What i saw/happened today!!

Maybe this can bring up some good laughs or cringes. I have many in my bad memory bank.

1. After work Sunday I'm sitting in my cab at the four corners liquor store in Littlerock having a text marathon with Cara.
The parking lot is old & cruddy. Car pulls up about three empty spaces to my left and the driver hops out and goes in. Back passenger gets out on the right, closes car door staring at IPAD. The problem? 8'ft ahead is a concrete tire stop and a 2nd tire-stop incorrectly placed. I say careful, then again careful, then louder CAREFUL MAMM. She looked at me, stubbed her toe tried to correct and hit the 2nd one & went down hard. I almost couldn't get her up by myself due to her spindly legs and top heaviness. But she did have a big phone protector so that's good. This was not a teenager.

2. I'm sitting in my cab (we have a theme) at a red pointing west at Sherman way & Balboa. Guy on my right stops but stuck his nose out into the crosswalk. To my left a 104 year old blind lady with a white walking stick (bless her heart I love her dearly) starts her long journey crossing the street. I don't know how she knew when the walk sign went on?? She gets to the car, taps all around it and goes around to her left. While in front of the car still walking she proceeded to beat the hood of his car with the stick. She made her way to the other side without missing a beat. Pun intended. Me! I'm in tears LMFAO. bitchenest thing to witness.

 

^^^Good Stuff!^^^

 

They should make a tv show about all the funny things that happen related to the taxi business...
Or even better, a movie, where the anti-hero saves a young prostitute from sex slavery...

 

HBO did that with Taxicab Confessions they caught some some fap worthy action.

 

I was told that there is website called FakeTaxi... Google it if you are over 18...

 

The things that go on in the back of those cabs!

 

The universe always gets even...

 

Interesting day today. While driving I saw TWO people eat it on their bikes on the sidewalk, two separate occasions. In between that, I'm driving down the road and see something in the middle of the oncoming lane. I get closer and see it's an older man on all fours with his head down!! I immediately swooped over to block traffic from running the guy over. 2 other guys pull over right after me and we asked him if he was alright. He said no, so I called 911. We moved the guy to the curb. Long story short, the older gentleman says he just lives a couple blocks away. The 2 guys help the older gentleman into one of their cars and take him home, all before the fire department gets there.

 

Wow - thanks for being a good samaritan and helping a stranger to safety. I hope he's OK.

 

On the News this morning, I saw a video footage of a large adult Mountain Lion cruising through a yard last night not far from here. Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

 

After we moved him to the curb I gave him a water bottle. He said, "ah! Tequila!" Made me wonder if he was just drunk. I didn't smell any alcohol though.

 

Another interesting day. I'm going to talk about BMX again. You guys let me know if this isn't the place
I've worked evenings at this "scooter" company for about 6 years. I'm actually just the janitor there. My younger sister, who races BMX, has said to me. "Oh you work with Mr. Bill! That guy is a legend!" It kinda went over my head. Pretty much everyone is gone by the time I get to work, so I didn't really pay it any mind. A couple guys stay late and I shoot the Sh!t with them. Yesterday one of guys says, "you know Bill is like BMX royalty right?" I told him I wasn't familiar with him other than chit chatting with him when he stays late. I look the guy up today and sure enough, he's been a pro since the 80s and literally is in the BMX Hall of Fame! He's known for gating people off the line, which I love. Here is a quick clip I found. There are some great shorts of him leaving the line carrying the front wheel, like a drag car lol. Anyway I think it's pretty cool. BMX royalty right under my nose this whole time!

 

I think I want a large cat...

 

This actually happened late last night.. Someone on offer up gave me this frame and fork. You guys know I'm still a beginner, but I really would like to become somewhat competent working on my own bike. That $30 I spent last week to fix 1 spoke really left a bad taste in my mouth. Not that I feel like I was gouged. I couldn't tell you how much work was actually involved, but I know I was lied to because the guy told me two completely different stories about working on my wheel. Anyway, of course I would love to have a half decent full suspension bike so I have keeping an eye out for a project I can learn on. I know I'm going to end up with an outdated bike and parts may be harder to find which I don't mind. Hopefully that means lots of deals right? I do want quality, but I don't want a heavy bike. @Sidewalk mentioned getting rid of a Jamis Dakar. I'm not familiar with that brand. I have messaged him and I hope to hear back from him. That bike is a 27.5 and looks like it could fit the bill for what I'm looking for. It also looks complete, sidewalk would have to verify. Also, I don't know what size frame that is.
Here is a picture of what I got last night. It's a 26er, from what I've read here, could be harder finding parts for it? Guy said it is a large frame. I looked for the designation but didn't see it. The frame actually looks kinda small to me? I'm not familiar with Specialized, what do you guys think? The guy's name is Nick, maybe he's on here? Anyway Nick also turned me on a mountain bike nonprofit that may have parts for me and I guess they also have work stations where they will teach you how to work on your bike. The first example he gave me was, they'll help you work on wheels! Truing etc!!! This is exactly what I'm looking for! I will definitely contact them! Here's the frame. What do you guys think?

 

I got some handlebar and grips if interested?
TruVativ Atmos 760 flat bar.
Deity supracush grips.
Santa Cruz palmdale grips, the SC grips brand new!

