MacRetro chat and rides thread

[The Ken]

and we occasionally wished for more than 100mm of travel, which the Lobster’s geometry would happily accommodate - it didn’t skip a beat.

Apparently the 853 has the same geometry so if that works so would this, although the biggest size for this is a 19

 

[kaiser]

Velo is it really the bike for you :? ? Some of these are pretty hardcore and will be carrying unnecessary weight which is one of your climbing advantages. They are also designed with hucking off 6ft drops and the like whereas 6" is more your style. I'm going to push the 29er idea to you again, its ideal for what your after, why not ask ZZ for an extended go of his. Sooo many things you can do with them and the advantages of them suit your riding. I think going the 29er route is less of a gamble than long travel hardtail.

 

[kaiser]

And Velo the place I was trying to mind was Lochgelly

 

[The Ken]

Why would you ever want to remember Lochgelly?

Kaiser could be onto something Velo, if you don't intend leaving the ground too often 6 inch plus travel is really ott.

 

[zigzag]

I went to a disco at Lochgelly when I was 11. All I remember are 6 or 7 of the older kids pogo-ing on the dancefloor irregardless of whatever the DJ was playing. There was (maybe still is) a good fish 'n' chip shop on the main road out to Lumphinnans. Anyway...

Velo, if you want a borrow of the Mary, give me a shout - She is also available for Bar Mitzvahs and weddings. You might find it pretty small (18" frame is small for me, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, the 400mm seatpost is extended right to it's limit), and as I've previously slavered on at anyone who'll listen, it hoors up (and down) fire-road climbs like nobody's business. Very capable descender despite only 80mm forks up front, I'm faster at Glentress on this than any other bike. Last decent run on it I found myself subconsciously unweighting the bike over the bumpy stuff - first time this has happened to me since I usually have to make a conscious effort. Don't know if that's 29'er related, but was as an eye opener when I realized what was going on.

Having said all that, a build utilizing all the bits left over from the iDrivel does make financial sense (up to a certain price point on the frame anyway), so I understand why you'd want to go the long travel 26" hardtail route.

 

[The Ken]

so with only 40 pages to go who is in the sweepy for first post page 500?

 

[velomaniac]

I've fancied the long travel forked hardtail idea for ages and now I've got the fork for the job. Yes I'm not into dropoffs etc but I've never ridden with finesse, its the ability to take a big frontal hit and keep rolling that apeals. That and the stiff rear triangle for climbing plus the forks have lockout which does away with the bob factor when climbing. They'll also build into a wee bit lighter bike with fewer mechanical bits to maintain.
29er is a whole new, and to get a decent one, expensive route either for a complete bike or a parts build. Also although its a new bike platform I'm after, 26er is retro and i like 26er, I'm used to it plus lots of choice at all budget levels. 29er Sus forks are rare and pricy items currently and a rigid forked 29er offers little advantage over a suspension forked 26er in my book.

My tastes have evolved since riding as much as I do now with you lot but 29er is not one i've reached yet

 

[kaiser]

Another one for the list, IIRC the bike shop at innerleithen stocks both Transition and Evil. This one states the large is suitable for riders up to 6'6

http://www.transitionbikes.com/Bikes_TransAM.cfm

 

[The Ken]

My LBS stocks transition frames, they do look good value and very sturdy, I think they have horizontal drop outs too so are easy to convert to SS should the desire take you.

The model you want will be the Trans AM

 

[velomaniac]

OOOH Nice Never heard of Transition, the list is getting big