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

Shit I wish I was keeping up with all the new things, if my income allowed. My 2019 Tacoma is great, but do with I had the birds eye cam or whatever it's called, heated/cooled seats, and Android auto. I can add the seats and replace my head unit, but the heated cooled seats seem like a much bigger investment. Maybe one day.

Same with bikes. Once I get my hard tail rebuilt, if I ride that enough I may get a new short suspension bike. But I wouldn't sell any of my bikes. My quiver keeps growing and idk what to do with them all lol

 

I hate my consumerist tendencies.

 

Question for you guys - I ride all bikes, MTB, gravel and road. Enjoy them all and actually get to ride each a few times a week. I was on a road ride with a friend the other day who had Di2 shifting on his Specialized Tarmac. Of course, I’ve known about this style of group set, but I don’t think I’ve ever really talked with anyone about it. I had a break in riding for a bit, so was not around bikes to see this up close like I did on Monday.

After seeing the functionality, seemed pretty cool and peaked some interest….yes, here we go again. but, any of you have experience with the electronic shifting Groupos? I’ve always liked Pinarello bikes and what do you know, found a Pinarello Paris with Rival eTap AXS. I know Rival is the lower side for SRAM but these days, the lower end is probably as good as what high end use to be in the past??? And Rival eTap AXS allows one to get into the market at an affordable price (marketing speak).

Any experience riding with the eTap stuff? More so on road - but I’m open to hearing any experiences as well. I currently ride a 2011 Cervelo S2, ultegra groupo. Great bike, fun to ride and doesn’t even need to be thought about being replaced but always fun to discuss!

 

Yea the only ones I know getting new bikes every year are employed by shops and get the employee discount from the mfg, then resell it for as much or more than what they paid a year later.
I think I'm starting year 4 w/ my LES w/ no desire to sell it yet.

 

Rival AXS is great stuff. It's basically just the cheap version of eTap with more plastic but the biggest difference is that you can't add blips. Not a big deal though. If I were going to eTap it is for sure the groupset I'd go with.

Electronic stuff is so much easier to deal with than mechanical. For the end user it's pretty much set and forget. Except for charging.

The downside.... Expense. It's expensive upfront and expensive to replace any damaged parts. For this reason I'm going to stick with mechanical for a long time yet. Not that I break that much stuff on my road or gravel bikes but I just hate the idea the replacement cost of a mechanical rear derailleur let alone an electronic one.

You are likely riding Ultegra 6700 based on the year which is a fantastic groupset though, a decade later, its getting long in the tooth.

Basically...I'd never steer anyone away from electronic groupsets. The current offerings are all very good. You can't really go wrong with them except for your pocket book.

 

This is literally me.... I still hold onto mine for years. Ha. I grabbed a Rocky Mountain Instinct this year but it's the first new bike any of the four employees of the shop have had in a couple of years.

Discount or not... I don't need a new bike every year.

 

ive heard the electronic stuff is great for cyclocross. if the derailleur gets all muddy or whatever, the motor pushes right through. i guess its designed this way?

the same is true for the eagle axs i think. if it gets bashed on a rock, it can sense it, go in a bit, then return back to it's original spot. not sure if this would be less damage than a mechanical setup though

 

If anyone is looking for an Ibis Ripmo or Ripley my local shop just got a bunch in stock somehow. JRA Cycles in Medford, MA. I can pick it up and hold it or arrange shipment for ya.

 

I like the overall design. From my point of view I’d make the main image on the Home Screen a Jumbotron with a call to action. On my screen the summary on the homepage is kind of cutoff so I think a Jumbotron would alleviate that. even if you reuse the “book an adventure” button. I could photoshop something up if you wanted haha

 

anyone else read the comments on this post? https://www.pinkbike.com/news/revenue-round-up-a-lull-in-the-cycling-boom.html

someone is saying theyre from peru and for donating a bike, you get like 3 months of lodging at one of their huts/cabins. i guess theres tons of riding down there and its all grass roots?

part of me wants to do it, part thinks its a scam

 

I have mixed history with how long I keep bikes... never less than two years, and typically 3-4. Mostly it reflects changes in figuring out what kind of riding I like (or have access to). Examples:

"Non-Mountain" Bike:
2012: Specialized Tarmac (first drop bar bike)
2015: Felt F4X (cyclocross bike for gravel, pavement, and the occasional Cat5 CX race)
2019: Salsa Cutthroat (more gravel, more comfortable for longer distances, IDGAF how fast I can go on pavement, and I just really like >2" wide tires even when I'm on pavement)

Mountain Bike:
2016: Specialized Enduro 27.5 (replacing an XC bike I bought new in 2002)
2018: Pivot Mach 429 Trail (realized that a 165mm travel enduro bike is a poor fit for a rider who literally never rides anywhere besides South Dakota flatland)
2022: Pivot Switchblade (started traveling more to ride bigger stuff in the last few years, rode 10 days of lift access downhill on the 429 in '21)

I like *the idea* of keeping a bike for 10+ years, but... riding styles and bike designs change over time, and I love riding enough to prioritize a new bike in my budget when I'm convinced it will meaningfully improve the experience for me.

 

What's everyone's new adjusted budget if you were to get a new bike nowadays? My buddy is looking to upgrade from his hardtail and I'm telling him $5-6k is where the sweet spot is.

I feel like common wishlist items are:
- Carbon frame (stiffness and to shed a pound or two)
- Minimum GX or XT drivetrain
- Minimum Fox Performance or Rockshox Select fork/shocks

 

that seems like a reasonable price range for the wish list items

 

Less consumerism is the best way to reduce pollution, however my portfolio doesn’t look forward to that. It’s’ bittersweet for me, less pollution less money and so forth.

 

Your price range and wish list are spot on. Beyond that, you're buying "incremental gains" instead of "transformational gains" for the extra cost of Kashima coated stanchions, carbon rims, fancier hubs, higher component spec, etc.

...says a guy who's buying a bike with all of the above

 

I think you can get Fox Performance Elite and Rockshox Ultimate at that price range. Well not for Santa Cruz or Yeti but it is possible with less Gucci brands.

 

If you said a Mojo, I might've bit That's still an all time favorite bike for me and one I'll eventually get.

Did you do the Dakota Five-O this year? I was there! Ranks up there w/ one of the better vibes of any event I've been to, despite the unfortunate circumstances around the one rider

Agreed. 5k is going to get you a lot of bike, especially a hardtail. That's pretty much where all of my bike builds land in terms of cost.

 

I've routinely said that bike tech advances every 10 years. Buying a new bike every 3-4 years won't net you a noticeable gain in overall tech of the frame design, components, etc. But go from a 2011 bike to a 2021 and you'll really notice the difference in geo, components, etc.

 

One of the dudes that runs a popular Utah MTB facebook page goes through multiple bikes PER SEASON. It's unreal.

 

That gets you a great spec Transition, some with even factory suspension or ultimate if rockshox.
YT it even gets your XO1 instead of GX of Transition.
RideGG is American made and is around same price as Transition.
Lastly I think Canyon or Alchemy.

Alchemy to me looks like a yeti, but cheaper.