Pic of the Day

arTNC said:

No, no spacers. I did have to remove that 12-speed cassette hub and attach the traditional cassette hub to accept the 8-11 cassette design that most of us are familiar with...super easy to do. People who want to run the 50+ cassette cog setups are obviously free to do so, but I don't think it's necessary on most of these emtb's with stronger motors like the Bosch-4 and others.

With my 11-36 9-speed gearing, for fun I've shifted down to the 36T cog, and the bike is practically unrideable. It pretty much just wants to launch or wheelie...LOL! Now, I am riding in Turbo, and I'm sure it would be different in those lower power selections, but I just don't ride there. Understand that I'm not trying to preach or rail against the 50+ tooth cassettes or riding in lower power ranges, but if you're a Turbo choice rider then maybe there's no need for 12 cogs and super low gearing.

Again, I'm a dirt motorcycle guy so my approach to riding may be different than others. Also, if you're riding in locations where extreme battery conservation is necessary, then lower power and higher gearing is more understandable. It's all about choices and applications.

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I am guessing you live in a relatively low elevation area where there are not too many steep climbs? It has been my experience that I rarely use the highest gears as I am mostly not pedaling when I am going downhill but even when using Turbo, trying to make it up steep trails with lose rocks leaves me spinning out

KnollyBro, yes...about 1700'. However, there are a few steep pitches here which provide some indication about sustained power/gearing...certainly no Rocky Mountain scenario. However, I've ridden for many years in the Moab area where some of the trails were in and around the La Sal mountains, so I have high elevation exposure and a "feel" for what it does to both rider and bike. Though I didn't have an emtb there...yet, LOL!...it's hard for me to imagine how useful those super low gears are going to be.

Now, I do get the concept if you're one who rides in low power levels, but that's not why I got an emtb. Obviously I'm not proclaiming that everyone with a full power emtb should chuck their 50+ tooth cassettes. That's the beauty of choices.

El Grifo said:

Batshit Boatshit Crazy View attachment 134060 View attachment 134061

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At least the sub doesn’t appear to be Carbon fibre

arTNC said:

KnollyBro, yes...about 1700'. However, there are a few steep pitches here which provide some indication about sustained power/gearing...certainly no Rocky Mountain scenario. However, I've ridden for many years in the Moab area where some of the trails were in and around the La Sal mountains, so I have high elevation exposure and a "feel" for what it does to both rider and bike. Though I didn't have an emtb there...yet, LOL!...it's hard for me to imagine how useful those super low gears are going to be.

Now, I do get the concept if you're one who rides in low power levels, but that's not why I got an emtb. Obviously I'm not proclaiming that everyone with a full power emtb should chuck their 50+ tooth cassettes. That's the beauty of choices.

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If you have ridden in Moab and hit trails beyond the Full Enchalada (shuttle up, unless you are absolutely nuts!) then I can't imagine riding trails like Cliff Hanger, Jackson's Trail or even Slick Rock without being in really good shape or using as large a cassette as possible (I have only ridden there before EMTBs were invented let alone being allowed on some of the trails)! That small cassette kicked my ass!
Around here, people who blast up the FSR or chase riders up the climbing trails in full Turbo, to get the the trail head, are considered choads as they tend to give Emtb'rs a bad name. Like you said, its all about choice and how you use it.

Moab, back in the Stone Age of analogue bikes!

Ahhh, Moab. It's become somewhat of a madhouse circus in terms of tourism, but the trails there are some of the most fun around. Having been a long time dirt motor guy and racing enduros for decades, I went to Moab for the first time in '95/'96 with my first mountain bike, a '96 Specialized Ground Control...a whopping 2" or so of travel...LOL! I wasn't about to touch a mountain bike until suspension came about.

I was very fit, but I got an awakening about how tough real mountain biking was, and how a mountain bike...at least back then...wasn't really a mini dirt motor. I pushed that bike around the Moab trails until my feet hurt. Still, something about it had bitten me good, so I stuck with it constantly upgrading as bikes developed...that Ground Control, a Trek Y-bike, and a '99 Specialized Enduro FSR. But when I picked up a '99 Santa Cruz Bullit frame and stuck the latest Marzocchi Bomber fork on it, I was truly all in. Now I had the mini dirt motor I had lusted after. Even used a Super T and Monster T a bit on that bike.

