The Surly Mountain Biking Thread

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

2 minutes ago, Stinkpalm said:

Ah, okay. Had a feeling that must have been where I missed the turn-off, but hadn’t studied the trail map since riding it. 
 

And yeah, those features are pretty damn fun. Gave the wooden jump line a couple go’s and made a fool out of my self as always,  but enjoyed the hell out of the other stuff

Reason I mentioned it, is that you keep seeing those blue stakes, that I think have something to do with the disc golf, as you keep going around the circle.  Those are what pulled me off into the "wrong" parts of the trail.  

But if you just keep following the tread, it's easy enough.

[Braff Zacklin 13,676]

Trails here in SE Idaho won't be ridable until well into March. But being home and with another week before I've got to go back to work, might as well make the most of it, beardsicles and all.

Happy 2022, you dirt-loving, spandex-wearing, thrill-seeking fools!!

Edited January 1, 2022 by Braff Zacklin

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Rode Harry Moss today.  Did the first two loops pretty fast, for me.  Felt pretty good on the rest of it, but slowed down considerably, which kind of bummed me out.  I still think I may be gearing a bit high, but the fast part was the twistiest (Orange Loop), so I dunno.

Right after a kind of blind descent (Green Loop), they added a pretty tall and very exposed section that caught me a little off guard.  I had already charged up the thing when I decided I might ought to stop and kind of check it out before proceeding.  Well, I had already climbed it, the rest was descent, but I really dislike starting from a stop on a descent, particularly when it's exposed like that.  So I walked it down. 

It's not that big a deal, but took me by surprise, as it might some other metroplex riders.  It looks like the kind of thing that was already there, but is about twice as high, and the exposed side is very steep.

Walking part of that slowed me down some, and I did take a couple of breaks for no real good reason except that I was very slightly overdressed, warm and thirsty.  Alltrails attempts to keep track of moving time, but I think it probably misses a few beats and penalizes stops.

[sasquatch69 627]

14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Right after a kind of blind descent (Green Loop), they added a pretty tall and very exposed section that caught me a little off guard.  I had already charged up the thing when I decided I might ought to stop and kind of check it out before proceeding.  Well, I had already climbed it, the rest was descent, but I really dislike starting from a stop on a descent, particularly when it's exposed like that.  So I walked it down. 

 

Is that the rerouted section that runs alongside the SoPac trail embankment? If so, it caught me off guard a couple weeks ago as well. 
 

Even after riding it numerous times, I still struggle with the rooty up and down section on the blue loop right before you turn right and go under the bridge. 

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

8 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Is that the rerouted section that runs alongside the SoPac trail embankment? If so, it caught me off guard a couple weeks ago as well. 
 

Even after riding it numerous times, I still struggle with the rooty up and down section on the blue loop right before you turn right and go under the bridge. 

Yes, that's what I am referring to.  One thing I didn't notice is whether the "lower," old part is still there?  I just kind of impulsively took the new route, started climbing and said, "whoa, I might need to take a look at this," and by the time I stopped, I was already at the top.

Basically, the last two or three "switchbacks" at the top of the little climbs at the end of blue give me fits from time to time.  I stall out on the roots, or fuck up the turn or something.  I feel pretty good if I manage to "clean" all that.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Let's talk tire pressure.  I saw an article bringing it up that referred to the "stan's chart."  https://www.singletracks.com/progression/how-much-air-pressure-for-mountain-bike-tires/

After I went tubeless, and particularly when I got phat-ass tires (2.6 front 2.5 rear), I went super-low on pressure, like sub 20 psi.  That was based partly on being an idiot and looking at what ewoks and manlets were running on mtbr, without listing their weights.  wd40 told me I was an idiot, appropriately, and so I cut that out.

I'm close to a clyde at 200+/- and currently run around 20 front and 28 or so rear,   I don't ride enough chunk fast enough apparently, or jump, to get rim strikes up front, and it seems to just blob over most everything in a pleasing fashion. Probably sacrifice some steering precision, but it's not noticeably wobbly most of the time.

The chart quoted above is oldish, and probably is referring to 2.2 or smaller tires, but has higher pressures than I would have expected.

[Braff Zacklin 13,676]

Pressure is entirely personal. There are guidelines, of course, but nobody can accurately determine how much air in your tires is best for you but you.

The more you weigh, the chunkier your trails, the faster/harder you ride (e.g., hitting jumps, drops, or really carving turns) are all gonna require more air.

Tire size and volume also play a huge part. Skinny tires with low-volume casings need more air than plus/mid-fat tires. But too little pressure in those bigger tires means your sidewalls will be weak and flexy even if you're not pinching, and too much pressure on narrow rubber and you'll be bouncing off every rock and root you come across before your suspension has had a chance to react.

