The Surly Mountain Biking Thread

[TexasHooch 5088]

On 8/3/2020 at 1:51 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

I didn't get any pics, but if any of you ever have to go to the Twin Cities, hit the Lebanon Hills trail system.  Rode up there on Saturday with my brother, a buddy from college (who is currently staying in my brother's garage), and my old man.  Really great flow to the trails, easy to follow, and just a lot of fun.  The old man has barely ever ridden singletrack and he took a pretty good digger as we were trying to keep up with the guys who knew the trail system pretty well.

My brother is coming down later this month to our trail system and I'm hoping to return the favor some.

Ride there pretty often with my son.  It's really well groomed, marked, and maintained.  Best in the area, and there are a lot.  

We've hit up just about everything in the Twin Cities, so Cuyuna is next.  Or maybe Decorah.  Need to get back to Pulpit Rock.

 

 

 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

On 8/6/2020 at 8:19 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

October is projected delivery date. They’re scouring other area shops

What's the estimate on that fix?  Shit, might be easier to just get a new wheels.

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

Ride there pretty often with my son.  It's really well groomed, marked, and maintained.  Best in the area, and there are a lot.  
We've hit up just about everything in the Twin Cities, so Cuyuna is next.  Or maybe Decorah.  Need to get back to Pulpit Rock.
 
 
 

My brother is looking into planning a Cuyuna trip. Looks fantastic

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

What's the estimate on that fix?  Shit, might be easier to just get a new wheels.

Looking into that as well. Should know by mid week

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

Got a ride in this morning before the blast furnace got heated up. Got two laps of the park done in about 45 minutes. We have a trail shitter. Second time this week someone has taken a big dump (and left the TP) in the middle of the trail. Usually around a blind turn where it's tough to see until it's too late. There's some construction going on right outside the park boundaries, so I suspect it's a construction worker. This happened before a couple years ago in a different part of the park where there was also construction going on close by. As soon as the construction ended, I stopped finding turds on the trail. I hope a rattle snake bites him on the nads. 

 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

That's fukkin gross. It's one thing to shit in the woods if you have to, but in the middle of a trail?  GTFO.

Funny story. I think we were in smoky mountains on some trail.  Start to smell some shit.  Looking around we see the head of a dude squatting in the bushes.  Dumb fucker went reasonably far off the trail, not realizing the trail sort of looped back and he was really close to the further ahead part of the trail.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

On 7/25/2020 at 5:42 PM, dingleberryswitzer said:

Need some quick advice.  I'm looking to pull the trigger on some new wheels soon.  Inventory is low, so I'm basically down to these two options:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/us/en/vitus-mythique-27-vr-bike-deore-1x10-2020/rp-prod182812

https://www.fezzari.com/cross-country/wiki-peak-sx

 

Anyone have opinions on the spec?  I have no idea how the xfusion compares to the suntour and how the sram sx compares to deore.

Anyone have opinions on 27.5? I've been on 29er for 15 years but have ridden 27.5 here and there.  Honestly if the vitus 29er was available I'd jump on that.  

So I was patient and ordered the vitus 29 version when I couldn't sleep so I checked my email at 3am to see they had come back In stock.  Large was sold out by like 9:30 later that morning.

  So far looks good.  Need to get a shock pump, adjust the lever position then I'll see how she handles.  

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Nice.  Congrats.  The rain you provoked hopefully stays in centex.  I'm probably bikeless through it anyway.

[Dbeasy 14796]

That's fukkin gross. It's one thing to shit in the woods if you have to, but in the middle of a trail?  GTFO.
Funny story. I think we were in smoky mountains on some trail.  Start to smell some shit.  Looking around we see the head of a dude squatting in the bushes.  Dumb fucker went reasonably far off the trail, not realizing the trail sort of looped back and he was really close to the further ahead part of the trail.

This reminded me of a similar story. We were pheasant hunting in South Dakota, with a line of about six guys walking thru a cornfield down towards three guys blocking at the end. If you’ve pheasant hunted before you know that it’s important to walk together at the same pace to keep the birds from zig zagging between you to escape.

Well one member of our party had prunes for breakfast and suddenly drop squatted to the ground to release a massive lava flow onto the cornfield, with eight guys staring at him, each of us with guns sling over our shoulder and disgusted looks on our faces. Good times.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

5 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

This reminded me of a similar story. We were pheasant hunting in South Dakota, with a line of about six guys walking thru a cornfield down towards three guys blocking at the end. If you’ve pheasant hunted before you know that it’s important to walk together at the same pace to keep the birds from zig zagging between you to escape.

