The `wicked` MTB thread

[PMC]

@Acill

I tried a Stumpy the other week when I bought the Enduro.

Lovely bike!  It climbs like a mountain goat and accelerates really well, there's seemingly no loss of power via the rear shock.  

How'd you crack your frame?  It wasn't the seatstay section adjacent to the rear brake calliper by any chance?

I nearly bought it, but for the fact that I've wanted an Enduro for ages...  Decisions, decisions...

Oh and I really like the Panaracers, they're a great tyre.

[blobrana]

Hum,
the panaracers are supposed to be good in sticky mud, not too hot on the downhills...

I usually try to fit Specialized Enduro S-Works Tyre (2.20), quite similar to the old fashioned `fat-boys`


they work a treat to the conditions up here < 20 minutes outside Aberdeen>

[PMC]

@Blob,

My Rockhopper was fitted with Specialized Roll-X tyres from new, but the difference the Panaracers made was amazing - more outright grip and a more progressive breakaway when things got slippery - ie riding over the dreaded wet tree roots.

I'm no downhiller, so I can't comment on their downhill abilities but they suited my (novice) riding style well.

The Enduro is fitted with Enduro tyres very much like those in your pic - not sure if they're S-Works or not though (bike is at dealer having fork refilled with thicker oil).

BTW, the scenery in your photo is amazing.  I'd give my eye teeth to live somewhere like that, Essex isn't exactly famous for it's awesome landscape!

[mikeymike]

Moved to CH|General.

I do have a bike, but there aren't many mountains near me.  Plus the bike weighs a tonne and has more rust than I think it should have, considering it is a couple of years old (max) and has been kept nicely...

stupid bike.

[blobrana]

Hum,
so i take it that you don`t regard it as an alternative operating system?

I didn`t mean it really when i said no road bikes, (considering the tour de france is on just now...)...

[Oh well, moderators move in mysterious ways...]

[mikeymike]

blobrana wrote:
Hum,
so i take it that you don`t regard it as an alternative operating system?

Correct.

I didn`t mean it really when i said no road bikes, (considering the tour de france is on just now...)...

[Oh well, moderators move in mysterious ways...]

Neither mountain or road bikes qualify as alternative operating systems, sorry.  It's a crazy world, I know.

[T_Bone]

You guys make these bikes sound fun.

Maybe I should get one for fishing trips, but I'm just so damned spoiled loading everything up into the golf cart. The problem with the golf cart is you can't cross the street between the resort and the shopping center, you have to watch for cops and cross when nobodys looking or face a ticket.

Maybe I could put a bike rack on the back of the golf cart?

Do you guys buy the bikes preassembled, or do you put them together from parts? My son wants one too, and has been looking through the Nashbar catalog, circling parts he wants, and it looks like he'll be spending more than he paid for his car!

[T_Bone]

double post, I blame KennyR's sock drawer

[PMC]

@T_Bone,

Biking is serious fun...  I tried mountain biking a year ago and have been hooked since!

You can buy bikes preassembled, which is the way to go for a beginner.  Eventually you'll see nicer pedals, brakes, saddles etc that you'll want to fit depending on what you use your bike for.  

I'm well happy with Specialized bikes, they've great after sales support and they frequently score highly in group tests over here.  You can find them on www.specialized.com  (free plug).  Over in the US, they're very reasonably priced too.

If you just want to ride trails then you'll be looking for a Cross Country (XC) bike, if you want to ride at skate parks and off jumps then you'll need a Freeride bike, which is more robust and finally for the ultra-insane there's Downhill Biking which involves launching yourself down steep inclines.  This requires ultra-robust bikes which usually carry a significant weight penalty.  

Give it a try...  It's addictive!

[blobrana]

Hum,
i reckon that the Cross Country style bikes don`t sell as much as the MTBS, so spec for spec they`re really overpriced...

And remember that when you do get the bike you'll have to invest in cool sunglasses, and perhaps full body armour

not forgetting a lightweight helmet, with stick-on fluffy ears, gloves and perhaps a lightweight toolkit

[PMC]

Yeah, in my pic on "Faces of AOrg" you might note the SixSixOne leg armour that I'm sporting...

Rode the first part fo the Red Bull run on my RH without incident, and grinning like an idiot got to the bottom of the hill onto a tarmac section where I stopped for pics.

I couldn't unclip my left pedal in time, fell gently sideways and onto my knee, unleashing a torrent of foul language.  Curse my doofusness...

The best equipment you get afford makes no difference if you're a complete numpty.  Still, the resulting picture of my wounded knee pouring blood down my shin made for a great photo opportunity hehe!