If your rides have been pleasant (i.e., no snakebites or burps and not too squishy nor too stiff) at the pressures you're currently running, then I'd say you have it dialed in.

Experiment a bit, of course, but in small increments. A pound or two more one day, a pound or two less the next.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

9 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Pressure is entirely personal. There are guidelines, of course, but nobody can accurately determine how much air in your tires is best for you but you.

The more you weigh, the chunkier your trails, the faster/harder you ride (e.g., hitting jumps, drops, or really carving turns) are all gonna require more air.

Tire size and volume also play a huge part. Skinny tires with low-volume casings need more air than plus/mid-fat tires. But too little pressure in those bigger tires means your sidewalls will be weak and flexy even if you're not pinching, and too much pressure on narrow rubber and you'll be bouncing off every rock and root you come across before your suspension has had a chance to react.

If your rides have been pleasant (i.e., no snakebites or burps and not too squishy nor too stiff) at the pressures you're currently running, then I'd say you have it dialed in.

Experiment a bit, of course, but in small increments. A pound or two more one day, a pound or two less the next.

Solid advice.  Thought it was a worthwhile topic to see what people are riding.

[KuЯdt 248]

Agree with Braff re: tire pressure, and there are a number of variables that go into it.  I'm running a 2.5 front, 2.4 rear and most of the time i'm about the same as you with 20/28.  That changes based on what trails I'm riding though along with conditions.  And if I know I'm going to be riding high speed chunky downhills, I'm definitely running more pressure at least in the rear.  Earlier this year I was running at not quite enough pressure on a downhill run in New Mexico and dinged my rim on a hard hit at high speed.  Luckily that happened to be my last ride of the day on the last day of the trip.

I will admit though that I mostly go by feel with the squeeze test, and I don't know how accurate the gauge on my pump really is.  Recently I got one of those quick read digital gauges so I could keep tabs on it more closely, but I keep forgetting to check it.

[wd40 1,976]

the way I approach it is to run the highest pressure I can get away with.  it's just faster, and holds up better on drops and high-speed corners, as mentioned above.  nowadays, for me, that's about 30lbs.  if it's a sort of wet day, or extra-dry and dusty I'll let out some air until I'm hooking up for the particular trail.  

funny you mention gauges and squeezing:  my old floor pump's dial went out of cal, a while back.  I would squeeze to double check it.  turns out my my hand sort of had a mind of its own and wasn't applying consistent pressure, over time.  it was like, "yup!  feels good!".  turns out I had trended downward around 10psi without even realizing it.  was wondering why the bike felt so sloppy.  comes in handy for The Stranger, I suppose.

[wd40 1,976]

made it back up to RPR, today.  only place I knew'd have perfect traction, despite the moisture yesterday.  they're building another jump line, bigger than Patron, from the looks of it.  maybe some day, but I don't even do Patron (because rolling jump lines is a waste of time) so it'd be a lonnnng way off.

anyway, this is mostly Vulture.  I don't think it gets a lot of traffic, except for races.  it's just not what the kids are into, these days, but I love it.  tried some off the bike shots to show how how steep it is.  failed, as usual.  but it's funny to see yourself in 3rd person.  see all kinds of moves you're not even aware you're making.

 

btw, this was also a test run of some riding pants I just bought:  100% Airmatic.  worked great.  zero binding, full freedom of movement.  they even fit over my kneepads.  much better than Peter Pan pants.  great for really cold days.  size chart was difficult to figure out, but I ended up just ordering a size up from what I think it said I should get, worked out perfectly.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

On 1/8/2022 at 5:11 AM, wd40 said:

the way I approach it is to run the highest pressure I can get away with.  it's just faster, and holds up better on drops and high-speed corners, as mentioned above.  nowadays, for me, that's about 30lbs.  if it's a sort of wet day, or extra-dry and dusty I'll let out some air until I'm hooking up for the particular trail.  

funny you mention gauges and squeezing:  my old floor pump's dial went out of cal, a while back.  I would squeeze to double check it.  turns out my my hand sort of had a mind of its own and wasn't applying consistent pressure, over time.  it was like, "yup!  feels good!".  turns out I had trended downward around 10psi without even realizing it.  was wondering why the bike felt so sloppy.  comes in handy for The Stranger, I suppose.

Yeah, I should probably state that I have no faith in the accuracy of my gauge.  I haven't tested it against anything.  But I think it is repeatable.  I would guess that it reads a tad low.  So my 20/28 is probably more like 22/30.  

