All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

It's not my fault that the LDS Army of SLC was so easy to defeat...

#ALLHAILPALE

In all seriousness, my trip to SLC/PC was f'n epic. I almost skipped my flight home to steal my buddy's RV and hide somewhere in Deer Valley! Thanks for the info on trails -- it definitely came in handy all week!

 

Only hit Corner Canyon and Pipeline/Mill Creek near SLC. I personally had to skip Bobsled, but my other buddies rode it on Friday after I left. So no car jumps for me. doh!

We stayed on Main Street in Park City for half of the week. While there, we hit as many trails as possible at both Deer Valley and PC -- Undertow, Mid Mountain Trail, Spiro, Speedbag, 420, Sweeney's Switchbacks, Gravedigger, etc etc. Wasatch Crest was still suffering from access issues, so we never got to see that one, unfortunately.

Needless to say, I'll be back. We're already planning a Park City + Moab trip for next year...

PS: Your trails absolutely mutilated both of my "East Coast" Schwalbe Rocket Rons! I had catastrophic flats on my first two rides and had to conduct emergency tubeless surgery on the first day I was there. Switched to DH Minions F/R. Much better results.

 

YOU WERE 9 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE and you didn't gimme a shout? smh

Gonna have to make a return trip later in the sseason next time so you can hit Crest and a few other pieces of tasty trail around here.

 

Going to look at the Stache tomorrow afternoon. May just happen.

 

Jealous of your proximity to any kind of trail. My closest dirt option is a 30min drive, and that option is barely worth the drive.

Do it.

 

Well, I did issue a decree, sooo....

 

Yes, I do have a strava account...

I was bummed they wouldn't give me their APK so I could change the "starting ride" audio to "STRAVA!" when you hit the record button.

 

And I may be an asshole, but I'm an asshole with a spare room and plenty of room for another bike if you wanna come visit UT.

 

Are there any platform hitch racks that allow the tailgate to be opened fully while the rack is in its horizontal position? I think the 1upUSA does, but not sure of any others.

@113tac I know you have a Thule Pro. Any feedback regarding tailgate interference?
@Alden What about your Rocky SplitRail?

The RockyMounts MonoRail Solo I owned for 48hrs wouldn't allow the tailgate down all the way in any configuration. So I'm still searching for a hitch rack, and I'd like to be able to drop the tailgate without having to lower the rack also (if possible).

edit: Sorry if I've asked this before. My short term memory is ummmm, lacking.

 

I can check when I get home but I’m pretty sure the tailgate hits the Thule pro in the horizontal position. Maybe by like 1/2 an inch. I might be able to pull it out of the hitch a little though since it doesn’t use a regular hitch pin to lock it.

In the fully down position it clears fine with bikes on.

In short, I’d buy it again. Let me know if you want any other feedback on it.

 

Good stuff!

I can get a decent discount on most of the big name brands which is the main reason I haven't already purchased a 1up. To me they have the best rack on the market. Its just one of the more expensive options and they never appear to offer any sales/discounts.

Thule has a 1up-esqe rack releasing next month. Unfortunately it will not be expandable and will only accept 26"-29" wheels. Saris just released a similar variation of their own last month, but I haven't found any legitimate real world reviews on it either.

 

Depending on your discount I’d say the Thule pro is a solid option. I compared it to the Yakima and Kuat at REI. Up til then I thought I was going to get the Kuat but when I tried them all the Thule felt like a better build quality and way better usability with the one handed lever at the end of the rack. I’ve had it for a year, which includes banging it into a few walls in parking garages (it blocks a good amount of the camera in the up position), and it’s held up great.

 

That’s funny as I’ve done the same hands on test at rei on the Thule pro, Yakima hold-up and the kuat nv and came away with the same conclusion.

The Yakima felt like the cheapest in hand, and clunky. The kuat was a high quality piece but the lowering mechanism wasn’t as nice as the Thule.

My garage already looks like a Thule catalog; racks on my wife’s car, roof top cargo box, single running stroller, double running stroller. Wow. Thule has a lot of my money.

 

Exactly haha. It will be interesting to see how the new rack turns out.

 

My Yakima Dr. Tray does just fine. Actually, it allows the trays to slide fore/aft as well as left/right which makes clearing any tailgate and fitting any combo of bikes easy. It's a sturdy bugger too.
My only complaint is that on rough roads the bike's front tire moves a bit in the tray due to the shortened tray which pulls the bike toward the back. I've never had any security issue with it though, and I definitely did some offloading in it (Moab). It even has a fin on the bottom to prevent any damage to the rack.

 

I just spent two days working on my bike after the trip to Europe. Those trails put a beating on my bike, plus it hit 1K (7 months) so it was time for a tune. Tore it apart, all in pieces. Cleaned, lubes, inspected, replaced, re-torqued, bled everything.

-Took apart all frame parts and inspected all bearings. Looks like it needs some new ones, a few are gritty.
-Brakes and lines off bike, replaced pads, bled all, shortened both hoses.
-Removed fork and shock, sent to Dirtlabs for full overhaul and custom tune.
-Inspected, lubed, re-torqued headset. All good.
-Inspected, lubed, re-torqued bottom bracket. All good, surprised by the durability of SRAM DUB.
-Took wheels to builder to inspect. Everything was perfect, which is crazy impressive after 1K hard ass miles.
-New tire sealant.
-Serviced front and rear hubs. Had some issues with which oil to use in freehub, but overall good to go, no issues.
-New grips. Trying Revgrips, heard great things from several people.
-New cables for dropper and derailleur.
-Dropper bushing service.
-Retune rear derailleur.
-Clean and inspect all drivetrain parts.
-Inspect and re-grease pedals. Might be time for new bearings.

That took a shitload of time, and some trial and error. But it's so awesome to have it back to fresh. I took it for a ride today, and it was better than a new bike. Stoked I took the time to do this all myself. Highly recommended.

 

The dr tray is definitely the nicest current Yakima offering. Wish it accepted a wider range of wheel sizes. Pretty sure it’s limited 26”-29” wheels.

Really enjoyed following your trip vicariously. Seemed like the trip of a lifetime.

I hope to learn the skills needed to do at least half of the rebuild you completed. Currently I feel like I’m scrambling just to eek in enough time for a ride a week, let alone time to actually wrench myself. Good on ya!