CFF Charlotte Area Mountain Bike Sweat Fest VI - Postponed

Vyntage

Vyntage

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Postponed due to lack of interest.

When: Sunday May 3 at 10:00am
Where: Hickory City Park - https://ridenwnctrails.com/trails/lake-hickory/

Tonight we are supposed to get 87 inches of rain and that will close all the trails, but by Sunday they should be open again. So, let's ride Sunday! I don't care where! Hickory, WWC, Mazeppa (hell yeah!) ... name the place and we are there.

I will update this post with all the relevant details as the thread progresses.

@Jerzsubbie
@Mike Overlay
@Paradigm .45

It's going to be almost 90 degrees so this is probably gonna be more of a sweat fest than a crash fest. :D
 
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Vyntage said:
When: I don't care
Where: I don't care
Why: I don't care

Tonight we are supposed to get 87 inches of rain and that will close all the trails, but by Sunday they should be open again. So, let's ride Sunday! I don't care where! Hickory, WWC, Mazeppa (hell yeah!) ... name the place and we are there.

I will update this post with all the relevant details as the thread progresses.

@Jerzsubbie
@Mike Overlay
@Paradigm .45
Click to expand...

I vote Hickory 1st, Mazeppa 2nd. Who knows where 3rd,.... WWC dead freakin last :D
 
Unfortunately I can’t ride this weekend. I’ll be running an auger half the day Saturday and helping my wife do a COVID-modified baby shower for a friend who is due next week.

I’m really looking forward to Mazeppa though! Go do Hickory this week and Mazeppa next week ;)
 
Vyntage said:
Oh, I thought he was talking about some kind of running competiton. :oops:
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Haha sorry for the confusion... I’ll be DRILLING 2x 5ft deep holes in my backyard to place some 6x6 posts and a couple sun shade sails, then up to my friend’s place in Lincolnton to do like 10x 3ft holes for reclaimed creosote poles for a lean to on his range.

Then in case you’re curious, the baby shower is more of a drive-by gift drop parade of about 40 vehicles. My wife set it up to surprise our close friends; their first kid and COVID is really putting a damper on some of the exciting parts.
 
I'm marking this "postponed" due to lack of interest. I'm going to take a break from organizing these for a bit; if someone else wants to take the reigns that would be awesome. :)
 
Just saw the tag but if stuff is open by Sunday I would be down for a ride.
 
Paradigm .45 said:
Just saw the tag but if stuff is open by Sunday I would be down for a ride.
Click to expand...
@Vyntage
I plan on going to Hickory. I will be in the parking lot by 10:00 a few minutes there of. May have a few others with me, have heard a definite from them yet
 
Mike Overlay said:
@Vyntage
I plan on going to Hickory. I will be in the parking lot by 10:00 a few minutes there of. May have a few others with me, have heard a definite from them yet
Click to expand...

Awesome! We definitely want to check out Hickory but we won't be able to make it tomorrow. Be safe and have fun!
 
That Hickory one sounds fun. My day is full of my least favorite activity (painting) today but will be checking that one out soon.
 
Selling the hardtail and cruiser today. Stuck between a 27.5 fat tire or full suspension bike for all around fun replacement. Reasons to stay away from the fat tire?
 
I’d go full suspension for a do it all bike. I like 140-150 travel.

Less travel will climb a little better and may be faster on the trails around here but I’m not racing and I’d much rather be comfortable.

Anything designated as a “trail” bike will be great. I’d avoid xc designs.

That’s just my opinion though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
HannibalMontana said:
I’d go full suspension for a do it all bike. I like 140-150 travel.

Less travel will climb a little better and may be faster on the trails around here but I’m not racing and I’d much rather be comfortable.

Anything designated as a “trail” bike will be great. I’d avoid xc designs.

That’s just my opinion though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Totally agree. Hardtails are great but if I had to only have 1 bike (and I do) it would be a mid-travel FS, approx 140mm travel. I also enjoy going fast down a whole lot more than peddling up anything. If I were going to get a hardtail again, a 27.5x2.8” would probably be high on the list.
 
