Any Mountain Bikers on Here?
- Thread starter jbmccul
- Start date
2WC
New member
Just finished up my 2014 Cyclocross Season. Love Mud!
Enjoying my Fatty in the Snow
Enjoying my Fatty in the Dirt
My new race rig. 2015 Specialized Epic Expert Carbon World Cup
Enjoying my Fatty in the Snow
Enjoying my Fatty in the Dirt
My new race rig. 2015 Specialized Epic Expert Carbon World Cup
Attachments
Christmas came early! The motherload showed up today.
SRAM X01 shifter, cassette and rear derailleur
The machining and engineering on the cassette is insane
RaceFace Turbine cinch cranks
28t direct mount ring gear
Rockshox Pike RCT3 140mm fork
9mm quick release vs Maxle
Rockshox Pike RCT3 140mm fork, 32 hole WTB Frequency i25 29er rims, DT Swiss 240 6 bolt disk hubs, 15mm Maxle in front, 12x142 in the rear, SRAM 11 speed XD driver body, DT Swiss ProLock alloy nipples, DT Swiss Super Comp spokes, SRAM X01 11 speed shifter, SRAM X01 11 speed derailleur, SRAM X01 11 speed cassette, SRAM XX1 chain, RaceFace Turbine cinch crankset, RaceFace direct mount narrow wide 28t chain ring, Shimano XT hydraulic disc brakes, 180mm RT-86 Ice-tech front rotor, 160mm RT-86 Ice-tech rear rotor, and Shimano XT cageless SPD pedals.
SRAM X01 shifter, cassette and rear derailleur
The machining and engineering on the cassette is insane
RaceFace Turbine cinch cranks
28t direct mount ring gear
Rockshox Pike RCT3 140mm fork
9mm quick release vs Maxle
Rockshox Pike RCT3 140mm fork, 32 hole WTB Frequency i25 29er rims, DT Swiss 240 6 bolt disk hubs, 15mm Maxle in front, 12x142 in the rear, SRAM 11 speed XD driver body, DT Swiss ProLock alloy nipples, DT Swiss Super Comp spokes, SRAM X01 11 speed shifter, SRAM X01 11 speed derailleur, SRAM X01 11 speed cassette, SRAM XX1 chain, RaceFace Turbine cinch crankset, RaceFace direct mount narrow wide 28t chain ring, Shimano XT hydraulic disc brakes, 180mm RT-86 Ice-tech front rotor, 160mm RT-86 Ice-tech rear rotor, and Shimano XT cageless SPD pedals.
BryanHousley
New member
It was 60 in Boulder today, which meant playing in the dirt in shorts and t-shirts. And a winter weather advisory is going to leave Winter Park with 6"-10" for a powder day tomorrow.
The Colorado life is good
Oh my god. I have only been to Colorado for skiing, but I really need to move out there someday. That singletrack is so beautiful!
Look back through the past 5-10 pages, I've posted pics from a lot of trails in the area, this one is just one of the small local places, it's one of the closest to my house not including the single track that I can literally see from out my front windows.
1engineer
Moderator
Question: Why did you go with 25mm rims? I am going with 21mm WTB Laserdisc and running 2.3 Maxxis tire. I know tubeless versus tubes but I was just curious if there is another reason or just preference.
Love your components and would have went that route if I still cared about shaving grams lol. Now I ride for fun and X7 stuff is pretty much indestructible and cheap too. Trickle down tech has improved the lower groups in the past few years too. I hope they come out with a XXX10 or something which will make the X9 and the XX stuff even better.
Last question: Why SRAM instead of Shimano XTR components? I am using mostly SRAM components but using a Shimano XT M785 rear hub. Reasoning is that hub is a bit heavy but again, reliable.
Last Last Question:
Rock Shox versus Fox. Again, personal preference or specific reasoning? I have both and it seems Fox can be set a bit stiffer for my 250 lb self so that is the reason for me.
Rim - Wider rims have lots of advantages, one of the main ones is simply strength, the wider rims can handle more weight and abuse. Another is the way the tires sits on wider rims, the profile is less bulbous with straighter side walls which means you will have a bigger contact patch, the tire has less of a tendency to want to roll over towards the side of the rim under load, and your less likely to pinch the sidewalls.
