The Surly Mountain Biking Thread

[rage-a-holic 4745]

5 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

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.

I haven't seen the bike yet, the owner is a truck driver and is only around the weekends. And from looking at some older GT pics online, it's a either a repainted GT knockoff or a repainted GT Aggressor.

[Stinkpalm 697]

6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

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.

Definitely a repainted/rebranded GT, and therefore almost certainly stolen at some point. Looks like an older Zaskar, but I’m not sure when they stopped with the design of the top tube extending through the seat tube. 

[TwiceHorn 32108]

5 minutes ago, Stinkpalm said:

Definitely a repainted/rebranded GT, and therefore almost certainly stolen at some point. Looks like an older Zaskar, but I’m not sure when they stopped with the design of the top tube extending through the seat tube. 

Yep, and that's a sort of expensive way to build a frame.  Not something you'd want to knock off really.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Figured I would "circle back" on the replacement of my NX derailleur with GX.  It still has some difficulty coming off the biggest cog on my cassette when not under load, that is, when just spinning out trying to test it.  But, when I am actually using that biggest cog, it seems to come out alright.  

Really, though, how often do you need to upshift from 11 to 10?  Pretty much never, at least on the stuff I ride.  It executes the 11 to 9 or 8 shift nicely.

I am guessing that the hanger is ever-so-slightly bent and evades detection.  Or maybe it is something about the geometry of the frame.

The other 10 shifts, however, are considerably snappier than the NX at the time of its replacement, if not the NX generally.  I'm pretty happy with the replacement.

Edited February 13, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[midtown 3357]

The upgrade from the SX that came with my bike to GX was glorious. 

On the same note.  What is the best upgrade?  Should I take the rest of my drive train up to GX?  I think the bike shop said that it would require not only I upgrade the BB but also to upgrade the cassette I'll also have to upgrade the hub.  

[TwiceHorn 32108]

42 minutes ago, midtown said:

The upgrade from the SX that came with my bike to GX was glorious. 

On the same note.  What is the best upgrade?  Should I take the rest of my drive train up to GX?  I think the bike shop said that it would require not only I upgrade the BB but also to upgrade the cassette I'll also have to upgrade the hub.  

SX supposedly is tangibly shittier than NX, so that's not surprising.

I'm sort of opposed to upgrades just because.  I think most of that stuff is cosmetic/weight only.

Ironically, the NX shifter is the lightest SRAM shifter, because it has more plastic.  But, so far, it works fine, so I am not going to "upgrade" it to anything until it wears out/breaks.

Are you 12-spd?  Most of the upper-end 12-speed cassettes, that include a 10 tooth high gear (instead of 11), require SRAMs driver/hub or Shimano's Microspline, depending on which one you want to be married to.  I think I'd probably make more use of a 10-tooth than the lowest gear on a 12-speed, 46 or 52, I think.

[midtown 3357]

SRAM 12 speed 11-50T

Everything works fine.  Just bored and considering an upgrade for giggles.

Edited February 13, 2022 by midtown

[TwiceHorn 32108]

10 minutes ago, midtown said:

SRAM 12 speed 11-50T

Everything works fine.  Just bored and considering an upgrade for giggles.

Yeah, and then the question becomes can your current hub take the SRAM XD driver, and, if not, then you're looking at a new wheel/hub, and then two new wheels and so on and so on  . . . . .

[Al_4_ISU 12665]

Another snow ride today. It was too cold (0) to want to take pics, but we had a nice dusting last night that gave the trails some needed crunch.

I don’t know if it’s just getting stronger as a rider, but I’ve really enjoyed my snow rides this year. It’s a relief as I know I’ll keep getting max potential from my fatty and keep the winter blues away.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Fantastic 11 miler today at Rowlett Creek.  Weather sublime, trail just a hair drier than hero dirt.  I outran my younger riding buddy for the first time.  One of those days.

