NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...

My Naked has reversed braze on bolts on the seat tube so that there’s nothing within the inner diameter to interfere with deep insertion of a big seat post (200mm for me 5’10). 

Love being able to carry two bottles compared to the BARELY one I can carry on my Spire.

Chris Dekerf fixed my ti frame perfectly. And then I cracked it on another spot. But his work was 5*

My neighbor cracked gonzo ti same spot a couple months back.

Oi thanks Nologo, good to have more data points.  Unfortunately, I'd perceive this as a design flaw in the bigger frame sizes.

At this point I may just go wild with hockey tape to hold it the gusset plate together as a little science experiment.  In reality, the bike is never going to be ridden in demanding conditions again.

Posted by: Ned

Oi thanks Nologo, good to have more data points.  Unfortunately, I'd perceive this as a design flaw in the bigger frame sizes.

At this point I may just go wild with hockey tape to hold it the gusset plate together as a little science experiment.  In reality, the bike is never going to be ridden in demanding conditions again.

For me it was the endless cracked titanium creak that would drive me nuts. Maybe some sort of epoxy to keep it from creaking with each pedal stroke?

Just heard from Marino that my frame is believed to be entering production, which supposedly means it will be done in 2-3 weeks! I'm pretty stoked. The build has been sitting in my garage for months. I already built the wheels, installed the rotors, tires, inserts and cassette. I also bled the brakes. It will be the quickest build of all time!

I'll post some pictures when it arrives and once it is built. Custom geo mullet fully rigid hardtail. Matching paint on fork and frame. Going to run it with gears to start but it has sliding dropouts so I can turn it into a single speed.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: Ned

Oi thanks Nologo, good to have more data points.  Unfortunately, I'd perceive this as a design flaw in the bigger frame sizes.

At this point I may just go wild with hockey tape to hold it the gusset plate together as a little science experiment.  In reality, the bike is never going to be ridden in demanding conditions again.

For me it was the endless cracked titanium creak that would drive me nuts. Maybe some sort of epoxy to keep it from creaking with each pedal stroke?

yes, had considered some sort of goop like jb weld or something.  real hanson brothers (slapshot reference) tape on the shattered glasses style of fix.  need to dig up my roll of canuck flag hockey tape :-). 

your insights este mucho appreciated

Posted by: RAHrider

Just heard from Marino that my frame is believed to be entering production, which supposedly means it will be done in 2-3 weeks! I'm pretty stoked. The build has been sitting in my garage for months. I already built the wheels, installed the rotors, tires, inserts and cassette. I also bled the brakes. It will be the quickest build of all time!

I'll post some pictures when it arrives and once it is built. Custom geo mullet fully rigid hardtail. Matching paint on fork and frame. Going to run it with gears to start but it has sliding dropouts so I can turn it into a single speed.

That's exciting news for you, congrats! And that sounds like a sweet ride. When I was looking around I totally forgot Marino was an option, this thread has just reintroduced me.

I believe I have a frame in production now (or soon to be) with another builder, but I'm going the opposite direction. I have no parts for it to speak of, and it'll probably take me a while to put it all together after the frame arrives. I'll post some details once I get something from the builder. This one is for my wife, but we're close enough to the same size (minus shoulder/bar width) that you can bet I'll be comparison testing it . . . :)

Exploring on the hardtail.

There is a log ride under there somewhere!

I'm glad all the critical bridges are in great shape.

I had someone remark to me that there was no point going out if trail conditions weren't great [ie. normal dirt riding]. My brain didn't know how to respond I guess we don't ride for the same reasons. 

The Bird basking in the sun. She's one fine looking bike!

Looks like a lot of fun! Nice shots!

Posted by: yardrec

Looks like a lot of fun! Nice shots!

Thanks. One of my better choices in 2021 was to stop using my phone's camera and get a dedicated camera I could take on rides. Especially for low light shots in the forest. 

