The Surly Mountain Biking Thread

[sasquatch69 608]

DFW trails may not reopen for a month… 

[Bodhi 1,127]

First trip to Fruita this weekend.  Spent my time riding and enjoying parking lot beers at 18 road.  Really great trails where 30 minutes of easy climbing lead to 15 minutes flowy descents.

[jw4381 3,131]

Whelp

Edited May 15 by jw4381

[jw4381 3,131]

Tiny fracture. Banged up my right shoulder a bit. Bummer. 

[Braff Zacklin 13,672]

Never seen that one before. Was expecting a scaphoid. Heal quickly.

[Bodhi 1,127]

10 hours ago, jw4381 said:

Tiny fracture. Banged up my right shoulder a bit. Bummer. 

Any details on the crash?  And yes, heal up quickly.

[jw4381 3,131]

I was going about 15 mph according to Strava, negotiating a slight uphill rocky section - I had some good momentum at that point. My back wheel hit one of the rocks popping me up onto my front wheel and I lost it into the sagebrush. Went over onto my right side headfirst, legs all tangled up in the frame. 

Good times. Had to ride back about 3 miles to the truck. 

[jw4381 3,131]

No surgery necessary. Yay. Didn’t think it would be. 
 

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

Tiny fracture. Banged up my right shoulder a bit. Bummer. 

Damn. Heal up quick!

[jw4381 3,131]

Be careful out there y’all. I always wear a helmet. If I hadn’t been, I’m sure my carcass would still be out there. 

[wd40 1,976]

3 hours ago, jw4381 said:

No surgery necessary. Yay. Didn’t think it would be. 
 

[wd40 1,976]

I did something similar, some years ago.  not that knuckle, but the next one further out on my ring finger, iirc.  used a loop of velcro as a quick-and-dirty, removable splint.  doc was kinda impressed with the "device".  since then, I don't bother with xrays on stuff like this.  if it's not poking out, there's really nothing to be done but maybe tape it up.

semi-related:  I don't remember why I bought it, but I picked up one of those spandex "copperfit" sleeves, I think for my knee.  never worked as advertised, but it works great as a bandage wrap.  just carry it and some gauze pads and you can cover just about any gash until you get to the truck.  machine washable.  I've actually loaned it to buddies who've had some deep cuts, grazing stumps and whatnot.  don't have to worry about tape not sticking, and it gives some compression to the wound.

[wd40 1,976]

got my ass beat on Wednesday, sailing, of all things.  one last jibe to get out of my gusty cove, and got slammed into the white caps, then turtled; then turtled again when I got it back up, rinse and repeat, more times than I can remember.  obviously, I eventually got back, but I'm still just a ball of bruises and pulled muscles.

but I've been wanting to session this new section since I first saw it about a month ago, and I knew it'd be hero dirt, today.  almost every landing on this trail is off-camber, esp if you know how to jump--which I still don't.

 

[Braff Zacklin 13,672]

Some very big ride-offs there, sir. Three of them looked to have at least 3 feet of drop, so big ups from me.

What sort of rubber are you riding these days in that chunk? Tread looks pretty burly but I'm not astute enough to tell what it belongs to.

Just picked up a Minion DHR II MaxxTerra for my front tire as I didn't care for how the previous tire was behaving. There one second, going or gone the next.

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

On 5/16/2024 at 10:07 PM, wd40 said:

I did something similar, some years ago.  not that knuckle, but the next one further out on my ring finger, iirc.  used a loop of velcro as a quick-and-dirty, removable splint.  doc was kinda impressed with the "device".  since then, I don't bother with xrays on stuff like this.  if it's not poking out, there's really nothing to be done but maybe tape it up.

semi-related:  I don't remember why I bought it, but I picked up one of those spandex "copperfit" sleeves, I think for my knee.  never worked as advertised, but it works great as a bandage wrap.  just carry it and some gauze pads and you can cover just about any gash until you get to the truck.  machine washable.  I've actually loaned it to buddies who've had some deep cuts, grazing stumps and whatnot.  don't have to worry about tape not sticking, and it gives some compression to the wound.

