one rib closer to sucking your own dick

How did you find out you had that? Hopefully not because it causes you pain

Is the ice cream in the form of a Blizzard? Now you've made me hungry..

Net positive over all. 

Also, how does one found out one has a fractured rib? The only time I've ever fractured a rib I could hardly breath.

oh I am in a ton of pain, have been for a couple of days now. The doctor I visited said that it was just a sprained muscle and a nerve that got stuck, but it just didn't feel right to be that. So after my gf convinced me of going to the hospital, I found out it was way more than what the first doctor said.

It isn't a rib in the front.

I wish that there would be a blizzard here, the temps are too damn high.

To make the story short a dude lost control of his bike, and ran into me with the handlebars directly into the left side of my back. I guess it hit is just right to make a tiny fracture in a rib.

Trail riding? I was always surprised that I never injured myself when I was younger. So many epic bails.

Get better soon!

Nope not even that, I was walking down the street and he was probably going too fast to handle the corner well and then he lost control. The weird thing is that right on impact it wasn't that bad, but it only got worse.

Heh, trials bring back a lot of good memories, but also a lot of memories of accidents. Sadly trials are a no go for me this summer, my MTB isn't in a working condition, I need to change the whole breaking system, back derailleur and the front fork. Which I can't afford to do, plus this is going to take 3-4 weeks to heal according to the doctor.

Thanks

OH man! That's brutal. I hate people that ride on busy sidewalks because of that.

Haha the most painful memory for me was doing an 8 foot drop to flat...but being too far back, and nailing the back of the saddle with my crotch.

All of my bikes are in storage in a different province, along with $60k in parts. I don't live near mountains anymore Plus the mountains here have Grizzlies and that's something I'd just rather not fuck with. Or even worse. Grolars.

That sucks, what kind of bike do you have?

I have a hardtail MTB and a road bike. The road bike is my gem, it has top end campagnolo gears, carbon frame and campagnolo wheels. The hardtail MTB is kinda your average $1-1.2k hardtail, nothing special. XT and SLX gears and 100mm air fork. With how much I need to spend to fix the MTB I might as well sell it for whatever it is worth and then buy a new/used one when I can afford to do that... Plus I want to get a MTB that is more trail oriented.

What did you ride? Seems like you got pretty deep into the sport  

Ahhh road bikes always terrified me! The tires are way too skinny! Plus I've known more than a couple of people who have lost fingers and thumbs crashing into cement barricades. The thought of having a digit ripped from my body is just...no. Plus I'm a pretty broad guy and it makes for poor wind resistance

I find the SLX stuff is almost as good as the top tier stuff. You save a little weight with XT, XTR etc but really if you want crisp glorious shifting all you need is a good shifter. SLX is a beast, and if you destroy it, much cheaper to replace.

I have a few bikes. I have a Giant Glory, a Canfield Balance, and I was building up an Intense Tracer 275 before I moved. I have to go back to my storage locker in the fall and I'll probably try to sell most of them for the few days I'm there, and build something of an all-in-one bike when I move back to the coast.

I sold parts as a side business (hence the massive quantity ). Buy complete bikes in the winter, strip them down, sell. I also purchased a ton from eBay, as the US just has much cheaper parts than Canada. Very seasonal, but I'd bring in about $3k/week for the 3 months of summer. If in the fall you haven't fixed your bike, I probably have a set of brakes I could send your way if you cover the shipping.

What are the trails like over there? I always picture it being very...flat...or super jagged rocks like the Alps.

it took me a whole to get used to a road bike, I am also a rather broad guy and tall, so not really the best body type road bikes.

The front derailleur is a SLX, the back derailleur is a XT and the shifters are some basic Deore, it shifts well, but it is a 3x10 setup. It is a 2013 MTB afterall  It is basically the stock setup, I changed the front derailleur to SLX after the stock one broke.

Yeah SLX is a good groupset.

The biggest problem is my fork, it is 100% dead and a new one is quite expensive, plus I kinda want to have more than 100mm travel.

