The MTB Thread

[mr2mike]

Yamaha 2-stroke more fun than eBike.

[ercchry]

E-Bike in the park would be terrifying… 50lbs bike and apparently they work best DH with some assist still turned on?

[Buster]

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… or to save your unibodied vehicle from shuttling fire roads?

…I’m slowly coming around after finding myself on husky road too often. I get done a lap and look up the road and go “if only this wasn’t 3.5kms at a 12% grade away from another lap” …then we hop in the truck and shuttle Jean guy or something instead

shuttles seem like rotary phones to me now. I can "shuttle" whatever I want, no need to find a road or a truck. I can "shuttle" solo on a weekday morning if no one else can ride. I can turn a normal boring uphill trail fun...or I can turn a flat trail into something that feels like a downhill.

The weight doesn't bother me cuz I'm already heavy and it's not like I'm doing Redbull Rampage shit on a downhill anyway.

[benyl]

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The weight doesn't bother me cuz I'm already heavy

Come on.

You are starting to sound like an electric car owner.

[Buster]

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Come on.

You are starting to sound like an electric car owner.

Yeah if I weighed 5x a Tesla lol

[Kjonus]

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That’s what a bike park or shuttle are for.

I’m just stirring the pot, I’ll get an e-mtb when I’m 60+.

I'm with you on the e-mtb, I'll be pushing that off for as long as I can. Mtbing for me is partly for the fitness and exercise as it is for the fun.

[Buster]

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I'm with you on the e-mtb, I'll be pushing that off for as long as I can. Mtbing for me is partly for the fitness and exercise as it is for the fun.

People are stuck in the dark ages.

You can get your heart rate just as high on an ebike as you can on any other bike. You've just gone farther, faster, and done 3 downhills in the same time.

[Disoblige]

E-bikes tend to attract the less active commuter who otherwise would not have cycled.
Not saying it is the norm but most cyclists I see are more fit than e-bikers.

Buster show us your body.

[Buster]

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E-bikes tend to attract the less active commuter who otherwise would not have cycled.
Not saying it is the norm but most cyclists I see are more fit than e-bikers.

Buster show us your body.

Nobody wants that.

[Disoblige]

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Nobody wants that.

Case in point. HAHA

[Buster]

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Case in point. HAHA

Just wait. You'll see.

[ercchry]

Did a Prospector lap today… that’s a solid case for an e-bike

[dimi]

I know of some e-bike owners that will get 5-6 husky laps in, instead of their normal 2-3. The vast majority that I know however, simply want a less strenuous ride. Nothing wrong with that, just stop with the whole “you can raise your HR and get just as good of a workout….. blah blah”. That is a tiny minority of e-bike owners. How many e-bike owners do you know of going on 50-60km all day epics to get the same workout?

The biggest concern about e-bikes is sustainability. If you take a trail that normally sees x level of traffic and all of a sudden it goes to 3x, it’s going to get destroyed a lot faster and require a lot more maintenance. There’s no getting around that. It’s an even bigger issue with premiere/feature trails (ie. Sproatt network – Whistler), where there is a natural “fitness constraint”. If you remove that restriction, its going to see thousands of people a day.

[benyl]

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Did a Prospector lap today… that’s a solid case for an e-bike

I would hate the weight up on dog daze.

I’ve demo’d an e-bike about 5 times now. It’s awesome. For being lazy. Put it on turbo and ride up at a leisurely pace. There’s no heart rate at all.

For me, the downhill is the fun part. The extra weight does matter to me.

[Buster]

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I know of some e-bike owners that will get 5-6 husky laps in, instead of their normal 2-3. The vast majority that I know however, simply want a less strenuous ride. Nothing wrong with that, just stop with the whole “you can raise your HR and get just as good of a workout….. blah blah”. That is a tiny minority of e-bike owners. How many e-bike owners do you know of going on 50-60km all day epics to get the same workout?

