NORCAL MTB'ers and cyclists, need your help :D

[speedydragon]

hey there everyone,

Today (10/23), I finally took my mtb out for a ride after 2 years (I've owned the bike for about 4-5 years now) of down time. After the first five minutes, I became the victim of a blown tire :[. the tire ripped itself off the inner tire which held all the air, it didn't pop or anything, just seperated itself into 2 pieces. Anyways...do you all have any suggestions or recommendations on where to get 2 fresh mtb tires and a brake tune up (disc brakes)? My bike costed $800 back in 2003, so I don't really need any fancy or extremely expensive tires.

Thanks soo much in advance!!

so far I have REI, sports mart and big 5 in mind.

[pologk04]

out of those 3, REI is by far the best. They do really good work. I'm not familiar with the san fran area for bike shops as I am from the east bay

[RowdyAudi]

out of those 3, REI is by far the best. They do really good work. I'm not familiar with the san fran area for bike shops as I am from the east bay

I work at the Concord REI out here in the East Bay, actually the head store manager at SF used to be my manager... anyways in my opinion you should change the tires yourself, get some WTB tires and a couple tubes, with or without slime (you're choice), its a simple like 20 min job to do front and rear... and it'll save you a few bucks... and then depending on if your disc brakes are mechanical or hydraulic have the shop tune them it shouldn't cost too much... plus you get a discounted shop rate if you're an REI member... hope you get it fixed up soon, so you can get back on the trails...

[piaadoll]

there's always sportsbasement - there are 2 in the city... if you have a gym membership you get 10% off.

sportsbasement.com


but i prefer REI. my favorite store!

oh yeah, very easy to change tire and tube yourself.

p.s. my first mtb i bought in 2003 as well....was about $650 so your bike is way bettah! hahaha

[jayuuey]

+1 on the tire diy. but if you really want to pay someone, the mechanics at mikesbikes in SF (9th/Howard St) are pretty good. sportsbasement and ocean cyclery would be a good choice as well.

big5 or sportsmart should not be considered since they wont have much selection or real bike mechanics.

[tpliquid]

i prefer sunbike shop in milpitas.

[tpliquid]

are u guys riding this weekend? i'll be riding at santa treasa trails

[speedydragon]

ahh thanks for all the replies!

I will probably go to REI tomorrow and let them deal with it. I don't think I know enough to do my own things on my bike yet :|. As I had no clue what you (RowdyAudi) were talking about.

I plan on riding around the Canada Road area (san mateo/92)

Again, thanks for all the recommendations/suggestions!!

[piaadoll]

canana road on a mountain bike? nooOoo too much pavement.

may be waterdog in belmont is better for you, the first part is easy breezy but some trails can be a bit technical/rocky. but most of it is pretty doable. you're young, you can hang!

actually - i suggest arastradero preserve off of page mill road - perfect for beginners or peeps trying to relearn their mountain bike. i used to go at least once a week after work.

tqliquid - i've always wanted to ride around santa theresa since it's kinda close to home - how are the trails? can i tag along sometime? i'm slow though!

[smurfsvt]

I like my WTB weirwolves for tyres. and I kept getting flats so I went with Desert tubes, and haven't had an issue since.

[tpliquid]

canana road on a mountain bike? nooOoo too much pavement.

may be waterdog in belmont is better for you, the first part is easy breezy but some trails can be a bit technical/rocky. but most of it is pretty doable. you're young, you can hang!

actually - i suggest arastradero preserve off of page mill road - perfect for beginners or peeps trying to relearn their mountain bike. i used to go at least once a week after work.

tqliquid - i've always wanted to ride around santa theresa since it's kinda close to home - how are the trails? can i tag along sometime? i'm slow though!

the trails are pretty fun some technical some fireroads. some rock gardens here and there for your shock testing pleasure. There is a trail called rocky ridge and yea its pretty much full of rocks. Takes about 10 min to get down the hill from the top.

we usually ride every sat and sunday so if u wanna ride send me a pm .. the more people the better :)

[tpliquid]

I like my WTB weirwolves for tyres. and I kept getting flats so I went with Desert tubes, and haven't had an issue since.

where do you ride? how are the weirwolves? works good in hard pack or soft pack?

