Bicycling Off-Road

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Levi

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1080 on: 22 Apr 2013, 01:48 am »
I am so sick of this long ass winter!  I want to ride (off road)!   Our dirt is clay based which shouldn't and really can't be ridden when wet and it hasn't been nice on a weekend since Feb when I rode packed snow. 

On another note, I got my season pass to blue mountain (our version of lift access downhill biking (tame compared to most)).  Finished my DH build.



Congrats on the DH build!  Riding season is here...just a thought when it is muddy or wet in the trail...ride your road bike.  :-)

JoshK

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1081 on: 24 Apr 2013, 06:40 pm »
I hate road riding...  :evil:  I just don't like dodging cars and there really isn't great road riding nearby in Toronto, but there is great dirt. 

Here was a photo I took of the DH sled just before finishing the small stuff. 


DaveC113

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Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1082 on: 25 Apr 2013, 02:11 am »
Nice! I love riding my DH bike, so much fun.

Rocket_Ronny

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Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1083 on: 25 Apr 2013, 03:02 am »

Beautiful bike Josh. What is it and what does it weigh in at? Have fun with it this year.

I have not put my leg over my bicycle, only been on my dirt bike that is barely street legal. The kids stole my specialized enduro out the other day and got it all muddy. So they are at least getting out.

Rocket_Fire Cracker_Ronny    :wink:
« Last Edit: 30 Apr 2013, 02:55 am by Rocket_Ronny »

Levi

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1084 on: 26 Apr 2013, 01:01 pm »
That is a very nice DH bike Josh!  Congrats.

I haven't ridden my Lynskey Pro29 in awhile since winter.   Hopefully, when I finished training for the GranFondo NY, I will be riding the trails again in the summer.  X-country style baby.


brj

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1085 on: 26 Apr 2013, 05:55 pm »
Levi, what model of Schwalbe RoRos are you riding and how do you like them?

Levi

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1086 on: 27 Apr 2013, 12:58 am »
They are 2.25 EVO Pace Star TL ready.  I love them because 1), they are lightweight and 2), they are fast!  The single-track trail that I mostly visit are hard pack and does not have a lot of rocks.  They are great for twisty tight single-track here in Long Island, New York.   

Thanks for looking!

vortrex

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Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1087 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:05 am »
I finished building my new Scott Scale XX1 29er today, 18.62lbs!

jackman

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1088 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:31 am »
Josh - very cool bike!  I hope you are able to get out there and do some riding.  It sounds like you have fully recovered from your accident. Good luck to you and be careful.

Levi - I'm a huge fan Lynskey bikes.  A couple guys in my road group have Helix road bikes and they are awesome.  That 29er is ver impressive. 

Good luck guys, I have Ben on the trainer but have not been on any group rides this year yet.  Sad.

Cheers

Jack

guf

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1089 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:41 am »
I finished building my new Scott Scale XX1 29er today, 18.62lbs!

nice dude! i just bought a ibis ripley last week. not close to 18.62 but its awesome. i havent had an off road bike since 1997.

jackman

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1090 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:43 am »
I finished building my new Scott Scale XX1 29er today, 18.62lbs!

That is sick!  Most road bikes are in that range.  A sub 19lb 29er is insane.  Post pictures sometime.

Cheers

Jack

vortrex

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Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1091 on: 29 Apr 2013, 01:55 am »
where are you riding guf?

yeah I went all out this time, tired of changing things around.  this should last me a while.  I'll post some pics of it next weekend after the maiden voyage.

coke

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1092 on: 29 Apr 2013, 12:37 pm »
I recently moved to a house with some land and had the opportunity to build my own personal track.  I only had 5 acres to work with, so I intentially made it slow and technical.  There are lots of rocks and natural features, which make it a lot of fun.

Here's a video of the first lap I made.  I didn't feel like taking the time to mount my gopro on my bike, so I just snapped it on my motocross helmet :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76U_PFgLjOY&list=UU7LhFX15YLLy9stY83WuQ2w&index=5

The previous owner left lots of lumber, so I'm thinking Phase 2 of the trail will involve alternative lines with skinnies and jumps.

guf

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1093 on: 30 Apr 2013, 01:45 am »
where are you riding guf?

yeah I went all out this time, tired of changing things around.  this should last me a while.  I'll post some pics of it next weekend after the maiden voyage.
yeah the good thing about constantly upgrading audio equipment is it helps you realize that spending a lot at first maybe the cheapest option when purchasing other things. i have only rode in marin:  china camp, deer park. i run a lot in the headlands and will ride there too but it'll most be to build endurance. that flow track in fairfax gets lots of talk from people. i'm going to try and go on thursday.

JoshK

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1094 on: 30 Apr 2013, 11:24 pm »
Levi:  That Lynskey is sick!  You've also spent some coin I can see (both my rigs were some $$$).  If I were to get another 29'er, I'd probably opt for a Lynskey and make it XC oriented.   

The trails in southern Ontario are either super smooth flowy hardpack with little elevation or full on non-stop rock gardens with little elevation.  My closest one is right downtown ~3.5miles from my front door (ride to it).  It tends to be less rocky, but tons of fairly steep short ups/downs (like 30-60 ft pretty steep climbs and descents and continual).  It also has a lot of semi-hidden offshoots with man-made shore like technical features many of which have "some" danger factor.   Certainly as a whole Ontario trails that I tend to ride have far more danger factor than stuff I rode in NJ including the technical and rocky, Jungle Habitat.   Our trails are on the "escarpment", or basically a small sheer rocky cliff and many of the trails flirt with the edge.   Just this weekend one of our local club members botched a large rock step up and caught a branch that saved him from going off a 25' drop to rocks.  His bike landed on the rocks but luckily didn't manage much damage.