And I am guilty of handsing it, also.  And know that my hand is not a very good gauge at all.  But, if either tire feels a little soft, I'll go ahead and pump em up.

[KuЯdt 248]

22 hours ago, wd40 said:

made it back up to RPR, today.  only place I knew'd have perfect traction, despite the moisture yesterday.  they're building another jump line, bigger than Patron, from the looks of it.  maybe some day, but I don't even do Patron (because rolling jump lines is a waste of time) so it'd be a lonnnng way off.

anyway, this is mostly Vulture.  I don't think it gets a lot of traffic, except for races.  it's just not what the kids are into, these days, but I love it.  tried some off the bike shots to show how how steep it is.  failed, as usual.  but it's funny to see yourself in 3rd person.  see all kinds of moves you're not even aware you're making.

 

btw, this was also a test run of some riding pants I just bought:  100% Airmatic.  worked great.  zero binding, full freedom of movement.  they even fit over my kneepads.  much better than Peter Pan pants.  great for really cold days.  size chart was difficult to figure out, but I ended up just ordering a size up from what I think it said I should get, worked out perfectly.

Nice ridin' there Johnny.

So how exactly do you get to Vulture?  I've seen videos of it before but have never come across it.  Looks like it might be up there near the top of RPR loop, maybe further up from Full Commando?  Kinda threw me off when it ended at a fenceline tho.

[wd40 1,976]

Vulture's  pretty far up Decision Point.  there's a sign for it on DP Trail, but of course that doesn't tell the whole story.  you follow that jeep road about 75 yards toward the big rock pile.  that rock pile is where the start of Vulture is.  you actually cross Super D from that jeep road to get to it.  in the video at about 2:10, there's a run up to a steep ramp thing over a boulder on Super D, with the big rock pile on your left.  right about where that video segment starts is next to the path up onto a shelf for the Vulture start.  it's not easy to see, and if you can ride up that path thru the cactus, rocks and grass, you are a true stud mtber in my book.  see pic below.  I'm not good with words.

the end of Vulture is fairly close to the end of SuperD.  riding along that high fence, you'll come to a burned out car near the base of a dam for a stock tank.   follow the fence on your left, up the steep grind to a deer stand and you're very close to Race Loop and Blue Loop, iirc.  basically, after you do those two 3-footers on SuperD to the finish, the end of Vulture is about 100yds to your left. I think you can see the stock tank as your coming down SuperD.

but now you've got me wondering about Full Commando.  only done it once.  isn't it somewhere below the 'chapel'?

 

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Went and rode Katie Jackson today.  Felt "steezy" again, but this time managed somehow to fulfill the feeling.  Was almost 2mph faster than the prior two times I was bitching about my disappointing speed.  I did try to avoid going too high with the gears, so maybe that's the difference.  And I looked at a split after doing Red, Black, and the partial Blue, which is probably the twistiest part and was pretty fast for me, that dropped off a bit on the climbier, more technical Yellow, which also has some twisty parts.

And, I had a fairly longish road ride yesterday.

Who knows, man.

[KuЯdt 248]

11 hours ago, wd40 said:

Vulture's  pretty far up Decision Point.  there's a sign for it on DP Trail, but of course that doesn't tell the whole story.  you follow that jeep road about 75 yards toward the big rock pile.  that rock pile is where the start of Vulture is.  you actually cross Super D from that jeep road to get to it.  in the video at about 2:10, there's a run up to a steep ramp thing over a boulder on Super D, with the big rock pile on your left.  right about where that video segment starts is next to the path up onto a shelf for the Vulture start.  it's not easy to see, and if you can ride up that path thru the cactus, rocks and grass, you are a true stud mtber in my book.  see pic below.  I'm not good with words.

the end of Vulture is fairly close to the end of SuperD.  riding along that high fence, you'll come to a burned out car near the base of a dam for a stock tank.   follow the fence on your left, up the steep grind to a deer stand and you're very close to Race Loop and Blue Loop, iirc.  basically, after you do those two 3-footers on SuperD to the finish, the end of Vulture is about 100yds to your left. I think you can see the stock tank as your coming down SuperD.

but now you've got me wondering about Full Commando.  only done it once.  isn't it somewhere below the 'chapel'?

 

Excellent, thanks for the info.  I'm planning to get back out there sometime soon-ish and I'll check it out.  I guess I've unknowingly ridden right past it a number of times, but I see now how I would never have noticed it.