I been running specialized rollx for a few years now and i want to change to something else.

[RowdyAudi]

ahh thanks for all the replies!

I will probably go to REI tomorrow and let them deal with it. I don't think I know enough to do my own things on my bike yet :|. As I had no clue what you (RowdyAudi) were talking about.

I plan on riding around the Canada Road area (san mateo/92)

Again, thanks for all the recommendations/suggestions!!

Sorry to confuse you speedy... Mountain Bike stuff can get technical sometimes because there are so many products out there... I was just suggesting tires from the company WTB which stands for "wilderness trail bikes", I've had good luck with mine... and then as far as tubes are concerned you can add this stuff called "slime" which acts like run flat tires on a car... if you get a puncture the "slime" will temporarily seal the hole... its all personal preference... Anyways... I totally understand not feeling comfortable doing your own maintenance on your bike... its how I feel with my Audi all the time.. LOL Yeah like you said just take it to REI, they'll get it done pretty quickly... Have fun riding...

[RowdyAudi]

where do you ride? how are the weirwolves? works good in hard pack or soft pack?

I been running specialized rollx for a few years now and i want to change to something else.

I had the WTB Weirwolves and they were pretty good maybe a little agressive for the riding I was doing...bjust light riding around the trails behind my family's cabin in Tahoe... I'm now running the WTB VelociRaptors and I really like them... having front and rear specific tread is really effective.... the rear tire gives great traction when climbing hills (in fact the tread pattern mimics the one on my motocross bike, but climbing a hill on my RM 250 is a little different, lol)... the front tire holds really well in turns.... I've had great all around performance from the VelociRaptors...

[tpliquid]

I had the WTB Weirwolves and they were pretty good maybe a little agressive for the riding I was doing...bjust light riding around the trails behind my family's cabin in Tahoe... I'm now running the WTB VelociRaptors and I really like them... having front and rear specific tread is really effective.... the rear tire gives great traction when climbing hills (in fact the tread pattern mimics the one on my motocross bike, but climbing a hill on my RM 250 is a little different, lol)... the front tire holds really well in turns.... I've had great all around performance from the VelociRaptors...

are you riding on hard pack or soft pack dirt? rocks?

[speedydragon]

canana road on a mountain bike? nooOoo too much pavement.

may be waterdog in belmont is better for you, the first part is easy breezy but some trails can be a bit technical/rocky. but most of it is pretty doable. you're young, you can hang!

actually - i suggest arastradero preserve off of page mill road - perfect for beginners or peeps trying to relearn their mountain bike. i used to go at least once a week after work.

tqliquid - i've always wanted to ride around santa theresa since it's kinda close to home - how are the trails? can i tag along sometime? i'm slow though!

ahh thanks. but I don't know where the trails are haha :[ or at least the one in belmont. I think I know where the arastradero preserve is

[piaadoll]

Here's waterdog:

http://passiontrailbikes.com/pages/waterdog



and arastradero:

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/arastradero.htm

have fun riding!!! i'm handicapped with a possible stress fracture on one of my toes from last week's nike half marathon so i'm sooooooooo sad i cant ride this weekend. boooooooooohoooooooo

[tpliquid]

well that sucks :(

marathons eh u prolly outride us LOL

wat kinda biks u guys got?

i just upgraded to a superlight. but i feel that i want to upgrade to a heckler

[piaadoll]

YEah so sucky! i'm about to leave for my doctor's appt.

nah i'm slow and steady on my mountain bike.

as for bikes........... you have great taste in mtbs..i have a juliana and i'm very happy with her. she makes me happy!

[tpliquid]

haha nice. wat color?

[jayuuey]

Here's waterdog:

http://passiontrailbikes.com/pages/waterdog



and arastradero:

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/arastradero.htm

have fun riding!!! i'm handicapped with a possible stress fracture on one of my toes from last week's nike half marathon so i'm sooooooooo sad i cant ride this weekend. boooooooooohoooooooo

waterdog is fun...i might ride there this sat if traffic is heavy on the way to skeggs.

tpliquid, do you ever ride on the weekdays after 4pm? ive been wanting to try out st theresa since i work out in sj twice a week. might as well sneak in a ride...