Oh yeah my bike is a lapierre raid 729 with a upgraded fork, since the dealer had a deal for a fork upgrade that I just couldn't refuse.

Also thanks, I am just affraid that the VAT people would take the package and shipment to Denmark is very expensive. We can see when the time comes  

Those are some really nice bikes and it seems like you are pretty well covered for just about anything. All 27.5" too, hmmm not bad at all. The Tracer 275 is carbon right?

That seems like a really really good business, kinda fun too. I personally love working on bikes and such.

The trails are flat compared to Norway, the climps and descents aren't that long, but there is a lot of technical stuff. There are generally a lot of drops, but not that many jumps. It is kinda a 65/35 mix of what you said. 

For your next bike, swap out the shifter for something high end. XT or higher. Trust me, it's a muuuch better experience, and it's a very cheap upgrade.

SRAM used to make really nice shifters for Shimano set ups, but I don't know if that's still true.

Haha, yeah air forks can be a bit finicky that way. What's wrong with it? Is it the cartridge or just the seals?

Nice, I remember I had this hardtail when I was a kid...I got it for a couple hundred dollars from one of my aunts patients. He bought it brand new, and he accepted whatever I'd made from working for my aunt doing yardwork and chores over the summer. It was a simple bike, but I beat the shiiiiit out of it. Destroyed the fork, broke 2 bottom brackets, the seat, wore through the tires. It was a lot less maintenance and headache than higher end bikes though.

It wouldn't be too bad, I'd just declare it for the shipping cost. I think it's about $25 Canadian if you don't mind not having tracking.

The Tracer is just the aluminum version, I managed to snag it for $200. The paint is rough, but I'd planned to get it stripped and powdercoated a custom root beer color. I'll probably still do that before I sell it, unless I get a really good offer.

Haha yeah. I'll consider doing that again when I move back to Vancouver, but for now I live too far from the border. Next ventures are clothing and Amazon though. I'd say you should try it but I imagine the markets are completely different over there compared to here.

I'm sure they're a blast, I actually like flowy singletrack more than most other types of riding. Especially now that I'm getting older. That's why I think I can get away with a much lighter, all around bike. I picked up my friends carbon Trek Remedy, and holy hell are those bikes light! I think it comes in around 26 pounds. I like taking a frame and customizing it though. Every part exactly what I want. The last bike I had was super custom, down to anodized spoke nipples, certain spokes, I replaced the brake levers with aftermarket ones...it was spot on.

This is where I grew up riding:

oh yeah, for my fix up I had planned to upgrade the shifters just because that would be such a small extra expense, but right now it makes more sense for me to just sell it and buy a different bike. Both the seals and the cartirdge is broken. 

I got a quote for getting the bike fixed and that was like 930 CAD, which I am tbh not willing to spend on that bike, even if I bought all of the parts myself and fixed it up myself then it would only go down by like 200 CAD. Plus I might be a bit superspecies, but that bike has been nothing but trouble for me and it really seems like it just wants to hurt me.

25CAD isn't that bad tbh.

Damn man $200 is so cheap, even a used FS is like $1200 here. A custom paint job would be awesome, legit that is one of my dreams. I really like the idea of having a 100% custom bike or close to that, when I start to make a good amount of money, then I will probably make my own MTB, even though that it won't be that smart when looking at how much it would cost.

A single track with a good flow is just amazing, it is so much fun. The speed and the feel is just amazing, those are also my favorite type of tracks, but a technical trail is also quite nice.

I kinda want to hit about 11-12kg with my next MTB, my road bike has spoiled me in that sense. My MTB is around 14kg with everything and my road bike is 7.5kg with everything, so that alone makes switching between them weird.

TBH the only reason why I haven't made my MTB more personal is because it just keeps having the weirdest moments. I have had 3 different brake setups on it through the years and all of them would just suddenly block the front brake and the weird thing is that they wouldn't do it when I installed them on my friends bike and let him use them for a month, but as soon as they got on my bike they would suddenly while I was riding the bike just block the front wheel. Which has resultet in me flying over my handlebars quite a few times.