Components - Nothing I choose so far was picked to shave weight. X01 is the mid level SRAM 11 Speed, XX1 is the top of the line, and X1 is the entry level 11 speed. The X01 gearing with a 28t front ring gives me the exact same low end gearing as the typical 2x10 setup and the only thing I give up is the 2 tallest gear ratios, I don't ride fire roads or anything like that where I really need to worry about spinning out. Cost is relative, X01 isn't cheap but but I get the same usability as 2x10, with less weight, less parts, more simplicity, and I don't need a second chain ring, a heavier crank setup that allows for 2 chain rings, a front derailleur, front shifter, cables/housings. If I wanted to shave weight I would have bought the XX1 group and RaceFace Next carbon cranks instead of the aluminum Trubine version etc.
SRAM vs Shimano - My personal preference for mountain bike drivetrain has always been SRAM (I do prefer Shimano road stuff though). And what it's worth XTR would be more inline with XX1, XT is more inline with the X01 I have. Another part of this is every part of this build minus the pedals and brakes I got wholesale pricing, I can get access to SRAM wholesale, not Shimano.
Fork - It's not a Rockshox vs Fox thing, in the past I've used Fox and generally I prefer Fox, but after demoing everything and anything I could find (which is a LOT out here) over the past year there is no current offering from Fox (or anybody for that matter) that can hold a candle to the Pike, it's the best fork I've ever ridden, it's so far above it's competition that IMHO it truly raised the bar and left everyone else to play catch up.
1engineer
Moderator
Thanks for the explanation!
I should have remembered you are going 1X11. I am going 1X10 (converting singlespeed) and will be getting roughly four under gears and five over gears from my current single ring. This frame fits me so well and I have around 3K trail miles on it I just couldn't find one that fits exactly like this one, so I am converting! My bars, seat, slacker angle, brakes and fork just work perfect for me. I have a good geared bike now but this Trek frame on my singlespeed just fits. Let's face it, I could use a few gears on the climbs where my heart is beating about 500 bpm lol. Again, thanks for the info. I ask these questions a bunch as every time I do I learn something new.
Before making my decision to re-work my singlespeed I too demo'd many bikes down in the Raleigh and Charlotte NC area at Trek and Specialized factory stores. I was looking for fit more than anything but learned a bunch from those rides, especially head tube angles. One of the guys had me take a bike off a two foot wall out back of his shop. He told me to remember my body position when I made the two foot drop. Basically to remember that I had my butt on the rear tire. He then gave me another bike and had me do the same thing. This time I could stay on the seat because of head tube angle. He then asked me which one I would want to go on a 30 mile single track ride with. Yep, I learned a lot that day.
I really like my current bike, it's just not the right tool for the job out here. It's a hardtail, 100mm front travel, 1x10 not geared low enough, 71* head tube angle. A good ride will be 30-35 miles of singletrack with 4000-5000 feet of elevation gain. I can do it just fine but I'm at my limit when it's done, my legs are cooked from no low gearing, my back and shoulders are sore from no rear suspension and bottoming out the fork. My hands and arms ache because of trail buzz with aluminum everything. I want to get a 50 mile day in and I just can't donut in this terrain on this bike. That's where the build comes in, carbon frame and bars, wider and lower gearing, full suspension with 110mm rear travel and 140mm front. Long term reliability, long distance comfort, and Rocky Mountain capable is what I'm after.
And yes angles make a ton of difference. Head tube angle is the biggest determining factor for what style of riding a bike is set up for. The steeper head angles are set up for cross country racing and very quick nimble handling. Really slack head tube angles are what you find in downhill bikes. Really head angle = Caster. You can have high speed stability with floppy feelin steering or tight direct steering and thst twitchy at speed. Finding a happy medium for your riding style is the hard part.
And yes angles make a ton of difference. Head tube angle is the biggest determining factor for what style of riding a bike is set up for. The steeper head angles are set up for cross country racing and very quick nimble handling. Really slack head tube angles are what you find in downhill bikes. Really head angle = Caster. You can have high speed stability with floppy feelin steering or tight direct steering and thst twitchy at speed. Finding a happy medium for your riding style is the hard part.
