New Bike Day!

Demetrio GQ said:
My first real ever mountain bike ever. Salsa Timberjack 29er. Not sure if the Huffy I had in 1998 counts haha. Promise it won't be hanging around like this in my parking lot. Waiting on my gear so I could hit up this nice beginner trail near my house (Cherry Canyon in Glendale). Beyond excited - thanks to all you who helped me during this beginner phase. Let's go!

View attachment 61271
Click to expand...
Nice!

Don't forget to get a bike bell and yeild to hikers/horses. Cherry cyn is very popular with hikers-Great spot to get fire road climbs and flowy single track down though.
 
Demetrio GQ said:
@herzalot Reflectors removed. Broke them while trying to remove them so just tossed them lol. Got all my gear (except my cool douchie orange water bottle). Going for my first ride tomorrow!
Click to expand...
Great advice from the forum so far. You should be good to go. As a relatively new biker myself, the only advice I have is embrace the pain! For the most part, mountain biking in these parts means climbing. Climbing means pain. Enjoy!
 
@Demetrio GQ - One last piece of advice... A few weeks back I saw a guy on a brand new bike get really wadded up on the downhill before the luge- blood and possible broken bones. His tires were inflated to the max pressure, and he just bounced and careened off the rocks. I think the last bounce was on his head. His more knowledgeable riding partner should have caught that before sending him downhill...

Most guys who jump on a mountain bike assume that hard tires are good. On dirt, it's actually the opposite. You want the tire to conform to the trail, not bounce off of things... It depends on weight and tire size, but with a tubeless setup, I'm low 20s in the back, and high teens up front (20-22 & 18-20) on 2.4" tires. Or... Give it the squeeze test. It should have some give when you squeeze it... Your 2.6" rubber offers a lot of potential bump absorption if you find the correct PSI for you.
 
One last little bit of info before your first ride. If you haven't ridden a real bike for an extended period of time before, I have some news for you. It's about your taint. It's gonna hurt. Maybe not real noticeably on the first ride - but that 2nd ride - OUCH! Don't worry - by ride #3 or 4, you will adapt and overcome.

My apologies if you already know this. Now go pay your dues!!!! :thumbsup: We're all waiting in breathless anticipation. "It's ALIVE!"


EDIT: I agree whole heartedly with @Faust29. For example, @Ocpop had his tires at about 40 psi at the top of the Luge. We saved his life by reducing pressure to around the mid 20s. If you have tubeless tires (which you do), low 20s is safe. I weigh 210 lbs and ride hard. Like - I run into things and jump off of things in a less-than-subtle way. I run 21 psi in back and 19 psi in front on 2.3" tires. I haven't had a flat in over 4 years. Put in 22 in the rear, 20 in front as a starting point.
 
For example, [B]@Ocpop[/B] had his tires at about 40 psi at the top of the Luge. We saved his life by reducing pressure to around the mid 20s.

Very true statement. I had been riding around with 40lb of air for months before I saw the light. My MTBing life became a whole new experience after the appropriate adjustment.
 
herzalot said:
It's about your taint. It's gonna hurt.
Click to expand...

Amen. Just returned from back to back trips to Europe and Texas and got my first "real" ride in today in 5 weeks, yes WEEKS. I only did 25 miles on the gravel bike but my taint was on fire at about mile 17 and I used chamois butter. When I got home, my body felt like I just played rugby vs a simple road ride. Back on the dirt this weekend. It's going to hurt....again.
 
This may be worthless without pics, but the DV9 arrived today. Should get it put together this weekend, which will give me a fun little project. All the heavy lifting (cable routing, etc.) is done, so should be monkey work, more or less. This was a shop demo being sold on Pinkbike, so I was a little skeptical when the seller said it had less than 40 miles on it, and was in virtually new condition. I was stoked to find that very much the case. Looks minty down to the cassette and tires which show virtually no wear. It seems to be basically the stock GX Eagle build, though I know there were even some variations in the stock builds. This has the 34 Rhythm 120mm fork, full GX eagle drive train, Shimano M6000 brakes, Bike Yoke dropper, Ibis 942 carbon wheels, Ibis carbon bars, and Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf 2.6s, all for what seems like a sweetheart of a deal. I'm not well versed in Shimano brakes, but I'm guessing the the M6000 are the weak link, but maybe I'm off base. Regardless, I'm stoked with the purchase from a value standpoint. Hopefully I'll be rolling on it soon.
 
