gdharries profile

Here is a route guide that is often referenced.

Interesting! Well, it did have a beautiful ride quality.

I’ve had some nice steel frames (and lousy ones too) over the past 30ish years and the Cove was one of the best.

Sometimes I could swear I heard it singing.

Maybe that was the Dekerf magic.

It was the original paint. I think this one was built by Yess Products in Surrey but I’m not 100% sure.

Here’s a photo of me on the Cove, at far right.

Hopefully that explains the circus bear comment I made.

About 6 years ago, I scored a never-ridden 2002 Cove Handjob XC frame and built it up with as many retro parts as I could find (and/or afford). My intent was to use it for commuting and gravel riding.

Hayes Mag brakes, 9-speed XTR, Dark Cycles bash ring, etc...it was a beauty.

After riding the Handjob for 3 years on paved paths, dirt roads and even the occasional singletrack ride, I sold the bike to someone who knew what it was, and understood the heritage.

I regret selling it, but the 20" frame was far too small for me. I looked like a bear atop a circus bike.

I'm grateful for the time we got to spend together.

That perfectly sums up my experience on a 27.5+ bike, the 2018 Norco Torrent. It was a pig on flats and buffed trails, but a joy on rough roots, slow hard lines and downhill chunder.

Looking back, I should have tried a lower rolling resistance tire in the rear. The stock Maxxis Minion DHR II was a slow tractor of a tread. That may have noticeably livened up the bike. Hindsight…

Our 15 year old son has a 27.5+ bike with faster tires, and he loves it. Gives him extra confidence but still rolls quickly.

Yeah, the Paradox looks to be properly sized in the XL version. Adequate stack, reach and seat tube length for tall people.

My Kona Explosif was this bike. I rode it at the bike park, commuting, trail riding and gravel. Although, the Bomber Z2 was never removed. I also rode it geared and SS.

WTB all the way. That is, unless they are switched out last minute for Nanorapotors.

Related: I’m Comic Sans, A**hole

Beautiful bike and great job on the decorating. That’s an Aspero, correct?

Rollers are great for improving balance and learning how to hold a line. It only takes a short while to get used to staying upright.

Also, fun at parties.

When we used to have parties, that is.

@mrt Stunning bike.

@thaaad That’s good to know. I think they basically have the same suspension design but of course, the Fuel is more trail-oriented. I’ve also read that this version of the Fuel is what the Remedy used to be.

@Hepcat I live in the Yukon and today it was -35 C outside. I keep all of our bikes in the garage throughout winter and have for decades. I know a lot of other cyclists up here do too. To my knowledge, they seem to be fine. Then again, the only bike I actually use at this time of year is my fat bike and that thing has gone through some serious cold weather punishment in the 6 years I’ve had it.

In October I made the unplanned purchase of a 2022 Trek Fuel EX 8 in size XXL, and so this is what I'll gleefully be riding in spring.

I'd phoned my local bike shop to inquire about putting a deposit on an XXL model, thinking it wouldn't arrive for a couple of years. I was surprisingly informed that a bike in that exact size and desired model - originally ordered in May 2020 - was due to arrive the following week.

Oh boy! What to do, what to do...

The shop built it up and I took the Fuel for a test ride around the block. I've never been on a bike that was so gloriously big and actually felt like it fit me for once. The XXL has a healthy stack height, solid reach and a long seat tube, the latter which is increasingly hard to find (outside of custom frames).

Took me a month to decide (and after several more test rides) but once I chose to sell my too small XL Kona Process 153 - the Process sold in less than a day - the transition to new bike ownership happened very quickly.

I moved over my beloved TRP G-Spec brakes, swapped out the stock Fox Rhythm 34 for a Rock Shox Pike (more beef) and bought a Chromag HIFI V2 31.8 to go with my 50mm rise Enve handlebar. The rest is stock.

I only went on 2 short bike rides before the snow hit, thus I'm understandably excited to get out come spring.

For now, it's snowmobile and snowboard season and the Fuel hangs in our very, very frozen garage.

Posted by: PowellRiviera

i also cannot for the life of me figure out how to post a photo.

https://nsmb.com/photos/view/20438/

Here's the steps to add a photo to your forum post.