1engineer
Moderator
Yeah I explained it to a novice using race car analogies. I told him a race car can go really fast and turn and handle well but is very uncomfortable except in a race. A nice sports car does all those things good but not as well as a race car but you can ride in it all day long. That's how I equate head tube angles. At my stage of the game I want to stay in the saddle a bit more instead of moving all over the bike to keep the wheels planted.
Kryptoroxx
New member
Ack double post sorry!
Kryptoroxx
New member
I like that analogy. Wish I had some people to ride with out here but honestly riding sucks in my local area for anything but a fat bike Tons of soup sand and lots of sharp rock.
You can't ride in Joshua tree national park except on the roads so the nearest nice riding for mountain bikers is an hour away in big bear (which is excellent but I don't have a lot of gas to burn and it's seasonal riding).
As far as head angle goes I think mine is a 67 or 66*? I love how stable at speed she is and how really all mountain this bike is. Even with the head angle and the 6" of travel I have very little pedal pump. Climbing is not it's strong suit but that has to do more with weight than anything else.
Don't have any trail pics with her but that's because I'm having too much fun!
Really want to build a yelli screamy or nimble 9. The way canfields frames feel is just right for this guy.
You can't ride in Joshua tree national park except on the roads so the nearest nice riding for mountain bikers is an hour away in big bear (which is excellent but I don't have a lot of gas to burn and it's seasonal riding).
As far as head angle goes I think mine is a 67 or 66*? I love how stable at speed she is and how really all mountain this bike is. Even with the head angle and the 6" of travel I have very little pedal pump. Climbing is not it's strong suit but that has to do more with weight than anything else.
Don't have any trail pics with her but that's because I'm having too much fun!
Really want to build a yelli screamy or nimble 9. The way canfields frames feel is just right for this guy.
My DSLR is too big and cumbersome to drag with me skiing and biking so today I got an Olympus Tough TG-3. It's a pocket sized rugged camera, waterproof down to 50 feet, impact proof from a 7 foot drop onto any surface, it's crushproof to 220lbs, it will work down to 14*F before the cold starts making it freak out and it still has a pretty quick F2.0 lens and a 4x optical zoom (you can turn digital zoom off so no loss of resolution). No more crappy cell phone pics
Jhalko
New member
1engineer
Moderator
Yes. X7 Type 2.1 med length. https://www.sram.com/sram/mountain/products/sram-x7-type-21-10-speed-rear-derailleur
I hate chain slap.
Yeah, no. Now on the basketball court? Oh yeah. Going up stairs. Yep.
One of the reasons I ride the bike is it does not hurt anything joint related unless I wreck! Sometimes the lower back gets tight and sometimes the hands go numb. Sometimes my heart hammers out of my chest from exertion and adrenalin. My lungs sometimes feel like a bellows used to stoke the fire in medieval times but my knees, ankles, wrists and elbows feel fine even after 20 miles. Back gets a bit sore after that distance though.
I will tell you what hurts the most after a really long grueling ride that takes intense concentration, stamina and all the skill I have...
my face muscles from smiling ear to ear.
1engineer
Moderator
Quick question for [MENTION=46730]MONTYMTB[/MENTION] or [MENTION=113771]AudiTech[/MENTION]:
Derailleur Adjustment -
My engineering mind says never run anything at or near limits right? So along that vein of thought my new X7 rear derailleur should never be fully extended or contracted correct? Basically what I mean is I should adjust my new chain length (taking out links) so I will have a full 10 gear's worth of shifting that will be equally between the fully extended and contracted position of the arm, not biased either way correct?
On another note, that raceface front ring is a brilliant design! I left my bash guard on because judging by the outer diameter of it (bent, worn and gouged) I would have bent the ring or chain had it not been there to start with. Downed trees and rocks have a way of doing that.
Derailleur Adjustment -
My engineering mind says never run anything at or near limits right? So along that vein of thought my new X7 rear derailleur should never be fully extended or contracted correct? Basically what I mean is I should adjust my new chain length (taking out links) so I will have a full 10 gear's worth of shifting that will be equally between the fully extended and contracted position of the arm, not biased either way correct?
On another note, that raceface front ring is a brilliant design! I left my bash guard on because judging by the outer diameter of it (bent, worn and gouged) I would have bent the ring or chain had it not been there to start with. Downed trees and rocks have a way of doing that.