Well one member of our party had prunes for breakfast and suddenly drop squatted to the ground to release a massive lava flow onto the cornfield, with eight guys staring at him, each of us with guns sling over our shoulder and disgusted looks on our faces. Good times.

Prunes for breakfast . . . .

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

Prunes for breakfast . . . .

Before a hunting trip (or any outdoor trip)?

Bold strategy cotton.jpg

I have many other slightly entertaining wood shitting stories, but this ain't the place for them.  But let's just say I'd rather post in the hypothetical "shit in the woods" thread vs the shart thread. 

[wd40 1976]

firewood seller guy on 360 is a trail shitter.  trail section that passes nearby looks like a fuckin Roman army encampent when he's working.  if I ever feel the need late at night, I'd like to drop a cobra at his parking spot.

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

Reconnecting with the fatty at Yellow River

[KuЯdt 248]

On 8/12/2020 at 11:42 AM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Got a ride in this morning before the blast furnace got heated up. Got two laps of the park done in about 45 minutes. We have a trail shitter. Second time this week someone has taken a big dump (and left the TP) in the middle of the trail. Usually around a blind turn where it's tough to see until it's too late. There's some construction going on right outside the park boundaries, so I suspect it's a construction worker. This happened before a couple years ago in a different part of the park where there was also construction going on close by. As soon as the construction ended, I stopped finding turds on the trail. I hope a rattle snake bites him on the nads. 

 

Maybe that woman from Colorado Springs has moved into your hood  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mad_Pooper

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

Rode this morning before it got super hot. Seems it's that point of the summer where the lower limbs on the cedars are wilting into the trail a little more. My arms are all scratched up from the narrowing trail conditions, and I took a pretty good shot to the shoulder on another tree limb on the inside of a hairpin that wasn't there earlier in the week. No new turds from the trail shitter thank goodness. I think this weekend I'm going to peel off the tires and clean the old stan's out and patch some of the bigger cuts that are constantly "weeping" sealant. 

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

I mean I’ve shit in the woods plenty (especially while trail running), but I can’t understand the level of dick headedness it takes to shit in the middle of a trail.

[Braff Zacklin 13299]

Even a dog knows not to shit on the trail.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Welp, the bike is "off" to Marin for the warranty claim.  Dealer-guy said he doesn't expect any issues on it, but that it could take six weeks.

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

On 8/14/2020 at 1:17 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Rode this morning before it got super hot. Seems it's that point of the summer where the lower limbs on the cedars are wilting into the trail a little more. My arms are all scratched up from the narrowing trail conditions, and I took a pretty good shot to the shoulder on another tree limb on the inside of a hairpin that wasn't there earlier in the week. No new turds from the trail shitter thank goodness. I think this weekend I'm going to peel off the tires and clean the old stan's out and patch some of the bigger cuts that are constantly "weeping" sealant. 

So last Thursday I rode, and one of those newly sagging branches snagged my camelbak and almost pulled me off the bike before the branch finally broke. I didn't stop to check my pack or anything, and didn't notice until this morning that it ripped the side of my Camelback Mule pack open and my mini pump is gone. So after my ride this morning I went on line and ordered a new mule pack and a new pump. The clean and reseal on the tires helped. They seem to be holding air better, but are still weeping sealant from about 20 holes each. 

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

First true single track ride with the fatty since the hard tail went down. Interstate Park in Dubuque. Really nice spot. All machine cut stuff, flowy as hell with rock kickers all over the place.

I can’t believe I rode single track on the fat bike for two years. It’s handling is trash in comparison to the hard tail. Still had fun.

[Braff Zacklin 13299]

Can't believe you're that green this late in the year. Wet summer?

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

On 8/29/2020 at 8:55 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

Can't believe you're that green this late in the year. Wet summer?

We're currently at moderate drought level, actually.  Lawn grass has turned dead brown.  The forest canopy is keeping that area from looking bad.  Really awesome riding conditions.  I'll just keep banging away on the fatty to take advantage of this until harvest.

 

One thing I've found at the last two new areas that I've checked out, is that there are no stretches at these places where I can't scale the grade.  At Decorah (where I usually ride) there are several places I've never been able to climb.  The place in the Twin Cities had pretty mellow grades, but it's not a terribly hilly area.  Dubuque is extremely hilly, and I was impressed by how well built the switch backs were.  My vertical gain wasn't much less than a ride of similar length in Decorah, but they had the mercy to just not go straight up the damn hill.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

On 8/13/2020 at 9:22 AM, dingleberryswitzer said:

So I was patient and ordered the vitus 29 version when I couldn't sleep so I checked my email at 3am to see they had come back In stock.  Large was sold out by like 9:30 later that morning.

