Bicycles!

Grenock said:
Sincerely, anyone who as ever been involved in the design and manufacture of SRAM Guide brakes or Reverb dropper posts, can suck my ass.
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I've had ok luck with my SRAM brakes I mean they get me to stop eventually but nothing like the Hayes 9's I ran on my old Cannondale Perp. I swear I could stop on a vertical wall with my Hayes.
 
Lorien said:
Hope makes the best brakes, imo. Shimano also. I don't really like anything else.
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Shimano was my fav back in the day of rim brakes... oops I just dated myself lol. I love their components but they outpriced themselfs for me. I always heard great stuff about Hope but Hope components were tough to find if not impossible when I was building my own bikes.
 
Night Rider said:
I've had ok luck with my SRAM brakes I mean they get me to stop eventually but nothing like the Hayes 9's I ran on my old Cannondale Perp. I swear I could stop on a vertical wall with my Hayes.
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SRAM Code R and Reverb dropper were on the build when I got the bike. Dropper was warrantied twice, then failed again. Didn’t bother to go through them a third time. Replaced it with one that is cable actuated, no problems and is a lot cheaper.

The brakes, same story, warranty replacement twice, the second time, they upgraded me to Code RS. Less than fifty miles, no crashes and the lever began to leak and I had no front brake. Could have warrantied again, but told them to go fuck themselves. Have four piston Shimano XTs going on and upgraded the front rotor to a 200 cuz I am a lot of mass to stop sometimes. If you have ever seen a bear ride one of those little bikes in the circus, that’s what I look like at the bike park.

Lorien said:
Hope makes the best brakes, imo. Shimano also. I don't really like anything else.
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We’ve talked about the Hopes and you know I luv ‘em, but I can get the Shimanos worked on anywhere. I wish it made sense to have you send me parts brother. I’ll build one up with Hopes one day, and We Are One carbons.

Also, unrelated, today is new bike day. Surly Karate Monkey in da’ house.(with SRAM brakes, dammit!)
 
Shimano XT disk brakes are the best MTB brakes I've had since Avid V brakes. Dura Ace cantilevers are still the bomb.
 
bluemax_1 said:
Sweet vid! Tried flying a drone for a bit. I would've crashed it straight into the first tree. Lol.
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Well That vid got my heart pumping! I love natural trails (not so much bike parks) and That is my kind of trail. The drones on the market now are unbelievable with forward and side collision sensors. My son has one of the first gen DJI drones without the collision sensors and it only takes a tiny twig hitting one of the four props to knock it out of the sky. It's on it's 4th set of props lol.
 
That video was insane, looks like rider lost the drone a few times for sure.

I'm looking to get back into riding (kids self sufficient now) and my old bike is a mess, so looking for an upgrade. Been reading up on new tech, lighter frames and upgraded components since my last purchase (over a decade ago).

I'm thinking weekend fitness riding paved or packed dirt/gravel with some light trails (around Atlanta), maybe 3-4 hours of riding a week. Been reading reviews on major bike websites and it's too much information. Brands I'm looking at are Priority, Marin, Specialized, Spot.

What do you folks think about
  • the Pinion Gear system or other internal gear systems (love the low maintenance option, but big weight penalty)?
  • Belt Drive (love the low maintenance option)?
  • with the limited selection at dealers focusing on 1-2 brands, buying online from the manufacturer (almost all available) and putting together yourself (or have white glove assembly)?
  • Budget $0-$2k, any standout brands you'd recommend (There are SO many now and want to focus on quality and durability)?
Sorry to post the first time with questions, but range of equipment has ballooned into analysis paralysis for me and I have to move forward somehow.

Noah
 
ndmiller said:
That video was insane, looks like rider lost the drone a few times for sure.

I'm looking to get back into riding (kids self sufficient now) and my old bike is a mess, so looking for an upgrade. Been reading up on new tech, lighter frames and upgraded components since my last purchase (over a decade ago).

I'm thinking weekend fitness riding paved or packed dirt/gravel with some light trails (around Atlanta), maybe 3-4 hours of riding a week. Been reading reviews on major bike websites and it's too much information. Brands I'm looking at are Priority, Marin, Specialized, Spot.

What do you folks think about
  • the Pinion Gear system or other internal gear systems (love the low maintenance option, but big weight penalty)?
  • Belt Drive (love the low maintenance option)?
  • with the limited selection at dealers focusing on 1-2 brands, buying online from the manufacturer (almost all available) and putting together yourself (or have white glove assembly)?
  • Budget $0-$2k, any standout brands you'd recommend (There are SO many now and want to focus on quality and durability)?
Sorry to post the first time with questions, but range of equipment has ballooned into analysis paralysis for me and I have to move forward somehow.

