vvill’s N + 1 Pointless Prize
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@hozn 136179 wrote:
That was my first mountain bike. It actually is an adequate bike for any mountain biking in the region
I enjoyed the GT so much that I decided I would try to find one of the new Zaskars — yes, in 29″, I do enjoy the big wheels. Finally a like-new frame came up on ebay this winter and now my mountain bike is once again a GT hardtail. Full circle.
My first was a GT Bullet. It was an “18 speed” and I LOVED that bike! I’ve owned 3 different GT’s, loved them all. Triple Triangle FTW!!
@QuikAF77 136207 wrote:
Triple Triangle FTW!!
Yesssss. I like the GT Edge road bikes they made too. They even came out with a new Ti version a few years ago.
@hozn 136179 wrote:
That was my first mountain bike. It actually is an adequate bike for any mountain biking in the region
I enjoyed the GT so much that I decided I would try to find one of the new Zaskars — yes, in 29″, I do enjoy the big wheels. Finally a like-new frame came up on ebay this winter and now my mountain bike is once again a GT hardtail. Full circle.
I was gawking online at one of the Hans Rey Zaskars a couple of years ago on sale at Performance to replace my GT Avalanche 3.0. I now have my Salsa 29er hardtail but still enjoy the GT and incidentally it ended up as the bike with the most number of rides last year (104 – mostly very short kidical rides) – even my road bike only had 97 rides. I have good memories of my brother’s red GT in the 90s (while I had a Diamondback) and the triple triangle that was soooo coooool. Both those 26″ rigid bikes ended up getting stolen.
The funny thing is that after riding around on my Salsa 29er and being amazed how easy it is to just ride over everything whilst finding it slightly unwieldy for my size I threw the original MTB tires back onto the Avalanche and ended up appreciating it more riding a few easy trails (fork is just a rigid Surly now). I feel like ultimately I may be better off on a bike with 26/27.5 capabilities but with my lack of MTB skills I’m not going to test that out anytime soon, and will just stick with what I have until I get more MTB experience.
N = 2
On travel in CA, I failed at obtaining a bike at China Lake, my T/W stop. I located two bike shops in Ridgecrest, the town outside the gates of the navy base. Both were closed on Monday, the day I arrived. Both opened too late and closed too early for me to make it there before/after my work meetings.
Thursday, however, I had a morning meeting at Port Heuneme, and a redeye flight out of LAX, which gave me ample time to stop by the beach in Santa Monica and try out their bike share.
This is where I admit I’ve never ridden a CaBi. I assume this was similar. I can certainly see and appreciate the utility of this bike as a “last mile” transportation option, but for a pleasure ride, honestly I found it more annoying and uncomfortable than actually enjoyable. I did find it a *bit* less annoying once I adjusted to the extra effort it took to get it moving and steer it in comparison to what I’m used to. I almost dropped it on myself when I first hopped on it and started off, only to have it almost fall over (or so it felt) because I didn’t push off hard enough to get it upright and moving forward.
N=3 Specialized Tricross Disc
I have two wheelsets for this bike so I can switch it between slicks and knobbies per my whims without having to actually change the tires. Yes, I am lazy. 😮
2/21/16 in “Gravel bike” mode with knobbie 40s after a fun ride at (mini) Monster Cross
3/5/16 as “Errand runner/all-rounder” with 25 slicks (which are really too narrow for this use of the bike, but they still had life left in them when I took them off the road bike, so I put them on here until I wear them out or get tired of them. 28s or 32s would be better), rear rack and panniers, home from yoga (much needed after previously mentioned redeye).
N=14 eminva’s Volagi Viaje
3/7/2016
Coming back from pancakes this morning I swapped Viaje’s with Liz. Hers is a 50 and feels decidedly smaller than my 53. The ride felt nice and smooth as always likely due to the steel frame and cushy MSO 40s she has. Her Viaje has ulterga for which I admit a degree of jealousy. I do love the black color scheme too.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]11175[/ATTACH]
3/08/2016
N=5
https://www.strava.com/activities/511658652
So yeah being friends with Cyndi has its advantages. You get to ride her cool bikes when she pilfers yours to rack up the Ns. I had a pretty great revelation too – I loved her narrow handlebars. Super comfortable. Only change I would make to the bike itself would be skinnier tires. 28s on a Liscio is like having Usain Bolt run the 100 in Uggs.
@QuikAF77 136311 wrote:
N=6, My 1994 Cadex CFR3 road bike. Cadex was a sub brand of Giant back in the day. This bike was fairly high tech for it’s time with carbon tubing held together by aluminum lugs. It has an aluminum fork though, carbon forks were too expensive for this bikes price point of $1,000. My Dad bought it for me from a riding buddy when I was 15 or so. He had upgraded it to Campy Chorus, Mavic SUP rims, and a Chris King headset. Alas, only that headset remains. It has gone through many drivetrain permutations since then. I upgraded it to Sram Rival 22 last fall and love it. I’ve always loved this bike, it has a unique look I really enjoy. It may not be as light or stiff as modern roadbikes, but with its short chainstays it is very nimble, and at a hair under 20 lbs still light enough to climb quickly.
https://www.strava.com/activities/511135195I instantly recognized that bike when I saw this activity pop up on Strava! Very nice one to keep in the stable (I happen to love lugs). And anything under 20lbs is light in my book.
@Subby 136328 wrote:
So yeah being friends with Cyndi has its advantages. You get to ride her cool bikes when she pilfers yours to rack up the Ns. I had a pretty great revelation too – I loved her narrow handlebars. Super comfortable. Only change I would make to the bike itself would be skinnier tires. 28s on a Liscio is like having Usain Bolt run the 100 in Uggs.
Really curious to see how she felt on the fixed gear!! Glad you got to try that bike – I really enjoyed it and those handlebars too.
@QuikAF77 136165 wrote:
N = 5, Dad’s GT Avalanche 3.0. It felt strange to be on a 26″ mountain bike, it was so little compared to my 650b Kona. Seems like an adequate bike for the mild off-roading my Dad does.
https://www.strava.com/activities/508530338@hozn 136179 wrote:
That was my first mountain bike. It actually is an adequate bike for any mountain biking in the region
I enjoyed the GT so much that I decided I would try to find one of the new Zaskars — yes, in 29″, I do enjoy the big wheels. Finally a like-new frame came up on ebay this winter and now my mountain bike is once again a GT hardtail. Full circle.
You guys just sent me on a nostalgia trip looking for pics of my GT Outpost Trail. That was the first bike I ever had stolen.
N=15 subby’s singlespeed
Today I got to try Subby’s singlespeed. This bike had bullhorns which I’ve never used before. It took me a few minutes to figure out where to put my hands but once I did it seemed pretty cool. I’d totally feel like a hipster on this!
The gearing is higher than on my furley which was a great advantage going down the MVT. I probably wouldn’t have felt that way if we were going up the custis!
vvill, if you want to ride this bike bring an allen wrench. You’ll need to lower the seat. It was on the tall side for me and my bikes are on the tall side for you ….
@KayakCyndi 136334 wrote:
N=15 subby’s singlespeed
Today I got to try Subby’s singlespeed. This bike had bullhorns which I’ve never used before. It took me a few minutes to figure out where to put my hands but once I did it seemed pretty cool. I’d totally feel like a hipster on this!
The gearing is higher than on my furley which was a great advantage going down the MVT. I probably wouldn’t have felt that way if we were going up the custis!
vvill, if you want to ride this bike bring an allen wrench. You’ll need to lower the seat. It was on the tall side for me and my bikes are on the tall side for you ….
Freewheeling with no rear brake? Subby so cray.
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