EB Cycling Club

[Supe]

I will admit to being skeptical of the 1X setup for mountain bikes, but after buying and riding one for about a year now, I have zero issues with it, and like it a lot. I have not met a hill that I can't climb (yet) with my 1X.

The fact that my 2x square taper crank has already shit the bed has me spooked.  Yeah, it's probably a fluke, but...

Around here, I almost never use the lowest granny gears, and I only used the tall chain ring to get me out of the woods when the crank took a shit, and to "race" Junior up the street once.  There are no super long/steep sustained climbs.  It's lots of short punchy stuff with roots everywhere, so you spin half the time if you're in the lowest gear.  Most importantly, it's one less thing to break.  

I just ordered a SRAM DUB bottom bracket and NX Eagle crank set and all the tools I need to install everything (and work on Mrs. Supe's/Junior's bikes), so fingers crossed!

Meanwhile I'm over here on my $200 used bike...

Yeah, but you don't have OTD (obsessive tinkering disorder).

 

[Supe]

Meanwhile I'm over here on my $200 used bike...

This reminds me of how nuts the lower end used market is right now.  I am seeing Trek Marlin 5's, the entry level $600 Trek, selling used for $800 and being snatched up in 10-15 minutes of posting.  It is INSANE.

 

[Road Guy]

Is this saltwater bad for the gears?

 

[Supe]

Meh, hose it down afterwards and cross your fingers.  The noise from sand being in my chain/cassette/derailleur would make me want to chuck the thing in the water anyways.  

 

[Supe]

Part still on order from Trek.  All they can tell me is that they placed the order for the parts, with zero ETA on when it will show up from Shimano.  I guess the race is on as to whether Trek will finish the warranty work before all my new stuff shows up and I do it myself...

I've made the decision to at least go look at the Santa Cruz in person.  Just waiting for this congestion to clear up before I venture out anywhere again.

 

[csb]

Yes. Just "look." 

(Waits for Supe to post pictures of his new bike.)

 

[Supe]

So of course my Box 1 stuff gets here (really nice, gives you an appreciation for how crappy lower end derailleurs and shifters are), but Jenson not only hasn't shipped my crank and bottom bracket, but the order history is showing me paying for both but only lists the bottom bracket as having been ordered.  WTF?  Tried calling, got put in queue, got queue callback, said leave a message, we're getting 1300+ calls.  WTFFFFF?  Put in a ticket online, we'll see if I get a response.  If they can't get their shit together, I'm just going to cancel the order and buy Shimano or Raceface cranks and BB somewhere else, since everyone is out of stock on the SRAM.

 

[Supe]

Sure enough, he has absolutely no clue why it did that, but apologized, and offered to cancel the order after showing the crankset was now on backorder.  I got lucky, found ONE PLACE that had both the crankset and BB in stock, and with their "join our email list" deal, the % off was able to more than offset two day shipping.  I'm going riding this weekend if it kills me! 

 

[Road Guy]

I cant decide between logging some good mtn biking miles this weekend or doing some jeeping.....

 

[Supe]

I cant decide between logging some good mtn biking miles this weekend or doing some jeeping.....

May as well get the biking in before it gets too hot to want to do it.

Mrs. Supe hasn't been feeling well (back spasms), so I stole her bike and took Junior for a short ride last night.  She has been complaining about craning her neck too much when she rides, and she needs to be more upright than most because her neck has never been right since a car accident several years back.  Man, her setup is terrible!  Between the length of the stem and the seat pitched forward like she has it, you basically had to ride with arms locked out in front of you.  My wrists/palms were killing me after about 3 minutes of riding, because it's like all your weight is in your hands and working to keep you on the bike. 

Going to adjust her seat this weekend, but I think I'm going to order her a shorter stem (70mm factory, going to order a 35mm) and some riser bars that are swept back a bit more.  Think that'll do it?  Can't move her seat much further forward, but changing the angle will SURELY help.  

Of course, after seeing that we went riding without her, she made the comment - "I'm bummed you went without me.  I don't like not having an extra bike in case one is broken, you need to go get a spare."

My response: 

 

[FLBuff PE]

Part still on order from Trek.  All they can tell me is that they placed the order for the parts, with zero ETA on when it will show up from Shimano.  I guess the race is on as to whether Trek will finish the warranty work before all my new stuff shows up and I do it myself...

I've made the decision to at least go look at the Santa Cruz in person.  Just waiting for this congestion to clear up before I venture out anywhere again.

May as well get the biking in before it gets too hot to want to do it.

Mrs. Supe hasn't been feeling well (back spasms), so I stole her bike and took Junior for a short ride last night.  She has been complaining about craning her neck too much when she rides, and she needs to be more upright than most because her neck has never been right since a car accident several years back.  Man, her setup is terrible!  Between the length of the stem and the seat pitched forward like she has it, you basically had to ride with arms locked out in front of you.  My wrists/palms were killing me after about 3 minutes of riding, because it's like all your weight is in your hands and working to keep you on the bike. 

Going to adjust her seat this weekend, but I think I'm going to order her a shorter stem (70mm factory, going to order a 35mm) and some riser bars that are swept back a bit more.  Think that'll do it?  Can't move her seat much further forward, but changing the angle will SURELY help.  

