Ask the experts

[Andeh]

Do you tighten the axle on the ground with weight on it? Even with thru axles there's a little bit of play when things aren't tightened down and things can shift a bit.

Plus hubs and axles and fork legs all flex a bit. Like how you can lean a bike over when riding straight and get some brake rub. A bigger rotor will amplify all these little bits of movement as well.

I did not, although I'm using Torque Caps and tighten the axle many ugga duggas with a long P-handle wrench.

[Supermoon]

I did not, although I'm using Torque Caps and tighten the axle many ugga duggas with a long P-handle wrench.

Your hubs tight? Spoke tension high enough? Rotor bolts?

Other than that, I would take your rotors to a shop with a rotor trying stand. There’s very little clearance in there so it could be just slightly untrue in a way that isn’t immediately clear to the naked eye.

[Dee Hubbs]

Local shop is going out of business and they are selling off all their shop tools/equipment. Any thoughts on what a fair discount relative to MSRP would be? Bunch of used Park Tool sets etc.

Do they a Phil Wood Spoke Cutter and Threading Machine to sell?
Asking for a friend (who has a tool addiction).

[Andeh]

Your hubs tight? Spoke tension high enough? Rotor bolts?

Other than that, I would take your rotors to a shop with a rotor trying stand. There’s very little clearance in there so it could be just slightly untrue in a way that isn’t immediately clear to the naked eye.

Not sure what you mean by hubs being tight. End caps are fully seated, and with axle compression they're definitely tight. Bolts are torqued to 6.2n-m per rotor spec and have loctite on threads.

My truing stand has a rotor alignment gauge, I guess I could run it in that, although in my experience I've had better luck truing a rotor on the bike with the caliper than the gauge.

[jm2e]

OK, I've got a brake question. I align my brake calipers carefully, check rotor true-ness visually. I can spin the wheel in the stand and it will be dead silent, no rub. But when I ride the bike down the street at moderate speed, I hear a kind of metallic "ting, ting, ting" sound from the front brake area. I'm running Dominion A4s with a 220mm HS2 rotor out front.

What's going on?

My guesses:
1) rotor is slightly untrue, and at higher speeds, it oscillates a tiny bit, and contacts the pads (less likely)
2) pads need the spring widened a tad more, and are a bit loose, and the vibrations of the road cause them to intermittently graze the rotor (more likely)

When this has happened to me, it's usually the rotor rubbing the caliper body. That's why it's important to push pistons back in all the way and perfectly center. the caliper to the rotor path before pulling on the lever to bring the pads out. This can get frustrating since it also tends to expose piston imbalance, as once yo do start drawing the pads out they don't always come out equally. But if you just center after the pads are drawn out, you're more likely to have rotor ting ting tinging against the caliper body. Something like this can help:
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Brake-R...a-570331456525

Other thought is that you have one little burr or dented area protruding from the rotor. I've seen this, where a rotor is pretty well trued, bu there's just one little spot that pokes out like a rotor booger. Wash your hands and caress that rotor for the smoothnesses.

edit to add: I am by no means an expert. Whatever you figure out, I'd love to know what fixes it, since I spend way too much time chasing down brake noise myself.

[Andeh]

When this has happened to me, it's usually the rotor rubbing the caliper body. That's why it's important to push pistons back in all the way and perfectly center. the caliper to the rotor path before pulling on the lever to bring the pads out. This can get frustrating since it also tends to expose piston imbalance, as once yo do start drawing the pads out they don't always come out equally. But if you just center after the pads are drawn out, you're more likely to have rotor ting ting tinging against the caliper body. Something like this can help:
https://www.amazon.com/Hayes-Brake-R...a-570331456525

Other thought is that you have one little burr or dented area protruding from the rotor. I've seen this, where a rotor is pretty well trued, bu there's just one little spot that pokes out like a rotor booger. Wash your hands and caress that rotor for the smoothnesses.

edit to add: I am by no means an expert. Whatever you figure out, I'd love to know what fixes it, since I spend way too much time chasing down brake noise myself.

I'll give that a shot (pushing pistons fully back), thanks. I've got that tool, but haven't bothered using it with the A4s since the Crosshair system is so easy. I was doing some experimentation swapping wheels back and forth (keeping same rotor with same caliper), and could see how maybe the pistons got unevenly advanced.

