Dem bicicletas dos, doe.

[Desertbreh]

Well fuck... looks like I'm going to need a new mountain bike.

I have no idea how this happened. I went out about four weeks ago and the ride was cut slightly short by a broken chain. I've been busy and haven't really looked at the bike. I just got it out to fix the chain and found this... no fucking idea what happened here, I didn't even crash the thing.

I'm on hold with Jenson USA where I bought it to see if there's any hope of warranty claim on the frame, otherwise, I guess it will be NBD soon. I don't even know where to start with mountain bikes to be honest.

Seems like most glorious day to me.

[fledonfoot]

Didn't James's Whorbea frame crack as well? @Coogs, you may have dodged a bullet

Filed a warranty claim but it seems like it will take months if anything happens, I think I'm just going to buy a bike. I don't have the patience to wait until May to ride.

I had hairline cracks develop at the rear brake boss/mounting points. I was originally quoted 6-8 months for a rear triangle (that didn't match the rest of the paint - shouldn't be an issue for a hardtail) but ultimately got a frame shipped right before the covid shutdowns.

[coogles]

I've really never ridden full squish

I feel like it isn't necessary around here, but most seem to opt for it, so I may just not know what I'm missing.

I was actually eyeing both of those bikes in a quick cursory search on local CL:
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/bik/d/ ... 79409.html
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/bik/d/ ... 79823.html

That Fathom is a 27.5, I'd probably stick to a 29er personally, especially at 6'2" or whatever. I'd also skip that Roscoe, anything prior to the new 2022 models is pretty meh IMO.

If you're going full squish it should probably be something with 120mm or less of rear travel to keep it lively. Ripley, Spur, the new Top Fuel would all work, but are way more spendy than a hardtail obviously.

[fledonfoot]

If you run out of options, I could be tempted to let the Nukeproof go, If you’re into the idea of a fun 27.5+ bike with 2.8” tires

[D Griff]

Well fuck... looks like I'm going to need a new mountain bike.

I have no idea how this happened. I went out about four weeks ago and the ride was cut slightly short by a broken chain. I've been busy and haven't really looked at the bike. I just got it out to fix the chain and found this... no fucking idea what happened here, I didn't even crash the thing.

I'm on hold with Jenson USA where I bought it to see if there's any hope of warranty claim on the frame, otherwise, I guess it will be NBD soon. I don't even know where to start with mountain bikes to be honest.

Seems like most glorious day to me.

Over the last few hours I’ve gone from to to

[D Griff]

If you run out of options, I could be tempted to let the Nukeproof go, If you’re into the idea of a fun 27.5+ bike with 2.8” tires

I remember you mentioning selling it. I think I’m going to check out bikes tomorrow and see what kinda thing I like.

[Johnny_P]

What the hell? That suuuucks. Man, two orbeas cracked on this forum?

Trek makes good stuff and stands by it.

I’d go full suspension. You’ll have to call around to see what people have in stock. Fortunately you’re close to a lot of good bike shops near Pisgah and such. Hopefully you can find something in stock.

I’ve been eyeballing an Ibis Ripley AF, personally.

[fledonfoot]

What the hell? That suuuucks. Man, two orbeas cracked on this forum?

Trek makes good stuff and stands by it.

I’d go full suspension. You’ll have to call around to see what people have in stock. Fortunately you’re close to a lot of good bike shops near Pisgah and such. Hopefully you can find something in stock.

I’ve been eyeballing an Ibis Ripley AF, personally.

I had no problem getting coverage, it was just supply chain issues. They were very up front about what was available and what my options were. My fight was to get a full frame out of them vs the rear section that was damaged.

[D Griff]

What the hell? That suuuucks. Man, two orbeas cracked on this forum?

Trek makes good stuff and stands by it.

I’d go full suspension. You’ll have to call around to see what people have in stock. Fortunately you’re close to a lot of good bike shops near Pisgah and such. Hopefully you can find something in stock.

I’ve been eyeballing an Ibis Ripley AF, personally.

I went around to some local shops yesterday and test rode everything they had available. One was formerly an Orbea and they pretty much backed up what Fled said - Orbea will stand by the warranty on an aluminum frame, but it will take a loong time. I put in a claim with Jenson where I bought it already, so it's a waiting game. In the meantime, I had a great end of year in sales, I'm just going to buy something I think. If I get the frame from Orbea, I will move all the parts over, sell my dropped to my friend, and sell the new frame bike with my old components. It's upgraded to 1X and stuff, I imagine in this market I can actually get most of the original purchase price out of the thing. If they don't replace it, I'll probably just give my buddy the components along with the dropper and at least he'll have a less shitty bike (he rides a 2012 Trek Mamba). I could at least sell the wheels/tires and maybe the front fork additionally. Hang the busted frame up in my future garage for the lolz.

