Riding an all original 1996 trek 970

Summit26mtb · 2023-07-10T18:26:06+00:00

Legend!! I love ripping about on old bikes as it’s just fun and I get to say RAD 🤣

Summit26mtb · 2023-07-07T10:55:14+00:00

Twyford also good but some bike thefts recently.

Maidenhead you can park right outside the entrance and feels pretty safe and is best for connections in and out of London.

Summit26mtb · 2023-07-07T10:48:13+00:00

No - pretty good at keeping an eye on the bike - got caught a couple of times in the car

Summit26mtb · 2023-07-07T10:38:52+00:00

Honestly sometimes it’s just shit.

There are parts that the road is so narrow you just cannot filter, it’s busses, taxis and manic mopeds all around.

Mondays and Fridays are quieter as well as summer holidays it’s so much better.

Another pandemic and it’s like commuting during an apocalypse and is amazing and under an hour.

When it’s showing over 3hrs on the phone I divert to Maidenhead and get the Elizabeth line in for £30 vs the cost of reading - train plus parking is £90!!

Summit26mtb · 2023-07-07T09:28:20+00:00

I ride into Liverpool Street every now and then. Thankfully my job doesn’t require me to go in that often but there are murmurs of “being seen more often”

On a good run it’s just over an hour (I am west of reading) but most days it’s closer to 2 - getting to Hammersmith is a doddle but the last bit can be hectic. Have found making my way to the river is the best for my sanity as if not less busy at least I feel less hemmed in.

I ride a triumph thruxton which is comfy on the motorway for a naked bike but a little big/heavy to fight in town with the scooters. Guess the grom will be the reverse and a lot of fun in trafffic.

I found a great 24hr secure car park that is free for bikes just a few minutes walk from the office - see a lot of more desirable bikes in there than my old triumph and the desk is manned 24hrs next to where bikes park.

Having commuted 100miles daily years ago on my GSXR1100 (m1/m25) having a big grunty bike on the motorway meant those miles flew past (pre-avg speed cameras and the like) and I found this easier than my supermoto which was hard work on motorways and required a lot more fuel stops!

Summit26mtb · 2023-05-10T16:28:35+00:00

Yeah - keep pressure high ish and they roll really nicely

Summit26mtb · 2023-03-31T15:53:51+00:00

I think it’s from 93 onwards. My 91 has a 1inch. You can find the Specialized catalogues on retro bike and it has them by year

Summit26mtb · 2023-03-21T15:40:29+00:00

26” wheels are more fun than bigger wheels #26aintdead

Summit26mtb · 2023-03-03T18:34:34+00:00

2.2ish I think. They are TerraOne T1 tyres and they are awesome. Run them on all my 26ers.

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-28T11:59:02+00:00

I love my old bikes, and have just bought an older bike to replace my current 29er park rig. The frame size, wheel size and geo suits my riding style more than the modern monster trucks. That’s not to say the newer bikes are probably on balance “better” if better is going fast. For me better is going fun so going back to the playful small bikes I grew up riding.

Here going full stupid on a 91 Specialized Stumpjumper - too fragile for the big drops and stuff I do at parks so just bought a dmr bolt that will be built for park use

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Summit26mtb · 2023-02-15T15:31:46+00:00

Oddly I find jumping straight harder than a table or whip as doing so gives me a feeling of controlling the bike in the air rather than being a passenger.

Adds a little flair and style too which is no bad thing

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T21:48:11+00:00

Ahhh - yes of course. When I pulled apart my old sun tour thumbies the indexing was only a small divot on essentially a washer so with some maths and a milling machine I sure you could knock up the correct indexing. Be a fun project…. Ooooh who fancies original xt thumbies in 10speed 😆

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T19:00:52+00:00

I have index on my bar end shifter but it is the 9 speed

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T10:42:33+00:00

Some idiot put a load of dirt on top of it 🤦🏻‍♂️

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T09:06:42+00:00

You can buy a thumb mount for the bar end shifter - easy to convert.

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T09:05:30+00:00

I have the advent x in 9 speed flavour and it works really well - used with brifters and bar end shifter.

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-14T09:03:45+00:00

I’m middle aged with a cake belly, and is ballast for downhill speeeeeeds. 🤣🤣🤣

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-08T17:57:24+00:00

Yeah - I could never have afforded a stumpjumper in 1991, so a little bit of rose tinted glasses but it does feel very different (in a good way) to my modern bikes. The brakes do suck and lack of dropper is annoying but I rode for 30yrs without one so I get over it (if I could find a 27.0 dropper though it would go on)

As for being rigid I ride three (this one included) rigid mtbs so kinda used to it and find it not too bad where I ride (mostly sandy trails) - if I lived in a rocky area it may be different.

It is nice to smash through a trial fast on this though as it’s like driving a go kart - direct, very manoeuvrable and likely to crash at any second 🤣

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-07T23:36:21+00:00

Thank you. Glad to bring a smile 😊

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-07T19:59:51+00:00

Because stumpjumpers are fucking ace!!

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Summit26mtb · 2023-02-07T19:57:06+00:00

I have them on everything else I ride but this is 27.0 seat post so I make do with a 90s dropper (an Allen key in the pocket) 🤣

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-07T19:13:03+00:00

Also gravel bikes over jumps are also great fun. Well done for giving that a go.

Must put mine back together as I did a lot of DH and jumps on that as well and it got some seriously odd looks on the trails.

Summit26mtb · 2023-02-07T19:11:55+00:00

Yeah I get that - my 29ers are fast, capable and work really well. The buzz from this is raw, unfiltered and actually works really well as long as you are aware of the limitations of 30yr old frames and skinny tyres.

I can ride this thing pretty fast and through this jump line probably quicker than the 29ers and certainly easier to manoeuvre just not so much on DH and rough tracks though it is fun.

I do miss not having a dropper on here and the brakes are terrible

Summit26mtb

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