 

As for Full Commando, it's sort of across to the east from Vulture off of RPR Loop.  The way I get there is by riding the Race Loop clockwise from the gate and turn onto RPR Loop.  Not far up RPR (like maybe a half mile if that), you'll start to get on the granite and there's a spot where you will notice one or 2 of those orange arrows.  RPR loop kind of winds across and generally up, but if you go straight up the hill from there, you'll see more of those arrows.  I just kind of try to follow those up to the "top" of that trail.  In true RPR fashion, it's somewhat hard to find and follow.  And if you recall once you're heading back down Full Commando, you'll pass through the spot where you entered off RPR loop and it dead ends back into Race Loop.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

How much do y'all stand and pedal?

I'm out of the saddle a fair amount, obviously, for descents and technical stuff, but don't standing pedal often, except maybe to surmount a climb, usually when I'm overgeared, or if it's so steep I need the weight on the front wheel.  And that's part of my aversion to standing pedaling:  I am conditioned now to keep my weight back on everything but climbs.  And standing to pedal tends to put my weight forward, which feels dangerous, except on flat, pretty smooth terrain, and climbs.  Not to mention the increased potential for pedal strikes.  Hell, it feels strange on pavement on the single speed.

And DFW trails require a lot of pedaling.  There's just not enough sustained descent to remain out of the saddle for long and needing a few pedal strokes.  So sit n spin it is.

But I may not be a very good standing pedaler.  So, I tried doing more standing pedaling on the single speed on the road so I could focus on form.  That's a bit less than ideal, because I can't upshift, so at some point I am going to start bouncing pretty good, no matter how good my form (at least I think?).   And pedaling from near the attack position seems hard and awkward and inherently "bouncy," meaning hips oscillating up and down over the saddle.

My standing pedaling experiment has caused some hip soreness, I'm pretty sure from the aforementioned bouncing.  Maybe this is a fool's errand.

Edited January 14, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[sasquatch69 627]

3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

How much do y'all stand and pedal?

I'm out of the saddle a fair amount, obviously, for descents and technical stuff, but don't standing pedal often, except maybe to surmount a climb, usually when I'm overgeared, or if it's so steep I need the weight on the front wheel.  And that's part of my aversion to standing pedaling:  I am conditioned now to keep my weight back on everything but climbs.  And standing to pedal tends to put my weight forward, which feels dangerous, except on flat, pretty smooth terrain, and climbs.  Not to mention the increased potential for pedal strikes.

And DFW trails require a lot of pedaling.  There's just not enough sustained descent to remain out of the saddle for long and needing a few pedal strokes.  So sit n spin it is.

But I may not be a very good standing pedaler.  So, I tried doing more standing pedaling on the single speed on the road so I could focus on form.  That's a bit less than ideal, because I can't upshift, so at some point I am going to start bouncing pretty good, no matter how good my form (at least I think?). 

My standing pedaling experiment has caused some hip soreness, I'm pretty sure from the aforementioned bouncing.  Maybe this is a fool's errand.

I find myself standing more now than I used to, particularly over small wooden features, etc. (like the little up-and-overs on blue/black trails at KJ), so I can pedal and get some good momentum coming off of them.  I also find myself dropping my butt back off the seat more now on drops.  One of these days I should probably spring for a dropper mechanism/post.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

8 minutes ago, sasquatch69 said:

I find myself standing more now than I used to, particularly over small wooden features, etc. (like the little up-and-overs on blue/black trails at KJ), so I can pedal and get some good momentum coming off of them.  I also find myself dropping my butt back off the seat more now on drops.  One of these days I should probably spring for a dropper mechanism/post.

Like some, I actually use the saddle to locate my ass relative to the frame.  I think the real benefit of a dropper comes when you are carrying speed into turns and chunk and stuff where you need to let the bike move under you and there are comparatively few opportunities to do that here.  Or on extended descents.

The series of features on Gateway Park might be something of an exception to that.  Maybe the stuff on some of the loops at Big Cedar and the little jump line at OCNP.

And I guess I mean more than a couple of pedal strokes.  Like somewhat extended sprinting or just building big speed and momentum.

I also stand on "launch" from a stop fairly often, but only for a few strokes usually.  That's one of the reasons I dislike starting from a stop on a descent:  I'd like to stand for a few strokes, especially if I stopped in a highish gear, to get some quick momentum, but a lot of the time that seems inadvisable on descents, so if, for some reason, I find myself stopped at the top of a descent or in the middle, I'm fucking walking down.

Edited January 14, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Speaking of long riding pants, this came across my google feed:

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/affordable-mtb-pants-from-target/

I have a couple of pairs of "synthetic" stretchy, semi-cargo-type, pants from Wrangler, and, for the money, they are really pretty good for hiking, shooting, outdoor type stuff and they look ok, too.  I don't wear them riding, but probably could and might take a flyer on these pants.

As I think I mentioned upthread, I got some "compression tights" or pantyhose or whatever and find them to be quite a good thing for cool weather riding.