Now, onto the bikes I rode! All of the shops were pretty awesome, super cool about 'taking it out for a test drive', pretty helpful. My buddy Maxx went with me, we rode around town on our vintage boat anchors to the shops.

I started at Charlotte Cycles, a small place in the city that helped me out with some obscure parts for the Raleigh.

The only thing in stock was a Giant Stance size L (about $1600 + tax). This thing was one of my first times on a FS bike. I didn't even realize an FS could be had in this price range. While it certainly seems like a decent bike, I don't think this one is for me. The suspension felt super bouncy and inefficient, I think in this price range I'd rather have a bit higher spec hard tail.

Next, we headed to Uptown Cycles, another city place and where I got my recent bike fit on the Ribble (good people). There was a park nearby here which was nice, some steep embankments, stairs, etc. to mess around on. They had two bikes in stock to try:

Specialized Rockhopper Expert around $1400 + tax - I hated this bike, it felt like my Orbea but just shittier. It was a neat color and known brand, outside of that, it just felt sluggish, uninspiring, shitty shifting (it had SRAM SX)... it sounds dece on paper but just felt like riding a $750 mountain bike.

Cannondale Habit 5, size L ($200 + tax) - https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/ ... it/habit-5
I liked this thing, it felt like the suspension was way more dialed in compared to the Giant. It looks sweet, rode great, shifted well, super modern feeling geo compared to what I'm used to. It felt like a bike out to have a good time. I could definitely see owning and enjoying this bike.

Finally, we headed to Bike Gallery, another cool shop I've been to quite a bit over the years, it's close to my neighborhood and I used to live right next door.

Here I rode three bikes:
Niner Air 2-Star hard tail in L ($2K + tax) - This was a nice bike, clearly the SRAM SX was better setup as it shifted well. Modern geo, looks/feels good, the salesbro pointed out that he thought it looked small on me, so that led him to pulling out:

Scott Scale XL ($2K + tax) - this was the only carbon bike I rode. I rally loved this bike BUT I don't think it's a great fit for the trails around here. 100 mm travel and super light, it feels like a bike to take on rides that are juuust too technical for a gravel bike. Trails around here are pretty rocky and rooted. This thing is cool, but I think it's too XC. That said, the fit definitely felt right to me compared to the smaller Niner. Makes me where to go, I've always ridden a large but maybe always had a bike too small for me. I'm 6'1-2" all torso, about 180 pounds.

Finally, he busted out the Scott Spark 960 in XL, which they have for $2600 + tax. This is one I'm contemplating pulling the trigger on. It seems to have the best build for the money with Shimano Deore and XT, 12 speed, and Shimano brakes. It also came with a dropper (most of these bikes didn't). This bike has the twin lockout feature which is unique to Scott (I'd never seen it). You can partially/fully lock the front/rear suspension right from the bars. It seems really useful for my riding, as I do ride streets to local trails and hit a variety of trails, it seems like a nice combo of XC/Trail bike for my needs. It's not the most aggressive (130 front/120 rear) and the geometry is more or less unchanged since 2017 or so. The new Spark just came out (all new for 2022), but this one could be a The locking system does add two additional cables, a bit more to maintain and look at, curious if overtime it would be awesome or more of a gimmick.

All in all, I think the Cannondale and Scott Spark are the two I would consider buying. I wasn't necessarily seeking out FS but after doing some quick climbs on them and stuff, it seems like efficiency has come a long way and they will make local trails rooty descents more fun. Cannondale's site has me solidly into an XL, but the L felt OK. With Scott I'm kind of right on the line but more into the XL as well. It seems like if I don't grab one of the local ones, I'd have to wait a while for these bikes, but there are other stores I've yet to check out.

The Spark is awesome bang for buck with the components it has and the last 2021 around. Pros is that it's an awesome , con it's not their latest/greatest, but the same spec on the new new is +$800.

[D Griff]

This is the exact spec Spark I looked at (color is also dope):


Here is the Habit as spec'd:

[Johnny_P]

I’ve ridden a Spark before. Nice bikes. Efficient pedaling and still decently plush. Lockouts may be a gimmick, they aren’t necessary on modern suspension designs because air shocks are a lot more progressive now. But could be useful if you’re riding roads to get to trails.

Glad you found some stuff in stock! Buy whatever you are comfortable on.

[coogles]

Glad to see you have a few options in stock that will work for you.

[coogles]

Well I've just started week 2 (of 6) of the current Power Zone Pack challenge on the Peloton. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with power zone training. I like the output-focused approach and the very individualized nature of it, but I always feel like these programs spend too much time too far below threshold to really produce significant results. To that end, I decided to manually crank my FTP setting up to 230W from 212W, in hopes that setting my zones higher than I would probably test will produce more of an adaptation, perhaps at the risk of over-training. I was probably ready to retest anyway but I'd guess I was at ~220W to begin the program.

