There's a few cross videos on youtube. They help. Try and be smooth is key. I hafta get rid of the hop on my dismount. While I'm not competetive (as in for the win) I'd still like to not lose places at the ends of runups.

32-hole Open Pros on D/A or Ultegra hubs (or Velocity Aeroheads, or...) are great cross wheels. Find some O4CDs or older Reflex clinchers for cheep and bash the snot out of em. :nod

Even better are tubulars (Escape, Reflex, etc), :tb but that requires a somewhat spendy buy-in of tires, learning to glue, etc. But BOY HOWDY to the tubulars ride better! :nod

34-32? holy easy pedaling Batman! I'm usually runnin a 34-25/26t big cog on my cross bike. A 32t cog'd be like a mtn bike for me! (See comment of 'if yer riding THAT slow, yer better off running :D)

BUT... don't think I'm harshin on ya. I'm happy yer out riding the thing! Go for it! :thumb

M

Ouch!

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...6360813226.jpg

Looks like home slice is about to get his shit run over!

:eek1

No bueno!

Graham Watson did something similar a bit back

M

for primarily pavement riding on a mtn bike, I really like the Specialized Hemisphere Armadillo tires. thornproof (kevlar liners), 1.9" high pressure semi-slicks, ride great.

I've tried putting thinner slicks on a mountainbike, made the wheels too light and made the handling squirrely.

I always get my tires from a LBS.

I predict massive shoulder surgery occurred after that scene.

"Damn Jetta exhausts are always falling off. Hand me the fuckin' baling wire, would ya'?"

My local Trek dealer rocks.

Dropped off my Bontrager Select with the cracked rim eyelets last week.

Just picked up a brand new Race Lite replacement, covered by warranty.

Aero spokes, radial laced on the non-drive side, even got the extra fancy skewer with it.

It's the fanciest piece of bike kit I've got now. I think I'm just gonna hang it on the wall. It's too pretty to be hauling my fat ass around. :lol3

This is awesome. Don't know if I could ever ride a trail jumping onto those skinny bridges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gloeXuBQFPY

Quick Cyclocross bike question: Felt F1X or Redline Conquest Pro?

:scratch

While I do not intend to actually compete in a Cyclocross event this season, I hope to make it to a few clinics and maybe even some practices.

:dunno

Looking for buying advice.
A friend of mine is thinking of buying a mountain bike. She is tiny (just 5'0") and pretty thin but solid. She has almost no mountain bike experience but she is super aggressive with everything she does and i expect her to be an animal on a bike quickly. She is a hardcore rock climber and bouldering fiend.
I know I always needed better gear since I was around 200 lbs. and always broke stuff. She is about 100 pounds so I think she'd less likely break parts than I would.
Anyone have an idea of a good entry level (i.e. cheap) rigid or cross country dual suspension ride? If there are any closeouts even better for her.
I figure she is going to be a 12 or 13" but not one shop that I have seen in NYC has any tiny actual mountain bikes on display to size her with.

http://nycbikes.com

They have a 13 incher on their webpage and they'll build anything up or down to the customer's specs.

http://www.nycbikes.com/images/items/_mid_510_1.jpg

Saw them in a mag a few years ago and just thought I'd pass it along.

Thanks, but she'll pass on them. There bikes are not any kind of deal and their frames are only so-so. Oh and as an added bonus I know Will the owner and I am not his biggest fan.
But seriously I appreciate the recommendation, just not a fan.

I eMailed him quite sometime ago and he didn't come across as Mr. Personality so I can see where you're coming from.

Tandem mountain bike
 

Here the wife and I's latest mountain bike. I've enjoyed introducing her to mtn. biking. But the going has been slow while she build's confidence and I don't get the rush or exercise I want. We've wanted a good tandem for a long time now. Finally got it (Ventana Conquistador FS) a couple weeks ago and many months wait. It's a beast and adds a whole new dimension to the trail. It's a blast. (sorry no photos off the vehicle yet). The wife's 5'1 and I'm 5'7. The frame is 17" for the captain and 14" for the stoker (her). It's the smallest size mtn tandem we've ever found in our research. If you're in decent shape, the bike flies over everything (except switchbacks, which are their own challenge). We've had a nice fall, in tandem, with the clipless pedals. I also ride a 29" gary fisher hardtail and have a FS downhill rig.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...r/IMG_0557.jpg

that looks more like a BMX bike with gears than a proper XC bike ??

proper XC full suspension bikes are NOT cheap. anything full suspension much under $1200-1800 is likely pretty close to junk. just a basic set of Fox Float forks is close to half that....

Specialized has a line of woman's frame sizes, which might be a good fit, I think are designed with a longer torso and shorter legs in mind (or maybe its the other way around?). I'd look at a base model in the Stumpjumper hardtail line to start with.