More mountain biking

[Raymund]

So, Gravel...I have a theory, and I'm not trying to offend, but it seems like the gravel bikes of today are yesterday's mountain bikes. I look at that geometry and I instantly go back to my first trek mountain bike, an 850 from about 1997. I still have that bike. I've been thinking about puttng curly bars and gravel tires on it. Its a full steel frame, rigid fork and 24 speed.

Not offended at all. That is a cyclocross bike with 38mm tyres, which is the max it can take. The differences are a few: carbon fork, discs, internal cable routing, gears, tubeless...and yeah I had a hardtail back in the '90s too. I wanted another bike that could go on the road for training (I throw 32mm Maxxis Refuse on them for that as I'm not a roadie), rail it on fire trails and do everything else on it except where a dual suspension MTB is needed. And the complete opposite of my latest bike which is a motorbike without an engine.

Bring back the Trek I say. A mix of retro components mixed with some current stuff would work. It's all about the smile it brings.

 

[Mike_H]

Not offended at all. That is a cyclocross bike with 38mm tyres, which is the max it can take. The differences are a few: carbon fork, discs, internal cable routing, gears, tubeless...and yeah I had a hardtail back in the '90s too. I wanted another bike that could go on the road for training (I throw 32mm Maxxis Refuse on them for that as I'm not a roadie), rail it on fire trails and do everything else on it except where a dual suspension MTB is needed. And the complete opposite of my latest bike which is a motorbike without an engine.

Bring back the Trek I say. A mix of retro components mixed with some current stuff would work. It's all about the smile it brings.

Sounds like my fat bike! well, it has 4" tires, but everything else you said applies. Most of the time, that is my "gravel bike" LOL. I'm no roadie either, and I might fight someone who said I was! The curly bars would be a tough pill to swallow...all my riding buddies would give me shit.

Full squish where is live is almost a waste. A steel frame, big tires and a carbon fork provide all the damping you need. We don't have giant, sendy flow trails where you're catching huge air. The hardtail niner I built with 140 mm travel is PLENTY for anything I can ride within a 3 hour drive.

 

[Raymund]

Sounds like my fat bike! well, it has 4" tires, but everything else you said applies. Most of the time, that is my "gravel bike" LOL. I'm no roadie either, and I might fight someone who said I was! The curly bars would be a tough pill to swallow...all my riding buddies would give me shit.

Full squish where is live is almost a waste. A steel frame, big tires and a carbon fork provide all the damping you need. We don't have giant, sendy flow trails where you're catching huge air. The hardtail niner I built with 140 mm travel is PLENTY for anything I can ride within a 3 hour drive.

They'll give you shit cos they're afraid of things that aren't familiar to them lol. Throw one of these on it with a flare angle on the side and a riser bar. That'll mess with their minds. I'm thinking about it.

You choose a bike for the tracks you ride. Sounds sensible to me. 140mm on a niner would roll well and eat everything around your area by the sound of it. And nice weight too.

 

[Catalyst~]

Another gravel rider here...it's definitely a nice change of pace when the trails are too wet to ride. I stay off the main roads and enjoy exploring the forest service roads. Can also ride from the house and be on dirt within 4-5 miles. Can't beat that!

And yes, resurrect the Trek! You'll enjoy it.

Salsa Cutthroat with the flared bars mentioned above and clearance for 29er mountain bike tires. It's basically a drop bar mountain bike with enough room to hold all the water bottles you could possibly want.

 

[Troutbum]

The EX is from Logan UT. Needless to say my wife is very much against the idea of living there. Which is why I’m looking at souther ID or Eastern WA

I live in Logan.

 

[Troutbum]

The GF, dog, and I just got back from a Biking/Fishing trip in the Sawtooth Mountains above Ketchum. If you haven't been there to do either, you should. Lots of singletrack and accessible waters for everyone to enjoy.

 

[Raymund]

That just motivated me to go for a ride in a few hours and justify why I paid for another MTB lol. Might as well get my money's worth on the 1st free service coming up lol

 

[NDSpeed]

What source are you using for parts?

just got the wife a new specialized rock hopper. Figure on getting a pair Of riser bars since we we aren’t spring chickens anymore

 

[NDSpeed]

I live in Logan.

