🧵 /MTB/ Mountain Biking General
Anonymous at Tue, 26 Nov 2024 02:23:40 UTC No. 216525
Night ride edition
>FAQ on buying a bike that nobody reads anyway:
> What good bike can I get for under $500?
a stolen bike. Possibly a newer used entry level hardtail but don't expect it to survive rock gardens, jumps, or drops. Or an older mtb which won't be as good as newer ones and will still have a front derailleur, but it'll be good enough.
> What good bike can I get for under $1000
Good used hardtail, new entry level hardtail
> What good bike can I get for under $2000?
New Hardtail, decent used full suspension
> What good bike can I get for under $3000?
https://www.yt-industries.com/fr/pr
Used full suspension, decent entry level full suspension but prepared to put more money into it.
> What are the excellent value brands?
Marin, Commencal, Canyon, Polygon, YT, Propain, Kona, and many more. Sometimes the expensive brands have an excellent alue bike
> What are the differences between an XC, Trail, Enduro, and Downhill bikes?
XC bikes are for going up fast, go down not as fast. Trail bikes are for going up and down. Enduro bikes are for going down fast, and slower up. Downhill bikes are for going down really fast, needs a ski lift, truck, or the rider pushing it to go up.
link to previous thread >>208371
Anonymous at Wed, 27 Nov 2024 04:45:49 UTC No. 216586
>>216533
my friend has one from Fly Racing that he likes
Anonymous at Wed, 27 Nov 2024 14:34:23 UTC No. 216613
>>216533
Why don't you just get any flannel shirt/jacket? They'll do the job. Mine are 100% cotton thick ones(and a thin one) you'd find anywhere. Only reason for mtb specific I could think of is that they aren't "ideal" for riding position(shoulders) but it's not the case.
Anonymous at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 01:57:22 UTC No. 216681
>>216613
I thought the mtb ones were some kind of polyester blend?
Anonymous at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 16:57:56 UTC No. 216694
Does anyone have recommendations for trail pants? I've been using endura singletrack trousers for the past few seasons and they are starting to wear our and not sure what to buy. I liked the endura ones overall, they were comfy and have faired decently well, weren't too hot however, they are just too baggy for me even with pads on. I would like something a bit slimmer so they don't constantly rub/bunch around my ankles.
Anonymous at Sat, 30 Nov 2024 17:17:18 UTC No. 216750
>>216533
Checked.
>Any good brands that make classic flannel shirts for MTB like pic related?
None that I'm aware of. I've worn one from tommy hilfiger riding and it was ight, but I prefer a hoodie if it's cold enough to wear more than a t-shirt.
>>216694
>Does anyone have recommendations for trail pants?
I just wear skinny jeans if it's cold enough for pants. I find american eagle makes ones that are a decent compromise between stretchiness and durability
Anonymous at Sun, 1 Dec 2024 05:04:09 UTC No. 216784
>>216694
my two favorites are NF lightweight trail pant and raceface indy. The NF pants are a bit nicer, super stretchy but expensive and always out of stock because they are made in Canadistan. Raceface are usually cheaper, more stiff, and have the best pockets in the biz
Anonymous at Sun, 1 Dec 2024 18:56:03 UTC No. 216807
>>216694
My favorites are from DFYRS but they're sort of overkill for the price. I have these great pants from Backcountry but I can't find them on their website anymore, too bad because they're great riding pants with zippered pockets
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 00:09:36 UTC No. 216825
I had a really fucking annoying and obscure issue on my bike that I just fixed today.
You know those One Up EDC tools? Well I keep mine in my steerer tube and have had it in there since 2021 on my trail bike, absolutely no issues. It has hex bolts through each end of the tool and that's what the tools pivot around. Every time you use them, they loosen just a little. It's not really an issue but after all these years of riding and being used, the bottom one loosened up enough that it expanded outward and made it nearly impossible to remove the tool since it made it too difficult to clear the stem. I had to turn my bike upside and beat it out with a dowel through the steerer tube. I tightened it back up and stuck it back in.