[sasquatch69 627]

Had a glorious ride on hero dirt at Big Cedar today, including Upper Ranger and trying out Barb Wire loop for the first time. It was fantastic - until my @$?!ing chain snapped. Second time in three days (Bike Mart supposedly fixed it yesterday, and I paid extra to get a more heavy-duty chain, so I’ll be marching it back in there tomorrow). Oh well, got almost six miles of riding in, and another 1.5 on foot hiking up and down the utility easement to get back to the trailhead…

 

[wd40 1976]

no bike shop is ever going to care as much about your bike as you do.  

I didn't start doing all my own wrenching because I'm a cheapskate (well, ok, I am, but that's beside the point).  I did it because I got tired of having experiences like that.

but, yes, was a great day to ride, if not film (high contrast shadows everywhere).  9.16 miles and 1189ft of climbing, today.

Edited February 14, 2022 by wd40

[TwiceHorn 32108]

1 minute ago, wd40 said:

no bike shop is ever going to care as much about your bike as you do.  

I didn't start doing all my own wrenching becauee I'm a cheapskate (well, ok, I am, but that's beside the point).  I did it because I got tired of having experiences like that.

but, yes, was a great day to ride, if not film (high contrast shadows everywhere).  9.16 miles and 1189ft of climbing, today.

Hnnngggg.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

59 minutes ago, sasquatch69 said:

Had a glorious ride on hero dirt at Big Cedar today, including Upper Ranger and trying out Barb Wire loop for the first time. It was fantastic - until my @$?!ing chain snapped. Second time in three days (Bike Mart supposedly fixed it yesterday, and I paid extra to get a more heavy-duty chain, so I’ll be marching it back in there tomorrow). Oh well, got almost six miles of riding in, and another 1.5 on foot hiking up and down the utility easement to get back to the trailhead…

 

Geez.  Did a removable link bust?  

I need a chain tool on my multi or in my bag.  Chains are normally pretty easy to deal with.

I wonder if chain is too short, maybe a 1x length and you're a 2x?

I guess you can still "cross-chain" on 2x.  How big is your cassette?

Edited February 14, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[sasquatch69 627]

43 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Geez.  Did a removable link bust?  

I need a chain tool on my multi or in my bag.  Chains are normally pretty easy to deal with.

I wonder if chain is too short, maybe a 1x length and you're a 2x?

I guess you can still "cross-chain" on 2x.  How big is your cassette?

Not sure. BM replaced it and tightened it up for a good fit, so I need to find out what’s going on. This is a good reminder that I need to really familiarize myself with basic maintenance stuff, and carry a tube, chain tool, etc. I’m pretty low-info beyond basic adjustments and tire air.

[sasquatch69 627]

14 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Not sure. BM replaced it and tightened it up for a good fit, so I need to find out what’s going on. This is a good reminder that I need to really familiarize myself with basic maintenance stuff, and carry a tube, chain tool, etc. I’m pretty low-info beyond basic adjustments and tire air.

Followup for anyone who cares:  Bike Mart covered another new chain and repairs this morning - they said it seems like a freak occurrence that the new chain failed so quickly, so they checked it out thoroughly.  The front crankset is a little worn but still in decent shape, and the rear cassette is fine.  I'd love to upgrade to a 1x SRAM but that has to hold off for a while.

Edited February 14, 2022 by sasquatch69

[TwiceHorn 32108]

6 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Followup for anyone who cares:  Bike Mart covered another new chain and repairs this morning - they said it seems like a freak occurrence that the new chain failed so quickly, so they checked it out thoroughly.  The front crankset is a little worn but still in decent shape, and the rear cassette is fine.  I'd love to upgrade to a 1x SRAM but that has to hold off for a while.

I suppose, if you aren't familiar, that you should be careful about being in small ring up front and small cog in back and vice versa, especially when putting down some power.  That can bust a chain easily on a 3x and may still be an issue on a 2x, but I'm not sure.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Quickie at Moss today.  Unlike past days, I didn't feel super-steezy, but I also flogged it a bit.  And obtained the kind of time and speed I kind of expected.  In the twisty parts, I was conscious of downshifting so I could accelerate out of the many turns and slowdowns, and then upshifted in the straighter parts, as opposed to carrying the higher gears that I am now more comfortable with after all the single-speed riding.

