Mountain Bike Tours

michael_w

MacLeod wrote:

...next time me and the missus go out for a visit Ill be taking my trusty steed to hit some of those Austin trails!

Isn't that great?? Now all the future trips to somewhere naturey are just that much better. It still pisses me off that someone stole my bike but sadly that event has caused me to get back into the sport and lead a healthier lifestyle.

michael_w

Well it is slightly off topic and I don't have any pictures but I'm proud to say I stepped it up a little tonight and dropped my first picknick table. Since it was only about three feet, pretty much the only freaky thing about doing it was the fact that you only have about a foot in front of you to hop on your bike and make the drop. Anyone else slowly working to higher and harder things?

MacLeod

LOL! I doubt Ill do anything that high. Too easy to break stuff on your bike for one and I dont need a bunch of kids laughing as me when I bust my ****!

mantis

I'm really digging downhill stuff. Intense riding and exciting nonetheless.

We are going tomarrow and I'm gonna bring the camera.

Dan

MacLeod

My biggest fear is breaking **** on my bike. Its still new enough that Im skeered Im gonna break a wheel in half everytime I run over a root. Hopefull this will wear off.

michael_w

It does wear off it just takes a while... I'm still getting used to it but the main things I'm worried about are my 8" rotors that are about 50 bucks a pop to replace and my derailleur. Other than that my bike will hold up to anything I throw at it. I worry about myself more than the bike since breaking my bike costs a little extra cash, while breaking me I can't fix with money. I'm also a pretty small guy so I'm thinking my single track rims should hold up well once they break in a little and I get them trued back to being straight -- back one is bent right now but I figure that's just cause the spokes are setting into place and it just needs a tune up.

BTW I did mine around 11 at night so there was no one to watch me bail except my friend

nadams

mantis, if you ever have a day you want to travel a little, you should come up this way. In a small town right down the road from me there's a great singletrack down through the woods, all downhill. Then if you feel like some light riding afterward, there's a nice railroad grade that takes you way out to a RR tunnel. VERY creepy to ride through. Out past the tunnel are huge gravel pits to kill yourself in (you want DOWN hill?). I'm told that further out past that is a big RR trestle bridge, but I haven't ridden out there myself. All in all, a good day's riding can be put in out there.

Lemme know if you ever want to come up. You're welcome to crash at my place. We've got Ricketts Glen State Park right up the road, too. Great place to go hiking.

mantis

nadams,
Thats very cool of you. I may take you up on that one day.Sounds like alot of fun.

MacLeod,
I worry about my bike and myself all the time. I think it adds to the THRILL FACTOR while riding. I don't however allow it to stop me from riding how I want or where I want to. As long as you try to ride as safe as possible, make sure you inspect your bike before each ride, keep it well maintained, you should be fine for the most part. If your going to bend a rim , then it's going to happen. Don't sweat it. Ride like the wind.

Dan

MacLeod

Heres the funny part. I grew riding $20 Huffys and Murrays that were cheap as hell. I thrashed the crap out of them, jumping, racing and everything else you can think of. I never took very good care of them, almost never washed them, rarely oiled the chain and yet they never EVER broke!

Now Ive got this $600 bike and Im scared to run over a root fearing the front wheel will fall off! Ironic isnt it!

nadams

Well, I finally got out for a ride at the new house today. I went to the end of the road and back and it about kicked my ****. God, I'm out of shape!

Some pics of my bike and helmet:

PolknPepsi

Nice Bike! :eek: Green happens to be one of my favorite colors too.

nadams

Thanks . I have green eyes, too, so it all seems to fit together. I've had the bike and helmet since 4-6-00. It's a 19.5" frame, which was a little big for me at the time, but has grown in nicely. The guys at my local bike shop know what they're doing with bikes!!!

Edit- was just looking through my bike manual, I like this at the beginning:

GENERAL WARNING: Bicycling can be a hazardous activity even under the best of circumstances.

haha, don't we know it...

MacLeod

I know what you mean Nad. When I first got my bike I went down to the local park and took off thinking I couldnt be that out of shape. After all, Im in the gym 4-5 hours a week, I should be ok. It didnt take more than about 10 minutes to realize I had some work to do!

michael_w

Hey Nadams,
Just a suggestion but I have found it very beneficial and less painful to yourself if you replace your pedals. Back with my old bike I had stock crappy plastic pedals and I hurt myself so many times from rolling or slipping on those damn pedals. (especially when they got wet) I spent twenty bucks and got some platform pedals and the accidents due to my pedals decreased a lot. At first they can be a little scary because they do hurt a lot more if you get hit with them but being able to stay on the pedals is nice. Another option to the platform style are those fancy clipless ones that many here have raved about.

nadams

While I have been thinking about getting clipless pedals and shoes (holding off due to cost), the pedals on that bike have served me well over the past 5 years. They have a plastic center, but the outside perimeter is all metal with jaggy teeth on it (hurts when they spin around and hit your shin, or your achille's tendon!), that keep sneakers pretty well stuck to the pedal.

But yeah, I am thinking about new pedals, anyway.

MacLeod

Tried a new trail today and it sucked hard!

