The Biking Thread

Yeah I doubt I will ever do any MTB as a result. I never have ridden one from more than a few yards and the inexperience on trails would likely lead to something bad. I might get a gravel bike as my next one but it would be more for unpaved trails than single track stuff you guys do. Also because I road for a while with a guy that had one (the Specialized one with the shock absorber in the front fork) and he said it was by far the most comfortable bike especially for his back and neck. That would be a big plus (though the bike he had was about 3 grand which is a non starter for me :-( )
 
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nuke_diver said:
Yeah I doubt I will ever do any MTB as a result. I never have ridden one from more than a few yards and the inexperience on trails would likely lead to something bad. I might get a gravel bike as my next one but it would be more for unpaved trails than single track stuff you guys do. Also because I road for a while with a guy that had one (the Specialized one with the shock absorber in the front fork) and he said it was by far the most comfortable bike especially for his back and neck. That would be a big plus (though the bike he had was about 3 grand which is a non starter for me :-( )
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I pedaled this one around the pavers out at the base of the mountain when the Kona guy was around for demos last summer. Super sweet! A decent modern gravel bike would be wonderful. Though it would be for dirt roads (hopefully not loose gravel, I hate loose gravel) and touring around. Not trying to do single track on drop bars. I fail to see the point. I have a mountain bike for that. :)

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http://www.konaworld.com/libre.cfm
 
I'll be checking Kona out for sure. I'm not sure about yet another tire dimension difference though, I already have to stock 700mm and 27 1/8-1/4 tires for my current 2 rides though since the width of these gravel type bikes won't match anything I already have I guess having a 650 won't matter though I currently don't know what the advantage/disadvantage of the tires would be. I suspect I might be riding mostly roads with this one though I won't know for sure until I get up there and check things out.

Oh BTW what the hell is a dropper post :shrug:
 
nuke_diver said:
I'll be checking Kona out for sure. I'm not sure about yet another tire dimension difference though, I already have to stock 700mm and 27 1/8-1/4 tires for my current 2 rides though since the width of these gravel type bikes won't match anything I already have I guess having a 650 won't matter though I currently don't know what the advantage/disadvantage of the tires would be. I suspect I might be riding mostly roads with this one though I won't know for sure until I get up there and check things out.

Oh BTW what the hell is a dropper post :shrug:
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Kona has been making cross bikes a long time. I don't have a true cross bike, and probably won't. My gravel set up bastard bikes are good enough. I do like having the 28-32mm tires. And the big fatties on this Kona were impressive. I was really surprised at how responsive and fast the bike felt with big ol' tires.

A dropper post is a seat post that though air pressure, hydraulics, etc. can at the press of a button be pushed down with your ass to get it out of the way for descending, so you can corner your bike better. A game changer for me for developing better ability to create good angles with the bike and body.

Again, I always love the vids by these guys. He explains it well. A dropper has helped me become more flowy, more secure on the trail with better bite from my tyres , and etc. Doesn't mean I want to ride crazy fast, but still helps a ton.

 
YMMV, but I've successfully descended plenty of nasty, technical rock gardens and root hell without a dropper post. I ride XC with my seat slightly lower than on the road bikes when it is a technical trail.

Regardless, there's no need for a dropper post for cross/gravel or road bike.
 
Tig said:
YMMV, but I've successfully descended plenty of nasty, technical rock gardens and root hell without a dropper post. I ride XC with my seat slightly lower than on the road bikes when it is a technical trail.

Regardless, there's no need for a dropper post for cross/gravel or road bike.
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Yeah, didn't mean to connect the two. Really two separate subjects.

For me, the dropper post really helps. But I am, and never was, an XC racer or a racer at all, so my skill set is likely less.
 
Well that would explain one reason why I didn't know what a dropper post was, I've only ridden road bikes since I was about 10 (and sometimes in rather unroad bike conditions but I was young). The other is that I am not completely into everything biking, I just like to ride on a nice day, so learning all the new and techy things isn't something I worry about. I never was and never will be a racer of any kind so that stuff just isn't important and since I rarely ride with anyone else it isn't some I hear about from others. In fact the only reason I even talked to the guy with the gravel bike was that I was amazed at the low gear he had since I had never seen such a cassette on a road bike before.
 
I finally got in 2 rides this weekend. I am way out of shape and decided to gain back a basic level of fitness on my own before I join up with the group rides on a regular basis. Did a climbing road ride on Saturday up into the local mountains and then a fairly flat (nothing is really flat in the foothills area I live in) on Sunday. Got 45 miles in on Sunday. That would be my minimum distance ride back when I was fit, but it was an endurance ride on Sunday. Easy spinning.

Gonna do this slowly and more methodically than I have in the past. Drop weight, get back my cardio, and get back the leg strength.


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I'm seeing something called thru axles (I think that's what it was called) while reading up on gravel bikes. Anyone know what they are and how they differ from quick releases? I would hate to buy something like my old bike when I was a kid that needed a wrench to get the tire off. Being able to change a tire on the road is a must
 
nuke_diver said:
I'm seeing something called thru axles (I think that's what it was called) while reading up on gravel bikes. Anyone know what they are and how they differ from quick releases? I would hate to buy something like my old bike when I was a kid that needed a wrench to get the tire off. Being able to change a tire on the road is a must
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They have a threaded cylinder axle thing that goes through holes in the fork. They do come off similar to quick releases. Probably even easier.


Mountain


Road
 
But oh no! Despite increased stiffness, security, and other advantages, thru-axles add 100 grams, AND might take an extra 12 seconds to get the wheel on or off!!

