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

Anyone here drive a 4Runner? If so have you ever had the bike in the hatch like you do on a tailgate?

 

Can't speak for the Northshore, but I recently met a dude at a trailhead that had a 1up on a rigd ultraswing. The rack was pretty high up off the ground. Seemed like kind of a pain to lift the bike that high.

Departure angle is definitely better than with other swing out options.

 

Is it bad to clamp the riser like that?
How should you clamp it?

 

Happy Friday gang! So I've been MTBing for just over a year now and am on my third bike (1. 2019 Trek Marlin 7 (hardtail), 2. 2013 Trance 29 X 120/125mm), 3. Currently on a 29" Devinci Django (140/120mm). I grew up on bikes so I found myself picking up the sport and very quickly progressing in skills. Lately I've found myself searching more and more for "chunk" when riding. Not so much catching air and jumps but more technical rocky and steep trails. With this I've found myself reaching the end of that 120mm rear travel a bit.

Although I LOVE the 120mm rear efficiency and playfulness, I think it may be time to look into a 140mm rear. I'm happy with the 140mm front but wouldn't mind a 150mm fork.

What's everyone's recommendations for a 140-160mm front, 140mm rear trail bike? Obvious contenders are the Switchblade, Ripmo, The Offering (which I demoed but wasn't blown away). Is the Rocky Mountain Instinct 140/140 a contender? The new Trance X looks oh so sweet so I'd love to grab a frame next year and build it up.

 

Go bigger!

You're describing enduro terrain in terms of riding preference. There are some bikes in the 150+ range that are still playful and efficient. That's what I love about the Rallon, in fact.

 

Love me some Deity. It's been on every bike, and that's quite a few. Peeps behind Deity do it for the right reasons, and I love supporting them.

Ha! I'm currently running, or very recently ran, all of those. The Deftraps are on the Decoy, and they are awesome. Love them, so much damn grip, super reliable.
The copperhead is on the Django mated to the Skywire carbon; and run a i9 on the Wrecker, which had a Apex stem mated to the Renthal carbon bar. Honestly, the Renthal stem is just ok. Had some issues with the bolts, which are small. The Copperhead's a good stem, no real complaints at all. The i9 is a killer stem, and reversible to adjust height which is nice.

Nope. As long as the dropper is extended all the way, it's fine. Just make sure there's no dirt or anything that can scratch it when you clamp it. I'll sometimes use a clean rag between it and the clamp. Just don't go cranking the clamp too hard.

All super solid options. No one has ever disliked riding the Ripmo, the Switchblade's a super capable ride, and has a real snappy feeling to it, the Offering has the rep and that super solid Delta platform. I'd hold off on the Offering though, as I'm sure Evil will drop a new one soon.
Personally, I'd go with a super capable short travel machine (120 R, 140 F) right now. The Evil Following, Norco Optic, or Devinci Django would be at the top of my list for a new trail bike. Spending some time aboard my Django has opened up my eyes this season. I recently rode a pretty damn gnarly trail that I'd usually take the big bike on, and posted my fastest time on it aboard the small bike. And those short travel bikes make the uphill so much better, actually fun to clear some of the harder tech stuff. If possible, throw a leg over one of those and see how you like it. More travel doesn't always mean more capable. The new gen of aggressive trail bikes with modern geo bring back the fun factor that some of the bigger sleds suck up.
Right tool for the right job. Big bike (160-170) for big and fast terrain. Smaller bikes (120-130) for trails.

That being said; as @SenatorBlutarsky said, if your terrain calls for it, just commit to the bigger bike. The big sleds pedal incredibly well nowadays. THey're also incredibly playful. I have no complaints riding the hew Wrecker. It just doesn't have that get-up-and-go the smaller bike does.
Top of the Enduro playlist right now; Evil Wrecker, Spec Enduro, Yeti 150, SC Mega.
**Keep in mind that if you're riding tech and slow terrain, you'll want something with a shorter chainstay and not too long of a reach. Everyone's about loooong bikes now, but those only really shine at seriously high speeds. The Wrecker and Mega are great all-around bikes.

