When did mountain biking become so specialized!
- Thread starter Christian P.
- Start date
cruiserdude80
Observer
What is the difference between a Gravel Bike and Mountain Bike? I have never heard of a Gravel Bike until now. Showing my age I guess.
CampStewart
Observer
I measured and my cutdown bars are 26 inches wide. Still very happy with the modification. I rode my old 26 the other day and the 24 inch bars on it felt really weird lol.
robert
Expedition Leader
What's even more ridiculous than all of the types of bikes is the price. I've been looking at new bikes lately and manufacturers are insane. It's a freakin' bicycle, I've bought brand new motorcycles and most of my used vehicles for less than what they want for most higher end bikes. I think my 650 V-Strom brand new was like $7200 OTD and it was far more complicated and had far more parts and materials in it than any bicycle.
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
Yep. Used to be a huge Cannondale fan. Still have one hanging in the garage. Now a decent Cannondale cost as much as a Honda CRF450l. That's unacceptable.
But, but, motorcycles aren't exercise............. Says people that have never ridden one. I don't see any fat guys on the trail.
Specialized still has a couple decent bikes around $2000. I might grab one soon. I'm going to restore my road bike first, make sure my knees are still game.
But, but, motorcycles aren't exercise............. Says people that have never ridden one. I don't see any fat guys on the trail.
Specialized still has a couple decent bikes around $2000. I might grab one soon. I'm going to restore my road bike first, make sure my knees are still game.
robert
Expedition Leader
Yeah I don't think most folks realize how overall physically, and mentally, demanding motocross riding can be. I've never raced a dirt bike but even just riding for sport can leave you feeling like you went several rounds with a top boxer. It's definitely a total body workout.
Between being out of the country for the last couple of years and then ortho surgery I've finally started riding my old 26" Stumpjumper M4 again. With prices what they are and me not being able to ride aggressively anymore I just don't see me buying a new bike anytime soon.
Between being out of the country for the last couple of years and then ortho surgery I've finally started riding my old 26" Stumpjumper M4 again. With prices what they are and me not being able to ride aggressively anymore I just don't see me buying a new bike anytime soon.
Organic
New member
Full suspension is wonderful even for just riding around the neighborhood. So plush! Has lockouts for longer distance pavement riding if you don't want to waste energy bouncing around 
If you are patient you can find one on CL and work a deal. Heck, my bike is 15 yrs old but it's a monster on the trails still (Jamis Dakar XLT 2.0) and I was able to trade an RC truck valued around $500 for it!
If you are patient you can find one on CL and work a deal. Heck, my bike is 15 yrs old but it's a monster on the trails still (Jamis Dakar XLT 2.0) and I was able to trade an RC truck valued around $500 for it!
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
If my road bike testing this fall, gives the go ahead, I'll buy one of these in the off season when stores give better deals $2000:
www.specialized.com
I moved to an area where a nearby national forest has a perfect single track that runs all the way around the lake. And hiking kinda sucks, because of the horse flys from the horse trails. 1.5hours south of me is another state park, with a man made lake, and multiple man made and maintained trails.
Wished either would have existed 20years ago.
Stumpjumper ST Alloy 29
Our Stumpjumper ST models are snappy and nimble, yet Incredibly versatile—the perfect rigs for riders seeking both efficiency and capability. The Stumpj...
I moved to an area where a nearby national forest has a perfect single track that runs all the way around the lake. And hiking kinda sucks, because of the horse flys from the horse trails. 1.5hours south of me is another state park, with a man made lake, and multiple man made and maintained trails.
Wished either would have existed 20years ago.
Full suspension is wonderful even for just riding around the neighborhood. So plush! Has lockouts for longer distance pavement riding if you don't want to waste energy bouncing around
Craigslist is little more than an e-fencing operation for meth-head burglars. I would not buy a bicycle off Craigslist unless the "seller" could show me an original unaltered receipt for it when it was purchased new from a bike shop, in his name, and showed me matching state-issued photo identification.
The $500 RC truck is another major red flag- tweakers absolutely LOVE stuff like that.
Whenever serving a search warrant, if I see RC vehicles, darts, and large amounts of porn inside, I know that we're gonna find meth...
jmnielsen
Tinkerer
I've been doing a lot more biking lately and am starting to see the downfalls of the cheaper Trek DS I bought 8 years or so ago. I've been looking at a Salsa Fargo, but not so sure about the dorp bars. I have some wrist and thumb issues, can anyone comment on comfort of drop bars? I've been thinking a frame up build of a Fargo with Jones Loop bars may be the ticket.
I ride two Salsas - a Mukluk (fitted with 3 x 27.5" tires rather than fats) and a Cutthroat. Mukluk with traditional MTB bars and the Cutthroat with Cowchippers (wide in drops drop bars similar to Fargo) for about 4,000 to 6,000 miles a year. If there is any pavement or smooth gravel roads involved the Cutthroat is the prefered machine. Lots of options for different hand positions (flats by stem, top of hoods, forward facing high [behind hoods], forward facing low [posterior drops], in the curves [forward drops], etc). My wrists really prefer the Cutthroat.
If there is a lot of really soft surface I'll take the Mukluk for the flotation of the 3" tires. If I know there could be miles of hike-a-bike I'll take the Mukluk because she carries easier (I don't know why but she does).
I had one of the first Fargos back when the model came out. Rode it for a year and it was OK, but I was just coming off road biking then and she felt sluggish & heavy. The carbon Cutthroat is a much nicer ride for me, but the Fargos have been through a lot of iterations since mine and could be a completely different ride than I recall.
If you ever rode road the splayed drops on the Fargo/Cutthroat will feel different but familiar and comfortable. I'f you've only ridden mountain then it's hard to say. You may hear that you can put flat bars on a Fargo which is true, but be careful as the frame geometry of good bikes is designed around one type of bar so your upper body position may shift away from an optimal position which can lead to knee, butt, back, or neck problems.
Howard