Ridiculously narrow. I have cuts and scraped all over me from branches, saw briars, limbs and everything else stretching out into the middle of the trail. There were sections you couldnt even peddle thru because your pedal would scrape the bank.

Limbs the size of telephone poles too! You could never get up a good head of steam due to the speed bump roots everywhere. Trees uprooted with holes so steep you couldnt ride up.

Giant mudholes everywhere and usually at the bottom of these deep holes left by the uprooted trees that you couldnt make up so you had to walk thru the mud.
I rode out about 30 minutes and finally said "screw this" and headed back.

I did realize a fear, this bike is a little too big. Its a 20" and I need a 19 or 18". In moderate trails its no big deal but I had to come off the bike in a hurry a couple times and got a little more than I wanted of that crossbar. Crossbars and testicles just dont mix.

michael_w

Hope MacLeod Jr's didn't get hurt too badly :eek:

Any chance where you bought your bike has a trade program thing? At the place I bought mine they have a policy where if you buy a bike and it turns out it doesn't fit you you can come back and trade it for a different one. I have had thoughts in the opposite way about my bike. I see someone else ride my bike and it looks so tiny. It is only a 15" frame but then again I'm a lightly built 5' 7" guy . I read somewhere that to find out what size bike you should ride you stand on the ground right in front of the seat and there should be about 4" between your crotch and the frame.

mantis

The bikestore where I shop measures you, then tells you what bike size you should ride.I'm 5 10 and I ride a large. 19 inch frame.

Dan

nadams

Yep, when I bought my bike I was around 5'10" (I'm now just shy of 6') and they put me on a 19" frame. They actually just had me stand over the different sized frames and told me a 19 would do . At that time, it was a little big for me, but I've grown into it.

BIZILL

colder weather will be emerging in the hot desert of tucson, arizona. it is rediculous to ride in 110 degree weather through a tough course with some technical spots. i rode the other day in a cold spell (70 degrees) and realized just how much i've lost my edge in four months. trail i ride usually takes about 52 minutes. i rode half the trail in like 45 mins.wowser, i lost it all! (2002 cannondale jekyll)

michael_w

70 degrees is a cold spell for you? Geeze... the other night I was riding around in a t-shirt in about 45 degree weather. Little chilly at first but once you get moving it's perfect temperature

I really need to stop this flatland stuff and do my bike a little justice by riding some trails. I think next spring I'll be buying a decent helmet and really try to get into the sport more. I'll probably spend the extra money and get a full face. I've seen the aftermath of too many people's face to ground or handlebars collisions.

MacLeod

Well I shouldve got an 18. My wife has an 18 and its almost perfect.

The problem is my bike is $600 normally but it was a 2004 model and the last one so they were trying to clear it out so I got it for $400. I still have about 2" between the crossbar and my, um, twig and berries.

Itll be alright for me. Ive logged probably 150 miles on it in the 4 months Ive had it and have had no issues.

BIZILL

i think i need some sort of riser for my handlebars. i have my seat high and the handlebars are in a fixed position that causes my back to feel very uncomfortable, though having the bars that low is excellent for when i'm climbing those 45+ degree trails!

BIZILL

michael_w wrote:

70 degrees is a cold spell for you? Geeze... the other night I was riding around in a t-shirt in about 45 degree weather. Little chilly at first but once you get moving it's perfect temperature

I really need to stop this flatland stuff and do my bike a little justice by riding some trails. I think next spring I'll be buying a decent helmet and really try to get into the sport more. I'll probably spend the extra money and get a full face. I've seen the aftermath of too many people's face to ground or handlebars collisions.

try out the giro helmets with the roc-loc feature. very comfortable. i have the giro xen. covers much of the back of your head. visor comes in handy as well.

wodom1

Last saturday a friend and I hit some single track at Palos Forest Preserve in suburban Chicago. It was pretty cool and we had a great time. We only rode 10.5 miles, but had a great time. We are going back this sunday for an all day trip. Hopefully we will have some pics. My girlfriend just got a new Canon Digital Rebel XT (or somethin) and we're designating her as our photographer.

BIZILL

colder weather is afoot!

MacLeod

Ooooh. Nice bike. I prefer hardtails but thats a smooth **** bike.

BIZILL

MacLeod wrote:

Ooooh. Nice bike. I prefer hardtails but thats a smooth **** bike.

the front and rear shocks can be locked out on the fly by the press of a lever. i lock 'em while riding on asphalt and let them absorb while on the trail. front fork is a lefty. only one sided. they do this for x-country weight-saving reasons. it's still a brute, but i don't recommend myself doing any 5' drops. plus it's hard to ride with no hands. to do it over again, i'd get an ellsworth or kona.

wodom1

I've got a Cannondale F400 hardtail with the Headshok, which can be locked out. It's a pretty sweet setup. I can lock it on the fly while climbing a hill, so no energy or momentum is wasted by bouncing up and down on the shock. I'll get a pic of my bike this weekend.

BIZILL

the trail i ride has no time for locking in or out. i just keep em spongy the whole ride. i need someone cool in tucson to mtn. bike with. take trips with and what not. someone good that can challenge me or at least keep up. getting lonesome riding alone.