[gtrguy]

I mountain bike all year long, studded tires in the winter make lake and trail riding a blast! I've got a few bikes in the garage, a couple of Konas (hardtail and full suspension) and a Santa Cruz full suspension. A couple of buddies store their bikes in my garage so along with those, a couple of old fully rigid mountain bikes, my son's Kona full suspension and MEC hardtail, plus a couple of used Giant Trance X2 bikes I bought on the weekend (one for the gf, one to resell) it's a wee bit crowded.

2010 Kona Cadabra

2006 Kona Cinder Cone

2011 Santa Cruz Nickel

My son's 2006 Kona Stinky 2-4

 

[gtrguy]

Mm Kona Cinder cone.

The Cinder Cone was my first decent mountain bike and I still love to ride it. It has had some upgrades over the years- lighter cranks, a better quality fork (with a bit more travel), shorter stem and wider bars.

 

[gtrguy]

I'm a caveman, flat pedals for me!

 

[gtrguy]

Love the current Rocky Mountain range.. have been eyeing the Altitude series for a while now!

 

[gtrguy]

With any luck maybe I can take a quick spin to the outskirts of the city after work today. If I can stay awake....

My last bike before the GT Was a Norco "Drop" north shore series frame (dual suspension) with a bunch of parts off my Brodie hardtail and a nice Marzocchi fork my dad bought from one of his coworkers. I'm not much for drops and jumps, so it was mostly a commuter bike. My dad has it in Vienna, and I have to wonder if he gets looks riding what appears to be a very expensive mountain bike around cities haha.

Does anyone here use Strava to track their rides?

I use Strava sometimes but most of the time I forget to turn it on LOL

 

[gtrguy]

My bike is another $100 in parts away from being useable, after the $85 rear wheel replacement. Im frustrated.

Shoot! Honestly, buy yourself one of the many home bicycle mechanic books- most repairs are pretty easy and a lot of them don't require any special tools. What's the $100 for? I have a ton of parts in my workshop stash.

 

[gtrguy]

Rear derailleur, brake levers gear shifters (I think) and cable (all in one box).

I didn't notice any issues when I tested the bike (kijiji buy) and now I have a bike I cant use or sell. I basically have to replace the damaged parts because I can't really sell an old un-useable bike.

If you didn't notice any issues, are there really issues? Or is it a 'not perfect but rideable' kind of thing? Bike shops are often quick to recommend replacing stuff in my experience...

 

[gtrguy]

Gotcha.... does sound like it needs some love. Still cheaper to do it yourself if possible. If you're not familiar with Chain Reaction Cycles, I highly recommend them as a source of parts at great prices. One thing to note- always choose the postal shipping option. It's still fast and you'll avoid big brokerage fees that can happen if they ship with DHL or another courier. Been there, done that.

MEC also generally has better pricing than a lot of shops on parts and reasonable labour charges.

Are you running a 7, 8 or 9 speed (or 10, 11 or 12!!) rear cassette setup?

 

[gtrguy]

$5 to become a member for life at MEC. Totally worth it.

 

[gtrguy]

Been getting a lot of great rides in this season... have had a couple of flats though. Last one was my own fault, went a little to big off a jump to a rocky landing and not only pinch flatted but put a good dent in my rear rim. Spent a few minutes trailside patching the tube while being swarmed by mosquitoes- good times! HAHA

 

[gtrguy]

Been getting a lot of great rides in this season... have had a couple of flats though. Last one was my own fault, went a little to big off a jump to a rocky landing and not only pinch flatted but put a good dent in my rear rim. Spent a few minutes trailside patching the tube while being swarmed by mosquitoes- good times! HAHA

I need to set that particular bike up tubeless like my others.

 

[gtrguy]

My personal opinion- pressfit bottom brackets are a solution in search of a problem. Threaded bottom brackets are simple, reliable and problem free. I won't buy a bike that's got a pressfit BB. The problem is, that's getting harder and harder to do as more and more manufacturers jump on the pressfit bandwagon to save pennies.

 

[gtrguy]

What do you guys think about press fit bottom brackets?

I'm on my second press fit road bike (a BB30A Cannondale Synapse) Both of my press fit bikes have had creaky BB's I have tried reinstalling, greasing, new bearings, Loctite, they both still creak. Never once had an issue with shimano outboard or inboard BB's. They do wear out but they are easy to replace and work great.

Might be worth checking out one of these to solve the problem:

CONVERSION BB

I have no personal experience but have read very positive things.


*EDIT* Actually I don't think those would do you any good... BB30A appears to be a slightly different standard than BB30. Damn bike manufacturers and their proprietary crap!!!

 

[gtrguy]

Friend of mine from HS was a real good player took his daughter roller blading one day. He falls and breaks his right wrist. Told me he never had the same action in his wrist again for playing. Same or worse could happen if you wipe out on a bike.

Or fall down the stairs, or get in a car accident...

 

[gtrguy]

do you guys wear helmets?

Always.

 

[gtrguy]

.

Shoot man, sorry to hear this. Hang in there and hopefully time will heal it up. Have you considered an electric assist bike? I'm sure that one is in my future eventually when I get to that point. Like you its my THING and I can't give it up.