Well, way upthread I did it to the last knuckle on my fu finger on my left hand.  Very similar bone chip to jw's on it.  Except mine had a tendon attached, so the bone was likely never knitting back.  

So, that chip is now screwed in.  That last knuckle is stiff and thus droops.  I don't know what it would have been like without the surgery.

[wd40 1,976]

4 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Some very big ride-offs there, sir. Three of them looked to have at least 3 feet of drop, so big ups from me.

What sort of rubber are you riding these days in that chunk? Tread looks pretty burly but I'm not astute enough to tell what it belongs to.

Just picked up a Minion DHR II MaxxTerra for my front tire as I didn't care for how the previous tire was behaving. There one second, going or gone the next.

Thanks, Braff.  that one drop is higher than my saddle, so about 3' to the base of the ledge.  the sloped landing zone adds at least a foot to that, depending on your speed and Red Bull level.  funmeter was prettymuch maxed on each of the four runs I took at it, but it felt like butter.  new fork, I guess.  and the Cascade link.

I run Minions, with a DHF 3C EXO Maxwhatever up front, and a DHR DoubleDown in the back, since I seem to be much harder on my back tire (rocky landings, etc.).  my brief racing days are way behind me, so I accept the major weight penalty in favor of not worrying about it.

fwiw, my riding bros that spend way more time reading and researching bike stuff are pimping Specialized Butchers as the next "best ever".

[Bodhi 1,127]

Memorial Day weekend check in, hope some of you are riding too.  I've been fortunate to ride a lot of good MTB destinations in Colorado the past year, Buff Creek near Bailey is the best to date.  Beautiful scenery, well maintained trails, a ton of flowy fun.  The first 4.5 hours today were the most fun I've had riding.  Unfortunately, we rode 6 hours including ~3800' of climbing.  The last hour was miserable and pushed me to my limit.  "Come ride part of the race course with me" really meant lets ride 90% of it.  

 

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

Taking a quick weekend trip to Chequamegon National Forest up in Hayward, WI. These are some of the best trails I’ve ever ridden. Not lots of loops, but big on through rides connecting various trailheads. Started the morning with 10 miles of single track. First 5 were excellent old school hand cut, last 5 were the newer machine made style that’s gotten huge in the Midwest lately.

When I got back to Hayward, my wife was up and ready for the day so we rented a full squish for her and hit the 6 mile beginner course on the edge of town. She’s never mountain biked (avid road cyclist) and did awesome. It poured rain the entire time, but due to their sandy soil the trails never close. The beginner course was exceptionally well put together and was actually fun for experienced riders.

Riding again tomorrow, but this system (CAMBA) is world class and any XC MTB in the US would be remiss if they never got here.

[Braff Zacklin 13,672]

Man, I love riding under a tall canopy. Looks fantastic. Super jelly, my dude.

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

Man, I love riding under a tall canopy. Looks fantastic. Super jelly, my dude.

It was magical. For real. Watching my wife take to something I’m very passionate about was awesome too.

[topochico 1,049]

I've been borrowing a friends bike for a while. Finally stepped up and grabbed one for myself. Trek is clearing out the old models, so I was able to snag a pretty good deal on a Roscoe 8

Talk to me about hitch mounts. I'm liking the 1-Up but it's kinda spendy. Are there better options or is this a buy once cry once scenario?

 

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

28 minutes ago, topochico said:

I've been borrowing a friends bike for a while. Finally stepped up and grabbed one for myself. Trek is clearing out the old models, so I was able to snag a pretty good deal on a Roscoe 8

Talk to me about hitch mounts. I'm liking the 1-Up but it's kinda spendy. Are there better options or is this a buy once cry once scenario?

