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Old June 25th, 2018, 05:23 AM   #2201
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Racer x View Post
I used to ride 15000 miles a year. It’s more of
Just not wanting to ride. And moving away from the place I really liked to ride. Iowa is nice and very bike friendly. But I think it’s not that I have moved on.
"Ride" as in pedal ride or motorcycle ride?

I've gone through stages where I lost interest in pedaling a bicycle for months.
But every few months I go volunteer at the Bike Church in Philly, help inner city, low income neighborhood kids to learn how to fix or put together a bicycle from junk bikes that the city collects.
The joy of getting their own bike after sourcing parts, putting the pieces back together as a whole is not only rewarding as independence to get around on their own, but also a sense of entitlement that they can do more than being stuck in their sh!ty neighborhood.

Every year on my birthday since I turned 15, I pedal the same distance in miles as my age; few times in war-torn countries that I barely manage to find a bicycle to ride. I do a lot of thinking and soul searching when I'm on my bicycle. Bicycling is an activity that you can do right from your door, doesn't need to cost much to participate, and every ride you can meet someone new that you've never met before in your life.

Few years back I've had health problem that prevented me from pedaling, too.
I fixed up a recumbent bike to give it a try to just keep active, not only did it keep me active; it allowed me to discover a whole different kind of riding that I didn't know before. Eventually, I was able to get back to upright bikes and get back most of my previous strengths.

We all get old and wear out parts.. it's not the destination, it's the journey along the way.

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Old June 25th, 2018, 07:17 AM   #2202
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Ride as in bicycle. I did not have a car. So 25-50 miles a day on my mountain bike to work then a woods ride at night. Every Saturday and Sunday was eithe a club ride. Usually a century or more. I did 21 century rides one year with the club. Or I would do a woods ride through the resivour. That involved a 50 mile ride to and from the woods and then 12 miles of serious mountain biking.
I built trails and rode them every day after work. I had to eat a huge amount of food. Two cans of tuna for lunch . Snacks of fruit and veggies . Big brakefast and dinner. Tons of pasta. I dropped sixty pounds the first year.
I spent a huge amount of money on bicycle parts. They just self destruct after a couple months. Chain’s and gears desolve. Wheels fall apart. I would patch tubes every night. I loved it.
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Old June 25th, 2018, 09:37 AM   #2203
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Yeah, when I lived in Santa Barbara, there was no problem with getting out for ride every day. Great scenery started at my doorstep!

Now in S.F. Bay Area, rides aren't as nice or plentiful. And I may actually have to drive to get there!
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Old June 25th, 2018, 12:37 PM   #2204
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I really hate driving somplace to ride a bicycle. Imagine if you had to ride your bicycle to a track and drive your car around on a track with a speed limit and no access to shopping or entertainment. How much driving would you do. At least Iowa City has a huge bicycle trail system that can access shopping.
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Old July 13th, 2018, 12:36 PM   #2205
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I really hate driving somplace to ride a bicycle. Imagine if you had to ride your bicycle to a track and drive your car around on a track with a speed limit and no access to shopping or entertainment. How much driving would you do. At least Iowa City has a huge bicycle trail system that can access shopping.
I've stopped driving to a group ride for over 10 years.
Intentionally, I purchased my house 13 years ago that is close enough to a National Park with preserved open space.
Designated Mt. Bike, off-road moto & horse trails just 3/4 mile from my driveway with parking lots that local road cycling group have regular rides.

Few weeks ago, I picked up a mini-velo as a commuter for my weekday commute. It's got 20" disc wheels, sturdy enough for potholes and metal planks in Manhattan, small enough to just walk it into a subway train, less of a target among bumper-to-bumper traffic (with cut down, super narrow handlebars).
$139 from Nashbar, figure if it gets stolen, I wouldn't care much about it.



I've put about 120 miles on it, the ride is a little stiff, for compact frame, 10-12 miles really can beat you up if you don't have good cycling shorts. I'm thinking of getting a suspension seatpost for it.
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Old July 13th, 2018, 12:52 PM   #2206
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I really like riding Mt. Tam or Grizzly Peak for great views. Unfortunately, they're both over 2-hr rides just to get there for me! View of new and old Bay Bridge sections going to S.F.