Very easy to prevent so don't let this happen to you. My only other gripe with this tool is that the 8mm is too short to apply enough torque to keep a crank on for a lot of pedalling and descending. Just check your crank every few rides because it is a pain in the ass to deal with on the trail. The Blackburn Wayside has a much better 8mm but you shouldn't let your crank get to the point where you need to tighten it back up on the trail.
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 00:09:52 UTC No. 216826
Forced myself to ride flats today, don't know how people do it. I can't even remember if its possible to unweight anywhere near as effectively as with clips. If there is I've totally lost it. The only thing I enjoyed was the ease of hopping off when things go south tech climbing, though it felt borderline unrideable going down the same tech
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 13:34:10 UTC No. 216853
>>216825
cranks are generally held in place by mechanical friction between the crank arm and a tapered or splined interface. a crank shouldn't come off if the bolt is loose or absent. if you have a square taper, the taper might be damaged or mismatched. otherwise idk but a crank or arm should never just like... come off.
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 15:53:20 UTC No. 216861
>>216750
>>216769
I assume you guys never ride in the wet/mud.
>>216784
Saw some decent reviews myself for raceface indy pants so have decided to try them out, found some on sale for £50 which seems like a good deal.
>>216807
I think generally a lot of cycling gear is incredibly overpriced, seeing all of these pants worth >£130 and wondering who is realistically paying this.
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 18:23:49 UTC No. 216869
You anons score any good black friday/cyber monday deals? I managed to get a DVO topaz for 250 europesos from bike24
>>216861
>I assume you guys never ride in the wet/mud.
Yeah the soil here is basically unrideable in the wet (i'm >>216750)
Anonymous at Mon, 2 Dec 2024 19:04:38 UTC No. 216872
What did you consoooom on the recent deals. I got a set of this bad boys. Finally my bike will be silent, crankniggas pedals will finally be put down. The pins are long, with the washer they have the same length as my old ones at max length(5mm) and are thinner. If I remove them they'll almost be 7mm long. It'll be very painful to peel my skin off, especially when its freezing outside.
>>216826
>don't know how people do it
Alot of body movement. Push down and hop while scooping them. Good rubber(5.10 stealth) and good pedals help alot.
>felt borderline unrideable going down the same tech
Wide stance and be active with the pushing and scooping, dont just be a passenger like on clips. Like on jumping, you move or something to remain in control to prevent dead sailoring.
Seems like skillz were lost. Though I admit I don't know how street BMX riders on literal plastic sheets as pedals and sandals are able to hop 3ft easily. I can 1.5 ft (english) at most.(<1ft american)
>>216694
Pants seems really useless to me.
>rain/mud
Shorts dry themselves faster or water resistant. I'll be taking a shower either way post ride.
>cold
Legs don't feel cold
>protection
Socks
The rest of "pros" are all negatives for pants.
Anonymous at Tue, 3 Dec 2024 00:19:18 UTC No. 216885
>>216872
>dont just be a passenger like on clips
That's the thing, it feels like I'm forced to be more reactive instead of proactive on flats. "Unrideable" was a bit hyperbolic, I still rode one of the jankiest double blacks I know of just fine but it felt sketchy and limiting. I think I'll just save em for jump days, 'proper technique' be damned.
What prompted me to try is getting a pair of ride concept vice shoes for $36, which have a vans-style waffle sole that I much prefer over the typical bubblewrap pattern that 510s and everything else have. Got a springdex, some rims, tires, brake pads. Backup float X that was literally cheaper than servicing the damper of my current one.
Anonymous at Tue, 3 Dec 2024 03:58:21 UTC No. 216892
>>216861
>I think generally a lot of cycling gear is incredibly overpriced, seeing all of these pants worth >£130 and wondering who is realistically paying this.