One odd thing, though.  I did a pretty typical route at Moss and my app measured it a little longer than usual (I think, that maybe accounted for by route differences).  Perhaps the bare trees (I think the ice denuded the trails to a greater degree than just winter usually does) are making the GPS more accurate.

And, I think I am finding that I am having a little more trouble getting the right gear for climbs, now that I likely carry a cog or two higher than I used to.  My usual downshifts aren't getting it done and I'm either stalling out or standing on it to finish climbs that I normally do with relative ease.  It's funny how you do those kind of subsconsciously and starting to have to think about them again kinda sucks.  But, I also notice that I can downshift a bit later with the GX than I would have been comfortable with with the NX.

[sasquatch69 627]

19 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Quickie at Moss today.  Unlike past days, I didn't feel super-steezy, but I also flogged it a bit.  And obtained the kind of time and speed I kind of expected.  In the twisty parts, I was conscious of downshifting so I could accelerate out of the many turns and slowdowns, and then upshifted in the straighter parts, as opposed to carrying the higher gears that I am now more comfortable with after all the single-speed riding.

One odd thing, though.  I did a pretty typical route at Moss and my app measured it a little longer than usual (I think, that maybe accounted for by route differences).  Perhaps the bare trees (I think the ice denuded the trails to a greater degree than just winter usually does) are making the GPS more accurate.

And, I think I am finding that I am having a little more trouble getting the right gear for climbs, now that I likely carry a cog or two higher than I used to.  My usual downshifts aren't getting it done and I'm either stalling out or standing on it to finish climbs that I normally do with relative ease.  It's funny how you do those kind of subsconsciously and starting to have to think about them again kinda sucks.  But, I also notice that I can downshift a bit later with the GX than I would have been comfortable with with the NX.

Ran out of time to ride yesterday, and feeling pretty puny today so I doubt I'll get a ride in before the cold front tonight, which sucks.

Also, I heard that a bunch of the trails at BC not officially owned/maintained by the church are on land now slated for development.  I guess that's a fairly open secret among local MTB circles, but still - best go ride out there and get the full experience while you can.  I'm incredibly bummed.

[Stinkpalm 697]

Rode two laps at horseshoe this evening. Sometimes your body feeling “right” and perfect riding weather overlap to produce an incredible ride, and that definitely happened today. As soon as I hit the little climbing entrance into the trail, I knew it was gonna be a damn good ride. Felt fast and smooth. Definitely needed that after a slog of a ride on northshore last week, where I just felt clunky and couldn’t find my rhythm. 
 

Damn, @sasquatch69, I hate hearing that. I absolutely love that trail. Just don’t normally have the time to get down there and get a decent ride in. Gonna have to make some time to ride it in full a couple more times , just in case

[TwiceHorn 32108]

I've noticed something kind of odd recently.  Sometimes, particularly on the single speed, I'll climb my first hill and feel kind of breathless and tired and think "uh oh, this is gonna be a slog today."  But later on in the ride, I'll feel better and do a more challenging climb and not feel breathless and tired.  The focus here being on the breathlessness, cardio aspect.

I am, of course, familiar with getting warmed up, but I tend to associate that more with muscles and joints than cardio.  I guess that's the "second wind," maybe.  But it's like my lungs open up.

I just have bad psychology associated with breathlessness that stems i think from childhood asthma.   And now, being older, I am actually afraid I'll die.  When I do a climb that takes me to a certain level of breathlessness I will want to quit before it gets any worse.  I look up at that crest a few hundred yards away and the roots and ledges and just say fuck it and stop, sometimes.  And, I will avoid trails that I otherwise enjoy, like Boulder or the East Loop of Gateway, because I am afraid of pussing out on the climbs, depending on how I feel about my conditioning.

But, climbing hills on the single speed has kind of helped.  I can't downshift, I don't have to worry about any technical features that will make me stop or crash, so I can just put my head down and pedal and breathe and tell myself I'm not going to die, probably, and climb that fucking hill.  I guess I can't really put my head down on the trail, but the better conditioning and focus on breathing I can apply.

[Al_4_ISU 12665]

A lot of the hills where I normally ride would be straight up impossible on a single speed and unless it was just geared crazy low.

