If FEMA had the bicycles, would it fund Hustler's manlet bib?
#4864
Eager to see your progress on the other end of the cycling performance equation. Post progress reports as you get back in shape brother.
I will give yo this advice; do not doubt yourself at any time. You were really fit and fast once. Age is what holds other athletes back, the ones that don't believe. I'm 54 and regularly stomp Cat 1's and Cat 2' that are young enough to be my grandkids.
I took a decade off. Now I train my brains out and take care of myself. You're much younger than I am. Make it happen cap'n!
__________________
#4865
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
I will give yo this advice; do not doubt yourself at any time. You were really fit and fast once. Age is what holds other athletes back, the ones that don't believe. I'm 54 and regularly stomp Cat 1's and Cat 2' that are young enough to be my grandkids.
I took a decade off. Now I train my brains out and take care of myself. You're much younger than I am. Make it happen cap'n!
I took a decade off. Now I train my brains out and take care of myself. You're much younger than I am. Make it happen cap'n!
#4866
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
We pro:
From left to right:
Cat 3, 2, 3, me, 40-45 lady 10x national CX champ, cat 3, cat 3. Did not drop, pulled a couple bros home. It might be time to go racing again.
From left to right:
Cat 3, 2, 3, me, 40-45 lady 10x national CX champ, cat 3, cat 3. Did not drop, pulled a couple bros home. It might be time to go racing again.
#4867
Tour de Franzia
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
In other news, I think Blue Evo is nearing the end of its life. Today the sheet-metal rear drop-out liner I made fell out and the wheel rubbed into the chain stay, again. There will be a double-purple CAAD12 next year that I'd like to pick-up. Might be time for the Blue Evo to go on the wall.
#4868
Cool bike.
Eager to see your progress on the other end of the cycling performance equation. Post progress reports as you get back in shape brother.
I will give yo this advice; do not doubt yourself at any time. You were really fit and fast once. Age is what holds other athletes back, the ones that don't believe. I'm 54 and regularly stomp Cat 1's and Cat 2' that are young enough to be my grandkids.
I took a decade off. Now I train my brains out and take care of myself. You're much younger than I am. Make it happen cap'n!
Eager to see your progress on the other end of the cycling performance equation. Post progress reports as you get back in shape brother.
I will give yo this advice; do not doubt yourself at any time. You were really fit and fast once. Age is what holds other athletes back, the ones that don't believe. I'm 54 and regularly stomp Cat 1's and Cat 2' that are young enough to be my grandkids.
I took a decade off. Now I train my brains out and take care of myself. You're much younger than I am. Make it happen cap'n!
#4869
Former Vendor
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Posts: 15,442
Total Cats: 2,103
Question: What do you get when you combine my lack of impulse control and penchant for shiny things with @Chooofoojoo's bad infuence?
Answer:
So much more bike than I am capable of using but I'm excited to start to figure out this whole MTB thing. I did a half-day tour in Bend last summer on an old aluminum 29er, my first-ever ride on a full-suspension bike. I was pretty blown away, proceeded to rent a Yeti SB5 and tackle the same trails again. Was blown away all over again. Needless to say the damage to my wallet was done at that point, it was just a matter of when. The opportunity presented itself recently so I jumped. SC Hightower, their standard X01 Eagle buildout with a Push Elevensix shock. Nick swapped in the 150mm front fork as well.
Sort of like buying a GT3 Cup car and then entering HPDE1. Can't wait to ride it.
Answer:
So much more bike than I am capable of using but I'm excited to start to figure out this whole MTB thing. I did a half-day tour in Bend last summer on an old aluminum 29er, my first-ever ride on a full-suspension bike. I was pretty blown away, proceeded to rent a Yeti SB5 and tackle the same trails again. Was blown away all over again. Needless to say the damage to my wallet was done at that point, it was just a matter of when. The opportunity presented itself recently so I jumped. SC Hightower, their standard X01 Eagle buildout with a Push Elevensix shock. Nick swapped in the 150mm front fork as well.
Sort of like buying a GT3 Cup car and then entering HPDE1. Can't wait to ride it.
Last edited by Savington; 04-19-2017 at 12:56 PM.
#4871
Question: What do you get when you combine my lack of impulse control and penchant for shiny things with @Chooofoojoo's bad infuence?
Answer:
So much more bike than I am capable of using but I'm excited to start to figure out this whole MTB thing. I did a half-day tour in Bend last summer on an old aluminum 29er, my first-ever ride on a full-suspension bike. I was pretty blown away, proceeded to rent a Yeti SB5 and tackle the same trails again. Was blown away all over again. Needless to say the damage to my wallet was done at that point, it was just a matter of when. The opportunity presented itself recently so I jumped. SC Hightower, their standard X01 Eagle buildout with a Push Elevensix shock. Nick swapped in the 150mm front fork as well.
Sort of like buying a GT3 Cup car and then entering HPDE1. Can't wait to ride it.
