Show off your Mountain Bike!!!

haha i wish could have a bike for everything. just sold two bikes in the past few months. hopefully i can rebuild my quiver. i definitely ride to enjoy it but i wouldn't ride if i wasnt going to push my self near my limits haha but thats just me, and im not even the crazy one of my friends

 

Here's my new baby. bought frame 2012 Santa Cruz Heckler in Sept. purchased parts and finally got on the trails with her end of November. rides like a dream.

 

Nice looking bike. Does the seat bag get in the way of the dropper post?

 

Road my hard tail 29er tonight. I can't wait until I get my FS back. I still haven't mastered the sweet spot weight wise on steep climbs riding the hard tail. My FS just does everything so well.

 

Hard Tail. Gary Fisher Paragon, 29er, de-sticker'd, Egg-Beaters, Sram X0

 

Do you have any issues storing your bike upside down in regards to the forks? I have my 26" FS bike, my road bike and my 29'er hardtail (with suspension forks) both stored parralel to a wall (90 degrees counter clockwise of your pic) with the same hooks. My rear tires rest on the floor.

I found that the 26" bike the Rockshox forks so far are totally unaffected but the cheap RST forks on the 29'er don't like being stored the way I have it. They won't lock out until I ride it a couple miles, then they're fine, though I normally don't use the lockout feature anyway. Just curious what could happen over long periods of time, especially with yours being upside down.

 

I was a bike mechanic for years. Personally I have never had issues like what you mention. But clients in the past have come to me with that issue and normally arose from inexpensive components failing. That bike with component upgrades I have done is ~$3200. I don't like Carbon frames on Mountain bikes otherwise, it would be closer to the 10k mark.

The front shock/ fork valving seems like its failing. Unless it has ALWAYS been that way for you.

How old is the Bike? Warranty might be an option for you. That is what we did for our client base when something like this happened. Otherwise we would rebuild it and it would fix 70% of the issue. Then again, most of the manufacturer's frames are the EXACT SAME THING!, just different components. That being said, you can normally find a NEW updated shock that is better than your current setup on the net for about the same pricing it would cost you to bring it in a shop for an overhaul.

Most shops, if out of warranty, will charge upwards of +~$200 just to tear her down and start the work plus parts.

THERES MANY OPTIONS. Just need to weigh them.
1.Sell the bike? use the money it would cost you to fix said issue and add that to the money you get from the bike to buy another one.
2. Buy the new shock you want
3. Try a rebuild yourself
4. Call the manufacturer of the shock and the Bike manufacturer and try to get answers. (Just like a car, we would get recalls and Service Bulletins)
5. Store it differently if none of the options are available for you.

A storage method I have used in the past is to store it flush against the wall on hooks...


Screw your Hooks into the WALL, Not the ceiling. 2 of them. Take a 5mm allen wrench (or whatever your screws are) and loosen up the 2-3 screws on the headset, so you can turn the handlebars 90º (parallel to the frame). Now you can hang the bike from the Frame Top Tube.

This takes up less room and is easily done. Like this. But they didn't turn the handlebars sideways/.



In the shop, we hung ALL the bikes Like this



If you change your mounting style that will surely solve your current issue. But doesn't resolve it. That should NOT happen.

 

Skygear, what concerns would you have if any hanging them like this?...........



Haven't noticed any wheels out of round, leaking forks or any other issues. Got 14 so there isn't room for all of them to have 2 hooks or be near ground with 1 hook or be 90 degrees from wall.

 

None. If your setup and gear are working as designed, then great. As you saw, I hang mine upside down.

Just keep your tires up to pressure, and that will help the wheels maintain their shape from the pressure.

I have never actually seen a bicycles wheel out of true(out of round as you put it) from being hung by the wheels/

Now I have seen people hand then incorrectly, by their spokes, and that DID cause issues with them being out of true.

Personally, I ran out of room for my bikes and gave them all but 1 away. I had 10's of thousands invested in them and knew I was going to never be happy with the money I would get out of them selling. So I found deserving people over the years and gave them bicycles I knew they would probably never see or be able to get in their life times. As I was hoping, they were appreciative and still come over and get advise on maintenance form etc.

I will say, THANK YOU to the people in this thread for putting their seats at the proper heights respectively. I cant tell you how many people I sold bicycles to that "slam" the seats, even on road bikes. Then they complain about poor performance or aching body parts and joints.

 

Another thing I would like to address to the lot of you folks.

Consider buying a pair of mountain bike cycling shoes and pedals.

People with "Cages" don't realize how dangerous they are. It is HARD to get out of cages in an emergency, or turning a stop into an emergency. Most shops will install the cleats, and pedals free of charge.

Personally I have been using Crank Brothers products for years.

They have a great program right now and have been an innovator in the industry for years.
http://www.crankbrothers.com/rt_ticket_add.php

The "Candys" are great for Mountain - http://www.crankbrothers.com/pedals_candy.php


I personally use the Eggbeaters


I like that the WHOLE line uses the same "Cleat"


Easily put on, removed, and adjusted.

