Location?
The Mountain Bike Thread
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
sal_the_salmon
Steelhead
spokane but ive got people on the westside too
sal_the_salmon
Steelhead
yesterday was great. finally felt like spring after a long winter of cold toes and ice.... well, i did still find a few trails with ice in the deepest darkest north exposers.
sal_the_salmon
Steelhead
oh man that thing is so sick, i would love to rock that frame, but dont have any sort of budget for it.
i am thinking about doing a few custom painted frames this summer and NGL i think now one of them might need a fish theme. the other theme i am planning for is a e WA basalt/lichen theme.
i do worry about buying a used carboon frame though. while carbon is awesome, its not always easily to tell if there is damage just from looking at it. you really have to use an ultrasound to check them, and the last thing i would want is a fork that failed on a big fast impact.
looks like a facebook marketplace post if anyone is in the mood to buy
sal_the_salmon
Steelhead
yep, over torqued bolts, dropping something like a wrench on the frame, etc.
in the wrech example,. it could just leave a tiny scratch but under the paint the carbon layup can delaminate.
i love carbon, but i need to know the owner or buy it new to really trust it.
I believe that is an aluminum frame. But the fork is carbon
I've read some surprisingly positive accounts of buying the no-name carbon brands out of China. But.... that comes with it's own risks. I'm not sure I could trust my face/brain to a carbon fork from some random company across the sea.
ThomasM
corvus ossifragus
Good friend who is a VERY strong rider bought a one of the factory-direct carbon road frames from China and loves it. He used it for his successful Everesting ride. Due to the nature of the challenge, there are some serious downhill speeds. He also used it for riding up Mauna Loa, etc. Same guy has posted a really good time at Dirty Kanzaa, been the first finisher in RAMROD and so on. I trust his judgement when it comes to bikes so I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I was looking for a cost-efficient way to get into a carbon road frame and had the needed wrenching skills.
sal_the_salmon
Steelhead
not enough for me. for each great story, there is a story of failure. id like my bike to not have lots of failure stories all over the internet.
that said, some Chinese carbon is better then others, and gernerally the Taiwan carbon is better overall. the problem is carbon is not forgiving to contrstruction errors. delamination and voids in the layup are the main issue. fancy bikes are not free of this problem, but its WAY WAY less common
Itchy Dog
Steelhead
Your gravel bike is essentially what a MTB was 30 years ago. For example, that old Specialized Hard Rock that was mine then yours would be a fine gravel bike today. And flat bars for the win.
cody-
Steelhead
I admit that I haven't owned a bicycle in what must be approaching a decade. However, I'm about to move to a city with a decent trail system and am in the market for an ebike for commuting 12 miles each way on flat, paved trails that are free of cars.
Does anyone more knowledgeable on bikes have strong opinions one way or the other on Rad Power ebikes, particularly more on the budget end with the Rad Mission?
Does anyone more knowledgeable on bikes have strong opinions one way or the other on Rad Power ebikes, particularly more on the budget end with the Rad Mission?
My parents have rad bikes.
For my job ( work for a land trust and we built and manage about 50 miles of trails) we have a specialized levo that tows a trailer with a chainsaw and trail tools.
The Rad bikes seem to be great-reliable, stable, good for commuting. There is a major issue to consider-weight. If you have even 3 steps to drag that thing up and down it can be an issue. My 79 y.o. Mom can’t use hers without somebody getting it to street level from her truck.
Levo is much lighter but much more expensive.
For my job ( work for a land trust and we built and manage about 50 miles of trails) we have a specialized levo that tows a trailer with a chainsaw and trail tools.
The Rad bikes seem to be great-reliable, stable, good for commuting. There is a major issue to consider-weight. If you have even 3 steps to drag that thing up and down it can be an issue. My 79 y.o. Mom can’t use hers without somebody getting it to street level from her truck.
Levo is much lighter but much more expensive.
If i could could figure out a brake system, i would shove 700s into the 1993 Schwinn Paramount frame hanging in my garage and mob that thing again-agree it would make a gravel beast!
I have no pics, but used to combine biking and fishing. I would ride up Deschutes River, fishing and camping, with lots of flat tires. I got a single wheel trailer to pull behind bike to carry camping gear. Worked very well. There is a rail to trail path on east bank that goes 20 miles until you get to where you would have to portage. I prefer floating that now in my pontoon. I still ride a lot though, and have an all-road bike for commuting and urban exploring. It is an All City Space Horse GRX that I love.
cody-
Steelhead
Weight is something I didn't really account for, though that Specialized and the Radmission are both listed at 48 lbs. I will have a second floor walk up, but was planning on renting garage space.
Coincidentally, my friend that I'm going fishing with in a few weeks just asked if I wanted to take a detour and ride one of his Specialized Turbo Levo's through Bryce Canyon NP on our Panguitch trip, so I'll likely get a chance to test ride a higher end bike before making any decisions.