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New XC MTB for me!

pud

Putting on skis
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Well, yes and no. Soul 7s are the last ski I'd buy yet I love my STs and ROCs. ogsmile The key would be to know who is actually making the Rossi bikes as I assume they are rebranded. Am I wrong about this assumuption?
Rossignol bikes are built by Felt Bicycles.
 
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Doug Briggs

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Complete is going to save plenty compared to building custom.

Regarding carbon bikes, I saw a friend today who I knew had just gotten a new carbon wonder bike. I asked her how it was, and she told me that she had broken it on the very first ride. She crashed it into a tree kinda like that Minnaar video.They are giving her a new frame though, so it's OK.

I haven't asked the question of the dealers yet, but bike frames generally come with lifetime warranties, right?

MY GF (Gary Fischer, not girl friend) was covered after 12 years. They even provided a CF rear triangle as they were out of Alu ones. Installation was provided by the dealer at no cost. Apart from downtime, and the potential of incidental injury if your frame breaks before you fall, CF does seem like a good way to go. All the bikes (2 Intense, 1 Trek) were CF and covered the retail price range of $6K to $3K. They are pretty ubiquitous these days.
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
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I haven't asked the question of the dealers yet, but bike frames generally come with lifetime warranties, right?

Unfortunately, I don't think so.

Here's the one relevant to my interests:

YETI Cycles will repair or replace, at its option, any of the listed frames it determines to be defective due to defective materials and/or workmanship: SB6, SB5.5, SB5, SB5 BETI, SB5+, SB4.5, ASR, ASR BETI. The (5) five year limited warranty is conditioned upon the bicycle being ridden under normal conditions and having been properly maintained. This warranty does not apply to the components attached to the frameset such as suspension components, wheels, drive train, brakes, seat post, handlebar and stem. This warranty applies only to the original owner and is non-transferable. This warranty is void if the bicycle was not properly assembled by an authorized Yeti dealer.

 

Erik Timmerman

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Yeah, usually you are looking at "crash replacement" if you wrap it around a tree like she did. It's like skis, there are defects that you can warranty, and damage that you can't. It's up to the discretion of the company and it doesn't hurt to have bought through a shop that has good relations with both you and the company.
 
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Doug Briggs

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So I'm guessing it is a gray area when failure may have been caused by an impact but not realized until the point of failure later on. My GF just cracked through usage, but it was fortunately under a lifetime warranty. Thanks for the info @epic and @Monique .
 

scott43

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So I'm guessing it is a gray area when failure may have been caused by an impact but not realized until the point of failure later on. My GF just cracked through usage, but it was fortunately under a lifetime warranty. Thanks for the info @epic and @Monique .
Your shop can tell if you broke it though abuse, trust me. :D Question is will they go to bat for you..
 

Erik Timmerman

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There are going to be certain places where they crack that are the usual suspects. When it is crunched somewhere else it'll be pretty obvious. And if your shop sells a ton of bikes, they might go to bat for you.
 

Monique

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I was at the bike shop where I bought my Yeti yesterday, and I asked the guy who sold me the bike about carbon and damage. He made an offhanded comment that last year they were seeing as many as two cracked frames a week (across manufacturers), but had seen very few this year. I looked at him with alarm. He said, "Well, the way I look at it, they're getting better!"

....

I have no idea how many bikes they sell, or how old the cracked frames were.
 
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Doug Briggs

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This begs the question, how minor a nick to the frame can cause a failure at a later time? If you see a nick in the frame, what do you do? Or is the frame just a wreck waiting to happen.

I'm not discarding CF from my list of options because of this, but am interested in learning about technologies I don't have experience with.
 

scott43

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Way back in the time machine, when CF first was available, I swore off it. Bonding failures for dropouts, brake bridges etc turned me against CF. But..over time, like aluminum before it, CF has been sorted out to be a much better product. Remember when the old Viscount alu forks would spontaneously snap and put you on the ground? Not often to see an alu part break these days. Same with CF. They sorted out the bonding and problems with galvanic corrosion. And they stopped designing them like steel frames (just like alu before) and actually engineered the parts to utilize the strengths of the material, like alu before it. Most failures occur because of crash damage and damage from improperly installed parts etc. Pure CF, like a handlebar, is extremely strong. If you cut some fibres inadvertently in a crash or by scratching/denting the part during installation. Steel was unique because it generally never failed, lifetime frame warranty. Crash a steel frame and you just cold-set it back to straight. Job done. Alu was not so forgiving hence the limited frame warranty. CF, same. Limited warranty. Here is one of the first alu frames:
item-20050711221849328.jpg


Notice the attempt to maintain the same general dims of steel, altogether poor materials engineering. Compare that with my MTB frame:

Giant-XTC-FR-carbon-frame-26er-bike-frame-fat-bike-18-inch-aluminum-alloy-MTB-frame.jpg


Notice the huge frame tubes that are custom formed for their position in the frame. Huge diference. Similar to CF. Early Allez frame (if you have one never ride it!)
allez.jpg


Once again, trying to mimic the steel frames of the day and completely misusing the technology of CF. Compare that with the current monocoque type frames made of CF.

