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

Interesting. Definitely adds a benefit to buying new. I never registered my frame with Giant but since I bought through the shop I get it serviced at I think they track it and took care of that part for me.

 

IIRC @abacall mentioned liking it as a rear tire. Also who has the Spur? I think it comes on the front. I see many swap it to the rear and put something else up front though.

 

Trails are dry enough to ride so I brought the new bike home from work yesterday. Took it out this morning.

Needs some different tires and a few tweaks to the fit but otherwise this thing rips. Can't wait to get a better feel for it so I can get the most out of it.

 

@paleh0rse has a spur

 

They don't have an NX build up right now on the site but GX is 4299 and that doesn't come with coil rear shock. Rode a coil once and oh my god was it nice. Then again that bike was also double the cost of my current one, so more than a few variables.

 

But that link is for an NX build which was $3k new in 2020. I've heard good things about DVO shocks, but a walmart bike comes with a coil too so not all of them are equal.

 

anyone else feel like their tire is gonna roll off when you go back and forth through berms? theres a new trail (last month or so) that is pretty much S turns the whole way down with some jumps and drops sprinkled in.

hitting those turns and leaning my bike hard feels like a tire is gonna roll off the rim. i cant say if its the front or rear, but ive felt it before on other trails. not sure if i need to adjust my suspension or something.

i do run my tires at like 25-28 psi. maybe i'm too low?

 

Sounds like tire pressure is too low. The pressure needed to support your tire really depends on rim width, type of tire, tubeless/tubes, insert, etc so it's hard to say what pressure you should be at without more details. But if you are rolling a tire on berms your pressure is too low.

 

How common is belt driven nowadays? I was bigger into the bike scene about 10-12 years ago and it was just in infancy and I was in bmx so there was no chance of belt drive there.

typically they’ll have the manufacturers warranty against defects still.

needs more pressure. I had the same thing coming from bmx - we ran 100 to 110 so coming to soft pressures of MTB was hard to comprehend at first.

the way I see it - my bike habits are like cars. 95% of the people have a red one and want a green one. They don’t give a shit about engine cylinders or CVT vs whatever. It has a sunroof yee haw!

then there’s a smaller but noticeable population in performance road cars. That’s me. I am the Camaro of bicycle ownership - more involved and more expensive than your average joe. Yet - if I went to a track against the real deal they’d blow my doors off.

I don’t want carbon this and that and thousands of dollars for my bikes. I’m happy with my price bracket, and I know what I’m “giving up” or not getting by spending more. It’s nice but to me, not worth it.

 

Rattler season.... dog park trails in sc this morning

 

Commencal and others prove every race that alloy bikes still have their place.

 

I love my Ripmo AF! All in all, its a very versatile bike. Although I do still have my eyes on a future Transition Scout. If they ever become available again.

 

Check Pedal Pushers cyclery in Golden, CO

 

I've spent quite a bit of time on all three.

The Agressor is fast rolling, but very little grip. And only a little bit of wear and the grip goes way down. Id consider it an XC tire. It's fast rolling and light.

The DHRII is a great tire. Lots of grip,.even when worn, but fast rolling it is not.

The Dissector splits the difference. Moderate grip,.spins up fairly quickly. Plus you can now get it in Maxx Terra 120 TPI, 3C+, which will last better than the OG Dissector.

 

Nice trail bike!

 

Anyone using pedaling innovation pedals?

 

So after ~30 miles on the Optic so far I can say that I am SUPER impressed with the Vittoria tires. Mazza 2.4 in front with a Martello 2.35 in back, both Trail G2.0 compound/casing/whatever.

I did an amateur write up on mtbr norco forum, figure i'll post it here for anyone who cares about a shitty and premature 2021 Norco Optic C2 Shimano review...

"
I really dig the wheels/hubs that come on the Optic. They are heavy but reliable. XT hub does the on/off noise but the engagement is amazing. Down the line if I'm trying to save weight I'll test out some carbon hoops but in the meantime I am more than happy having a bulletproof set of hoops. Can't please everyone though! I feel like once you get really into this sport you should just purchase a wheelset that you can carry over from bike to bike.

I've setup the DPX2 exactly how Ride Aligned suggested and so far it has been SPOT ON. I think the fork is setup a tiny bit too soft so I'll adjust that as necessary.

Chainguide has been removed and so far no issues since I've done that. XT drivetrain has been performing great.

Dropper is meh. I had a Reverb Stealth on my old hard tail and the lever/actuation of that is hard to beat (once you bleed it correctly). I think I need to mess around with the cable tension to get the dropper performing how I want.

THE VITTORIA TIRES. Oh my gosh. I'm head over heels for these. Brilliant tires, love the compound. So much confidence in the sandy corners and they roll pretty fast as well.

XT 4 pot brakes are pretty nice. Seems reviewers say they have a more on/off feeling compared to SRAM but to my novice hands I feel I have enough modulation and stopping power. I think I could do with burping my rear brake but so far has been a non-issue 99% of the time.

The bike itself is a bit heavy on climbs (mainly thanks to the beefy component spec) but I'm also very out of shape right now, definitely need to invest in an indoor trainer for next winter.

hmmm... not much else to say about it... only have ~30 miles."

 

So what do you guys think of products like Ridewrap or others like it? Do you use them, are they really necessary?

Also I was able to locate an Alloy Stumpjumper that should be at my local bike shop next week. Trying to decide if I want or need additional protection.

 

I wish I got something for my bike when it was new. I even got an alloy frame knowing I would bash the shit out of it. A couple years later and there are quite a few scratch and chips on my frame.

It sounds like some of the complete cover ones are a pain to get on, but well worth it