Noah
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Believe me when I say, if it has fluid in it and is made by SRAM, it’s shit. Don’t do it.

Now, SRAM drivetrains and forks, two thumbs up for sure.

Get Shimano brakes and a cabled dropper if you even need a dropper.

I like carbon full squish bikes and steel hardtails. I tend to stay away from aluminum.

You names some good brands, I like Santa Cruz and Surly. I would also highly recommend throwing Ibis into the equation.

Pinion gearbox doesn’t blow my skirt up.

Belt drive is cool, but denotes single speed to me and you have to be a special kinda crazy to like that shit!

There will be a glut of high quality used bikes available for sale as we move into fall and winter. Be patient and you will end up with a lot more bike for your $2K than you may have thought was possible.
 
ndmiller said:
That video was insane, looks like rider lost the drone a few times for sure.

I'm looking to get back into riding (kids self sufficient now) and my old bike is a mess, so looking for an upgrade. Been reading up on new tech, lighter frames and upgraded components since my last purchase (over a decade ago).

I'm thinking weekend fitness riding paved or packed dirt/gravel with some light trails (around Atlanta), maybe 3-4 hours of riding a week. Been reading reviews on major bike websites and it's too much information. Brands I'm looking at are Priority, Marin, Specialized, Spot.

What do you folks think about
  • the Pinion Gear system or other internal gear systems (love the low maintenance option, but big weight penalty)?
  • Belt Drive (love the low maintenance option)?
  • with the limited selection at dealers focusing on 1-2 brands, buying online from the manufacturer (almost all available) and putting together yourself (or have white glove assembly)?
  • Budget $0-$2k, any standout brands you'd recommend (There are SO many now and want to focus on quality and durability)?
Sorry to post the first time with questions, but range of equipment has ballooned into analysis paralysis for me and I have to move forward somehow.

Noah
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as a bike shop owner, I recommend that you ask around for a bike shop that has a reputation of fairness and integrity. The best value bikes on the market are from Giant, in my opinion, which is the brand I sell. $2K will get you a good bike. For Atlanta, something like the Giant Toughroad, which has a rigid fork, will take you most places. For a mountain bike, I love the Fathom series. Super light, big tyres, good angles for most things, not too much money

having a person who knows how to sell a person a bike involved really makes your life easier when you're wet behind the ears. Used bikes often are available because someone is getting rid of a problem that they don't want to pay to have fixed.
 
Great information on this thread, I’m a runner and I have decided to start mountain biking for cross training purposes. With my personality, it’s going to be hard to not spend a ton of money... I just love quality craftsmanship and design. Hence my love for CPK.
 
SLOsmokin said:
Great information on this thread, I’m a runner and I have decided to start mountain biking for cross training purposes. With my personality, it’s going to be hard to not spend a ton of money... I just love quality craftsmanship and design. Hence my love for CPK.
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leave some of that money in a bike shop somewhere that you feel deserves it. Find a bike shop that is the closest thing to CPK as a business and you'll be set
 
Lorien said:
as a bike shop owner, I recommend that you ask around for a bike shop that has a reputation of fairness and integrity. The best value bikes on the market are from Giant, in my opinion, which is the brand I sell. $2K will get you a good bike. For Atlanta, something like the Giant Toughroad, which has a rigid fork, will take you most places. For a mountain bike, I love the Fathom series. Super light, big tyres, good angles for most things, not too much money

having a person who knows how to sell a person a bike involved really makes your life easier when you're wet behind the ears. Used bikes often are available because someone is getting rid of a problem that they don't want to pay to have fixed.
Click to expand...

Giant Toughroad sounds right in the wheelhouse I was looking fitness/trekking/hybridish with disc brakes in my price point. I have an old Giant, and perused their site first and didn't even see the Toughroad, UGH it's under adventure bikes....

Ok have "local shop" and the general type of bike, but here are my local brand options seem endless from 4.6+ rated shops within 30 miles: Trek, Jamis, Kona, Surley, Marin, Origin-8, Public, Linus, Salsa, All City, Ibis, Yeti, Santa Cruz, Juliana, Haro, Norco, Del Sol, Giant, Specialized, and Scott. Most of these I've never heard of, but don't want to miss something. Any Brands or Bikes within these brands I should be looking at off the top of your head?
 
My grocery getter (she's not quite this clean anymore) ...

tEdExZv.jpg
 
Ok these are the 5 I've settled on, so now calling around to see what is available or can be ordered around me, so I can demo before I buy. If you see a whopping NO-NO or Nice Choice in the mix, please let me know.
Giant Toughroad SLR2
Marin Presidio 3
Spot Acme
Surly Bridge Club
Surly Ogre
 
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