Nice!
34 miles is a long ride, much longer than any bike trail I've done to date.
Mountain biking, Cross, BMX, freestyle...
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prfsnl_gmr
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 12230
- Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Re: Mountain biking, Cross, BMX, freestyle...
Ziggy587 wrote:Nice!
34 miles is a long ride, much longer than any bike trail I've done to date.
The great thing about the trail is, despite winding through the mountains, it’s almost entirely a gentle downhill slope the whole way. You still have to peddle, but it’s never tough. I highly recommend it:
Re: Mountain biking, Cross, BMX, freestyle...
I've been continually tweaking the BMX bike.
The new pedals came in, so I threw those on immediately. S&M 101's. They definitely feel a lot better than the stock pedals. Although I've already gotten one puncture wound in the shin from a peg LOL.
I ended up cutting my bars even shorter. I picked up a Dirty Harry brake lever, which is bent in a weird way that makes it work when positions around the curve of the bars. But the lever has to face down (at the ground) for it to work, and I just do not like that position. I like my brake lever somewhere around halfway between straight down and straight forward. So I switched back to the old lever and just tried to position it as far into the bend as I could, and shoved the grip as close to it as I could, so I could trim off as much as possible. My bars are a tad over 27" now. Which is still longer than what I use to ride back in the day, but that's as short as I'm going to get these bars.
Speaking of the stock brake lever... I like the specs of this bike. Full chromoly frame, fort and bars. Double wall rims with sealed hubs. But so far I'm 2 for 2 in stripped out threads. The first day I had the bike, I went to adjust the seat post and the locking bold stripped out. I loosened the bolt, then it wouldn't tighten. I figured it must have been cross threaded when assembled. I took it down to the bike shop that I purchased it from and they threw a new bolt on for me. But then when I messed with the brake lever, that threaded cable adjustment thing (I don't know the technical name for it) has busted threads. Both female and male threads busted. I was able to salvage it when I put it back on for now, but I've already ordered a new lever. I could take it down to the shop and they would replace it for free, but a lever is cheap enough and I don't feel like having to take it in. So yeah, 2 for 2 in busted threads so far. I've ordered a Gyro, so I'll have to take the neck off to install it. I'm hoping THOSE bolts don't give me any shit. That would really suck!
Yeah, uphill can be pretty brutal. Especially when you're out of shape!
I probably posted this years ago in this thread, but whatever... There was one trail that I liked to ride frequently, it's a 5 mile loop off a main trail. It was nice to get a (relatively) quick 5 miles in if I didn't have time or wasn't up for a longer ride. But there's a pretty nasty series of climbs up to a mid point in the loop, which must be the highest elevation in the area. It's a nice resting point though, there's a small clearing and there's even a couple of big logs that act as benches. It's nice to take a few minutes there to rest. And after that point, most of the rest of the trail is down hill. So it's kind of neat in that you get that hard part out of the way first, then have an easy finish.
The new pedals came in, so I threw those on immediately. S&M 101's. They definitely feel a lot better than the stock pedals. Although I've already gotten one puncture wound in the shin from a peg LOL.
I ended up cutting my bars even shorter. I picked up a Dirty Harry brake lever, which is bent in a weird way that makes it work when positions around the curve of the bars. But the lever has to face down (at the ground) for it to work, and I just do not like that position. I like my brake lever somewhere around halfway between straight down and straight forward. So I switched back to the old lever and just tried to position it as far into the bend as I could, and shoved the grip as close to it as I could, so I could trim off as much as possible. My bars are a tad over 27" now. Which is still longer than what I use to ride back in the day, but that's as short as I'm going to get these bars.
Speaking of the stock brake lever... I like the specs of this bike. Full chromoly frame, fort and bars. Double wall rims with sealed hubs. But so far I'm 2 for 2 in stripped out threads. The first day I had the bike, I went to adjust the seat post and the locking bold stripped out. I loosened the bolt, then it wouldn't tighten. I figured it must have been cross threaded when assembled. I took it down to the bike shop that I purchased it from and they threw a new bolt on for me. But then when I messed with the brake lever, that threaded cable adjustment thing (I don't know the technical name for it) has busted threads. Both female and male threads busted. I was able to salvage it when I put it back on for now, but I've already ordered a new lever. I could take it down to the shop and they would replace it for free, but a lever is cheap enough and I don't feel like having to take it in. So yeah, 2 for 2 in busted threads so far. I've ordered a Gyro, so I'll have to take the neck off to install it. I'm hoping THOSE bolts don't give me any shit. That would really suck!
prfsnl_gmr wrote:Ziggy587 wrote:Nice!
34 miles is a long ride, much longer than any bike trail I've done to date.
The great thing about the trail is, despite winding through the mountains, it’s almost entirely a gentle downhill slope the whole way. You still have to peddle, but it’s never tough. I highly recommend it:
Yeah, uphill can be pretty brutal. Especially when you're out of shape!
I probably posted this years ago in this thread, but whatever... There was one trail that I liked to ride frequently, it's a 5 mile loop off a main trail. It was nice to get a (relatively) quick 5 miles in if I didn't have time or wasn't up for a longer ride. But there's a pretty nasty series of climbs up to a mid point in the loop, which must be the highest elevation in the area. It's a nice resting point though, there's a small clearing and there's even a couple of big logs that act as benches. It's nice to take a few minutes there to rest. And after that point, most of the rest of the trail is down hill. So it's kind of neat in that you get that hard part out of the way first, then have an easy finish.
