Mountain biking?
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@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
That trail looks good. I notice that they say 'be respectful of all animals'. Does that mean signed consent or will verbal do?
Fuckwits going onto farming property to get selfies with sheep I believe was the issue
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@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
I wanted to use existing tramping gear as much as possible to save on expenditure but also to get more use out of it.
Agreed - I've got hiking gear that generally fits the bill. Given the bike is already set up with a rear rack I was looking at panniers which I see all the bikepacking snobs look down on in their YouTube videos This is the rig - were I to put panniers on I'd probably upgrade the rear wheel with chunkier spokes TBH. It is carrying my fat arse around on suburban streets but dirt road and a bit more weight over the rear axle and it'll be under stress as a hard tail.
For panniers, well it is a Topeak rack so pretty easy choice - something like these at 25L each and I can keep the crappy old top bag I've got as well, or just use the top of the rack as a tie down for my sleeping mat:
Shelter = fly from a Hennessy Hammock. Have used hiking a few times and it is generally flexible enough to string up using hiking poles or sticks, and a suitable tree. Simple a-frame for inclement weather - can close in the end(s) with a bit of clever peg work. Otherwise string it up nice and high and get comfy.
Super lightweight ground sheet from a mob here called Alton Goods as a moisture barrier.
Got a new inflatable pillow on order as the one I have is no good any more for my busted shoulder.
All that can go in a dry bag around the handlebars with a bit of velcro or one pannier.
Kathmandu self-inflating air mattress. Not the thickhest but quite comfy (Ascent 38 model - bit of a luxury at 950g but R value of 3.6-2.1). Enhance it with a reflective ground sheet if required. Tie to rack some howAs you say, the sleeping bag is the issue for packing. I've always avoided down because once it is wet, yer fuct. Am now considering a quilt but I dunno. Guess I could stuff one of my existing sleeping bags in a pannier and it is safe there. Problem is I've been storing all my sleeping bags tight in their stuff sacks (lack of options) so they're not what they once were. I'll give them each a shot on the trail in some test runs and see how they go.
Biggest expense bar the sleeping bag was going to be an aeropress for coffee. No way could I go un-caffeinated.
The tiny little hiking stove and cylinder I have fit inside the anodised aluminium pot set I've got. I don't mind going bag coffee first thing if I need to, but would consider whether I can just grab a brew in town and save the weight. Different on QC track no doubt.
I had QC on my list for the solo trip in 2017 but the timing didn't work.
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@nta Panniers look an easy option. Fuck the nobs that want to 'gear compare'.
The drawback with panniers is if you are on narrow or winding tracks as you have widened the bike and have to allow for it. I don't see that as a problem for that track at all and you will welcome the space.
Looks like good fun.
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@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
The drawback with panniers is if you are on narrow or winding tracks as you have widened the bike and have to allow for it. I don't see that as a problem for that track at all and you will welcome the space.
Plus my arse doesn't allow for narrow tracks anyway
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@nta said in Mountain biking?:
@jk you have some amazing rail trails over there. Our tourist guys aren't really up to speed on that, and we've no shortage of old railway no longer in use
The old rail line through the Clare Valley is a
bike track to wobble from winery to winery. Great day out. -
I recorded and caught upon some of the stuff from the UCI Worlds over the weekend. Horrendously poor coverage with shite commentators. Quite a painful watch (although same goes for whatever the feed is for the Vuelta that Sky are taking).
Downhill MTB is one of the most insane on the edge sports going with a mixture of high skill and meathead but the way it is shown on TV hasn't changed since the start. Usually a three fixed camera job with cameras placed where they can see a few corners to pan through rather than convey the speed/steepness/sheer scariness.
How they can make something like this so dull is a criminal.
I will also say though that if UCI want to do the sport a service they would choose venues better. -
@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
I recorded and caught upon some of the stuff from the UCI Worlds over the weekend. Horrendously poor coverage with shite commentators. Quite a painful watch (although same goes for whatever the feed is for the Vuelta that Sky are taking).
