 4 years and also started touring this summer (Toronto>NYC).

I currently only own two mountain bikes (haha). 2007 Giant Rincon Disc and a 2011 Trek Cobia 29er.

Since I wasn't sure if I'd like touring or not and I am cheap/frugal, I set up my Cobia as a touring bike with a little help from a LBS. New rear wheel (Alexrim) to deal with the weight, Schwalbe marathon touring tires and rear rack and panniers. Turned out pretty good and I appreciated the MTB gearing for climbing in the Catskills north of NYC.

Mind you, this means I've been to lazy to change the tires back and am missing a lot of prime MTB riding this time of year. Because I enjoy the 29er much more than the 26er (which feels like a dinky toy in comparison).

Couple of pics.. the 29er kitted out for touring and the 26er out on one of my usual trails...