One little trick that I've found that helps me get through bad climbs is something I picked up XC skiing.  Because you really have to keep your weight forward when climbing on skis to avoid sliding back down the hill, it focuses your head and eyes towards the ground immediately in front of you.  This keeps you from looking up at the crest of the climb and getting discouraged while simultaneously giving you better climbing form.

There are still a handful of grades in my main system that I simply can't scale.  Most of them on short stretches that require a 5-10 second walk, but they're still out there.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Al_4_ISU

[TwiceHorn 32108]

4 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

A lot of the hills where I normally ride would be straight up impossible on a single speed and unless it was just geared crazy low.

One little trick that I've found that helps me get through bad climbs is something I picked up XC skiing.  Because you really have to keep your weight forward when climbing on skis to avoid sliding back down the hill, it focuses your head and eyes towards the ground immediately in front of you.  This keeps you from looking up at the crest of the climb and getting discouraged while simultaneously giving you better climbing form.

There are still a handful of grades in my main system that I simply can't scale.  Most of them on short stretches that require a 5-10 second walk, but they're still out there.

Make no mistake, I'm talking about a single-speed road bike that I finally bought to give me something to do when the trails are wet. I'm not attempting to ride a single speed on the trails.  It is geared 44/17, which is kind of average, but there are enough hills and climbs on the streets around here to make it a bit challenging at times.  It has been revelatory to me about how lazy geared bikes have made me, among other things.  And, I rode it as a fixed-gear for a bit, which attuned me to how often I probably coasted before, which I rarely do anymore.

And yeah, the short climbs don't affect me cv-wise, at least in this way, that's all pretty much momentum, gearing, and strength.  I'm talking about fairly sustained climbs.

For perspective on my irrationality about breathing, as an allergic person, I'm congested to one degree or another pretty much all the time, but my nose is rarely plugged.  When I have a cold or active allergies and my nose gets fully plugged, I get a little bit freaky.  It will wake me up at night, despite the fact that I am a big mouth breather a lot of the time, because of the congestion.  I also find that I seem to breathe better on the bike when I focus on breathing through my nose and not just huffing and puffing through the mouf.

[sasquatch69 627]

@wd40 - apologies if you’ve already answered this upthread, but what camera/gear do you use for your ride videos? They look fantastic. A friend gave me a GoPro Hero4 and chest mount, so I tried recording a ride with it and it doesn’t look good - the lack of image stabilization is the biggest issue but the overall quality isn’t up to what I want (even set at 1080p).

[sasquatch69 627]

12 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

@wd40 - apologies if you’ve already answered this upthread, but what camera/gear do you use for your ride videos? They look fantastic. A friend gave me a GoPro Hero4 and chest mount, so I tried recording a ride with it and it doesn’t look good - the lack of image stabilization is the biggest issue but the overall quality isn’t up to what I want (even set at 1080p).

Disregard - found this - guess this means I need to shell out for a 6 or higher.

  

[Al_4_ISU 12665]

On 2/17/2022 at 8:32 AM, TwiceHorn said:

Make no mistake, I'm talking about a single-speed road bike that I finally bought to give me something to do when the trails are wet. I'm not attempting to ride a single speed on the trails.  It is geared 44/17, which is kind of average, but there are enough hills and climbs on the streets around here to make it a bit challenging at times.  It has been revelatory to me about how lazy geared bikes have made me, among other things.  And, I rode it as a fixed-gear for a bit, which attuned me to how often I probably coasted before, which I rarely do anymore.

And yeah, the short climbs don't affect me cv-wise, at least in this way, that's all pretty much momentum, gearing, and strength.  I'm talking about fairly sustained climbs.

For perspective on my irrationality about breathing, as an allergic person, I'm congested to one degree or another pretty much all the time, but my nose is rarely plugged.  When I have a cold or active allergies and my nose gets fully plugged, I get a little bit freaky.  It will wake me up at night, despite the fact that I am a big mouth breather a lot of the time, because of the congestion.  I also find that I seem to breathe better on the bike when I focus on breathing through my nose and not just huffing and puffing through the mouf.