Of course, after seeing that we went riding without her, she made the comment - "I'm bummed you went without me.  I don't like not having an extra bike in case one is broken, you need to go get a spare."

My response: 

Congrats on the new bike!

 

[Supe]

I feel like if I sit on the Santa Cruz and DON'T like it at this point, I'm going to be devastated.  

 

[csb]

Make sure the nose of that saddle is tipped up or she's going to have problems with her prostate in the long term. 

 

[Supe]

It's definitely a bit nosed down, and is first on my list of things to adjust.  

 

[Supe]

Waited in line 90 minutes to pick up my still broken Trek.

Now waiting for UPS guy like to show up with my crankset and BB like

 

[Supe]

It's up and running again! 

Of course, I KNEW the one part of this that had the potential to be a PITA was pulling the cranks off the square taper BB.  I splurged and bought the Park Tool crank puller knowing that it wouldn't strip out like the cheapies you find on Amazon.  Drive side crank, no problem.  Right side... STRIPPED HALF THE THREADS OFF THE TOOL AND BUGGERED THE CRANK THREADS IN DOING SO.  Ended up having to sacrifice the old crank arm and taking the bolt/block of wood/BFH approach to get it done. 

Smooth sailing after that.  Cassette gave no issues, nor did derailleur or bottom bracket.  The only thing that bugged me is that they don't mark the L/H screws, so on more than one occasion, I got it set, then accidentally adjusted it again after shifting and had to redo it.  Lucked out on chain, it was EXACTLY the right length.  Any shorter and I would have been screwed. 

Probably take it out to a trail tonight to see how everything works and what needs adjustment.  Shifted/sounded fine on the stand, we'll see if it stays that way under load.

 

[Road Guy]

so is the frame the only thing original on the bike at this point? 

 

[Supe]

so is the frame the only thing original on the bike at this point? 

Front fork, stem, handlebars, grips, wheels/tires.  But, I need to be a bit more upright, so I will be changing stem and handlebars. 

Maiden voyage went well.  Plenty of range.  Ran into some poor shifting in the lowest two gears towards the end of the trail, but a barrel adjuster turn cleaned that up.  No dropped chains or issues otherwise. 

 

[Supe]

The good news - I am a proud waitlisted owner of a 2018 Santa Cruz Tallboy Carbon, LOL.  Met the guy, negotiated a price (knocked off a couple hundred and he keeps the clipless pedals), and will be paying/picking it up as soon as his 2021 comes in which should be in 2-3 weeks or so since its his only bike.  It was actually in better shape than it looked in the pics for the most part.  All superficial scratches, mostly from his "idiot sons who thought it was a good idea to rest a carbon bike against the ping pong table in the garage."  

Bad news - I had my first Jerry of the Day moment yesterday.  Took Junior to a new trail on Monday, but since she and Mrs. Supe stayed up until 5AM playing video games on their phones, Mrs. Supe couldn't get out of bed.  It's right around a 6 mile loop, lots of fun, plenty of small jumps along the way (I hit one about 18" tall and forgot to drop my seat post down, whoops), and LOTS of drops anywhere from 8" to 2' or so, that if you're not careful, you can go over the bars.

Feeling left out, we went back again Tuesday morning.  After some minor heart attacks and one absolutely amazing fishtail save to keep myself from smacking a tree that was an "I wish I had that on video" moment (yes, it was the result of a terrible line choice, but you don't need to know that), adrenaline was up and I was feeling far too confident in my abilities. 

We progressed along the trail, and I really misjudged the tallest drop about 3/4 of the way in.  This particular one is about 6 to 7 feet tall or so, but isn't a problem as long as you do a slow roll in and just ride it straight down, keeping both wheels on the ground.  Naturally, that is the total opposite of what I did, since I forgot where I was on the trail and WAY overcooked the entry.  Of course, the brakes don't do shit when the wheels are sliding on steep, sandy soil, so I goosed it right into a root that sticks up about 4" out of the ground which grabbed the front tire, kicked the bike sideways, sending me into some sort of 1/4 turn sliding somersault.  This somersault landed me backwards into a sapling which "thankfully" stopped me by my neck, just in time for me to see my bike somehow bouncing into my extended/overhead legs.

Fortunately, no real harm done, other than one witness who checked on me after groaning "AUGGHHHH, MAN DOWN".  The bike getting tangled up in my legs gave me a pretty swollen and tender left ankle which is already feeling better this morning, and a couple punch marks in the back of my right ankle where the chainring somehow bit me.  The worst of it is the left thumb which bent backwards on the initial landing, which is very swollen and tender this morning, but I'm confident nothing is broken. 

I feel like I've been hit by a freight train right now, but Junior is really enjoying herself as she builds confidence and clears some of the features, and we're getting to spend time together, so it's worth it!

I definitely need to get a hydration pack ASAP.  I was empty on the big Gatorade bottle at the end of 6 miles, and there are quite a few longer trails within a short drive.  One of the 2/2.5L packs should work well.

 

[mudpuppy]

^That sounds exactly like stories everyone I know who mountain bikes tells, and then says, "you should try it!"  My favorite is my coworker that injured himself to the point where he was hospitalized with a kidney injury and still says I should get into it.  No thanks.