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

youre right. i also think going from a 71 degree hta (according to diamondbacks website for it's current model that looks very similar to the old one i have) to a 64 on my patrol lets me charge through rougher trails knowing the fork will soak it up at higher speeds. the feeling of being over the front wheel and less behind it isn't too great for steeper downs. the rear end will bounce around regardless.

i didnt mention it in my first post, but i think a slacker fork is more comfortable at higher speeds going downhill

 

Just got the tan Marin to match my truck but love hauling my bikes in the taco.

 

Are you insinuating you want to run lower pressures? In my experience you can run as low as 24/25 PSI with tubes and not really have to worry about pinch flats. If you want to run lower then yeah you'll probably want to look at tubeless. Reason I say this, I've had alot of folks approach me recently about tubeless and it's not all gravy - there are some tradeoffs.

 

that tan

 

Yeah man. I raced pro around the southeast for one year and then realized it was a futile effort, just wasting money lol

 

Dude, the pro class ... what a unit!

 

Theres some absolute lunatics out there. Have one buddy that does all sorts of shit on a custom geo belt driven Carver Ti. Pisgah stage race, all sorts of south east endurance events - pretty sure he doesnt build up lactic acid.

 

It is super humbling. If anything though, it has shown me that people can still be competitive as they get older. In a lot of the trail running and bike races I've done, the 40-49 category has been the most competitive with the most people and sometimes the fastest times of the day. That was the thing that inspired me the most tbh.

As far as that 3hr49min finish time, I thought I saw a bunch of lifetime grand prix people were racing so I think that speaks to the level of athlete there on it's own...those people are so fast haha

 

I think i'm around 27 up front and 30 in the rear right now. maybe a few psi would inspire more confidence, but most of my riding is on packed stuff. i'll let some air out on my ride home tonight and see how it feels.

but the loose scree stuff around here is like a slip and slide on pretty much any tire and pressure

side edit, my gravel/commuter bike has a 71.5 degree head tube angle.

 

yeah it is wild, there is a guy that runs a local club and he does a lot of gravel races on singlespeed too...insane

 

I mean I guess, anybody can sign up lol. It was just paying more money in different states to get beat by higher margins, typically by the local fast guys

 

On the trail building/ maintenance front. Decided to sack up and pick up at trail boss.

got the Handle / hard rake to start..As I already have a McLeod


will eventually get a shovel head and the Hoe Rake to add to the arsenal

Little clip from Tuesday am before work.... first light was 545am so we go out there and rebuild a berm on a section of trail we just rerouted a few weeks ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Crv65xhpAcu/

 

sounds like a solid time to me. haha

 

The want of a hardtail for me I'd a little bit nostalgia, little bit to add a degree of difficulty to some trails, and simplification.

 

How do you like the Meta?
That's another that I have been looking at.

 

My first trail was on my FIT bmx bike. Lol. Fun, but not recommended.

 

Anyone ridden a BMC 2 stroke?
1 of the local shops has a couple lower tier models on sale.

Edit: NM it's straight up xc race bike

 

When I get it built, I’ll let you know!

it should be soon, I think I have most of the parts ordered or in my basement. Hopefully a week or so and it should be on the trails. It’s in the stand now, with the cranks in, headset pressed in, rear wheel on, rear brake on and that’s it. Waiting for the fork to get the front end buttoned up. Soon!

my initial impression of the frame is great. The welds look awesome and the finish is really good. Only gripe is no mount for a shark fin.

 

Oops, wrong thread. One too many margaritas last night. This was meant for the car porn thread.

deleted here

 

pm'd