velocipedestrian profile

We removed the cranks, left the square taper BB in place and bolted some table leg feet onto the spindle. This gave the rider pegs for speed coasting.

>Personally I've been curious about the geo of these slacked out hardtails but the main reason I grabbed the bike was so I could loan it out to mates who aren't able to commit to owning their own MTB. 

This is good public service 'Trucker, chapeau! 

I'm sure you'll get a lot out of it too, but it's not always easy to lend a bike.

Made for old gorilla chest!

For some southern nostalgia, have some Minchin. A summery song that leads to sniffles (for me anyway). 

White Wine In The Sun

Sweet unicycle!

Does a ride you can't remember, but led to weeks off count? 

Look after the brain, folks!

Your comment about Judy yellow had me down a rabbit hole. Vague memories of a custom paint job on a Pike DJ - maybe a Vital BOD? - but my google-fu was too weak to find it. 

Anyway, yes! Lego colours for lego bikes.

Happy birthday Mike, perhaps you could make a tradition of celebrating it in proper southern hemisphere, barefooted BBQ style? 

Some childhood memories, less Seasonal Affective Disorder... All the wintry decorations look pretty silly down here, but the weather sure is nice.

I heard a podcast with Vorsprung Steve, who when asked if he could magic up an instant change in suspension nominated a spyglass in fork lowers. He suggested people might be more likely to get things serviced if they could see the fluid colour.

That sinking guilt over someone else's stuff is cruel, especially when it wasn't a cared for item by the owner. 

The Murmer looks great, I hope we'll get a write up, I'd be interested in your thoughts on the SV8 and Mezzer? Mattoc?

Posted by: michel77

Shakedown ride on the triple hardtail today! 

This was a pretty slow build, found an older On One Inbred frame locally this summer and wanted to build it up as a rigid SS utilitarian bike initially and keep it to a relatively low budget.  Slowly amassed the parts and got it built up over the holidays for the most part.  Gearing is currently set up 32x18 which is a workout around here for sure.  Ultimately, the bike may accompany me to Europe this summer to do some bikepacking on flatter terrain so the gearing will work there.  Might also tinker with a 1x5 setup on the Hope singlespeed hub, we'll see..

A few post-ride lean pics:

If this is 26", then I recently inherited one of these frames. What's the A-C on the fork? I've thought about swapping the parts off my DMR commuter, but the higher BB has me wondering if I'd prefer prefer a shorter fork. (DMR has a Surly 483mm)

It's worth the experiment, certainly if it can take a tapered steerer. You can always re-purpose the fork and wheel if you don't like the ride. 

Have a read of Andrews perennially pertinent piece if you haven't already.

Posted by: Blofeld

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Perhaps the reason I hadn't got to this conclusion myself is my natural inclination to self limit speed, no matter the bike.

I'm not lucky enough to be able to self limit speed when the bike is begging to be pushed.

I feel like a blue flow trail is the worst for this kind of no-limit riding. There’s less challenge so you open up the speed and open yourself up to a big wreck.

However, if I’m riding a trail with drops or very slippery* tech, I find a longer travel bike offers much more safety than a hardtail or rigid. 

*I don’t ride wet conditions too often so take my opinion with a grain of salt here!

Yeah, smooth trails that beg for speed are the sneaky hazard. It's all buff flow until you hit a tree at 40km/h.

Posted by: fartymarty

Circling back to an older discussion on Long Travel vs Short Travel as an ass saver I've had a bit more of a think about it after my first ride on the Cotic Klunker today.

Where i'm at is that Geometry is the thing that keeps you safe and Suspension is the thing that limits your speed.  On the Cotic Klunker (fully rigid with 64ish HA) it was super stable on our local steep tech trail albeit a lot slower than with a 140mm fork up front - with a similar static wheelbase.  If you want to still enjoy steep tech ride a rigid bike (or very short travel bike) with super progressive geo.  Increasing the travel increases the speed and risk.

This sounds right to me, whenever I'm just playing around on someone's bike (more side-of-trail than proper riding) it's the geo that makes or breaks it. As soon as it's short and/or steep I feel a washout or OTB is imminent. 

Perhaps the reason I hadn't got to this conclusion myself is my natural inclination to self limit speed, no matter the bike.

Posted by: Abies

Couldn’t resist the Knolly sale (which is even better now for the lower end builds, 1800 USD for the deore/Z1 package). Stock GX/Performance Elite Tyaughton except for a stem and bar swap. Excuse the mess of cables, I need to shorten the rear brake hose.

It's a looker.

Does the WT play nice with the OneUp clamp? 

$30 a centimeter...

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Oh for sure, I rate it. Temp range between 10~20°C all year, heaps of choice, ride to the ride compatible... Just not on anyone's bucket list for whatever reason.

Rotovegas and Queenstown get all the press abroad.  Also Welly is quite a nice city - unlike that monstrosity at the top of the North Island ;)

Innit.

Posted by: GiveitsomeWelly

Posted by: velocipedestrian

If you can drive from Wainui to Miramar in half an hour remind me to stay off the road while you hoon.

Heh. OK, 40mins cruising.

I always try to make a point of highlighting the lack of distance between our trail centres.

Admit it, we're pretty spoilt in these parts.

Oh for sure, I rate it. Temp range between 10~20°C all year, heaps of choice, ride to the ride compatible... Just not on anyone's bucket list for whatever reason.

Posted by: Kenny

You're describing the wolftooth resolve 160. Not a cheap option, but exactly that you're looking for. Total length looks to be only 3mm longer than a V2 150

Then it's time to start measuring the stack height of saddles. (yes, I have)

If you can drive from Wainui to Miramar in half an hour remind me to stay off the road while you hoon.