Mountain Biker's Forum

Lorien Lorien you've really beaten yourself up as time goes on haven't you!

In my early 20s I rode a Norco Wolverine, then after it and its replacement were both stolen, a Rival. I did some trail riding, but not really enough to call myself a mountain biker. Never got very good technically, and eventually gravitated to hybrids for commuting; wanted something that would roll easier. First, specialized 29'er with the largest frame I could find (I am 6'5"), and now I ride an Norco Indy 2 XL I've had for over half a decade.

Lorien said:
you should come to Vancouver Island if you get a chance- year round riding here!
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Why did I think you were in Ontario??
 
Barman1 said:
Smooth now! 👍
I had a 2016(?) Endorphin and my squeaky area were the bushings atop the "seat stay". If I remember correctly there's a through rod or bolt that runs through, and if I remember the bushings were steel? Bad choice of materials, they were rusted. And no, I don't wash my bikes.👎
It was relatively new when the squeak developed so naturally I searched everywhere thinking there was no way the suspension could be the culprit already.🙄
Lots of moving parts on the 4x4, had a few head scratching moments reassembling after a full teardown, really should have paid a little closer attention taking it apart. 😂
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the bushings are stainless and ride against a couple delrin top hats. The bolts which go through them can corrode inside the bushing, causing noise and making disassembly a challenge. The yoke has an anodized aluminum axle going through delrin top hats as well. It's actually a pretty brilliant system. But it penalizes folks who don't stay on top of things, unlike a full cartridge bearing based system which is generally pretty trouble free. Until it isn't
 
David Mary said:
Lorien Lorien you've really beaten yourself up as time goes on haven't you!

In my early 20s I rode a Norco Wolverine, then after it and its replacement were both stolen, a Rival. I did some trail riding, but not really enough to call myself a mountain biker. Never got very good technically, and eventually gravitated to hybrids for commuting; wanted something that would roll easier. First, specialized 29'er with the largest frame I could find (I am 6'5"), and now I ride an Norco Indy 2 XL I've had for over half a decade.



Why did I think you were in Ontario??
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well, I did 'grow up' in Ontario, (to a little over a foot shorter than you, lol!) Not like these snobby British Columbians 😂

Apart from tearing my abdominal muscles open and giving myself a hernia, I've avoided major injuries for the most part. Lots of lacerations and deceleration trauma laying me up for a couple weeks at a time over the years, though.

the Norco Indy is a cool bike. I sold Norcos for years, but I made the switch to Giant because they made me more money🤷‍♂️
 
Lorien said:
the bushings are stainless and ride against a couple delrin top hats. The bolts which go through them can corrode inside the bushing, causing noise and making disassembly a challenge. The yoke has an anodized aluminum axle going through delrin top hats as well. It's actually a pretty brilliant system. But it penalizes folks who don't stay on top of things, unlike a full cartridge bearing based system which is generally pretty trouble free. Until it isn't
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That's right, thanks for the reminder. I'm sure if I dig deep enough in the spare parts bins I can find all of those goodies.
I remember the squeak subsiding after riding through water. A little temporary lubrication.😂
The rust formed after only a few months of ownership, I know better than to trust the factory assembly and should have done a full teardown and lube when new.
When I grabbed my Trek Slash that's exactly what I did, and lo and behold the bearings had almost no lube. Now it's a regular bi-annual service to pop the seals and flush and re-lube. I ride a lot, 1500 miles since the start of this season on that bike and it's time to do it again.
 
Deceleration trauma 🤣 sounds like you overdosed on too much deceleration all at once ;)
 
Correction: before this one I had a specialized rockhopper 29er.
 
Barman1 said:
That's right, thanks for the reminder. I'm sure if I dig deep enough in the spare parts bins I can find all of those goodies.
I remember the squeak subsiding after riding through water. A little temporary lubrication.😂
The rust formed after only a few months of ownership, I know better than to trust the factory assembly and should have done a full teardown and lube when new.
When I grabbed my Trek Slash that's exactly what I did, and lo and behold the bearings had almost no lube. Now it's a regular bi-annual service to pop the seals and flush and re-lube. I ride a lot, 1500 miles since the start of this season on that bike and it's time to do it again.
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yeah it's amazing how much longer shit lasts if you do a full teardown after the break in period. Especially with suspension forks.
David Mary said:
View attachment 2324362
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that is one big ass bike, my friend!
 
well, what started out as a simple servicing ended up becoming a full rebuild. This fork hasn't felt right for awhile, and I finally tore it down and found out why
 
New BB day!



