Which one?
Tune MTB in Rochester. My friend uses them. Iāve gone there for non suspension stuff and was very impressed
Thanks Iāll look them up
Thereās a place just over the bridge in NJ ā Google Maps
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You can also send it to me
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Like that. Send contact info?
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How are your trails dry but ours are in the eternal freeze thaw peanut butter state
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I dunno. I tend to give it like 24 hours of drying time per .5" of rain. This place actually doesnāt drain very well since the trails are old and so werenāt built with water management in mind. I think Saturday was the first day since the rain earlier in the week that they were good to go. It was a few degrees more chilly from Saturday to Sunday and there was the slightest bit of freeze from a bit of water that got pushed up to the top of the dirt in spots as a result, but it basically got ridden off. Very nice tacky day. I even rode some sketchy new stuff because the grip was so good, even though I was alone.
A friend of mine was at a different spot maybe 20 minutes away on Friday and said that it was completely dry there, but it drains a lot better.
Surreal as a Californian to hear of dry places existing while weāre pretty close to flooding in Sacramento
It does rain often here, but not in great quantities. If it does rain a bit harder than usual, there is flooding in the city because sea level and ocean is right hereālots of stuff built on flood plains. No washed out roads/hillsides/etc. Wetness will become a problem on trails if temperatures start getting below freezing regularly. Above freezing and rain: fine. Below freezing and no precip: fine.
Thinking about a post-2020 Norco Optic as an all around trail bike that will not feel foreign coming from my Transition Sentinel. The Fluid that is basically an Optic copy just won PB bike of the year. I have a friend that loves his and was flying when we rode together last weekend. I also liked how another friends Ibis Ripley AF felt, but the shock placement kind of messes with my desire to use a frame bag if/when I take it camping.
What else should I look at? I know nothing about bikes anymore.
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2023 fluid is sposed to be absolutely incredible
Do I need a shorter travel trail bike
Though the fluid and optic travel numbers are close, the fluid is more trail, and would probably be a bit softer vs the optic. Sup was I think surprised by how harsh it felt vs her 150mm stumpy previous trail bike. And I think it was addressed a bit in the PinkBike podcast when someone asked one of the Mikes the difference between them. And I think it was kaz that said something similar. Optic is a bit more responsive, peppy, as you imagine a 120ishmm bike to be vs the 130mm fluid designed for something a bit more versatile.
Point being, it wont feel as deep as a sentinel no matter what, I imagine. So just know that going in. Still fun as fuck, but def more feedback for the optic than the transition.
I kinda felt that way with the Transition Spur (120mm travel) after the v3 Banshee phantom (115mm) I had. Latter was just a bit more supple (probably due to DPX2 vs sid lux and accompanying suspension design).
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yeah 130mm vs.125mm travel is probably not it
the new Fluid has a bigger longer-stoked shock, where the Optic was pitched as having a special shorter customized jawn and linkage with a higher leverage ratio?
but Fluid has a cool new XXL size and 34.9 seatpost
Darn I thought they were the same. Harder to find a cheap Fluid than an Optic! A few C1 spec optics around on pinkbike though.
i am also in the market for a new bike this year and am not sure what to do. i mostly like the sentinel, but it was a long adaptation period. i could probably do with something a little more nimble given my riding style (I do straight line a lot of stuff, but i tend to avoid running into big rocks).
i am still a 1-mtb stable so 140 is the bare minimum i want for travel.
was re-looking at a ripmo, but honestly canāt get over finding them to be somewhat ugly.
really still liking the Hightower, but the build options are shit. $6800 MSRP for gx with performance (not performance elite). next build up is gx axs for $8500. i used to be able to defend their pricing, but jfc its gotten insane over the last two years.
norco sizing just doesnāt quite look right for me. their large is too big and the medium looks like it would be a fair amount shorter in stack than i am used to and a lot less seat tube, so itād fit a bit goofy for me (20mm less stack and 45mm less seat tube than my current bike - am already on a 175mm dropper on current bike).
orbea occam looks like it could be decent? not in love with the looks of their bikes either, but their pricing is good.
Ripmo grows on you atmo
i want to like it because i love ibis, but the frame shape just doesnāt do it for me. the top tube seems so high. its still certainly in the running, but hard for me yo get over. i try to like it, then i step away and come back to it and i dont like it again. i tried to order one in 2020! but they had just run out and then closed off prodeals.