usually get out earlier than now but i'm about to start and i'll ride till Thanksgiving. even fat bike after that . we have our own trail system that we have built and maintained for 27 years. we have some good shit. 

https://www.facebook.com/571306546231350/videos/762044737873289

https://www.facebook.com/571306546231350/videos/2369004853403838

https://www.facebook.com/571306546231350/videos/127467312548787

https://www.facebook.com/571306546231350/videos/425424505204829

https://www.facebook.com/571306546231350/videos/664899328289278

Funny how slick and wonky the riding can get with a bit of moisture involved. Almost slid off a bridge and into a river once after underestimating the recent rainfall's effect on the man-made wood features.

On 7/13/2024 at 12:08 AM, Premium said:

Funny how slick and wonky the riding can get with a bit of moisture involved. Almost slid off a bridge and into a river once after underestimating the recent rainfall's effect on the man-made wood features.

Yeah, the one I crashed on was just crossing a wet area and slide right off it at the beginning and tried riding it out to a stop.  

The other one was a flattened log maybe a footish off the ground, one wheel off each side and the ship sank from there.

We are not experts by any means, but getting back into it for me.

Edited July 14, 20241 yr by racinfarmer

i have been hiding from the heat. i rode with the grandkids last week in a campground , lots of miles in the heat. i have been skipping riding with the boys though. 

1 hour ago, sleepybrew said:

i have been hiding from the heat. i rode with the grandkids last week in a campground , lots of miles in the heat. i have been skipping riding with the boys though. 

Humid and 88 here today.  I'm in no hurry to get shit to fix my ride.

Come on now guys, brave the heat, earn your keep!

Took today off due to obligations, but here's yesterday's solo Zone 2 road bike ride in 86 degree heat and 80% humidity.

If you aren't familiar with the benefits of Zone 2 heartrate training I highly recommend it. Essentially, it is the foundation of both aerobic athleticism and  long-term health and longevity. My zone 2 road rides have taken my mountain biking stamina to the next level.

Edited July 15, 20241 yr by Premium

Here's an excellent podcast on the topic.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6L4OmDbxaPJKGPXHIm6Rft?si=db2VZgHuRi2pWNVW1TUNQw

 

Edited July 15, 20241 yr by Premium

If you put it in baseball terms, I'm quickly approaching a .500 average of a crash to no crash ratio, in favor of the no crash.

Anyone here go biking in the Black Hills?

Thinking about taking a trip out there before the end of the month.

Survived the hills of NE Iowa, barely.  

I don't think they know what a switchback is down there.

Maybe the last ride of the year this evening.  2 laps of the local bike trails. 

Smacked my pedal each time on the same rock and washed out once on all the leaves. 

Giant surgical scar hurts, but oh well.

Not bad?

A quality, budget, entry level full squish bike from Wal-Mart?

Looks like it will be landing soon.

 

On 7/14/2024 at 10:01 PM, Premium said:

Come on now guys, brave the heat, earn your keep!

Took today off due to obligations, but here's yesterday's solo Zone 2 road bike ride in 86 degree heat and 80% humidity.

If you aren't familiar with the benefits of Zone 2 heartrate training I highly recommend it. Essentially, it is the foundation of both aerobic athleticism and  long-term health and longevity. My zone 2 road rides have taken my mountain biking stamina to the next level.

wow 20 miles and 246ft of climbing. not getting that around here. we usually have 1000 or better in 8 miles . my last kidney stone was 13mm, got down in my ureter. 11 months and 8 laser attempts to remove with stents for 6 weeks in between. i'm hiding from the heat

21 hours ago, sleepybrew said:

wow 20 miles and 246ft of climbing. not getting that around here. we usually have 1000 or better in 8 miles . my last kidney stone was 13mm, got down in my ureter. 11 months and 8 laser attempts to remove with stents for 6 weeks in between. i'm hiding from the heat

That sounds absolutely brutal. One of our employees just had a month off due to stones. Sounds miserable.

Yeah the lack of elevation in my immediate area makes for good endurance baseline training where you need long rides with a consistent heart rate. I use my road bike (and peleton in winter) to build that foundational endurance. Get plenty of climbing on the mtb.

3 minutes ago, Premium said:

That sounds absolutely brutal. One of our employees just had a month off due to stones. Sounds miserable.

