Mountain Biking 2017!

[Lauren]

Me: I'm asking about the Kuat, you know, a different brand?
Him: Oh, I thought when you said Kuat you meant quad.

I hate it when sales people at sports stores assume I don't know anything about gear.

Maybe it was him that didn't know Kuat was? ...Just a thought from the devil's advocate.

 

[scott43]

I am def' one of theose people who climb by feel, I prefer to keep my gear at whatever gear keeps me in "zone of resistance" so I plan to get on a 1x this summer to see if I can climb my regular rides in that zone. For now though, the 2x is perfectly fine. I got my trance down to 27.5 pounds so the cut in weight will not be substantial.

OTOH; I am going to put a wider tire on the trance, 2.5-2.6 depending what will fit.

Yeah, I'm that way. And it's getting worse as I get older with more wear and tear. I like 75-80rpm and 90-95rpm. One or the other. Everything else is no-man's land for me. I generally tend to more rpm so I'd rather, if I had to, do 100rpm or 105rpm. Below 75 is ridic for me. But generally, I'd like to keep it between 90-95.

 

[Monique]

If you're doing technical stuff, you're usually either grinding or doing short drops where you don't really pedal anyway and you won't miss the smaller gear steps.

Certainly technical stuff is my preference. Grinding on a climb is my idea of torture. Short technical sections (technical for me, anyway, which changes throughout the course of the season and/or after coming back from injury) help because they distract me from the misery of the grind.

I would be surprised if I ever hit 90rpm on a mountain bike. Prefer more torque.

I'd like (perhaps unreasonably) to get a bike that covers both self-powered riding and lift-serviced. My lift-serviced riding is pretty mild, but my 100mm Truth isn't confidence inspiring on it, especially at my weight. And very noisy even on a 2x (hence interest in 1x). But the Dare at 229mm is *slight* overkill. I'd like to sell it or hang it on the wall. Probably sell it since my husband doesn't seem to think a beautiful "rainforest" anodized frame counts as wall art (????).

 

[Monique]

Hmm maybe lean toward 160mm and then still ride 100mm for slogs (when my climb-loving friends invite me out) ... *ponder ponder*

 

[Ron]

Yeah, I'm that way. And it's getting worse as I get older with more wear and tear. I like 75-80rpm and 90-95rpm. One or the other. Everything else is no-man's land for me. I generally tend to more rpm so I'd rather, if I had to, do 100rpm or 105rpm. Below 75 is ridic for me. But generally, I'd like to keep it between 90-95.

Certainly technical stuff is my preference. Grinding on a climb is my idea of torture. Short technical sections (technical for me, anyway, which changes throughout the course of the season and/or after coming back from injury) help because they distract me from the misery of the grind.

I would be surprised if I ever hit 90rpm on a mountain bike. Prefer more torque.

I'd like (perhaps unreasonably) to get a bike that covers both self-powered riding and lift-serviced. My lift-serviced riding is pretty mild, but my 100mm Truth isn't confidence inspiring on it, especially at my weight. And very noisy even on a 2x (hence interest in 1x). But the Dare at 229mm is *slight* overkill. I'd like to sell it or hang it on the wall. Probably sell it since my husband doesn't seem to think a beautiful "rainforest" anodized frame counts as wall art (????).

LOL, yep! i am very happy around the 80-85 mark and I LOVE the grind of a climb. Its sick but I do love it as long as its not in the full sun on south facing route.

 

[Monique]

LOL, yep! i am very happy around the 80-85 mark and I LOVE the grind of a climb. Its sick but I do love it as long as its not in the full sun on south facing route.

Temperature makes a huge difference for me. It's amazing what I can ride at 65* vs 85*. Is that everyone?

 

[Ron]

Oh hell yeah! temp is YUUUGE for me too. And while we're at it, I DEPLORE road riding into head or side winds.

 

[Monique]

Oh hell yeah! temp is YUUUGE for me too. And while we're at it, I DEPLORE road riding into head or side winds.

Hmm. I wonder if I should try more riding in the mountains. I've avoided it because of steepness and altitude. But maybe the low temps would make up for it ...

 

[coskigirl]

Maybe it was him that didn't know Kuat was? ...Just a thought from the devil's advocate.

Oh, it was quite clear after that part of the conversation that he knew what Kuat was.

 

[coskigirl]

Oh hell yeah! temp is YUUUGE for me too. And while we're at it, I DEPLORE road riding into head or side winds.

You mean like that last ride we did together? It's a wonder we didn't end up as pancakes on 40. Head winds suck but cross winds are spawned from Satan. Winds that are constantly switching are Satan himself.

 

[Monique]

You mean like that last ride we did together? It's a wonder we didn't end up as pancakes on 40. Head winds suck but cross winds are spawned from Satan. Winds that are constantly switching are Satan himself.

I remember riding to work one time and being able to barely go 8mph on a flat. On a road bike. Ugh.

And a side wind when I was on a country-type road with a tiny tiny shoulder already, and the wind was blowing me into the road. That wasn't just ugh - it was terrifying!

