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MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - General Discussion
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Cloudy skies, muddy trails, RAIN every weekend gettin' old.. (19 posts)
|  Cloudy skies, muddy trails, RAIN every weekend gettin' old.. | man w/ one hand
Dec 14, 2002 6:35 AM | | After the T-giving holiday it has been one crappy weekend after
another. I know we need the rain here in the Mid-atlantic area,
western NC, but puleeeezz...I gotta ride. I know you guys that are
snowed in are goin' strir-crazy if your anything like me. Last winter
here was sweet, dry, not near as cold as past winters. Stayed in
shape all winter. That bein' relative n'all. Gonna try to catch a
little saddle time in between those days. Gotta take what you can
get, I guess...
Thanks fer listenin' to my rant.
Ride On,
Ride hard. |
| Just starting here... | free-agent
Dec 14, 2002 9:13 AM | | in the Pacific Northwet. We had one of the dryest Novembers on record, but I think we are gonna pay for it the rest of "winter." Makes getting on the bike in the dark a little more difficult. Oh well, that's why fenders and lights were invented!
later |
| Damn, it's been raining for 24 hrs already... getting old fast! | næstep
Dec 14, 2002 9:31 AM | | We've only had one good storm back in October here in the SF Bay area -- up until this weekend, that is. Gotta admit it feels good to say, "ah, my weekend's shot" instead of "my season's over!"
A little sweet with my sour: Built up a new "winter" bike a few weeks ago, and just before Thanksgiving doc took me and my bum ankle off the DL (where I'd been for the better part of the summer with consecutive sprains). It's been enjoyable getting back on the bike in such moderate weather conditions (beats the July heat as long as it's reasonably dry out).
My recent wet-weather/all-around addition:
næstep (always open to suggestions for rainy-day trails to ride) |
| Questions about your fenders- | GirchyGirchy
Dec 14, 2002 12:48 PM | | Where'd they come from, and what brand? Those are pretty cool, and I need some. Especially like the rear one, do they work if I'm using V-brakes back there too?
By the way, gorgeous bike. |
| Thanks, have to go gunk it up... | næstep
Dec 14, 2002 1:09 PM | | Here's a partial repost from the 29"er board plus a new photo:
I wasn't too interested in the seat post clip-on styles, so one of the guys at Calmar Cycles in Santa Clara, CA dragged out his single speed to show off a rear fender made by a small SF Bay Area company by the name of Mud Machine. The shell is beefy, well made, and stiff, and it's internally framed by what's essentially a steel U-shaped brake booster that bolts up to your canti studs (Mud Machine mentions an alternate mounting kit on their site). I was very impressed by it, although the steel frame makes it a little heavy (I'd guess in the 250g range) and the price was steep at $45. On the front I found the SKS Shock Board fit well. It's got a convenient quick release, and the bracket that gets left behind when the fender is removed is relatively inconspicuous. It provides just enough clearance from my front tire at full shock compression, and feels like the right combination of stiffness and give to hold its position yet not cause a problem if hit by my foot. It's only $20 and 100g.
As for your V-brake question, the singlespeed the guy at the shop showed me had V's on the rear, and you can get an idea from the photo below that the frame of this thing really isn't anything more than a brake booster with some tabs added to it.
You'll see on Mud Machine's web site that they have a front fender as well.
næstep |
| Question about the SKS front... | GirchyGirchy
Dec 15, 2002 8:46 AM | | When I got my bike in May, I got some fenders since I was leaving the ones I had on my old bike to sell. I bought both the SKS front and rear, and had problems with both, somehow. The rear kept falling down no matter how hard I tightened the pivot bolt, and the front one would just fall out.
So, how'd you get the little round thing to stay in there? I had a Judy TT before, maybe it'll work better on my Duke XC...it always seemed like one was too big, but the next size down was too small. Any tips?
That fender is quite nice, and looks like it might improve braking performance...but too much for me. Thanks though!