Ok, I was thinking you were doing this.  I've heard of guys doing it and found it to be absolutely insane.

Still, just riding one of those things around would definitely be an ass kicker.

[Your Mom 4982]

3 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Disregard - found this - guess this means I need to shell out for a 6 or higher.

I think GoPro 5 was the first to include internal stabilization and then the 7 improved on it significantly.  

[TwiceHorn 32108]

3 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Ok, I was thinking you were doing this.  I've heard of guys doing it and found it to be absolutely insane.

Still, just riding one of those things around would definitely be an ass kicker.

It's actually quite pleasant.  So quiet.  It is a bit of a workout, which is a good bit of why I do this at all.

[wd40 1976]

I don't SS on the trail much anymore.  it was a lot of fun for a while.  teaches you a lot about floating bumps and planning your accelerations to get up stuff.  but the bike geometry is way too different (69* head angle, which was considered slack back in '09), and only 3" of travel on the front.  my old bones just can't do it, anymore.  I still take it out on the street for training.  still geared for hills (32-20).  did 8.31mi with 824ft of climbing, one day last week.  cut it short when I felt some moisture on my calves that turned out to be Stan's spraying out of a puncture in my back tire.  no kit.  house key on a string.  held long enough to get me home, though.  took 3 strips of bacon to fix it.  still need to ride-test it.

did Spider again, yesterday.  Sidewinder is easily my new favorite trail there, so wanted to film it.  wish I could jump.  uncorked one on Antidote off-camera that launched me over the landing zone into a nose wheelie for 5 or 6ft.  so I slipped back into my usual wet noodle style for the rest of the day.  did get a taste of the wall ride, finally.  transition's not nearly as abrupt as it looks.

since I was up there and it was blowing (gusty to 30+, as it turned out), I went for a sail, afterward.  wanted to test out a new camera setup.  put the 6 on top, and the old 5 on the boom, (where it usually goes).  water was cold (56*), so my feet were numb when they weren't cramping from dehydration.  it'd be nice if @G650's boys could up their camera game to match their sailing.  I need to do the opposite.

enjoy.

 

 

[KuЯdt 248]

1 hour ago, wd40 said:

I don't SS on the trail much anymore.  it was a lot of fun for a while.  teaches you a lot about floating bumps and planning your accelerations to get up stuff.  but the bike geometry is way too different (69* head angle, which was considered slack back in '09), and only 3" of travel on the front.  my old bones just can't do it, anymore.  I still take it out on the street for training.  still geared for hills (32-20).  did 8.31mi with 824ft of climbing, one day last week.  cut it short when I felt some moisture on my calves that turned out to be Stan's spraying out of a puncture in my back tire.  no kit.  house key on a string.  held long enough to get me home, though.  took 3 strips of bacon to fix it.  still need to ride-test it.

did Spider again, yesterday.  Sidewinder is easily my new favorite trail there, so wanted to film it.  wish I could jump.  uncorked one on Antidote off-camera that launched me over the landing zone into a nose wheelie for 5 or 6ft.  so I slipped back into my usual wet noodle style for the rest of the day.  did get a taste of the wall ride, finally.  transition's not nearly as abrupt as it looks.

since I was up there and it was blowing (gusty to 30+, as it turned out), I went for a sail, afterward.  wanted to test out a new camera setup.  put the 6 on top, and the old 5 on the boom, (where it usually goes).  water was cold (56*), so my feet were numb when they weren't cramping from dehydration.  it'd be nice if @G650's boys could up their camera game to match their sailing.  I need to do the opposite.

 

 

 

 

Funny,  I was out there yesterday too, kinda doing the same thing (sans the sailing bit).  Sort of surprised I didn't run into you, but it was pretty crowded up until 1:30-ish.  Agreed on Sidewinder - that trail is lots of fun.  I tend to enter it from Centipede so that I can try to hit those 2 tables before the bridge.  Most of yesterday was spent running Antidote, Sidewinder, and Venom trying to work on my jumping ineptitude, but didn't really make much progress as usual.  Also, I didn't bust the gopro out until the afternoon which was unfortunate as the sun had come out by then and made for less than ideal filming conditions.  I'll take a look at it later and see if it looks interesting or not.

