Bicycling

Kalaar kururuc · Jun 22, 2015

I did look at the Niner, they seem to get great reviews. Closest dealer is 70 miles away though, which is a pita. It does look rather nice in the metallic red though.

edit: not sure if this is good or bad but Niner are as rare as rocking horse shit in the UK. That may be a plus as maybe not as easy to sell a stolen one on ebay. And it may be bad as not a massive support presence

Ao- · Jun 22, 2015

Kalaar Kururuc_sl said:
I did look at the Niner, they seem to get great reviews. Closest dealer is 70 miles away though, which is a pita. It does look rather nice in the metallic red though.

edit: not sure if this is good or bad but Niner are as rare as rocking horse shit in the UK. That may be a plus as maybe not as easy to sell a stolen one on ebay. And it may be bad as not a massive support presence

Talk to your LBS, see if they're comfortable doing maintenance on it. They shouldn't really have a problem, as I don't think there is much gear that is niner-specific. And 70 miles to get the bike is a one-time thing (though, you'll want to demo it and ride around quite a bit; bring your own pedals and shoes, etc).

Eomer · Jun 22, 2015

Kalaar Kururuc_sl said:
I don't have the nerve for proper DH'ing. I did a few runs in BC on the moderate stuff with my own bike, but watching some of the kids bomb by in full armour and with no sense of self-preservation made me feel old

I'm sure on a proper bike it would be different though and it does look fun.

Actually, most of the cool kids at Whistler, Silver Star etc. don't even wear body armor. They wear a full face helmet, maybe some gloves, skinny jeans and a plaid flannel shirt. It's the older, fragile fucks in their 30's like me that rock the armor. DH really is super fun, but yeah the consequences of a bad crash are pretty huge. That being said, a run like Crank It Up @ Whistler can be ridden at just about any speed, so you can work your way up confidence wise. But don't hit up shit like Freight Train or Dirt Merchant until you're feeling really good about things, because those runs you absolutely have to maintain speed for some of the jumps and drops to avoid damaging your bike or yourself.

Kalaar kururuc · Jun 22, 2015

I stayed at whistler for a few days when I first moved to canada, thing I remember most is the crazy number of legs and arms in casts

Seventh · Jun 22, 2015

I went to Highland again today, end of a little 5-day mini MTB vacation. Rented a Santa Cruz V10 - carbon DH, travel for days. Holy shit what an amazing bike. The only downside is that I REALLY do not like the newer Guide brakes that everyone is raving about. Holy shit they were awful all day - tons of fade, weird modulation and just not very good at all. The shop bled them, swapped pads, and tweaked them throughout the day but I just couldn't get them to cooperate.

Otherwise though, freakin' awesome day out on an amazing bike, but in my limited DH experience the Saint brakes are 500% better than the Guides. Oblig pic:

jooka · Jun 22, 2015

Dh and mtb in general is not for me, I'm very good at breaking myself and need not another way to do so.

Ao- · Jun 22, 2015

I'm doing my first real DH this weekend. It's not going to be anything too extreme (this is the upper-midwest), but I'm a little intimidated on it. Any suggestions?

Larnix · Jun 23, 2015

DH to me is all about finding that perfect balance between fast enough vs. out of control and trusting that the bike is going to take care of you. Not enough speed over roots or rocks doesn't allow the suspension to operate the way its intended and of course to fast and you lose control. There is no shame in walking a section that you may not be comfortable with, better then breaking hard in it and going OTB or getting bucked off because your rolling speed is just to slow. Try to look ahead on the trail and not right in front of you as the bike tends to generally go in the direction your head is looking (don't focus on that tree or scarey ditch off on the side).

If the bike suspension is adjustable take the time to set it up to you weight. General rule is 25% sag. So standing on the bike with all your gear on the shocks should compress 1/4 of the way down. A shock pump, tape measure a friend to help and it can take 5 minutes or less to get yourself in the ballpark. If you ride awhile and it feels harsh then let out about 5psi or soft add 5psi. If your fork or shock is a coil then you can try adjusting the rebound. A poorly set up bike can take much of the fun out of the experience.

Ao- · Jun 23, 2015

Larnix_sl said:
DH to me is all about finding that perfect balance between fast enough vs. out of control and trusting that the bike is going to take care of you. Not enough speed over roots or rocks doesn't allow the suspension to operate the way its intended and of course to fast and you lose control. There is no shame in walking a section that you may not be comfortable with, better then breaking hard in it and going OTB or getting bucked off because your rolling speed is just to slow. Try to look ahead on the trail and not right in front of you as the bike tends to generally go in the direction your head is looking (don't focus on that tree or scarey ditch off on the side).