Last edited:
buggravy said:
This may be worthless without pics, but the DV9 arrived today. Should get it put together this weekend, which will give me a fun little project. All the heavy lifting is done, so should be monkey work, more or less. This was a shop demo being sold on Pinkbike, so I was a little skeptical when the seller said it had less than 40 miles on it, and was in virtually new condition. I was stoked to find that very much the case. Looks minty down to the cassette and tires which show virtually no wear. It seems to be basically the stock GX Eagle build, though I know there were even some variations in the stock builds. This has the 34 Rhythm 120mm fork, full GX eagle drive train, Shimano M6000 brakes, Bike Yoke dropper, Ibis 942 carbon wheels, Ibis carbon bars, and Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf 2.6s, all for what seems like a sweetheart of a deal. I'm not well versed in Shimano brakes, but I'm guessing the the M6000 are the weak link, but maybe I'm off base. Regardless, I'm stoked with the purchase from a value standpoint. Hopefully I'll be rolling on it soon.
Click to expand...
I know a guy who has a set of Guide RS brakes sitting in storage in case you want to go that route. :whistling:

I bet he would offer you a sweet deal on them, too! :laugh:
 
buggravy said:
This may be worthless without pics, but the DV9 arrived today. Should get it put together this weekend, which will give me a fun little project. All the heavy lifting is done, so should be monkey work, more or less. This was a shop demo being sold on Pinkbike, so I was a little skeptical when the seller said it had less than 40 miles on it, and was in virtually new condition. I was stoked to find that very much the case. Looks minty down to the cassette and tires which show virtually no wear. It seems to be basically the stock GX Eagle build, though I know there were even some variations in the stock builds. This has the 34 Rhythm 120mm fork, full GX eagle drive train, Shimano M6000 brakes, Bike Yoke dropper, Ibis 942 carbon wheels, Ibis carbon bars, and Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf 2.6s, all for what seems like a sweetheart of a deal. I'm not well versed in Shimano brakes, but I'm guessing the the M6000 are the weak link, but maybe I'm off base. Regardless, I'm stoked with the purchase from a value standpoint. Hopefully I'll be rolling on it soon.
Click to expand...
Ooh, exciting project while you’re healing up!!
How is the healing BTW? Are you a roadie yet?
 
mountaingirl sara said:
Ooh, exciting project while you’re healing up!!
How is the healing BTW? Are you a roadie yet?
Click to expand...
Healing is going really well. 6 weeks out as of this past Wednesday. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but it feels like those 6 weeks went fast. Doing some respectable weight training, and riding the stationary bike a lot at a pretty high resistance. I'm not cleared for road duty yet, but I feel good enough that I'd probably clear myself if the right opportunity presented itself. I told my PT that my goal is to be riding the mountain bike on fire roads and smoothish XC terrain in another 6 weeks. Just fitness type riding, with large margins for error. She said that was an ambitious goal, but stopped short of telling me not to do it. Of course, maybe she's just waiting 6 weeks to tell me not to do it.
 
buggravy said:
This may be worthless without pics, but the DV9 arrived today. Should get it put together this weekend, which will give me a fun little project. All the heavy lifting is done, so should be monkey work, more or less. This was a shop demo being sold on Pinkbike, so I was a little skeptical when the seller said it had less than 40 miles on it, and was in virtually new condition. I was stoked to find that very much the case. Looks minty down to the cassette and tires which show virtually no wear. It seems to be basically the stock GX Eagle build, though I know there were even some variations in the stock builds. This has the 34 Rhythm 120mm fork, full GX eagle drive train, Shimano M6000 brakes, Bike Yoke dropper, Ibis 942 carbon wheels, Ibis carbon bars, and Nobby Nic/Hans Dampf 2.6s, all for what seems like a sweetheart of a deal. I'm not well versed in Shimano brakes, but I'm guessing the the M6000 are the weak link, but maybe I'm off base. Regardless, I'm stoked with the purchase from a value standpoint. Hopefully I'll be rolling on it soon.
Click to expand...

Are those the SLX? If so, MTB Action just had an XTR vs SLX review in the latest magazine and basically raves about the quality of the brakes at their price point.
 
buggravy said:
Healing is going really well. 6 weeks out as of this past Wednesday. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but it feels like those 6 weeks went fast. Doing some respectable weight training, and riding the stationary bike a lot at a pretty high resistance. I'm not cleared for road duty yet, but I feel good enough that I'd probably clear myself if the right opportunity presented itself. I told my PT that my goal is to be riding the mountain bike on fire roads and smoothish XC terrain in another 6 weeks. Just fitness type riding, with large margins for error. She said that was an ambitious goal, but stopped short of telling me not to do it. Of course, maybe she's just waiting 6 weeks to tell me not to do it.
Click to expand...
That’s awesome!! I’m sure even the fire road riding will put a huge grin on your face:thumbsup:
 