 

Also got some footage at Flat Rock Ranch on saturday.  We hit a couple of the new (to me) enduro lines out there.  Looks like they are in the process of building some bigger jump lines too.

[Braff Zacklin 13676]

1 hour ago, wd40 said:

You were in dire straits there for a moment (bah-bum bump) ...

Looks like a helluva fun day, though.

[G650 14451]

3 hours ago, wd40 said:

 it'd be nice if @G650's boys could up their camera game to match their sailing.  I need to do the opposite.

Maybe we can work something out here. Be our official media guy

[sasquatch69 627]

I love my Marin a little bit more now. 

 

 

[midtown 3357]

Anyone know of a good coach or clinic for skills?  I'd like to learn to jump better.  

[Your Mom 4982]

2 minutes ago, midtown said:

Anyone know of a good coach or clinic for skills?  I'd like to learn to jump better.  

A lot of people in Austin talk about a guy in Seguin that runs a bike park and has jump clinics.  Chris Wood.  Seguin Bike Park.  It looks about how you'd expect a bike park in Seguin to look.  Not much terrain, but lots of various sized wood ramps and drops.  Never been but it looks fun.

https://www.facebook.com/seguinmtb/

 

 

[midtown 3357]

Perfect.  I see a lot of chatter on the S Texas mtb group but didn't think of them.  I've been meaning to go ride there.  Thanks

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Well, fuck me in the goat ass, but the beloved Rift Zone got swiped off my back porch last night.

I don't think I could justify much of an upgrade from that bike (125 rear 120 front) until it wore out.  But here I am, looking for a new bike.  I don't think I need any more travel, either.

A leading candidate is a Ripley AF, probably the Deore build at a little over 3k.  Another would be to get the higher spec Rift Zone 3 at about $3k.  Another likely candidate is an aluminum Tallboy in the same price range.  I'm familiar with SRAM shifters/ing, but understand there's not a whole lot of difference and Shimano has a lot more fanbois.

Any other suggestions?  I don't really think I want carbon, I'm afraid something fuct up will happen and I don't really want to pay for it.  That eliminates a lot of bikes.

Edited March 8, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[Austinvines 318]

What a bummer, Twice. Was it locked to anything? I have the carbon Ripley in a GX build with an XO shifter. I wanted a Deore build that I could upgrade over time, but had to take what was available in this market. I’m happy overall with the components and really happy with the bike. A dropper has been a nice addition, too.

Is the AF available/in stock locally? I’ve noticed some more bikes in my local store but not a whole lot.

[Al_4_ISU 12665]

That really sucks dude.

[Al_4_ISU 12665]

Looks like we'll be into bike season next week.  The only remaining snow and ice we have is on our trails where the snow was packed for fat biking and XC skiing.  By Sunday, that should be gone for the most part, and overnight lows will be above freezing.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

13 minutes ago, Austinvines said:

What a bummer, Twice. Was it locked to anything? I have the carbon Ripley in a GX build with an XO shifter. I wanted a Deore build that I could upgrade over time, but had to take what was available in this market. I’m happy overall with the components and really happy with the bike. A dropper has been a nice addition, too.

Is the AF available/in stock locally? I’ve noticed some more bikes in my local store but not a whole lot.

No, shamefully it was not.  We are a mostly crime-free hood and it was like 3 feet from the back door on a deep, covered porch.  I am getting a long cable lock to nail the next one down a little. Although I know hardly any locks defeat determined bike thieves.  This was a crime of opportunity, no doubt.

I don't know about inventory, really.  I had stopped by my favorite shop, Dallas Bike Works, a couple of months ago and they had a shit-ton of bikes on the floor.

According to their site, they have a L in stock.  But I probably want an XL as Ibis seem to tend a bit small.

Doing some paper research, the Tallboy seems to go down a bit more robustly than the Ripley, but doesn't climb or do flats as well.  The Ripley has really similar geo to the stolen Marin and, weirdly enough, seems to be a better build for the money than the Tallboy.  The only thing wrong with it seems to be the two-pot brakes.  