The biggest concern about e-bikes is sustainability. If you take a trail that normally sees x level of traffic and all of a sudden it goes to 3x, it’s going to get destroyed a lot faster and require a lot more maintenance. There’s no getting around that. It’s an even bigger issue with premiere/feature trails (ie. Sproatt network – Whistler), where there is a natural “fitness constraint”. If you remove that restriction, its going to see thousands of people a day.

gosh darn smart alecs

[Mitsu3000gt]

I have done more research and visited most of the bike shops in town. I want to keep it under $5K (closer to 4 would be nice). Shopping mostly on spec is a bit difficult but I think these are the front runners:

Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Alloy
Specialized Stumpjunper Evo Comp Alloy

The Specialized bikes seem like some of the best bang for the buck overall. Only thing that concerns me is I keep reading how bad the horst link is for climbing and I don't want to pay up for the carbon Stumpy which gets rid of it. Are they really that bad? The video reviews I watch don't seem to mention it that much but on bike forums it seems to be a love/hate thing. I'm guessing it's not as bad as people make it out to be and I know they did move the pivot points for 2021.


Others I've looked at:

Norco Optic - most reviews/ride reports seem to mention it's so focused on descending that it is a pretty average climber. That's all I have to go off of though. You also need to spent $5.6K to get Fox suspension which I have a preference for. For whatever reason I am less excited about that bike regardless.

I sat on a Norco Sight at Bow Cycle (the only non-E bike they had in stock haha) and it felt absolutely massive, reminded me of my DH bike when I sat on it and the frame looked even thicker. Maybe that's how all bikes are now though with the long/low/slack designs - I haven't actually been able to see anything else I'm considering in person.

Ibis Ripley - apparently it climbs really well (if not the best) but unless I am missing something they are really expensive and have an older frame design. Ridley's had some Ripmos in stock but I think that is more of a dedicated enduro bike which I want to avoid.

Giant Trance X 29 2 - seems like one of the better values out there however aside from the "0" version with the electronic suspension, they don't seem to get very good reviews and apparently don't climb very well. Also, I've owned only Giant Bikes for the last 13 years (Trance X and Glory) so I kind of wanted to try something new unless the 2021 Trance X was a total no-brainer which I don't think it is.

Devinci Troy - I like this bike but it's hard to find a lot of info/reviews on it. The aluminum GX12S build looks like the sweet spot there. I want more than 120mm rear travel so I ruled out the Django.

Trek Fuel EX 7/8 - These look OK, they just don't seem to stand out in any way.

Basically I'm struggling to decide if I want a 34mm fork and a lighter more nimble bike or a 36mm fork and a beefier but more capable bike. I think the 34mm bikes will be enough for *most* situations and perhaps the most versatile for Calgary area, but the 36mm bikes would likely prevent me from having to rent a bike for COP, Moose, etc. or anywhere outside of the tamer trails. I've been trying to watch some videos of the West Bragg trails and I don't think 150mm/160mm travel would be too much there, but it's hard to say for sure. The Stumpy Evo seemed like a good compromise because you can adjust the geo way more than any other bike I have seen (12 combinations) so you can set it up nice and tall for trails and slack it out for the few times a year I might hit Moose or COP. It also seems to have the smallest weight penalty for moving up to the higher travel 36mm trail bikes and you get a piggyback rear shock.

I want the most capable bike possible for all scenarios around Calgary & area without cursing it on every climb - where that crossover point is though, I am not sure. I like the idea of the spritely 34mm fork bikes but it probably means I'll have to rent a bike if I ever want to run COP/Moose/Panorama/etc. Every bike shop so far has pushed me towards a 36mm fork after talking to them.

Maybe the best question to ask is at what point would you move up from a 34mm to 36mm fork? I'm starting to get overwhelmed with all the options and multi-purpose bikes that bridge 2 categories. Would you buy the regular Stumpy or the Stumpy Evo for Calgary & area?