[dbtong]

haha nice. wat color?

Her Juliana is "liquid blue". We have been doing zero riding as of late. Seems that we don't have enough time to get the bikes out but we hope to get back in the saddle again soon. If there are ever any SLOW rides, let us know!

Oh yeah...and I recommend to SpeedyDragon that he learn how to change his own tube/tire. Chances are you're going to flat (a couple of times) during your biking career and you don't want to have to walk your bike back to the car because of that. REI sometimes offers bike clinics so check your local store.

RowdyAudi: I work 1-2 days a week at the Saratoga store.

[tpliquid]

jay, nope i usually go run on weekdays and ride on weekends. It gets dark around 6:30 now so its gonna be hard to ride at night.

db, we do slow rides no problem. i actually like slow rides vs fast rides. I get way too tired easily. We ride every sat and sunday PM me if u wanna come. We meaning me and one other biker haha. plus we go late around 10:30-11am

[tpliquid]

i was contemplating on the blue but anadoize cost like 200 more or something like that so i got a white frame. white on white SL thats ross

[wnut]

probably fixed by now...but for general maintenance DIY and performance bikes all across town.

[audidood]

tirerack. [:P] i'm sure anywhere is fine to pick up a tire. everyone will put it on the same way, so i don't see any advantage of going to one place or another. unless dbtong is putting on your tire. he can do anything!

[piaadoll]

oh man! i miss our AZ rides!

here is how we used to roll!
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data...IMG_3089_a.jpg

[audidood]

whoa, that picture's classic. i haven't put the racks on in ages. I really do need to get back into the groove.

[veloracer]

I was just out this morning guiding the lead runners for the Silicon Valley Marathon. Spinning for 26 miles over 2+ hours will give you a pretty good workout.

I agree with dbtong that you should learn to change your own tire, so your bike won't leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. I always carry a spare tube, a couple of tire levers, and a mini multi-tool kit with me, just in case I have any issues. Oh yeah... don't forget to carry a mini pump or a couple of CO2 cartridges with you in case if you do get a flat on the road or trail. To Tpliquid, if you can find a pair of Ritchey WCS ZED 2.1's, they're IMO the best mountain bike tires made. I have a set on my Bontrager right now, and they handle great, but they're on their last legs, and I'm looking for something else to replace them. Probably the Ritchey Z-Max Evo WCS. They're almost the same tread pattern as the ZED 2.1's.

[speedydragon]

i watched a couple of youtube videos on how to replace the tubes, it looks pretty straight forward. I plan on doing it myself next time. I took my bike to rei this time to do the basic maintainence as well as doing the tire repair. thanks for all the great input and suggestions :D.

[Daddy MO]

On another note dude... put in that green slime stuff just for insurance. $hit works and its not much more rotational mass if your worried about that. I doubt it since that for roadies and cross country folks. If anything punctures your tires thats small it will seal itself.

[speedydragon]

the day I have time to ride is the day it starts raining :[

alright mo, thanks for the tip :D

[piaadoll]

the day I have time to ride is the day it starts raining :[

me too!!! post up when you ride next. i'll do the same (hopefully tqliquid too), hopefully we can have group going...

[tpliquid]

im going to santa treesa on sunday if no rain or muddy. i dotn wanna get my white on white SL dirty

[speedydragon]

I'm shooting for monday after 1pm right now. but weather forcasts are rain rain rain :[

[veloracer]

I was thinking about riding the Giro di Vino tomorrow, but it looks like it will be cold and wet. Hopefully I'll be able to get some riding in sometime this week though.

[tpliquid]

wat a crappy weekend, ST trails closed :(

[tpliquid]

bump prolly going sat and sunday to ST trails if no rain or closed

[Daddy MO]

Lets go have a let loose day in Brentwood at Sandhill Ranch ;) I need to get another bike but in the mean time have access to whatever I want.