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

Speaking of tallboys... about time for a beer.

 

Question time: I've been primarly road cycling for the past few years and just got my Stache. I've got a slew of tools and a workstand that I know will cross over, but is there anything mountain bike specific I should be looking into? I just purchased a cheap Planet Bike shock pump to breathe life into the stock Manitou Machete fork so I'm covered there. For tubeless, just stick to my air compressor for setting the bead, right? Thanks

 

My Yakima Dr. Tray does, you just have to fold it down past flat, to its low position. You can even keep the bikes on.
You can also add a tray and make it hold 3 bikes.

I had the NV2, but I swapped it because I needed the fore/aft adjustment to be able to get the roof box on the back and still fit the bikes.
I have a bedhead, 60” rails, a box, and 2 front loaders over the bed, with the platform off the back. That setup carries 4 bikes, gear in box to keep dry and locked, and the bed is free for cooler, boxes, other gear.
If I plan on driving off road, and don’t need more than 2 bikes, the platform rack comes off.

 

Thanks, which Yakima rack do you have?

So,the nv2 also works if you don’t have a canopy?

 

Dr. Tray.
All things Bikes and Tacos!

I had the NV2 on a frontier, with a shell. It didn’t allow the tailgate all the way down. Otherwise worked great.
I will say that the Yakima allows you to slide the trays front to back, and left to right. That adjustment comes in handy.

 

Thanks this looks like a great solution. I currently have a ridgeback for my impreza so the mounting system is familiar. How is rear camera visibility with the dr. Tray?

 

I’m not too familiar with road bike setups but as long as you have Allen keys, torx wrenches, spoke wrenches, shock pump, and a torque wrench, you can do about 95% of repairs and maintenance.

 

Those T nut slot fasteners are great for all sorts of stuff but if your spending spending $70 on a mount that you have to drill into your bed and then take your tire off to load I personally would look in another route. Hitch mounts etc... JMO though

 

After riding road for 10 years I just started mtb last year. Som far I haven’t seen much difference. The amount of stress can be more so torquing accurately seems even more critical than road. The one thing is to carry a spare derailleur hanger with you. Depending on the bike they can be vulnerable on road too, but it seems like a scenario that can occur when mtb’ing so I carry spares and a multi tool, besides the usual tire stuff. But I’m sure I’ll discover things down the road

 

Tire pressure is critical so a gauge that’s accurate and in particular precise (not the same thing, you want consistency) at low pressures is important. Also, depending on what fasteners your roadbike uses, you may want to carry the right Torx bit or driver for brake calipers etc. T25 I think.

 

i agree with you! i used the header rail and rocky mounts for mine

 

Tire stays on, which is why I like this particular mount. With the T mounts I’ll just have to drill into the mount which doesn’t bother me nearly as much as putting a big hole in my bed.

 

Yes, a compressor is what you need to seat a beat on a tubeless setup. I also got the Park Inflator (INF-2) to use with my compressor.

 

Or a pump with a reservoir (several available, usually called booster chambers) if you don't want to buy a compressor just for that. If you already have one, even better. The pumps can get tiring to use, especially on stubborn tire/wheel combos where you have to try multiple times. Little tip, use soapy water on the beads to help them seat, open the tire up to natural form and let them sit in the sun, two layers of tubeless tape (or gorilla tape), seat them first then use the syringe to put goop inside.

It's ok, but again, you can adjust the trays so it can be a little better... I'll try and snap a pic. Rear parking sensors are useless though.

 

Do what I did; put a compressor in your truck! Then you can air down your truck for wheeling days, and seat beads. I have even reseated a tubeless tire at a trailhead and saved a day of riding. As far as other tools, a good tire gauge and pump, but if you have a road bike, you probably already have those.

If you already have a shock pump, I'd say you're set. As @Tacomavkk said, a spare derailleur hanger or two is never a bad thing to have. It can save a biking trip from being a total bust since a lot of shops are closed on Sundays and Holidays so a 3 day weekend may only have 1 day of coverage.

One thing I recommend to everyone is have a small tackle box in the back of the truck full of odd bike parts (spare hangar, grip lock rings, pedal pins, 2 extra tubes, extra set of brake pads) and small fix-it tools like a pedal wrench, lube, core tool, small sealant bottle, etc. That way, if something goes wrong on a ride, you can limp back to the truck, and maybe save the day.

Nothing is worse to me than driving all the way to a trailhead, and having a totally minor and fixable, but ride ending event happen 50 yards up the trail, then having to load up and go all the way home.

 

I need to do this for those what if situations.

I have an OBA on a to-do list but, who knows when I'll get to it. I will say you can seat a bead for tubeless without a compressor; I used the weed sprayer trick that Skills with Phil posted last year and after a try or 2 I got it to seat only using that. A compressor would be way easier but, living in an apartment doesn't make for the best place to have one.

 

#apartmentlife I am so ready to try and find an affordable house.

You definitely can do it without one, but why not add to the capabilities of your truck and kill 2 birds? I went with the single ARB compressor without an air tank, but you can easily mount up a Viair on the cheap.

My justification was a compressor in the truck can also air up a tire long enough to get your truck off the freeway usually, because after mounting a spare on a narrow shoulder, I will NEVER do that again.

Actually, it was my TPMS light came on due to the cold, and I never had quarters for the gas station...oh well, fixed that problem too.

 

Hey guys, I’ve been wanting to get a mountain bike to hit the trails but not sure what a good starter bike is? Budget is around 500 to 700, any suggestions? Thanks in advance

 

For that kinda money, look at a hardtail, or maybe a used older full suspension bike. Pinkbike and Craigslist can have some great finds on them if you are patient.

Diamondback makes some decent bikes for around that price range. I have also heard good things about REI's CO-OP bike line.

Honestly, my first recommendation is find a bike shop around you that offers day rentals and give it a few shots before you buy. Often times, the shop will give you a credit for the demo(s) if you buy a bike through them. I see many a bike around here in Utah that have 1-2 rides on them, and are sold because the owner didn't like the sport as much as they thought, and now gets to take a haircut on a basically new bike.

If you do decide you like it, I might recommend saving up a bit more and expanding your budget. There is a marked difference even between a $700 and $1200 bike.

 

Yeah, I'm shooting for doing the same thing; ARB single since all it will get used for is bike and truck tires. Just a matter of getting the money & time to do it, currently need to finish buying the parts for my CB setup before I start the next install.