What bike do I want?

[Andeh]

Ok, good to know. No UDH is sort of a bummer on the 2.2. I kinda do want Transmission. End of last year was my first foray into wireless shifting and my experience with how bad cable shifting was on the Gnarvana makes me kinda done with it.

I can't even get a V3 in Raw alu with the Rocker 60 on their site right now anyway.

They do have black in stock...
(I agree though, the raw looks great and is "zero fucks" for maintenance.)

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeah I want a no fucks bike this time around. Not saying I am done with carbon bikes, but want to try something different. Every carbon bike I have ever owned gets THRASHED very quickly. It doesn't help that we pretty much only ride on rocks/scree most of the season up here.

[XXX-er]

Every carbon bike I have ever owned gets THRASHED very quickly. It doesn't help that we pretty much only ride on rocks/scree most of the season up here.

you ever try wrapping the frame ?

I been doing the el cheapo 25$ roll of 3M and it definatley makes a difference, what I found after 2.5 seasons is even if I drop it on rocks its the 3M that takes the hit, it may flake off but leaves the paint

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

you ever try wrapping the frame ?

I been doing the el cheapo 25$ roll of 3M and it definatley makes a difference, what I found after 2.5 seasons is even if I drop it on rocks its the 3M that takes the hit, it may flake off but leaves the paint

I probably should on the next carbon one. I am always too antsy, so once it's built I'm immediately out riding it.

[XXX-er]

I probably should on the next carbon one. I am always too antsy, so once it's built I'm immediately out riding it.

If you wrap the frame BEFORE you build the bike it will be much easier, you could do the Ridewrap for $100+ or just get a 25$ roll of 4" wide at the auto parts store and cut it your self, the idea is to just get the main spots which are gona take the hits and forget about the nooks and crannies this is the 3rd bike i have wrapped with 3M

Yeti 5.5 with the 3M stretched around some curves



like this carbon Bullit it has a 4 " piece on top of top tube/ sides of down tube/ sides of swingarm, the corners are rounded and the areas covered are mostly flat, spraying with alcohol & water will stretch the film around corners, Not bad for a bike with 2.5 seasons you can see its not just a dining room bike it gets ridden cuz there is a 1" scratch about 4 " from the head tube and some random hits between the shock and charge port, if not for the 3M I think those would be thru to the black of the carbon
Women seem to love the color lavender, it matches my dining room art and i have matching socks of course

[sfotex]

I probably should on the next carbon one. I am always too antsy, so once it's built I'm immediately out riding it.

I try to at least wrap the lower chain stays with something (I've been using silicon tape as of late) and the bottom of the down tube. Never done a complete wrap, but I always buy used bikes from dentist for cheap so they come pre-scratched.

[Andeh]

I did the wrap thing on my last bike (GG) and found that it still got scratched in all the places that I didn't have wrap, and the resale value sucked anyways, so I didn't bother with my newer ones. Fuckit, they're mountain bikes, not garage art.

[toast2266]

I try to at least wrap the lower chain stays with something (I've been using silicon tape as of late) and the bottom of the down tube. Never done a complete wrap, but I always buy used bikes from dentist for cheap so they come pre-scratched.

Same. I usually do the bottom of downtube, chainstays, and back of seatube. Then a few little pieces anywhere that gets cable rub. I'm just using the cheap-ish rolls of vinyl tape, so the whole job is a $10, 15 minute process.

[Touring_Sedan]

I've been using this stuff on the down tube, chain stays and areas where I get heel rub. It's absolutely biblical.



Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[climberevan]

I love the use of grip tape to turn it around onto the shoes. Fuck you, shoes!

My own clear tape habits have changed to just the areas that really get hammered (like stays, down tube, head tube under cables, etc.). I don't bust too much ass to get it everywhere, as rocks end up finding the gaps regardless and the tape eventually starts to peel or discolor, which looks worse than not using it at all. Plus I keep bikes for a long time so resale isn't a big deal for me.

[Touring_Sedan]

Fuck you, shoes!

Indeed

[XXX-er]

Is that ^^ a glued-on patch or a worn spot on your heel ?



I also kept bikes for a a long time until I didnt , so I just do 3M the places i know take the hits but I don't pay $$$ for the Ridewrap with 95% coverage, I did get a pretty good buck for my 5.5 so I keep doing 3M cuz IME it keeps the frame from looking thrashed.

