More mountain biking

Mike_H said:
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.
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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.
 
Raymund said:
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.
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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.
 
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Mike_H said:
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.
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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.

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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.
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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.

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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
 
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