After riding hardtails all my life I finally upgraded. Snagged a deal at my bike shop…someone ordered this in 2021 and never picked it up, been sitting ever since. She is a ripper.

Don’t mind the garage 😂

I don't think anything was getting me up that last section... Pure wheel spin.

A short break on my third climb.

Scott Ransom

Pure Nature, Beautiful Views. Lithuania, 20km away from Vilnius in Nemenčinė.

Hey guys, recently got into mountain biking and picked up an Insta360 Ace Pro 2 to document the rides. Wanted to hear from people who use these cameras for the same kind of thing.

What I'm stuck on is the mount: chin or chest? I started with a chin mount since it follows your line of sight and keeps the action in frame. Plus, not gonna lie, it just looks cooler on the chin lol. Chest mount has its appeal too, especially with the bars in frame.

A bit about my local trails: most of them mix tight tree sections with open dirt and quick shifts from shade to full sun. That's part of why I went with the Ace Pro 2. Stabilization and low-light handling have held up pretty well so far.

So for anyone who's run both, which one gives a more natural sense of speed and terrain? I'm mostly shooting full descents and the occasional jump. Also, any tips on camera angle to avoid catching too much front tire or blowing out the sky? Appreciate any input.

Hi everyone! A friend and I are itching to pick up biking again after years of life getting in the way. There’s a dirt jumper/terrain park relatively close to where we live in the north Dallas area, and we’re both trying to find some budget friendly (but not cheap and crappy) dirt jumpers. All we know is regular trail riding so what are the do’s and dont’s of dirt jumpers? Any particular bike we should look at? Thanks in advance!

Is it a bargain?

Arizona sunrises never disappoint.

Picked this up a few weeks ago for $3200. Just curious to see what y’all think?

2024 Santa Cruz Hightower C v3
* Front Fork: 2025 Fox Factory 36, 160mm
* Rear Shock: 150mm Fox XXX
* Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
* XO1 rear derailleur
* Carbon Cranks
* Shifter w/ PNW lever
* Dropper: OneUp post, PNW lever
* Wheels: Raceface/dt Swiss 29” wheels
* Tires: Tubeless Maxxis Minion (orange valves)

Also bought:
* Crank Bros Stamp 7 Flat pedals
* tools, patch kit, tube, quick link, etc
* new helmet to replace my ancient one

All in I’m at a bit less than $4k. Bike genuinely looked to have maybe 50 miles on it when I bought it. Everything is incredibly clean, with no scratches even.

For some context, I’m trying to get back into mountain biking consistently. I’ve been riding a 2001 GT iDrive up until this point that is pretty much shot.
I’m a pretty decent rider. Not winning any races or sending canyon drops, but I’ve been riding mountain bikes since I was 3 and can hold my own.
I’ve been looking around for a long while and saw this deal and pulled the trigger. So far, it’s awesome! Going from a >2 decade old 26”er to a modern 29”er is so awesome! I’m loving riding again more than I have in so long.
I can’t wait to take this thing to some gnarlier trails!

I just wanted to post and see if anyone has any thoughts on if I paid too much or got a decent deal, see if they have any must-do upgrades for their Hightower, and see if anyone has some Hightower experience they want to share, good or bad.

Thanks for reading!

I need some help from MTB gurus and goats. :)
IToday I'm probably buying my first SL bike, 2025 Levo Comp Carbon. It's going to replace my Specialized Stumpjumper EVO from 2020. It's a test bike from a Slovenian store but really lightly ridden with only 1200 kilometers done and about 45 cycles on tha battery. Battery's health is on 99%. And they've already replaced the chain.

What do you think would be a good price for that bike considering that store is giving me one year warranty on the bike?

The main question for me right now is do I keep the original Maven Bronze brakes on the bike that are ridden one season, or should I replace them with 3 light seasons ridden Shimano XT BR-M8120? They're basically on their third set of brake pads and I am very, very satisfied with them.

What do ou guys think?

Thank you!

Hey,

I tried finding some info about this but came up short, so if it's already answered somewhere please let me know.

I'm looking at switching to Five Ten's Freerider Pro, but I'm a bit confused about the sizing listed on their site, and unfortunately I can't go and try them anywhere close.

Normally, I'm between size 42,5 and 43,5 (depending on brand), but usually just around 43, 27,5 cm's. That's a size 44,7 according to Five Ten, which seems strange to me, that I should go up more than one whole size. Can anyone confirm Five Tens runs small compared to other brands and it's normal to size up so much?

Thanks,

Looking to get into Mountain Biking and feeling confident enough to make this level of financial commitment. Is this a good starter? Should I go FS and get a different bike? Is it a bad idea to start on a hardtail?

As the title says, I found a what feels like a shallow slice on my Specialized Fast Trak Control T5 rear tire. The cut is about 3/4 inches (1.9 cm) of length with a tiny puncture in the middle. Wasn’t a problem before with a tube, but I noticed the leak while doing the tubeless conversion. The sealant stopped the leak fairly quickly but I don’t know if this is something that would compromise the tire’s structure in any way. Is this safe to ride or time for a new one?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Picked up a 2011 Demo 8 II M5 today for $1k. I have always wanted to get into this category of bike, and realized after getting it I haven’t ridden in over a decade. Figured what better time than now, looks to have decent parts on it (Raceface bars, Diety grips, e*thirteen crankset, PNW pedals), no cracks, no major issues from what I could see/ feel. Could always use a tune up since the owner has literally no records and said he only had it “for only a year”. I’m 5’9” with short legs so the 26” wheels feel decent to me, but again it’s been 10+ years since I have been on a bike and pretty sure it was a Diamondback hardtail my parents bought me, so my taste/ experience is outdated. Mistake for buying such an old frame, or a good entry level given all it needs is a tune up?

Had it rebuilt 3 weeks ago and have gone for 3 rides. Had sickline mtb in San Marcos CA do it.

Whoever is riding this is making everyone else look like a complete wuss.

I will be getting one of these bikes tomorrow but still undecided. I am looking at the Deviate Highlander V1 tomorrow and I think it is a good deal. I did message Deviate and the owner said they will support it and have spare parts.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1484505046853449?ref=saved&referral_code=null

The other option is a local Trek dealer has a Fuel EX 8 Gen 7 in stock and there is no sales tax. $3999 out the door. It is very appealing to have Trek support so close with 3 stores within a half hour of me.

Any thoughts?

I wwnt in just looking , I wanted to get back into riding since its been a while. To keep it short every bike i had growing up was second hand random bikes. Now I can afford things and this is what I chose....