Chains also seem to just snap on it all the time, I don't pedel all I can while I switch gear like new people might, the chains will just snap while I am riding without me doing anything. I have had people that service pro bikes look at it and install a breaking system and make sure the chain was perfect, yet it still happens. I can ride any other bike and these things don't happen. 2 years ago I loaned a MTB for the summer and nothing like this happened while I used it, it has never happened on any of the other bikes I loaned either. When my friends use it the same happens. it is weird and I haven't found a single person that could explain it.

Oh yeah if the cartridge is gone then there's no hope haha.

It was only $200 for the frame, but it was still a pretty crazy deal; those frames are like $3500. It's actually not too bad, especially if you have powdercoating places close to you. Usually it only costs about a hundred dollars, maybe a bit more to do a frame. If you get in on a color they're already going to do, it can be considerably cheaper.

Yeah we have tons of tech trails over here, lots of wooden plank bridges and stuff. Some trails I've ridden are almost all 4 to 6 feet above the forest floor!

Would you stick with a hardtail or get a dual suspension? There's something somewhat satisfying about a basic hardtail bike.

That sounds like a real pain in the ass. Really, getting a new bike would solve a lot of those issues I think, especially if you manage to get into something with an 11 or 12 speed rear derailleur and just a single ring up front. Gets rid of a lot of the complexity. That's the next thing I want to do....in a couple years when I move closer to the mountains again. The wait is killing me I don't want to ride out here, the mountains are far, and when you get to them there's a large grizzly bear population.

Yeah some frames are really expensive, especially if it is a high quality one. $200 for a high quality frame is a steal, even if it needs a new paint job, but that is just a very good excuse to customize the looks to your own liking.

TBH I am not sure if I will go hardtail or full suspension. There are pros and cons to both, the biggest concern of the full suspension is the price here, they start at 2000 euros and for less than that I can get a carbon hardtail with full XT groupset. The full suspension will definitely be the better bike for a lot of the trails close to me. A bit more suspension would probably help making the trails a bit less hard on my body, which probably would be a good thing considering I have just been out of the game for a year because of a damaged knee. The biggest pro with the hardtail is probably versatility for everyday things. A hardtail is a bike you can use in the forest, on trials and in the city without feeling out of place on it, and the pedal efficiency is really high. The biggest con is that no shop here seems to have any hardtail with more than 100mm travel in the fork, I would like 120mm and yeah I can just change the fork, but it would screw with the dimensions of the bike and a new air fork isn't exactly cheap.

The only thing I know is that I will have to wait 1-2 seasons before I can actually afford to buy a new or a good used bike. The knee stuff really drained my wallet. Once I can afford a new bike, then I am 100% go after a 1x11 or 1x12.

Yeah if there was a bear population around the trails here, then I wouldn't want to visit them either. Luckily the most dangerous animal I really have to worry a tiny bit about is a fox, but maybe soon wolf's too.

Yeah, that's true. If you make sure that you get a shock with lockout, you get the best of both worlds. I'm still not sold on carbon, especially for a hardtail. Carbon doesn't really respond well to shock. If you get a steel frame, it'll actually have a little bit of flex to it so that it's more comfortable when you take it off road. The carbon frame will be super, super stiff.

Haha, yeah most hardtails are more geared towards XC than trail riding. Try finding one with 160mm of travel and a burly build! Even harder. There were lots back in the day, but I wouldn't really trust them now what with aluminium fatigue and such.

What! That's why I'm super jealous about a lot of European countries. You guys killed off your dangerous animals decades ago Now all that's left is dangerous humans.

Yeah true a lockout can basically give me the best of both worlds.

I definitely won't be looking at steel frames, they are too heavy and I have experience with quite a few steel frames from the road bike world and they just become so soft after like 4-5 years. My next bike I kinda want to keep for as long as possible.

If I go with a hardtail then I want to get the weight down to 11-12kg, instead of the like 14-14.5kg mine weighs with all of the small extras. I like a lighter bike, so far they just feel more responsive. For a full suspension I am looking at around that 13-14.5kg mark for the entry level bikes. To get a full suspension that is close to 12kg in weight I would have to spend a obscene amount of money.

