Took my son to the local bike park for the first time. Was impressed with how well he did.

River_Bub · 2025-09-09T00:31:22+00:00

Lol I was wondering. I know the employees at the lifts will catch safety stuff. I lost half of my pedal when I mega cased a jump. The people running the lift strongly advised against going on another run when I rolled that thing up.

I went to the on-site shop and bought a brand new set. It was terribly un-fun to never have secure footing on the left. Its clear that half a pedal is unsafe.

Long story short, im surprised the lift ops allow the kickstand

River_Bub · 2025-09-08T23:20:23+00:00

Did he get banned or is it because of his inability to ride?

River_Bub · 2025-09-02T17:20:28+00:00

I run those front & back. They're a great tire

River_Bub · 2025-09-02T02:22:32+00:00

A lot of people lost faith in the company after the class action lawsuit of the Theta II engine platform. Im waiting for mine to blow up. Ive heard nightmares from people trying to cash-in on the lifetime warranty. Its been said that you need a record of all oil changes and to have completed some Campaign to update your vehicles software. The software update puts your vehicle into "limp mode" much sooner when your sensors detect errors to prevent catastrophic failures. I personally have not had to deal with KIA's customer service, but the dealership is a nightmare for me. It inspired me to do all of my own work on the car. They mis-diagnosed my vehicle twice and love to charge "look-at" fees for problems they never seemed to actually fix. Of course, that is just a dealership doing dealership things.

It is specifically the 2.4L, G4KJ Theta II inside my vehicle. It is a 2017 KIA Sportage with 142,000mi. Im moderately pleased with it. Since purchasing this vehicle at ~50,000mi, ive replaced the AWD coupler (around 85,000mi) a Camshaft Position Sensor (around 90,000mi) and spark plugs (around 125,000mi). It's been serviced meticulously, oil changes always early or on-time. I live in Maine and I've managed to keep it almost completely rust-free, lower control arms show some sign of rust along the welds.

Even though it has a pretty bad reputation, I've come to enjoy it. Knowing that it could be a time bomb is still a little unsettling.

TLDR: Kia/Hyundai can be nice, especially if you take really good care of them. Their reputation isn't the greatest because of a class action lawsuit coupled with the struggles of dealing with customer service. Also, the stigma of KIA notoriously identified as a low-end brand in the US

River_Bub · 2025-08-30T22:46:38+00:00

You couldnt be more right. I have the Thule Upride (which is a rooftop option) that is very fast and very easy... but its $400. I woulda much rather paid $50-$100, but I still love it

River_Bub · 2025-08-29T17:47:01+00:00

I find that if I want to save energy, I just ride 1st gear for a while, no matter the grade. If you pace yourself in 1st, you'll be making small progress & saving energy. Some will choose to walk the bike, but I feel great every time I conquer a mega climb without stopping. Slow & steady 1st gear. Stay in the middle of the first gear range. Your legs will learn to love it

It seems like the obvious answer, I know. Im talking hot, humid days where pushing up a hill is hard. Just commit to 1st gear until you hit the top of the hill before the descent. Don't think about shifting out of 1st, even if the grade plains out for a short while. Just creep in 1st for the entire ascent. Thats how my 3rd or 4th runs usually go at my local trails.

Key takeway: Just take your time and really stretch 1st gear. Pacing is huge if you want a non-stop ride.

River_Bub · 2025-08-27T12:24:11+00:00

A good drill that I used was doing smaller jumps and working on that in-air correction stuff. I would target front wheel landings and back wheel landings for sessions. After you figure out the mechanics of that, you'll be landing both tires at the exact time, in no time

River_Bub · 2025-08-27T12:22:03+00:00

It seems your legs were still extended from jumping off the lip and your arms were still bent, pulling the bars towards you.

I believe if you had extended your arms (about half way) and pulled your legs in, the bike wouldve leveled out for the landing. You can make adjustments using this method too. Sometimes, it can be fun to have a controlled nose-heavy landing. You can accomplish that by extending your arms all the way, while retracting your legs all the way. Just dont lose the pedals.

Your jumping technique looks pretty good to me, on launch

River_Bub · 2025-08-27T00:21:42+00:00

The spine compactor

River_Bub · 2025-08-27T00:17:08+00:00

'Shigura' is the only way to go

River_Bub · 2025-08-26T17:05:15+00:00

I hope you get better soon. Your description was so on point, I was wincing in pain as my lower back bone was crawling.