[XtrPickels]

I'll give that a shot (pushing pistons fully back), thanks. I've got that tool, but haven't bothered using it with the A4s since the Crosshair system is so easy. I was doing some experimentation swapping wheels back and forth (keeping same rotor with same caliper), and could see how maybe the pistons got unevenly advanced.

How are your wheel bearings?

[volklpowdermaniac]

Maybe a testy subject , maybe deserves own thread but can anyone here give a decent overview of the mountain bike scene in the Silicon Valley corridor and the peninsula, i? More of a 10000 foot view than specific rides. Coming from seattle (want to return eventually but Job opportunity won't be around here fair a few years) and considering a couple locations. Obviousyly I've read and studied Trailforks and the same couple areas keep coming up - skeggs, Corte de madre, soquel, but I guess I wonder is that stuff like after work rideable type of close? Is there stuff in closer for your 10-12 mile loop? Is it more costal type riding or inland? Lots of websites make recommendations on trails but it's hard for me to understand the overall types of riding on these trails, and then people seem to talk about a lot of fire road riding too in the area? Would likely have to live between Los Altos hills to the south and San Carlos to the north. Just trying to understand the overall type / difficulty of riding and the vibe/scene in the area.


Cost of living is obviously the biggest facto, but for these purposes really just trying to consider the riding

[Andeh]

Maybe a testy subject , maybe deserves own thread but can anyone here give a decent overview of the mountain bike scene in the Silicon Valley corridor and the peninsula, i? More of a 10000 foot view than specific rides. Coming from seattle (want to return eventually but Job opportunity won't be around here fair a few years) and considering a couple locations. Obviousyly I've read and studied Trailforks and the same couple areas keep coming up - skeggs, Corte de madre, soquel, but I guess I wonder is that stuff like after work rideable type of close? Is there stuff in closer for your 10-12 mile loop? Is it more costal type riding or inland? Lots of websites make recommendations on trails but it's hard for me to understand the overall types of riding on these trails, and then people seem to talk about a lot of fire road riding too in the area? Would likely have to live between Los Altos hills to the south and San Carlos to the north. Just trying to understand the overall type / difficulty of riding and the vibe/scene in the area.


Cost of living is obviously the biggest facto, but for these purposes really just trying to consider the riding

Most of the good riding in the Bay is not going to be on Trailforks. Beyond what you find there, there are also trails in Pacifica/Montara, El Granada/Half Moon Bay, and out in the east Bay in Briones, plus of course a ton down in Santa Cruz. I'm not really breaking fight club rules by naming any of those because you can find videos for all of those up on YouTube. I'd say it's mostly coastal. The stuff inland I'm less familiar with (I live in EG/HMB) but by reputation east bay is more rolling trails. And it gets hot as fuck in the summer. The coast stays about 20-30 degrees cooler.

[Dromond]

Maybe a testy subject , maybe deserves own thread but can anyone here give a decent overview of the mountain bike scene in the Silicon Valley corridor and the peninsula, i? More of a 10000 foot view than specific rides. Coming from seattle (want to return eventually but Job opportunity won't be around here fair a few years) and considering a couple locations. Obviousyly I've read and studied Trailforks and the same couple areas keep coming up - skeggs, Corte de madre, soquel, but I guess I wonder is that stuff like after work rideable type of close? Is there stuff in closer for your 10-12 mile loop? Is it more costal type riding or inland? Lots of websites make recommendations on trails but it's hard for me to understand the overall types of riding on these trails, and then people seem to talk about a lot of fire road riding too in the area? Would likely have to live between Los Altos hills to the south and San Carlos to the north. Just trying to understand the overall type / difficulty of riding and the vibe/scene in the area.


Cost of living is obviously the biggest facto, but for these purposes really just trying to consider the riding

After spending some time riding here in the Seattle area with someone from the south bay, my take was that for every day mountain biking it sounded like a huge downgrade. Not that there is no good riding but that the trail systems tend to be much smaller, or lower quality or farther from where you are likely to live.

[Andeh]

How are your wheel bearings?

Fresh as of like a month ago.

I ran the rotors through the truing stand, again. Pushed the pistons back. Bent the pad springs back. Very carefully recentered the calipers again. One of those things is bound to fix it, once it stops pouring rain.