[Touring_Sedan]

Is that ^^ a glued-on patch or a worn spot on your heel ?

Worn spot, but to be fair the shoes have about 2K miles on them. I'll probably replace them after mud season this year.

[XXX-er]

thats right thru, i would splooge a little AQS on that & cover with plastic bag until it sets up overnight

[garyfromterrace]

AQS FTW! Consistency Alejandro!

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Damn this is cheap. I have AXS with Shimano cassette on my current bike and it works pretty good, so I shouldn't say I have to have Transmission.

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3805014/

[John_B]

I feel like WRG looking for a new bike is almost like a biannual sign of spring. [emoji16]

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I feel like WRG looking for a new bike is almost like a biannual sign of spring. [emoji16]

I'm always looking for a new bike. I just rarely pull the trigger as much anymore cause i'm no longer a single dirtbag lol. I guess still sort of a dirtbag. Two years ago I would have just bought something for 5k already this year and be done with it lol.

[carlh]

I just put a Black Friday kitsuma coil on my gnarvana and wow it feels better than the cavitating x2. I know you’ve had issues with your and shred harder than me but sometimes the small upgrades are money.

I'm always looking for a new bike. I just rarely pull the trigger as much anymore cause i'm no longer a single dirtbag lol. I guess still sort of a dirtbag. Two years ago I would have just bought something for 5k already this year and be done with it lol.

[east or bust]

I just put a Black Friday kitsuma coil on my gnarvana and wow it feels better than the cavitating x2. I know you’ve had issues with your and shred harder than me but sometimes the small upgrades are money.

If you have a good shop nearby you can probably get a new 2024 X2 for free. TBD if Fox actually fixed them with the most recent redesign but why not have a backup shock on the shelf?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I just put a Black Friday kitsuma coil on my gnarvana and wow it feels better than the cavitating x2. I know you’ve had issues with your and shred harder than me but sometimes the small upgrades are money.

It's not even the ride for me. The Gnarvana rides great. I have a Push on mine (which I can tell needs service). It's the little things. Cable routing blows on that bike. It's fucking loud. You can grease and clean and check bearings etc on that bike everyday. It's gonna make noises seemingly for no reason. Also, I have a hard time continuing to ride a bike from a dead company.

[carlh]

It’s going back to fox and the new one onto pink bike classifieds sometime soon.
Not sure how much is the just functioning aspect but the coil was so much better through tech than the air that I’m plotting smashpotting my zeb now.

If you have a good shop nearby you can probably get a new 2024 X2 for free. TBD if Fox actually fixed them with the most recent redesign but why not have a backup shock on the shelf?

[Andeh]

It's not even the ride for me. The Gnarvana rides great. I have a Push on mine (which I can tell needs service). It's the little things. Cable routing blows on that bike. It's fucking loud. You can grease and clean and check bearings etc on that bike everyday. It's gonna make noises seemingly for no reason. Also, I have a hard time continuing to ride a bike from a dead company.

If you're OK with the level of frame progressivity on your Gnarvana, then the Madonna v2 should be fine (it's about the same). You flip bikes every season, so grab that one on sale, flog it for a season, and if you like it then get a v3 next winter. Otherwise move on to something else.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

If you're OK with the level of frame progressivity on your Gnarvana, then the Madonna v2 should be fine (it's about the same). You flip bikes every season, so grab that one on sale, flog it for a season, and if you like it then get a v3 next winter. Otherwise move on to something else.

That's some sound logic right there.

[GoSlowGoFar]

In a bit of a conundrum here - I have a 2022 Stevo that I built up awhile back, love the bike. Don’t plan on getting rid it of it for awhile.

However, I was looking for something a little more sprightly for some of the more xc ish trails, rides from the house, or maybe even a longer race one of these days. Ended up building up a 2023 Top Fuel Al frame that a shop had in stock. Despite carbon wheels, X01 groupset, carbon bars, the thing comes in about 2lbs heavier than the Stevo. Still rides much more supportive and higher in its travel in the rear, but with the extra couple lbs I feel I’d rather just put some fast rolling tires on the Stevo instead.

Anyone been on an Izzo, or have some recs for another frameset that won’t break the bank, to take place of the Top Fuel? Thinking like sub ~2,500ish. The Fezzari Signal Peak looked intriguing and at a good price point. I’m a bougie bitch though and can’t move past the name. Maybe just slap a Huffy decal over it?