If the bike suspension is adjustable take the time to set it up to you weight. General rule is 25% sag. So standing on the bike with all your gear on the shocks should compress 1/4 of the way down. A shock pump, tape measure a friend to help and it can take 5 minutes or less to get yourself in the ballpark. If you ride awhile and it feels harsh then let out about 5psi or soft add 5psi. If your fork or shock is a coil then you can try adjusting the rebound. A poorly set up bike can take much of the fun out of the experience.

I need a new mountain bike

I'm riding an old ass S95 that was built as a DH racer by a friend. He moved and I kept it. I think it's going to be a lot of time on the greens the first few times until I get comfortable. Thanks for the insight!

Eomer · Jun 23, 2015

Also: send it, you fucking pussy.

latheboy · Jul 1, 2015

Ao-_sl said:
but I'm a little intimidated on it. Any suggestions?

Wear Body Armour!!!!
I'm 38 and mostly ride DH ... I don't need to look cool like the kids and pros, I like get up after a sit down and still ride for the rest of the day.

Wear a good full face helmet and goggles.
Trust the bike, they are designed for much better riders then most of the people riding them.

My local DH track has died.
Some scumbags went though and smashed ALL the jumps.
Also put logs across the track just after the landings/ down ramps.
Gutted by this, so much work wasted.
Not to mention how deadly it could have been if someone crashed because of this....
Only good thing is it's winter here in OZ so not much riding anyway.
Got some digging to do.

I just don't get why this happens.

Ao- · Jul 1, 2015

latheboy_sl said:
Wear Body Armour!!!!
I'm 38 and mostly ride DH ... I don't need to look cool like the kids and pros, I like get up after a sit down and still ride for the rest of the day.

Wear a good full face helmet and goggles.
Trust the bike, they are designed for much better riders then most of the people riding them.

My local DH track has died.
Some scumbags went though and smashed ALL the jumps.
Also put logs across the track just after the landings/ down ramps.
Gutted by this, so much work wasted.
Not to mention how deadly it could have been if someone crashed because of this....
Only good thing is it's winter here in OZ so not much riding anyway.
Got some digging to do.

I just don't get why this happens.

It was fine for me. I actually enjoyed the trail riding the day before where we were doing a bunch of climbing rather than just the gravity/dh runs. My buddy ate it on a small bump on the traverse on the 3rd DH run and tore the shit out of his back, I did ~4 more runs while he drank in the bar and wallowed in pity. The body armor/full-face mask is no joke, I should have had it (and it probably would have saved him the scrapes), but I was more careful and had a bit more experience (keeping weight on the back tire almost exclusively, proper pedal locations during transitions, etc). My bike was definitely setup to excel at this more than I was capable of using it, which was pretty damn nice.

Miguex · Jul 5, 2015

its probably crazy to start a TDF thread in the sports section right? Throwing my two bits in for Cancellara and the German riders as usual. Martin may have a slim chance, but this years course is wonky. Hard to say who has an advantage.

Fifey · Jul 5, 2015

Miguex_sl said:
Hard to say who has an advantage.

Spoiler alert : The one with the most EPO in his pocket will win.

Seventh · Jul 6, 2015

Miguex_sl said:
its probably crazy to start a TDF thread in the sports section right? Throwing my two bits in for Cancellara and the German riders as usual. Martin may have a slim chance, but this years course is wonky. Hard to say who has an advantage.

Laurens Ten Dam is a fuckin' machine. Everyone's probably familiar with him finishing the 2011 tourwith his face bandaged and bleeding all over the place from a big crash. Today he was part of that big wreck, dislocating his shoulder. He popped it back in and finished the stage. Yeesh.

Miguex · Jul 6, 2015

that crash today was grizzly. I heard about the crash so I watched the stage after my post work ride, didn't want that crap in my head while riding. these dudes are studs, even with the shaved legs.

Borzak · Jul 9, 2015

Another couple of "smaller" crashes today in the wet weather. I haven't watched as much as I normally do but everday seems like crash city so far.

Seventh · Jul 9, 2015

Poor Tony Martin.

Seventh · Jul 12, 2015

So I did this on Friday:

Under 15mph average, but I don't feel too bad, because the elevation profile looks like this:

Starting a sustained 6-10% climb for five miles straight at the 98 mile mark had me so deep into the pain cave I almost blacked out a couple of times. Right around here, I'd say:

But the reward was fucking awesome:

Miguex · Jul 12, 2015

51 mph...you're fucking crazy. Awesome ride.

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