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

G-Form Pro-X3 Mountain Bike Knee Guards - Biking Knee Guards for Athletes - Knee Compression Sleeve for Mountain Biking & More - Protection Pads for Knee Support - Triple Matte Black, XS

https://www.amazon.com/G-Form-Pro-X3-Knee-Guard-Titanium/dp/B09P8LC62M?smid=AN18IKOLH4FTL&th=1

I wear these for more aggressive trails If I know itll be a prolonged downhill. But If there's nothing intimidating on that trail as in I can clear everything without full focus and messing around a bit I don't bother. Theyre not awful to pedal in but they pinch the back of my leg a little bit but any sleeve style will in my limited experience. Def saved me multiple times though. sliced into one of the little sections hard enough that I imagine my meniscus wouldve just severed on that rock

 

Yeah. None of the options would've helped. Right in the middle of my shin. 5 stitches later. All patched up. It wouldn't stop bleeding the entire time. Pretty crazy stuff for me. Worst bleeding I've had from mountain biking. But certainly not the worst injury.

 

I usually follow that rule too, until FB banned me for 3 days for posting a pic of my last shinner in a MTB group thread about pedal bites because "Gore"

 

Took a minute (200 miles or so), but I finally have her dialed in and riding the way I like.
Went from Zeb Ultimate, to Zeb Ultimate 3, to Fox 38 180. I have 2 Zebs to sell...
Adjusted spring rate, tuned the fork a little (familiar tith Fox stuff, know what I like), tire pressure took some time due to inserts, stack height and bar roll took a bit to dial in.
It's also quite a long bike for me. I'm 5' 8" and it has a 470 reach, 1275 wheelbase. But after some time I'm adjusting to the way it rides, and it's freakin fast. Still very poppy though, so plenty of side-hit silliness.

*As soon as I got the Fox fork I did a lowers service. Good thing too, almost dry on the air side, less than 5cc on the damper, dry seals... If you get a new bike or new fork, do yourself a huge favor and do a quick lowers service.

 

Such a sick bike! Why’d you switch from the zeb? I’m still trying to dial it in but it seems solid. I did a bike park day, first time in a long time so I took it easy and only hit the blue jumps but I only used like half the travel…such a pain dialing suspension in haha

 

Any of you all who have the Hayes Dominion A4 brakes know of a source for the barb and olive/combo?

I finally put mine on from that CRC sale. They are some chonky bois. I just don’t know if I can stand riding my bike with the hoses so long!

 

Hayes looks like they have some on hand.

https://hayesbicycle.com/products/k...63565&pr_ref_pid=4542822023213&pr_seq=uniform

 

This just won’t do. It’s even more salmon pink/red in person than through camera. I guess I’m returning pedals and grips and getting some bright reds

 

Just buy from Hayes as linked above. Easier that way for sure. You may be able to find generics on Amazon, but I couldn’t tell which ones work.

Also just watched this video after being a dummy and taking apart a shifter. This is kind of aggravating due to how small everything is, but this guy did a fantastic job with it. 11 speed was very similar to my 7 speed DH shifter and I’m willing to bet the same for a 12s.

https://youtu.be/OexaMmJkoMs

 

After a bit the Zeb Charger 3 was really good, just not great (for me). Super supple off the top, but used that first 2/3 fast and was harsh on the last 1/3. I'm only 155 kitted so that might have something to do with it. I ride pretty fast/hard so the added stiffness of the new chassis on the Zeb and 38 is noticeable, but I get along much better with Fox stuff. I know how their various Grip2 knobs effects my ride so I can really dial it in to feel how I like it to.

 

Whoa! That’s a fresh restock! They didn’t have any last week when I ordered the adapters!

thanks for checking!

 

Interesting review of the Zeb compared to my experience. Me and my main riding buddies all love the new RS stuff. We're all big boys though, so I wonder if it's just more supportive and not harsh in that last third.

 

Just got back from Fears, Tears, and Beers in Ely, Nevada. I was on kid duty but my wife got 3rd in women's expert and buddy got 7th in men's expert.

I didn't get to ride much in the area cause the weather was pretty bad outside of race day. It seemed like some cool trails though, so we'll definitely be making a trip back.

 

Interesting, I could see the harsh 1/3 at the end. I assumed it was that I had too high of pressure but we will see. I’ve been struggling to get it to even use that last bit. What sucks even more is I feel like my bike is balanced front to back right now, just not using the travel.

 

I ended up ordering from a shop in Charlotte, NC that would ship. I called a bunch of places that said they had stock online but didn’t actually have them. Hayes didn’t have the 1 piece barb/olive in stock and since they were switching to the two piece setup and they said they didn’t know when they would be back in stock.

It looks like they still aren’t listed under the accessories page on the Hayes website but if you use the search they come up.

 

Fox 34 Factory in shiny orange is on its way to my house to mount to my SC Tallboy. Went from 130mm to 1400mm and going to either overstroke or get the cascade link for the dear.

looking for a deal on Fox Float X 190x45 if anyone sees one.

 

DuPont Ridgeline trails have been made even more super smooth (and fast). I kinda like the old rooty, rocky version better. Glamping in Brevard.

 

That's where I struggled as well. I put in less air, dived too much. Added rebound to get to fork to stand up, felt too fast and pogo-ish and ruins that balance. Added some LSC to add support to the compressions, felt harsh.
Toward the end I found a good balance point: 0 tokens, 52 psi, 0 HSC, 8 LSC (middle), 8 LSR. This was the best it felt, and it was really good.

I did like it, just get along better with Fox forks. They seem to handle repeated big hits better, more composed. It's also helpful to be able to dial in HSR, which the Zeb doesn't have, which gets the front back up quick and ready for the next hit.
And using that last 1/3 of travel is much more accessible too, without bottoming out. I will say it's not as smooth over the chatter bumps as the Zeb, maybe it's just new and the seals need to break in a bit.

 

Hopefully I don't get too much dive. I have the stock tokens in it, I think that is 2 if I remember correctly. I started at the recommended PSI from Transition for my weight which is 85 (I think) and I made my way down to 80 by the end of the day. I just vividly remember this spot with some high speed braking bumps with an exposed root leading into a jump that you really don't need to brake into to clear the jump perfectly but the bumps make me want to slow down since they are so harsh.

 

I imagine its like down here where when its first maintained it gets over groomed so they dont have to touch it often and then nature takes its course.

Every time we go up Burnt Mountain is gnarlier than pics/videos lead you to believe.