Any Mountain Bikers on Here?
- Thread starter jbmccul
- Start date
KidVermicious
New member
KidVermicious
New member
Let's talk tires. I'm due for a new set, and I need some help cornering on loose surfaces. What tires do I want?
MONTYMTB
New member
I recently upgraded my wheelset to some Stan's, and I went with the WTB Bronson 120 TPI
Good all around tire, happy with them so far. Not the lightest in the world, but when it comes to tires I want some beefy outer lugs to hook up in the turns. As a plus, they were super easy to set up tubeless. All I had was a regular floor pump and they seated without much fuss.
I ride a combo of everything, loose pea gravel, some sandy spots, lots of rock, and smooth hardpack dirt. I relly like WTB Vigilante front WTB Trail Boss rear combo
1engineer
Moderator
[MENTION=46730]MONTYMTB[/MENTION] that's exactly why I don't ride tubeless lol. One time you can seat the bead with a hand pump and the next time you need a 10 hp compressor with a 50 gallon tank to seat the bead. I know there are advantages. I also know the simple pleasure of putting in a tube...
[MENTION=49649]KidVermicious[/MENTION] I run the Maxxis Ignitor on my 29" rear wheel. It is a tough tire and very good in lots of different conditions. There are better tires out there for rocks, for mud, for speed, for hard pack but there are not too many out there better for all conditions. Sort of like an automotive AT Tire. Here is a link Maxxis Ignitor Tire > Components > Wheels, Tires and Tubes > Tires | Jenson USA and I'm sure you want to know how long they last? My current tire has around 2,700 trail miles and maybe 100 road miles. That's a lot of trail miles!
Only downside? Sometimes you gotta use a bit of lube to get the bead to pop when airing up for the first time. I use water and Joy dishwashing liquid lol.
MONTYMTB
New member
If you mainly carry only one or two bikes, platform all day long. Much easier to load, and you don't have to deal with bungees or any adapters for funky shaped frames. I have a Yakima Holdup and really like it, but I doubt you would have any complaints about a Thule or Kuat.
GrossMan
New member
+1 Platforms rock! Especially with all the wild frame configs with MTB.
I have a Kuat Sherpa...love it.
My only very minor gripe is that my old Thule standard hitch rack with posts allowed me to do on site repairs much more readily than my platform. It was actually my "go-to" bike repair rack; especially when "moving part" repairs and adjustments needed to be made on derailleurs, chains,brakes etc.
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We had a bit of a hectic day on the mountain bikes today.
This type of terrain
We had a group and got a good ride going. We started from the south side, road up the mountain down the north side into town for a stop at the coffee shop and the headed back up the mountain back the way we came. The one guy Kelly is hauling up, hits a rock and goes over the handlebars face first into a huge granite slab knocking a couple teeth loose and chipping another, face pouring blood like a faucet turned on. He took a couple minutes, visibly angry, and waited for the bleeding to stop. He was alright so we kept going. After a short while he stopped to take a breather which is weird, he races XC, he's fast a hell and doesn't get tired. Then another breather and another. By the third it was just my wife and I waiting with him (he kept telling people to go ahead) and he was kinda just staring into space at the mountain. His fas was obviously bloody but this time I noticed a trickle of blood coming down from in his helmet and I'm like shit.
I started asking him questions and I said man what did you hit, was it your stem? (knowing full well he slammed his face into a mountain). He had no idea. He didn't know what happened, didn't know where he was was, didn't know where he parked, how he got to where we were stopped, he couldn't fathom how the rest of the group got ahead of us and he kept repeating the same things over and over again. I'm like ok we're done, come on we're turning around and walking our bikes back down to the closest way out (about 4 miles away) and we'll have them pick us up where we can ditch out onto a dirt road. It took a little convincing at first to get him to follow me. He kept saying he was alright and wanted to try to ride, luckily he wasn't argumentative about it, I would just say no we're gonna walk and he was like oh, ok. Then a couple minutes later he'd ask again. I made sure I stayed in front of him and walked my bike the entire way down so he wouldn't/couldn't get on and try to ride. Let me tell you, hiking is one thing, trying to hike with your bike in mountain bike shoes that don't flex and have a metal cleat on the sole down rocky stuff. He just kept repeating the same things over and over. I had my phone and my wife's phone watching them both waiting to get some signal so we could get a hold of the group and let them know what was going on. I was able to get a voicemail, he got it and spread the word once he hit an area with some signal. We got him down the backside of the mountain and the one guy was waiting with a car to take him to Urgent Care and another picked us up and drove us back to the other side of the mountain where we parked.
Shit happens, especially on a bike, but it was a bit of a scary moment. I just hope when it's my turn to be in his position someone is there and willing to do the same. They did a CT scan and luckily there was nothing serious, he got a pretty good concussion, put some teeth through his lip, took some skin off his nose (amazingly without breaking it) and he has to go to the dentist tomorrow to see how sever the dental damage is.
