Anyone in the mood to get out Wednesday evening for a pre-storm road loop? Maybe head over to Sunapee and try the race loop?
 
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I have to do the Sunapee loop sometime, but I did 40 miles today so I won't be able to go tomorrow.

Have fun

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Good idea! I was planning on riding the "Tour de Sunapee" Wednesday evening, a back road MTB ride that takes (me) about two hours, covers about 25 miles and 2300 feet of vertical. I've found that a lower speed MTB ride is preferable when it's somewhat cooler and you wish to be out for a longer ride.

Good places to meet for this ride is Sherburn gym, or Dan's house.

I can still bring skinny tire bike out if we feel an offering to the tar twinkie gods is in order. Let me know what you'd prefer.

I can be ready to ride at 5:00.

MG

I have no choice but a road ride, no other bike is ready to go. I will be riding through Newport at 5:30 heading towards Sunapee.
 
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I would be interested in Mark's Tour de Sunapee. My MTB ride is ready to go at 5PM, lets figure out a meeting p :roll: lace and do it. Nathan
 
Alone in the woods, who stands to be King?

Marlia says
Good egg hunt PJ, Gareth had fun. :wink:
 
Alone in the woods, who stands to be King?

Greetings all, new to the site and fairly new to biking I am hoping to join you all on some road rides soon. I have some appointments in Manchester this afternoon so I doubt I will be back in time to join you guys to night.

A question for all of you gurus out there, I am thinking about starting to do some MTBing but do not have a MTB yet, any suggestions what to look for in a MTB.

Thanks!
Andy

Depends on the kind of riding you plan on doing and your body. Me, I love having a hardtail so I don't lose any power in the suspension. Also, I have short legs and a long torso, so I went with Specialized. The cross bar on a specialized is angled down so I have more standover room and the distance from the seat to the handlbars is a little longer to fit my torso.

Head to a bike shop with a couple hours to spend. Ride a few different sizes, few different brands and decide which fits you the best.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Sherburn Gym parking lot 5:00, or shortly thereafter.

MG

I might be joining you on the tour. Overcame the first hurdle of not having a mountain bike ready. Now I have to wait and see when the wife gets home. If she makes it before 4:50 you will see me.
 
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Welcome Andy.

I have a specialized stump jumper full suspension with hydraulic disc brakes and I love my bike, although it might not love me.

I'd say the kind of riding you see yourself doing makes the biggest difference on what type of bike you might be best suited to. If you are planning to race cross country, a hard tail might make sense, not because the suspension will suck your energy, some of them are real good at NOT doing that, but because of the added weight. Most people will tell you the only weight that matters is rolling weight, i.e. the wheels, rims, hubs, spokes, etc and I think they are probably right, however, being 190 pounds and really enjoying the speed and pounding of a rough downhill descent, I prefer a little more heft to my wheels, the cusion of a full suspension, and a bike built to smile back at a river bottom at 25+ mph.

If you are looking to cross country race, buy a lighter bike designed for that, if you just want to tool around the trails, you probably want a full suspension trail/all mountian bike, if you see yourself strapping on some motor cross gear and flying off cliffs, you want a downhill / terrain park bike, and a hefty disability insurance policy.

Of course no matter what type of riding you plan to do, fit is very important and that might dictate the model or brand you go with.

All that said make sure you get a bike with hydraulic disc brakes, you just can't beat them, and you definately don't want to ride some of the "mountain goat" trails the Pinnacle has to offer without them, not too mention the money you will save in warn out rims from rim brakes. Unlike road cycling, the mud you get in the woods can chew up and spit out a set of rims in one season depending on how much riding you do.

Hope this helps.

Ryan

Ryan is right, the full suspension technology is much better these days, so you don't really lose power anymore. Unfortunately for me, the one full suspension bike I had was really bad. There was really no way to lock out the suspension, so I would lose a lot of power. So, for me its more psychological than anything else. I think that I am going to lose power which will psych me out when racing. Since racing is largely psychological, it would have been a really bad idea for me to get a full suspension. Plus, I didn't have the money to buy a quality full suspension.

As for the brakes, like Ryan said, go with disc. If the bike doesn't have disc, upgrade. If you can't afford the hydraulic, atleast get the mechanical.


-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini