Bicycling

Zodiac_sl said:

aluminum is de facto standard unless you get into higher end XC rigs. Just in the past few years they started making some AM and DH carbon bikes, but most DH guys still don't trust carbon. Boutique builders like surly etc do build some Steel / TI frames but they are not the standard and I'm not sure anyone makes a steel downhill rig cause that would be heavy as fuck. Nice AL DH rigs can already weigh 40lb+.

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Yeah, Surly doesn't even make DH/AM frames. My single speed is a steel Salsa frame, pretty sure they don't do DH either. There's some other manufacturers offering steel too. Can't think of any DH steel at all off the top of my head, I'd agree they probably don't exist, but I don't know a lot about DH/AM options. Steel is really a great material still though, I'd recommend trying/demoing it to any non-racer XC rider, gravel grinder, bikepacker, touring, commuting.

Zodiac_sl said:

aluminum is de facto standard unless you get into higher end XC rigs. Just in the past few years they started making some AM and DH carbon bikes, but most DH guys still don't trust carbon. Boutique builders like surly etc do build some Steel / TI frames but they are not the standard and I'm not sure anyone makes a steel downhill rig cause that would be heavy as fuck. Nice AL DH rigs can already weigh 40lb+.

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I would say that most DH rigs weigh 40+ lbs. Ones intended for Whistler-style riding anyways. Free ride bikes would be lighter, but they're not nearly as beefy. And I would think carbon would make a shitty DH frame material if only because weight isn't a primary concern and they're fragile as fuck by comparison. Shit, you'd have to X-ray your bike every time it took a good tumble just to be sure it won't kill you.

Since I took a spill climbing and destroyed most of my shoulder, I'm coming back from surgery and in another month or so can ride a bike again. I'm thinking of trying to find some kind of hybrid/commuter bike, but I'm quite honestly lost in the sea of bikes available here in the Seattle area. I'm looking for something that I can test the waters to see if biking will fill that need to work out and still enjoy the outdoors.

I'd like to stay around $200 or so. Are there particular models that I should look out for or avoid? It seems there are about a million bikes available in my area, and getting near the end of Summer, it looks like some people are starting to ditch some of their bikes now.

Eomer_sl said:

I would say that most DH rigs weigh 40+ lbs. Ones intended for Whistler-style riding anyways. Free ride bikes would be lighter, but they're not nearly as beefy. And I would think carbon would make a shitty DH frame material if only because weight isn't a primary concern and they're fragile as fuck by comparison. Shit, you'd have to X-ray your bike every time it took a good tumble just to be sure it won't kill you.

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Most carbon frames are actually structurally stronger than their aluminum counterparts these days.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/santa-c...-test-lab.html

Interesting, I would have thought that carbon while being stronger structurally, would have had concerns regarding impacts causing fractures more easily that could fatigue over time.

Carbon is strong as fuck but the problem is that when it does fail it can fail immediately and catastrophically. A crack in AL is bad but you hear/notice it and later deal with it. A crack in carbon is more of a ticking time bomb. I've had many a loose largeish rock kick up into my down tube with AL and just finish the ride like, eh fuck it I'll check at the trail head. I'd be shitting my pants if that happened with carbon. The right sort of sharp pointed impact is bad news.

Stronger yeah, but I don't really know how it is for the rigors of taking jumps and drops. Just doesn't strike me as a common DH/FR frame material, but I could be wrong.

Anything can fail though, the best thing is to be conscientious and aware of your frame's condition.

While all that is true, the big difference is that it takes quite a bit more force to cause a crack in the carbon than it does aluminum. If your aluminum frame took a hit with the same force that it took to crack a carbon frame your aluminum frame will be suffering a catastrophic failure.

Carbon is still fairly new to the scene, especially to the DH/FR frames, but they have already engineered out all the potential drawbacks of carbon vs aluminum. Strength and durability wise carbon is superior to aluminium across the board. All the fears about carbon are either based on old info from when carbon was first coming on in the mountain-bike scene or based on assumptions people have made about the material. The only thing holding carbon back now is price, but as demand increases price will drop and eventually aluminum will go away.

(We saw all of these same arguments when aluminum first came onto the scene btw).

