Anyone Mountain Bike?

crewcabrob

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Man... mountain biking is sooooo much fun! You guys and gals are all missing out!

Round 2:
Drank plenty of water and Propel last night and this morning. Had avocado toast for breakfast for plenty of fuel for the old fat. Paced myself better and took breaks when I got winded. Had a specific trail post in mind as a goal. 100 yards away and still feeling like I could do some other trails...
Then I heard a loud bang like a gun going off. Felt the front drop a bit, and looked down to see that my front WTB vigilante had blown Completely off the rim. Not blown out...blown off the rim!

View attachment 329846
View attachment 329845

It appears to be a casing failure where the tire separated from the wire bead. Had a spare tube with me and installed it hoping to limp back to the truck. Got the tire pumped up to maybe 10 lb with the hand pump.. just enough to convince myself that it was going to hold. Turned around to the pack to get out the CO2 inflator, and heard a strange noise. Looked back at the tire just in time to see the inner tube bulging through the sidewall about a nanosecond before it blew out as well.

Hiking is a great pastime. Hiking with a 35 lb mountain bike, not so much. Wouldn't it be easier just to put a burning bush in the desert telling me not to ride?
Hi,

I've been riding tubeless since 2006 on various bikes. Besides a sidewall cut from a broken beer bottle, I have never had a catastrophic failure like you have had. It had to be a bad tire.

Rob
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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$20 for 16oz of Orange seal endurance. Enough for 4 29's if you use the recommended 4oz. The rims are tubless compatable and were taped from the factory.

I wanted to use Slime SLR just because it never gets mentioned outside of Seth on Berm Peak, but they have discontinued it.
I've ran Stans for over 15 years in bikes, besides drying out each year, nothing but praise for it. I just buy the 4ounce bottles each year and pour them in. Seems to keep everything happy for the season.

Rob
 
DG Rider

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Hi,

I've been riding tubeless since 2006 on various bikes. Besides a sidewall cut from a broken beer bottle, I have never had a catastrophic failure like you have had. It had to be a bad tire.

Rob
I'm not convinced it wasn't, but...
I sent some pics to WTB. They confirmed the OEM tires are not TCS. Since I converted them, all bets are off now as far an any warranty.
I've ran Stans for over 15 years in bikes, besides drying out each year, nothing but praise for it. I just buy the 4ounce bottles each year and pour them in. Seems to keep everything happy for the season.

Rob
I know Stan's is the kinda the original. What I got is the newer Orange seal endurance, which is supposed to last longer. Some guys are saying out here in the heat, sealant can last only a few months, so I went with it in the hopes it would last longer.
 
Mudwisel

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Nothing wrong with Stans , orange seal or any of the others but I have 5 bikes set up tubless and not in any way saying what I make is better but it is at least as good at a fraction of the cost. Some people get punctures some don,t. Sometimes tape will lift a little and you get a slow leak. Things happen It also depends on how much you ride. I have very few problems with the tubless. Maybe climate has an effect on longevity, that I dont know. Where I am at if I have no problems I need to change mine out usually twice a year. I make a quart at a time and i can get close to season. I understand what I do is not for everyone but worth it for me in long run. On another note going to do 3 day bike pack next week. Combo gravel single track. Yea buddy
 
DG Rider

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Nothing wrong with Stans , orange seal or any of the others but I have 5 bikes set up tubless and not in any way saying what I make is better but it is at least as good at a fraction of the cost. Some people get punctures some don,t. Sometimes tape will lift a little and you get a slow leak. Things happen It also depends on how much you ride. I have very few problems with the tubless. Maybe climate has an effect on longevity, that I dont know. Where I am at if I have no problems I need to change mine out usually twice a year. I make a quart at a time and i can get close to season. I understand what I do is not for everyone but worth it for me in long run. On another note going to do 3 day bike pack next week. Combo gravel single track. Yea buddy
I'm told some air loss is normal and that it may take a few rides to get it all dispersed well, so that might get better if actually get to put some miles on them. Lost about 3 PSI in 24 hours In both today. No obvious leaks with soapy water. The other tires did about the same, but I never really got to ride them either. Some guys claim they lose the same amount with tubes, but I've never had that issue without a puncture.

The whole tubless thing for bikes is kinda butch anyway. Relatively fast air loss. Tires that "burp" around the bead sometimes. Cyclist are taught to accept things that would never be acceptable in other disciplines with tubless tires. I understand that you can't be expected to use special equipment just to change a bike tire, but there has to be a better way.
 
Mudwisel

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Valve stem seal and tape or two biggest cause of air lose . I will sometimes put a tube in the tire when I retape for 24 hrs before any sealant if I am not going to ride it for a day or so. I average about 1 to pounds a week air lose
 
DG Rider

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Valve stem seal and tape or two biggest cause of air lose . I will sometimes put a tube in the tire when I retape for 24 hrs before any sealant if I am not going to ride it for a day or so. I average about 1 to pounds a week air lose
No bubbles around either the valve or spoke nipples...and I've checked a few times. I'm going to give it a ride or two and see. If it continues, guess I'll fill the tub with enough water to dip them a bit.
 
crewcabrob

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I get a lot of seepage through the sidewalls. I run thin racing tires from Specialized so I know what I get... If I were running thicker/heavier tires, I would expect better performance from my tubeless set up.

Burping air is annoying. It only really happens for me if I land wrong on the front tire.

