[Skywalker67]

MTB rider here.

 

["A"]

MTB rider here.

I dabble here & there, still riding 26"er (acoustic bikes).

My 27.5"er is an ebike (from 2019), next to my errand running cargo ebike:

 

[Kenneth]

View attachment 62730 View attachment 62730

 

[Kenneth]

Leaving Hot Springs SD headed east across the Lakota Reservation in July, 2014. Started in Sheridan WY and headed east for two months that year.

 

[Kenneth]

Gawd I hate computers!!

 

["A"]

Last long (60+ mi.) ride of the season, ride in comfort:

 

[Kenneth]

Last long (60+ mi.) ride of the season, ride in comfort:

So back in about '95 I got a nerve injury from riding stiff-armed in order to support my weight because I had tilted the nose of my saddle down in order to avoid numbness in my privates. Totally un-coached, I started trying to average ~3K miles per year about 10 years earlier, so I had some serious time invested in that position. Lost strength and range of motion in my left arm such as I could no longer ride and bought a Lightning P-38 short wheel base recumbersome similar to yours. I had fun with it, and in the right conditions it was fast as Hell. I once encountered a cycling club from Grand Junction headed up the Crystal River Valley (CO133), a gradual but steady grade leading to the brutal 3 mile grind to the top of McClure Pass where no recumbent dare tread. But the steady grade, along with a light quartering headwind allowed me to drop all but a couple of them before I turned around. I rode a full year on it, including several centuries, trying to make the most of it, as my neurologist had only given me a 50% chance of recovery. In the meanwhile saddles starting have holes in them to avoid soft tissue damage, and over that winter I recovered. In the Spring I bought an outrageously expensive anatomic saddle, leveled it, and never rode the Lightning again, selling it on Ebay. It was a beautiful thing though, I'd like to try one with a fairing.

Lightning P38 and F40 Recumbent Bike - Bicycle Man

Lightning P-38 and Lightning F-40 Recumbent Bikes. The legendary P-38 is still Lightning's flagship and at 24 lb, one of the lightest recumbents made.

bicycleman.com

 

["A"]

04 JAN 2023, 64 F (17 C), worked up a sweat even on my folder.

 

[shredG]

Some of the many loves of my life....


OG custom restomodded FSR Elite Max backbone frame I raced this a cpl of times @ Downieville DH and others, it sat for 8 years then got a comprehensive rebuild.
It's a '98 frame w/custom offset mounted 2018 Fox DPS rear shock/MRP link w/ a 2008 Fox 36 Talas fork...30 years of suspension tech in one build.. then I set it up OG MULLET - 27.5/26 lol it was awesome!
I converted it to a double up front w/a 9 speed rear complete titanium hardware conversion, carbon cranks, stem, and bars, Hope Mono6Ti 6 piston DH caliper 223 mm ft. rotor paired with Hope Mono/Mini MC with Dangerboy CNC levers... took over a year to rebuild and find all the parts,.. .I spent a small fortune.

...and it was stolen 1 year ago this week. FUCK ALL BIKE THIEVES TO HELL!

The 2017 Devinci Troy I built up from a bare frame in 2018... my first experience with modern bike tech and geo. after almost 8 years off the bike Holy fook what a dramatic difference 6-7 years made in the MTB world .. I knew everything about MTB's & bike tech in 2011.... I had to learn almost everything all over again by 2018 just to properly spec it and then put this thing together....
To this day I can't see a reason to replace it.... I set it up mullet,..run a 29 in front, its stupid light for the travel w/ Carbon fiber; Wheels, frame, stem, bars, cranks.. I keep a cpl of sets of wheels for XC or Enduro, DH runs.
I've noticed virtually all the highly promoted new non DH MTB's released in the the last 2-3 years all seem to be a slightly updated variation of this bike design.. w/5-6 inches of travel.. updated newer parts, some newer tech, slightly adjusted geometry but nothing dramatically different. Nothing worth busting out the wallet and dropping 4-6k+++ on FFS... the ONLY thing I'd like to have is maybe a PROPER 29'er....

And the latest............. ive gone over to the dark side.....

2020 Santa Cruz Heckler CC E bike. my best bud purchased it new in 2020 moved to oregon, rode it 1x and never touched it again.. in June i asked him again if he'd done any riding & he said no so I said "BRING ME THAT SUMBITCH, give me a number, i'll buy it, the battery has sat for 18 mo, the motor tech is already 2 generations old, it NEEDS TO BE RIDDEN... & 4 weeks later he brought it back down when i charged the battery and turned it on again checking the display...it had 6.8 total miles on it.

I swapped on a set of Carbon wheels + a Fox Factory DPx2 shock, a pile of titanium bolts, & made a custom clear bra kit for every part of the frame.
Fk. me if these things don't completely change the game..ESP if yr. an OG rider pushin' 60 who's not really interested in the 7 hour all day 20-25 mile grinders any more and just can't manage the abuse we happily endured 20 years ago.. but you can't quit riding.... it's freekin' brilliant.

Hecklers OLD and NEW:

..... & i'm still waiting on my bro to give me that number.....



Almost forgot,

My mid to late 90's (I think...?) Moots YBB ( I think ? ) 'FS' bike my (same) friend purchased new as a frameset BITD, I spec'd it out and built it up for him back when we were roommates almost 30 years ago.

Peter had it sent back to Moots 3 yrs ago, they stripped it down, cleaned it up & restored the frame, re-bead blasted it applied new original decals, updated the seat post, and put it all back together.... & it sat untouched in our warehouse since then...a year ago Peter was in town and told be it was mine if I wanted it...

I've since upgraded the ORIGINAL wheels, & tires, Smoke/DART combo lol. and swapped out the OG RS Judy fork for a NOS 2008 FOX talas 36 I found on ebay last year and that's about it...as much as I was tempted to keep it all original..AND upgrade EVERYTHING I found a happy medium..that Judy is a noodle and questionable 27 years later at my weight these days. With a proper solid fork it's still a sweet ass freekin' bike. it's a perfect smooth trail XC blaster from the past...

..The day I brought it home & immediately washed 3 years of dust off of it...

Full 1996/8? XTR drive train, brakes/levers with SRAM Xray twist shifters 24 speeds w/ 12/30- 8 speed cogset, lol. & that SICK ass < 3in. travel Fox Alps 4 R air shock. Monkeylite hi-rise Carbon bar + Titec carbon fiber bar ends.... I need to find a pic after I made it rideable again ;-)

Bikes rule.

 

["A"]

Those bikes look clean enough to eat from..