BTW - seems like we have a mutual friend in Ben M from Portland. Small world! :-)

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: yardrec

Looks like a lot of fun! Nice shots!

Thanks. One of my better choices in 2021 was to stop using my phone's camera and get a dedicated camera I could take on rides. Especially for low light shots in the forest. 

BTW - seems like we have a mutual friend in Ben M from Portland. Small world! :-)

What camera are you carrying? I keep meaning to bring mine but don't, and fall back on the phone all the time . . . Maybe this will get me to start.

Posted by: eriksg

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: yardrec

Looks like a lot of fun! Nice shots!

Thanks. One of my better choices in 2021 was to stop using my phone's camera and get a dedicated camera I could take on rides. Especially for low light shots in the forest. 

BTW - seems like we have a mutual friend in Ben M from Portland. Small world! :-)

What camera are you carrying? I keep meaning to bring mine but don't, and fall back on the phone all the time . . . Maybe this will get me to start.

Where do you carry the camera? My phone slips in my jersey pocket and is water (sweat) proof. I haven't owned a camera in a decade, curious what they are like now....

Posted by: eriksg

What camera are you carrying? I keep meaning to bring mine but don't, and fall back on the phone all the time . . . Maybe this will get me to start.

I have a consumer level DSLR with a nice fast lens that does great in the forest, but it's too big and delicate to carry on most rides. I had a shitty phone camera and just got a better phone camera [jury is out how much better for my MTB use]. I debated getting the smaller form factor of P&S vs. the still small, but noticeably larger size of the mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. I ended up with the Canon G7X [sort of the performance hardtail of quality cameras!].

It was on sale from a dealer so I got it fairly cheap [older model now that the G9X is out and open box deal]. It fits into my top tube frame bag in a padded case. It has a large sensor for a P&S. It's cheap and rugged enough I will take it on every ride. If I were to kill it in a crash or for some other reason it's not so expensive/fancy that I would cry.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-powershot-g7-x

My experience with biking and photography is that the "best" camera is one you'll carry every ride and can pull out/use quickly.

Posted by: RAHrider

Where do you carry the camera? My phone slips in my jersey pocket and is water (sweat) proof. I haven't owned a camera in a decade, curious what they are like now....

Good question as that answer drove what camera I bought. If I put the camera in a backpack I could both carry a bigger format camera and protect it well enough that damage was unlikely. Thing is I hate packs while riding so I'd never have the camera with me and even if I did wear a pack having to stop, take off the pack, find the camera and then snap a photo would mean it rarely got used.  Carrying a camera on a waist belt/fanny pack is an easy way to damage it...which gets expensive and I don't like wearing even a fanny pack when I ride. Also falling on a hard object like a camera could result in a bad injury if it was in the spine area like fanny pack.

Both of my shreddy hardtails have the same two frame bag setups shown above. The lower one is harder to access, but holds all my tools/supplies. So I put the camera in the upper one. It's easy to access and I've never damaged anything I've put in a frame bag like that so the camera is pretty safe.

I put the camera inside a padded case. I don't bother zipping it up. It's just meant to keep the camera from banging around in the frame bag, which it does well.

Then the padded case goes into my frame bag. There is enough room left in there for a couple energy bars and a wind vest so I still get some cargo capacity out of that bag. When I want the camera I leave the padded case where it is and just pull out the camera. That saves me a step and makes the whole process more efficient for quickly snapping a photo.

Is it worth it? It just depends how much you care about taking photos on rides. There is no right or wrong answer. I hate taking shitty blurry ride photos in the [usually] dark forest. So I either want to take quality photos or not bother at all. When I was just using my phone's camera I was ending up with photos I was embarrassed to share, but at the same time I wanted to post stuff about my rides on forums and my blog. Photo above is my phone and photo below is the G7. Similar winter riding situations.

All in all I am pretty happy with the G7. It's not the highest quality camera I could have bought, but the small size and relatively low cost mean I'll take it with me every ride and the image quality is definitely a step up from what I was able to take with my phone.