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Mountain Biking 2020

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ZionPow

Making fresh tracks
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We have hero dirt finally, too. Well, I'll scout it tomorrow.

I put a 32 tooth oval (Absolute Black) on my bike and I sure feel like I can motor up punchy stuff a lot more easily now. I also set a PR on Tuesday on a .7 mile segment I've ridden 137 times and I'm kinda shocked and kinda excited! And now two days later, I'm pooped. Recovery does not come easily after 50! That being said, after feeling like I might have "too much bike" in my new Fuel EX 9.8, after opening that thing up and getting more aggressive (if I push hard climbing, it carries over into the downhill) I'm finding that the bike RIPS both up and down. :ogbiggrin:
Can you feel a big difference with the oval? Was your original ring 32T also. Do you recommend oval?
 

ZionPow

Making fresh tracks
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after riding north fork and sardine a few times this spring I was questioning whether my RipMo was overkill. I gotta think it probably weighs 10lbs. more than a lot of other bikes out there. I remembered why I have it when I got out here to the land of Granite besides l’m not racing anyone.
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Wait till you get to Moab, then you will really appreciate it.
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How much does your RipMo weigh? It looks like a good fit for your variety of trails.
 

Tom K.

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Can you feel a big difference with the oval? Was your original ring 32T also. Do you recommend oval?

I tried oval chainrings for a month several years back. Initially, I thought I liked them, but then concluded that I was having more post-ride muscle fatigue, and reverted to round.

Totally unscientific. No real data whatsoever, and N = 1.
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
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after riding north fork and sardine a few times this spring I was questioning whether my RipMo was overkill. I gotta think it probably weighs 10lbs. more than a lot of other bikes out there. I remembered why I have it when I got out here to the land of Granite besides l’m not racing anyone.
View attachment 102957

Wait till you get to Moab, then you will really appreciate it.
View attachment 102950
Yes, it really smooths out the rock gardens for sure. It isn't quite as nimble as the previous version of the same bike, but that just makes me get get more aggressive which is not a bad thing. I do feel it a bit more while climbing, but I don't seem to be hurting on climb times so it might feel slower, but it's actually not.
Can you feel a big difference with the oval? Was your original ring 32T also. Do you recommend oval?
I only really feel it on punchy climbs. I've always had to push ultra hard to clear rides like Last Chance and all those rock gardens and sometimes I'd still stall out, and loose, steeper stuff has always been really hard for me. I've ridden this bike enough without the oval to feel the difference the oval makes on that kind of stuff. I don't feel it much anywhere else. I've read that ovals are especially advantageous for those riding flats (me.) The original was a 32 tooth, yes. I decided that the 30 tooth I ran the past two seasons just allowed me to be lazy and I started getting slower. @utskier put an oval on as well and is not sold. He rides clipless. He also has not struggled on places that require more power, and having come from a road biking background, I think he's better at maintaining cadence.

I'm looking forward to riding with it more and seeing if I overall get faster, because I really think I will because I can blast up stuff that previously would stall me out.
 

AmyPJ

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I tried oval chainrings for a month several years back. Initially, I thought I liked them, but then concluded that I was having more post-ride muscle fatigue, and reverted to round.

Totally unscientific. No real data whatsoever, and N = 1.
So, our shop owner says that it's easier on the knees. I'll report back if I find that I feel it's not or if I'm noticing more fatigue. I can see how different people will have different experiences. Shop owner also does not use one but has in the past.
 

4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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How much does your RipMo weigh? It looks like a good fit for your variety of trails.
Stripped down it probably weighs around 29 pounds, add my water bottle, large tool bag, heavy tires & I may be pushing 34 pounds.
Yes, I think it is a great bike for me. It doesn’t mean I ride a lot of things that I wouldn’t before but it makes many of them easier and lets me at lest begin to visualize some new stuff ;)

Not me...
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I never thought I would be on a 29er but this one just feels right & makes me :ogbiggrin: !