This type of terrain
We had a group and got a good ride going. We started from the south side, road up the mountain down the north side into town for a stop at the coffee shop and the headed back up the mountain back the way we came. The one guy Kelly is hauling up, hits a rock and goes over the handlebars face first into a huge granite slab knocking a couple teeth loose and chipping another, face pouring blood like a faucet turned on. He took a couple minutes, visibly angry, and waited for the bleeding to stop. He was alright so we kept going. After a short while he stopped to take a breather which is weird, he races XC, he's fast a hell and doesn't get tired. Then another breather and another. By the third it was just my wife and I waiting with him (he kept telling people to go ahead) and he was kinda just staring into space at the mountain. His fas was obviously bloody but this time I noticed a trickle of blood coming down from in his helmet and I'm like shit.
I started asking him questions and I said man what did you hit, was it your stem? (knowing full well he slammed his face into a mountain). He had no idea. He didn't know what happened, didn't know where he was was, didn't know where he parked, how he got to where we were stopped, he couldn't fathom how the rest of the group got ahead of us and he kept repeating the same things over and over again. I'm like ok we're done, come on we're turning around and walking our bikes back down to the closest way out (about 4 miles away) and we'll have them pick us up where we can ditch out onto a dirt road. It took a little convincing at first to get him to follow me. He kept saying he was alright and wanted to try to ride, luckily he wasn't argumentative about it, I would just say no we're gonna walk and he was like oh, ok. Then a couple minutes later he'd ask again. I made sure I stayed in front of him and walked my bike the entire way down so he wouldn't/couldn't get on and try to ride. Let me tell you, hiking is one thing, trying to hike with your bike in mountain bike shoes that don't flex and have a metal cleat on the sole down rocky stuff. He just kept repeating the same things over and over. I had my phone and my wife's phone watching them both waiting to get some signal so we could get a hold of the group and let them know what was going on. I was able to get a voicemail, he got it and spread the word once he hit an area with some signal. We got him down the backside of the mountain and the one guy was waiting with a car to take him to Urgent Care and another picked us up and drove us back to the other side of the mountain where we parked.
Shit happens, especially on a bike, but it was a bit of a scary moment. I just hope when it's my turn to be in his position someone is there and willing to do the same. They did a CT scan and luckily there was nothing serious, he got a pretty good concussion, put some teeth through his lip, took some skin off his nose (amazingly without breaking it) and he has to go to the dentist tomorrow to see how sever the dental damage is.
1engineer
Moderator
Good man.
Yep, concussions are strange. It's good you and your wife helped him out and got him down. He could have really did some damage to himself trying to ride it out. We have had similar challenges over the past 20 years of riding. Are you or your wife trained in any type of emergency care? If not you should, even if it's just the two of you on a ride. Go take a emergency field care course or even an EMT course. You will be glad you did. My wife is a nurse, some of my riding buddies are doctors and they all told me to do the same a long time ago and I am glad I did. It has helped my self when riding alone and several times riding with a group when there has been an accident. You guys done good!
MONTYMTB
New member
Wow, scary situation but you handled it well. Hope your friend is ok.
I've been riding a long time, and have been fortunate that nothing serious has ever happened to me or my friends while we were on the trail. I've separated both my shoulders in some bad crashes, but that's nothing like what you experienced.
MTB is a lot of fun, but something like this can happen in an instant, and like [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] said, some emergency medical training can make the difference.
I'm an IMBA certified instructor, and a lot of the folks that I took that certification with have also taken a wilderness first aid course. Your story has reminded me that I need to take it as well.
I've been riding a long time, and have been fortunate that nothing serious has ever happened to me or my friends while we were on the trail. I've separated both my shoulders in some bad crashes, but that's nothing like what you experienced.
MTB is a lot of fun, but something like this can happen in an instant, and like [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] said, some emergency medical training can make the difference.
I'm an IMBA certified instructor, and a lot of the folks that I took that certification with have also taken a wilderness first aid course. Your story has reminded me that I need to take it as well.
I'm CPR/AED certified, but no first aid type stuff, I'm going to look into it. I was just glad he was cooperative, to be honest he wasn't one of my "friends", he was a friend of friend that I had met a ridden with a couple times over the years. I wasn't sure how he was going to take somewhat of a stranger telling him what he needed to do when he was already confused and out and out of it.
It also got me thinking that I have a bunch of first aid stuff... in the truck. It's time to get something to throw in my pack.
It also got me thinking that I have a bunch of first aid stuff... in the truck. It's time to get something to throw in my pack.
1engineer
Moderator
A few years ago a friend and I were riding a trail and found a lady sitting beside the trail, back up against the tree, slipping in and out of consciousness . My friend is a surgeon and checked her out and determined, after speaking loudly and clapping his hands and everything else to get her attention, that her blood sugar had dropped and she was slipping into a coma. I happened to have a piece of hard candy and an orange in my pack, along with a PB sandwich. It pretty much saved her life because we were too far out to get help quickly. Stuff happens on the trails.
Jimmy_D
Member
No kidding. A good buddy of mine has a home in Steamboat Springs and a few years back was riding with several of his riding buddies there when one of them went off the trail. His first point of impact was about 40' below. When they reached him he was already deceased. Shook my buddy up pretty good. I can remember doing the Portal Trail in Moab way back when with a couple of buddies and the one pervasive thought running through my head was 'stay on the trail....stay on the trail, otherwise you're dead'.