Since then, another Bullit, a Nomad, and some other stuff in between. As I've gotten older I got the itch for an emtb so I could still ride like my younger days. I turned my 2003 Bullit into a Bafang mid-drive emtb and have been having a blast with it for 3 years. I rode our shop's demo Rail 7, and that did it. Got one...but...as you see, I still have love for the Bomber coils...LOL!

Mates bike - Crashed last weekend, stolen today. If anyone comes across a Whyte e150 with 5000miles, a big bell and raceface stem, call the police.

Dax said:

Crashed last weekend, stolen today. If anyone comes across a Whyte e150 with 5000miles, a big bell and raceface stem, call the police.

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That's a bummer Dax. Fingers crossed that it gets returned and the thieving scrote gets kneecaped

Dax said:

Crashed last weekend, stolen today. If anyone comes across a Whyte e150 with 5000miles, a big bell and raceface stem, call the police.

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What a shitter that is, getting it stolen! One of our sons crashed his bike, got knocked out, then when he came around someone had stolen his bike while he was lying on the ground unconscious!

But there's more to it.

Couple of weeks later a friend called him to say that his bike was locked up in a multi storey car park. So he rushed there and put a note on the bike saying that if it was unlocked he wouldn't go to the police, then hid behind some cars with his friend. Scrote turned up, read the note, looked around and saw no-one, unlocked the bike and ran away. So the son got his bike back. True story.

What does the fox say?

BikeBert said:

What does the fox say?

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Fox says "I've got 4 legs, that's only got 2".

irie said:

Fox says "I've got 4 legs, that's only got 2".

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Love the ‘l’ll get me coat’. Where did you get that?

BikeBert said:

What does the fox say?

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Ha ha ha boom boom Mr.North

billwarwick said:

Love the ‘l’ll get me coat’. Where did you get that?

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BikeBert said:

What does the fox say?

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Nicho said:

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Fox That

Getting use to these new Sram brakes …I think I’m gonna keep them. Even the 170mm Bontrager dropper is okay. The only upgrade I’ll do soon is 160mm Raceface ERA cranks. (Same as the Rail).


Medium Fuel EXE 8. AXS T derailer …which is amazing.
Day 5/7 and this weather is great for February. (Has me a bit worried though)

Stihldog said:

Getting use to these new Sram brakes …I think I’m gonna keep them. Even the 170mm Bontrager dropper is okay. The only upgrade I’ll do soon is 160mm Raceface ERA cranks. (Same as the Rail).

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Medium Fuel EXE 8. AXS T derailer …which is amazing.
Day 5/7 and this weather is great for February. (Has me a bit worried though)

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Are those the DB8 brakes? I saw some posts carping about them very negatively. My Rail 7 is supposed to have Shimano 4-pots...slightly lower end Shimano...but it came with the DB8's. I was disappointed. Before I rode the bike I saw some really negative comments so I expected the worst. I'm a brake nazi when it comes to super stopping brakes. I was using 8" rotors on my longer travel bikes way back before they became popular.

So, first ride on the DB8's seemed fine. Now after quite a few rides I'm not finding any issues with them. We have 3 really fast, steep descents on our local trail, and the brakes have great power, good modulation, and a very reasonable pull on the lever to really brake hard. We have one descent spot called "Dumb and Dumber" that has a launch to a quick left hander after you've built up max speed with some of it in the air right before the turn. This is the biggest test of braking efficiency and power on our trail. The DB8's perform great there.

Another is called "Bobsled" because it is a really steep, fast pitch down into a highly bermed left hander that quickly transitions to a right hander. Today I actually lifted the rear wheel for a second in the right hand transition in a very controlled manner with very good control of the front brake.

I don't know. Maybe they'll go to crap with more time, but so far I'm not feeling the hate for them. I'm not necessarily claiming them to be tool of professional DH'ers, but they seem to work very well. I have a set of 4-pot XT's on an older Santa Cruz Bullit mid-drive Bafang. That is a powerful motor, and bike gets a huge head of steam going. Those XT's work great, but I'm not noticing much performance difference between these two brake sets. In fact the DB8's may have a smoother modulation without sacrificing power. Time will tell more.