These brands are always having sales and sending me promo codes so I rarely ever pay full price
Anonymous at Wed, 4 Dec 2024 06:11:54 UTC No. 216957
>>216885
My favorite riding shoes of all time are (now discontinued) fiveten freerider contacts, they literally are built wil a massive flat bald spot in the tread where the pedals go, they’re so fucking amazing. Fiveten trailcross and rideconcepts vice don’t compare at all, and apparently the fiveten contacts were already discontinued when I bought them at a shop in 2019 (because I accidentally drove 3 hours to a bike park in my flip flops)
>>216872
I don’t wanna hate on pants but yeah I’ve ridden through multiple winters with regular XC shorts. Literally every other article of clothing has to be cold-specific for me, especially shoes, but for some reason I can get away with shorts every winter
Anonymous at Wed, 4 Dec 2024 14:27:39 UTC No. 216985
>>216872
>>216957
It's not being cold from wearing shorts in the moment which is the issue, due to it being so muddy and wet on the trails that if you don't wear pants the chances of water getting into your shoes and socks is that much higher and it just makes your ride suck.
Anonymous at Wed, 4 Dec 2024 20:01:30 UTC No. 217023
>>216985
i usually have water or ice crossings depending on how cold it is in my routes in the winter. I find that once its below -7°C in the winter shorts are not an option any more, unless you are wearing a thick baselayer underneath.
Anonymous at Thu, 5 Dec 2024 06:11:07 UTC No. 217046
I've been doing more night riding than day riding lately. It's harder to push it when I can't see what I'm pushing into even though I know these trails like the back of my hand.
Anonymous at Sat, 7 Dec 2024 02:38:01 UTC No. 217151
one of the pogo pins in my GX AXS derailleur is fucked so it only works if the battery is firmly pressed on. Apparently this is caused by oxidation, if taking off the plate and spraying it with Deoxit doesn't work, I may go back to mechanical so this doesn't happen again in 4 years.
Anonymous at Sat, 7 Dec 2024 14:00:36 UTC No. 217173
>>217161
Start small and work up to bigger/harder ones. You could try something like this: Bunnyhops > small jumps > bigger, trickable jumps > one hander > no hander
You could also see if there are any bmx/mtb parks that have a foam pit, resi-ramp, airbag, or wood-chip jump so you can try things without as much risk. Practicing things like flips on a trampoline can help with getting used to moving in the air as well.
Anonymous at Sun, 8 Dec 2024 22:04:31 UTC No. 217244
How do you anons cope with knowing that mtb tech is a completely solved problem now, and we will never get to experience being among the first to use a truly new and cool piece of kit? What would it have been like to be riding during the 90's and 00's when actually interesting experimentation with design was going on?
I'm so sick of shit like DUB, supermeganiggerboost hub spacing being peddled as some revolutionary tech like the introduction of suspension forks or dropper posts.
Anonymous at Sun, 8 Dec 2024 23:44:23 UTC No. 217245
>>217096
2 storms within the past 2-3 weeks which have absolutely ruined trails. All of the top soil has been washed away making everything rough as possible, rain ruts formed along with fallen trees. Only 4 months or so left of this shit.
>>217244
Don't worry you will have electronic seatposts soon which look retarded and increase their stack height which was basically the only issue with a lot of current droppers.
The only frame design which will probably change will be weight, compliance, headsetcups/flipchips and front-rear balance with longer chainstays. Otherwise it will just be minor gimmicks such as specialized genie shock which could just be achieved with a coil shock with HBO.
Anonymous at Mon, 9 Dec 2024 02:19:02 UTC No. 217266
>>216826
You're riding "wrong" and you were riding "wrong" in the past with clips too. You didn't notice that you were doing stoppies or getting close to doing stoppies under hard braking because the clips were locking you in. The riding technique I learned from my coach is hard to explain through text but the balls of your feet should be just ahead of the spindle, you should be dropping your heels and engaging your posterior chain. Since learning that way of riding, I've stopped bouncing on descents and I can't get knocked off the bike when riding through big obstacles/
Anonymous at Mon, 9 Dec 2024 19:35:22 UTC No. 217304
>>217266
I used to ride flats and I still know *how* to ride flats despite a bit of an adjustment period. It was just a bit jarring to suddenly give up that extra dimension of control you have clipped in. When I switched a while back I was immediately converted and stopped accepting that its somehow bad or wrong to ride in the way that being clipped in affords you. Note that I'm not talking about noobs not learing to bunnyhop, everyone should still start on flat pedals.
