Specialized mountain bike, don't remember model. After knee surgery went wrong many years ago. I finally got it out and went for a ride on Monday. I'm still sore, it was only a few miles.

Good news minor knee pain, less good news is next ride is probably limited to 3-5mi. I used to do 30-40mi on a mountain bike with 2" tires.

Hopefully I can work myself back up to close to where I used to be. If I fuck my knee(s) up hopefully they can fix previous surgeries. Oddly/sadly both my wrists and back are slightly sore from approx 3mi ride.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
He is converting it to a 72V 5,000w (6,500w peak power) mid-drive electric mountain bike that will make 260 Nm (191 ft lbs) of torque.

What is the name of that mid-drive unit? I have a bike I might want to upgrade with that.

Synthplayer, on his first test with the new CYC mid-drive motor my friend hit 53 mph on flat land.

He said he is positive it has more speed but he is scared to open it up fully until he gets used to it. Apparently it has enough torque to throw you off the bike at 30 mph!!!

I cannot wait to test ride it. It sounded a lot like the things people say after their first experience on a 1000cc superbike motorcycle!

Serotta Titanium


Bianchi Pista Via Brera fixie


Kestrel Talon SL

^^^^^
I'm jealous of the Serotta Titanium. For years I wanted a custom/made to measure Serotta, couldn't afford it and then they went out of business. I just looked them up and I see that after 8 years they are back in business. I have had a fancy $300 bike fit session and after 3 hours on the road bike I get uncomfortable. My summer time Saturday rides can frequently go 4 or 5 hours. Don't get me wrong I am not fast, just like to go on a long group rides. I'm built short legs/ long torso and think custom might help. How do you like the ride of your titanium frame?

Today was a VERY GOOD day at work. It was slow enough that I got to assemble and ride my Standard STA500. The previous pics were from the seller. It’s FUN! I also got a chance to test ride my friend’s home brew electric mountain bike.

I’ve wanted this exact color Standard STA since 1999! I finally got one and it’s so much fun to ride. She is built like a brick shit house. Look at the thickness of those rims!


Now onto something a bit different.

To say this bike is mental is a gross understatement. It’s Yamaha R1 scary. My first ride on it had my two coworkers and myself laughing our asses off.

I went to pedal hard to get going not realizing the bike motor is “torque sensing” so the harder you pedal the more power it provides. I unknowingly got a full power hit as soon as I got on the bike and it popped a wheelie and tossed me off the back with quickness.

Thankfully, I landed on my feet and recovered by holy shit and a hand bag this thing has ungodly amounts of torque. I had to lean forward while on the throttle to keep the front wheel down. It is the most mental two wheel thing I’ve ever tossed my leg over.

I would love to do the power to weight ratio math on it because I bet it is eyebrow raising.

If my friend is ok with it I’ll post up a video of him doing a flyby later on. He hit over 50mph on a short side street near the bike shop!!! For now here are some pics of the most powerful Marin and possibly the most powerful electric mountain bike on the East Coast.

I totally have to buy a CYC motor like this now. It’s so wild!!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
She is built like a brick shit house. Look at the thickness of those rims!

It's not just the thickness I'm looking at, it also the number of spokes. Hard to tell from the photos but I think I counted about 48 on the front. You'd probably kill yourself before you ever trash those wheels!

Crazy thing is the Standard STA500 is noticeably heavier than my large steel frame 29er hard tail mountain bike, which is twice its size and is also sporting a chromoly steel frame!

I need to weigh it. It might be heavier than my full suspension 29er MTBs!!!

A human would break before that bike suffered any broken bits.

quote:

Originally posted by ibanda:
^^^^^
I'm jealous of the Serotta Titanium. For years I wanted a custom/made to measure Serotta, couldn't afford it and then they went out of business. I just looked them up and I see that after 8 years they are back in business. I have had a fancy $300 bike fit session and after 3 hours on the road bike I get uncomfortable. My summer time Saturday rides can frequently go 4 or 5 hours. Don't get me wrong I am not fast, just like to go on a long group rides. I'm built short legs/ long torso and think custom might help. How do you like the ride of your titanium frame?

I got fitted and bought my Legend in 1998.F1 fork, Dura Ace with a triple crank. Like you, I'm not fast, just like to ride. Also, I made myself a second set of sew-up wheels. They ride nice. For clinchers I use Vittoria opens. Very nice ride. I'm, 56.5 square, so a custom fit was required.

Here is what I was doing last Saturday.

This ebike is such a BEAST!!! I was a bit out gunned on my BMX bike. Hahahaha

Enjoy.

Thanks to some warm weather for late February my son and I got to get in some time on the trails.

The green Soma Valhallen he is riding in the pic is considerably lighter than the Standard BMX bike I posted up pics of earlier. That mid-school Standard bike is an absolute tank.

I got in some trail time with my mullet Specialized Status and had a pedal strike. I love the way a mullet bike handles but the loss of ground clearance with a 27.5 rear tired does come with its disadvantages.