 

Can't keep up with them, but there are a number of 1-up "imitators" now that the patent has expired.  Many are pretty good, and also as spendy.

I have a Kuat Transfer that's pretty good.  Same basic principle.

[Bodhi 1,127]

Probably a lot of good deals coming up for racks on Father’s Day. I have the Thule T2 XTR and happy with it. Very solid, stable,  built in locks. The nice option, I believe, with 1-Up is the ability to add additional racks onto the 2 bike setup. This would be a nice feature when I carpool with people and need room for 3-4 bikes.

[Braff Zacklin 13,672]

4 hours ago, topochico said:

I've been borrowing a friends bike for a while. Finally stepped up and grabbed one for myself. Trek is clearing out the old models, so I was able to snag a pretty good deal on a Roscoe 8

Talk to me about hitch mounts. I'm liking the 1-Up but it's kinda spendy. Are there better options or is this a buy once cry once scenario?

 

Welcome aboard, sir.

I'd recommend a tray-style hitch mount, like what @TwiceHorn suggested. Yes, they are spendy, but if you wanna ride in style, your bike deserves to travel in style. 😉

[jw4381 3,131]

How do you guys like those hardtails? 

Warning, if blood and eyeballs ain't your thing, don't continue reading...

So y'all remember that crash I was whining about? Well, turned out that it probably did rattle my noggin around a bit. I tore my retina in my right eye - it presented a week ago on Tuesday. I was grabbing some ice at a gas station on the way out of Poncha Springs, CO when all of a sudden I couldn't see out of that eye - just a big light blur. 

Went to an eye doctor in Alamosa and he couldn't make a proper diagnosis because just like I couldn't see out, neither he nor his instruments could see into my eyeball. He suspected a "vitreous hemorrhage," which isn't that big of a deal, but he got me into a retina specialist on an emergency basis the next day in Albuquerque (2.5 hours away from Taos).

So I woke up and my eyesight had cleared significantly. Went from 20/50 on Tuesday to 20/30 on Wednesday. So cool, right?

Well turned out I had a very large horseshoe shaped tear in my retina, which had opened up a blood vessel, which caused the temporary blindness due to the blood in my eyeball.

Doc prescribes and performs a laser procedure to fix this, which he did right on the spot. No fun whatsoever, but not as bad as the fix for the torn/detached retina in my left eye a few years ago. Doc suspected the bike crash as a contributing factor.

Anyways, I'm off the bike for a bit. Which is a huge bummer because I got some new components and lost a few pounds and my performance was progressing nicely. I'll keep on vicariously through y'all for a while.

 

[wd40 1,976]

YUCK!
 

also

 

FUCK!

 

heal up quick, dude.  but don't mess around with eyesight.

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

9 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Welcome aboard, sir.

I'd recommend a tray-style hitch mount, like what @TwiceHorn suggested. Yes, they are spendy, but if you wanna ride in style, your bike deserves to travel in style. 😉

Yeah elaborating a little. The 1-up and several others let you sit the tires in a tray or rack and then use arms that grab the tire right in front of the fork. They don't touch paint or rub the frame and are super easy to load and unload. Definitely seek that style of rack whether 1-up or something else. 

[topochico 1,049]

Thanks everyone. I only need to carry one bike, so the single 1-Up made the most sense. I can always order an add-on tray if I ever end up needing a second slot. Hopefully it will arrive by the weekend. 

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

Good day to ride in the Driftless. Ma Nature and a 10 month old have limited my regular rides this year.

[Jiggy-Z 3,469]

Ok. I suck at mountain biking. I went to the crank and drank a couple of weeks ago to ride in lowest group which is called the social group. It was my first ever actual mountain bike ride. I am a decent road cyclists with many rides 19+ mph and 50+ miles under my belt, so fitness was not a problem.

