Show us your bike

[nuke_diver]

I got better than a $1000 of list, I got it for $8000 off list. When it comes to road, I won't ride aluminum unless I am racing a criterium.
Otherwise it better be carbon , Ti or good old fashioned steel.
If I am riding a bike 4 times a week or more I replace the chain every month to prevent premature wear on the rest of the drivetrain

Well you have connections...$1000 off is as good as I could get for a new bike after a month or so of looking and more researching. It was 50% off or so so I was happy. I heard a lot about riding Al but I never really notice that much of a difference.. maybe I'm just a hard ass. I did test ride a bunch of Carbon and they might have been a bit more compliant than the CAAD but it was super obvious to me. Nor really is the difference between my CAAD and my old bike which is definitely old fashion steel

I would assume when you mean riding 4 times a week you are talking about a few hundred miles a week right? I am riding the old bike (the one with the 30+ year old chain) 3 times a week and have no plans to replace a chain. I've heard guys replacing a chain every 1500 miles, even that seem excessive to me (I have about 3500 on my CAAD).

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Have a bike gear post. This guy is in transit for my 15 year old son who is getting more into mountain biking and needs a full sized medium mountain bike to replace his size small starter chinese Motobecane from bikes direct. This Giant has a few scuffs, and missing the front brake (I have a replacement to put on), but got it at a good price, and hopefully with a little TLC it will be riding well. His older brother has a Trance 2 and it has been a good bike. I bet this Trance X1 with higher grade parts and even a little more travel will be good for the boy!

I plan on putting wider bars (760-765 or so) on both bikes after riding my older son's the other day and hating the original more narrow bar, will look at stem size at the same time. New tires are on the older bike and will go on this new one. WTB Moto 2.3 up front and WTB velociraptor 2.1 in the rear. The older Trance has a Conti Mountain King 2.4 up front and the Velocirpator rear at this time. Decent rubber for both bikes but not Schwalbe/Maxxis expensive. The older bike's reba fork is getting tired, and I may look for a decent used front fork in the 120-140 mm travel range to give that bike a refresh. maybe something like a Revelation. Forks pop up around here now and again.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

ok, gearheading out here. I am closing in on a replacement bike. I am deciding I am in the short chain stay, slacker angle, medium travel 29'er trailbike camp for sure. I have ridden so far the Santa Cruz TallBoy LT, Niner RIP, some specializeds, the trek remedy 8, the transition smuggler, Rocky Element 950, and the Kona Process 111. (and maybe some others I can't remember). The winner so far is the Kona. Runner up so far is the Transition.

Here is the Kona:

The reason it is the winner comes down to simply feel and that seems to be as a result of the geometry. This is the first bike that feels like I can toss it into a turn the same way I drive the tips of my skis into a turn and know that they will hold and accellerate out the other side. I seem to ride more centered on the bike and can drive it into the turns just a bit better than even the transition, which is close, but makes me feel like I am behind the bike a little more. If any of you have thoughts for me on these bikes, please chime in.

Here I am on the bike I borrowed to try out. I will have to get used to the 1x11 and may change the front chain ring to a 30 rather than 32 if I go this way, but will try it this way for a while first.

And here I am on my own bike. Different day (today, riding in the south valley rather than north in the alpine. Different day, different trail.

 

[Tig]

Steve, I have no thoughts on those bikes since I've never ridden them. I hope this helps.

It sounds like you have it narrowed down. We'll be eagerly awaiting the HNBD post... munch0

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Have a bike gear post. This guy is in transit for my 15 year old son who is getting more into mountain biking and needs a full sized medium mountain bike to replace his size small starter chinese Motobecane from bikes direct. This Giant has a few scuffs, and missing the front brake (I have a replacement to put on), but got it at a good price, and hopefully with a little TLC it will be riding well. His older brother has a Trance 2 and it has been a good bike. I bet this Trance X1 with higher grade parts and even a little more travel will be good for the boy!

View attachment 21897

As it turns out it does not need a lot of TLC! I think I got a good ebay deal for once. The frame and shocks seem to be in good shape, save for a couple scrapes and some cable rub. It has some nice Mavic hubs it did not come with that seem light and responsive, though I will insert the rubber gaskets and change out the schrader tubes the dude had in, when I put some better meat on the wheels in the next day or so. Was upgraded to 2x10, SLX rather than the original triple XT, but SLX is pretty darned good anymore and it seems to shift very nicely and crisply. Nice range of ratios too. I have a front brake to stick on to replace the one that was missing. And it has some Chris King bling (headset) and Salsa bling (seat tube clamp) that set things off nicely. It seems to already have a wider than stock bar too, though I still may go even wider and shorten the stem along with. Meanwhile, the bike seems like it will be a very nice ride for my 15 year old. At this point, it is nicer than my current mountain bike.

 

[Lerxst]

Well look at what I scored off craigslist on the cheap the other week

Gary Fisher Mendota; carbon fork, aluminimum frame 29r w/ BB5 disks & 9spd deore. The drive train was a mess but fortunately it was just grimey with a shitty chain. Replaced the chain, degreased everything and adjusted to spec. It's going to make a great knock around casual riding bike.

Welp...it was a good 5 years. Sold this one today.