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

They're becoming trendier again recently. Chromag runs the show for my local scene but there are so many boutique builders out there - you can spend as much as you want. A friend of mine swears by Pipedream bikes. Thru-axles and aggressive geometry were my requirements

Super badass

 

Now you're onto something. Especially if a rider always want to be able and blame it on the bike.

 

I’ve come to think the perfect number of bikes is one more.... right now I have three. My road bike gets more use then the others. But I also have a gravel bike that I use a lot and a cheap road bike that is permanently mounted to my smart trainer for winter time use. Guess I need a mountain bike....

 

Got out on another ride last night. pretty much the same route as the night before, but got a bit lost on the way up.

while riding i got the idea to make a little video of riding the same trail for a month to see how i progress.

also thought about crankset spacers. anyone use spacers on a dub crank? i didnt see it mentioned in the official service/install pdf. there are some other posts online about the spacers though. my chain ring is pretty close to my chain stay, but doesnt seem to be a problem. the new chainring that came with the crankset was offset and wouldnt work. had to go back to the chainring that came with my bike and has like 1k+ miles on it

maybe a 2 mm space or less would work. anyone use them?

 

Yezzir! I’m not an ipa drinker though lol. Currently rocking one of these

 

Yeah, mtb or fat bike for the winter. Slush it up.

 

Best being in your opinion, but I'm looking more for trail/endurance type hard tails.

If I was going to buy one it need to be trail/endurance geo, and boost rear axle spacing. Everything else can be changed when deals on used parts come up.

 

I wanted to like fatbiking, but it just sucks around here. We get lots of ice and most of our trail's close to home are annoyingly steep so it's just not a good experience.

We have a Peloton that keeps us in shape over the winter or when it's too smoky or I just don't have enough time. I thought it would suck as I prefer being outside, but my wife really wanted one. It's a crazy good workout. It's really kept my fitness level high yeah round, rather than the peaks and valleys I was used to.

 

From what I understand, the chainring on most modern 1x setups is already spaced out slightly too wide. There's a very tight tolerance for these setups and you don't want to move your chainring out 2mm. That's part of the reason you see chainrings so close to the chainstays. Most of us spend the majority of our time spinning the bigger gears, which means you want your chainring aligned with those gears on the cassette. If those spacers just move your cranks and not the chainring, then you should just look up q factor, as that affects your pedal power and comfort. There's a good story about Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich and Q factor.

There's some really good options out there for that. I'd look at the Stanton Switch9er. It's a touch over the $2k price point you mentioned. One thing...as a hardtail fan, I probably wouldn't want one as my only bike for very long, not if you're coming from a Firebird you were happy with.

 

I believe we are similar size and are on the same bike. I am 6' and 197lbs and have a 2019 Firebird29 (size L). I got the Reynolds wheel upgrade through Pivot. It was the first set of carbon wheels I've ever had and I am completely satisfied. They are the enduro 34mm wheel w/ 28 spokes. I have beat the hell out of these wheels in numerous bike parks, Moab & Vegas. One word review = Solid. No broken spokes, not even a hint of a wobble/out of true.

I had the M1700 wheels on a Mach 5.5. They were great, but I was constantly dinging the rims and breaking spokes. I never had a problem straightening the rims, but replacing spokes is such a PITA with a tubeless wheel.

I don't think I will ever ride an aluminum wheel again. I won't say "never," but I certainly don't want to after having a carbon wheelset. With that being said, those I9 Enduro S with 101s look great. The new 2022 Firebird has them on the Pro XT/XTR build (at least on the one I saw in the LBS). Get what works for you and don't take any shit from the peanut gallery.

 

Everybody that's been an owner of carbon wheels love them and doesn't complain about them except for the initial buy in.
I am a buy once cry once person, for example AXS, buy it install it and never adjust it again.

I think I'll get carbon wheels eventually, but for now we gotta figure out what bike I'm going to be on.

Well above what I want to pay for hardtail at a touch over $3k.
You may be right on not wanting it as an only bike, which is why I want to keep a budget low. More low more better.
I just want trail/enduro geo, boost rear spacing, and 1x drivetrain.

 

It looks like I was late to the conversation. Congrats on selling the Firebird! I demoed the Trail 429 Enduro build last week and am currently trying to figure out how to get one/find one.

Check out Boltcutter Cycles out of Bentonville. The owner used to manage my LBS here in Utah.

 

Whoops! Missed that it's pounds, not dollars.

There are still some good options for $2k, just maybe not boutique builders. I think Canyon has one, the new trek roscoe, Commencal Meta HT, etc all have builds around that price point.

 

Oops, wrong again. You were looking at hardtails. Boltcutter has a short travel MTB, but not a hardtail.

 

I like to share my lack of capability with as many bikes as I can financially justify. I follow that up by adding lots of expensive shinny doodads that I don’t know how to use.

Keeps my parking lot shred cred on point…until people see my not so shreddable riding.

I’m still smiling.

 

There ya go

What's the story with that?

 

I’d say the best budget HT’s that are trail oriented are Marin San Quinten and Commencal Meta HT.

 

Also if I had a small travel 130-130 bike I'd buy this and sell frame for $1k, the parts equal out to being $6k not counting frame.

https://us.yt-industries.com/products/outlet/izzo/117/izzo-pro-race-29/

 

On-One and Planet X makes some great budget hardtails and gets slept on here in the states.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/