Ask the experts

[skaredshtles]

I think it’s mostly in my head from receiving that advice over and over as a kid

Yeah - FS bikes when you were a kid were likely mostly crap.

[XXX-er]

I would point new women MTB wannabes at the giant products the LIV


I got junior a Brodie holeshot which was a very happening freeride HT of the time and he became adept at snapping square taper BB spindles, I seem to remember he snapped 3 , he could probably do it on command, and from there he broke a full suspension completely in half which to be fair was poorly designed so we got him a crazy overbuilt Banshee Scream which was guarantied for 10 yrs

[ENDOOO]

Mucho wear and tiny hole in the crotch of rear triangle. Should I be looking for a new rear triangle, or carbon repair? Altitude composites Denver was recommended to me.

2020 rip 9.


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[D(C)]

I don’t really understand the “starting with a hardtail” advice. My sense is that there’s an old-school sentiment that it’s supposed to be hard, as a rite of passage. I’m of the opinion that you can develop good fundamental skills on any bike, and confidence is helpful for progressing faster.

[Sandbox]

So out on a ride yesterday and my drive side pedal just unthreaded from the drive side crank arm….took a look and the threads on the crank ( carbon sram descendant) seem to be totally stripped for the first 1/6th of the threads somehow…. Can’t get the pedal to start into threading into the crank. Can one rethread the crank arm or is it toast?? If it’s toast does anyone have a carbon crank they want it sell cheap ish? For a SC Tallboy


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[Wes Mantooth]

Say budget is $2500. Would a female new to riding be happier on a lighter hardtail with decent components, or a 35+ lb entry level full suspension?

[singlesline]

Say budget is $2500. Would a female new to riding be happier on a lighter hardtail with decent components, or a 35+ lb entry level full suspension?

I regret buying my wife a hardtail...mostly for the reasons mentioned above (although it was covid bike shortage time...didn't have much choice to get a bike in time for the women's clinics she had signed up for). I think some plush rear suspension would have been golden...because once you combine age and lack of experience, the combination of A) Identify a bump is coming, B) Stand up on legs, C) Absorb with knees, just doesn't come naturally...and you don't have the body of a 12 year old to take the abuse while you figure it out on your own.

There's a tension on keeping the weight down with budget FS, but ~120mm travel in the rear would be nice. You probably don't really need nice suspension, just something that will absorb some roots and rocks in normal riding conditions (especially if she's not heavy). You also don't really need nice parts...especially given how well something like Deore shifts. The hard part there becomes weight--low end build is gonna be heavy and she's not gonna want to lift the heavy bike.

But $2500 seems to buy you a lot of bike right now, even brand new
Neuron 6 for $2200 claims to come in around 32lb: https://www.canyon.com/en-us/mountai...rahmenfarbe=BU

[XXX-er]

So out on a ride yesterday and my drive side pedal just unthreaded from the drive side crank arm….took a look and the threads on the crank ( carbon sram descendant) seem to be totally stripped for the first 1/6th of the threads somehow…. Can’t get the pedal to start into threading into the crank. Can one rethread the crank arm or is it toast?? If it’s toast does anyone have a carbon crank they want it sell cheap ish? For a SC Tallboy


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its carbon but isnt there a metal insert or does thepedal threa right inot carbon ?

back in the day I came upon a fair maiden in the woods with a stripped pedal,

so I threaded the pedal into the aluminium crank arm from the back which straightened the threads enough to rethread the pedal from the front

but as I understand you can get an insert at least for an aluminium pedal

[Sandbox]

its carbon but isnt there a metal insert or does thepedal threa right inot carbon ?

back in the day I came upon a fair maiden in the woods with a stripped pedal,

so I threaded the pedal into the aluminium crank arm from the back which straightened the threads enough to rethread the pedal from the front

but as I understand you can get an insert at least for an aluminium pedal

No it does thread into metal. There is a metal insert in the carbon crank arm.

I did try to rethread from the reverse but it seemed there was a bit of a bevel and I couldn’t get it to go. May try that again tho.


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[teledad]

Say budget is $2500. Would a female new to riding be happier on a lighter hardtail with decent components, or a 35+ lb entry level full suspension?

What kind of trails does she want to ride, what kind of rider is she? For someone who wants to ride everything and not be held back I'd go with the FS. If it's someone looking for a way to get a workout on mellow trails and not interested in being challenged the hardtail will be better.

[toast2266]

^^^that's a good point. Are they trend followers? Hardtails are easier to convert into gravel bikes. Harder to convert into high pivots though.

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[Tailwind]

The answer is absolutely a $7,000 bike from 2020 that’s been ridden like 150 miles by its current owner. Try looking for something like a Yeti Sb115, ibis Ripley, pivot 429, etc.

Example : if she needs a medium haggle with this person.

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3769126/

Say budget is $2500. Would a female new to riding be happier on a lighter hardtail with decent components, or a 35+ lb entry level full suspension?

[rideit]

^^^DINGDINGDING^^^

[evdog]

Say budget is $2500. Would a female new to riding be happier on a lighter hardtail with decent components, or a 35+ lb entry level full suspension?

