New Bike Day!

I've hear SRAM Red is phenomenal...

 

Fixed it.

 

Yeah, if you do the eTap.

 

How do you like the slant six? I was running one on the rear, and despite wearing a bit fast.. thought it was decent.

 

I'm using SRAM 1x and Shimano XTR brakes. No issues at all with the mix unless you want one clamp to hold both.
I'll probably never use sram brakes again after the issues I've had.

Shimano XTR trails apx 5yrs old and work perfect.

Edit: just read it's roady stuff. Never mind....
Although my road bike is Shimano from 2007 and work great still. Not a fan of the drop bars though.

 

Put flat bars on it!

 

Ummmm......no.

 

I ran those on the 2014 Crusher in the Tushar. They did great on the gravel & hardpack dirt and were fairly fast-rolling on all surfaces. Haven't had much use for them since, so they've been hanging in the garage. I'll put them to use when I finish building the Kona, though.

Agreed they wear comparatively quickly.

 

This is great, Mark! Many happy miles ahead of you!

 

Almost there...I need a chain and brakes to be able to ride it and set the handlebar height. Front brakes are on their way...dat stuff be 'spensive!!! Rear brakes probably next month, but later next week I'll pick up the chain and bar tape. Incidentals as I get to them.

In the pic below it's at 22.5 lbs. The tires will not end up being these, but I had these on hand to start with. I'm salivating over being able to actually ride it!!!

 

Screw it! I bit the bullet and picked up the rear brakes and chain today. Need to adjust derailleur, handlebar height, brakes feel like they need to be bled...but I turned the pedals on it today around the cul-de-sac. I'm psyched!!! Tomorrow after my mtb ride I'll be doing those adjustments.

25.4 lbs as shown...I will save some of those grams on tires, seatpost, pedals and stem.

 

She’s beautiful, but that is a serious steerer tube! Runs with Scissors is now Rides with Stack!

 

Hacksaw staged...

 

LOVE THIS BIKE!

 

Stability for passengers.

 

Nice ride, @Runs with Scissors. It looks like a Great Divide killer

 

I prefer more rebound from the fork; nice cockpit though.

 

You're going to put a lot of miles on that one...

 

Aaaaaaand.....done. I'll be changing tires eventually. I'm really considering picking up a spare set of wheels for an easy swap.

Probably won't get a really good ride out of it until after Christmas. Although next Saturday is a good chance for Mount Baldy Village..

 

I like it!

 

I picked myself up an early Xmas present yesterday.

After a few years on Niner I decided to get the new Giant Anthem Advanced Pro 29.


According to Franze, this thing is completely redesigned and Giant has been working on the geometry for 2+ years. He's been telling me for a month now how fast that bike is.

Well I got my first ride in on it today, and so far I am very impressed. It is LIGHT and you can really feel that when climbing. The thing just seemed to go charge uphill whether I was sitting in the saddle or standing. I had mixed results on the descents.... I rode my lunch Luge/Whiting loop. On the Luge, it felt a bit sketchy and I was not 100% confident (not surprising on first ride), but my strava times were inline with there they have been the last month or so. And isn't everything a bit sketchy on the Luge this time of year? Heading into Whiting by the stables, I pulled over and took some rebound out of the shock and messed with the fork settings. Descending Sage Scrub and Dreaded was another story.... WOW. It felt great on all of the chatter bumps, stuck in the corners, and handled various g outs and roots with ease.

I do this same loop a couple times a month, so I know my times pretty well. Usually, I am around 1:20 when going a quick pace and around 1:19 when I am pushing it. Today? Well today I was 1:16. That's 5 minutes faster than a week ago when I put forth the same perceived effort on the Niner. Don't know if its all the bike, if my Garmin is messed up, or if its the "New Bike Mojo", but the clocks don't lie!

This was also my first ride on SRAM Eagle.... So far so good! I really like it. Not 100% sold on the SRAM Ultimate brakes and may change them out for Shimano (Franze talked me into giving the SRAM that came on it a try)

I still need to mess with the set up a bit (didn't come close to using full shock travel), but I'm really looking forward to putting the miles on this bike.

As always, the crew at Fullerton Bikes were awesome helping me get the bike and getting it set up and in my hands as quickly as possible. I can't thank them enough.

 

I bought both my Giant XTC and Giant Defy at Fullerton Bikes. Good place to buy a bike.

 

Great.....just when I was learning to recognize you on the Niner....you go and change that. Thanks.

Nice ride.....gotta love that 1st ride new bike mojo.