  So far looks good.  Need to get a shock pump, adjust the lever position then I'll see how she handles.  

Well after a few rides on the new vitus I'm pretty happy with it.  It's heavy and kind of a pain to control.  I need to get used to the wide bars.  The shape of the top tube make it a pain to get on my rack. Also I busted the cheap plastic pedal on the first ride, lol.  But that's about it for the bad.  It really smooths out the bumps and sticks really well, I'm already very confident cornering on this thing.  I haven't really tested it on long downhill sections because there aren't any around here.  But I've really noticed it does climb short steep sections really well.  No matter how I shift my weight the rear wheel sticks and the front doesn't pop up.  Next time I hit up government canyon will be the real test. 

Full disclosure, I have very limited experience on full suspension bikes or bikes this expensive. 

 

[TwiceHorn 30851]

7 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Well after a few rides on the new vitus I'm pretty happy with it.  It's heavy and kind of a pain to control.  I need to get used to the wide bars.  The shape of the top tube make it a pain to get on my rack. Also I busted the cheap plastic pedal on the first ride, lol.  But that's about it for the bad.  It really smooths out the bumps and sticks really well, I'm already very confident cornering on this thing.  I haven't really tested it on long downhill sections because there aren't any around here.  But I've really noticed it does climb short steep sections really well.  No matter how I shift my weight the rear wheel sticks and the front doesn't pop up.  Next time I hit up government canyon will be the real test. 

Full disclosure, I have very limited experience on full suspension bikes or bikes this expensive. 

 

Trunk rack?  You are probably going to need one of these to make it fit right:

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

Yep, been looking at those.  It's a simple hitch rack with a cradle for the top tube... But my top tube is shaped .  I'm stuck between getting one of those or putting the $$ towards a better rack.  

[Austinvines 309]

I’m a fan of the Kuat Transfer. Got a 2 bike one for my twins’ Ford Escape from REI for around $330. The trays and “crooks” are plastic on steel. Not as nice as the Sherpa or NV but those are spendy and the Transfer has most of the same advantages, like the locking hitch, locking cables, partial tilt down so you can get into your trunk/hatch without removing the bikes (although two would be heavy).

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

Picked up an awful creak around the bottom bracket the past few rides. I'm going to go through the chainring bolts, crank arms, and pedals tonight and hope that's it. Not looking forward to dropping it off for 5 weeks for a BB service. I had the pivot bearings replaced when they replaced the rear triangle, so I doubt it's that. The only other thing I can think of is the Switch link. 

[Braff Zacklin 13299]

29 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Picked up an awful creak around the bottom bracket the past few rides.

Probably your knees. Just oil 'em up, Tin Man.

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

9 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Probably your knees. Just oil 'em up, Tin Man.

I mean, you're not wrong. 

[wd40 1976]

@Pescado_Rojo, carbon or aluminum frame?  threaded or pressfit BB?

either way, it's not bad, just that threaded is A LOT easier.  one wrench, and maybe an old butter knife to pop off the dust covers, depending on the brand.  

if you've got Shimano pressfit, just plan on ordering a whole new BB, because you're going to destroy it getting it out of there.  plastic crap.

for a replacement, I highly recommend Wheels Mfg. parts.  I'm fixin to replace my pf BB92, and will order the Wheels type that is actually a hybrid.  instead of the bearing cups threading into the frame, the two halves of the BB thread together in middle of the BB housing.  this means you can use the standard threaded BB wrench to pull them for service.  when I first replaced my Shitmano BB92 with Wheels, they hadn't come out with it, yet.  however, the Wheels BB92 I have has an aluminum body and the bearings are easy to clean and regrease.  I also got their press kit which is useful for my headset, as well.

hit me with a pm if you want to talk about it, some more.  no good reason to wait in line for shop service on a BB.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

4 hours ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Yep, been looking at those.  It's a simple hitch rack with a cradle for the top tube... But my top tube is shaped .  I'm stuck between getting one of those or putting the $$ towards a better rack.  

I gotta say, I really enjoy my hitch rack.  It's so easy to go on and off.  I too have the Kuat Transfer.  But ya gotta have a hitch.