Yeah the lack of elevation in my immediate area makes for good endurance baseline training where you need long rides with a consistent heart rate. I use my road bike (and peleton in winter) to build that foundational endurance. Get plenty of climbing on the mtb.

that tool shit up the nozzle is worse than it sounds. stents left in there hurt so bad. pissing feels like battery acid every time. i should not know what this is but i do...

but as far as the bike, i grabbed a santa cruz ebike and that thing is amazing . broke my finger 2 days after ordering it so i haven't ridden too much in the woods . i chose full 29r and man it handles and flows . my wed night crowd all rocking ebikes, i was getting dusted on my bronson. now i can hang , and the rides just got longer. we are mostly 50-60s with some younger in the group. you can see me hovering my right pointer. it's still crooked, but i have ridden a killer sled season , only hurts in the big bumps. i upgraded my fork damper and air cartridge on the ebike and it changed the bike for the better .

I started tearing mine down this week. Dropped off my fork and shock for a rebuild.

Pivot bolts are possibly stuck on mine. Not looking forward to that. Kit for them is $200, not including bearings or anything else.

Just want to pull it apart, clean it up, and give it a good greasing.

No grinding or looseness, just a good service is all I want to do. Tempted to just leave it be.

On 2/20/2025 at 6:51 PM, racinfarmer said:

I started tearing mine down this week. Dropped off my fork and shock for a rebuild.

I need to have mine rebuilt. Have someplace you recommend?

I've been trying to fight the Cushcore and tire off my bike.

I'm not sure I'm going to put the Cushcore back in...

I bought a used bike and it is the same model and size of my current bike, it is for the cabin property so I don't have to always haul a bike with me.

It has an "upgraded" fork the guy put on and so far I really don't like it. It's a Pike by rockshox. But it's 140mm travel instead of 120mm. I don't like how the front end sits up higher and so far I don't like riding with it. I can tell it's a nicer fork in ways it moves, very fluid and no stiction feel, but it moves too much. I don't like that movement when pedaling hard. I have the rebound full tight and compression full tight, and the air pressure much higher than the little guide on fork for my weight and it's ok like that but still too mich movement. It's debon air so I'm going to get some of those volume spacers and put them in the air chamber to make it more progressive and I think that will help it.

And a new stem and saddle.

45 minutes ago, mnstang said:

I bought a used bike and it is the same model and size of my current bike, it is for the cabin property so I don't have to always haul a bike with me.

It has an "upgraded" fork the guy put on and so far I really don't like it. It's a Pike by rockshox. But it's 140mm travel instead of 120mm. I don't like how the front end sits up higher and so far I don't like riding with it. I can tell it's a nicer fork in ways it moves, very fluid and no stiction feel, but it moves too much. I don't like that movement when pedaling hard. I have the rebound full tight and compression full tight, and the air pressure much higher than the little guide on fork for my weight and it's ok like that but still too mich movement. It's debon air so I'm going to get some of those volume spacers and put them in the air chamber to make it more progressive and I think that will help it.

And a new stem and saddle.

i was gonna suggest some tokens in there. my new bike has a rockshox zeb, was a base but i put the newer damper in it and debonair plus air spring. now it's an ultimate. it felt great when i did it but felt harsh the past few rides. i'm almost thinking the 30f temps i have been riding in are making it stiff. i have 2 tokens in there , i'm gonna take those out. i run rebound pretty fast , otherwise it will pack up. my fox 36 was the same way, took some tweaking to get it small bump compliant. my friend locally rebuilds shocks and forks if you want to ship to ny

14 hours ago, racinfarmer said:

I've been trying to fight the Cushcore and tire off my bike.

I'm not sure I'm going to put the Cushcore back in...

i just ordered the new schwalbe radial tires. rear is coming later in the month, got the frt. supposed to be the shit...

i have everything set up tubeless including fat bike

Tubeless is the bomb. More of a pain to change my fat bike tires seasonally, but worth it.

23 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Tubeless is the bomb. More of a pain to change my fat bike tires seasonally, but worth it.

i hardly ride the fat bike, but i leave the studded tires on it. i rarely flatted with tubes but the supple feel of tubeless is amazing. the radials are supposed to be better yet than that. i even put a wren inverted air fork on my fat bike, still don't ride it much. damn sled gets in the way.

Mine doesn't even have handlebars or a saddle at the moment. Fun to screw around on, but much rather ride the 5010 on trails.