Its not for Cosmetics here, it's about functionality. You will realize what your missing once you ride around for awhile. You gain the upward pull, not just the push from your legs. Longevity and a better work out since you are using MORE of your muscles. These are the easiest and safest system I have ever encountered in my many years of riding.

Warranty is awesome as well. One of mine wore out, called them up and they offered to send me the reconditioning/ service kit for them, send me a new one, or send mine in to them for the service, all FOR FREE! I just got the kit and serviced them myself. Oh and they use that HIGH quality grease internally too. Not the crap most of the others use.

The shows are NOT like the road shoes. The have Grip and tread similar to a boot. Easy to walk around in them and most now are stylish that any man would NOT be worry'd about them not looking right. KEEN even makes a shoe now that accepts "Cleats"

I have seen the pricing on the shoes starting ~$30 on up. Most of the pricing now hovers around ~$85 for a decent shoe.
Check these out->


I would ride into work, and work an 8-12 hr shift in my shoes. Comfortable and functional.

Getting something like the "Candys" or even the "Mallets" http://www.crankbrothers.com/pedals_mallet.php allow for you to ride the bicycle without the proper shoes on still.

 

To get out of these types of pedals. I tell people who are just learning to "Do the Mash Potato"

What I mean by this is, Step foreword til you feel the cleat catch, then SMASH down to fee the cleat catch. Then to remove, twist out. The Crank Brothers product ling is more forgiving in this than the Shimano SPD line.

good instructional video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmwHqcFlOI4

 

Cool, I has Ti egg beaters with red spring on the road bike and also black Candy's with gold spring that I'm gonna use on the Giant mtb I just built up. Just got it dialed in to be able to trust climbing torque on chain and shifting being good to go so next ride will be my first mtb ride ever being clipped in. Might be silly move to learn this new trick at 52. A bit aprehensive about it but the shoes seem to be easier to get in and out of the candies than the ones on the road bike. Same shoes and cleats. Yes, I'm riding my road bike with Shimano mtb shoes and eggbeaters instead of road specific clip-ins, lol............already had the shoes so it just happened that way.

 

Thats the beauty about the Crank Brothers product line. Your not racing and lots of Tri-Athletes use Mountain Bike Shoes locally.

I have likes the SIDI shoe line personally. But I wore out my current pair and have been using a ~$150 Pair of Shimano MTB Shoes in their place since I'm broke.

I saw the Cages on the Specialized and it struck a word of caution.

I taught many adults how to ride bikes when I was selling/ fixing them. Oldest person I taught was 73. Very appreciative man.

I'm glad that your taking the initiative to use the proper/ safer gear though.

I still have used the EggBeaters on just about all my bikes. I cant use the TI due to my weight. Make sure you read the specs on the ones you have. I am right at the weight limit for the TI's and chose to air on the side of caution.

I ordered all the springs and custom built mine.

What Brakes did you go with? I'm using Juicy's right now and have had my eyes on a larger caliper setup for some time. But again, right now most of the things I WANT to do are just that, WANTS, not needs and since the money(s) are thin right now. I need to hold off on all the un necessary MODs.

Buying and selling used bikes off the net is a great way to build and swap components to get your bike where YOU want it component wise.

 

If you're talking about the stuff around the front of shoes on pedals, I don't have any bikes with cages, never liked those, never used them. The Ti egg beaters are on my road bike so they won't see much crazy action and yes, have seen the warnings about the Ti spindle ones.

What brakes on what bike? Got SRAM Rivals on the road bike - lightest without spending 300.00 and black to match carbon/black stuff on that bike. Running mech discs and Vs on my mtb bikes. Just don't see any gain for my riding to go with hydro and don't care to complicate swapping parts around by needing to bleed or trim hydro lines. Got Avid bb7s, Hayes MX2s, Formulas & Shimano, Tektro Vs. Only have canitlever LXs on my old 1993 Rockhopper then there's the coaster brake Nexus 7 on one cruiser and regular coaster single speed on the other cruiser.

 

That specialized looked like it in the fuzzy pic. I stand corrected.

I saw a guy that was motoring through some trail, went to put a foot out and couldnt. BAM right into a tree. Now he wears dentures @ 23 years old and lost a good portion of sight in one eye as well as a nice sized chunk of his face.

I helped as much as I could, sat phone and medivac'd , but he still rides and only uses clipless now.

 

As for the "hydro" as you put it, they are set and forget. All the sets I have had have been. Ever have the opportunity to ride any?

I got tired of messing with cables on all my bikes, and after riding a few "Hydros", I liked them enough to get them on a bike.

I have been eyeing the SRAM 2X10, XX, and XX1 New components. Again though. Not riding much in the winter so the purchase would be a waste.

 

Does anybody race Downhill on here? It would be cool to meet a TW member at a race or take a few shuttle runs together.

 

Had in the past, haven't in years. Dont have a downhill bike anymore./

 

Oh yeah, no, those were just platforms.

 

LOL - I pulld the pic and zoomed. I was seeing the dual CF bottle holders and one looked like a cage due to the angle.