Well, not so bad as I really only have time for rides on weekends anyway.
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Old July 13th, 2018, 04:32 PM   #2207
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I really like riding Mt. Tam or Grizzly Peak for great views. Unfortunately, they're both over 2-hr rides just to get there for me!
Well, not so bad as I really only have time for rides on weekends anyway.
Bicycling is important enough for me to pick a place to live where I can start rides right from my driveway.
That's why a strategically picked the location of my house, easy access to preserved open space (no further residential, agricultural or industrial development in the neighborhood), allow on & off-road bicycling and motorcycling.
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Old July 13th, 2018, 04:59 PM   #2208
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Quote:
Originally Posted by "A" View Post
Bicycling is important enough for me to pick a place to live where I can start rides right from my driveway.
That's why a strategically picked the location of my house, easy access to preserved open space (no further residential, agricultural or industrial development in the neighborhood), allow on & off-road bicycling and motorcycling.
Yes that's great! Perhaps in 10-yrs I will have that luxury.
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Old July 14th, 2018, 06:59 AM   #2209
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By then you'll probably have to consider coastal cities that are not going underwater and still accessible via surface roads for few decades.
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Old July 14th, 2018, 12:35 PM   #2210
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When I moved to California, everyone was seriously concerned. "Don't you know? It's going to slide into ocean!". What was really amusing was how they really believed it!!! Then again, California's a myth to those east of Rocky Mountains. Stereotypes from TV and stuff.
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Old July 16th, 2018, 06:59 AM   #2211
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So I just "discovered" MTBing personally. Been road riding for years and enjoy it in the right circumstances but it was getting stale. Friend of mine invited me out to do some riding and let me borrow his back up bike.

Really different feeling/skillset but really enjoyable. Now looking to try and find a used or entry level bike. Sub $500 to start with. Not really sure what to look for in the MTB range for that price. Not going to go hog wild or race or anything; just trails training and similar.
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Old July 16th, 2018, 11:01 AM   #2212
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One thing to look at in a mountain bike is do you want suspensions or not? I've got a front suspension but nothing on the back (hardtail). Husband thinks I'm nuts, and would never ride without his full suspensions. It's all preference. Maybe rent a bike or two in different configurations to see what you like?

Disc brakes are good in a MTB. Easier on the hands when going down long steep hills. I had a bike with rim brakes and then changed to disc and it was amazing.
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Old July 17th, 2018, 08:02 AM   #2213
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It's been over a decade since I shopped for a Mt. bike; I've learned to use what I've got for Mt. biking that I do, not keeping up with the latest & greatest that the industry have to offer. Still riding my 26" wheel mt. bikes, most of them full suspended.

If you're shopping around $500 budget, probably stick with the big name companies (TREK, Specialized, Giant, etc) to get better value for new bikes. But with Trump tariffs, cost of bikes are likely to go (significantly) up soon.
Used bike market are good if you know what to look for and have some knowledge about basic bike mechanics to determine how much abuse a bike has been through.
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Old July 17th, 2018, 10:46 AM   #2214
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We bought bikes from last year's closeout sales. Helps with the price.
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Old July 18th, 2018, 06:08 AM   #2215
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I actually bought a used bike last night. It is not a new wiz bang ride but I am happy with the purchase to get into the sport. Its is a K2 Zed Team hardtail that has had the fork upgraded and the brakes upgraded to discs



Looks like this but well loved. Test ride showed everything works reasonably well. $200
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Old July 18th, 2018, 09:39 AM   #2216
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What an amazing deal!!! The amount of technology one can get on low-cost bikes nowadays is simply mind blogging!!!
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Old July 18th, 2018, 11:19 AM   #2217
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Pretty solid for $200
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Old July 18th, 2018, 07:13 PM   #2218
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Sounds like a good deal! Enjoy your new bike!
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Old August 17th, 2018, 04:06 PM   #2219
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PITA internal cable routing.. with carbon road handlebar..



Internal frame cable routing needed to be routed before bottom bracket cups get pressed into the frame; that's the first time ever I've had to build a bike like this.


Progress is pretty slow:

Last futzed with by "A"; August 19th, 2018 at 07:34 AM.
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Old August 19th, 2018, 11:14 AM   #2220
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Put together nicely.. test ride around the neighborhood just before the rain.
Still deciding whether to trim the housings further.


Last futzed with by "A"; August 26th, 2018 at 10:08 AM.
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Old August 19th, 2018, 12:46 PM   #2221
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baller wheels. Confused by the rest of your build though. Glad you're happy with it.
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Old August 26th, 2018, 12:07 PM   #2222
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Completed the build, put about 22 miles on it yesterday.
Internal cable routing is rather noisy without internal lining... when roads are bumpy.

The frame/fork/seatpost/stem/headset/BB kit cost less than a proprietary Pinarello carbon aero seatpost.

