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Do you have shops near the trails where you can test out the higher end bikes? its both good and bad if you know what I mean, but its cool to see the differences.
I think I would need to take a trip to find some.  Most of the local places (other than Trek) may stock some of the more popular stuff, but can't afford the overhead to carry a ton of different brands in multiple sizes.  There's one place that carries some Giant and another that carries some Santa Cruz, but most of the local places really cater to the road bike crowd.  Even then, there's only so much you can do riding around outside the shop.  What I'll probably do at some point is try renting some different makes from the USNWC and trying them out, which should help narrow it down.  

 
I saw some people did Mt Evans this past weekend, may have to get that on the earl August calendar?

Back in January I had some bad tendentious from over using my elbow - its mostly gone now, but I am seeing that on any bike ride of say 10 miles or more it just aggravates the hell out of the same elbow, it normally goes away in a day if I scrape it or us the theragun, but it just seems weird, must not be fully healed, I tried wearing a elbow sleeve but it didnt stop it from happening..  - anyone ever have anything similar happen? maybe just the vibration irritate it a little?  
I had that a year or so ago.  It lasted for what seemed forever.  I got it from shoveling dirt trying to landscape/grade my side yard.  You just need to let it rest and heal - it will eventually go away.

 
I saw some people did Mt Evans this past weekend, may have to get that on the earl August calendar?

Back in January I had some bad tendentious from over using my elbow - its mostly gone now, but I am seeing that on any bike ride of say 10 miles or more it just aggravates the hell out of the same elbow, it normally goes away in a day if I scrape it or us the theragun, but it just seems weird, must not be fully healed, I tried wearing a elbow sleeve but it didnt stop it from happening..  - anyone ever have anything similar happen? maybe just the vibration irritate it a little?  
Is it your dominant hand or the stranger? 

 
its the lefty (non dominant) Its been banged up ever since I was working on pull ups last January  - strange enough I can do pull ups with almost no pain, but things like raking leaves aggravate the hell out of it.  I went to the witch doctor in March and got some dry needling which really seemed to help, but basically through the quarantine I left it alone (didnt do any pull up type movements) and it got 90%- 

but something about a long bike ride also irritates the shit out of it. ( for example I did 74 hanging leg raises today and I dont feel any discomfort at all in the elbow) but Saturday after the ride I had to use my right arm to move my left arm..

 
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Finally put Junior's bike back together last night with hydraulic brakes and non-integrated shifters.  Good thing I guessed right on the parts, but not bad to do.  

I had never had the bike tuned up after initial purchase, and after going through the derailleur adjustments myself... good Lord those kids at big box stores don't know how to put a bike together.  Now shifts properly through all the gears.  Brakes were pre-bled, but still feel a bit spongey to me.  The rear brake line was too long, so I ordered another olive and barb to shorten and will rebleed everything and see how it feels.  She had also wrecked hard enough at one point that the handlebars were crooked, and she'd been riding around like that.  

 
its the lefty (non dominant) Its been banged up ever since I was working on pull ups last January  - strange enough I can do pull ups with almost no pain, but things like raking leaves aggravate the hell out of it.  I went to the witch doctor in March and got some dry needling which really seemed to help, but basically through the quarantine I left it alone (didnt do any pull up type movements) and it got 90%- 

but something about a long bike ride also irritates the shit out of it. ( for example I did 74 hanging leg raises today and I dont feel any discomfort at all in the elbow) but Saturday after the ride I had to use my right arm to move my left arm..
This is why my touring bike is a lawn chair with wheels. 

 
So I ordered a 180mm rotor to try on the front of my bike.  It stops OK, but feels like the rear brake does a lot of the work on hills, or I have to drag the rear brake to be confident in the stopping power of the front brake.  I've already got the spacers, so for $9, I figure it's worth a shot.

Also lucked out and found a $15 set of brand new Marin handlebar takeoffs for Junior's bike.  Her bars are only 600mm, and it really hinders your control over the front of the back.  Not sure why those narrow bars were ever a fad?  I think these are 780mm, and I'll cut them down if I have to, but they'll be loads better either way. 

