General question - generally speaking are the gear ratios different or the same when you compare mountain bikes to road bikes? I feel like my MTB could use a higher gear but perhaps I'm just smokin dat der crack.
You might use a road type of pairing when riding on the road.. but you've got to have f'n tree trunks for legs if you were thinking about gearing yoru MTB like a road bike. The big ring on a MTB is usually a 44, and roadies are 50something.. many mountain bikers hardly use their big ring and replace them with bash guards. For the most part when you're climbing you'll want to use the gearing to get you up the hill unless you're an extremely strong rider. One of my biggest problems when I first started out was not using the "granny" gear, which actually made me slower in the end since my cadence was killed. for comparison to momods gearing, I have an 11-34 9 speed rear, and 26/34/44 up front. Only time I use the big ring is on the way to the trails (besides I'm missing a tooth off of it anyways from hopping a big rock.)
You might use a road type of pairing when riding on the road.. but you've got to have f'n tree trunks for legs if you were thinking about gearing yoru MTB like a road bike. The big ring on a MTB is usually a 44, and roadies are 50something.. many mountain bikers hardly use their big ring and replace them with bash guards. For the most part when you're climbing you'll want to use the gearing to get you up the hill unless you're an extremely strong rider. One of my biggest problems when I first started out was not using the "granny" gear, which actually made me slower in the end since my cadence was killed. for comparison to momods gearing, I have an 11-34 9 speed rear, and 26/34/44 up front. Only time I use the big ring is on the way to the trails (besides I'm missing a tooth off of it anyways from hopping a big rock.)
Thanks for the insight - I appreciate it.
I haven't been on here a few days and I wanted to give a follow up from my accident last week.
I needed a new front wheel and a shop generously donated a spare used wheel that they had lying around. Aside from that I haven't had to replace anything on the bike. My laptop's screen got broken in the crash and I had my parents send me an old laptop that they had. A couple days later my roommate didn't lock the door to the house after coming in drunk early in the morning and both our laptops got stolen. It didn't bother me too much because I liked not having a laptop. I've also contacted some of my friends who are local lawyers and they have agreed to help me try to get the ticket dismissed / avoid paying any damages because it is difficult to assign fault in this case.
Ultimately this has been a positive experience for me. I've first had to let go of my car, and now my computer. I find that I now spend much less time screwing around inside and more time screwing around outside. I've also been eating a cheaper diet(saving up in case I have to pay damages)... mostly rice and beans versus the pounds and pounds of meat I usually put down. I keep telling myself that I'm not turning into a tree hugging hippie... I'm simply trying something different.
I originally started mountain biking for cardio but then fell in love with it. Right now I'm logging 150 miles/week.
Dang, you must be eating a LOT of calories to support that! Back a few months ago I was training for a 100 mile MTB race and I dropped almost 40 pounds and that was eating about 4,000 calories a day too. I was training about the same, 150-200 miles/week at the time.
I originally started mountain biking for cardio but then fell in love with it. Right now I'm logging 150 miles/week.
what kind of miles are those? Trails or road, hills or flat? How many sessions do you break that into? Just curious. If I were to guess at how many miles a week I do I'd probably say ~70 which averages to 10 a day which sounds like a reasonable range for me. It's all flat urban riding.
got a question and i've tried searching online for it but can't find what I need.
Ok I just bought a 12 speed bike it seems to be kind of old but no older than early 90's. How do I use the gears? You can change the gears the same amount on each side. This might be confusing but I'll try to explain.
Online it says for like an 18 speed it will have 3 settings on left handlebar and 6 on right
Mine is a 12 speed and has the same amount on each so I can't figure out what would be best for uphill/downhill etc.
Let me know if i need to clear this up more
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got a question and i've tried searching online for it but can't find what I need.
Ok I just bought a 12 speed bike it seems to be kind of old but no older than early 90's. How do I use the gears? You can change the gears the same amount on each side. This might be confusing but I'll try to explain.
Online it says for like an 18 speed it will have 3 settings on left handlebar and 6 on right
Mine is a 12 speed and has the same amount on each so I can't figure out what would be best for uphill/downhill etc.
Let me know if i need to clear this up more
Left side handlebar will be your front gears and right side will be your rear. If your left side has more than 1 or 2 clicks (depending on how many rings you have) than there may be something broken.
My guess is your left should be 1 (2 front rings) and your right should be 5 (6 rear rings)... ala 12 speeds.
Post a closeup photo of the drivetrain so we can give exact advice.
Also WATCH THIS:
Last edited by SuperFabulous; 10-07-2008 at 12:04 PM.
