Cruiser bike for family recommendations

Discussion in 'Outdoor World' started by purr1n, Jun 5, 2019.

  1. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    Keep in my you can shorten the bar width too. MTB bars are supposed to be wide but they come extra wide for the largest of riders and then are supposed to be cut down a bit for smaller riders. The nicer old school bike shops normally offer to do this for you during setup.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I still have the hacksaw (with new blade of course) that I used to cut down the width of the bars of my 90s GT Avalanche.

    :)
     
  3. ergopower

    ergopower Friend

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    Without getting too deep into the history:
    Rear hubs vary. Traditional road w/rim brakes are 130mm wide inside the dropouts. Mountain bikes were traditionally 135mm wide to be able to accommodate disk brakes. Road bikes with disk brakes also tend to be 135mm rear spacing. Lots of people are unable to learn how to properly close a quick-release skewer, which gets problematical with disk brakes. So there's been a move to replace quick-release skewers with thru-axles, which pass through a hole in the dropouts instead of a slot and thread in place. Older rear thru-axle hubs are still 135mm; newer ones are 142mm to allow the axle to slide into a slot while there's still a hole behind it for the thread-in skewer.

    Bottom brackets, what a mess. Old school, everything used cups for the bearings threaded into each side of the bottom bracket. 3 standards, English, Italian & French. There is also variation in axle length depending on crank arm design, Q spacing and how many front chainrings, but it's manageable.
    Lean & Poke-a-yoke considerations replaced threaded cups with press-in cups. Every manufacturer figured they had a better idea of how big a diameter cup, cup width, cup spacing, etc. So there are loads of press-fit bottom bracket 'standards'. With adapters, most press-fit bottom brackets can be adapted to most variations. But it's a pain in the ass, and most of them creak. The very latest tippity-top o' the heap road bikes ($15k+) seem to be going back to threaded cups.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2019
  4. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    English (BSA), Italian, French, BB30, PF30, PF30 OB, OSBB, BB30+, BB30A, PF30A, BB86, BB386, BB86, BB92, BBRight, BB90/95, "Fat", T47, any more?

    O.L.D. hub standards: (QR=Quick Release TA=Thru Axle BO=Bolt On)

    [​IMG]

    IOW, for your neighborhood bike mechanic, it's a f'ing headache.
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    LOL, I missed this part, but when did Mountain bikes suddenly get 29" wheels? I mostly rodes in the 90 and I think MTB wheels were only 26". I thought this 2018 GT Pantera (27.5) rolled on the street better than I remembered than my 90s GT Avalanche despite the fatter tires on the 27.5.
    • So many changes. I like the x1 chainring deal. 30T and 46 in the back is plenty low for some of the steep climbs around my neighborhood (oh crap, I'm in horrible shape since my illness, besides a different set of muscle groups / and strength vs. running). This use to be the third small chainring and lowest or next to lowest gear in the back in the 90s. I never liked the 3 chainring deal in the past. Make no sense.
    • Fatter tires. I guess I like this too, less slippage in the dirt.
    • Need to learn how to adjust disc brakes and deal with the hydraulics.
    • LOL, what's up with the mega wide handlebars?
    • Press-on BBs? WTH? Sounds like a pain to remove.
    I'm probably going to get my own bike. Been bored hiking all the local trails (have pretty much been on 80% of them), and it would be nice to be able to cover more ground.)

    How are the Diamondbacks? I'm looking at the Sync'R. Longer wheelbase, longer reach, even more aggressive seat angle than the Pantera (which seems a just tad pushed back than the GT MTBs of the 90s). All personal preferences.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2019
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    We can thank Gary Fisher (mostly) for the push to 29ers. 29ers are the same diameter rim as 700c regular old boring road bike, just wider rim. 29ers used to be taco-ed wheel city, but within the last 5 or 6 years, it's not a big deal. Responses below for each bullet:

    • Yes, 1x is the way to go. It's made possible by tooth profiles (narrow tooth, wide tooth) and a clutched rear derailleur that pulls tighter on the chain, so if the chain pops off, just remember that it'll only go back on the chainring with the outer plates/inner plates on the associated wide tooth, narrow tooth, and you'll need to release the tension on the rear derailleur's clutch/spring.
    • Big upside is lower pressure, too. In the dirt try riding around 24-26psi. on the pavement, try 35 or so. Then, read up to see if the the bikes you're looking at are tubeless ready; another significant improvement with the newer bigger tires.
    • Getting the calipers centered over the rotors is pretty easy, just go to youtube. Bleeding the hydro brakes is going to be unpossible if you don't have a bleed kit. It's messy, and brake fluid eats paint, so probably better left to the local shop. Besides, modern hydro really (usually) only needs to be flushed/bled once a season, similar to the brake fluid in a car. But, if you know how to bleed brakes on a car or motorcycle, you can definitely bleed brakes on a MTB.
    • Cut-to-fit! Seriously, just chop them down with a hacksaw to whatever width you're comfortable with.
    • If your bike is an aluminum frame, this isn't a big deal. For carbon BB bores, it's a huge clusterfuck.
    Edit: Diamondback is a solid tier-2 manufacturer, like GT, Jamis, Kona, Raleigh, Norco, etc. Good, competitive builds, but slimmer margins at the retailer. Diamondback has a long and sordid past (Chinese ownership turning things to shit for a while), but I believe they're now under private ownership now after Derby Cycles sold the brand. That being said, my first "real" 26" MTB was a Diamondback Sorrento from 1992 that I beat the shit out of. So, I've got a little bit of a soft spot for a well spec'd DB.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2019
  7. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I thought the wider tires would have a lot more rolling resistance till I rode a friend's fat bike and I was surprised how easily it rolls. My plus bike definitely rolls easier than my old 26er. Not sure why but i won't complain.

    The day I bought it I took it on some of my favorite river trails and was like holy crap I'm not sure if I will make it between these trees LOL. Very first mod was cutting a couple inches off each side of the bars. Bash guard for the chainring was second. Love the ground clearance of the bigger wheels. Easy to get carried away trying to go over things.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The amusing thing is that the 1x chainring models tend to be reserved for the higher end models, although there does seem to be some trickle down, just not to the sub $1k bikes yet. I presume it's a matter of marketing to and expectations from lower end customers.

    --

    Dumb question, can a 29" also fit 27.5" wheels?

    Took the bike out for a spin on the trails. That was fun, but I'm hurting all over, especially with the back and hip muscles. I run up the hills around the area, but it's too easy to forget about the different sets of muscles used and the explosiveness required on MTB. I think it's actually been over 25 years since I've hit a trail on an MTB. Haha, now I want a nice carbon frame MTB (I love to go up hills and fast).

    Yes, the BB stuff is insane. Looks like SRAM introduced a new DUB spindle to make everything before not work.
     
  9. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    I had one of those too. Fractured my humerus over reacting to a cement gutter that I was trying to exit on an asphalt road. Going a bit too fast and crashed the diamondback and my shoulder into the center of the street.

    Funny, I did not get on a bike again until about 15 years later. :eek:
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2019
  10. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    On most 29er bikes, 27.5/650B wheels will fit. The "big" idea is that on a 29er frame you can fit 27.5+ wheel/tire setups, like 27.5x4+ wide tire. The use case for something like this is somewhat limited. Think, "i bought a 29er, and in the winter in Minnesota I like to ride a fat tire in the snow". The bigger question in compatibility terms is the hub standard; Boost versus Boost+, etc. At first, 27.5/650B was a way to get bigger rubber onto a road bike without changing the effective circumference of the tire/wheel. 650B + 47mm tire = same rolling circumference as 700C x 28mm tire, roughly. It's only this last model year (MY19) that we started seeing a ton of 27.5 MTBs and recreation/neighborhood bikes. On MTBs, running 27.5 makes it a little easier to keep standover height in check. Lots of 29ers weren't useable by shorter riders because the standover height and toe-overlap were awful.

    Now that SRAM has come out with the NX Eagle 12spd group, you're going to see this on A TON of entry level "competitive" MTBs. I just bought my first MTB in over 20 years, and it's a Spec. Chisel w/SRAM NX Eagle. I really like it so far. I'll probably upgrade to the X01 Eagle AXS wireless electronic kit after this season, just to see how well it does.
     
  11. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Yeah, I'm having to relearn all my trails on a 29er. SO much easier to roll over stuff. But bunny hopping things is so much more effort - I definitely pulled a muscle in my back trying to get over some logs with big heavy 29er wheels and tires... sucks being 40+, too...
     

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