But my god, those guys are insane. Every one I talk says mountain biking is sooooo much fun and even the people that have very little experience with cycling think it is the greatest thing. What the hell am I missing? The whole thing felt like white knuckling on I 35. What the hell.

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

2 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:

Ok. I suck at mountain biking. I went to the crank and drank a couple of weeks ago to ride in lowest group which is called the social group. It was my first ever actual mountain bike ride. I am a decent road cyclists with many rides 19+ mph and 50+ miles under my belt, so fitness was not a problem.

But my god, those guys are insane. Every one I talk says mountain biking is sooooo much fun and even the people that have very little experience with cycling think it is the greatest thing. What the hell am I missing? The whole thing felt like white knuckling on I 35. What the hell.

Riding in the woods, even if flat and mostly obstacle free takes about all of your attention. In that sense I find it much more engaging than road riding. Add in some obstacles descents, and punchy climbs and it's quite a challenge. 

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

12 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:

Ok. I suck at mountain biking. I went to the crank and drank a couple of weeks ago to ride in lowest group which is called the social group. It was my first ever actual mountain bike ride. I am a decent road cyclists with many rides 19+ mph and 50+ miles under my belt, so fitness was not a problem.

But my god, those guys are insane. Every one I talk says mountain biking is sooooo much fun and even the people that have very little experience with cycling think it is the greatest thing. What the hell am I missing? The whole thing felt like white knuckling on I 35. What the hell.

I was extremely humbled when I started mountain biking.  I’m a strong road cyclist that can handle about anything on pavement.  The first time I had to walk a climb all I could think was “how am I such a fucking pussy?”

9 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Riding in the woods, even if flat and mostly obstacle free takes about all of your attention. In that sense I find it much more engaging than road riding. Add in some obstacles descents, and punchy climbs and it's quite a challenge. 

The fact that it requires so much in the moment focus is what hooked me.

[Mappable 37]

21 hours ago, Jiggy-Z said:

Ok. I suck at mountain biking. I went to the crank and drank a couple of weeks ago to ride in lowest group which is called the social group. It was my first ever actual mountain bike ride. I am a decent road cyclists with many rides 19+ mph and 50+ miles under my belt, so fitness was not a problem.

But my god, those guys are insane. Every one I talk says mountain biking is sooooo much fun and even the people that have very little experience with cycling think it is the greatest thing. What the hell am I missing? The whole thing felt like white knuckling on I 35. What the hell.

The Crank & Drank rides are among the faster group rides that I've ever done.  It can quickly get difficult when the pace exceeds your comfort level with the dust and the rider behind you on your ass.

The issue that i've had riding with the Crank & Drank groups is that while the other riders are usually fitter and can handle the fast pace, they often have no bike handling skills and frequently stop and what i consider easy trail features.  it can be frustrating. 

Find some friends at your skill level and ride trails near you at your pace.  

Group rides can help push you beyond your fitness and skill levels, but I find that i more enjoy riding in much small groups or solo.

[Your Mom 4,879]

I’m an occasional Crank n Dranker. Like a few times a year at most. I used to be able to hang with group 2 but I’ve gotten slower and they’ve gotten faster and even group 3 kicks my ass. 
Those are my home trails though.  Not my favorite trails, but the ones I ride the most since they’re right out the door. Knowing every little obstacle and the best lines though them make it easier.  

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

Woof.  Went and rode Katie Jackson, aka Collarbone, Park this morning.  Dorba now links to Trailforks for trail information and, although open, someone had posted that trees were down all over, blocking the trails.  The steward or someone in authority disapproved those ride reports and they were removed.

Well, the reporter was right.  Big Ass Trees blocking just about every loop.

Although I know that trail like the back of my hand, it gets disorienting when you have to reverse yourself, and even worse when the escape route is blocked/impassable, too.

