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

What did you replace? I have never run SRAM brakes, I yanked the DB8's off my Delano, didn't even ride them! I had Clarks on my Kings Peak and they were garbage, replaced with 4 piston Tektros (which have been great, especially for the price). Otherwise, I've only had TRP and Shimano brakes.

 

Replaced the OEM SRAM levels that were just really on off with very little modulation available.

 

Can you elaborate on your choices above?
Haven’t ridden a Firebird before, curious.

 

Whoever said above, negotiate! People fail to realize LBS's are like vehicle dealers that have wide enough margins for us to be able to negotiate. Specially on a now previous-gen bike.

 

Just let me say before anything else, I owned the Pivot bikes and the Evil bikes belonged to a friend.

Firebird vs Wreckoning: This was 2019. Firebird29 (V4) vs 2019 Evil (V2??). I traded bikes with a friend at Deer Valley for part of a day. This is a close friend that knows how to set up suspension. We are same height and very close on weight, too. I felt like the Evil rode way down in the travel...like way more than just the sag. I constantly felt like I was going to be thrown over the bars or slip off the back. Is this attributed to Rock Shox vs Fox or Delta vs DW Link? I don't know. I never felt centered and planted on the Wreckoning. There are many unscientific factors to consider here...maybe the biggest is my personal feelings being involved. Getting back on my Firebird was a dream. It rides so high in the travel and is just a plush ride. This was a few hours on the Evil, but enough to know I liked the Firebird more. I have had the Firebird29 (2019), the 2022 (V5) Firebird and I just got a second 2024 Firebird (sold the 2022).

Trail 429 vs Following: A much closer contest. Also more recent...2022. I'm not sure if the Following was V2 or V3. The Trail 429 is a mini-Firebird. It is so similar except for the travel. I think the geometry of the Following was better for these two short-travel bikes. I just had a great time riding it. I can't really nail down exactly why.

I will also admit that I'm a little biased towards Pivot. One of my best friends is the Director of Engineering of Pivot. I feel like my Pivot bikes are totally dialed because of his setup help and suspension tuning. You are in SLC or PC, right? If you ever want to ride a Firebird and you ride a Large, reach out. You can take mine for a spin!

 

Interesting. I rode a Wrecker for a while, loved the bike. Rode more like a long-legged coil-sprung trail bike. Never felt like it sat low in travel, quite the opposite. Sagged easily (used the first third easy, super soft off the top) and sat in the middle for most of the time unless hitting bigger holes, roots, bumps, or drops.
It can definitely come down to user setup (stiffer-softer), riding style (light-heavy), suspension setup (front/rear bias).
It's funny, I sold mine to a very close friend and he set it up with an air shock, lighter wheelset and tires, and a different cockpit. I rode it on a very familiar trail it it seriously felt like a different bike.
The Firebird has always intrigued me. I think the only thing that held me back as the lack of frame-only options. I usually build my bikes and hate being locked in to their builds. Their astronomical prices also hurts.
Thank for the offer man! I might take you up on that. It's going to be hard to steer me away from my Arrival 170, but I'm always open. Even if not, let's ride this spring/summer

Anyone think they'll release a new Firebird this coming summer?

 

So I was able to get in to the closest Ibis dealer and rode the L and XL ripley and ripmo, just to feel the sizes, I definitely am right on the line between sizes, but have longer arms and legs so sized up to XL and ordered the DV9 frame in Purple Crush
The only parts I was really missing for the build is crank, bb, and headset. And the shop had them in stock. So NBD next weekend!
Then time to start training for the race(s)
Happy Thursday all

 

I've only done small sections of frame not the whole thing, but from that I would say go for the ride wrap or whichever other brand you like. But the time saved from precut is huge.

 

Anyone ever have issues with a derailleur freezing during a ride? Went out last night and it was about 30°F, went through a few wet areas which I can only assume splashed the derailleur and allowed it to freeze up. Nothing I could think of short of pissing on it would work (well at least it was recommended). I have run into this issue before as well - drive train will not shift into a harder gear when it gets below freezing and slushy out.

Contemplating replacing the derailleur if this isn't normal. Watched a few videos on taking it apart and cleaning all the internal components as well - the return spring could be old and worn due to a lot of winter riding. Not sure what the guy before I owned the bike did. Makes trying to keep up a pain in the ass when you're stuck as a single speed.

 

You should try cleaning it up and coating it with silicone spray, that might help keep the water from settling in to begin with.

 

This happened to me in December on my fatbike (Shimano XT derailleur). It just stuck in 5th or 6th gear in the middle of a ride. Would not shift up or down. I cleaned it up, but it really didn't seem too dirty (this bike is ridden on snow 99% of the time). I also watched an interesting video about bikes ridden in wet and snow having clutch issues...issues like the clutch sticking and therefore not allowing any shifting. I took the clutch cover off and holy smokes. The clutch was orange and brown with rust! I followed along with the video (I had never done this before) and removed the clutch, cleaned, re-greased and reassembled everything. It solved my issues. Derailleur is like new and very smooth. The only special tool you might need is a pick (not that special).

Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TqdoAAn-go

 

Running a SRAM NX on the fat bike - just watched a video and doesn't look like I can really get to the internal portion of the clutch to clean it up, but can get pretty close. May re-grease all of it and see how it does.

 

Moisture getting inside cables and freezing might also contribute.

 

NBD! Santa Cruz Bronson
This is my first full sus after riding a hardtail for over two years. Absolutely love that I can just point at downhill section and go - this thing was eating downhill. Climbing- wow what a pig lol. Lots of pedal strikes and just a slog climbing. Makes up for it on the downs, though. Looking forward to snowshoe in June

 

my pedals are completely trashed because of pedal strikes as well. That’s something I had to get used to with full suspension bikes.

 

Not sure who to quote here so I'll just tag @abacall...

I've ridden both of these bikes and I think you're kind of saying the same thing. My guess is what @FreightTrain is describing as "thrown over the bars or slip off the back" is the same as @abacall describing the wrecker as a "long legged trail bike." The firbird is a BIG bike and plows but still has a nice nimbleness to it for a big bike. The Evils in general are very playful and thus the Wrecker is a playful big bike. So they're kind of on different ends of the enduro bike spectrum in my opinion.

The way I've put the comparison before is... if you wanna race enduro and just go fast, then Firebird is great. If you want a really playful bike that can handle steeps, then that's more of the Wreckers territory. It's a subtle difference but definitely noticeable to a good rider.

 

Winter bike to work day 2024.

Had to take off the slicks and put some small blocks on the bike last night for the forecasted snows. It started snowing around 530 this morning. Luckily 95% of my commute is on bike trails so no fear of cars hitting me.

The free bagel is the main reason I rode in, lol.

 

lol. nice. free bagels!

 

Welp. I just signed up for the Pikes Peak Apex. A 3 day stage race in colorado springs.

Anyone got any training plan advice, lol? I'll be on week 3 for the Dirt Destroyer next week. Long, gradual inclined dirt roads are on the list. A variety of single track around here will be a lot of training too.

Other than that, I'll just keep doing some different body weight, light dumbell work for upper body/arms to bike control.

Or maybe I should find a real plan from a reputable coach. I don't think I would need anything specific to my body, but more like a general 3 month prep for stage racing plan. Anyone got any recommendations?

 

Tahoe's all snowed in

I just wanna ride my bike


I did get so much better at jumps last summer riding bike park. Slow speed drops still spook me if theyre over 6 feet tall. And I still havent put a coil shock on my bike yet lol