[vvill]

@jrenaut 158927 wrote:

If you find me a gear ratio that works well for Hains Point AND the Two Sisters, I’m all ears.

47-15 works ok

[vvill]

Love the first pic with all the parts. And always loved that frame! (And fork!)

For some reason my knees don’t like downtube bosses in general. I had to cover the unused ones on one of my frames with an old tube to avoid banging up my knees, so the bell would be ouchie for me.

[vvill]

So apparently I am still riding with Presta tubes in Schrader drilled rims. Re-discovered it today when I swapped in a different tire on my 26″ bike which I never flat on. I’ve been using the Wheels Mfg adapter thingy, but I can understand why you may not want to have to remember that for a trailside flat – it just dropped out when I pulled the tube, having totally forgotten about it.

[vvill]

@Greenbelt 158171 wrote:

Heavy or light

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14526[/ATTACH]

I don’t own one, but yess! I was actually about the post the exact same bike.

[vvill]

More pics
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14502[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14504[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14505[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]14506[/ATTACH]

[vvill]

Yup – I have an Absolute Black n/w chainring on the middle of my triple cranks (for my 26″ beater). You will probably need single (shorter) chainring bolts, and as TwoWheelsDC mentioned, the correct chainring for your spider BCD.

(I ended up doubling-up on chain retention and getting a bashguard on the outside as I have grease-ruined too many jeans/trousers – I often don’t wear bike specific stuff with this bike, and the RD on this one isn’t clutched. In this case I actually needed longer chainring bolts.)

I don’t know if there are a ton of 130BCD n/w chainrings around though. Usually folks on 1x want smaller chainrings so 110BCD is more common.

[vvill]

Gevenalle also make brif… integrated shifters compatible with 10 speed Shimano MTB (amongst other options). Pricey though.

https://gevenalle.com/shifters/

[vvill]

@dasgeh 157730 wrote:

Sounds like 33rd southeast of Williamsburg is not for us. What about N 32nd St between Harrison St and Little Falls? From street view, it looks like a hill, but not horrible.

Yeah definitely preferable to 33rd.

[vvill]

@Greenbelt 157714 wrote:

The trick to to enjoying this area’s rooty single track is…… single speed, zero suspension. Seriously. You will go slower, work harder and choose your lines very carefully, or risk being unhorsed!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14432[/ATTACH]

Ha, I go plenty slow enough, and not particularly interested in being unhorsed any more than I already am! As the owner of a rigid 26″ bike as well I can’t imagine wanting to ever go back to that on rooty trails. I do like SS riding in general but I really do need all my gears on a MTB

[vvill]

@vvill 157709 wrote:

* Does the trail that connects 27th St N to Kensington really exist? Can bikes ride on it (i.e. no stairs)?
I *think* I’ve ridden that 27th St N trail exactly once – but can’t recall the date I rode it so I can’t find my ride data. Don’t recall if there are stairs, sorry!

Found it – looks like I stopped once but that may not been because of stairs. It is pretty narrow, and there’s no curb cut.
https://www.strava.com/activities/115528784/analysis/2971/3062

Note that Google Maps / the default RWGPS map has the entrance at the wrong place. Coming from the east you’ll overshoot it. Use the Open Street Map version to see where the entrance actually is.

[vvill]

Can’t answer all of these but

* How steep is that hill on 33rd St N after we turn right from Williamsburg?
That bit of 33rd is pretty steep. Strava reckons 7% avg. https://www.strava.com/segments/1640761 I would guess there’s a sustained 10% – and the downhill is similar.

* Will we be able to turn left from 32nd St N onto Harrison?
I think that’d be fine.

* Does the trail that connects 27th St N to Kensington really exist? Can bikes ride on it (i.e. no stairs)?
I *think* I’ve ridden that 27th St N trail exactly once – but can’t recall the date I rode it so I can’t find my ride data. Don’t recall if there are stairs, sorry!

[vvill]

@TwoWheelsDC 157701 wrote:

but overall I just found the root-y trails around here to be kinda scary and frustrating rather than fun. I also didn’t like that most of the trails I wanted to ride required a car trip and all the loading/unloading unpleasantness that came with that. Ultimately, my life as a MTB’er was short lived…not because I didn’t like it, but because I lost bike storage space when we moved and my MTB was “expendable.”

My take on my MTBing experiences is similar with the root-y trails. Rosaryville is awesome (although it still has roots and rocks), but I’m not particularly a fan of Wakefield and have never really wanted to try Fountainhead. Lake Fairfax was okay the one or two time(s?) I’ve done it. My MTB is not expendable though because it’s a titanium 29er that rides so much sweeter than any other MTB I ever owned and with CX/gravel tires it doubles as a spare gravel bike. I sort of imagined MTBing to have more open space and just dirt and smaller rocks I guess rather than slippery roots winding through woods.

[vvill]

@cvcalhoun 157585 wrote:

Have you been using Presta tubes with wheels that have Schrader holds? Or getting wheels with Presta holes? And if the former, are you using grommets with them? I ask because I’m seeing some things online that suggest that using a Presta tube in a Schrader hole without the grommet can lead to either movement of the valve causing the valve to break off, or a “hernia” of the tube through the excess space at high pressure, leading to a blowout. When my tube with the Presta valve had the valve break off only a couple of days after I got it, the bike shop told me that it was the former problem.

I can see advantages to using a tube with a Presta valve if you either had a wheel with a hole the right size, or could use the tube without a grommet. But I’d be concerned if I had to use a grommet that the grommet would roll off and get lost if I had to change a tube by the side of the CCT.

I think I had perhaps one or two wheels with Presta tubes in Schrader rims with grommets, but total mileage like that was probably under 2000, maybe a lot less. I don’t remember exactly, sorry! I have quite a few bikes and none of my wheels have Schrader rims anymore.

I believe I switched because I didn’t want to have to buy two different types of tubes. At that point I already had multiple wheelsets.

[vvill]

peterw_diy replied before I saw this.

The other advantage is – it’s universal – as in you can use a Presta tube in a Schrader-drilled rim but not vice versa. Most cyclists who carry a spare tube would carry a Presta, I imagine.

You could still just have your wheel modified and stick with Schrader, but when I first learned about Presta/Schrader I switched to all Presta tubes.

[vvill]

@TwoWheelsDC 157524 wrote:

Delete your account.

It’s a small bike! (I could probably fit on a medium too.)

I actually have no idea really how to fit a MTB but I have had wrist/hand and back pain on this bike that could just be a result of MTBing. I mostly want this as a gravel bike right now, but the stack is about 40-50mm more than my drop bar bikes and the reach 10-15mm more. The wide flat bars and short stem really change the meaning of those measurements though. It’s weird!

[Author]

Replies