Anybody into Mountain Biking?

[Conspicuously Absent]

haha. carbon fiber is for pro level racers. That said... my SPONSORED buddies downhill rig is fucking 31 pounds due to all the carbon fiber shit on it... the same bike without carbon fiber is 49. haha... fuck, riding that bike is like... orgasmic.

 

[dorian gray]

haha the only thing i know about carbon is that it can crack during a ride leading to catastrophic failure. i dont think ive ever even seen cf in real life. lots of titanium around here though due to litespeeds being made a couple hours away in chattanooga. overkill if you ask me

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

yeah. The frame is still metal. But you get shit like carbon fiber derailleurs, brake levers, bashguards, brake calipers, headsets, handlebars, seatposts. Your shaving off tiny amounts of weight... that add up to like 20 pounds. It's nuts. But no, the frame, rims, hubs, shocks, forks, and cranks are all still metal. Unless you get a 15grand XC bike

 

[KILL TULLY]

haha the only thing i know about carbon is that it can crack during a ride leading to catastrophic failure. i dont think ive ever even seen cf in real life. lots of titanium around here though due to litespeeds being made a couple hours away in chattanooga. overkill if you ask me

Hah, I've seen many more aluminum frames broken then carbon, probobly just cuz more people ride 'em.

It is not so hard to break these light bikes you like so much Dorian, haha.

 

[lurch70]

isn't something as heavy as possible the best for going downhill? with the fattest rider possible? you know, for building up more momentum? or did I fail at physics?

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

isn't something as heavy as possible the best for going downhill? with the fattest rider possible? you know, for building up more momentum? or did I fail at physics?

but downhill is NOT about momentum.

You need a light bike, light/fit rider to:

1. Pedal on the smooth sections and accelerate faster
2. To float over the bumps to lose less speed.
3. Big heavy bike, big fat rider, hits ground a lot hard. That shock bob kills your speed. Then fatass has to get going again by pedalling hard.

@tully - yeah. If your riding carbon fiber you know wtf you are doing and won't be breaking your bike much.

 

[dorian gray]

It is not so hard to break these light bikes you like so much Dorian, haha.

haha thats what i was saying earlier. back in the mid-90s there were alot of XC frames that were hefty and could take alot of abuse. as fullys took over, companies focused their hardtail energy on lightweight and breakable racing rigs. now, there are also the kind of hefty hardtails that you guys probably ride - theyre not really good for efficient XC. afaik, the only tough XC bikes around now that can still take decades of abuse are cannondales F series. and theyre really not any cheaper than they were 10 years ago.

 

[KILL TULLY]

Aluminum, and tough, haha.

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

nah, you can still get pretty durable XC bikes. Just don't treat them like a freeride bike.

<3 teh Imperial.

 

[KILL TULLY]

<3 teh Imperial.

Made in Boston, boyeeeeee.

 

[dorian gray]

@ tully: yeah, thats the kind of hardtail im talking about. neat bikes. not very good for xc though i would think. i personally wouldnt ride one anyway.

@andrew: yeah, thats what im saying. back in 1996, there WERENT freeride bikes (at least i dont remember there being any) so if you wanted to do drops and jumps and whatever you bought a cannondale hardtail. they were sturdy. hence the name cannonwhale haha. keep in mind in 1996 there were still rigids being produced!

 

[lurch70]

i like these type of cruiser bikes

 

[KILL TULLY]

i like these type of cruiser bikes

So sick

 

[KILL TULLY]

keep in mind in 1996 there were still rigids being produced!

I know lots of freeriders riding rigids.

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

@ tully: yeah, thats the kind of hardtail im talking about. neat bikes. not very good for xc though i would think. i personally wouldnt ride one anyway.

@andrew: yeah, thats what im saying. back in 1996, there WERENT freeride bikes (at least i dont remember there being any) so if you wanted to do drops and jumps and whatever you bought a cannondale hardtail. they were sturdy. hence the name cannonwhale haha. keep in mind in 1996 there were still rigids being produced!

yeah. They've improved frame design enought hat you can still huck and do lighter shit on an XC bike. Especially if you know wtf you are doing. When you start out though, you'll fuck your back wheel so bad. Once you learn how to be the suspension, you're fine.

 

[dorian gray]

cool bike. looks hard to ride though.

 

[Conspicuously Absent]

My friend Kyle rides a Specialized S1 fully rigid with a BMX rear hub for urban. Swaps out the front forks for some Manitou Shermans for freeriding on the trails. And then has a brodie Demon for downhill.

 

[dorian gray]

I know lots of freeriders riding rigids.

doesnt surprise me. i only meant that companies were putting out rigids along with their front suspended models and not thinking anything was unusual. i still remember cannondales "beast of the east" rigid model coming out in like 95 or something and it being a great XC racing bike. a year later they had the F series with headshok and that put an end to the rigids.
i miss rigids.