The recommendation is always to ride in the middle of your zones, but I always found myself at the top of the zone or even creeping into the next one, even immediately after a test. Staying in the middle always felt way too easy. I haven't done a ton of reading about power zone training, but I suspect those zones are more appropriate if you're training for 5 or 6+ hours per week. I'm usually doing 2.5, and now 3hrs per week on this program.

This morning was the first ride getting into Zone 4 (threshold), which now tops out at 242W. Even with my legs still mad at me from hockey Thursday night and doing a 60 minute endurance ride yesterday, I didn't have much trouble sticking to these new zones and even started creeping into Zone 5 on the last interval. My zones finally feel right to me, setting my FTP 10-15W higher than I would test. All of the PZP Facebook people basically think I'm going to die by taking this approach, but I guess we'll see.

[D Griff]

I’ve ridden a Spark before. Nice bikes. Efficient pedaling and still decently plush. Lockouts may be a gimmick, they aren’t necessary on modern suspension designs because air shocks are a lot more progressive now. But could be useful if you’re riding roads to get to trails.

Glad you found some stuff in stock! Buy whatever you are comfortable on.

I normally lock out the front when I ride over to the trails and that’s it. Either way it’s a great spec and color and reasonably priced. I’m planning on some longer XC/Trail races this year which I think it would be pretty decent for.

You have any seat time on a Cannondale Habit? It seemed a bit more playful, I liked it a lot as well. Perhaps not as good a fit for my riding style (which is just on downhill and on climbs).

[Johnny_P]

I have not ridden the Habit. I think [user not found] has tho.

[Johnny_P]

So the new Specialized Stumpjumper with the flex seat stays sounds very ideal for me. 140/130 travel 29er that rides and pedals like the DW Link bikes from Ibis and Pivot but single pivot.

A shop in Glenside apparently has the two sizes in stock that I’d be between (different specs and pretty expensive for the one that appears to be the right size for me). I think a trip may be in order.

[coogles]

Dammit, Griff. You've got me looking at MTBs again. Nahgonnahappen, but it's fun to dream.

[coogles]

I have not ridden the Habit. I think [user not found] has tho.

I rode the last gen one - when it was 27.5. It was fun, but felt small under me.

Same thing with the 5010 I rode around the same time. Just felt small.

I feel more at home on a 29er. The Occam is a good blend of XC and Trail-lite at 120/130mm of travel.

The Oiz TR is the current short-travel trail bike in the Orbea lineup these days, just FYI. The Occam is pretty burly anymore.

[coogles]

The Oiz TR is the current short-travel trail bike in the Orbea lineup these days, just FYI. The Occam is pretty burly anymore.

I meant my particular 2016-vintage Occam, but yeah, Orbea pushed the Occam way more towards an actual trail bike now. The closest equivalent of my bike in Orbea's lineup now is the OIZ M30, but that has 100mm of travel.

Griff, can you find a Santa Cruz Tallboy anywhere near you for a test ride?

The Oiz TR is the slightly more trail-oriented version. It has 120mm front and rear.

https://www.orbea.com/us-en/bicycles/mo ... z-m-pro-tr

[coogles]

The Oiz TR is the slightly more trail-oriented version. It has 120mm front and rear.

https://www.orbea.com/us-en/bicycles/mo ... z-m-pro-tr

I made a ninja edit. Check above.

D'oh. I misread and was just thinking the TR was closest to the other bikes he's been looking at.

[Johnny_P]

Griff if you want the cannondale you could probably get it through REI and get essentially 10% back on it.

[D Griff]

Griff if you want the cannondale you could probably get it through REI and get essentially 10% back on it.

not a bad thought, I’m already a member and have a $20 gift card to boot

I’m going to try to buy local this time if I can, everyone at the shops I’ve visited has been so great.

[D Griff]

The Oiz TR is the current short-travel trail bike in the Orbea lineup these days, just FYI. The Occam is pretty burly anymore.

I meant my particular 2016-vintage Occam, but yeah, Orbea pushed the Occam way more towards an actual trail bike now. My 2016 Occam M30 TR would slot somewhere between the current OIZ M20 TR and the OIZ M30. It's got a 1x XT drivetrain with Deore hydraulics, a 120mm Fox 32 in the front and 120mm Float DPS in the rear. It's a great spec.

https://www.theproscloset.com/products/ ... 16-x-large

Griff, can you find a Santa Cruz Tallboy anywhere near you for a test ride?

There’s an SC a mile from here, I’ll likely call them tomorrow, going to see if anything else is out there to try.

[D Griff]

I may check out the Trek store as well. There’s some Specialized and Giant places as well,

[coogles]

I may check out the Trek store as well. There’s some Specialized and Giant places as well,

The new Top Fuel is getting some pretty positive reviews, especially for how efficient it is.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike ... e/p/35071/