Dang, you must be eating a LOT of calories to support that! Back a few months ago I was training for a 100 mile MTB race and I dropped almost 40 pounds and that was eating about 4,000 calories a day too. I was training about the same, 150-200 miles/week at the time.
I'm currently cutting but riding 150miles per week made me lose too much strength. I now cut it to about 80 miles/week. I'm only eating 2500 cals also.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdan
what kind of miles are those? Trails or road, hills or flat? How many sessions do you break that into? Just curious. If I were to guess at how many miles a week I do I'd probably say ~70 which averages to 10 a day which sounds like a reasonable range for me. It's all flat urban riding.
I'm currently cutting but riding 150miles per week made me lose too much strength. I now cut it to about 80 miles/week. I'm only eating 2500 cals also.
Its mostly flat urban riding.
Thats pretty cool. I do pretty much the same thing. Here is a picture from yesterday's ride. I don't take many pictures on "the trail" and need to start taking some more. This is a shot from the levy on the Mississippi river. A hundred yards or so behind where this shot was taken is the infamous industrial canal of new orleans. Riding my bike in this area reminded me a little of playing the game Half Life 2.
You might use a road type of pairing when riding on the road.. but you've got to have f'n tree trunks for legs if you were thinking about gearing yoru MTB like a road bike. The big ring on a MTB is usually a 44, and roadies are 50something.. many mountain bikers hardly use their big ring and replace them with bash guards. For the most part when you're climbing you'll want to use the gearing to get you up the hill unless you're an extremely strong rider. One of my biggest problems when I first started out was not using the "granny" gear, which actually made me slower in the end since my cadence was killed. for comparison to momods gearing, I have an 11-34 9 speed rear, and 26/34/44 up front. Only time I use the big ring is on the way to the trails (besides I'm missing a tooth off of it anyways from hopping a big rock.)
I had my largest crank ring gear changed to a larger one for road riding. Yes, I have large legs, but I like to road ride more than on trails.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcpombomb
I'm currently cutting but riding 150miles per week made me lose too much strength. I now cut it to about 80 miles/week. I'm only eating 2500 cals also.
Its mostly flat urban riding.
You're cutting on 2500 cals with that kind of cardio load?!?!?!? You need to up your cals about 800 and your strenth will return. At 150 miles a week, I lose 2lb/ week and my strength goes literally unchanged on 4500 cals.
Anyhoo, the riding has come back for a few more weeks here, I'm at 4868 miles for the summer and I should be able to get close to 5,000 mile mark shortly. I dropped my riding back for a few weeks because of work. I still do an hour of spin each day during the week.
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So I was riding Wednesday night at about 8 at night, and I ruined the front end of my Dawes road bike. I couldn't see it, but there was pitfall about 5 inches deep in the road. It knocked of the chain, and was pretty sure it flatted my tire. I fixed the chain and rode home about a quarter mile. The next day I fixed the flat, but when I tried to put it back on, but it wouldn't go on. I don't know if the forks jacked up or the wheel is, but I was pissed. 1 month and 200 for the bike plus 30 dollars in flats down the drain.
So today I went out to the pawns looking for something a little cheaper and a lot more durable. For 30 I picked up this Huffy Blade mountain bike thing. Can't find to much on them, they first came out around 95 and was made in the USA. After adjusting everything I rode around 10 mi doing all the stuff I couldn't do on my road bike. It was fun and reminded me of when I was 8 beating the crap out of my cheap Wal-Mart mountain bike. I would like to go riding off road, but Dallas doesn't really have nature, but we have crappy road that can be just as good.
For the other bike, well I threw it in the shed and I don't even want to look at it. Maybe one day, when I have money, I'll fix, paint, and maybe convert it to a fixed gear.
has been a while, anyway does anyone know how/where I can find out about Haro serial numbers... thinking of buying an older one online (to muck around with) but I cannot find a reference on the net for the serial number... not that its a huge deal as I will be trashing it anyway but I just want to know for my own gratification
"Once someone asked me what pleasure I got out of riding my bike for so long. "Pleasure?" I asked. "I don't understand the question. I didn't do it for pleasure. I did it for pain". ...Lance Armstrong
has been a while, anyway does anyone know how/where I can find out about Haro serial numbers... thinking of buying an older one online (to muck around with) but I cannot find a reference on the net for the serial number... not that its a huge deal as I will be trashing it anyway but I just want to know for my own gratification
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration plans to make it easier for mountain bikers to gain access to national parks and other public lands before the president ? an avid cyclist himself ? leaves office.