Edited January 14, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[sasquatch69 627]

@TwiceHorn, thanks for the Gateway Park rec. I had a day off today, so I headed over to FW to check it out and wasn’t disappointed. Did west loop twice and east loop once (including the new Wax Loop that was added on recently) for a total of 10.4mi.
West was fantastic and easy to navigate even on the first go-around (though I skipped most of the features). The first half of East was easy, but then I hit the “Eddie’s Revenge” climb section which was really tough. I had to walk a few spots but got through it. The views of downtown at the top were worth it (basically, the highest point is right off I-30). 
I can’t wait to go back.

 

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Great pics.  Glad you enjoyed it.  Stinkpalm is really responsible for bringing it up, I just rode it more recently.

I have not ridden East Loop.

[Stinkpalm 697]

16 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Speaking of long riding pants, this came across my google feed:

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/affordable-mtb-pants-from-target/

I have a couple of pairs of "synthetic" stretchy, semi-cargo-type, pants from Wrangler, and, for the money, they are really pretty good for hiking, shooting, outdoor type stuff and they look ok, too.  I don't wear them riding, but probably could and might take a flyer on these pants.

As I think I mentioned upthread, I got some "compression tights" or pantyhose or whatever and find them to be quite a good thing for cool weather riding.

That’s crazy that other MTBers are riding with these as well (the ATGs). I randomly grabbed a couple pairs of them online a couple years ago for non-riding purposes. After receiving them, I immediately noticed they’d make pretty good riding pants, since they have some stretch and are pretty slim below the knee. I’ve been wearing them exclusively when riding in cold weather ever since. Everybody has their own preferences when it comes to riding clothing, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed 

 

Also, finally found my single speed a couple weeks ago. It’s been pretty damn fun running the boy around the neighborhood on it.  Really tempted to take it out on one of the tamer trails (likely River Legacy) and see what it can handle (or more accurately… what I can handle on it). Gonna need to slap a flat bar on it before I do though. The BMX style bar is perfect for keeping me positioned up above the kiddo’s shotgun seat, but feels awkward as hell otherwise.
 

Seller’s pic:

[Stinkpalm 697]

5 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

@TwiceHorn, thanks for the Gateway Park rec. I had a day off today, so I headed over to FW to check it out and wasn’t disappointed. Did west loop twice and east loop once (including the new Wax Loop that was added on recently) for a total of 10.4mi.
West was fantastic and easy to navigate even on the first go-around (though I skipped most of the features). The first half of East was easy, but then I hit the “Eddie’s Revenge” climb section which was really tough. I had to walk a few spots but got through it. The views of downtown at the top were worth it (basically, the highest point is right off I-30). 
I can’t wait to go back.

 

I’ve gotta get back over there. Been short on time lately, so just been rotating between northshore and horseshoe since they’re right next door. But curiosity about the east side is becoming an itch I need to scratch, and those photos don’t help.

[Stinkpalm 697]

3 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

That’s crazy that other MTBers are riding with these as well (the ATGs). I randomly grabbed a couple pairs of them online a couple years ago for non-riding purposes. After receiving them, I immediately noticed they’d make pretty good riding pants, since they have some stretch and are pretty slim below the knee. I’ve been wearing them exclusively when riding in cold weather ever since. Everybody has their own preferences when it comes to riding clothing, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed 

 

Also, finally found my single speed a couple weeks ago. It’s been pretty damn fun running the boy around the neighborhood on it.  Really tempted to take it out on one of the tamer trails (likely River Legacy) and see what it can handle (or more accurately… what I can handle on it). Gonna need to slap a flat bar on it before I do though. The BMX style bar is perfect for keeping me positioned up above the kiddo’s shotgun seat, but feels awkward as hell otherwise.
 

Seller’s pic:

Posted original comment before actually reading through the article, just saw “Wrangler” and “ATG”. Didn’t realize there were actually multiple options of these pants. After reading the article, I realized they focused on the “jogger” style. Just wanted to note that I didn’t get the jogger version. And honestly, unless you are into the jogger pants look, you don’t have to get that version. The ones I bought do not have the integrated belt or the cinch cuffs, but are slim fit and a little slimmer but not tight at the bottom (don’t recall which ATG they are off hand). I do wear a nylon belt with them, but with most everyone riding 1X drivetrains, getting cuffs caught in the chainring isn’t an issue these days, and the cuffs on mine don’t seem to be quite loose enough that they’d be an issue even if that weren’t the case. I have yet to snag a chainring or low branch in the hundreds of miles I’ve logged in them. Scrolled through some of the comments in the article and it sounds like many of the commenters wear the same version that I wear. Just food for thought if you’re like me and think the “jogger” look is a little goofy. 