 
So I got to watching those British cycling vids last night, and now I want a carbon gravel bike. Or a carbon 29'er hard tail with a Jones bar for use kinda like a gravel bike. I would love that purple Kona I posted above. But way too much dough for me to shoot for right now.


Comparing to road bike. The Gravel Bike looks way more comfortable off pavement.


I would not use my drops on roads or trails like these, and would not be comfortable descending like the roadie guy on the gravel bike does here. Hmm.



PS, Neil, the mountain biker in the second vid, is a great instructor. I love his vids to help me wrap my head around improving something in my riding.

Here is the main skill I would like to improve this year, along with better angles in cornering on banks and flat, loose corners.

 
Thanks SVL I've been watching some of those GCN videos too :thu:. I don't care about thru axles vs QR especially when it comes to weight, I'm not a racer nor do I care that much about overall speed. I go at my speed and don't care if it's fast or slow. I don't ride in groups either. I don't think I'm likely to do a ton of off road riding but right now I'm not 100% sure of the riding up in Bellingham where the new bike will be. I know there are a bunch of trails through the city where a gravel bike might be more comfortable than a road bike.
I also rode a bit with a guy who had a Specialized Diverge gravel bike who said it was the most comfortable bike he had ever ridden and he didn't have any issue with back or neck pain. That sounds good to me as I often get neck pain at the end of a long (40+mile) ride now and I don't see it getting any better as I get older. Even around here there are some road I ride on that having a more comfortable bike would be really nice (some chip and seal roads are pretty rough if you are on them for miles)
 
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nuke_diver said:
Thanks SVL I've been watching some of those GCN videos too :thu:. I don't care about thru axles vs QR especially when it comes to weight, I'm not a racer nor do I care that much about overall speed. I go at my speed and don't care if it's fast or slow. I don't ride in groups either. I don't think I'm likely to do a ton of off road riding but right now I'm not 100% sure of the riding up in Bellingham where the new bike will be. I know there are a bunch of trails through the city where a gravel bike might be more comfortable than a road bike.
I also rode a bit with a guy who had a Specialized Diverge gravel bike who said it was the most comfortable bike he had ever ridden and he didn't have any issue with back or neck pain. That sounds good to me as I often get neck pain at the end of a long (40+mile) ride now and I don't see it getting any better as I get older. Even around here there are some road I ride on that having a more comfortable bike would be really nice (some chip and seal roads are pretty rough if you are on them for miles)
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Based on traffic in western wa, I bet you will want at least dirt road options rather than be out in traffic all the time. Big MTB scene up in B-ham, but I think there must be good dirt roads, rails to trails, forest road options, etc. available too. Kona is up there too, that made that purple bike I posted above. :wink: That large tire format was really comfy when I tried it out on some pavers, and the bike felt plenty fast to me. Neither you nor I are racers, as you say. But even so, that bike felt plenty quick and fun.
 
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Yeah I think from looking at the bike shops up in B-ham there are tons of MTB stuff (Galbraith Mt seems to be a big spot for them). I'm not sure how much the traffic will bother me in Wa, I live in the Bay and ride to the gym at commute time with some of the route not having bike lanes. I can't believe that it would be as bad as here with all the crazy Apple workers rushing to get to work while listening to the latest podcast (or whatever the hell they are doing when they cut me off :mad:). I know from being up there before there is a network of trails for walking/riding all over the place and I was thinking that a bike like the one you posted above would be perfect for that kind of stuff. Not sure I would be up for the more gnarly trails at my age...recovery from an accident takes a long time now. I plan to check out Kona as well as a few other bike stores up there and ask the locals as well
 
nuke_diver said:
Yeah I think from looking at the bike shops up in B-ham there are tons of MTB stuff (Galbraith Mt seems to be a big spot for them). I'm not sure how much the traffic will bother me in Wa, I live in the Bay and ride to the gym at commute time with some of the route not having bike lanes. I can't believe that it would be as bad as here with all the crazy Apple workers rushing to get to work while listening to the latest podcast (or whatever the hell they are doing when they cut me off :mad:). I know from being up there before there is a network of trails for walking/riding all over the place and I was thinking that a bike like the one you posted above would be perfect for that kind of stuff. Not sure I would be up for the more gnarly trails at my age...recovery from an accident takes a long time now. I plan to check out Kona as well as a few other bike stores up there and ask the locals as well
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Yes, I think there are trails like those. I think some used to be part of the old Ski to Sea relay Race (still running) that we used to do when we lived in WA. Just don't know the trails to tell you. And there have to be some Forest Service roads out in the woods as well. Your plan sounds good to me! Probably good to check out Specialized, Giant, Trek, the usual suspects for production bikes, to see what they have that is similar to the Kona.
 
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These are from last year, but it is getting to be the season, and I am getting the itch. Still riding this guy I got in 2016, a 2015 eggplant colored one. I upgraded the wheel set before riding it, and changed out the crankset and chain-ring, as I climb a lot.

The bike has been great! Was starting to look around and see if I needed to move on or change bikes for the year. But after talking to the guys at the Kona B-ham shop, who said they don't make anything like it currently and to keep it, which was the same opinion I got from some others,I think I will just tune and consider upgrades to the suspension, new grips, and call it good.

Will be looking into the upgrades to the rear shock (I do want to do that) and think I will bump the pike to 130, and have it tuned. I rarely bottom out the front shock so I don't need to do anything crazy with it. The rear shock is where more improvement could be found I think, as it is still the stock one.
 
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