The looks is deceiving, because the hoods are actually only 1/2" lower than my regular road bike, but still 1 1/2" higher than my TT bike.
I designate this bike as my flatland bike, majority of rides are going to be flat, with minimal elevation change. where the aero frame advantage can really benefit.

Frame looks big, because the top tube/headtube junction is normally where the top of the stem is, without any spacers on the steertube of the fork; therefore head tube looks long, frame looks bigger.
My seat height is set low for the first few test rides.

The carbon handlebar has a raised section the flat part compensates if you have low stem height and still keep the axle-hood distance similar to regular road bike.
The large flat area on the bartop is really comfortable and ergonomic, thumbs & index finger falls right where they need to be among the bends of the handlebar.
Stiffness of the bar is not as others, but I'm not sprinting among cat.1 racers in crits, so it is plenty stiff as my flatland bike.

The only drawback is the routing of the cable housings.. internal cable housing were PITA to do and cables can bind within the internal route, too a long time to setup proper.
Every time you want to replace a cable or housing, or even trim a cable housing, the process has to repeat to certain steps.



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Old August 27th, 2018, 06:53 AM   #2223
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What is it? the frameset
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Old August 31st, 2018, 07:51 PM   #2224
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Wheels got delivered today, a I killed my afternoon and evening finishing it up. It's ready to ride tomorrow. Stoked.

It came in cleanly at 20 lbs as it's pictured. I was hoping for a little lighter but this is still really good considering it's burlier than my roadie and is carrying 1.9" wide tires. I'm looking forward to hitting some Pisgah gravel tomorrow. If anyone is looking for B+ road/gravel tires, these (Panaracer Gravel King 650x48) set up tubeless with the least effort of any tire I've set up tubeless so far. Also, the new Ultegra is hot fire. They integrated adjustment for "cable tension" into the clamp on the derailleur so you can ditch the barrel adjuster and run completely internal cables if you have one of those fancy bikes with 100% internal routing and still have the ability to easily adjust your indexing.
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Old September 1st, 2018, 02:10 PM   #2225
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Shake down ride was successful. It needs a few tweaks here and there, but it's a fun bike and today was a great day for a ride in the mountains!



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Old September 2nd, 2018, 06:51 AM   #2226
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Does ride height of smaller wheels affect cornering clearance?
Are those slick tires?
What tire pressure do you run in gravel terrain?
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Old September 2nd, 2018, 01:10 PM   #2227
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They're 650Bx48, so the OD is roughly the same as a 700x25, give or take. They shouldn't impact cornering clearance unless I'm running them low enough to get extra squish factor. Cornering on pavement switchbacks is fantastic! I can't report on anything related to descending gravel roads, because I blew past my turn and missed the downhill section of forest road I was planning to take. Oops.

The tires are Panaracer Gravel King's with file tread on them, not the knobby SK version. They're similar to the the WTB Horizon's that everyone is making a fuss about, but they don't have a hard slick centerline like the Horizon's.
https://www.panaracer.com/lineup/gravel.html

So far I have 30 psi on the front and 36 psi on the rear. I'm 130 lbs. Seems a little low for pavement, as I experienced a little undamped bouncing both at high rpm spinning on pavement and over rocks on the fire roads. I'm going to try going up 2 psi on both and see how that goes. I'm looking for a good "in between" pressure so I can run a mix of gravel and pavement decently without having to change pressures. There really is something to this high volume tire trend. Rough patches of road were a giant non-issue.



I am definitely going to have to get used to this bike. The bars are wide angle drops, so the hoods are mounted differently than I'm used to. Also, the BB is just a fuzz higher than I'm used to with a longer chainstay length and longer wheelbase than I'm used to. Only a couple small changes from my typical endurance geo roadie, but the net effect is it feels like I'm sitting "on" the bike rather than "in" the bike, if that makes any sense. But at the same time, it's very composed and stable, so it's a new feeling for me.
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Old September 8th, 2018, 07:43 AM   #2228
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What is it? the frameset
Just some generic Chinese carbon manufacture, likely supply frames for other name-brand bike company but cannot disclose relationship openly.

I bought it off eBay with a significant discount combined with reward money.

