Hey I sandboarded down that mountain!

 

You Could buy my bike.... Ill even throw in a shock pump for the rear shock so you can pump it up to feel like a bike with little to no rear suspension.

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/436025/

 

Whoa, where is it?

Quick question about Maxxis Ignitors. I have mine and am waiting for the bike to swap them out. The Ignitors look to have a directional tread pattern but no arrows anywhere showing which direction to install. Does it matter? If so, which side does the red logo go on, cluster or brake? Thanks...

 

Theres actully a few different ways of tellling, first you can look that the red ignitor logo and there will be a flame on one side of it and that is the arrow pointing -----> also if you look at the treads theres little V's in the center lug and those point in the forwards direction, i can tell you this because my tires have a rotational marking on them. lol.

 

OK, thanks!

 

Its in Nicaragua!

And yes, chevrons always point in the direction of rotation.

 

Just arrived home with my new MTB, the "flashkl" bike spec'd as he suggested. Much appreciated flashkl, I'm a MTB noob and there were so many choices that your experience was invaluable.

So, after years of road riding this is my first MTB, first aluminum bike, first bike with disc brakes and first with any suspension. Should be a fun Summer bombing around the mountains of Oregon/Washington.

Here are a few snaps, no doubt the last time it'll be this clean. It's a 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Expert Disc 29er bought at deep discount as the 2010's arrive. But, the 2010's were decontented so I was fortunate to get one of two remaining in my 19" size. It was special ordered through my LBS from the Specialized warehouse.











I'm heading out in the morning after a brief ride tonigh to fine tune the fork and tire air pressures to my liking. And it fits inside the FJ with seats folded. Life is good.

 

Very nice Bob, happy riding!
Love the weld jobs on the Specialized bikes too.

Check out some of the videos I posted in the other thread to get you pumped.

 

Thanks, you too! If I get any more pumped, I won't sleep.

 

Sweeeet!!! Nice buy man, how much you pay for it? Find the girl by the bottom bracket yet?

 

Girl, would there be one on mine too
I have not checked yet.

 

I think its exclusive to the 29... sorry buddy

 

Hey, 26ers need love too

 

Girl? Heading out to the garage ASAP.

Paid $925 out the door including the tire swap (tires from JensonUSA $28/ea.) fitting and suspension tune plus free tuneups for a year.

I put the first three miles on it tonight up and down a meadow nearby. Wow, this thing sure rolls smoothly, almost like it has a rear suspension. I put some spare dual sided platform/clip in pedals on like Corey's but I'm swapping them for double sided clip ins tonight. My foot slipped off the platform twice while standing going up a small hill, potentially dangerous where I'll be riding singletrack with dropoffs.

Otherwise impressive so far. Yeah, it's a tank compared to my 19 lb. road bike, but once rolling I don't notice the extra weight.

 

OK, what's the story behind her? Very clever, I'll name my bike after her.

 

I must have got the geriatric version

 

29ers get all the girls.

 

No Bob, Carbon frames get all the girls(or so Im told).........LOL!

 

I'll share. You get them all East of the Rockies.

 

I'm hooked. A few notes from a roadie convert:

This is more fun than I've had on two wheels in years, glad I finally added the MTB. I tried a few trails I'd hiked with the dog before, thinking local knowledge would help. Except I forgot about the importance of momentum going uphill and the resulting anaerobic experience. I had to walk a few times to recover before riding on.

Overall, I climbed and descended over 6,000' total during three, two hour rides over the past three days. Total miles was prolly under 45. The only times I crashed (3) were actually stopped fallovers when one cleat wouldn't release. Nothing broken on the bike and only a few scratches on me. I had to ice one knee nightly that swelled up and discolored for some reason, maybe b/c it was the one I kept falling on. Feels fine now.

The bike is phenomenal even for a simple HT. So much fun tweaking the fork pressure (using a Fox fork pump), rebound and compression settings and the on-the-fly lockout really works for the paved part near the trailhead. Same with tire pressures. It's remarkable how the bike's behavior changes with a few simple tweaks.

I ordered the following mods online today:

Park Tool Stand PRS-20

Thompson Elite Seatpost

Custom Shimano 9-speed cassette geared to eliminate the big midrange gaps using Sheldon Brown's setup from Harris Cyclery

Crank Brothers Candy X Clipless Pedals

Odi Rogue Lock On Grips

Easton MonkeyLite XC Low Riser Bar

Lightweight Maxxis Tubes

Assorted stuff like Judy Butter for the forks, chain lube and a brake bleed kit

I'm not confident on the bike yet, but at least am relaxing enough to absorb bumps and to look further ahead and plan, especially on front brake application. Outstandingly powerful, quiet, progressive brakes that take at most two fingers for full braking force that really isn't needed. I alcohol wipe the rotors after every ride and they're breaking in nicely.

Great fun! Can't wait to get out again this week when my butt cools off. On the first ride I used hiking shorts with a raised seam that made me look like a baboon that night. So I cut up some of my bibs that became MTB shorts I wear under the hiking shorts and all is good. And man, I'm so hungry after a good ride. My first stop at home is the fridge.

Oh, I mentioned above that I'd name the bike after the frame decal that reminded me of a WW II pinup so her name is Anita (Ekberg) changed to Anita Ride.