Downhill MTB is one of the most insane on the edge sports going with a mixture of high skill and meathead but the way it is shown on TV hasn't changed since the start. Usually a three fixed camera job with cameras placed where they can see a few corners to pan through rather than convey the speed/steepness/sheer scariness.
How they can make something like this so dull is a criminal.
I will also say though that if UCI want to do the sport a service they would choose venues better.It was very poor footage eh! Better than the olympics but only just. Very disappointing
Just the usual Red Bull rounds are done a whole lot better than that.
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Rode some of my local trails on sat arvo but lots of debri on the trails and took a decent size branch to the derailleur about 20mins in and bent the farken thing in to the spokes! Bike was unrideable. No one else around so just got the tools out and did some running repairs to get in moving again and managed to ride back to the car without too much trouble. Replaced the hanger and realigned and all good as new.
Tested it yesterday with a decent 25km ride with the lad around the local burbs. Spent a bit of time at a pump track at one of the local schools and then a few more bush trails as we worked our way home. Good little ride.
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@jk said in Mountain biking?:
Rode some of my local trails on sat arvo but lots of debri on the trails and took a decent size branch to the derailleur about 20mins in and bent the farken thing in to the spokes! Bike was unrideable. No one else around so just got the tools out and did some running repairs to get in moving again and managed to ride back to the car without too much trouble. Replaced the hanger and realigned and all good as new.
Tested it yesterday with a decent 25km ride with the lad around the local burbs. Spent a bit of time at a pump track at one of the local schools and then a few more bush trails as we worked our way home. Good little ride.
Lucky you had a spare hanger. They can be bastard things to get the right one. Every manufacturer seems to make them slightly different.
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@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
@jk said in Mountain biking?:
Rode some of my local trails on sat arvo but lots of debri on the trails and took a decent size branch to the derailleur about 20mins in and bent the farken thing in to the spokes! Bike was unrideable. No one else around so just got the tools out and did some running repairs to get in moving again and managed to ride back to the car without too much trouble. Replaced the hanger and realigned and all good as new.
Tested it yesterday with a decent 25km ride with the lad around the local burbs. Spent a bit of time at a pump track at one of the local schools and then a few more bush trails as we worked our way home. Good little ride.
Lucky you had a spare hanger. They can be bastard things to get the right one. Every manufacturer seems to make them slightly different.
Yeah mate. I'm lucky as my best mate works in the game so a while back I got him to grab me 4 as spares. Always carry one in the backpack with the tools so probably could have done it on trail if it had snapped (been told they often do when you try bend them back in to shape!)
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Anyone been out riding? Particularly those outside of level 3/4 areas?
A few more urbans from me last few weekends but nothing too exciting.
Got out for a night ride last week which was great fun. Only was for about an hour and on some shared walk/cycle tracks in near by native bush but awesome to ride at night as no walkers. Saw one other rider. Really different experience riding through dense bush at night
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@jk said in Mountain biking?:
Anyone been out riding? Particularly those outside of level 3/4 areas?
Nope. Not much nearby me that inspires. Need to get some riding in though. Still have ambitions to do the Queen Charlotte when it opens again. Not sure what the plans are but they have done repairs on the first section for walkers. Hopefully they will be able to get enough repairs done for summer.
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Fair bit of riding of late as under these relaxed level 3 rules I can travel a bit further to ride.
Friday arvo I went out to Muriwai. Great little trails. Some steep and technical, some flowy. Sand based so drains well. Rode two new ones I had before and both pretty gnarly with some sketchy little descents down rock faces etc. Rideable after you stop and work out the best approach.
Then yesterday out to my beloved Riverhead forest and still too wet. Thought was potentially a bit early but forest has been closed until friday so was just keen to get out there and check it out. Total opposite of riding at Muriwai and bike needed a decent clean after.
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Couple of good rides in the weekend but sundays was a bit much for the old brakes after some pretty steep downhills. Kinda forgot about the issue until popped out for a ride yesterday and doh....yeah pads were toast!