Por ejemplo:

 

[jw4381 3,131]

If anyone is interested in the Tour Divide Race, here's a link: https://dotwatcher.cc/race/tour-divide-2024

If you haven't ever heard of it, pretty crazy. 2700 mile self supported race from Banff, Alberta Canada to the New Mexico/Mexico border with like 54,000 feet of climbing. They started on Friday at 8 am.

The leader has managed 582 miles already. Dude's are insane in the membrane.

[midtown 3,348]

Tale from the trail...TLDR got a spider bite on Wed when my right wrist brushed into a tall weed/bush on a trail Ive ridden hundreds of times.  30 hours later I'm in CA at an urgent clinic at 10pm getting antibiotic shot in the saddle to battle the likely MRSA infection and a 7 day supply of clindamycin.

If you want to keep reading.  Coming down a drop. Hit the bush and felt a really painful sting on my wrist/forearm.  I wear long sleeves year round.  Pulled over to see if ti was a bee stuck in my shirt.  Noticed two small marks.  Figured they were thorns.  Pain subsided. Finsihed my ride.  Went home and washed and disinfected.  Thurs flygin to CA with my daughter for a showcase in LA area.  Wrist is now swollen, hot and really red.  Been around long enough to know this is more than thorns or bee sting. ONe of the soccer moms is a nurse.  Had her come take a look at and shes like oh man you should go to the urgent like now.  First one was closed so I almost went home but she texted me another place because she really wanted me to get meds.  After an hour Dr. walks in and is like oh boy you need antibiotics now.   He said if I had waited another day or two I'd most likely end up in the hospital battling a massive infection.  This morning.  HEat is gone.  Redness is not going past the pen marks the doc made.  Unfortunately I can not shoot webs from my wrist yet.  

Edited June 21 by midtown

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

22 minutes ago, midtown said:

Tale from the trail...TLDR got a spider bite on Wed when my right wrist brushed into a tall weed/bush on a trail Ive ridden hundreds of times.  30 hours later I'm in CA at an urgent clinic at 10pm getting antibiotic shot in the saddle to battle the likely MRSA infection and a 7 day supply of clindamycin.

If you want to keep reading.  Coming down a drop. Hit the bush and felt a really painful sting on my wrist/forearm.  I wear long sleeves year round.  Pulled over to see if ti was a bee stuck in my shirt.  Noticed two small marks.  Figured they were thorns.  Pain subsided. Finsihed my ride.  Went home and washed and disinfected.  Thurs flygin to CA with my daughter for a showcase in LA area.  Wrist is now swollen, hot and really red.  Been around long enough to know this is more than thorns or bee sting. ONe of the soccer moms is a nurse.  Had her come take a look at and shes like oh man you should go to the urgent like now.  First one was closed so I almost went home but she texted me another place because she really wanted me to get meds.  After an hour Dr. walks in and is like oh boy you need antibiotics now.   He said if I had waited another day or two I'd most likely end up in the hospital battling a massive infection.  This morning.  HEat is gone.  Redness is not going past the pen marks the doc made.  Unfortunately I can not shoot webs from my wrist yet.  

I had something go up the leg of my shorts a couple of years ago and hit me what seemed to be twice. It hurt enough that I came oft the bike and dropped trou right there to get rid of whatever it was. 

I am quite allergic generally, but have never gone full anaphylaxis, but was kind of worried about it. But nothing happened, just had a couple of whelps on my leg that were itchy and red for a day or two. 

[Al_4_ISU 12,542]

I've had 3 ticks on me this year that I've caught, so I'm probably getting fucking Lyme's.  Only one was after biking though.  The others came from doing maintenance work on some of our prairie ground and being out in the tallgrass.

[locodos 5,425]

Thinking about building a light weight fully rigid 26" mtb for fitness rides, heading to the beach, or grabbing a coffee.  

I know this isn't cost effective but I'm looking for a character vintagey cool ride

These are the goals:

• Bullet proof / simple 
• Great ride/feel
• light weight
• a bit stealth (much better ride than how it looks)

 

These are my choice of frames (I have both bikes hanging in the garage not pictured below):

klein Pulse  (Trek) but made in the USA...  I love this frame and have ridden one a fair bit before. 