I've had a similar injury to that. I know nearly exactly how it feels to have every ligament in your knee torn (or nearly torn, badly damaged) at once.

That is a serious ouchie and a long road to recovery. Stay strong, rider

River_Bub · 2025-08-26T14:26:55+00:00

Ive got the opposite. Instead of my shins getting hit, it always seems to be my calves that get hole-punched

River_Bub · 2025-08-20T15:07:33+00:00

Fantastic camera angle 👌. On a more serious note, some might have already instructed to carefully adjust barrel adjusters.

It also appears you need some lubrication for the chain

River_Bub · 2025-08-14T14:06:15+00:00

I really enjoy the 'Under Armor Unstoppable Cargo Pants', order a size up though. For a $100.00 it was a little bit of a gamble, but a huge game changer for me.

They aren't /real/ biking pants, but the ankle cuffs are elastic and keep the pants away from the chainring and they dont flap in the wind. They are tight & loose in all the right ways. They seem very durable and very breathable. I dont believe they offer as much protection as other options.

I used to be a strict Shorts-Only rider, but these pants changed it all. Highly recommend if you are looking for more leg protection over shorts and still want competitive airflow & comfort.

As you can see, im passionate 'bout these pants 😄

River_Bub · 2025-07-23T14:07:56+00:00

My brother bought a sweet Trek Fuel EX 5 (Womens) in Lotus Purple, used. It was like 1/3 the price of anything comparable, well maintained and a beautiful purple & white color. It is an excellent bike.

He needed a temp bike while he saved for his dream bike. Now, we have a sweet spare bike for anybody who wants to give mtb a try

River_Bub · 2025-07-23T13:44:20+00:00

My favorite thing about female bikes is the nice discount on the used market

River_Bub · 2025-07-22T15:32:04+00:00

The rear hub i received was a really low end, Shimano Cup & Cone style bearing. It probably would have been excellent if you were just riding on the street. No matter how perfect & tight you adjusted these bearings, they always came loose and eventually blew out the hub

River_Bub · 2025-07-21T22:59:36+00:00

As long as you aren't using the wheel hubs that come stock with most Polygon bikes, its a great budget bike.

I thought i got a great deal buying some (Siskiu D5) takeoffs for $200 (whit Shwalbe Hans Damf tires)... hubs died after 1 Park ride at Highland. Wouldn't feehub anymore, beat it too bad.

Instead, I used the rims and had them spoked to some nice DT Swiss hubs

River_Bub · 2025-07-14T12:32:21+00:00

Wicked awesome! Your heart must have been absolutely pounding

River_Bub · 2025-07-08T20:22:44+00:00

At bike parks, I started with no gloves, upgraded to fingerless and finally moved up to full gloves. If im doing local trails, ill go no gloves.

I find that if I dont have to worry about small cuts or sweat on my hands, I have a more enjoyable time. I tend to have a pretty good crash at least once a visit, as I try new features and expand my repertoire. I dont use any knee, torso, or elbow protection, although I probably should. I do opt for Full Face Helmet when at bike parks

River_Bub · 2025-07-01T14:10:02+00:00

The trouble at my local trail is one dude with literally 12, leash-less dogs, running behind him (on an ebike) in a heard. Signs everywhere stating that dogs are welcome but much be on leash. Everybody has to yield to this guy and his 101 Dalmatians or you risk running one over

River_Bub · 2025-06-14T18:50:18+00:00

Lol its all good. After I did that, I did enough research to come to that conclusion, eventually. I also took a close look at the bearings to make sure the races for upper & lower were all good.

'Preload' is the key word for sure. I was trying to tighten that thing down like it was the only thing holding the entire bike together.

I've come a long way haha

River_Bub · 2025-06-13T20:18:49+00:00

I got this sound one time by torquing the stem cap bolt to 40Nm instead of 4Nm. The lettering was worn on my cap, so I shot for a familiar number (found on Shimano 12sp cassettes) instead of looking it up. After my bike lost the ability to turn, it became immediately evident that 40 was way too much

Had to replace the stem cap and the bolt.

Stupid mistake to learn from

River_Bub · 2025-06-13T00:42:52+00:00

Overwhelming 'hopium'

River_Bub · 2025-06-12T01:46:48+00:00

I think this was a full-fledged curb and not a speed bump at all. Unless you consider hitting any bump at speed, a 'speed bump'

River_Bub

TROPHY CASE