1. Upload your photo somewhere. In your case, you're using NSMB.com and thus your photo is at https://nsmb.com/photos/view/20438.

2. On the right side of that page, there are options for Small, Medium, Large, etc. versions of your photo.

3. Click one of those links and you end up at the image source. For example, here's the link to your Large-sized photo.

4. Copy and paste that link (it will have .jpg at the end) into your post using the Insert image button (it features a little image icon). Put the link into the URL form field and then hit Confirm.
5. This will insert your photo directly into your post.

Geof

@Vandy, I appreciate and applaud your energy and dedication.

• Get bike at 1:35 pm

• Finish build and bunny hops at 2:30 a.m.

• Post at 3:12 a.m.
• Post edits at 10:37 a.m. 

Presumably, a real bike ride and then early to bed tonight. Or at least, that’s what I’d do!

Posted by: a-d-s

Just an update, it's been a month. I've ridden the bike in all conditions: Squamish tech, Whistler Lost lake blues, Bike park a couple days, Fromme most trails. I can say the size issues are not even a thought anymore, it feels like it fits perfect. When I jump on my old bike (which is now my son's) it can't believe I rode it!

I can also confidently say the climbing thing is the real deal with the new geometry. It's not that I can get up more techy bits of climbing trails, it's that I can do them with less effort, so I am not nearly as winded, and this is with a 37 lb bike! I could always do any one-off section, then have a rest, but now I can link stuff up and keep going. Descending, the 29" tires make short work of trails like Expresso. Jumping and drops have taken a little adjustment, but getting there. So all in all, very happy with the Sight XL!

Nice! Any pictures to share?

Posted by: t_w

I gave up "real" mountain biking around 5 years ago and hung onto my full suspension/enduro/whatever it's called bike for years afterwards just so I would have a bike to ride around on once in a while. Last winter I finally admitted that I had no real interest in getting back into trail riding like I used to so I decided to sell it and build up a "gravel" bike. I looked at drop bar gravel bikes and they seemed to be the worst of both worlds so I finally decided to build a rigid 29'er and try to keep the steeper geometry that all the bikes I grew up riding 20 years ago used.

I frickin love this thing, reminds me of when we used to ride the same bike for everything. I often pump the tires up to 60psi and do 15-20km pavement rides then let some air out of the tires and ride gravel or mellow singletrack back home. Steel frame and fork, light wheels, 2x10 with lots of gearing and bars with a comfortable rise and sweep all make it pretty good for long rides. Bathroom scale says it's around 28.5lbs with a boat anchor saddle, wire bead tires and tubes. When I wear through these tires I'll swap to tubeless and something like the Schwalbe g-one for all around use.

Great backstory and bike. The green of that versatile Surly is also magnificent.

Posted by: craw

Posted by: gdharries

Posted by: craw

I made a few monster cross mountain bike conversion type road bike things over the years and never really rode them. It always seemed like the worst of both worlds. My gravel bike tries to blend a bunch of positive traits and it must be working because I ride mine as much as my mountain bike. It's got classic 90s mtb geometry at 71/73 but it's got a long road bike head tube and 700c/29" wheels. Also hydraulic discs and moderate 38mm tires since I use it more as a road bike  + than pure gravel. I'm not really trying to push the limit of what I can do on this bike terrain-wise because I have a mountain bike for that. The gravel bike is for tearing around the city, exploring stuff and finding unusual spots on the map.

Agreed. This is why I went the lightweight, quick handling 29er route instead. The King Kahuna in 22" (558mm seat tube) also has a crazy high stack height - 676 mm! - which I've been forever wanting on a XC bike.

Many gravel bikes are turning into what we rode 10 years ago. It's interesting to watch.

It all depends on what you want to ride. Mine really it set up to be a road bike+ and it's great for that. I'd set it up differently if I wanted to tackle gnarlier terrain and at some point it would morph into an XC mountain bike but then it would lose the roadie traits that I enjoy most about it (for my current particular application). I love seeing the huge range of gravel bike setups.

Yeah, my terrain has a lot of rough gravel and steep pitches that I find more comfortable and safer on a XC bike. If I hit asphalt in a group, it's definitely harder to keep up.