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

Well, little bit of both depending on the day. Here in NJ, we have Mountain Creek Bike Park and the additional travel will be more suitable for that. I've rented DH bikes there before, but have not tried it on my Camber since "they recommend bikes with atleast 150mm travel". I think thats all BS and depends on the rider, correct me if wrong? I know components would wear out faster and shorter travel would make it tougher, but still doable im sure. Obviously the Ripmo or Remedy is not a dedicated DH bike, but would be more suitable for a bike park vs my 130mm Camber. Plus the suspension components on the Ripmo AF at that price level is hard to beat. And we also have Allaire St. Park thats more XC style singletrack with some DH lines and jump sections and has a little bit of everything for everyone. Ill tell ya this, i am always looking for any descent or downhill line i could take when riding, i like to go fast. So id like to think im more DH oriented as a rider.

Modifications i would look to make on my camber if i dont move on would be dropper post, rear suspension upgrade to fox, and some wider rubber. I think the 27.5" Camber can fit up to a 2.6" tire if i read correctly.

 

I built my own Wreckoning with a GX/X01 drivetrain, Fox Float, and Hope Tech E4 brakeset) and it rides great downhill. It’s a BIG bike but I guess that’s what you would want from a 160mm travel DH bike. I demo’d the Following MB and that was the bike that turned me onto Evil. The DELTA linkage makes it feel more squishier than it is and can sure suck up some gnarly stuff.

 

I'm on the short travel train myself and ride very hard trails regularly. I think between geometry and components short travel bikes are nearly as fun on the downhills. The climbing characteristics more than make up for any weaknesses, in my opinion. with that being said, those enduro sleds have a nice margin of error if you won't hit something as planned

 

Forgot to show you guys this. I got a new bike in the other day. It is Neko Mulally's old SCOTT G-STAAD Race bike. pretty cool, huh?

it's for sale of course
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/bik/d/knoxville-scott-gambler-710-dh-bike/7100722225.html

 

Dang that’s pretty sick! Neko is such a beast, I hope he has a good season here soon

 

Taco-10 by John Montesi, on Flickr

Still feels a little silly running bikes on a hitch rack behind an empty bed, but here we are!

 

It's a toss up if you will have more fun with a bigger bike but they are definitely faster on the rough stuff. That is more fun to some. I have a YT jeffsy with 140 front and back. I would like a bike with more for trips but it is more than enough for the terrain I ride in my area. Everything is a compromise I guess. I rode a giant reign with 160 and it felt noticably more sluggish on my local trails without much in the way of advantages. Different story when I go do Enduro trails in Arkansas

 

Finally wrestled my 1up away from FedEx. Got it mounted up this afternoon, and its even more stout than I remember.

I was a little worried about going with silver, but the white truck and the chrome bumper really help temper the look.

 

Nice. Looks good and a little South Utah red dirt will add a nice patina pretty quickly.

 

SCOTT GANG

 

Can't go wrong with the Ripmo.

That is really cool man. Just the places and races that thing has seen...

Ooooh... I like that setup. There's a killer ride around here that has an amazing creek full of fish. Might have to try and rig something like that up.

 

Ripmo, done. The remedy is a solid choice as well, but the DW suspension just feels more efficient when pedaling. Both are gonna bring similar levels of joy when the trail points down.

 

Finally had a chance to try out the printed pedal platform. They aren't bad but some traction would not be a terrible thing! I'm sure my incredibly flat bottomed Pumas had nothing to do with it. Not at all.



It would be nice if that ice would hurry up and melt, too. Holy shit. One hundred feet of glare ice was treacherous. I was actually quite glad I WASN'T clipped to the bike for that.

And you guys with all your elevation change, I have this:



10 mile round trip, 72 feet of elevation change. Frickin' pancake.

 

I have had an AF since mid January and love it coming from a first Gen Hightower. The bike is heavy but hides it well on the climbs and eats up everything on the descents. I spend a lot of time at the bike parks and race a few Enduro races each year so that influenced my purchase. On the flipside, I've felt no remorse over the last two hundred miles since my purchase when I go on longer rides with 2-3k feet of climbing. My first DW link bike and I understand what all the hype is about, traction everywhere up and down combined with the coil shock.

Here's a photo from today after my ride.

 

Added some orange grips and pedals to my new "used" Stumpjumper. Is it too fugly now?

 

I dig it. Modern geometry 90s bike

 

It pulls out the orange in your eyes Fox logo.

 

Gotta get a full on, well put together color scheme going with your bike, trail jewelry, and gear then throw in something TOTALLY off scheme. Pretty much the only way to let everyone on the trail know you shred way harder than they do

 

So I have a year old Cannondale Catalyst 3. It looks nice but the shock sucks. I am trying to decide if I should invest in upgrading the shock on this bike, or just bite the bullet and upgrade to a full suspension bike. It would be a big jump in cost to go FS. I have been researching the Giant Stance 2, or maybe the Trek Fuel ex 5. They both seem like much nicer bikes but of course would be a substantial cost to upgrade. What stinks is Id like to go test ride these bikes but unfortunately everything is shut down at the moment with the Covid 19 stuff. Ugh, hopefully Ill be able to get out and ride them in the near future.

I should add the Giant Stance 1 is probably more comparable with the Trek Fuel ex 5 and for the money might be a better choice. idk Any thoughts or experience with these bikes?

 

yesterday SoCal: Whiting Ranch to the Luge. 14 miles 2400ft of climbing and great payoff of downhill single track.

any SoCal riders still hitting trails?