Here's my next Chinese carbon project, since my last similar frame was sent the wrong size:
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Old October 3rd, 2018, 10:16 PM   #2229
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gross
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Old October 4th, 2018, 08:28 AM   #2230
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been hitting the trails a bit since picking up the MTB - still quite slow but getting better - starting to turn into an addiction and the road bike is getting left out
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Old October 4th, 2018, 03:09 PM   #2231
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^^ Same. Trying to balance out riding among multiple bikes is difficult, to say the least. I've been trying to get in some quick trail loops after work, even with it getting dark sooner and sooner every day. I have a light, but I'm resisting going that route for the moment.
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Old October 5th, 2018, 07:23 AM   #2232
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^^ Same. Trying to balance out riding among multiple bikes is difficult, to say the least. I've been trying to get in some quick trail loops after work, even with it getting dark sooner and sooner every day. I have a light, but I'm resisting going that route for the moment.
I tried riding the local trails after it got dark for the first time earlier this week and it didn't go well LOL. Even when I could see the roots/rocks/trees my light wasn't bright enough to contrast the softer/muddy sections since it has been raining.

Needless to say I found them .... the hard way. I have since added another light to the bike (one pointing shorter and one farther out) but have yet to try it and see if it has improved.
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Old October 5th, 2018, 10:17 AM   #2233
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For night riding on the trails, it works well to have one flood-type light, and a spot-type light, maybe on your helmet. The floodlights don't give enough light to actually see details, and the spotlights don't show enough area.

But a combination seems to work a bit better.
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Old October 5th, 2018, 05:43 PM   #2234
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Yeah i've got one light that has a flood-ish pattern with a strong center. It does decently for all around on the gravel and road bikes, but I've never MTB'd with it. I need to mount it to my helmet before I try MTB. Bar mount works on the drop bar bikes, not sure it would work on the trail.

Plus I definitely get range anxiety when it comes to battery life. Pisgah gets very very dark at night.
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Old October 6th, 2018, 12:36 AM   #2235
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Road riding at night is different than trail riding at night. But it's a thing where you get used to looking at the things, and how to see obstacles.
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Old October 6th, 2018, 12:49 AM   #2236
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I have to say that I've never gotten into night riding with lights.
Few times I've ridden with friends who have lights on the trails that I'm familiar with, knowing most of the spots to avoid to get myself in trouble.
The only lights that I put on my bikes for riding in the dark are to be seen, so I don't get hit by others.
Spent time, money and efforts to lighten up the bike just to put a extra 4-5 lb. of lights/battery to get 2-3 hours of ride in the dark seems inefficient.
I usually don't hit the trail until the weather have cooled down a bit, less insects, less snakes and more enjoyable since the lower overall speed to cool off while pedaling.
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Old October 8th, 2018, 07:16 AM   #2237
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Location: Hutto, TX
Join Date: Feb 2009

Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track

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Yeah so the combination of the two lights is a big big improvement. Still different and a little unnerving when its dark compared to daylight but definitely better.
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Old October 11th, 2018, 05:52 AM   #2238
"A"
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Location: IT
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Motorcycle(s): 2 many 2 list

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My winter project just arrived:

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Old October 11th, 2018, 05:58 PM   #2239
Apex
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Name: Mark
Location: Riding around in TX
Join Date: Mar 2009

Motorcycle(s): 2022 Honda Navi, 2018 Z-125 Pro

Posts: A lot.
Found a curbside Pugeout mtb from late 80's/early 90's. Snagged it, tossed new tubes and tires on it, and tweaked the rear D a bit and it is running just fine. Wheels are tight, no lateral play at all. Tightened up the BB and it is great. One cable needed a touch of lube, that is it. Not bad.


Side note: Plan on selling my cargo bike, my full-suspension mtb, and one of my old bikes. Either the '83 trek or this pugeout. Not sure yet. I'd probably keep the Trek, but the Pugeout can have some 700's tossed in there with no issues, not so with the Trek. Hard decision. Either way, I'm lightening my load with bicycles. Plan on getting to 2. Maybe even 1.
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Old October 11th, 2018, 06:32 PM   #2240
choneofakind
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Down to 1 bicycle??? dude. I'm up to 3, also just picked up a lightly used Karate Monkey for the missus so she can get into some gravel and lighter MTB trails.


I'm digging the fleet I have now. 1 mid travel trail MTB, 1 comfy but fast roadie, and one super comfy and surprisingly capable gravel bike. Gravel bikes are funny things. They feel so dull and numb and soft on pavement, but when you get them off road, they light up and feel like a thoroughbred race bike.

I'm not sure what the plan for the roadie is. Either going to upgrade it a bit and keep it longer, or sell it for something newer with carbon and hydraulic disks. Or just clean all the gunk out of the shifters, replace the housings/cables, toss on some new bars, and call it good as it is. 8100 miles hasn't done good things for light shifting feel. I change the cables every year, but I'm still on the original housings, which probably isn't doing good things for me. I recently picked up a Ultegra 6800 crank from a friend for cheap, so it will get that regardless, but I'm torn.
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