Me three. Having owned both, a mid-travel FS bike is much, much more enjoyable to ride on the trails around Charlotte than a hardtail. If you're racing it might be a different story, but I'm not.
 
We'd join you but the Motobecane crapped the bed. The one thing BD cheaped out on is hubs, and sure enough the rear hub is toast. I'm having a set of wheels built up with Spank rims and Hope hubs but it'll take a few weeks. :(

Might have to order a carbon YT Capra to ride while I'm waiting. :D
 
As others have said, 140-150 suspension. Tires in the 2.3- 2.6 range on 27.5 wheels is about the perfect do all set up.

I love me some mountains, lift access parks to boot, so I went middle of the road with a Santa Cruz Bronson. 160 up front with a 2.6 tire, 150 in the rear, with now a 2.40 tire, 64.5 degree head angle. It does great on everything but the climbs. Climb is fine, not in any big hurry going up anyways.

My other bike is 140 front with 130 rear, 67.0 degrees head angle, 2.25 on 27.5 wheels. It is about perfect for anything the WWC, LKN state park and Dupont State Park has to offer. Does everything good.
 
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What the hell guys! How did I not hear about Guerilla Gravity until today??? I was >this< close to clicking "buy" on a carbon YT Capra. But Guerilla Gravity:

  • Carbon frame? Yep
  • Made in the USA? Yep (Wait ... what?)
  • Built to order? Yep
  • Customizable build options at exceptional prices? Yep
  • Cheaper than Made in China? Yep (Whoa this part can't be true can it???)
  • Free shipping? Yep (Canyon and YT charge mandatory shipping ... just add it in to the price of the bike already.)
  • Built tough to handle fatties like me? Yep

Sure it might be a pound or two heavy for a carbon frame, but see the last bullet point. :D

WPZhxhy.png
 
Thanks. I'm quickly learning that when you start to ride a lot, mountain bikes become like self-defense guns: Two is one and one is none.
 
AtMS9Kt.jpg


Picked these up yesterday and am putting them on the bike today. Should have the HAL ready to roll just in time for all the trails to be closed.

Between these wheels, the carbon bars, and the RF stem, I'm going to have the nicest Motobecane in the area. Also, the only Motobecane in the area.
 
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edit - Never mind, BD got back to me within an hour with an engineering drawing, price, and shipping. That's way better customer service than I expected. :)
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Well, hell.

Turns out the root problem was not the rear hub, but a missing bushing. I do remember seeing a piece of it lying next to the bike right before all the problems started and thinking "huh, I wonder where THAT came from?" Now I know. :(

The bushing that belongs here is missing:

C61QPl6.jpg


I pulled the bushing from the other side and measured it:

DtcSwRA.jpg


8QcWKit.jpg


4dMgr9V.jpg


Anyone have any idea where you can source something like this? I've reached out to BD but it will probably be a few days before I get a response - if I get one.
 
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I'm still fighting with the Motobecane. Turns out the bushing was there but it sits too low (it's basically counter-sunk) and so does nothing. Look at the wear on the bell crank arm:

wJ5ieqs.jpg


Contrast that with the other side, where the bushing sits proud like it should. There is no wear at all:

ARBcosG.jpg


The inside of the suspension arm, where it contacts the bell crank arm, is just as worn. I'm pretty sure at this point the rear suspension was not made correctly and is the root of all the problems I'm having.

So I had the Marin, which was reliable but terrible. Now I have this, which is awesome but unreliable. If I could just find one bike with both traits, then I'd have something that is both terrible AND unreliable. :)
 
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That sucks you’re having these issues with the new ride :( Have you tried wondering around Ace hardware to see if they have something that will fit that bushing seat to get you back on the trail until BD can get you a permanent fix? A firm poly or aluminum should work I would think. Either would be easy to sand down to size with sand paper on a counter top to help keep it flat.
Or go make friends with someone with a CNC or lathe!
 
Thank you for the ideas. A thicker bushing or a washer to push the factory bushing out might just work. I'll try that while waiting (hoping) to hear back from BD.
 
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