Answer:
So much more bike than I am capable of using but I'm excited to start to figure out this whole MTB thing. I did a half-day tour in Bend last summer on an old aluminum 29er, my first-ever ride on a full-suspension bike. I was pretty blown away, proceeded to rent a Yeti SB5 and tackle the same trails again. Was blown away all over again. Needless to say the damage to my wallet was done at that point, it was just a matter of when. The opportunity presented itself recently so I jumped. SC Hightower, their standard X01 Eagle buildout with a Push Elevensix shock. Nick swapped in the 150mm front fork as well.
Sort of like buying a GT3 Cup car and then entering HPDE1. Can't wait to ride it.
#4873
The hightower and switchblade are enduro or all mountain bikes. That being said, they are both modern geometry vpp bikes with astonishing pedal platforms. This means that they descend like downhill bikes from about 2-3 years ago and pedal like trail bikes from 2 years ago. These bikes need to be ridden aggressively and at speed before they come alive. They will pop off of small trail features but they need to be coaxed into it. They also need to be cornered assertively by throwing your weight into them hard and leaning them over. They can handle everything from all day epics to the most gnarly EWS courses that should likely be ridden on downhill bikes by us mere mortals.
This is obviously subjective... but these are aggressive bikes that demand to be ridden as such.
#4874
Imho (as both scb and pivot dealer) Hightower > Switchblade > 429 trail.
The 429 sl is a closer match to the scb Tallboy.
Reasons I like the Hightower over switchblade:
-"normal" standards I.e boost 110/148 (NOT thuuper bewst plus 157.... on a trail bike)
-coil (elevensix) compatibility. Pivots don't play nicely with shocks that aren't super progressive spring curves.
-cable routing isn't an afterthought.
-personally prefer vpp>dw
Good choice Andrew
#4875
Elite Member
iTrader: (9)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chesterfield, NJ
Posts: 6,922
Total Cats: 402
Actually I demoed a Mach4, so it as a 27.5 bike. The wait for the switchblade demo was hours. (I was the only that cared to demo their CX bike tho, so bonus for me.) Trails out here aren't like trails by you guys i don't think. We plow through rough flat farm fields, lots of roots, sand, no real elevation. My personal emphasis is on light weight cause I lack power.
Dirt bike shock on a mountain bike, looks serious.
Dirt bike shock on a mountain bike, looks serious.
#4876
Reasons I like the Hightower over switchblade:
-"normal" standards I.e boost 110/148 (NOT thuuper bewst plus 157.... on a trail bike)
-coil (elevensix) compatibility. Pivots don't play nicely with shocks that aren't super progressive spring curves.
-cable routing isn't an afterthought.
-personally prefer vpp>dw
-"normal" standards I.e boost 110/148 (NOT thuuper bewst plus 157.... on a trail bike)
-coil (elevensix) compatibility. Pivots don't play nicely with shocks that aren't super progressive spring curves.
-cable routing isn't an afterthought.
-personally prefer vpp>dw
#4877
The hightower definitely gets the edge in terms of being user friendly. I'm really conflicted about the rear hub spacing on the switchblade. On one hand, i love that they did what they had to do to get the design they wanted... on the other, it makes getting a second set of wheels to hang on the wall complicated as hell. The other positive for the hightower is that you can put a 57mm stroke rear shock on it and get all of the travel.
That being said, on the gas I feel the pivot to be a bit 'punchier' of a bike. The Hightower loves flow and a being pushed hard, where the Switchblade seems to respond best to a bit more finesse in style. Hard to verbalized the minute differences on paper. Either platform gives the rider a ridiculously big smile, and let's be honest: that's what it's all about.
#4878
Further, as a lot of my customers have both a six-fattie and 29er set of wheels, the Hightower's flip-chip geometry tweak is FAR superior and user friendly of a solution to the PIvot's lower headset cup.
That being said, on the gas I feel the pivot to be a bit 'punchier' of a bike. The Hightower loves flow and a being pushed hard, where the Switchblade seems to respond best to a bit more finesse in style. Hard to verbalized the minute differences on paper. Either platform gives the rider a ridiculously big smile, and let's be honest: that's what it's all about.
That being said, on the gas I feel the pivot to be a bit 'punchier' of a bike. The Hightower loves flow and a being pushed hard, where the Switchblade seems to respond best to a bit more finesse in style. Hard to verbalized the minute differences on paper. Either platform gives the rider a ridiculously big smile, and let's be honest: that's what it's all about.
Amazing time to be a mountain bike rider... 10 year ago, about 50% of the bikes out there were total **** and weren't even worth riding around the bike shop parking lot. Now, you have to look hard to find something that totally sucks and doesn't feel right.
#4879
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Farmington Hills, MI
Posts: 1,218
Total Cats: 175
Just picked up this 2013 Giant Talon 0 the other day. It's very lightly used, and the drivetrain was replaced with SRAM X7 and X9 components. It's been a while since I've been on a bike, but I can't wait to go out to the trails.