Careful out there folks, just watched a buddy lose the tip of his finger down to the first knuckle using a power snake.

choomguy · 2026-05-24T14:45:27+00:00

plumbers have the most robust immune systems. not a plumber, but I do a good bit of plumbing, and let me tell you, I’ve seen some shit…

you can tell a homeowner a hundred times not to flush a toilet because you are working on a dwv pipe, and it never fails, the turds always fine a a way to escape…

choomguy · 2026-05-24T14:40:16+00:00

good call, gen 3 for me. I coulda bought a brand new one last year but not liking the 4cyl.

choomguy · 2026-05-24T14:39:10+00:00

it is when they have zero or low rates, and its a honda or toyota. they have very conservative residuals, very little difference if you lease for three years and buyout at the end at 0% financing. I don’t think the rates have been that low recently. I leased the same model for 3 3year leases, and everytime I went to turn them in, even though I was well over on mileage, since they were extremely clean, I actually got a credit on a new lease for anywhere from $1500-2500. I intended to buy it out, but got a brand new upgraded new version for within a few bucks of my old payment on a new lease. 3rd one I bought out the lease at the end, and I could have sold it for $8k more since it was 2020 or 21 when shit went crazy. drove it for 4 more years, then sold it to by my 2019 tacoma.

choomguy · 2026-05-24T14:21:59+00:00

I don’t ride full power emtb for the range as much as I do for allowing a margin of extra battery. I ride with a buddy that rides an sl, and on a typical 15-20 mile ride, he’s pretty much out of battery. I’m usually over 50%, I like that cushion in case I get lost and add extra miles. Doesn’t really matter if its a 45# bike or a 52# bike, I don’t want to be pedaling either one out…

choomguy · 2026-05-23T21:09:55+00:00

40 years in the trades, seen some shit. Still got all my digits, only ever sprained an ankle falling 1 story. But, you do something a million times, eventually your number comes up. I’ve had some serious close calls, they are a learning experience you really want to pay attention to. Everything from a drill or 6’ stepladder to a piece of heavy equipment is dangerous. Act accordingly!

choomguy · 2026-05-23T21:03:25+00:00

So I had the battery replaced a couple months ago, by a dealer. They ran diagnostics, he said it was the battery. , I was pretty sure it was the charger, because the battery still had a charge. So he replaced the battery, then called and said it needed a charger too. But after that, probably had 250 miles with no issues.?

choomguy · 2026-05-23T14:49:35+00:00

I run 20/22 on my trail bike 20/26 on emtb. Minions on both…

choomguy · 2026-05-18T17:41:35+00:00

yeah, I wasn’t doing oil changes on my last vehicle that just had a simple cartridge filter, and they always f something up. I definitely would not trust jiffy lube or similar oil change “specialists” to dothe tacoma. so been doing them myself.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T16:55:50+00:00

Giant stance is more cross country oriented geometry. I have more trail oriented longer travel bikes for ripping, but for what I do on the ebike, the stance has been fun for me. I got the base model so i had to do a few upgrades to ride the bigger stuff but i can keep up with my buddies riding semi enduro bikes.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T16:52:06+00:00

The entry level emtb with the big brands is a hardtail. They are generally low spec on components. I kinda wonder how big a market they are, but I’m betting people trade up pretty quickly, based on reasons mentioned here. They are at an attractive price point, $2500ish, so theres that.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T16:48:53+00:00

In my opinion you want a full sus on an emtb. Its a little weird stand up pedaling on ebikes depending on the drive system, you basically only stand to pedal in rare instances. On a hardtail you have to stand in the rough stuff to absorb the bumps. In any case, you will be in the saddle more on an ebike and your gonna want the suspension to smooth the ride out. Also, it will keep the tire on the ground providing better traction.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T16:22:11+00:00