I did a fork lower and shock air can service a few weeks ago. I’ll probably hit the frame bearings after the snow falls.

Love or hate VPP, a Santa Cruz bearing service is easy enough for a schmo like me to do it.
 
been really feeling discouraged on so many rides over the past couple years, I just haven't been able to get comfortable slamming corners and popping off here and there, flatting every other ride. Feeling kinda like I've lost my edge, and can't control my bike as well as I'm accustomed to.

well....turns out most of my problems were mechanical, not rider error. After 3 years of literally no maintenance other than keeping things lubed and dry, rebuilding the chassis and overhauling the fork has made a world of a difference! Over the summer, I finally got my bike workshop set up, all my tools out of storage and organized so now I have a place to do the work that needs done. Also, I've spent the past two years spending an incredible amount of time learning how to make knives. Setting up the knife shop was a big deal, time wise, and so much other stuff that needed tending to took every last moment. Not even any time to ride much, really, let alone spend time dialing in my ride.

I love working on bikes, it's really the one thing I know how to do well and it's been my career more or less for 30 years, so getting back to it feels really good. It's weird to think that after so many years of it being front and center, fixing bike'll be my side hustle.

Life is good:cool:
 
Lorien said:
been really feeling discouraged on so many rides over the past couple years, I just haven't been able to get comfortable slamming corners and popping off here and there, flatting every other ride. Feeling kinda like I've lost my edge, and can't control my bike as well as I'm accustomed to.

well....turns out most of my problems were mechanical, not rider error. After 3 years of literally no maintenance other than keeping things lubed and dry, rebuilding the chassis and overhauling the fork has made a world of a difference! Over the summer, I finally got my bike workshop set up, all my tools out of storage and organized so now I have a place to do the work that needs done. Also, I've spent the past two years spending an incredible amount of time learning how to make knives. Setting up the knife shop was a big deal, time wise, and so much other stuff that needed tending to took every last moment. Not even any time to ride much, really, let alone spend time dialing in my ride.

I love working on bikes, it's really the one thing I know how to do well and it's been my career more or less for 30 years, so getting back to it feels really good. It's weird to think that after so many years of it being front and center, fixing bike'll be my side hustle.

Life is good:cool:
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It's not the knife, it's the rider. 🤫
 
View attachment 2336860
How's this for a shot? Hanging from the rafters Surly. Love the bike, interested to hear what Lorien has to say about it. Where I live, the riding season is shorter than most
This bike has been good to me. Don't need full sus, as the squishy 29" x 3.0 tires have all the suspension I need.
Would make a fine "around town bike" with the proper tires, I suspect.
 
clinton1 said:
View attachment 2336860
How's this for a shot? Hanging from the rafters Surly. Love the bike, interested to hear what Lorien has to say about it. Where I live, the riding season is shorter than most
This bike has been good to me. Don't need full sus, as the squishy 29" x 3.0 tires have all the suspension I need.
Would make a fine "around town bike" with the proper tires, I suspect.
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I think that Surly is a great little company. I rode a 1x1 for a few years and that bike took a beating. There was a time I was visiting an old friend in Toronto, and I had the 1x1 with me. Hooked up with a couple guys on downhill bikes, full face helmets etc who were riding around finding stair gaps and other urban obstacles to jump their bikes off of. My fully rigid, cantilever braked 1x1 kept up no problem, until I bent the fork back far enough that the front wheel couldn't turn past the downtube! Ah, to be young again...

Still have a Crosscheck frame and fork, which one day I'll rebuild
 
goddamn what a nice day. A perfect fall day; and I didn't fall at all!
 
took the superbike out for a shred today. She's one heavy, long bitch and she hauls ass
up61GCl.jpg


man, the conditions today could not be beat
mtFgnyr.jpg
 
Lorien said:
took the superbike out for a shred today. She's one heavy, long bitch and she hauls ass
up61GCl.jpg


man, the conditions today could not be beat
mtFgnyr.jpg
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E....🤔

One of my older riding crew picked up a Pivot E this season due to knee surgery and he's having a blast on the thing, absolutely rips.
And it got me to looking of course.
Came close to pulling the trigger on an Orbea Rise. Love the spec and weight, and for my hour and a half every day riding frequency it would be perfect (non replaceable battery).
Just not quite there yet...or maybe need more convincing.
 
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