[sasquatch69 627]

5 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

I’ve gotta get back over there. Been short on time lately, so just been rotating between northshore and horseshoe since they’re right next door. But curiosity about the east side is becoming an itch I need to scratch, and those photos don’t help.

It’s definitely a challenge (and I don't feel I did it justice), but worth your time. And thanks to you as well for putting Gateway on my radar!

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

On 1/15/2022 at 4:10 AM, Stinkpalm said:

Posted original comment before actually reading through the article, just saw “Wrangler” and “ATG”. Didn’t realize there were actually multiple options of these pants. After reading the article, I realized they focused on the “jogger” style. Just wanted to note that I didn’t get the jogger version. And honestly, unless you are into the jogger pants look, you don’t have to get that version. The ones I bought do not have the integrated belt or the cinch cuffs, but are slim fit and a little slimmer but not tight at the bottom (don’t recall which ATG they are off hand). I do wear a nylon belt with them, but with most everyone riding 1X drivetrains, getting cuffs caught in the chainring isn’t an issue these days, and the cuffs on mine don’t seem to be quite loose enough that they’d be an issue even if that weren’t the case. I have yet to snag a chainring or low branch in the hundreds of miles I’ve logged in them. Scrolled through some of the comments in the article and it sounds like many of the commenters wear the same version that I wear. Just food for thought if you’re like me and think the “jogger” look is a little goofy. 

I bought a pair of the joggers because they were on sale for under $20 when I looked.  I quite like them, but wish the pockets were zippered (but I tend to use the chest pocket on my fleece for phone and can put keys and wallet in under-seat bag).  Haven't worn them riding yet, though.  I find the "half belt" to be an advantage because it leaves the waist with some give.  I feel like wearing a belt would be kind of a bummer and cut me in the waist.  I wear the other pants, which do need a belt, shooting airgun field target, which involves a lot of sitting and standing and find a belt to be annoying in that way.

Although they are pretty slim in the legs, and that may not be necessary for riding 1x, as you note, I don't think they're weird looking.  Wife actually approves (maybe she secretly wants me in skinny jeans or something).

One thing that seems really nice about these is that the fabric, although synthetic, has some texture to it.  Most of my synthetic pants, worn with synthetic underpants, have a tendency to slide down, and that's true of chamois underpants, too.  All the moving around over and on the saddle has a tendency to pull my shorts down so every time I stop, I'm hitching them up.

These kind of "tactical" or "technical" pants have come pretty close to replacing jeans in my wardrobe, and khakis, too, at least for "utility" wear.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Rode Erwin Park in McKinney yesterday.  I have ridden it a couple of times by myself, but these guys knew it better.

Has some fun parts, but several pretty long field sections, some of which can be bypassed.  I don't like field sections much, although they are tolerable when it's not ass hot.

Also, no sustained climbs, really, but a lot of places where you have to put down some power for bits.  A bit of a workout.  It's also 30+ miles away.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Thought this was interesting: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/bikes-and-biking/fillmore-bike-valve-tubeless-tire-test/

A new valve design with greater flow to make tubeless seating easier.  Fiddy bucks a pair, though.

[midtown 3,357]

I thrashed these out. Just a tad bent. Most of the damage was probably rider error. Back to my Chesters

[Al_4_ISU 12,665]

First snow ride of the year

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

Oh wow, forgot you even had the fatbike.

Does anything in the woods get real slippery?

[Al_4_ISU 12,665]

Oh wow, forgot you even had the fatbike.
Does anything in the woods get real slippery?

All of it. Every little incline is insane because you start spinning if you don’t have studs (which I don’t). You don’t get a lot of miles in, but it’s a crazy good workout.

I’m a pretty avid XC skier so when conditions are good for skiing I don’t bike much. The pictures make it look like we have more snow than we actually do, and the worm has kind of turned where the skiing isn’t that good, but the fat biking conditions are still pretty prime.

[wd40 1,976]

got some of what passes for snow around here, this morning.  crunching through packed sleet and ice.  traction was surprisingly good, except on some of the fast, flat corners that had fully melted.  no down trees, which was good.

most of the little frosty crystals that were standing up on my tires had melted by the time I got my phone out of my pack for this pic.

[sasquatch69 627]

Jonesing to get back out on the D/FW-area trails, especially with the gorgeous weather on tap for this week - and everything's still closed due to mud.  Hoping Northshore/Horseshoe will flip to green soon, as they're usually the first to do so.  Tyler's trails went green this morning, but no time to make that drive.