Rob
 
Mudwisel

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I get a lot of seepage through the sidewalls. I run thin racing tires from Specialized so I know what I get... If I were running thicker/heavier tires, I would expect better performance from my tubeless set up.

Burping air is annoying. It only really happens for me if I land wrong on the front tire.

Rob
I had a set of tires that did that also, dont remember which ones though
 
DG Rider

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Well...finally got in a ride in that ended under my terms. No blown tires. No complete bonking 15 minutes in. Only did about 5 miles, but with some grades to burn in the legs some. Finally made my trail marker that was my goal.

IMG 20220423 111012516 HDR


Lots of stopping and pacing myself, but peddled the whole way. Tired...but a good tired. Legs will be sore tomorrow. This is the kind of ride that will help.

IMG 20220423 113642695 HDR


Made my last goal for the day this little butte with a view. That building way in the distance is the kuehne nagel/Lucid motors building right next to I-10.

IMG 20220423 123402049
 
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Russ989

Russ989

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Well...finally got in a ride in that ended under my terms. No blown tires. No complete bonking 15 minutes in. Only did about 5 miles, but with some grades to burn in the legs some. Finally made my trail marker that was my goal.

View attachment 331180

Lots of stopping and pacing myself, but peddled the whole way. Tired...but a good tired. Legs will be sore tomorrow. This is the kind of ride that will help.

View attachment 331182

Made my last goal for the day this little butte with a view. That building way in the distance is the kuehne nagel/Lucid motors building right next to I-10.

View attachment 331181
Literally the middle of nowhere.
 
DG Rider

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Literally the middle of nowhere.
LOL...no. There is a housing development literally at the base of the hill I was on. The cactus pic was maybe 1/2 mile from where interstate 8 and 10 merge, and perhaps a mile west of a Loves truck stop. Casa grande mountain park. Doesn't take a ton of land to make a few mtb/hiking trails.

This is what I did in yellow. Casa Grande is just out of frame north, while the black ribbons are I8/I10 interchange....

Screenshot 20220424 121041


Now...some of the SxS stuff I post...can be out there a bit, but even by some standards (IE the Arizona strip), it's relatively close to civilization.
 
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DG Rider

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An update: I've still been at it. Going out for a few hours on Saturday mornings and tying to spend 30 minutes a spinning around the back yard a few nights a week.

The maxxis tires i installed proved to be leaking tiny amounts of air from the sidewalls at most of the nipples. I also got some thorn punctures as well (as you will here in AZ), and oddly, the sealant didn't seal them up completely. I also discovered a few spokes leaking, suggesting the factory tape job wasn't the greatest. I exchanged the maxxis for another set from Amazon, retaped the wheels with Muc Off tape and used their sealant. The spokes still leaked initially but the sealant finally stopped it, but the sidewalls still leak some air (NOT sealant) .

It seems like a few rides are making it better, but you will need to pump the tires up before you ride...and I guess this is considered "normal" in the MTB world. The whole tubless thing is a real pain, and cyclist put up with a lot of "normal" s*** that shouldn't be acceptable...like tires weeping air or sealant through the sidewall. It's not that hard. But anyway...

There is still a long way to go, but I have improved noticeably. I can actually ride certainly stretches of trail for a decent distance now before I have to take a breather, and right now as summer sets in, it's heat rather than fitness that's usually driving me back home, though like anything else, you have good days and bad days. A week ago I rode a little over 10 miles around Casa Grande MTN park trails. This past Saturday I did about seven and I took advantage of the extra day off today and did another 8 or so, so I seem to be recovering fairly well. Enough to note that I need to practice some skills really badly. Oddly enough, I have lost almost no weight despite this...

I'm itching to take the Pioneer back out, but after its stalling issue worsened last short ride, i'm waiting on some quality wire crimps and a chance to test it out in high heat before I take it on another ride. So oddly, the summer heat will probably keep me on the bike, since I can get up early and get in a few hours for a good ride. That same amount of time in the SxS just isn't worth much to my jaded ass, so it may well be the fall before I get back to serious SxS Action.

So here's to the new (old) hobby...

IMG 20220528 091741066 HDR
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IMG 20220514 094449206 HDR
IMG 20220514 083006079 HDR
 
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Mudwisel

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nice to see your still giving it a go. FYI every Maxxis tire I have used weeps from side wall. Sure there are others with different experience .
 
DG Rider

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nice to see your still giving it a go. FYI every Maxxis tire I have used weeps from side wall. Sure there are others with different experience .
Next time around I'd like to try the Vittoria brand, but they are a little harder to get.
 
DG Rider

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A setback...

I've been off the bike for a couple of weeks now. After riding the Saturday before memorial day, I woke up with...to be honest, some discomfort in my right groin. The best way to describe it is that I felt like I'd slept on one nut. Honestly thought that's what had happened...no real pain, just some tenderness I expected to go away quickly. Next day I rode again with no issues, but as the week went on, there was no improvement with a feeling of swelling or something not quite right.

I've had 2 hernia repairs in my right abdomen, one of which included a mesh patch back in 2000. I started thinking maybe I had done something to inflame that area. A trip to the doc has now confirmed that while the old repair is intact, I now have "fat containing hernia" that will need surgery to repair.

I have no ideal how I even did this, nor do I think biking had anything to do with it, but I felt it best to stay off until the doctor clears me to ride again. Should be scheduled in the next few days, but it sucks to have made some noticeable improvements, and then have to sit around while they fade away.
 
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