Personally, For me, pour moi, its analogous in many ways to skateboard griptape and snowboard bindings
>>217244
ebikes
Anonymous at Mon, 9 Dec 2024 21:27:22 UTC No. 217311
>>217244
It’s funny because the mid-2000’s were considered the dark ages of mtb, where successful brands were pulling out of the market, the remaining brands were doubling down on average marketable trash, and the market was so thin it was impossible to start a frame company yourself. We are in, like, the exact opposite situation today
Anonymous at Tue, 10 Dec 2024 06:16:02 UTC No. 217334
>>217244
I want to see where gearboxes and split derailleurs go.
I was hoping linkage bikes would have caught on but they haven't caught on with motorcycles either despite the benefits. Even though brake dive is a negative, it is a feeling people are used to. It's not like Big Fork killed them, they just use rear shocks in the front.
Anonymous at Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:37:46 UTC No. 217810
>>217334
have you ridden one of these? my main concern would be loss of stiffness in the front which is way more important than marginal improvements in damping performance or landing squat or whatever
Anonymous at Wed, 18 Dec 2024 05:46:05 UTC No. 217825
>>217810
nah, I've never even seen one in the wild. I have seen a Trust fork out in the wild and the guy seemed to like it despite it being his first ride.
From what I remember reading about these bikes, it's not a straight upgrade in every category, but they're way more stable when it gets fast and they don't experience brake dive. When the suspension compresses, the bike just gets longer and more stable. That's not something you'll always want, but it is a benefit for certain types of riding.
I want to see where gearboxes and split derailleurs go, but I don't see them catching on since the standard derailleur is an easy to incorporate design in existing frames
Anonymous at Wed, 18 Dec 2024 13:45:26 UTC No. 217834
>>217825
I think Nicolai are one of the only companies which design bikes using a vast range of drivetrain options. They have regular derailleurs, gearboxes along with this lal supre drive system which seems quite interesting bringing the derailleur more in-board on the frame. Otherwise, I think most bikes companies don't want to upset big derailleur that they won't change leaving other small companies such as williams racing products or cascade components (I can't remember which one) to design things such as gearboxes similar to the Honda DH bikes of the past.
>>217334
I think the main design benefit from these linkage driven bikes/forks is that you can more finely tune the characteristics of them to be similar to the rear of your bike creating a better balance front and rear. Instead of when your convensional fork compressing and it steepening your head angle and changing your bikes overall geometry, I think these designs are aimed to try and preserve geometry aswell as having the ability to have finely tune leverage curve to suit riders needs.
Anonymous at Thu, 19 Dec 2024 01:06:32 UTC No. 217857
>>217334
My brake dive is entirely handled by my compression settings, I don’t feel the need to use proprietary and possibly flexy major components, one that I’d have to entirely re-learn from the ground up (it takes years to know what’s specifically happening in your 20-40% travel range and how to isolate and adjust that response) simply to fight brake dive
>>217834
They don’t want to use parts that are 400% more expensive at wholesale and completely redesign the one single thing that frame manufacturers actually make for a small minority of the market who would prefer lack of maintenance and small-market proprietary parts over 5% efficiency for free and standardized upgradeable reasonably priced parts. Look I love the idea of gearboxes, I owned a hammerschmidt and and have happily ridden a pinion bike, but there is no surprise why it’s not popular, it’s expensive for the brands to try and it turns out the demand actually isn’t there. The people who ride their bike at an extreme level, they seem to have no problems with derailleurs at the moment. Frankly in the last few years I think gearboxes have already hit their next stage of market adoption, they’re making full-enthusiast trail mtb with pinion, cheap steel gravel bikes with pinion, world cup DH race bike with pinion, and of course commuter gearbox trash that’s been around for decades. They’re including electric shift, trigger shift which hasn’t always been available, and even making gearbox ebike motors (I still expect this to be big within 3-5 years). There’s enough gearbox models of bikes to confidently buy and be satisfied… if you really want gearbox that is
Anonymous at Thu, 19 Dec 2024 03:32:56 UTC No. 217868
>>217857
even if your bike is setup to have brake dive
>"entirely handled by my compression settings"
that does not mean that you would not see performance gains from a linkage setup. As you would no longer have to have additional compression just to compensate for the inherent design flaw of a telescoping fork. It is also not like it is a new technology that you need to master in order to tune properly. You already know how to properly tune a shock that drives a progressive linkage. As you are capable of doing so for the rear shock on your bike, and a front shock would be the exact same process.