 

Wow, she looks ready to drop in on El P!

 

Looks like a great new ride!

 

Santa was a bit late, but finally delivered ... 2017 Intense Tracer factory build through their rider direct program. Intense drove it to my door, which was pretty nice service.

I am keeping it in my office for now. That way I can look over at it whenever my job pisses me off to quickly remind myself why I need the job, lol.

 

Happy New Bike Day, indeed!!!

 

Sorry you had to settle for such a crappy build.... Congratu-damn-lations!

I would love to see how that bike compares to the previous Tracer, with similar dampers and tires, of course. My hunch is plusher, but less up-hill-y. But maybe that JS-designed version of VPP has some magic up its linkages. Saaaayyy, is that an XL perchance?

 

Thanks. I got a pretty good deal on year end clearance, at least compared to what it originally cost, LOL.

It is a large. I demo'd an XL and it felt too big for me. I have only had two rides on it and I am still trying to dial in the suspension, but yeah, climbing is not its forte. The climb switch on the X2 is a must and the two huge rings in back help. That said, I did 5'800 ft this weekend without any problems, and I got it up Mathis easily enough. It will get me there, which is all I really want until I can point it downhill. It rails corners about as well as my 5010 and is super plush. I feel like it will be damn near perfect for my needs once I get the suspension dialed and replace the heavy tires with Minions.

 

I was a happy camper on my entry level Giant Trance. It was plenty enough bike for the riding I do. I would tell myself on climbs the extra weight of this aluminum bike just helps me lose extra weight.
Then the owner of the owner of the LBS I hang at, Penuel Bikes, decided to get back into mtb. He got himself a new shiny BH Lynx6. We did a couple rides together and I kept telling him no thanks when he asked if I wanted to try it out. I knew better! If you are not already on a carbon top end bike, or in the market for a carbon top end bike rule #1 is DO NOT DEMO A CARBON TOP END BIKE. Well, temptation got to me when we were at Tapia. I just couldn't keep telling him no, when I wanted to say yes. So I gave it a spin. I was shocked how much more comfortable I was on a Medium frame vs my Large. The bike wasn't even set up for me and it felt so much better than mine. By the time we were back at the car we were talking numbers. George gave me a deal on it that I would have been crazy not to sell my bike and upgrade.


I was expecting a lot more assembly. All I had to do was put on the front brake, wheel, dropper, pedals, and set up my cockpit.



Went out for my local ride to start refining the setup. 1st ride and this bike has surely got a great aura to it. I was having fun stoke turned up to 11. When I pass by the trailhead I see a cutie on a brand new Specialized Rockhopper 29" checking out the trail map. I stop and offer my trail guide service. I reassure her that despite how badass my bike and I look I'll keep it to the mellow stuff. I took her from end to end of the park giving her an overview of the trail system. She was a strong rider. Turns out she works at Wheel World Bicycles, ditched her car and only rides bikes. So fact of the matter is she probably could have been dragging me up and down the hills.


Happy New Bike Day to me; excited for the miles of smiles to come!

FRAME: Lynx 6 Carbon
COLOR: Black / Blue / Gray
WEIGHT: 27.8lbs
REAR SHOCK: Fox Factory Float 3 Position EVOL lever
FORK: Fox Factory 36 Float FIT w/HSC/LSC; 15mm axle
STEM: Easton HAVEN 35 (60mm/S, M; 70mm L)
HEADSET: FSA No.42 1.125-1.5"
SHIFT LEVERS: SRAM XO trigger
REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM XO 11
CRANK SET: Race Face Turbine Cinch 32T (170mm/S; 175mm/M, L)
BB SET: Race Face PF92
CASSETTE: SRAM XG 1175 10-42T
CHAIN: KMC XL11
FRONT BRAKE: Shimano XT Trail 203mm rotor
REAR BRAKE: Shimano XT Trail 180mm rotor
WHEELSET: Easton Heist 30, tubeless ready
TIRES: Maxxis DHF 60TPI, 27.5x2.3"(front)/DHR 60TPI, 27.5x2.3" (rear)
RIMS: Easton Heist 30mm; Tubeless ready
HUBS: Easton X5 100x15mm/front; 142x12mm/rear
SPOKES: double butted w/brass nipples
SADDLE: Prologo Nago X10
SEATPOST: Kind Shock LEV Integra (125mm/S, M; 150mm/L) w/SOUTHPAW lever
HANDLEBAR: Easton HAVEN 35 (750mm w/40mm rise)