[Buster]

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I have done more research and visited most of the bike shops in town. I want to keep it under $5K (closer to 4 would be nice). Shopping mostly on spec is a bit difficult but I think these are the front runners:

Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Alloy
Specialized Stumpjunper Evo Comp Alloy

The Specialized bikes seem like some of the best bang for the buck overall. Only thing that concerns me is I keep reading how bad the horst link is for climbing and I don't want to pay up for the carbon Stumpy which gets rid of it. Are they really that bad? The video reviews I watch don't seem to mention it that much but on bike forums it seems to be a love/hate thing. I'm guessing it's not as bad as people make it out to be and I know they did move the pivot points for 2021.


Others I've looked at:

Norco Optic - most reviews/ride reports seem to mention it's so focused on descending that it is a pretty average climber. That's all I have to go off of though. You also need to spent $5.6K to get Fox suspension which I have a preference for. For whatever reason I am less excited about that bike regardless.

I sat on a Norco Sight at Bow Cycle (the only non-E bike they had in stock haha) and it felt absolutely massive, reminded me of my DH bike when I sat on it and the frame looked even thicker. Maybe that's how all bikes are now though with the long/low/slack designs - I haven't actually been able to see anything else I'm considering in person.

Ibis Ripley - apparently it climbs really well (if not the best) but unless I am missing something they are really expensive and have an older frame design. Ridley's had some Ripmos in stock but I think that is more of a dedicated enduro bike which I want to avoid.

Giant Trance X 29 2 - seems like one of the better values out there however aside from the "0" version with the electronic suspension, they don't seem to get very good reviews and apparently don't climb very well. Also, I've owned only Giant Bikes for the last 13 years (Trance X and Glory) so I kind of wanted to try something new unless the 2021 Trance X was a total no-brainer which I don't think it is.

Devinci Troy - I like this bike but it's hard to find a lot of info/reviews on it. The aluminum GX12S build looks like the sweet spot there. I want more than 120mm rear travel so I ruled out the Django.

Trek Fuel EX 7/8 - These look OK, they just don't seem to stand out in any way.

Basically I'm struggling to decide if I want a 34mm fork and a lighter more nimble bike or a 36mm fork and a beefier but more capable bike. I think the 34mm bikes will be enough for *most* situations and perhaps the most versatile for Calgary area, but the 36mm bikes would likely prevent me from having to rent a bike for COP, Moose, etc. or anywhere outside of the tamer trails. I've been trying to watch some videos of the West Bragg trails and I don't think 150mm/160mm travel would be too much there, but it's hard to say for sure. The Stumpy Evo seemed like a good compromise because you can adjust the geo way more than any other bike I have seen (12 combinations) so you can set it up nice and tall for trails and slack it out for the few times a year I might hit Moose or COP. It also seems to have the smallest weight penalty for moving up to the higher travel 36mm trail bikes and you get a piggyback rear shock.

I want the most capable bike possible for all scenarios around Calgary & area without cursing it on every climb - where that crossover point is though, I am not sure. I like the idea of the spritely 34mm fork bikes but it probably means I'll have to rent a bike if I ever want to run COP/Moose/Panorama/etc. Every bike shop so far has pushed me towards a 36mm fork after talking to them.

Maybe the best question to ask is at what point would you move up from a 34mm to 36mm fork? I'm starting to get overwhelmed with all the options and multi-purpose bikes that bridge 2 categories. Would you buy the regular Stumpy or the Stumpy Evo for Calgary & area?

How much do you weigh?

In my experience rider weight has a big impact on how squirrelly the fork feels, and I prefer the biggest front fork I can get without going dual crown.

160mm is perfectly fine for almost anything out here. With modern bikes, the tech and performance is so good, most people are rider limited, not bike limited in terms of what they are doing.

Horst link is fine, especially with the shorter rear ends on some of the new bikes. It's also why looking for a mullet might be a good idea.

[ercchry]

There is very little at Moose/west Bragg/COP that I would avoid… on my “down country” 120mm Rocky Mountain… at 200lbs. anything 160mm+ is completely overkill

[g-m]

man things are getting pretty spicy with how loose every single trail in BC is getting

[ercchry]

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man things are getting pretty spicy with how loose every single trail in BC is getting

BC is the reason Im looking at 140/150mm travel bikes, compared to Alberta it seems like you could move everything up a full colour in BC