buggravy said:
Healing is going really well. 6 weeks out as of this past Wednesday. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but it feels like those 6 weeks went fast. Doing some respectable weight training, and riding the stationary bike a lot at a pretty high resistance. I'm not cleared for road duty yet, but I feel good enough that I'd probably clear myself if the right opportunity presented itself. I told my PT that my goal is to be riding the mountain bike on fire roads and smoothish XC terrain in another 6 weeks. Just fitness type riding, with large margins for error. She said that was an ambitious goal, but stopped short of telling me not to do it. Of course, maybe she's just waiting 6 weeks to tell me not to do it.
Click to expand...
Good to hear its going well! FWIW, I was told about that point I wasn't quite ready for road pedalling but I'd already been doing easy road rides for 2-3 weeks around the hood (pretty flat, then slowly increasing). I had the DR admit I couldn't do much damage with the brace on. Was doing a bit of dirt road pedalling by 2 month mark.

The deore brakes are great. The main difference from XT might be a bit of weight and lack of reach adjustment. Other than that they perform the same. I'd only consider that a minor difference. Had to put a deore on my Ibis during a Montana trip 18mos ago. It is still there, and feels better than the XT on the rear.
 
evdog said:
Good to hear its going well! FWIW, I was told about that point I wasn't quite ready for road pedalling but I'd already been doing easy road rides for 2-3 weeks around the hood (pretty flat, then slowly increasing). I had the DR admit I couldn't do much damage with the brace on. Was doing a bit of dirt road pedalling by 2 month mark.

The deore brakes are great. The main difference from XT might be a bit of weight and lack of reach adjustment. Other than that they perform the same. I'd only consider that a minor difference. Had to put a deore on my Ibis during a Montana trip 18mos ago. It is still there, and feels better than the XT on the rear.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yeah, I can tell that pedaling and easy dismounts would be a nonissue. Unfortunately our neighborhood is the opposite of flat, but I'll likely take my daughter on a bike path cruise here in the next couple of weeks. What brace were you wearing at that point? The brace that they sent me home from the hospital in was a hot mess that never fit right or stayed put once I actually started moving the leg. Doc says they won't fit me for the Donjoy until my next appointment in approximately 4 weeks, with the reason being that it's a fairly precise fit, and they want my strength and mass to be at least 90% of "normal" (or maybe 90% of the uninjured leg - can't remember). I definitely won't hit any fire roads until I have that.
 
buggravy said:
Thanks! Yeah, I can tell that pedaling and easy dismounts would be a nonissue. Unfortunately our neighborhood is the opposite of flat, but I'll likely take my daughter on a bike path cruise here in the next couple of weeks. What brace were you wearing at that point? The brace that they sent me home from the hospital in was a hot mess that never fit right or stayed put once I actually started moving the leg. Doc says they won't fit me for the Donjoy until my next appointment in approximately 4 weeks, with the reason being that it's a fairly precise fit, and they want my strength and mass to be at least 90% of "normal" (or maybe 90% of the uninjured leg - can't remember). I definitely won't hit any fire roads until I have that.
Click to expand...

What brace are you using Matt? I was using a brace similar to the Don Joy a few wks after surgery, it was awesome in that it offered lots of support but let me have a good ROM. You’re welcome to use mine BTW
On that subject, when I was wearing that big DJ brace out and about I was stopped by people all the time, asking about the knee injury and telling me their knee stories. I’m sure it is/ was the same for all of you fellow knee injury hooligans.
My husband got tired of us being stopped constantly, I didn’t mind sharing and hearing the stories tho ;)
 
mountaingirl sara said:
What brace are you using Matt? I was using a brace similar to the Don Joy a few wks after surgery, it was awesome in that it offered lots of support but let me have a good ROM. You’re welcome to use mine BTW
On that subject, when I was wearing that big DJ brace out and about I was stopped by people all the time, asking about the knee injury and telling me their knee stories. I’m sure it is/ was the same for all of you fellow knee injury hooligans.
My husband got tired of us being stopped constantly, I didn’t mind sharing and hearing the stories tho ;)
Click to expand...
"Using" might not be the most accurate term, as I haven't actually put it on in at least a month. But it's this one. https://www.shop-orthopedics.com/Ossur_Innovator_DLX_Post_Op_Knee_Brace_p/42310x.htm?1=1&CartID=0 Problem is, the pad on the inside hinge rubs the inside of my knee, but the pad on the outside is over an inch from my knee. And I was never able to adjust the straps to a point where the brace itself didn't creep down once my quad starts firing. As a maddening aside, I just got my final bill from the surgeon. This stupid thing that retails for $120, cost $1,800 from the surgeon's office, and my copay was like $350. I do believe I'll call and negotiate that BS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top