[KuЯdt 248]

14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Well, fuck me in the goat ass, but the beloved Rift Zone got swiped off my back porch last night.

I don't think I could justify much of an upgrade from that bike (125 rear 120 front) until it wore out.  But here I am, looking for a new bike.  I don't think I need any more travel, either.

A leading candidate is a Ripley AF, probably the Deore build at a little over 3k.  Another would be to get the higher spec Rift Zone 3 at about $3k.  Another likely candidate is an aluminum Tallboy in the same price range.  I'm familiar with SRAM shifters/ing, but understand there's not a whole lot of difference and Shimano has a lot more fanbois.

Any other suggestions?  I don't really think I want carbon, I'm afraid something fuct up will happen and I don't really want to pay for it.  That eliminates a lot of bikes.

Damn, that sucks.  Fuck thieves.  But at least shopping for a new bike is always fun.
If you're trying to stay at 120 and aluminum, I can only think of a couple others off the top of my head besides the ones you listed, like the Giant Trance and new Trek Top Fuel.  The Trek seems to get good reviews.  Of those, I'd go with the Ibis - good value and DW-Link.  The last couple times I stopped by the shop they had a couple of them in stock.  Looks awesome in that green color.
If you were open to a bit more travel and even a carbon frame, you would have a lot more options.  Fezzari has some pretty good value around the $3500 mark.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

24 minutes ago, KuЯdt said:

Damn, that sucks.  Fuck thieves.  But at least shopping for a new bike is always fun.
If you're trying to stay at 120 and aluminum, I can only think of a couple others off the top of my head besides the ones you listed, like the Giant Trance and new Trek Top Fuel.  The Trek seems to get good reviews.  Of those, I'd go with the Ibis - good value and DW-Link.  The last couple times I stopped by the shop they had a couple of them in stock.  Looks awesome in that green color.
If you were open to a bit more travel and even a carbon frame, you would have a lot more options.  Fezzari has some pretty good value around the $3500 mark.

I will take a look.  I'm actually a bit surprised that the Ibis is such a value proposition.  

Its strong suit seems to be more climbing and flat riding, which doesn't seem to be a whole lot of fun for those of us not like wd40, the climb monster.  But the fact is that DFW is probably more climby than droppy and certainly flat, so that seems to fit.

My riding bff has a carbon Tallboy and he likes it a lot.  I could probably demo it from him, but I have no steed to "trade."

I wouldn't have upgraded probably ever or at least until the Marin gave up the ghost, it fit my abilities and desires to a T.  But I think it might be nice to experience a better suspension (in terms of components as well as kinematics).  The bummer about the Tallboy is that at the $3k build, it has the same fork as the Marin (Rockshox Recon), which I understand to be about as bottom of the barrel as an air fork can be.  The Ibis has a Fox Performance, which would seem to be an upgrade.  And Ibis' "factory" wheels and hubs get pretty good marks.

Edited March 8, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[KuЯdt 248]

yeah the Tallboy does seem to be better if you're a more aggressive rider and hitting rough/steep descents.  But the AF version of the Ripley has a HTA  half a degree slacker than the carbon version, so maybe a tad bit better on the downs.  It really is a surprisingly good value.

Both are great bikes.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

13 minutes ago, KuЯdt said:

more aggressive rider and hitting rough/steep descents

Def not me.  I feel like we do have some pretty rough but short descents here, pretty fair number of ledges and steps on some of them, lots of roots, but the Marin handled them well at my pretty controlled pace, so I would probably benefit some from a small upgrade there, but probably don't need terrific downhill ability.

That the Ripley AF has very similar broad geo to the Marin is reassuring since I am going to have to pretty much paper demo whatever I get.  Same head and seat tube angle, similar reach, Marin actually has shorter chainstays and a higher BB.  

Actually, the Marin is looking pretty good.  SLX, four-pot brakes, Marzocchi fork, which I guess is Fox lite these days, hard to tell.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

@KuЯdt wasn't it you with the Occam?  I didn't think they had an Al model, but they do and the price and build is right.  And there seems to be one in stock locally.