I never did any riding there. I was recovering from a busted R shoulder. Did plenty of wheeling up Green Canyon and a small quarry type area N of USU

 

[Mike_H]

What source are you using for parts?

just got the wife a new specialized rock hopper. Figure on getting a pair Of riser bars since we we aren’t spring chickens anymore

I cross check a bunch of sites. Jenson USA, chain reaction cycles, eBay, Merlin cycles, etc.

 

[Reign Mack]

Recently got back into biking and been rebuilding my mtb, decided to build my own wheels this time, always avoided wheel building but it really wasnt the dark art I always assumed it would be. Was pretty easy once I calculated the correct left and right spoke length to order; hardest/longest part was truing the wheel once built making sure it wasnt egg shaped.

 

[Cheesy]

Nice job. What the hell is the rim sitting on?

 

[MikekiM]

Nice job. What the hell is the rim sitting on?

Assembly jig. The hub and rim start off separate. The jig supports the rim and hub without spokes. From there you go over to the truing stand.

 

[Cheesy]

Assembly jig. The hub and rim start off separate. The jig supports the rim and hub without spokes. From there you go over to the truing stand.

Thanks. Never saw one before, I've always used my lap when lacing wheels.

 

[Reign Mack]

Thanks. Never saw one before, I've always used my lap when lacing wheels.

yeah it just makes it super easy and relaxing plus you can kind if dish the wheels before you even start tensioning, its fully adjustable and folds up neatly too, I laced the rear wheel standing up with this this on my desk.

 

[Woodrow]

Assembly jig. The hub and rim start off separate. The jig supports the rim and hub without spokes. From there you go over to the truing stand.

I haven’t seen that either. It’s always a little awkward when you start. That might help.

 

[NDSpeed]

I too have started getting back into the MTB. out here in CO they have these thorns called “goat heads” down south we’d call them sticker burrs. they have so many names.

never had a flat or a blowout until i moved to Colorado. now it’s every time i go out.

so this time we made them tubeless. utilized stan’s tubeless seal. time tape and presto valves

 

[MikekiM]

I too have started getting back into the MTB. out here in CO they have these thorns called “goat heads” down south we’d call them sticker burrs. they have so many names.

never had a flat or a blowout until i moved to Colorado. now it’s every time i go out.

so this time we made them tubeless. utilized stan’s tubeless seal. time tape and presto valves

Fatty Strippers tubeless and Stans for the win.

 

[Reign Mack]

I too have started getting back into the MTB. out here in CO they have these thorns called “goat heads” down south we’d call them sticker burrs. they have so many names.

never had a flat or a blowout until i moved to Colorado. now it’s every time i go out.

so this time we made them tubeless. utilized stan’s tubeless seal. time tape and presto valves

I was shocked with all the huge changes over just the last 6 years when I got back into riding, have not taken the plunge into tubeless as it solves a problem I dont have where I ride, but I do run TPU tubes now.

I sold my old Marzochi Shivers on ebay earlier this year for the same price I purchased them for in 2004, I kept them in really good condition over the years and UST forks and vintage mtb seems to be making a comeback so they sold pretty fast and had thousands of views. I miss them but I wanted more travel for drops offs and lockout for riding up hill.

 

[MikekiM]

I was shocked with all the huge changes over just the last 6 years when I got back into riding, have not taken the plunge into tubeless as it solves a problem I dont have where I ride, but I do run TPU tubes now.

I sold my old Marzochi Shivers on ebay earlier this year for the same price I purchased them for in 2004, I kept them in really good condition over the years and UST forks and vintage mtb seems to be making a comeback so they sold pretty fast and had thousands of views. I miss them but I wanted more travel for drops offs and lockout for riding up hill.

View attachment 681134

View attachment 681135

Tubeless will bring a weight savings, option to air down farther and depending on tpi, potentially a nicer ride... if you care about any of that.