[SchralphMacchio]

Maybe a testy subject , maybe deserves own thread but can anyone here give a decent overview of the mountain bike scene in the Silicon Valley corridor and the peninsula, i? More of a 10000 foot view than specific rides. Coming from seattle (want to return eventually but Job opportunity won't be around here fair a few years) and considering a couple locations. Obviousyly I've read and studied Trailforks and the same couple areas keep coming up - skeggs, Corte de madre, soquel, but I guess I wonder is that stuff like after work rideable type of close? Is there stuff in closer for your 10-12 mile loop? Is it more costal type riding or inland? Lots of websites make recommendations on trails but it's hard for me to understand the overall types of riding on these trails, and then people seem to talk about a lot of fire road riding too in the area? Would likely have to live between Los Altos hills to the south and San Carlos to the north. Just trying to understand the overall type / difficulty of riding and the vibe/scene in the area.


Cost of living is obviously the biggest facto, but for these purposes really just trying to consider the riding

10k view:
Peninsula riding is limited (Skeggs IS El Corte de Madeira) but nice for what it is. There is a long history of rule enforcement on the Peninsula (poaching and after hours riding).
Are the Carlmont jumps still a thing?
Coastal riding is off the books and from what I can tell, very entertaining (I never sampled it).
Santa Cruz riding is great, lots on and off the books.
Soquel Demo is a scene (parking lot is a zoo on weekends but plenty of room to spread out on trails), also the road washed out again and I’m not sure how long it will take to rebuild after all these rains.
East Bay usually isn’t worth the drive unless you have some good bros(ephinas) you want to meet up with.
Riding season is longer than Seattle, soil conditions and scenery not quite as good. When skiing sucks MTB is good and when MTB sucks usually the skiing is good!
If you can expand your willingness to drive to 1.5 hours then I think there is enough to keep most people entertained.

[volklpowdermaniac]

10k view:
Peninsula riding is limited (Skeggs IS El Corte de Madeira) but nice for what it is. There is a long history of rule enforcement on the Peninsula (poaching and after hours riding).
Are the Carlmont jumps still a thing?
Coastal riding is off the books and from what I can tell, very entertaining (I never sampled it).
Santa Cruz riding is great, lots on and off the books.
Soquel Demo is a scene (parking lot is a zoo on weekends but plenty of room to spread out on trails), also the road washed out again and I’m not sure how long it will take to rebuild after all these rains.
East Bay usually isn’t worth the drive unless you have some good bros(ephinas) you want to meet up with.
Riding season is longer than Seattle, soil conditions and scenery not quite as good. When skiing sucks MTB is good and when MTB sucks usually the skiing is good!
If you can expand your willingness to drive to 1.5 hours then I think there is enough to keep most people entertained.

Thanks. Perfect. And thanks to Andeh and others.

[nickwm21]

I’ll add to the Bay Area convo…. Most of the trails (at least on the east side ) shouldn’t be ridden in the wet, unlike the PNW. Just another factor….


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[SchralphMacchio]

The nice thing about NorCal, unlike the PNW is that it’s usually feast or famine with rain, so things can drain once the rain stops and temps climb up (probably not this winter, but in most other winters there are times you can ride). Unlike in the PNW where you see blue skies for like 5-10 minutes then it’s gone for the next 5-10 days.

Parts of Skeggs can handle some moisture. It’s more of a place for a 120mm 29er than a 165 mm smash bike though.

Let’s put it this way, unless you are hitting some of the off the book jumps and steep semi-freeride stuff, something like an SB130 or 5010 with a 36 fork is pretty ideal for the Bay Area. I had initially built my Bronson with a 160mm air spring and when I dropped it to 150 I immediately got faster on all my regular rides.

[volklpowdermaniac]

The nice thing about NorCal, unlike the PNW is that it’s usually feast or famine with rain, so things can drain once the rain stops and temps climb up (probably not this winter, but in most other winters there are times you can ride). Unlike in the PNW where you see blue skies for like 5-10 minutes then it’s gone for the next 5-10 days.

Parts of Skeggs can handle some moisture. It’s more of a place for a 120mm 29er than a 165 mm smash bike though.

Let’s put it this way, unless you are hitting some of the off the book jumps and steep semi-freeride stuff, something like an SB130 or 5010 with a 36 fork is pretty ideal for the Bay Area. I had initially built my Bronson with a 160mm air spring and when I dropped it to 150 I immediately got faster on all my regular rides.