[Stinkpalm 697]

Same, man… same. I’ve been checking the DORBA app like a crack addict. Cedar hill SP opened this morning, everything else is still red, so I guess I’ll be heading to Cedar Hood this evening 

[sasquatch69 627]

20 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

Same, man… same. I’ve been checking the DORBA app like a crack addict. Cedar hill SP opened this morning, everything else is still red, so I guess I’ll be heading to Cedar Hood this evening 

Northshore and Horseshoe JUST flipped to green.  Thinking I may need to duck out on my final meetings this afternoon

[Al_4_ISU 12,665]

You guys and your week-long trail closures.

We're in a real wild period weatherwise.  It's around 20 right now and we're supposed to hit around 40 tonight.  It's supposed to snow this evening (whilst in the high 30's), and then turn into rain as the temp rises.  It should be back under freezing by noon tomorrow, which is when I'm eyeing a fatty ride.  Then a cold front is supposed to come through and take us to single digit highs for the weekend before warming up next week, snowing a bunch in the middle of the week, and then getting up into the 40's the following week.  

Just a damn mess.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

22 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

Same, man… same. I’ve been checking the DORBA app like a crack addict. Cedar hill SP opened this morning, everything else is still red, so I guess I’ll be heading to Cedar Hood this evening 

 

2 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Northshore and Horseshoe JUST flipped to green.  Thinking I may need to duck out on my final meetings this afternoon

These are the times I'm glad to have the ss roadie.  Work and life have been busy, too, so I am glad to be able to ride for an hour in an hour.

Edited February 10, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[Stinkpalm 697]

2 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Northshore and Horseshoe JUST flipped to green.  Thinking I may need to duck out on my final meetings this afternoon

Hell yeah! Think I’m gonna hit up northshore around 2:30-3ish 

 

34 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

2 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

 

These are the times I'm glad to have the ss roadie.  Work and life have been busy, too, so I am glad to be able to ride for an hour in an hour

I hear ya. Been so busy between work, daddy day-care, and trips out of town that I hadn’t made it to the trails in about a month. Finally had some chances over this past week to get away for rides, so it only makes sense that the trails would all be closed. Running the boy around the neighborhood on the ss has definitely been nice and hopefully kept me in decent shape, but it just doesn’t quite give me the juice like trail rides do. 

[sasquatch69 627]

21 hours ago, Stinkpalm said:

Hell yeah! Think I’m gonna hit up northshore around 2:30-3ish 

 

I hear ya. Been so busy between work, daddy day-care, and trips out of town that I hadn’t made it to the trails in about a month. Finally had some chances over this past week to get away for rides, so it only makes sense that the trails would all be closed. Running the boy around the neighborhood on the ss has definitely been nice and hopefully kept me in decent shape, but it just doesn’t quite give me the juice like trail rides do. 

I ended up doing 8mi at Horseshoe last night at sunset - was glorious.

Northshore drama on the DORBA FB page - one of the stewards posted that there's a lot of damage from folks who kept riding past the CLOSED signs this past week, and in the comments someone outed a dude who posted a photo of himself next to the closed sign on his Strava ride, and the pile-on commenced - and then he started threatening a fight with anyone who dared to challenge him in person about it.  As much as I love MTB, I really don't like some MTBers. 

[rage-a-holic 4,745]

Anyone familiar with this Specialized model? The owner doesn't know anything about it, might be a good deal. We're trying to replace the ones we had stolen last month.

 

[Al_4_ISU 12,665]

Another snow ride today. Highs have been close to 40 this week, and a cold front rolled in this AM and everything was refreezing. It was dicey as hell, but a good ride nonetheless on the newest trail system in the area (Osage, IA). Nice little singletrack system that ties into a 10 mile long crushed gravel trail.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

9 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

I ended up doing 8mi at Horseshoe last night at sunset - was glorious.

Northshore drama on the DORBA FB page - one of the stewards posted that there's a lot of damage from folks who kept riding past the CLOSED signs this past week, and in the comments someone outed a dude who posted a photo of himself next to the closed sign on his Strava ride, and the pile-on commenced - and then he started threatening a fight with anyone who dared to challenge him in person about it.  As much as I love MTB, I really don't like some MTBers. 

What did you do to make Horseshoe 8 miles?  Cut out to one of the fire roads at some point?  I did that once when I found myself going the wrong way on a loop and dumped myself out in a residential area with a pretty good ride back to the trailhead.

I rode Katie Jackson today.  First trail ride in a couple of weeks, although I have been roading some.

Don't know what it is, but I have less motivation to repeat loops than maybe ever in my MTB career.  I am trying to go a little harder, but it's not being tired, exactly, just, lazy and bored.  For the first time ever in about 8 years of riding, the close-by trails in KJ and Harry Moss are starting to bore me a little.