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

13 hours ago, wd40 said:

@Pescado_Rojo, carbon or aluminum frame?  threaded or pressfit BB?

either way, it's not bad, just that threaded is A LOT easier.  one wrench, and maybe an old butter knife to pop off the dust covers, depending on the brand.  

if you've got Shimano pressfit, just plan on ordering a whole new BB, because you're going to destroy it getting it out of there.  plastic crap.

for a replacement, I highly recommend Wheels Mfg. parts.  I'm fixin to replace my pf BB92, and will order the Wheels type that is actually a hybrid.  instead of the bearing cups threading into the frame, the two halves of the BB thread together in middle of the BB housing.  this means you can use the standard threaded BB wrench to pull them for service.  when I first replaced my Shitmano BB92 with Wheels, they hadn't come out with it, yet.  however, the Wheels BB92 I have has an aluminum body and the bearings are easy to clean and regrease.  I also got their press kit which is useful for my headset, as well.

hit me with a pm if you want to talk about it, some more.  no good reason to wait in line for shop service on a BB.

I went out and messed with it last night. greased and tightened the chainring bolts and pedals. I think it's the eccentric bearing in the switch link, not the BB. It's creaking even if I don't have my feet on the pedals and I'm just loading and unloading the suspension. That's the only one I didn't replace when they replaced the rear triangle because it wasn't part of the rebuild kit, you have to buy it separately. I'm calling Sport Shop this morning. If they're still on 5 weeks, this bitch may have to squeak a while longer. 

[Your Mom 4763]

There’s a few mobile mechanics around that can get you fixed up a lot faster.  I just lucked into finding a college XC racer kid that lives on my street and has a side gig wrenching on bikes.  In two hours he fixed up what my local shop would’ve taken weeks on.  The guy that runs Velofix is a good guy too.  He mostly advertises entire service packages but I bet he’d take care of specific smaller stuff too.  

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

On 9/1/2020 at 4:28 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Picked up an awful creak around the bottom bracket the past few rides. I'm going to go through the chainring bolts, crank arms, and pedals tonight and hope that's it. Not looking forward to dropping it off for 5 weeks for a BB service. I had the pivot bearings replaced when they replaced the rear triangle, so I doubt it's that. The only other thing I can think of is the Switch link. 

Broken rear derailleur.  

[TwiceHorn 30851]

22 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Broken rear derailleur.  

Interdasting.  Broken where?

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

55 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Interdasting.  Broken where?

Seems to be a spring or something that holds tension. There's no spring tension in the derailleur. If you put it on the smallest cog on the cassette, the chain almost touches the ground because the derailleur doesn't retension the chain. Still seems to shift up and down okay, though. The VeloFix guy said he could order replacement parts to rebuild my XX derailleur, but it would take 3+ weeks to get them as they're on backorder, or he could have a 10 speed GX derailleur here by Tuesday. I'm going with the GX, but might have him order the parts to rebuild my other one just to have a spare. I actually rode it around the neighborhood yesterday evening after the rain. Put it in the big ring and rode around the middle of the cassette, and it shifted okay. 

[wd40 1976]

that's crazy.  it's also why I'm a packrat.  I think still have 2 brand-new X-9 rear ders stashed.  I saw them go on closeout, so between me and a buddy, we bought out the rest of Jenson's stock.  I think we each got 4 or 5.  great ders.  

years before that, I was having issues with a 9spd der and got a couple of busted X-0 ders from Hammerhead (carbon fiber cages---never a good idea) to harvest the springs out of.  I ended up finding a different root cause to the problem, but held onto those old der bits, as well as a few of my own that got bent beyond use, since then.  only recently, did I clean out a few boxes of worn out parts, only to regret it later when I came up with an idea for a cool project.

I bought shifter cables in a box of 10, and a whole spool of housing, a while back.  little shit like that I never want to be the reason I couldn't ride on a given day.  broke a cable at the trailhead, a month ago and decided then to start carrying a spare in my pack, and another in my glove box.

got poured on near the end of a ride on Wednesday, so Thursday seemed like a good day to finally break down and service my bb and rear hub over my morning coffee.  and now it's gonna rain all weekend... 

[Pescado_Rojo 19266]

So while looking through Youtube for troubleshooting tips the other day, I ended up going down the bike build wormhole. Fanatik Bike Co has some really good "Dream Bike" builds. Really fun to watch, but now I've got the new bike itch. 

[KuЯdt 248]

15 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

So while looking through Youtube for troubleshooting tips the other day, I ended up going down the bike build wormhole. Fanatik Bike Co has some really good "Dream Bike" builds. Really fun to watch, but now I've got the new bike itch. 

There is only one cure.

