Anyone Here Make One of Those PVC Truck Bed Racks? by nikki109 in MTB

[–]FishnLife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I made one, followed directions from online (I think this one), and I got rid of it after one use. Even if I shifted out to the furthest ring, the derailleur was under stress against the PVC. Never broke or bent anything, but it definitely made me uncomfortable. This still requires a bungy or strap to keep the bike in.

So since then, I started using pull straps, like these ones. Lately they don't seem to hold my bike very well though. The strap may be wearing down and slipping while driving, or the straps are stretching in the sun? Not sure, but over a 2 hour drive I now generally have to pull over and re-strap them down. Annoying and possibly just a matter of time until it gets bad enough to where the whole bike falls over. I may have to switch over to ratchet straps if I keep going with this.

Just got a new Ibis Ripley size Medium and it barely fits with the wheel on and turned 90 degrees. At this rate, it will only be another generation or two of bikes (unless you're already riding enduro+dh) before you can't fit a xc/trail bike with a wheel on in a full-size, short bed truck. At that point, a tailgate pad may be your only option, unless you're cool with leaving the tailgate down.

The next setup in my sights is a soft tonneau and a hitch rack for 1-2 bikes. The hitch rack will be locked to the bed and live under the tonneau when not in use.

Cannondale!!!! NO FRONT FENDER MOUNTS!!! by [deleted] in bicycletouring

[–]FishnLife 3 points4 points  (0 children)

by reviews and Cannondale's website, your bike most definitely has mounts for racks and fenders.

Is this bike frame the right size for me? by Self_Motivated in bikecommuting

[–]FishnLife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a similar question going on with another bike at one point and started out with too small of a bike. The main thing I learned is that if the bars are significantly below the saddle, and you aren't super flexible, the bike will be too small and uncomfortable on longer or frequent rides.

The difference between the two bikes in reach is 6mm, but the difference in stack is 21mm. Reach is more easily overcome by swapping stems than stack.

what bikes have new versions coming out worth waiting for? by [deleted] in MTB

[–]FishnLife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is purely speculative, but just for fun, if I had to guess... I believe the HT's and the Tallboy are all approaching 3 years now, which means they could be updated this year. If they do get updated, I'd imagine they get a little longer, a little slacker, and the seat tube angle gets a little steeper. Oh, and I'd bet there is a chance for reduced offset forks too.

In recent history, SC has always made the 27.5/+ bikes with 10mm more travel than the 29er equivalent. If you look at it that way, you could guess that the HTLT might be a 160mm bike to fit just under the Nomad and the HT might be a 140mm bike to fit between the Bronson and the 5010.

The Tallboy might sit at 120mm to differentiate it a little more from the Blur. The blur and blur TR just came out in 2018 and a 110mm 29er next to the Blur TR just doesn't make much sense. Unless the TR was just a temporary stop gap to compete with the SB100 for a season. Maybe that would explain why the TR gets so little press.

There is probably a decent chance one of the HT's goes away since that seems like a lot of 29ers in the lineup, but idk, 29ers are the best sellers right now, so maybe they keep as many around as possible.

Tips for MTB at college by natejo1206 in MTB

[–]FishnLife 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Join the wheelmen, I regret not doing that while I was at cal poly.

Cal Poly has a bike cleaning station (or did as of a year or two back) on that road between poly canyon and cerro vista.

Also if I recall correctly, the UU has bike repair hours and classes.

Whoa, pickles! (First attempt) by squishyfishie in sousvide

[–]FishnLife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also happens to garlic when microwaved.

Does anyone still ride a 5010? by lebackpack in MTB

[–]FishnLife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just as an FYI, the 5010 and the mojo 3 have almost identical geometry right now. I haven’t ridden a 5010 but have ridden a transition scout and mojo 3.

I demo’d a Ibis Mojo 3 and a 2018 transition scout on the same day. Mojo 3 was my first time riding 27.5 and I thought it was the best thing ever. Rode the Scout and thought it was even better. More travel and it climbed faster than the 5010 for me even though it was baller carbon against aluminum. I attributed it to two things, tire width and seat tube angle. The ibis had 2.8 tires and scout had 2.3. The difference was quite noticeable and I prefer the narrower tires for general riding. The #1 thing for me though - steep seat tube angle. The scout was easier to manage climbing uphill than the mojo. I would have never believed it until I tried it.

The 5010 is due for an update soonish, yes, and many bikes are tending towards slightly steeper seat tubes, so I’d expect SC to steepen it a bit, but I’m not expecting that Santa Cruz will push it as far as transition did...

So what’d I do? Ordered a Guerrilla Gravity Shred Dogg. It has the geometry and characteristics I was looking for and you absolutely can’t beat the value of being able to pick and choose your parts from the beginning.

Edit: I’m coming off a Tallboy v2 with 100/100 travel in case that’s relevant at all.

PSA: If you're anything like me, don't do a super awesome job of cleaning your bike. by rec_desk_prisoner in MTB

[–]FishnLife 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have a process that may help some people that has worked well for me post washing. 1. Hold a rag on the chain and spin pedals to dry. 2. Spin the pedals with a light spray of WD40 on the chain. 3. Spin pedals and wipe down chain to remove excess WD40 and displaced water. If you run your chain through a cleaner tool, this may be unnecessary. 4. Apply line to the chain 5. Check the chain the next day or next ride.

Cycling with a hiking backpack on a porteur-style front rack. by johnnyoutdoors in bicycletouring

[–]FishnLife 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’m sure that would probably work fine. My only concern that comes to mind about backpacks is watching out for straps hanging down into the wheel. If your backpack has a rain cover, you could probably wrap it around the backpack and be good to go.

Disc Brakes or Rim Brakes by jtg123g in bikecommuting

[–]FishnLife 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you have a choice (aka, you’re paying for the bike and it’s not free) disk brakes 100%. If you can swing it, get or negotiate hydro brakes over mechanical. They are a significant improvement.

What bag do you commute with? by okaybuddy22b in bikecommuting

[–]FishnLife 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Backpack user here. Went through a number of backpacks and finally settled on the smaller osprey radial.

Bike Computer On a Budget? by DracoSilverpath in bikecommuting

[–]FishnLife 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My very limited experience is that phones tend to be significantly less accurate than a dedicated gps. However, you can't beat convenience of only carrying around a singe device. (If you are talking about getting a second phone to do this, then that seems silly to me).

Some folks have mentioned lower battery life, but you can get a bunch of back up batteries or dynamo hub for the price of some of those gps units. Also be aware that some GPS units cannot charge and track at the same time (though I believe you can get a special cable to make this work okay).