PROS:

• Fast 
• Efficient
• Light
• Cheap (Trek Kleins aren't collectable like the originals)

CONS:

• Chain suck
• Klein dropouts
• Even debadged it's not stealthy (chainstays and seatstays give it away)
• Frame transmits every bump or pebble straight to your ass RIP TINKER
• Rear hub axle broken
• Very aggressive geometry

 

Giant XTC SE1 Made in Tiawan...  Never rode this exact frame, but it looks well built (overbuilt) 

 

PROS:

• Frame looks a little funky and already has cool patina  
• Debadged it'd be unrecognizable
• Funky rear braded hydraulic line (if it can be salvaged) 
• More laid back frame geometry

CONS:

• Requires disk brakes (for this I prefer simple linear brakes, less noise, cleaner cable route)
• It's already a franken bike and I'm not sure how much can be saved
• Don't know the bike, it might suck

 

What say you Surly?

 

 

[destroya 387]

10 hours ago, locodos said:

Thinking about building a light weight fully rigid 26" mtb for fitness rides, heading to the beach, or grabbing a coffee.  

I know this isn't cost effective but I'm looking for a character vintagey cool ride

These are the goals:

• Bullet proof / simple 
• Great ride/feel
• light weight
• a bit stealth (much better ride than how it looks)

 

These are my choice of frames (I have both bikes hanging in the garage not pictured below):

klein Pulse  (Trek) but made in the USA...  I love this frame and have ridden one a fair bit before. 

PROS:

• Fast 
• Efficient
• Light
• Cheap (Trek Kleins aren't collectable like the originals)

CONS:

• Chain suck
• Klein dropouts
• Even debadged it's not stealthy (chainstays and seatstays give it away)
• Frame transmits every bump or pebble straight to your ass RIP TINKER
• Rear hub axle broken
• Very aggressive geometry

 

Giant XTC SE1 Made in Tiawan...  Never rode this exact frame, but it looks well built (overbuilt) 

 

PROS:

• Frame looks a little funky and already has cool patina  
• Debadged it'd be unrecognizable
• Funky rear braded hydraulic line (if it can be salvaged) 
• More laid back frame geometry

CONS:

• Requires disk brakes (for this I prefer simple linear brakes, less noise, cleaner cable route)
• It's already a franken bike and I'm not sure how much can be saved
• Don't know the bike, it might suck

 

What say you Surly?

 

 

Random thoughts:

Any 26” bike is going to be stealth enough in that everyone will know it’s old as shit….and no one will be able to pick out a 20+ year old Klein based only on the chainstays and seatstays. 

I don’t think Kleins have cachet among bike thieves. 

Not sure why you think disc brakes are a con. Mine have never been louder than rim brakes. Plus you don’t have to worry about an out of true wheel fucking up your brakes.

 

If it were me I’d rock the Klein.  I’m sure you could make the handling a bit more stable with a different fork. 

[locodos 5,425]

17 hours ago, destroya said:

Random thoughts:

Any 26” bike is going to be stealth enough in that everyone will know it’s old as shit….and no one will be able to pick out a 20+ year old Klein based only on the chainstays and seatstays. 
 

want to bet?  Klein was known for his funky tube shapes also the stamped the logo near the dropouts see image below

17 hours ago, destroya said:

Random thoughts:

I don’t think Kleins have cachet among bike thieves. 

Bike thieves are in the running for the fucking worst humans on the planet.  I just don't want to give them a reason to even think it might be worth pinching.   I want it to look like a beater walmart special, but ride like dream.   I'll keep it locked up, but I don't want to have to worry too much about it either. 