Check out the Costco Intense 951. One is a trail bike, the other more xc. Same as Primer and Sniper frames but with a bit lower spec, for $2k. Upgrade as stuff wears out. I've test ridden the Primer and would have bought it during covid if available. Nice pedaling bike that can handle some tech.

[Roxtar]

If you have a $2500 budget, why would you be looking at new bikes? In a market like this, where you can't give away a used bike?
Do you know what's available used for $2500?
I found a 2023 Evil Following with full XT and Factory Fox for $2500 and the seller was happy to get it.
That bike was $8500 a year ago.

[Wes Mantooth]

If you have a $2500 budget, why would you be looking at new bikes? In a market like this, where you can't give away a used bike?
Do you know what's available used for $2500?
I found a 2023 Evil Following with full XT and Factory Fox for $2500 and the seller was happy to get it.
That bike was $8500 a year ago.

I’m just speaking hypothetically since the weight vs plushness thing is interesting for smaller female riders. Of course the move in the current state of the bike market is find a ridiculous deal on a used bike


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[SchralphMacchio]

Cheap Sunrace 12sp cassette with a bent tooth. Should I attempt to bend back with needle nose pliers? Or do I risk breaking off the tooth if I try to fuck with it? There is *just* enough bend and interference that it will kind of try to pick up the chain when it’s in the next cog down and just make a skipping sound. Not so much that the chain will actually climb, but it does lift up a touch and then drop back down when it hits that tooth. I spent so much time mucking with limit screws, cable tension, and double checking b screw (Deore 12sp) until I realized the cog itself was out of alignment.

History - the bike was crashed which bent hanger and also the derailleur cage. Replaced the hanger and derailleur but didn’t even think to check the cassette. Not my bike, just doing a favor for a friend.

[Andeh]

If you have a $2500 budget, why would you be looking at new bikes? In a market like this, where you can't give away a used bike?
Do you know what's available used for $2500?
I found a 2023 Evil Following with full XT and Factory Fox for $2500 and the seller was happy to get it.
That bike was $8500 a year ago.

Amen. My brother is wanting to get back into MTB after about an 8 year hiatus, and I connected him with a friend selling him a YT Decoy carbon with 38/DHX2 Factory, Hope brakes, SRAMano wireless drivetrain, and CB carbon wheels for $3,200. New bikes are for enthusiast nuts like us, not casuals.

[climberevan]

Cheap Sunrace 12sp cassette with a bent tooth. Should I attempt to bend back with needle nose pliers? .

It's prob steel, so obviously you should try bending it back. What do you have to lose? Especially if it's one of the larger cogs it will still work even if you manage to break it off.

[SchralphMacchio]

I didn’t check the exact count but it’s about 20t in size. I guess a missing tooth is maybe better than one that grabs the chain in the next smaller cog huh? Mostly I just didn’t want to make it worse.
Back in the days of rebuildable cassettes I suppose I would have tried bending without even asking or thinking, because I could have always just swapped that cog out if nothing else!

[toast2266]

Cheap Sunrace 12sp cassette with a bent tooth. Should I attempt to bend back with needle nose pliers? Or do I risk breaking off the tooth if I try to fuck with it? There is *just* enough bend and interference that it will kind of try to pick up the chain when it’s in the next cog down and just make a skipping sound. Not so much that the chain will actually climb, but it does lift up a touch and then drop back down when it hits that tooth. I spent so much time mucking with limit screws, cable tension, and double checking b screw (Deore 12sp) until I realized the cog itself was out of alignment.

History - the bike was crashed which bent hanger and also the derailleur cage. Replaced the hanger and derailleur but didn’t even think to check the cassette. Not my bike, just doing a favor for a friend.

Bend it. If it's only a minor bend, you'll be fine. And if it's fuckered enough that it snaps while you're bending it back, then it'd probably snap while riding anyways.

[grskier]

^^^that's a good point. Are they trend followers? Hardtails are easier to convert into gravel bikes. Harder to convert into high pivots though.

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You haven't seen half these dentists with an angle grinder and welder... But for general folks maybe

[SchralphMacchio]

Bend it. If it's only a minor bend, you'll be fine. And if it's fuckered enough that it snaps while you're bending it back, then it'd probably snap while riding anyways.

As it turns out bending closely spaced teeth is pretty hard to do, but thankfully this bent 21t cog was at least the first one on the main cluster, I was able to pull the 4 smaller cogs off to get better access. Still not easy - resorted to using the curved top of a claw hammer and pushing down onto the outward facing teeth, also banging on the butt of the hammer handle with a rubber mallet and praying to Jah that the thing would not crack or collapse!
I wasn’t able to get it totally in line with the rest of the cog but at least it’s not grabbing the chain on the way up or down anymore! I guess I should be thankful that some cheap cassettes still have some removable gears. And the exercise also allowed me to confirm that the cheap ass hub driver was at least microspline should my friend ever want to upgrade the thing when it’s due for replacement.

[milestogo]

If i buy this fork do I have to use a remote lockout, or can I just use the fork mounted control?

[jamal]

You will need to use a remote, otherwise it will be locked out all the time I think being listed as "push to unlock". To change to not remote I think you have to remove the damper, disassemble it, and change the whole topcap/compression assembly