I don’t regret buying the Specialized. On downhill sections the bike really shines.

Working at a bike shop has its perks.

I have been able to witness firsthand just how much of a difference top spec carbon wheels make on a bicycle. One lady’s gravel bike shed 3.7 lbs just by swapping to top of the line carbon wheels. She noticed an improvement in ride quality along with the weight advantage!

Getting into bikes and understanding the pricing is a gradual process. A few years ago I would consider spending more than a grand on a mountain bike to be insane. I am now in the process of building up a carbon wheel set with my boss at the shop that will end up costing close to two grand!

That might seem excessive but I will be getting wheels with a life time warranty and Industy 9 hubs that are 100% manufactured in Asheville North Carolina. I love that I can support American manufacturing while upgrading the performance of my brand new Scott Genius 900 trail bike!

As an added bonus I will be able to use the old aluminum wheels on another bike build which is always fun!

Industy 9 also has a configurator that allows quite a bit of customization/personalization when having wheels custom built! You can select the individual color of every single spoke!

I am leaning towards alternating black and silver spokes with silver hubs but I might go with black hubs.


Black and gold is interesting too




I don’t think I’ll go with the skittles rainbow colors

New bike day!! Sort of… I recently scooped up a super slack masterpiece that I intend to build up properly. Behold the Kona Honzo ESD (Extra Slack Dude). This is my first Kona bike so I am excited to build it to my specs. With a 63° head tube angle and full chromoly tubing this is a SUPER aggressive enduro/downhill focused hard tail that can handle an absolute ton of abuse. I’m hoping it climbs a bit better than my 27.5 Chromag Stylus.

It’s not a light frame set coming in at 7 something pounds (I’ll weigh it at work tomorrow). It certainly feels almost twice as heavy as my thinner heat treated chromoly tubed Soma Juice (light blue bike I posted a while back). This bike like the Soma Juice also has adjustable dropouts and the ability to be run as a single speed. I don’t think I’ll set this one up as a single speed.

I have a nice SRAM carbon fiber crankset inbound along with a Z1 Bomber fork in 170mm, which is 20mm more travel than the bike was designed for. I’ll eventually source a better & lighter 150mm fork that was designed for this frame’s geometry.

No, this one won’t be converted to electric. It will be a build that I eventually want to come in under 26 lbs. I think is a very attainable goal. It should make for a very fun and stout hardtail mountain bike.

The frame might look black but it’s more of a black cherry pearl and looks really good.

Mine is so hi-tech, you would not understand.

Jef

My Kona Honzo is coming along nicely. I installed SRAM 170mm carbon fiber cranks and 27.5 wheels as I had a single speed set up in 27.5 ready to roll. Eventually this will be a 29er and set up as a 12 speed.

This single speed just needs a seat post, saddle and brakes and it’s done for the time being. I test rode it the other night and LOVED the long, slack geometry. This bike feels like a big BMX bike! I LOVE IT! It also has sliding drop outs so it’s perfect to play with as a single speed for a bit. I slid the axle mount all the way back and this might be the longest slackest bike I own. The frame is designed for a 150mm fork but I’m running a 170mm Marcozzi Bomber Z1 fork which gives it an even slacker head angle than the 63° it has standard!

I love the shade of purple Kona made the Honzo ESD, it looks black until you get up close, it’s a very dark purple.




Now for something completely different.


Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can yield incredible results. While slaving away fixing bikes at my local bike shop a customer brought in a Cannondale Moterra electric mountain bike.

He had a safety check done and mentioned he was going to sell the bike since he never rides it. He mentioned his selling price which was quite fair.

Fast forward a week. With the service work done he came in to pick up the bike. As luck would have it I was the one to check him out. He again mentioned he was going to sell it and said the same price but mentioned he was flexible.

I thought about it for a second or two and then chased him down after he left the shop and bought a carbon frame Cannondale Moterra with a Bosch performance line motor for $1000! These bikes sell for $2500-3500 used!

I took it for a trail ride and thrashed the hell out of it today with zero issues.



I destroyed my all time lap record at my local trail today! I could have done better but got caught behind a slower rifer with no areas to pass during the last 1/4 of the trail ride.

The brakes are shot so I’m truly ecstatic I was able to put down such a hot lap with terrible brakes that I had to squeeze all the way until they hit the handlebar before it would lock up.

I’ll be bleeding them tomorrow at work.

That’s pretty badass. I think I read this right that you bought him a frame and battery and scored the bike? Either way, that’s one hell of a nice bike. Congratulations!

I actually took mine out today for a short ride. Up this nasty hill three times for a leg workout, then back home.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
That’s pretty badass. I think I read this right that you bought him a frame and battery and scored the bike? Either way, that’s one hell of a nice bike. Congratulations!

I actually took mine out today for a short ride. Up this nasty hill three times for a leg workout, then back home.

Nah he brought in a complete 2021/2022 cannondale ebike he bought to flip and I low balled him and he accepted my offer.