Not a lot left of them at all. Fronts are better but grabbed a set of each this morning and will replace later today or tomorrow before next ride
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Spent some time over the last week getting the bike all sorted for summer. I put the miles on it at times and ride it hard so needed some love.
Replaced those pads then also fixed and tuned my derailleur properly (yah got a clutch again) after that issue a couple of months back. Then on friday I serviced the front shocks and stuck a new chain on.
Did a 30km ride yesterday with a mate. Bike feels like new now.
Also, another mate was heading to Muriwai for sat morning and I was pretty keen but had some other commitments so had to pass. Anyway, he had a nasty nasty crash and and ended up exiting via the ambulance. Wasnt on a big jump either. Just a step up that we regularly ride. Still not 100% sure what happened but hes out of surgery and recovering now.
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@jk said in Mountain biking?:
Spent some time over the last week getting the bike all sorted for summer. I put the miles on it at times and ride it hard so needed some love.
Replaced those pads then also fixed and tuned my derailleur properly (yah got a clutch again) after that issue a couple of months back. Then on friday I serviced the front shocks and stuck a new chain on.
Did a 30km ride yesterday with a mate. Bike feels like new now.
Also, another mate was heading to Muriwai for sat morning and I was pretty keen but had some other commitments so had to pass. Anyway, he had a nasty nasty crash and and ended up exiting via the ambulance. Wasnt on a big jump either. Just a step up that we regularly ride. Still not 100% sure what happened but hes out of surgery and recovering now.
Bad news on your mate. I've watched some massive stacks on slo-Mo and still been puzzled what the cause was. Sometimes shit just happens.
It sounds like your new chain has meshed well with the chain ring and cassette. That's always a worry if you have been hammering an old chain. Gets bloody expensive.
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@crucial said in Mountain biking?:
@jk said in Mountain biking?:
Spent some time over the last week getting the bike all sorted for summer. I put the miles on it at times and ride it hard so needed some love.
Replaced those pads then also fixed and tuned my derailleur properly (yah got a clutch again) after that issue a couple of months back. Then on friday I serviced the front shocks and stuck a new chain on.
Did a 30km ride yesterday with a mate. Bike feels like new now.
Also, another mate was heading to Muriwai for sat morning and I was pretty keen but had some other commitments so had to pass. Anyway, he had a nasty nasty crash and and ended up exiting via the ambulance. Wasnt on a big jump either. Just a step up that we regularly ride. Still not 100% sure what happened but hes out of surgery and recovering now.
Bad news on your mate. I've watched some massive stacks on slo-Mo and still been puzzled what the cause was. Sometimes shit just happens.
It sounds like your new chain has meshed well with the chain ring and cassette. That's always a worry if you have been hammering an old chain. Gets bloody expensive.
Yeah chain ring and cassette are still ok and have prob 1500km left on them I'd say. They wear out quick if you dont replace the chain as often as it should. Parts dont cost me much as have access to wholesale less % so no reason not to maintain.
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Back in to regular riding with riverhead now a whole lot drier and running mint. Been out there every week or so but gotta pick the times as its dam hot if there isnt much breeze. Even those 6pm til dark rides are scorchers.
This week I rode the coromandel trails. Wicked spot. Lovely clay in perfect riding condition. A very pedally trail with lots of ups and downs. Two main MTB trails at 4.5km (about 22mins) and 1.5km (6mins)
They also have a beautiful pump track and a couple of short downhill jumps line which are great for skills. Pretty cool setup really. The guy who set it all up actually passed away on Sunday, 1 year to the day since its opening. Hoping they can keep it all going in his memory.
Yesterday I was back in to whangapoua forest which I haven't ridden for about 6 months. I forget how steep some of the hills are. The ups are on the heavy gravel roads and the downs are through loamy pine covered trails. Steep and fast. Rode two of the trails but sighted a couple more which I will ride next time. Could bring myself to do another climb up that hill.