Yeah, some of the mtb'ers seem like real meatheads.  I have come across some that seem that way, but are friendly and cool.  

What kind of damage?  Ruts?

Edited February 12, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[sasquatch69 627]

Yes, Northshore issue was big time ruts in several spots.

As for Horseshoe, my route:

- warmup by riding the parking lot loop out to the boathouses and back;

- do the full compliment of loops (including Bat Field), which is right at ~5mi. 
- Start again and then bail out to the paved road before Tubes 2, then do the parking lot loop again to wind down.

Alternatively, you can go right instead of left at the creek crossing near the beginning of Rocky Ridge loop, and that takes you right to the first creek crossing on Forest loop (near the very beginning), then do the whole thing again - that ends up around 8mi as well.

[Braff Zacklin 13,676]

10 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Anyone familiar with this Specialized model? The owner doesn't know anything about it, might be a good deal. We're trying to replace the ones we had stolen last month.

 

Condolences on your misfortune. May the thieves ride seated yet with no saddle.

The used bike pictured confuses me. It's certainly very old, and although the frame says Specialized Hardrock, the "triple triangle" is more reminiscent of a GT design. So I've got nothing. The bike archive at the Spesh website only goes back to 2005 and there's nothing that looks like that, so my best guess is at least a 2004 model.

Would it still work for you? Probably. I wouldn't pay much for it and I wouldn't bother upgrading it beyond getting rid of those lethal toe baskets and replacing the tires and brake pads.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

5 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Condolences on your misfortune. May the thieves ride seated yet with no saddle.

The used bike pictured confuses me. It's certainly very old, and although the frame says Specialized Hardrock, the "triple triangle" is more reminiscent of a GT design. So I've got nothing. The bike archive at the Spesh website only goes back to 2005 and there's nothing that looks like that, so my best guess is at least a 2004 model.

Would it still work for you? Probably. I wouldn't pay much for it and I wouldn't bother upgrading it beyond getting rid of those lethal toe baskets and replacing the tires and brake pads.

Yeah confounding.  Just about everything about that bike screams "rim brakes."  But lo, there are discs.  And the fork and stem, although long, looks more modern than that era of bike.

[rage-a-holic 4,745]

6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Yeah confounding.  Just about everything about that bike screams "rim brakes."  But lo, there are discs.  And the fork and stem, although long, looks more modern than that era of bike.

Yeah, that's what made me think it was relatively new. The problem here in Mexico is that many thieves repaint a cheap stolen bike with new paint/stickers/decals from high end brand names. It looks like a Specialized Hardrock, except for the frame.

[TwiceHorn 32,108]

3 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

Yeah, that's what made me think it was relatively new. The problem here in Mexico is that many thieves repaint a cheap stolen bike with new paint/stickers/decals from high end brand names. It looks like a Specialized Hardrock, except for the frame.

Well, Braff is right that that seems like a GT, and they make solid bikes/frames.  Aluminum, I suppose?

I guess it could be a copy of a GT, decaled to look like a Spesh.

The only real concern, I'd think, is that the aluminum frame is fatigued.  That will depend on how hard it's been ridden.  And whether that matters much is how hard you will ride it.

[Stinkpalm 697]

12 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

I ended up doing 8mi at Horseshoe last night at sunset - was glorious.

Northshore drama on the DORBA FB page - one of the stewards posted that there's a lot of damage from folks who kept riding past the CLOSED signs this past week, and in the comments someone outed a dude who posted a photo of himself next to the closed sign on his Strava ride, and the pile-on commenced - and then he started threatening a fight with anyone who dared to challenge him in person about it.  As much as I love MTB, I really don't like some MTBers. 

Yeah, I rode it yesterday afternoon and you could tell that there were many riders who were ignorant of the trail being closed, or just didn’t care. Quite a few spots of heavy rutting that had already hardened. It is what it is… our little sport got super popular as a way for people to get out of the house during early covid, and a huge influx of new riders brings more people that more mirrors a cross-section of our society instead of traditional mountain bikers … including some that just care about their “feel goods” and not how it affects anyone that comes through later or has to put in manual labor to fix their damage. I don’t do the Facebook drama though, just shake my head and roll on. But yeah, that DORBA page is always drama. If it’s not bitching about riding closed trails, it’s strava dweebs complaining that slow riders or walkers were not moving out of their way, or that they “gasp” saw an e-bike on a trail that they’re not allowed on. I’ve always had great interactions with riders on the trails, but like with everything else, social media brings out the worst characters of the group and gives them center stage.