Here is my dream bike right now; Carbon Frame Demo 8. Thing is actually lighter than my current XC mountain bike.

Ao-_sl said:

Those 26" tires?

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Yeah, haven't really seen the bigger tires trend hit the DH/FR bikes at all. I have demoed a few 29ers and I personally am sticking with 26" tires for my bike. I think the 29ers are too sluggish in turns and I can manipulate my 26" better. But I can definitely see the pros of the 29ers. Maybe a 650b will be a great compromise between the 2.

Ao-_sl said:

Any recommendations for a fatbike? Looking at a Mukluk so far

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Why do you want a fatbike? Just straight up single track or do you actually need it for sand or snow?

I'm a big Salsa fanboy, but a friend and I demo'ed Surly's Krampus this year and both loved it. The component spec is maybe a touch on the weak side for the MSRP but honestly its still pretty affordable for a fatbike. As long as you don't mind dialing in mechanical brakes you should be good. My friend was looking into frame/fork/wheelset combos to maybe build his own so that's apparently an option. He liked it enough to seriously consider one.

Unlike standard fatbikes which run 26" rims with enormous tires, the Krampus is Surly's "29+" option, running 29" fat tire rims with 3" tires, designed more for pure trail riding than an actual snow/beach sort of set up. The thing eats up single track like crazy, really fun to ride.

Why is your seatpost so low?

Found this on CL for 100$. Don't know much about bikes, but it's rust free and the tires look new. It's older, steel frame, but it fits me decently.

How hard is it to change wheels/gear/chain etc on a road bike? I'm looking to cut a bit of weight off it by taking the 10speed off for a single speed, as I live in Chicago and have never once changed gears on it.

I ordered my first mountain bike, a Scott Scale 960, through my local bike shop yesterday (they didn't have one with an XL frame). I rented a full suspension bike when I was in Colorado last month and loved it. Any advice for a total newb?

Bike Reference:

http://www.scott-sports.com/global/e...cale-960-bike/

Any riding advice is going to be trail dependent. But get out of your saddle and get your ass behind it will help you ride most things. I can't tell you how many times I've ended up with tread-marks on my ass...

Other than that, some basic cleaning stuff will keep you bike in better shape. Learn how to properly clean and lube your drive train (chain, casket, etc) and do it after every ride. Also getting your suspension (front fork) dialed in properly can be a chore but worth the effort. A lot of people tend to "set it and forget about it" but if you learn how to set it up properly you will get maximum performance out of it. Especially learning how rebound works, and how to adjust it. Just for example I often am tweaking my rebound adjustment just about every ride depending on what I am doing. Sometimes multiple times a ride if I am on lots of changing terrain.

Ronne_sl said:

Found this on CL for 100$. Don't know much about bikes, but it's rust free and the tires look new. It's older, steel frame, but it fits me decently.

How hard is it to change wheels/gear/chain etc on a road bike? I'm looking to cut a bit of weight off it by taking the 10speed off for a single speed, as I live in Chicago and have never once changed gears on it.

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I've never done a SS conversion but I believe it's just as simple as taking off your cassette and threading a SS freewheel on, you might have your LBS redish your wheel? Then it's just figuring out your chainline(you want it to be straight as possible) but it doesn't need to be 100%. You could also just take it into your local bike shop and just talk to one of the guys since you are going to anyways since I doubt you have a freewheel remover and just take his advice.

Plus you need to figure out what ratio you want to ride since you are stuck in that now.

http://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-...onversion.html<---it's for Fixed but a SS is pretty much the same.

Ronne_sl said:

Found this on CL for 100$. Don't know much about bikes, but it's rust free and the tires look new. It's older, steel frame, but it fits me decently.

How hard is it to change wheels/gear/chain etc on a road bike? I'm looking to cut a bit of weight off it by taking the 10speed off for a single speed, as I live in Chicago and have never once changed gears on it.

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TBH, I would keep the 10 speed. It'll come in handy eventually.

In regards to your question: Road bikes have quick release on their wheels. Back wheel is a little weirder because you have to take off the chain. Aside from the wheels, I dunno. You could probably take it to a bike shop and just do it and pay like $40 in labor lol.