It is true that it could possibly be flexy, but forks are already much more flexy that almost any linkage system due simply due to them loading the entire fork in bending. When compared a linkage which mainly loads whatever is transferring the loads in compression or tension, causing much smaller deformation.
if you watch part of this you can see how the telescoping forks progress in travel when compared to the rear linkages, and the forks will only flex more when under braking not to mention binding under said braking loads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAc
Gearboxes only really work for downhill bikes or long life low maintenance environments. they have a bunch of proprietary parts, and don't sell well. Its no wonder that nobody really makes bikes with them
Anonymous at Sat, 21 Dec 2024 12:04:38 UTC No. 217977
I’m running out of ideas here, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My bike is a Spectral 6, and while it’s fully equipped with Shimano Deore components, the crankset is a Miranda for some reason. As you can see in the picture, the chain is damaging the frame, but I haven’t figured out exactly why this is happening. My best guess is that the damage is caused by chain tension or pulls after rough landings from jumps and similar impacts.
Previously, I wrapped the affected area with a piece of tubing, which worked for about a month. However, after a particularly tough ride yesterday, I came home to find the tubing torn apart. Before I replace it with another piece of tubing to prevent further damage, I’d like to figure out a more reliable solution.
What are my options here? Could the issue be related to the crankset? Is it poor frame design from Canyon, with insufficient clearance between the chain and the frame? Should I consider a different type of protection, like a small metal plate, or something else entirely?
Anonymous at Sat, 21 Dec 2024 12:32:14 UTC No. 217978
>>217977
check the bb and cranks are installed with the correct amount of spacers. Cycle your rear through its full travel and see if there are any issues when doing so. Personally it looks like cable rub from your derailleur housing, your chain would be more specs of paint chipping off than gradually wearing which cables do and seems like here. You would need to pull some more cable though to around the linkage area to give it more room to move during compression.
Anonymous at Sat, 21 Dec 2024 12:35:17 UTC No. 217979
>>217978
oh also you can use 3m heli tape which works well and is low profile
Anonymous at Tue, 24 Dec 2024 03:22:54 UTC No. 218193
>>217173
Dumb question. If I do get a BMX just to practice those weird skills, would they translate if I want to do more speedier trail riding on the MTB?
Anonymous at Tue, 24 Dec 2024 03:24:21 UTC No. 218194
>>218193
I would like to preface this by mentioning that ultimately i'm not too keen on doing those redbull wanna-be flips. I just want to feel like a bird and do mad corners and such.
Anonymous at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 00:22:08 UTC No. 218381
Anyone ever rode their MTB in different countries before or is that a tourist trap?
Anonymous at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 02:27:29 UTC No. 218387
>>218381
my friend has ridden in Mexico and Spain. He says it's awesome. I have a friend who borrowed my bike bag to ride in Taiwan(road cycling) and he's loving it.
I want to ride my road bike in the Italian Alps and take one of my MTBs to New Zealand. Rotoura or however it's spelled looks awesome
Anonymous at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 04:24:39 UTC No. 218395
>>218387
Nice, yeah MTB in NZ/Tasmania sounds like fun. I just need to learn how to properly use my bike.
Anonymous at Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:02:17 UTC No. 218409
Cloud inversions are pretty cool. This final track went into the fog around halfway down and my glasses completely misted up/condensation formed and made it incredibly hard to see on the final most technical section of the track where wrong tyre placement means you're going into a +40cm rain rut and going OTB. Overall a good ride with cool view and lots of mud.
Also if you want a good mtb film go watch The Firm on youtube, it's better than deathgrips 2.