Stihldog said:

... this weather is great for February. (Has me a bit worried though)

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Same here. 8-12C daytime (!) which is most unusual for February. Very slight green tinge to trees meaning they're getting ready to leaf several weeks ahead of what we'd normally expect.

irie said:

Same here. 8-12C daytime (!) which is most unusual for February. Very slight green tinge to trees meaning they're getting ready to leaf several weeks ahead of what we'd normally expect.

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Yes ..but you live in the sub-tropical south ..so not that unusual
For comparison this was a pic from yesterday on my way to work in the northern end of the country ...

irie said:

What a shitter that is, getting it stolen! One of our sons crashed his bike, got knocked out, then when he came around someone had stolen his bike while he was lying on the ground unconscious!

But there's more to it.

Couple of weeks later a friend called him to say that his bike was locked up in a multi storey car park. So he rushed there and put a note on the bike saying that if it was unlocked he wouldn't go to the police, then hid behind some cars with his friend. Scrote turned up, read the note, looked around and saw no-one, unlocked the bike and ran away. So the son got his bike back. True story.

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I would have got hold of the scrout and padlocked him to the railings in the carpark with a note around his neck telling everybody he is scum.
sorry if that sounds harsh but I don‘t like lowlifes who think they can steal things.

Not EMTB.. Again.. But My new EXC Hardenduro.

Having decided among ourselves that due to the amount of precipitation ( both snow & rain ) over the last couple of days that our ride out of Rothbury would have us wet & filthy from top to toe its been postponed for another day ..however the forecast itself was looking OK so decided to do a country lane ride out of my village which although it wouldn't keep me dry would stop me being covered in crap ..
Bellingham , Northumberland .


March Burn..normally a quiet little tributary flowing into the Houxty Burn which in turn finds its way into the North Tyne river

The bridge over the swollen River North Tyne at Wark Village

Wark Village from the minor road to Birtley

Some of yesterday's snow on the backroad from Birtley to Heugh

Another view of Bellingham ( zoom) from Buteland on the return leg

And finally the River Rede from the white bridge at Redesmouth ( again higher than " normal " levels ) just prior to it joining the Tyne and a couple of miles from home

Hope you enjoyed the tour

Hobo Mikey said:

I would have got hold of the scrout and padlocked him to the railings in the carpark with a note around his neck telling everybody he is scum.
sorry if that sounds harsh but I don‘t like lowlifes who think they can steal things.

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Not harsh at all, I would have thrown the scrote over the wall from the top floor

The Hodge said:

Having decided among ourselves that due to the amount of precipitation ( both snow & rain ) over the last couple of days that our ride out of Rothbury would have us wet & filthy from top to toe its been postponed for another day ..however the forecast itself was looking OK so decided to do a country lane ride out of my village which although it wouldn't keep me dry would stop me being covered in crap ..
Bellingham , Northumberland .
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March Burn..normally a quiet little tributary flowing into the Houxty Burn which in turn finds its way into the North Tyne river
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The bridge over the swollen River North Tyne at Wark Village
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Wark Village from the minor road to Birtley
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Some of yesterday's snow on the backroad from Birtley to Heugh
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Another view of Bellingham ( zoom) from Buteland on the return leg
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And finally the River Rede from the white bridge at Redesmouth ( again higher than " normal " levels ) just prior to it joining the Tyne and a couple of miles from home
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Hope you enjoyed the tour

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Do you still get the low flyers going into Otterburn Range ?

Not so much these days to be honest ..more chinooks & apache"s

The Hodge said:

Not so much these days to be honest ..more chinooks & apache"s

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Used to love that when living in the borders. Sittin above them near Alwinton !

Good afternoon from Windows XP.

El Grifo said:

Used to love that when living in the borders. Sittin above them near Alwinton !

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I was " targeted " while riding in Kielder Forest a few years back ..must admit it was slightly worrying when this thing kept appearing

Stihldog said:

That’s a good question. I’m not sure I can help though. There’s so many possibilities and personal preferences. Sry.

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It looks like i can get the forks and shock for under a grand. I guess that's a good deal?