Mountain Bikes of Velocipede Salon

[hmai18]

New rubber day. I'm still searching for the Goldilocks compromise between traction and rolling resistance.

[Tamu8104]

No where near as picturesque as above but I’ve been having a ton of fun on this bike lately. Picked up a ShockWiz to help me dial in the suspension and that’s been a revelation!

Untitled by Nathan Harding, on Flickr

[sbornia]

First new mtb in 20 years. Big thx to jscottyk for his feedback on this style bike. Just one ride so far, already plotting changes to grips, saddle...and lighter wheels at some point. Tubes will be removed this week as soon as the Orange Seal and valves are delivered.

[Bewheels]

First new mtb in 20 years. Big thx to jscottyk for his feedback on this style bike. Just one ride so far, already plotting changes to grips, saddle...and lighter wheels at some point. Tubes will be removed this week as soon as the Orange Seal and valves are delivered.

Is this the "Evo" model?
Interested in how you like it after you have a few rides.

[sbornia]

Is this the "Evo" model?
Interested in how you like it after you have a few rides.

Yes, the Epic Evo Comp.

[suspectdevice]

Untitled by Michael Denoncourt, on Flickr

Since the pandemic is just get raging up here in the Blue Ridge I thought maybe it was time for an update on the ole pandemic shredmobile.

Still setup for jumps and ruts, with a few key enhancements since the beginning of the public health emergency:

Key changes:
Swapped the Codes for TRP Gspec DH 200mm rotor front and rear with metallic pads and the thick 2.23mm rotors(I mostly ride for 11 seconds at a time, but these things are NICE)
Swapped on a Fabric Magic saddle (if these weren't sold out everywhere I'd pick up a few more for my other gravity/jib bikes). My GF wants one for her mtb's because the short nose makes getting on and off easier for her and the 143mm width with rolled sides works for a wider array of sitbone widths than you'd think.

Drivetrain swap- 165 RF aeffect cranks(round 32t ring), 10 speed 11-36 cassette(down from 11v 11-40t)- full MRP Mini guide(wanted to be able to SMASH into obstacles botching trials moves)

Suspension setup changes- swapped to the Cane Creek DBil air out back, 2/3rds full of volume reducers, 240psi. SLOW LSR, medium HSR, heavy on the HSC, light LSC, Helm MkI still with minimal positive air volume, 72 PSI, LSC 5 clicks out out from closed, HSC 6 clicks in from open.

Tires- after AN ENTIRE YEAR finally killed the side knobs on my 2.4 exo+ DHR2 maxxterra front. Swapped to a DD 2.5 DHF maxxgrip that was in the stash and missing the hard rubber and working edges of the DHR bigly. 27psi. Replaced the 2.4 exo HRII I had out back with a fresher version of the same thing. No inserts, but 35-40psi to ward off flats.

By conventional wisdom this bike is "far too small", but having something unstable and hyper maneuverable has really, really made all sorts of close to home mtb riding fun for me again.

[jscottyk]

First new mtb in 20 years. Big thx to jscottyk for his feedback on this style bike. Just one ride so far, already plotting changes to grips, saddle...and lighter wheels at some point. Tubes will be removed this week as soon as the Orange Seal and valves are delivered.

It's great bike right off the floor, but lighter wheels are worth the trouble. I was able to score a set of the Control SL and love'em. Also running a One Up dropper, a Fox shock, and SID Ultimate fork.

IMG_8187-small.jpg

[nspace]

Still love everything about this bike 10 years later!

Group 2.jpg

[zambenini]

Still love everything about this bike 10 years later!

Group 2.jpg

I am pretty sure I have groked that thing when looking for pics of Ti single speeds. It is ty right? I haven't seen too many ragley's.

[nspace]

Thanks! It is Ti! The cool thing I liked about the bike was that they were designed around 440mm axle-to-crown (26in suspension corrected fork) to make a dedicated rigid non-suspension corrected 29er.