 

[scott43]

Temp doesn't bother me that much to be honest. It's hot but meh..if I'm exercising I'm ok with sweating. Even with the brutal humidity we have here in summer. Wind is mental more than anything..I'm like Tom Watson..if it's windy, it's windy for everyone and everyone is pissed off so take advantage of it mentally.

 

[Monique]

Temp doesn't bother me that much to be honest. It's hot but meh..if I'm exercising I'm ok with sweating. Even with the brutal humidity we have here in summer. Wind is mental more than anything..I'm like Tom Watson..if it's windy, it's windy for everyone and everyone is pissed off so take advantage of it mentally.

I'm fine sweating. Sweating is, for me, inevitable. But I actually physically slow down in higher temps. Sometimes I actually feel woozy and need to stop. That doesn't happen in cooler temps.

 

[scott43]

I'm fine sweating. Sweating is, for me, inevitable. But I actually physically slow down in higher temps. Sometimes I actually feel woozy and need to stop. That doesn't happen in cooler temps.

You may be borderline heatstroke! Keep an eye on that. I get heat rash and that's about it. The body does have physical limits ultimately..

 

[Monique]

You may be borderline heatstroke! Keep an eye on that. I get heat rash and that's about it. The body does have physical limits ultimately..

Yeah - when it happens, I stop and chill for a bit. It's kind of ridiculous, though. Who gets heat stroke at 80*?? ... well, someone who struggles pedaling uphill even on cool days, I suppose.

 

[AmyPJ]

Last year I had the debate with myself about going 1x or 2x. Ultimately decided on 2x,mainly because I'm also a slow climber, and figured I use my low gears too much to get rid of them.

I found this video pretty helpful in really outlining pros/cons of each setup.


Maybe someone else here can give an review of it, but there's the SRAM Eagle 1x12, which is supposed to give a wide variety of gears in a 1x setup.

I am VERY intrigued by the SRAM Eagle, but sure would like to demo it before committing to it. I rode with a gal last summer who is a guide in Moab who has one, and she loves it. But, she's a wee bit stronger rider than I am

 

[Tom K.]

And while we're at it, I DEPLORE road riding into head or side winds.

I'm pretty sure that the 14th Circle of Hell (far lower than anything Dante ever contemplated) is riding a road bike endlessly into a headwind.

A gusty headwind, just so the brief lulls give you HOPE.

 

[Primoz]

I am VERY intrigued by the SRAM Eagle, but sure would like to demo it before committing to it.

Take this what I will write with a bit (or a lot) of reserve, as this is just what I have heard from two friends who are running Sram's XX1 Eagle for a while, and not what I have been experiencing myself. Thing is, 1x with Eagle might be super cool to drive, but based on comments I got from these two guys, it's also super expensive. They make around 5-6.000km/year and they go through 3 chains (3x 90eur), 1 to 2 front chainrings (1-2x 100eur) and 1 cassette (400eur) in a season. Considering with my investment of 30 to 60eur for Shimano XT 11 speed chain (depending if I change 1 or 2) on my 2x XT setup, their maintenance budged is pretty high Now, as I wrote, take with a grain of salt if this usage of spare parts is real or not. I don't see reason they would be lying to me, but still I wouldn't really grant anything it's 100% accurate.
But considering I hate Sram from bottom of my heart, and will never ever be on any of my bikes anymore, this what they told me fits me fine And if it's really like this and you need to spend almost 1000eur/season for spare parts, Shimano's XTR Di2 doesn't sound expensive anymore. And I would take Di2 over 1x without a second thought. I have been riding it once and I simply love it! Ok I don't love it enough to be ready to spend such ridiculous amount of money for it, but still

 

[Ron]

@GregMerz just picked up a sweet Stasche with a 1x. Waiting to get his impressions. I know the next bike I get will be a 1x just due to the changes in the market so I am trying to figure out the gearing needed.

 

[AmyPJ]

Take this what I will write with a bit (or a lot) of reserve, as this is just what I have heard from two friends who are running Sram's XX1 Eagle for a while, and not what I have been experiencing myself. Thing is, 1x with Eagle might be super cool to drive, but based on comments I got from these two guys, it's also super expensive. They make around 5-6.000km/year and they go through 3 chains (3x 90eur), 1 to 2 front chainrings (1-2x 100eur) and 1 cassette (400eur) in a season. Considering with my investment of 30 to 60eur for Shimano XT 11 speed chain (depending if I change 1 or 2) on my 2x XT setup, their maintenance budged is pretty high Now, as I wrote, take with a grain of salt if this usage of spare parts is real or not. I don't see reason they would be lying to me, but still I wouldn't really grant anything it's 100% accurate.
But considering I hate Sram from bottom of my heart, and will never ever be on any of my bikes anymore, this what they told me fits me fine And if it's really like this and you need to spend almost 1000eur/season for spare parts, Shimano's XTR Di2 doesn't sound expensive anymore. And I would take Di2 over 1x without a second thought. I have been riding it once and I simply love it! Ok I don't love it enough to be ready to spend such ridiculous amount of money for it, but still

Good to know! I appreciate the feedback!