The other bike mentioned before it is a personal build because I LOVE long, slack hardtails and this was a brand I had been wanting to add to my bike collection for a while now.

THE day after I bought my first Kona frame to build up it was announced the brand was up for sale. Some lame big corporation who wanted to bypass local mom and pop shops and sell direct to consumers didn’t see their plan materialize financially so they announced plans to sell.

THE day I finish this build it is announced that the original founders of the company from 1988 decided to buy back their company and rebuild it to its former glory!

That is fucking cool!

This is the most hardcore hardtail I’ve built so far and I cannot wait to hit my local dirt jumps! This thing rides like a dream. It’s like a big BMX bike but with 170mm travel from the fork! It’s a single speed too!

nearest 24 7 gas station

***ZOMBIE THREAD RESURRECTION ALERT***

I’m kind of surprised this thread has gone almost two years without a post. Folks not riding anymore?


I’ve been riding my Gazelle for a little over two years now and the past 10 months or so it has been increasingly difficult due to knee problems. Right knee was replaced in 2024 and no problems with it, but a torn meniscus in my left knee last June kept me from outdoor riding for the balance of 2025.

After rehabbing from arthroscopy in October, I’ve been off and on with my NordicTrack and looking forward to spring to get back on the “real” bike. I started doing short rides around the neighborhood a few weeks ago, but have been having a tough go of it. Knee is much better, but still has a bit of a hitch and I need to be careful to avoid re-injuring it.

Once I am up on the bike and get moving, I don’t have any issues. The trick though is in getting up on the bike and an even bigger trick is getting back off of it.

The Gazelle is just too tall for my 28” inseam and with the bad knee I need to be able to touch ground without a 35 degree list to port. It was always too tall for me (5’7”) but I learned to dismount by popping off the seat, tossing it over to the left and sticking my leg out to catch myself and stop the “controlled fall”.

Now, after 2 years of that technique my knee problem precludes that sort of sudden load/impact to the knee and unexpected dismounting or even planned dismounting has become a little sketchy/scary/dangerous


I realized if I wanted to continue riding, I needed a different bike. Been looking at options, reading/watching reviews and today was “new bike day” for me!

Enter the Aventon Ramblas ADV. it is a hardtail eMtb with pretty impressive specs/components/reviews. My first e-bike was the Aventon Aventure fat-tire bike and I loved it until I decided to upgrade to something more efficient (the Gazelle).

Man, Aventon has come a long way in the past few years. The Ramblas is definitely a peppier and more responsive motor/drivetrain compared to the Gazelles Bosch (Performance Line Speed w/85MNm) system. This not a knock on the Gazelle bike or the Bosch system. I love that bike and the only reason for moving on is it being too tall for me.


The giggle I felt come out when I first rode the Ramblas though was unexpected and I was surprised for it to have such an obvious improvement over a bike that I have been perfectly happy with performance wise.

Being a Mtb design the lower step over height combined with a dropper seat post completely solve the problem with getting me closer to the ground for easier dismounts and better stability while starting.

Stronger motor (100MNm), almost 40% more battery capacity (708wh vs 500wh) and a beefier frame, yet only a couple pounds more than the Gazelle. The bike display, app, and web site isn’t anywhere near as refined as the Bosch system but I use my Apple Watch/iPhone as a bike computer while riding so I can track the important stuff.


Bike gets great reviews and looks to be earning title of best in class for its price range based on having a stronger motor and higher end components than the big name offerings at a similar (but still higher) price point.


I won’t be doing any “mountain biking” with it, will just be a “recreational” bike for road/paved path/occasional gravel trails but I prefer the Mtb style and the features/components are exactly what I was looking for. Nice low gearing to get over the hills in my area but a respectable 18-20mph un-assisted for the flats depending on how fast I want to pedal. Hopefully I will back to riding regular 20-30 mile rides a couple days a week soon along with almost daily (weather depending) 6 mile ride with my wife on her Lectric Trike.

Stock photo…

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 911Boss,

We canceled our Peloton, and I've been running more.
Just told my wife this past weekend that I need to get my road bike out of storage & start riding again

Still have my Kona Hei Hei from the late 80's.

Recently I ran into a friend I sold my Ron Cooper to in the late 90's. Bought it from Tony Tom at ABO in Sausalito some time around '95. Ended up getting a custom Serotta Legend made, so I sold the Cooper @ '98.

Friend was totally into MTB, so the Cooper was not getting ridden and he sold it back to me a couple weeks ago.

I am waiting for images to download so I can post them here. Going through a total rebuild, everything is getting rejuvinated. I had a triple crank on it when I sold it and it was replaced with a 2x crank and levers, the wheel bearings were full of sludge, headset was garbage, I had a Chris King on it. In essence, the bike got robbed of anything good, so my mission is to bring it back to its former glory, which I am doing.









The wheels have stood the test of time, 3x 32 spoke 15/16ga DT spokes and brass nipples. I built this set right.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Snapping Twig,