[thollandpe]

"As long as you got the curves, baby, I got the angles!" -- Wolfman Jack

[darkmother]

Thanks! It is Ti! The cool thing I liked about the bike was that they were designed around 440mm axle-to-crown (26in suspension corrected fork) to make a dedicated rigid non-suspension corrected 29er.

Great idea if you are going to run it rigid IMO. Nice bike!

[yashkatsumi]

87C651FE-7E07-48CA-B29D-0A1B64CC4814.jpg
My 2019 Specialized Chisel 1x Comp. This $1,200 bike is actually the bike that I find most fun to ride right now and the one I ride the most outside. I really enjoy clearing a technical climb that requires a crap load of power, finesse, and good line choice. Much of the time I am missing one of those elements and I can't make it up the climb.

[zambenini]

87C651FE-7E07-48CA-B29D-0A1B64CC4814.jpg
My 2019 Specialized Chisel 1x Comp. This $1,200 bike is actually the bike that I find most fun to ride right now and the one I ride the most outside. I really enjoy clearing a technical climb that requires a crap load of power, finesse, and good line choice. Much of the time I am missing one of those elements and I can't make it up the climb.

Only bike I would think about replacing mine with. I want one!

[yashkatsumi]

Only bike I would think about replacing mine with. I want one!

The last mtb I bought was a 26incher cannondale trail sl1 from 2011. This bike is so much easier to ride, suprisingly smooth, and sooo fast!

[s_curran]

I've been experimenting with this honzo for a bit. Slowly getting it to where I wanted. Pretty happy now. I could imagine slightly for progressive geo for these parts, and I definatelly would like a longer reach, longer TT, and steeper ST, but I also wouldnt want to make it feel like I was trying to fit a freight truck through the tight corners.

I also want as big a front triangle as possible, as I still have tour divide, and some vermont bikepacking routes (super 8) in the back of my mind. Still trying to decide if I'd rather drop bars for that or not.

I'm thinking I'd like to get a lighter, custom variant of this bike coming together from Seven in the future, but we'll see if funds allow.

I've been running double down casing rear and EX) front, 2.5 tires lately, and the double down has made such a huge difference on chunky trails. Soooo much more composed.

The other thing I'm in love with, SQ Labs everything. Currently on their 16 degree bars, saddle, and large grips. I've had back/neck issues most the time on longer, more intense rides. This seems to have really helped. I'm going to try their innerbarrends soon, and could imagine something like that for bikepacking, or, something with even more sweep gets swapped out.

IMG_20200721_170616.jpg

brought me on some pretty neat, remote rides. This was a 30 mile through ride, with 5000 feet of climbing, I basically raced it in 5 hours or something. Lots of chunky singletrack, and no back issues. Next year I plan on combining this with a new trail to get a bit closer to the 50 mile range, in which 3 trail networks will be connected.

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[suspectdevice]

Sean, that’s not the same bike you race XC on, right?

[s_curran]

Sean, that’s not the same bike you race XC on, right?

Its the only MTB I've got currently! I've got go fast tires for when the time comes. But I'd love to swap the frame for an aluminum one, or maybe a ti custom soon. I used to race the older, blue honzo and it was "ok". The last bike I was racing on was a 120mm fuel, but it imploded at the last eastern grind. This build has got very downward oriented since moving to vermont...

[funcrusher]

87C651FE-7E07-48CA-B29D-0A1B64CC4814.jpg
My 2019 Specialized Chisel 1x Comp. This $1,200 bike is actually the bike that I find most fun to ride right now and the one I ride the most outside. I really enjoy clearing a technical climb that requires a crap load of power, finesse, and good line choice. Much of the time I am missing one of those elements and I can't make it up the climb.

technical climbing is my favorite part...i am too old to huck my bike and break bones!

power and finesse almost seem contradictory, but that is exactly what it takes

[zambenini]

technical climbing is my favorite part...i am too old to huck my bike and break bones!

power and finesse almost seem contradictory, but that is exactly what it takes

I am in the same boat but I just broke my hand being a goober and falling/riding off of a retaining wall