 

Absolutely impressed with my previous gen Django. Specially with pedal efficiency and nimbleness. I think that is what I'm afraid of on a bigger bike. The Devinci Troy 29 and The Offering I demoed felt like it erased the nimbleness.

Have you found your Django frame to feel really stiff compared to other bikes? Maybe because I came from aluminum bikes but it was one of the first things I noticed and absolutely loved about the carbon Django.

 

You can clamp a dropper all day long. Just keep the post extended, and recognize there's a difference between "snug" and "crush". I usually toss a shop rag between the jaws and the post just to make myself feel a little better though.

 

Yeah, we've done it on my buddies 4runner when we ran out of shuttle vehicles. Not sure I'd make a habit of it but it works.

Its a PITA to get em in there, but you can fit 2 pretty easy through the window.

 

My bike (2018 Transition Scout size M) came with a 125 Reverb. I'm wanting to go with a longer drop (and dump the stupid plunger actuator). I have plenty of seatpost exposed for about as long of dropper as I'd want, but the frame insertion is pretty limited on this bike. So from the few I've looked at online it seems like 150 might be the longest I can go. I've read plenty of the shootouts and reviews, just wondering what you guys have had good luck with.

 

I like my oneup v2. If I remember correctly they had one of the shortest insertions for a given size. Their drawings are pretty good for determining which size is best for your bike

 

Which pedals are everyone using? Getting rid of the RaceFace Chesters because I want a different color. Most likely would want to stick with flats, but open to clipless.

I'm also torn if I want color vs black. I ended up getting orange tubeless stems, but orange pedals may be a bit much. Bike frame is dark green. Hmm..stealth or flashy.

 

Having not ridden a Django I can’t comment specifically, but what you’re describing is the general feel difference between aluminum and carbon. All carbon bikes will be stiffer and more responsive, as a whole, when compared to their aluminum counterparts.

The reverb gets a lot of hate, but typically they actually have shorter insertion depth per drop than others. OneUp has some super short options too.

 

Yeah the OneUp is high on my list. 150 is the longest I can get from them. They have really short stack heights but not really overall lengths.

I've actually been pretty happy with the reverb. 2 years riding it with no maintenance. It was flawless until a crash cranked the seat out of line and it has had a slight bit of lateral play and a few mm's of squish since then. I'd just like more drop and a new lever. I was going to add a 1x lever, but at ~$100 for a new lever it seems like a new post is the way to go.

 

Yes, a third gen.
By bike in the hatch, do you mean fold the back seats down and shove it in there? If so, yes - with front wheel removed.
Like you do on a tail gate? If you mean front wheel hanging out the back roll down window, never tried - assuming it'd be a real bitch to get in there though.

 

Been riding exclusively road the past 2 years. Picked up a 27.5+ fuse and relearning how to ride dirt. (Last time I mountain biked was back in 2012.)

me and my other noob friend on a local spot that’s pretty fun.

 

I’ve been sick with an earache and swollen right gland. It’s going on 11 days now. I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday and was prescribed an antibiotic for a 10 day run. An inner ear and gland infection. Between that and the smoke here in Colorado I haven’t ridden in two weeks. Looks like another week or so before I’ll be able to. That is if I kick this sickness and the smoke clears out enough.

I’m hanging on the edge of my seat waiting for some killer ride reports with photos to be posted up. *hint*hint*

 

Kind of what I'm hoping to avoid - trying to keep the front wheels somewhat below the roofline of the Drifter

 

Yeah hanging out the window haha. The idea sounds awesome but the execution maybe not.

 

I just grabbed a wolf tooth lever after my rock shox one broke. It's really nice. Definitely nicer than the levers from rock shox or 1up. I didn't think it'd be that big of a difference but I really like it.

I have a 170mm 1up v1 dropper and it's been a bit finicky. I have to regrease it and add air more than I'd like to.

I have a rakattach swing out and 1up. The handlebars and seat stay well below the roof of my drifter. Not sure how the northshore would compare.