 

Sweet! We will be in touch!! Thanks buddy! I have a question. On a build like this where are my big ticket expenses going to be? I'm guessing the fork? Maybe the drivetrain next? What about tools? Is rebuilding a fork something you can do yourself? Other important things to consider?

 

I bought a frameset for $575.

$3,000 later, I finished putting it together...

 

There are a few bike kitchen, bike oven type NPOs in LA that will rent you stand time for a small fee and be on hand to help/teach. And, yes, I think Spechy frames look small. I bought my 2010 Pitch Pro as a frame (Medium,) and it looked tiny until it was on wheels.

 

Wow. Just looked it up and found it under bike kitchen. That's very helpful for me, thanks Trin!!

 

It all depends how fast you want it done, if you take your time looking for good sale pricing you will probably save some money down the road, you might wanna apply working at a local bike shop to learn hands on training, sound like you are taking interest in learning, which is a good thing!

 

Yeah the plan is to take my time, get a few more miles on my hardtail, and keep an eye out for deals. I know I still have a lot of learning before I can put together a bike and get the most out of it.

 

Any opinions on my Specialized M5? I'm looking at 2 fork possibilities. I know I need to consider the tube length, I'm not sure what I need to measure. Anyway, A Manitou Mattoc Pro? Also a Fox F series 32? I really don't know anything about either of these forks. Both "say" great condition. Any thoughts?
1 thing I also wanted to ask about is the possibility of a mullet? 27.5 in the front? Could I do that here?
I'm going to trade one of my useless bikes, so it's budget. The Mattoc guy said he'd trade me straight across

 

I have 5 26ers still operating, and I would love to help you with spare parts, but I need to hoard what I own to be able to keep the bikes operable and in decent spec. I recall in 2021 Fox telling me that parts for my 2010 Float 120 RLC fork or my 2012 TALAS 150 will no longer be available for rebuilds.

I recommend you take a step back and save a few more dollars and look at something like this: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/stance-2022

https://www.jensonusa.com/GT-Sensor-Sport-Bike

https://www.jensonusa.com/Rocky-Mountain-Element-Alloy-10-Bike-2023

https://www.jensonusa.com/Marin-Rift-Zone-1-27-5-Bike-2023

 

That GT at Jenson for that price is a good looking bike to get started good looking out!

 

Parts no longer available for a rebuild? That's not good. But it is what I needed to hear..

 

Parts are out there, I just found a seal kit for a 2002 Sid fork. It just takes time on the internet, and a lot of phone calls.

 

"Any opinions on my Specialized M5? I'm looking at 2 fork possibilities."

You will be walking into a minefield with that frame. First, it appears to be a first decade 2000's Epic with a brain shock. I do not know if it can be rebuilt by Risse but they weren't the greatest shocks to begin with and are basically a hassle to maintain, lowers service are compromised because of the Brain and basically you just run it until it fails and send it back to Risse. On my Brain bike I'm going to grab a number out of the air since I don't want to look It up and say that's about every 2000 miles. I'm much happier since I replaced it with a Monarch that not only is a better shock but can be replaced for the same cost as Brain service or less. Maintaining it should be much cheaper than the brain system in every way but that is not an option with your frame.

You've got 26" wheels, non-tapered (straight) fork, prehistoric geometry, non-boost all which are not the current standards which means no reuse path for the major parts you obtain other than a similar vintage bike. No point in buying something really nice you can reuse because you probably can't unless you stay on the obsolete train. Unless you only enjoy fire roads and smooth single track you are restricting yourself from much fun in MTB on that path.

Now, that doesn't mean it is worthless. If you had a stock of vintage parts that match what you need then go for it, have fun. I have several bikes in the family stable that are similar to this but that Brain is a sticking point, if it goes or is not rebuildable then you are done and have a bunch of obsolete parts. Even if it is rebuildable as Risse is still listing service for 175$ plus shipping both ways so say 230$ or so, I'm not sure it is worth it unless you can get all the rest of the parts for free. All these standards are old and unless you get top of the line old stuff it's often cheap, crusty and hammered. Much like DDD, I'm holding on to my old stuff to keep my old family bikes running. When I have no more bikes for that stuff I'll give it away here, but since I'm restoring/rebuilding one of them right now it still is useful.

Forks and wheels and tires are major components and to have to compromise on those can greatly affect durability or safety. It's no fun when your bike breaks and you walk out. Then you need everything else ($$$) which may have slightly more possibility of being reused on a future bike but that costs a lot unless you have generous friends or a well stocked parts box.

You can go ahead, but unless you can get everything for free except the shock service it's not worth it. Might not even be worth it then as if you have to pay anyone to build/maintain it you can sink a whole lot of money into something which can break at any time (remember it is an old cross country frame) and will be a total loss of virtually everything you've put into it. You probably should look elsewhere unless you can get everything for free and know already how to put it together.[/QUOTE]

 

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Some really good info here, thank you Bill. Can I ask how much your Monarch shock was? Replacing the brain shock with a regular one is no big deal right? I would have plenty to choose from right?

 

Looks like it was a couple hundred, but that option is not available for this frame. There are so many dragons on this path ahead. You will be taking a chance that the shock and frame will not fail in any non-repairable way. On a bike this old that is quite a risk.

Just to put it in perspective my chain stay failed and one was still available from Specialized at a reasonable price five or six years later. Those chain stays went out of stock the next year. The frame would have been basically worthless at that point.