Oh I am not
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it’s pretty common for stone guys to do laser templating these days and they all have cnc machines that they underutilize
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First post
I don’t have a bike
I gave up on biking 10 years ago after moving to LA sprawl hell. I’m now moving to the “high desert” near Joshua Tree California. Picture below is what I’ll be riding on exclusively.
Can someone assign me a cheap bike? I don’t know what tires size to go for, but seeing people rec 3.0" as enough. Fatter better? It’s windy as hell there at times too and I prefer drop bars. Is there a cheap or clever way to get this under $1k? I have all the bike tools and DIY skills of an 00s bike nerd
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I remember driving the dirt roads in Twentynine Palms thinking “I don’t think I’d really even want to ride a bike here”
yeah gonna need some high volume low pressure tire assignments
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Breezer Radar X fits 29x2.4. A couple days ago it was on sale for closer to $1k. The Pro looks all around worth the upgrade price.
I’ve never ridden out there and don’t know if 2.4 is big enough.
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what kind of riding, distance, and where exactly? Landers and JV are different conditions from Yucca and the park for example
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If I end up doing this, I plan to ride anywhere between Landers, 29 Palms, and JT park itself if there are bike trails. I’m going to avoid pavement for safety as much as possible.
@featherduster yeah I’m wondering how much it will suck so I don’t want to spend big to find out
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Buy a OHV motorcycle and get into climbing.
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Are you short?
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No, very tall. Thank you for checking this though.
I’ve read some MTB reviews of Joshua Tree routes and most people seen to recommend bigger tires, like 2.8"
Are you a retiree?
No. I’m fleeing LA due to rent prices but have to stay local
Drop bar plus bikes are rare, getting rarer by the day, and usually not cheap. Unless you score a used Salsa Fargo or Singular Gryphon, you’re gonna be looking for a long time.
Another strategy is to get a flat bar 29er and add a set of aerobars to hide from the wind, you see that a lot on long distance gravel touring races, the bikes of the Tour Divide should be inspiring. Doing that, you could possibly score a cheap fatbike, and 4" Jumbo Jims would float across sand pretty well.
Or, that same fatbike, throw 29" rims on, and run it as a 29+ bike. That’ll eat up budget that I’m not sure you have, though.
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You’re looking for a complete bike or parts to build one up?
(And how much do you weight? If you’re a featherweight 3" tires might be overkill, even on the soft sand of Joshua Tree.)
A “not cool” fat bike like Argus Trail | Adult Hardtail Fat Tire Bike | 26" Wheels - Mongoose will have a short top tube, so something like that plus a tall stem, some MicroNew 2x8 shifters and a set of road pull disc brakes might be a good basis for a drop bar desert crawler. If it seems to be going in the right direction then you can upgrade the tires from the OEM boat anchors.
I like that idea. There is a Cannondale Fatboy selling for $600 locally I could try to convert. Maybe with a Cinge stem and I would enjoy doing it.
@Orc I’m about 175lbs. So fat bike might be overkill? I hadn’t considered that factor.
I’m into whatever is cheapest… I’ve built up maybe 6 frames in my life but would be happy with a Bikes direct POS if it’s the best value. I thought maybe track would have a go-to recommendation but I’ve opened a can of worms
@akasnowmaaan - thank you. Aero bars seem like a great idea. I really like the tour divide builds. This seems smarter than drop bar conversion since I won’t need to be maneuverable on a straight dirt road
also consider water carrying capacity, the high dez is hot and dry
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Looks like the Fatboy has zero mounts except two bottle cages. Nice job Cannondale
rivnuts are cheap
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Frame bag plus bladders does the job too
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