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Post by Kensterberg on Dec 5, 2006 16:52:20 GMT -5
Honest to god, I think that the most important part of a good mountain bike is simply reliability. The stuff can't break when you hammer it! It's just that simple. As long as you've got something that works, no reason to spend money you don't want/need to.
My mountain bike is a pretty basic Yeti hardtail -- none of that extra heavy double suspension stuff for me -- with a solid (but not too heavy) aluminum frame, reasonable RockShox (I think) front fork, and decent (and sturdy) components. I really don't care too much for the saddle, which I think I'm gonna (finally) replace some time in the not too distant future.
Honestly, if I could I'd swap my MTB for a cross bike, but I'd take a bath on the resale of the Yeti, and don't really feel like shelling out the necessary bucks for a good cross ride right now. But that would give me plenty of off-road ability and give me a riding position that is closer to my Bianchi. Hell, I've even thought about just hanging drops in place of the MTB flat bar, but that'll require new brake/gear levers, too.
Still, something to think about.
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Post by Fuzznuts on Dec 15, 2006 10:51:14 GMT -5
Ken, this past weekend when I went out, the temps were about 75 with moderate humidity. Nowhere near as bad as August. Once we got into the trees and started hauling ass, it felt really pleasant. I barely broke a sweat.
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Post by Kensterberg on Dec 15, 2006 10:57:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I would think that winter would be the perfect cycling season in Fla. Sounds like summer in Germany, actually, which was great cycling weather.
It's been rather chilly here lately -- and they're talking about highs in the forties next week -- but I've been out on my MTB with my "cold weather" gear a few times.
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Post by phil on Dec 15, 2006 11:21:00 GMT -5
It's december the 15th
and I'm still taking my bike
to go to the grocery store ...
This is ridiculous !!
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Post by RocDoc on Jul 18, 2007 22:15:53 GMT -5
Just watched the end of the Tour de France stage ending in Marseille....and yeah, the doping shit has hurt the sport badly, but DAMN those finishes are fucking COOL!
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Post by phil on Jul 24, 2007 13:23:05 GMT -5
Is it really cheating when(almost)everybody does it ??
Vinokourov just tested positive at the Tour
and the whole team just packed their-medecine-bags
and went home !
Let's just say that some are better at cheating than others ...
LoL !
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Post by maarts on Jul 24, 2007 15:07:16 GMT -5
It's just like Landis last year- one day he couldn't match it with the peleton and dropped half an hour, next day he floors everyone with a brilliant solo-run in the Alpes.
Should've seen it coming.
And another black cloud hanging over the Yellow Jersey- it'll never come right with this sport.
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Post by phil on Jul 25, 2007 18:45:04 GMT -5
Now it's Rasmussen's turn to drop out ... !
Will there be anybody out there to finish this thing ??
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Post by maarts on Jul 25, 2007 19:25:09 GMT -5
Sad. Rabo is the Dutch national 'pride' and I guess that they were under a lot of pressure to find something to sack the guy on.
Especially after the Tour-director had come out openly hoping Rasmussen wouldn't win the Tour.
Aussie hopes are now with Cadel Evans. Poor sod, winning by default.
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Post by phil on Jul 26, 2007 10:34:55 GMT -5
The Tour de Farce used to be a great sporting competition, then it became a show geared for entertainment purpose and now it's strictly a business proposition ... I say give all the riders the best possible drugs available and may the best man win ... !  ! |
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Jul 26, 2007 13:58:48 GMT -5
I could see it coming with Vino the moment he 'did a Landis'; you can't be a broken man one day and smash the peleton open the next. And Rasmussen was clearly popping hormones and EPO while hiding from the testers all year, so fuck him. What about Armstrong, who (a) stayed ahead of a great racer like Ullrich, even though Ullrich was pumped full of drugs, (b) showed similar extraordinary powers of recovery on his penultimate tour win and (c) mentored Landis and Tyler Hamilton, both since exposed as drugs cheats. Hmmmm....
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Jul 26, 2007 14:01:19 GMT -5
And there's no way Cancerella's TT stage win wasn't dodgy as fuck. About half a minute ahead of Wiggins and the rest?
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Post by maarts on Jul 26, 2007 15:57:45 GMT -5
You mean Cancellara?
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Post by strawman on Feb 23, 2008 1:15:40 GMT -5
anyone still riding their bikes.....I am desperately trying to get as fit as I was a couple of years back....I kinda want to be racing again before winter!!.....I'm still riding my Giants (I have 3....haha)...anyway I hope you're all out enjoying the bikes!!...and achn, in the snow???..what the hell were you thinking (laughs)
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Post by RocDoc on Feb 28, 2008 11:43:55 GMT -5
i'm hoping to score a mountain-type bike or something near a 'road' bike to replace my 25+ year old schwinn world sport which is still eminently usable...but it's time.
a friend of mine offered to sell me his spare (brand which i cannot remember now) for 75 bucks which i'll guess is probably 1/10 of what he paid for it (prob more even)because all of his 'toys' (bikes, skis, tennis eqpt, etc) are always great quality top-of-the-line.
multiple hundreds of bucks more than i'd be willing to pay for any one of them..but this thing's got a cantilevered looking frame with shocks incorporated in it, which has got to be for pretty serious mountaining (which he'd done lots of) and he's probably a good half foot shorter than me, though i wouldn't say the frame looks 'small'.
the price is right, very right, though 'mountain' isn't something i'm sure i want to use to basically tool the roads and (mostly paved or crushed limestone) wooded trails around here plus i'm not sure that just installing a longer seat post to handle my short torso/long leg 6'2" frame is going to be enough.
i also look at the hydraulics on this and my mind says 'too gadgety' for me.
more shit to break.
but i GOTTA ride this spring summer.
i lost 50-60 minutes per day to commuting to work after we moved, so where does that come from?
from my workouts of course.
and 25 extra pounds later i'm realizing that just 2 days per week at the gym aren't enough. where i was doing 6-7 before the move.
though the birth of our son, his existence in my life since nearly 4 years ago was also a factor of cutting into 'me time'.
and i'm greatly looking forward to the time when he AND i are going to be able to go for a long spin together!
gotta start using the stepper at home again, but bicycling was always something i loved to do...3-4 hour rides were common back in my 30s, and it's not like i've fallen completely out of shape, it's just the past year and a ½...and while i'm doing a modified atkins diet right now, 12-14 pounds have already gone since super sunday, my 'last blast'.
and i'll keep going hopefully til my birthday april 17th.
but damn, i want a beer NOW!
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