2017_YetiCycles_SB5_Plus_TS_Blk-desktop_2x_08cf166a-6f58-4048-bea6-aaf39b3e61ad.jpg

So it's obvious how far the CF design and manufacture has come. Do the same caveats apply to CF as far as crash damage and failures? Yeah..but they've never been better..and they are simply awesome to ride. I'd be very diligent in watching scratches, cracks and noises and just love riding such a great bike. The quality of riding and weight would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.
 

Monique

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So am I honestly never supposed to fall while riding? What constitutes a crash? This seems crazy for a sport that regularly involves rocks.
 

scott43

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So am I honestly never supposed to fall while riding? What constitutes a crash? This seems crazy for a sport that regularly involves rocks.
Well, there's a reason Bill Talbot still rides steel only.. :D Just ride it Monique, I don't think you will crash hard enough to damage it significantly, barring a colossal bin-job. And enjoy it! You have an awesome bike..I'm banging along on an alu hard-tail!! :)
 

Monique

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You have an awesome bike..I'm banging along on an alu hard-tail!! :)

Hah! Well, "to each according to his need" ... I "need" a fancy bike to make up for my lack of fitness and skill!
 
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Doug Briggs

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Well I went for some short rides on:
  • Norco Sight: Alu, 1x11, 27.5. Felt nice and was my first ride in 4 weeks so may have been influenced by my excitement to be back in the saddle
  • Intense Spider: Alu, 2x10, 27.5. Meh. It convinced me that have a 1x drive train is the way to go. Dropper lever was hard to access and reminded me of how many times I mistakenly hit the front derailleur or dropper lever when I wanted the other on the Sugar 2+; I'm old. New tricks are hard for me.
  • Ibis Mojo 3: CF, 1x11, 27.5. Really like this bike. I'm going to pay to demo tomorrow or Saturday. I'm inclined to get this bike.
  • Santa Cruz 1810: CF, 1x11. Was already reserved by a deposit. Liked it a lot, too.
Selection has been reduced by people placing deposits on demo bikes that will be available on Tuesday after Labor Day. For example the '18 Trek Remedy I rode last week when I could only ride pavement, and would have liked to have ridden again, is gone. Given that I'm upgrading in such a big way and the range of the bikes I've been on, I'm pretty happy that the Ibis will keep me rolling with a smile on my face.

More to come soon.

On a health note, I rode mellow single track that had some twists and turns, roots and rock and didn't feel hindered by the lingering pain. A longer ride with more exertion will probably stress me a bit more, but I had no lack of strength from the pain saying 'NOOOO'.
 

Monique

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On a health note, I rode mellow single track that had some twists and turns, roots and rock and didn't feel hindered by the lingering pain. A longer ride with more exertion will probably stress me a bit more, but I had no lack of strength from the pain saying 'NOOOO'.

:yahoo:
 

Tony

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You're recovering much faster than me. After walking dogs, I rode a little over an hour today, my first time on a bike in two months. (Tomorrow makes 9 weeks since my crash.) My ride was mostly on easy dirt and paved paths and residential streets, with a little on busier streets. It was about 90 when I got home a little after noon. I will probably ride in Santa Cruz tomorrow where it's a lot cooler, but I'm not ready to take advantage of the $20 factory demos they offer.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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You could also go best frame, lower components, and up-grade as necessary. I think upgrading's kind of fun.

IMHO, better advice for a young person, or someone who is into tinkering and itching to tweak all the time. Ya gotta ask, "How many more years will I be riding off road?" How many of those years do you want to spend waiting for the build you really want, when you're still healthy and in your peak earning years? For Doug, who seems very happy to ride the same bike for ten years without excessive analysis, I say burn the candle at both ends, baby.
 
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scott43

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IMHO, better advice for a young person, or someone who is into tinkering and itching to tweak all the time. Ya gotta ask, "How many more years will I be riding off road?" How many of those years do you want to spend waiting for the build you really want, when you're still healthy and in your peak earning years? For Doug, who seems very happy to ride the same bike for ten years without excessive analysis, I say burn the candle at both ends, baby.
And really, it's cheaper to just get the build you want. Replace the ODD thing that bothers you..but the gruppo is cheaper as a complete new bike..
 

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