The DH sled is a Canfield "The One".  It is a light DH/heavy AM bike with adjustable travel from 6.5" - 8" and can actually climb!   It weighs 38lbs as photo'd but I shed some weight as my rotors and saddle were super heavy.  I also am going tubeless which will shed a pound atleast versus the DH tubes.  Noticeably heavier than my 26lb Ibis. 

I got out on Saturday to hit the trails (on the Ibis).  Holy crap I am out of shape after my accident.   Yeah I am fully recovered except my fitness (and my hearing is still affected which is why I took a pause on the audio hobby).  I absolutely love my Ibis bike.  It is so responsive, such a great climber (even compared to my old 29" HT) and stiff and agile.  I can drop 2-3' to flat without a blink, not that that is big, but I don't even question it.

JoshK

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1095 on: 30 Apr 2013, 11:31 pm »
BTW, the DH sled I set up with Canfield's version of SRAM's XX1.  Its not 11 cogs in the rear, still only 10, but it is a 9t-36t spread with their special hub and adaptor set and a 28T front ring which gives a gear spread similar to most 2x10.  I just picked up a titanium spring as I sold some DIY stuff and put it to use. 

coke

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1096 on: 1 May 2013, 03:22 pm »
I've been really happy with everything I've bought from Canfield.  I had a yelli screamy frame. It was a lot of fun, but I decided to move to a fs 29er.  They didn't have one at the time, so I moved to a Niner Rip 9. 

Currently using their Crampon Ultimate pedals and have been 100% satisfied with them. 

JoshK

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1097 on: 1 May 2013, 10:47 pm »
I have Crampon Ultimates on my Ibis and really like them.  I took my Twenty6 Predators and put them on my Canfield.   The problem with the Predators is their pins are super fragile.  One time out at a rocky place and half the pins are broke (I'm a hack and pedal struck a lot) and they also make mince meat of your shins/calfs if you slip as the pins are super sharp.   The Ultimates have much more durable pins and aren't nearly as sharp on the shins.

On the DH rig I will be wearing armour so the pin sharpness doesn't matter that much.  The Ultimates are thinner which is nice, but the Predators are wider which is also nice... a toss up there.

DaveC113

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Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1098 on: 2 May 2013, 01:43 am »
I've been beating on a pair of Spank Spike pedals for the last 2 seasons, they are awesome. 12.5mm thick, nice and grippy, decent durability. After the 1st season I replaced the bushings and they were like new again. I use the same pair on both trail and dh bikes so they get tons of use.

Levi

Re: Bicycling Off-Road
« Reply #1099 on: 15 May 2013, 01:55 pm »
How about some DIY pedal upgrades/maintenance...

Speedplay makes highly reliable pedals for road or mountain bike.  They use several bearings for each pedal.  Like any other bearings, they need some care from time-to-time.  Rebuilding and maintaining your speedplay road pedals are really easy to do.   Speedplay made their pedals user serviceable however, you can always ask your local bike shop to do this for you.

Maintaining the performance of your cleats only takes a few seconds.   It takes a drop or 2 of dry PTFE lube every 2-3 rides is all there is to do.  The dry PTFE lube facilitates easy entry and release.  It also extends the life of the pedal and cleats.  It is dry so it does not attract dirt.

On the other hand, Speedplay pedal maintenance requires a special speedplay grease gun and SP-lube insert.  It only needs a squirt of SP-lube every 1000 miles.  The SP-lube/grease gun combination flushes out the old grease from the bearings replacing it with clean grease.  Greasing your pedal will surely bring more miles of use to them.

Finally, when it is time to replace the bearings on your Speedplay pedals, there exist several aftermarket bearing kit for them.  I have the Ti Zero series road pedals as an example.  Boca Bearings has hybrid ceramic bearing kit for the Ti Zero pedals.  I am sure other companies followed suit.  The Boca ceramic hybrid kit comes with 6-bearings, 3-for each pedals.  Instructions can be found at Speedplay site or have your local bike shop do the bearing replacement for you.

Here are some pictures of the rebuild/upgrade that I did with my Speedplay Ti Zero pedals:


Speedplay Ti zero ceramic hybrid bearing kit


6-bearing kit


Some heat to be applied to the T-20 screw.  This will break the bond and makes for easy removal of the screw


Pedals removed, inspect the surface of the spindles.  Looking good here.  Clean and apply some grease.  Make sure to clean the O-ring seals.


Body removed

A sharp pointer can remove the c-clip.  This holds the bearings in place and needs to be removed for the bearings to come out!


Other side of the body houses the needle bearings.  This is the one closest to the cranks.


C-clip removed.  Note the size of the replacement bearings.


Some tools that I used for the bearing upgrade


Bearings removed.  Clean pedal body and put new bearings in the body.

Important:

Note that size of the bearings.  Make sure you install the correct size bearings.  If the pedals developed a play, that means the bearings were not installed in the correct order.

Finally, install the C-clip into the groove and make sure you use a Loctite on the T-20 screw.  Install the dust cover and small grease port screw. 

Done!


Note: I did not upgrade the needle bearings.  According to Speedplay, they pressed and bonded the needle bearing into the pedal body.  Removing it may cause damage to the pedal body.