Brian |
| Answer: Dumb Luck? | næstep
Dec 15, 2002 2:33 PM | | The middle sized expander fit my White Brothers fork, but it too seemed too small to do the job adequately -- but for some reason it's working out for me. I liked what I saw in the reviews and can always go to a star nut if the expansion plug for some reason stops working for me.
næstep |
| I must just be dumb then. :) Thanks! (nm) | GirchyGirchy
Dec 15, 2002 3:23 PM | | |
| Maybe a dumb question, but... | næstep
Dec 15, 2002 4:38 PM | | ...did you assemble it correctly? (Sorry, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, just gotta ask...) Mine didn't come with any assembly diagram, and I was thrown for a loop at first because there is a nut that needs to be inserted into the top of the outer expansion plug. The nut comes fully threaded onto the bolt, and at first glace looks like it belongs there.
næstep |
| Are you calling me stupid?! | GirchyGirchy
Dec 15, 2002 8:45 PM | | Just kidding :)
I'm almost positive...but it did take me like an hour to figure out how my kickstand went on, before I realized Greenfield shipped it extended down instead of back when put on the bike. What an idiot.
But yeah, I remember the nut going on top of the expansion plug, then the other thing with the 'fingers' went under that. I thought I had it in once, but it fell out after a ride. Then I tried the larger piece, but if it went into the steerer hole at all, it had to go in with the 'fingers' below the spreader, so when tightened, the spreader couldn't get inside the fingers to spread them...if that makes sense. I didn't want to break the stuff, so I gave up.
I'll have to try another one though, with my new fork. I liked how it looked, but just could not get it. The guy at the LBS was surprised too. Maybe I had an idiot moment.
And here I'm going to school to become an engineer...shame on me :) Thanks for the help!
Brian |
| Been raining here since end of the ice age. I'm used to it. nm | Tscheezy
Dec 14, 2002 11:40 AM | | |
| Thursday's forecast: 58, with 100% chance of rain. Hell. | GirchyGirchy
Dec 14, 2002 12:51 PM | | I'll finally be done with school for the semester, and it'll be near 60 as opposed to the 30 it's been for the past few weeks...oh, wait, it's going to rain. SH!T that makes me mad. Even the day before or after, it's gonna be saturated with rain, and my tires suck in the mud. Hmph.
I'd rather have snow. |
| Raining cats and dogs in Boston | Cube
Dec 14, 2002 5:18 PM | | It been colder then usual all of October and November around Boston. But worse then that is the rain and snow. I may break down and order a trainer just to stay in condition. |
| No F (iretr) UCK, it's getting to me.. | Locoman
Dec 14, 2002 7:11 PM | | Tonight me wifey has 'girls night' going on here.. and it's not as good as it might sound. I would have spent 4 hours on the trails but it's raining so freakin hard. A little rain would not have stopped me, but this...
So it's me watching Blade II and downing some Heine-e's.. Not a bad thing, but would rather ride. |
| Love that flick | makalu
Dec 14, 2002 9:43 PM | | They said storyline be damned, lets show a ton of action. And they succeeded, greatly. |
| re: Cloudy skies, muddy trails, RAIN every weekend gettin' old.. | thoughtfulpirate
Dec 14, 2002 3:34 PM | | western nc?? try dupont state forest. i was there last weekend in the snow and the sandy soil isnt bad at all when wet. ive been there in pouring rain and the trails still arent too bad. just watch the slickrock trails in the icy weather. |
| I alway seems wet in the UK.. | Mac in the UK
Dec 15, 2002 12:22 AM | | ..We had two months of reasonably dry weather this year, but most of the time you can count on significant mud on just about any local (West London Suburbs) single track. I've learned that you just have to ride no matter what or you get frustrated. Bike setup and clothing are real important. Right now I've got my full winter bike setup with serious mud tyres and a crud catcher in front (looks stupid works great). Good quality sealed cables are a must for consistent shifting and I have Hope mini's which seem excellent in the mud. I've also got a good quality light setup since we're down to less than eight hours of daylight! |
| Slush here in SW Ontario ... | Philber
Dec 15, 2002 5:35 AM | | Every day for a while now it's been that terrible temp - about 2C or like 38F. And we got a bunch of snow a couple weeks ago, so now it's all slowly melting, and everything is sloppy, slushy and pretty much unrideable. It's winter dammit - it should just get cold and stay cold, until spring. |
| Yeah, dry trails here in CO, Blue skies, and... | daveM
Dec 15, 2002 6:18 PM | | AWESOME trails! Kinda sucks :) Sorry, I know how it feels to be jones'in for a ride.
Gonna visit my folks in Southern Pines next week, NC is a nice place! |
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