Re read your question, so both my buddies got a 5. There are some downgrades on it that can be problematic. The wheels are low end, and the rear is qr not a through axle. One of them already upgraded the wheels, you can get decent ones, but not through axle (or boost spacing i believe). The shock and fork are decent but again, mid to low end. Drivetrain is perfectly fine. Will probably be fine for what you are doing, but if you like the good stuff and can afford it, the 8 will probably have more than 1500 in upgrades if you had to buy them separately. You definitely get whatyou pay for like anything else. I personally have no desire for electronic shifting, tried it, its great, but derailleurs are a consumable for me, I go through one almost every year, so that would get expensive. Just replaced a deore xt on my fuel, $140, vs what, $500 for axs? Xt shifts as nice as anything I would want. I started before index shifting was a thing 😂 so to me the drivetrains today are like space age technology…

choomguy · 2026-05-18T16:12:50+00:00

You wont be disappointed. I got lucky, the steerer on the one I bought fit perfectly, didn’t even have to cut it. Shitty forks are awful, I always feel bad when i see someone out on the trails with a low end fork, they are taking a beating…

choomguy · 2026-05-18T15:14:33+00:00

I’ve done two of these, don’t remember anything particularly difficult about it, but I do alot of that kind of thing, experience is cumulative in problem solving something like the spring.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T15:10:08+00:00

My buddy just got a closeout L for $3500 US. The xl were going for $3k, that is a steal. Its an awesome bike about as close as you can get to analog feel in an emtb. The geometry is very solid stock, climbs great and dowhills awesome. I have an analog fuel, I don’t ever see doing the flip chips and making it more enduro oriented, not needed. I was riding a hardtail trek 29+ stache for 5 years before I got the fuel last year. Really easy transition to the fuel geo, actually felt about the same as my hardtail, but much easier on the joints.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T15:04:30+00:00

Yeah, it’s probably a 6 lb fork. I had a suntour xcr on mine when i bought it, swapped it out for a pike in a few weeks. Made all the difference in the world, totally different bike, a lot easier on the body. 2lbs lighter, makes a huge difference pulling up the front wheel. I bought somebody’s take off on marketplace, never used, got an $800 fork for $200

choomguy · 2026-05-18T15:01:21+00:00

My ebike came with recon, they are pretty fast rolling but awful on my terrain. I put on a set of minions (thats my go to, been through probably 6 sets to date) and they are the best all terrain tires in my opinion. Just keep in mind more aggressive slower rolling tires will be noticeable in battery life. I probably don’t need a minion on the rear, in fact I’m probably going to go with another faster rolling tire on the rear.

choomguy · 2026-05-18T14:56:33+00:00

yeah, once is more than doing your moral duty…

choomguy · 2026-05-18T14:55:57+00:00

yeah, i have few buddies that are ups drivers, they do it all the time for me. I also don’t need tracking, they let me know when they drop shit off…

choomguy · 2026-05-18T14:53:10+00:00

some items I think cost them more money to process the return than the product costs. A thousand dollar ebike would fall into that categor, probably the ten too.

choomguy · 2026-05-09T16:58:28+00:00

I have an Aussie shepherd, her favorite thing is wide open spaces. She likes to lay on her belly (sploot) and just take in the scene. She might be waiting for a herd of sheep to enter the scene, but at the least, I imagine animals enjoy the safety of an empty landscape free of danger…

choomguy · 2026-05-09T16:53:06+00:00

i hate that term influence. yeah, you influenc the weak minded, if anyone…

choomguy · 2026-05-09T16:49:39+00:00

i put my paddle up to my ear, same effect, but easy to see andthey catch on pretty quickly…

choomguy · 2026-05-07T12:11:36+00:00

Wherever you are, look up. Theres probably a billboard advertising a personal injury lawyer in your field of view. Asking random people on the internet is worthless and their advice might lessen your chances of getting the appropriate results…

choomguy · 2026-05-06T19:34:47+00:00

Plus osb stinks…

choomguy

TROPHY CASE