Very interesting good ongoing beta.

Right now I’m at status 160 with 170 fork and a coil
Epic EVO
And steel hard tail , so perhaps would condense that til I can get back to PNW.


This may be an insanely obvious answer, but….
What’s easier getting from east Denver (I’ve lived all over Colorado but surprisingly never in Denver proper, and certainly not on eastern side of the city where I would need to be for work) to apex/three sisters, white ranch etc at 4pm on a weekday in the summer, or getting to some of the closer good riding in the Bay Area at the same day and time.

[rideit]

Could you live in, say, Wheatridge?

[volklpowdermaniac]

Could you live in, say, Wheatridge?

I wish, but don't think it's feasible. Believe me, it would be perfect. Such is life, and thankfully only temporary

[Andeh]

Very interesting good ongoing beta.

Right now I’m at status 160 with 170 fork and a coil
Epic EVO
And steel hard tail , so perhaps would condense that til I can get back to PNW.


This may be an insanely obvious answer, but….
What’s easier getting from east Denver (I’ve lived all over Colorado but surprisingly never in Denver proper, and certainly not on eastern side of the city where I would need to be for work) to apex/three sisters, white ranch etc at 4pm on a weekday in the summer, or getting to some of the closer good riding in the Bay Area at the same day and time.

Which tech campus would you be at? Direction of travel matters a lot, especially at that time. SF/SSF to Pacifica / HMB / Skeggs wouldn't be a big deal, but Menlo Park down to SC would be bumper to bumper traffic.

[volklpowdermaniac]

Basically heart of Palo Alto would be offices. Which believe me not my first choice. Denver would be working closer to like Anshultz 225 type area

[grskier]

I missed the boat on getting anything for my 19/V1 Megatower. So I've started putting money into it.
New bars
New brakes
Better pedals
new drivetrain (11-12 speed xt)

I'm using this bike as my long travel trail bike.. it's my only MTB right now. If anything I may add a down country-ish bike or cut my losses and replace with a 130/140 ish travel trail bike.... but that's like a year out.
I have a gravel bike I like riding from the house here, so it scratches that itch for now.

This year I was thinking of upgrading suspension.
Ideas -
Front end has a Fox 36 with a FIT 4 damper and it's set up 160mm travel.
Options:
Upgrade FIT 4 to Grip 2 Damper: $360
Change out Airspring to 170mm - this will update geo a bit, but make it more enduro-ish vs. trail ish. - $50
question 1 - Would I get away with a MRP Ramp Control Pro Cartridge instead of the Grip 2 Damper? - $180
If I can, I'd likely start looking at the back of the bike. Unlike many, I like the Super Deluxe Ultimate I have. many call it harsh, I like it as I ride enough flowy stuff I can pump and feel supported.

Nobody wanted to tell me how to spend $$.


That may be a first


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[Sandbox]

Installed a new press fit BB onto my Chromag Primer frame. The cranks spin very slowly ( basically one rotation when hand spun with no chain. Now is this just a symptom of a ton of new grease in the bearings and the fact my garage is very cold?? Just don’t think there should be that much resistance


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[smmokan]

Nobody wanted to tell me how to spend $$.


That may be a first


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I've got some brand new Magura MT7 Pros (still in box) I'll let go pretty cheap. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

[Andeh]

Basically heart of Palo Alto would be offices. Which believe me not my first choice. Denver would be working closer to like Anshultz 225 type area

Closest riding to PA would be Skeggs or El Granada, looks like about 45 min on avg at 4pm weekdays according to Google Maps. Once you get onto 84 or 92, it will be easy driving, but 101 and 280 will be slow near PA/Stanford/Menlo Park/etc.

[Andeh]

Nobody wanted to tell me how to spend $$.


That may be a first


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The v1 Megatower definitely rode like a long travel trail bike. Basically like a Hightower LT with a bit more. Nothing wrong with that bike at all as a quiver of 1. I'd agree at losing the 36 FIT4. If you really want it to be more enduro-y, then just sell that fork and get a Zeb or 38 170. If you want to keep it as a trail bike, I'd still sell the 36 and get a '22 Lyrik Ultimate 160 with Buttercups. It will feel stiffer than the 36, and the damper is miles better.