Of course right after I buy my Trek, I find out that they're coming standard with a 1X for 2021 three months from now.  Not that I would have waited anyways, but it's the principle of the thing!

 
My repair stand is getting delivered today or tomorrow.  I already got sick of making Junior hold shit or working on it upside down  :bag:

 
We got one of those last year and although I didn’t need something else in the garage it Is Defin. Ice to have when you need it

 
I figure if I do one tuneup on each bike, it's already paid for itself.  Even just for washing bikes/lubricating chains it will make things a lot easier.  

 
So I was really surprised at how nice the bike stand was.  I ordered this one, though it's already gone up in price: https://www.amazon.com/Bikehand-Mechanic-Bicycle-Repair-Stand/dp/B00D9B7OKQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=bike+repair+stand&qid=1592490397&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMTlKM0JRUkhCWjVEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTAxODkzRThHQzVIQ0pTS0ZMJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NzQ1MjIxWlZWVTE4Wk1EME9HJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

I was really leaning towards ordering the Park Tool stand, which was $200 plus another $20 for the tool tray.  This one had really good reviews though, so I gave it a shot.  For $130 WITH the tool tray, it's really well constructed and sturdy.  I wish the tool tray could mount up a little higher, but it doesn't bother me enough to spend another $90 on it.  

 
That looks identical to the one we ordered last year - its been handy to have.  I think I ended up taking the tray off as it kept getting in the way

 
That is the EXACT stand that I have. LOVE it. I had to put a new chain on my road bike last weekend (snapped and dropped the old chain while on a climb), and having the bike elevated on the stand made the repair so much easier. Also, washing/cleaning the bikes is a lot easier on the stand. Clean bike = fast bike.

 
I’ve been wanting a stand to do simple things like clean/oil the chain.   That one looks good.  

 
Used it the other day, works well.  There was a little bit of flex in the head when gripping it by the seat post, but still worked great.  When I say flex in the head, I mean you would want to put a hand on the frame if you were going to torque down a bottom bracket, but for regular stuff, it works awesome.  It was SO NICE doing a brake install and bleed on Junior's bike without having to work hunched over on the ground.

I tried going for a ride the other night, and the chain was dropping almost instantly under any kind of torque.  I had to put it on the large chainring and listen to some nasty noises and try to make it through 3 miles of tech trail in highway gear mode.  Needless to say, my legs were fried.  Took it to Trek, he cleaned out and regreased bottom bracket and said the front derailleur had rotated some.  It didn't look to me like it was off when I just eyeballed it on the trail, but it seemed OK out in front of the house after he tuned it and I rode up and down the street.  I'm half nervous to get it back out and see what it'll do tonight, so fingers crossed.  It's just making me want to go to a 1X even more.  

Of course as I was stranded in the woods nearing dark, Mrs. Supe and Junior bailed and then accidentally took the wrong trail.  Rather than do the sharp turn, they kept going down the "tunnel trail" which is the long one that links the two distant greenway areas.  When Junior got back to the truck, she was covered head to toe in mud.  Apparently she went flying down a hill into a giant mud pit which happened to have a root in it, and went flying off the bike.  Thankfully, the bike is OK.

 
Well, test ride in front of the house for new 180mm front disc has revealed that my bike is dead.  An out-of-calibration eyeball looks like something is jacked with the lower derailleur pulley.  It doesn't look bent, there's not a scuff mark anywhere on it, but it is definitely not in line with the rest of the derailleur, and when the chain dropped at the crank, the idler gear was cockeyed and the chain was off in it.  Hopefully Trek will warranty and not pull a "you must have bent it".  The hanger is definitely NOT bent, and it shifts just fine.

 
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Dropped the bike off today.  Trek tech thinks the chain suck is being caused by a defective crank.  They're going to replace under warranty, hopefully know by tomorrow how long it will take.

I "convinced" Mrs. Supe that we need a backup bike in case one goes down in need of repair.  I think that bike is probably going to be a Specialized Stumpjumper ST Alloy when I can find one :D  

 
You have jumped into the cyclist stereotype wholeheartedly. Welcome! Number of bikes needed = N+1, where N = current number of bikes owned. Also, you are upgrading your bikes at a record pace!

 
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