17 hours ago, destroya said:

Not sure why you think disc brakes are a con. Mine have never been louder than rim brakes. Plus you don’t have to worry about an out of true wheel fucking up your brakes.

Just don't want disk for a casual bike.  I have some nice light old levers laying around.   less weight, less rotating mass, less unsprung weight, less hassle (bleeding), less noise, shorter cable runs.   Do they stop as well as disk?  nope  but that's ok.

 

18 hours ago, destroya said:

If it were me I’d rock the Klein.  I’m sure you could make the handling a bit more stable with a different fork. 

Yup gonna use the Klein.  Have a Salsa fork I'm going to put on it and see how stupid it looks.   But it'll tame the geometry.

[locodos 5,425]

Got it stripped down to the frame.  PSA if you are going to install stuff on a bike use some %$@#!$% grease!  The cranks and the drive side BB cup did NOT want to come off.  I might need to use the vice to get the peddles off too.  

Here she is...  she's got a fat ass, but she's light AF.

I tried to find a place to Hot Tank the frame and just start over on the paint...  but that's a no go so far.  I think I'm going to prep and rattle can over the bare spots.  No dings or deep scratches, but this factory paint job is absolute shit.  Some of the paint is just flaking off.  meh...  it'll add to the character. 

 

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

Gonna have to use an idler to SS those/that?  Or will those funky dropouts let you tension the chain?

And, yeah, rim brakes are ok for casual riding but not even the most retrogrouch ss mtber wants em on the trails.

[locodos 5,425]

On 7/3/2024 at 10:37 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Gonna have to use an idler to SS those/that?  Or will those funky dropouts let you tension the chain?

And, yeah, rim brakes are ok for casual riding but not even the most retrogrouch ss mtber wants em on the trails.

Not going SS, probably 1x9

I'd kill for an old Yeti ARC or FRO.  A friend of mine had a FRO, it was the nicest riding bike I've ever been on.  I still think about that bike.

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,454]

2 minutes ago, locodos said:

Not going SS, probably 1x9

I'd kill for an old Yeti ARC or FRO.  A friend of mine had a FRO, it was the nicest riding bike I've ever been on.  I still think about that bike.

 

That ARC is gorgeous. One of my regular riding buddies in the 90s rode one almost exactly like it, right down to the purple accent bits. I've got a Ringle stem on my 95 Mountain Goat, but it's natural silver. 

[locodos 5,425]

one more bike porn pic

[TexPx 2,327]

Got it stripped down to the frame.  PSA if you are going to install stuff on a bike use some %$@#!$% grease!  The cranks and the drive side BB cup did NOT want to come off.  I might need to use the vice to get the peddles off too.  
Here she is...  she's got a fat ass, but she's light AF.
I tried to find a place to Hot Tank the frame and just start over on the paint...  but that's a no go so far.  I think I'm going to prep and rattle can over the bare spots.  No dings or deep scratches, but this factory paint job is absolute shit.  Some of the paint is just flaking off.  meh...  it'll add to the character. 
 

My first serious mt bike was a Klein Pinnacle. Bought the frame and built it up myself. Raced it a couple of seasons then stripped the paint off and went bare aluminum. Pretty stealth looking.

[wd40 1,976]

locodos is the Rudy Ray Moore of mountainbiking

[TwiceHorn 31,699]

18 hours ago, locodos said:

Not going SS, probably 1x9

I'd kill for an old Yeti ARC or FRO.  A friend of mine had a FRO, it was the nicest riding bike I've ever been on.  I still think about that bike.

 

Ack, sorry, misread your post and just kind of ASSumed.

What "gruppo" are you looking at?  I keep seeing Microshift as being a very attractive der set if you don't require 12-spd.  I am intrigued, but for no real reason as I am "addicted" to the cassette spacing on my Shimano 12-spd.

So, I won't be making any mech changes, to AXS or TrAnsMisSion anytime soon, although I understand AXS works pretty well with a Shimano cassette, a SRAMano.