Yes, it really smooths out the rock gardens for sure. It isn't quite as nimble as the previous version of the same bike, but that just makes me get get more aggressive which is not a bad thing. I do feel it a bit more while climbing, but I don't seem to be hurting on climb times so it might feel slower, but it's actually not.
Haha, that describes to a T my feelings about the difference between my 27.5 Remedy and my RipMo 29er except that the 29er feels slower on the DH when it is actually/probably just smoother ;)
 

Doug Briggs

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The view of Breck from a slightly different vista than usual. The aspen are beginning to leaf out. Such a senseless waste. Someone did put some nice tracks down Horseshoe Bowl in the last day or two.

I found a small tree down on my way to the ones I'd been alerted to. It took longer to assemble and disassemble the saw than to cut the tree.

Onward to the focus of the ride.

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The near tree was a cinch. Curiously the top of the tree had been cut by chainsaw to clear the road. I guess the sawyer didn't mt. bike.

The other one was a mess of branches and was 18" if not 20" in diameter.

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This is the second cut. I had to lever it off the trail once cut. It took at least an hour and a half for this beetle kill tree to yield to the blade. I was exhausted.

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Mischief managed. I'm going to sleep well and be sore tomorrow. Such fun, though.

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The fence and sign have been there for years. Some people...

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Yet another photo of Breck. Snow to the base areas on all peaks.
 

Tom K.

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I found a small tree down on my way to the ones I'd been alerted to. It took longer to assemble and disassemble the saw than to cut the tree.

Are you a certified USFS "saw guy", or just in an area with some common sense? My home FS district can be a bit prickly about just anybody clearing windfalls......

In any event, good on ya!
 

Doug Briggs

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Are you a certified USFS "saw guy", or just in an area with some common sense? My home FS district can be a bit prickly about just anybody clearing windfalls......

In any event, good on ya!
The local trail crews are generally happy to have us help. We have been getting blow down every day for a while now. I don't know if they could keep up and I think they realize the damage to off-trail from people avoiding dead-fall can be significant and is better avoided. I know there are trail crew on the page that I post to on Facebook and no one has messaged me to cease and desist.

And thanks.
 

nay

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The verdict on the new Raceface TurbineR stem and Next 35 (mm) bars...amazing. Straight lines in gnarly stuff are straighter and the bike is poppier. Better everywhere.

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I’m already faster and carbon bars are so much more comfortable. Has me thinking I might flip chip to low setting and drop the HT angle to 63.5° (It’s currently 63.9°). 150mm downhill bike :ogbiggrin:.

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Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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Finally getting some trail time. This was a new area to us so we were "sight reading." We went from snow to black flies to mosquitoes in about a week, it seems like.

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4ster

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!
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*black flies*

:geek:
Don’t know if we have the same here in the Sierra but they are black, they are flies & they bite. Saw the first of the season today :geek::mask::eek:. Luckily they don’t usually last to long & can definitely provide motivation to just “keep going “!

Upper elevations are beginning to open up...
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socalgal

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Found some fun berms and jumps that the local kids built up near our house. We went for an early morning ride adventure.
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AmyPJ

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Can you feel a big difference with the oval? Was your original ring 32T also. Do you recommend oval?
Updating: @utskier does not like the oval at all. He took it off. He rides clipless, which I think is the difference. He says it felt like it messed with his rhythm.
Sardine was so nice this morning--surprise rain sometime last night made it amazing (a few greasy corners slowed me down, plus the growth making the blind corners blinder!)

My heavier bike is not as fun on longer climbs like Sardine :( It rips up short sections that require bursts, but longer slogs are more work. Debating going to less of a tire in the back. I already have one in the garage that I took off my "old" bike.
 

Tony S

I have a confusion to make ...
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Debating going to less of a tire in the back. I already have one in the garage that I took off my "old" bike.

What are the tires that are being compared? (Not that we have the same riding surfaces here. I'm just curious. I went to bigger tires last summer and ... yes, whaddya know, they're noticeably slower on climbs and accelerations.)
 
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