NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...

Took my hardtail out for a mini bikepacking trip. Taking the 'use the gear you have' approach and picking a super easy ride to test the suitability for the offspring.

All the gear, no idea. 

First night in the valley. 

Up into the clouds for a damp second evening. I tried a lightweight sleeping suggestion from a buddy - down jacket + kids sleeping bag up to my ribs. 

I've slept warmer in snow caves. Would be fine in a hut, but for single digit °C in a tent not recommended. 

Sunshine with coffee, and a Vogels bag to tease the expats. 

The hill, side two 

Stopping to boil water after running out. 

Fun trip, with a bit of editing it should work for the 5&7 year olds, or editing the other way for a tougher funner groan up version.

Velo - where was your bike packing trip?

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Took my hardtail out for a mini bikepacking trip. Taking the 'use the gear you have' approach and picking a super easy ride to test the suitability for the offspring.

Up into the clouds for a damp second evening. I tried a lightweight sleeping suggestion from a buddy - down jacket + kids sleeping bag up to my ribs. 

I've slept warmer in snow caves. Would be fine in a hut, but for single digit °C in a tent not recommended. 

Looks like fun. I'm glad you got out camping with your bike. I've been through quite a few cold nights myself chasing the elusive light/compact sleep setup that is still comfortable. I mostly have it figured out now so good sleep is on the menu, but there was certainly some pain for that gain.

Let us know how the kids like the route.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Yeah!  Is it just me or is the dirt more slippery and the roots more grippy than they should be?  ;)

Ha! It's amazing how many times in one ride you can be surprised by loose dusty corners in October. We've got some rain in the forecast so at least it won't feel like summer riding any more.

Rant:

My technical climbing is absolutely garbage this past year.  I'm spinning out, wheelie-ing out, chickening out, crashing out in attempts to do stuff I could previously climb.  I don't think much has changed on my bike.  I'm back on a longer stem which has helped but I don't know what the hell else is going on.  Maybe having an ikon 2.35 on the back isn't the best idea.  And maybe it's the dry and dusty conditions?  My bar is a little higher now but it won't go lower and overall it's super comfortable.  It's definitely a combination of psychology and perhaps my core and upper body strength has declined.  I know hardtails are a bit harder to climb on the more technical, slippery stuff than FS but the stuff I'm having problems with isn't THAT bad.  Perhaps I'm choosing too easy of a gear, not coming in with enough momentum, not being explosive when required.  I don't know...it's just sad.

Guess I just need to keep working on it.  It's one thing to be stuck and not improving but in this particular area I have gotten worse and I can't put a finger on why besides it's likely a combination of several factors.

Thanks for listening.  Ah...feels a little better now.

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Took my hardtail out for a mini bikepacking trip. [...]

Looks and sounds like a nice little trip, thanks for the report & photos!

Posted by: fartymarty

Velo - where was your bike packing trip?

First night at Kaitoki regional park, second at the summit of the Rimutaka rail trail. 

Pretty sure my 5 year old will be able to pedal the Hutt side of the rail trail, and I'll be chasing the 7 year old.

Sweet.  My Grandparents used to live up the Hutt Valley although I was too young to remember visiting.

Every time I see pictures or videos of New Zealand, without knowing it's New Zealand, I think to myself "this looks a bit like a cool area of BC I haven't been to before...."

I should really get down there.  :)

Nice pictures, looks beautiful.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Every time I see pictures or videos of New Zealand, without knowing it's New Zealand, I think to myself "this looks a bit like a cool area of BC I haven't been to before...."

I should really get down there.  :)

Nice pictures, looks beautiful.

There's a reason reddit came up with New Zanada. It's a bit far, better make it a big one if you're coming down eh.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Rant:

My technical climbing is absolutely garbage this past year.  I'm spinning out, wheelie-ing out, chickening out, crashing out in attempts to do stuff I could previously climb.  I don't think much has changed on my bike.  I'm back on a longer stem which has helped but I don't know what the hell else is going on.  Maybe having an ikon 2.35 on the back isn't the best idea.  And maybe it's the dry and dusty conditions?  My bar is a little higher now but it won't go lower and overall it's super comfortable.  It's definitely a combination of psychology and perhaps my core and upper body strength has declined.  I know hardtails are a bit harder to climb on the more technical, slippery stuff than FS but the stuff I'm having problems with isn't THAT bad.  Perhaps I'm choosing too easy of a gear, not coming in with enough momentum, not being explosive when required.  I don't know...it's just sad.

Guess I just need to keep working on it.  It's one thing to be stuck and not improving but in this particular area I have gotten worse and I can't put a finger on why besides it's likely a combination of several factors.

Thanks for listening.  Ah...feels a little better now.

That sucks, I think everyone can relate to how you are feeling. 

The back tire is probably a large contributor.

If I'm mostly spinning out, I drop one or two gears harder. Helps me approach with more speed and if the tire starts to slip you will have a better chance of regaining traction.

Let us know if you can turn it around before the rain comes and we are all spinning out on everything.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Rant:

Perhaps I'm choosing too easy of a gear, not coming in with enough momentum, not being explosive when required.  I don't know...it's just sad.

The back tire is probably a large contributor.

If I'm mostly spinning out, I drop one or two gears harder. Helps me approach with more speed and if the tire starts to slip you will have a better chance of regaining traction.

Speed is your friend.  Go a gear of two harder.

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Rant:

Perhaps I'm choosing too easy of a gear, not coming in with enough momentum, not being explosive when required.  I don't know...it's just sad.

The back tire is probably a large contributor.

If I'm mostly spinning out, I drop one or two gears harder. Helps me approach with more speed and if the tire starts to slip you will have a better chance of regaining traction.

Speed is your friend.  Go a gear of two harder.

Momentum and push-ups fix most bike issues.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Rant:

My technical climbing is absolutely garbage this past year.

I've had some wheel slipping issues while climbing on a couple hardtails I've owned the last while so I can offer some thoughts. The tire is slipping because it doesn't have enough traction. A few ways to mitigate that are:

1. Get more weight on the rear tire. [saddle backwards, raise bars, taller fork, shorter CS if you have sliders]
2. Lower air pressure [if possible]
3. Different tire [bigger knobs, softer compound, more volume so you can run at a lower pressure]
4. Try a harder gear like RAH mentioned [oval chainring could help]

Momentum is always a great cheat code if the climb is short enough so use it if you can. If the climb is longer and steady sometimes it's better to come in and push through at a constant effort you can sustain all the way to the top.

I'd find a shorter climb that is causing you some issues and session it. Try whatever you can to see how it affects your climbing so you can start to identify likely solutions. If you have climbed these sorts of sections fine in the past you know you can do it so it's worth working on a bit. You'll feel good once you've made some progress. If you can use your phone to grab some video. You can self-coach your riding if you can see what's happening from an external perspective.

I just sent my fork away for service. It'll come back with 20mm more travel not because I want more squish, but because that's a simple way to move some weight onto the rear wheel and improve rear wheel traction for steep loose climbs where I am getting some wheel spin. Although my problem is minor and only happens in some very specific circumstances I get super annoyed blowing a climb that I know I can get up cleanly. Once the fork is back [I'll also put on a fresh rear tire] I'll be going to a local trail system that has a 4-5 of these climbs and I'll do a solo ride so I can session them and get the problem solved.

You mentioned wheel spin [not enough rear wheel traction] and looping out [not enough weight on the front wheel] which are competing problems. I'd work on one at a time so do enough tweaks so you don't get any wheel spin then do the same to keep the front wheel down. You might have to go back and forth a few times. To find an optimal setup for both.