[Axle Hongsnort 201]

I’ve been riding road bikes for 15 years and looking to throw a good MTB in the mix. Anyone have experience with theproscloset.com ?
They have some high end 18 / 19 pre owned bikes and according to their marketing, they go through rigorous inspections.

[TexasHooch 5088]

On 8/8/2020 at 7:33 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

My brother is looking into planning a Cuyuna trip. Looks fantastic

Cuyuna  (in North Central Minnesota) IS fantastic!  I took the boy for 3 days to celebrate his 10th birthday.  It's unbelievable what they've done  --and are doing-- in that area!

For those who don't know the story, here's some background:

 

I think they're up to just over 30 miles of trails and are constantly adding more.  Everything about it was perfect.  The town (Crosby) is your quintessential small town and has completely embraced the bikers.  The downtown has lots of restaurants, antique stores, and support for the bikers.  Although we brought our own bikes, I was really impressed by the available bikes for rent at the Red Raven. You can get a day on a full suspension Santa Cruz for $50, for instance.

We stayed here:

https://www.truenorthbasecamp.com/

 

One night we stayed in a cabin and the other was at a beautiful campsite.  Both were on property and you could wake up in the morning and ride right into the trails.  The trails themselves are rocky (as you may expect at an old mine) but really nicely managed and marked.  I had a map in my pocket but never needed it thanks to the kiosks, trail signs, and unbelievably friendly people.  We stuck mostly to greens and blues but did tackle one black, which proved to be too steep a climb for my son but none of the 3 or 4 riders who passed us batted an eye when they had to maneuver past him- every one of them offered encouragement on the way by.  Eventually he made it up and shredded the decent.

I'm still relatively new to mountain biking so I can't compare it to much, but as a destination this was about as much fun as I've had in a really long time.

Edited September 6, 2020 by TexasHooch

[TwiceHorn 30851]

I had a girlfriend from Brainerd.  That's a really nice part of the country. I bet those old mines make for a hell of a nice trail system.

No one in that video has the right accent.  Marge Gunderson was not an exaggeration.

Edited September 6, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[MaclovioBrown 100]

Brothers and I have a cabin in Hackensack 50 miles NW. Thanks for the PSA on Cuyuna. Now have reason to ship my Spectral up next summer

Edited September 7, 2020 by MaclovioBrown

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

Nice morning ride at my usual spot. Good reminder of how much more difficult it is than other Midwest spots I’ve been. Really ready for the hard tail to get done and hoping for a late start to winter.

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

I had a girlfriend from Brainerd.  That's a really nice part of the country. I bet those old mines make for a hell of a nice trail system.
No one in that video has the right accent.  Marge Gunderson was not an exaggeration.

The accents in that video are not remotely surprising.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

17 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The accents in that video are not remotely surprising.

Gf's grandfathers worked in those mines and we drove up to Crosby/Ironton to visit them, with her Mom, brothers, and nephew, all in the first couple of days I was up there.  I thought my head was going to explode. Begs.  Hot dishes.  Holy shit.  They were all Swedes and Norwegians, though.  Two variants of Hanson/en.

Edited September 7, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[Braff Zacklin 13299]

Sirs, you have no call to get snippy.

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

21 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Gf's grandfathers worked in those mines and we drove up to Crosby/Ironton to visit them, with her Mom, brothers, and nephew, all in the first couple of days I was up there.  I thought my head was going to explode. Begs.  Hot dishes.  Holy shit.  They were all Swedes and Norwegians, though.  Two variants of Hanson/en.

To be fair, they're as annoyed by your accent as you are of theirs.  They'll just never say it out loud.

I have a few words in my lexicon that probably sound pretty close to them (anything with a long "O" in it), as the northern few counties of Iowa pull some of that accent in, so I can be a hair defensive.  But Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeous are remarkably accurate with accent and local vernacular.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Al_4_ISU

[wd40 1976]

fuckin finally.  not my fastest run, but it was clean when it mattered.

sometimes, the hardest battles are in your own head.

 

[Stinkpalm 675]

2021 Scott genius. Picked it up yesterday and broke it in today by going over the bars on Northshore. Boneheaded mistake where I came in too hot on a drop into a creek crossing, which pushed me too far left and high into a right turn down into the creek. Over corrected in the air and dug the front wheel into the loose gravel at the bottom. Obliterated my helmet but no worse for the wear otherwise. Just another reminder of how important it is to ALWAYS wear your helmet. Very happy with the new ride though. It chewed up the rocks and roots and bit hard on the corners no matter how hard I leaned into them.