I respectfully disagree. I can't mountain bike with tubes without getting flat after flat. All those flats are going to make a new rider frustrated. If just cruising or commuting, or even on road, tubes are fine. But this article is about riding blue trails, and for real mountain biking tubeless is really the only way to go.
I got a smartwool 3/4 jersey and am disappointed in how big it fits, how easy it stains, and how it isn't very soft. It still gets use though and is pretty comfortable.
I'd much rather have a compact frame with space for one bottle, but plenty of clearance and stand over. Being able to move around the bike is key
I've got an alloy Spire on a factory 38 and home built wheels and custom orange matching decals and a nice 2000 echo I got of my friend for $1500, so I'm around a 3:1 ratio haha
Those was joyous to go through, but also a bit bittersweet after missing the first three races of the season this year with a broken clavicle. Fortunately got my first real ride yesterday and I'll be back between the tape in about a month.
God I love bike racing...
I really need to do something with the growing pile of tires on my shop floor. The problem is that my three bins of tires are full...
Interesting pointing out how intoxicants increase risk. Obviously makes sense, but I recently decided to cut back on pot. My first ride without any in years I broke my clavicle. I think it's just bad luck but funny anyways.
What would I read about when not riding if there weren't so many types of bikes? Ever narrower categories gives me something to dream about without feeling like I have to replace something I have and like. It's really another hobby unto itself.
Also, I have fun on different trails with each bike, and some of us do care about having just the right tool for the job. I may be able to ride almost anything on my hardtail, but I have a lot more fun on fast rotght trails on an enduro bike, or more fun on jumps in my DJ, or cover a lot more ground on the gravel bike. Horses for courses.
I had the opposite experience. I'm 5-10 normal build for reference. My gravel bike came with 440 flared bars, and I found them incredibly uncomfortable. It felt like I couldn't get control over the front end. The flare in the drops I found particularly uncomfortable. I swapped to a traditional 420mm unflared bar that my shop had as a take off, and it's been better for me on road, on techy singletrack, and everywhere in between. I really enjoy taking my gravel bike on fairly technical stuff too, not just smooth fire roads. I have a friend who put bars like those on his bike (wallmer I believe) and I could hardly even pedal around the parking lot. If I'm riding something rough enough these would be helpful, I'd just take my hardtail.
Also, mountain bike bar lengths seem to have peaked and be shrinking back down a bit. I'm riding 760 on all my bikes (enduro, hardtail, DJ) which measure 765ish with grips.
I understand different strokes for different folks, so I'd just say people should try a bunch of things and see what works for them rather than just jump on the wide bar bandwagon.
Just broke my clavicle practicing for a race, taking another lap when I knew I was tired already cause I wanted to keep having fun with the boys. Now I'm missing races and out for two months, but I'll be back at it as soon as I can be.
My friend whose broken clavicle just healed in time for race season had better timing.
Sram has excellent service manuals on their site. https://www.sram.com/en/service/models/db-code-rsc-a1
Love the idea and the story, but looks like it's designed for a T-Rex
That's also my preference and another advantage of building it yourself is you know that it's done right and not pre rounded. It's more expensive than a full build but cheaper in the long run if you're the type who replaces parts til it's just right.
Joe Breeze welded up the first few mountain bikes. Number 2 is his, and it sits in the mountain bike museum and hall of fame in Fairfax. But every once in a while, Joe takes it down to go ride re pack on it once again.
If that bike still gets ridden, no excuse not to take anything else for a spin now and then.
Hardtails are a great recommendation to someone who just wants a "bike" since it's good for everything from riding tow paths with the kids, to commuting and riding trails. If someone wants to actually mountain bike, I typically recommend a full suspension since they will have more fun and be more likely to stick with it.
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