I think there's a L Ripley AF at my fave shop and I am going to check it out today.  I can't find any Al Tallboys locally, and the extra cost bums me out.

I guess I'll find out what the order situation is when I go to DBW today.  Something always conspires to deprive me of ride time, hopefully it won't be months waiting for a new bike.

I am a bit more of a tweener on the Orbea and Ibis and people seem to think the Ibis run a little small.  But the reach on the Ripley is only a hair shorter (5mm)  on the L than the Marin.

Ordinarily, I think I would size up because I am just not a poppy rider and sizing up seems to be the thing to do these days.  HOWEVER, given that a lot of the trails I ride have a lot of twisty, and I already bitched a little about slack geo on those trails, I'm thinking sizing down may be a reasonable thing to do.  I am hoping that the 44 offset on most of the new bikes loses some of the steering flop that I find annoying.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Well, for better or worse, I put a deposit down on a L Ripley AF.  I figure I am going to have a tough time comparo-ing with the other bikes "on my list," and don't want to wait months to get something.  There's no "ordering."  Although supplies are better and they're actually getting bikes in, when and if they get more is up in the air and ordering a specific bike is a no-go on any reasonable timeframe.

I didn't realize it, but Dallas Bike Works actually has a little dirt patch with berms and whatnot, so I was able to ride it and confirm that it does feel pretty similar to the Marin, if maybe a little less stretched out (half inch higher stack, 5mm shorter reach).  But, I also tended to get heavy on the hands on the Marin, which is probably mostly a core strength issue, but maybe being a tad more erect seated will help with that.

[KuЯdt 248]

5 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

@KuЯdt wasn't it you with the Occam? 

Yep I have an Occam.  There are 2 or 3 AL versions of that bike.

Right now I guess you do have to go with what you can get, as the supply chain is still kind of jacked up.  But I see shops getting more and more bikes in.  The owner of the shop where I saw the Ripley AF's told me that Ibis would just randomly send them and he would have no idea they were even showing up.

[TwiceHorn 32108]

4 hours ago, KuЯdt said:

Yep I have an Occam.  There are 2 or 3 AL versions of that bike.

Right now I guess you do have to go with what you can get, as the supply chain is still kind of jacked up.  But I see shops getting more and more bikes in.  The owner of the shop where I saw the Ripley AF's told me that Ibis would just randomly send them and he would have no idea they were even showing up.

Yeah, DBW had a ton of MTB on the floor, as well as other bikes.  But mostly higher dollar and bigger travel bikes.  Fuller than I have seen it in a couple of years.  Good to know that the guy wasn't feeding me a line on the order thing.

I feel a little impulsive buying the first thing I rode, but most places aren't going to be able to do better than a parking lot demo, so even if I could find all of the bikes on my list, at different shops, I wouldn't be able to ride the way I did at DBW.  I bought the Marin as the first thing I rode at that time, but there was really nothing at its price point, which was kind of the whole reason for doing it.

Also, the Ripley is silver, which is ok, probably wouldn't be my first choice, but I liked it better IRL than online (kinda liked that pond scum green), but I did get some orange pedals for it that look pretty good on it.  🤘🤘

Also, I was a bit surprised at how plasticky the DeOre shifter felt compared even to my "crummy" NX shifter.  It shifted fine, but the "feel" was a bit less precise and positive.  I'm pretty agnostic between Shimano and SRAM and I think DeOre and NX are fairly comparable, but the Shimano fanbois would all have you believe that it isn't until you get to the X level stuff that you are approaching Shimano anything DeOre and up.  I found that to be pretty untrue and immediately detectable.

Edited March 10, 2022 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 32108]

Interdasting.  In doing bike research, I am seeing a lot of hate for Fox forks and shocks.  I had considered the Fox stuff on the Ripley to be an upgrade, and I'm sure it is over the entry level RS stuff on the Marin, at least in terms of adjustability, if not outright function.

I have this feeling that I may really miss the Marin and maybe even regret not replacing it with a Marin.   From a purely sentimental standpoint, I already miss it.  But replacing it with the same bike wouldn't be much fun.