The National Park Service confirmed Tuesday that it is preparing a rule that will allow decisions about some mountain bike trails to be made by park managers instead of federal regulators in Washington, a process that can take years. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/271837...287/?GT1=45002
well, the championship race was yesterday, and even though i was feeling good, i'm still not where i was before the injury. A couple of more weeks and i would have been in prime form, but i didn't have a couple more weeks!!! i struggled with gates in my motos, but got a little better each time as i got more comfortable. In the main, i had a great gate and was in a fight for first, but rubbed tires and had to back down to avoid falling. I quickly went from fighting for first, to trying to hold on to 4th.had a strong second straight and was back in the mix. A bobble in the third straight kept a podium finish out of my reach, as i crossed the line in 4th. It was good enough for a 2nd over-all for the year, but i would have liked to finished a bit stronger in the championship race.
thanks to www.vengeanceclothingltd.com for sticking by me when i was down with injury. these guys are great--please check them out when you get a chance.
taking a week off to rest my brain, then it will be back to training for next year. i plan to add a little mountainbike racing into the mix next year as well.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWils0n
Mountain biking in AZ FTW
I've ridden in Sedona, Flagstaff and White Horse or House(something like that). The big mountain in Flagstaff was closed to bikes when I was there because of potential forest fires. I'd like to go back and try it when it's open.
hi guys I'm glad to have found this thread! I recently started biking again due and has found a new love. Tomorrow I'm gonna do a sprint triathlon with a giant mountain bike, wish me luck lol.
"This is a thread to talk about outdoor riding and all things bike. Please do not clog it up with "post whoring", and goofball pics. Thread topic replies ONLY"
My style of ride is city type. I don't do much offroad riding....i like to keep my bike clean.
Trek Y5 dual pig, XT all around with Niterider front and rear.
Hey, I left a bodyspace message for ya...
Anyway, Im trying to get back into doing some biking and was trying to find a good bike for some off-road trails that wasn't going to be over $500. I live in Oklahoma, so there's not many places to go... but I plan on making the most out of whats available. Any bike suggestions?
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Hey, I left a bodyspace message for ya...
Anyway, Im trying to get back into doing some biking and was trying to find a good bike for some off-road trails that wasn't going to be over $500. I live in Oklahoma, so there's not many places to go... but I plan on making the most out of whats available. Any bike suggestions?
First thing I would recommend it to take a look at the Craig's List in your area and see what's for sale. With a $500 budget, IMO you're much better off going used. The popular brands such as Specialized, Trek, Iron Horse, Etc. will have replacement parts more readily available if need be. Also with $500 you'll probably want to go with front suspension and solid rear to keep costs down.
Ebay is also a great place to look but then you have to deal with shipping and that eats into the budget.
Hey everyone. This is the first time posting in the Recreation forum. I wish I would've saw this thread earlier. I ride an older Trek on the road, Fat boy in the dirt. I've developed a HUGE interest in downhill due to friends getting bikes and what not. I finally saved up enough money to get the Specialized Demo 8, http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkM...=39209&eid=101
Anyways, I'm really excited to get some experience on it and try out Mammoth Mt, CA. Next summer!
First thing I would recommend it to take a look at the Craig's List in your area and see what's for sale. With a $500 budget, IMO you're much better off going used. The popular brands such as Specialized, Trek, Iron Horse, Etc. will have replacement parts more readily available if need be. Also with $500 you'll probably want to go with front suspension and solid rear to keep costs down.
Ebay is also a great place to look but then you have to deal with shipping and that eats into the budget.
Thanks for the help. My dad was involved with freewheel for a good portion of his life and started to get into mountain biking... then broke his leg & his arthritis started getting to him. I guess it's in my blood to start biking at 22
My budget is kindof small... but that goes with the territory of being in college I guess. I just wanted something that would be of good quality and last a while. I really appreciate the suggestion! I'll have to check out Craigs list.... maybe I can find a good deal.
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I do not believe there is a resale price guide for bikes but I usually go by Ebay, which will give you up to the moment pricing as to what that bike will sell for. That is, if the bike is listed. I do not see the particular model you reference on Ebay right now.
If the bike is in demand with a high-end group you can probably get somewhere between 50%-70% in two years. A tri specific bike might be harder to sell than a normal road bike.
That is a very nice bike you're looking at but I do not believe worth anywhere near $4,000. MSRP is $4999, and since the 2009's are coming out now, that bike is 5 years old. I would say that bike is worth somewhere between $2,000 - $2,500.
If you have a $4,000 budget, you could easily build up a full carbon fiber dura-ace bike, possibly with cash to spare. And I'm definately not telling you how to spend your money but you can get a really nice tri bike with Ultegra for about $1,500.
Last edited by SuperFabulous; 10-27-2008 at 06:17 AM.
You need to up your cals about 800 and your strenth will return. At 150 miles a week, I lose 2lb/ week and my strength goes literally unchanged on 4500 cals.
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