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

Sweet bike!

 

Want to ask you guys a question on tread pattern. I picked up these WTB Velociraptor 2.1s for my older Diamondback 26. They are replacing Kenda Klaws, so I bought basically the same tread pattern the bike came with. The middle tread of the rear tire is a bit different than what was shown in the photo that was shown on the listing (Amazon purchase that came from Planet Cyclery). I’ve emailed PC the photo and am waiting to see what they say, but does this look right? The middle tread is straight across in listing, but this is what it came as. I also attached the listing photo.

Just thought I’d ask you all - I’m not very familiar with tires for MTB and was just looking for something to replace the old, worn tires with so my son would hopefully ride a bit with me.

Thanks for the help.

 

I have no experience with these tires other than being aware of the name, but a check of WTB’s website shows different tread patterns for front and rear fitment. Your tire seems to be the front.

 

Thanks for the reply. I also purchased the front tire as well and it’s what is shown on both the listing and the WTB site. So like you, seeing that it’s not what the rear pattern shows has me wondering if this happens to be an error in manufacturing in the mold or something.

Thanks again for the response - helps me know I’m not off thinking its not right.

 

I just got back from a week trip to NC/Kanuga, got in so many laps thanks to the eebs. Getting back on a normal bike in 90° weather really sucks. Finding the funding for an ebike sucks, I really dont want to spend the money on one.

 

They make a great N+1 but I definitely would have one as my only ride. In all honesty, I got it as a bike for the wife. She couldn't keep up on the climbs so I thought the power would help. I definitely did, but she didn't love the extra weight. I didn't ride it for about 6 months after we got it, because I thought "ebikes are dumb". She asked me to tune it up for her, so I took it out on a few rides to get the suspension, brakes, shifting, etc dialed and realized how fun it really was. It's a shared bike now, she still rides it.
One thing that I love about it is that when I get back on the enduro bike, which weighs about 34lbs, it feels like a feather weight. It's funny how easy it is to get used to the extra heft.

 

My wife and I spent the weekend at the Kingdom Trails. We were lucky to have a nice weather window, since it's been so rainy in the northeast this summer. We rode as much as our legs could handle, and still only hit maybe 25-30% of the trails there. The trails are great, and contrast quite a bit from my local trails. Local to me, there are tons of rocks and roots, and climbs are typically just a straight line up-hill. It was really nice to ride smoother trails and well planned switch backs.

There were plenty of Tacomas and 4runners there too!

 

Great pictures. Looks like a cool place.

 

I think ~2 years ago the shop I work at started going all in on ebikes (as far as riding them goes). I'm one of the last to adapt; but its coming - more of a saving/availability thing right now.

Clip from one of the guys from the trip.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CR2i59rhYg_/

 

Awesome! I’ll be there in a couple of weeks so long as the rain holds off.

Got the week of with the old girl. She’s doing great so far on the trails. Just gotta get her fitness level up!

 

I finally tried the 23ish miles from Wasatch Crest down to Pipeline two weeks ago and it was one of the best routes I've ever ridden. Highly recommend it to anyone passing through PC or SLC.

 

Or you can be a sadist like me and pedal up from the PCMR parking lot...and then do crest solo down to canyons...and back to the pcmr parking lot.

meh. It's okay I guess. ;P ;P


side note in general though, holy shit we're getting tons of rain. It's like Mother Earth is making up for lack of snow with too much rain!
Can't ride in this weather! boooo

 

Rode down to Palace Station a couple days ago. Downhill had me wishing for my mountain bike, but uphill the gravel bike was spot on.

 

Tech question here. My bike uses a DT Swiss rear thru axle which is kinda semi-QR. you tighten it by hand with the lever, but you can position the lever when you’re done by pulling it out against a spring, and re-indexing it in a good position. So you’re totally dependent on how tight you torque it, no over-center clamping to finish the job. Anyway, it loosens up pretty regularly, so I have to check it every few rides. But the weird thing is that when I snug it down again, it’s not indexed in the same place. Either the handle is bouncing off the end of the splines and rotating while I’m riding or transporting the bike, or the dropouts are wiggling around. I’ve taken it apart and all “looks” OK. Any ideas? Maybe I just need a new axle, this one is original and six years old. Oh heck, might as well get a new bike. Thanks.

 

i think i know what you're talking about

the lever looks similar to a qr lever, it can flip over the axle itself. so you screw it in with the lever one way to mostly tighten it, then flip the lever over to fully tighten it. when the lever is in the loose position (before you flip to fully tighten) you can pull it away from the hub and rotate it without loosening the axle? this rotation would put it 180 degrees from the final tighten location, so most likely aligned with your chain stay so the lever is pointed backwards and parallel with the ground when you flip to tighten it?

havent had dt wheels for a few years so i may be remembering wrong. any pics?

 

A true sadist pedals up from canyons and across mid-mountain...

I took my daughter out on the new slate creek trail in the Uintas yesterday. It's a cool little trail; mellow climb and some rock gardens on the descent. It's not very long or super technical, but great scenery.

 

Uhh, no, unless I’ve been using it wrong all along. Well, I just checked the online instructions, which I’ve never looked at because it seemed obvious, and in fact I’m doing it right. Though I haven’t been cinching it as “tightly as possible”. But pretty tight.

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The lever doesn’t flip, it just pulls axially away from the splines (A and C directions in the picture) so you can freely rotate into your preferred alignment orientation, which for me is not pointing back because that seems more likely to get accidentally loosened. But maybe that’s my problem.

 

then oops. i must be remembering wrong.

as far has having the lever back. my rear wheel pretty much popped off during a cyclocross race. lever was pointed forward along my chain stay, ended up going through some bushes or something, caught the lever and my wheel almost came off.

 

I submit to your true sadism.

 

Hey guys haven’t posted in a while and that’s because I haven’t rode in maybe 2 months? It’s too damn hot for me in Phoenix even at night after sundown. I’ve used the time to start hitting the gym 6x a week as well as getting all my stuff together to go off to school. I get to Reno next Friday and I will be going to north star the following Saturday. The bike is In as good of condition as it can be without making upgrades. I plan to start getting rides in as summer closes out and Reno doesn’t get as hot. Never made it to angel fire with my work schedule. Oh well.

I’ll pop in after I hit North Star. Looking forward to it. I hear it’s a more tech based park which is good since I have 0 jumping skill. Hopefully they have at least a few easy jump trails I can try. I tried learning jumps in Phoenix and I have to say, learning on rock takeoffs doesn’t seem the best. Maybe I hit mammoth on a weekend in a few weeks too. Loved it when I went two years ago.