120mm travel in the fork would be nice, 140mm would be pretty amazing, but yeah seeing as most hardtails are XC, then I probably won't find one with more than 100mm travel any time soon.

Well, I have heard some stories about deers running after cyclists on the trails and sometimes give them a little push. It has never happened to me, but I have had a Fox run after me, I must say that wasn't all that fun. Sure I could probably take on a fox if needed, but man it would also course a lot of damage.

Yeah. I just don't trust carbon lasting that long without becoming seriously compromised. All depends how hard you ride it though I suppose.

Haha yeah the pursuit of weight loss is definitely a double edged sword. If you choose components wisely it's pretty easy to lose tons of weight though. Lightweight tubes and tires, for example, make a massive difference. It's something a lot of people overlook when they're building a bike.

Baha, that's adorable! Though the males can get a little aggressive I suppose. Nothing holding your bike over your head and making yourself look huge wouldn't fix though. I've seen bears, wolves, coyotes, deer, a moose...I think that's about it. Luckily no cougars, that'd be a little freaky!

Now I really want to build up a new bike Even if I wouldn't be riding it.

I am used to carbon from my road bike. Where it doesn't have any problems, but of course a MTB is going to be "thrown" around more and take a lot more shocks.

I would love to get some nice wheels, but man they get expensive fast and the weight lost is maybe like 100-150g, not really that amazing. I have my current MTB sat up tubeless, it removed some weight, but I mainly did it so I wouldn't get as many punchers.

I am use that you could get a heavy frame made into a bike that only weighted about 12kg, but then you would probably have to pick some high end wheels, a left fork and then 1x11 would be a must.

My dream is to build my own 100% custom MTB at some point, well you know buy a frame and then all of the parts I want and then put it together myself. If it is going to happen, then it will first happen when I have a job as a mechanical engineer. I know that it isn't the best value to make your own bike, but who cares, it is cool.

Yeah, plus it has a really good chance of actually hitting objects...something I'm assuming a road bike isn't really accustomed to

I've wanted to try tubeless, but it's just sooo much more work than simply running tubes, plus trail side repairs would be a bit more of a pain as well. I've had a few sets of custom wheels, they're an awesome way to save loads of weight. Or just build something completely bulletproof. I had a set of Saint hubs laced to Mavic 729's, and while a little heavy, they'd take any beating thrown at them.

Haha, those lefty forks just seem like such a bad idea. I know they're supposed to be quite rigid, but I can't imagine it's better than a proper regular fork.

Do they still make those upside down magnesium forks? I remember those were killer, killer light. And also $3,000 a piece.

Yeah, that's one of the things I love about being close to the US; so much cheap stuff. I've built $7,000 bikes for under $2,000, all brand new parts. You can find absolutely killer deals on PinkBike and such if you look around. People getting rid of gear they've gotten from sponsors and the like. I've purchased quite a bit of that. I think I have about 300 6" Avid rotors sitting in storage. Got them from a clearing house with 100 Truvativ 2x chain guides for $400.

You should check out the European Commencal site. They often have killer deals on their stuff, and I've seen frames sell for 80% off of retail pretty frequently. Sometimes you have to piece them together from their parts section, but it's doable. I wonder if it'd be worth it to ship an entire bike over. If the pricing there is high, it might just be. Do you ever browse Chain Reaction Cycles? Sometimes when they have clearance frames at 75% off I'll buy a few, wait until the sales over, and then resell them.

Tubeless was more work to do once and ever since then it has probably saved me about 8 tubes.

If the engineers have done their work well, then those lefty forks should be as durable as a normal fork or close to as durable and I hope that they have done their work well, because the price is quite high. I have seen some upside-down forks, but I don't think that they have been out of magnesium.

I haven't really looked at international sites tbh, mostly because shipping is a bitch and the Danish postal service is known for destroying a lot of things or simply throwing packages away... I will look now if the savings are so big. Thanks for mentioning the sites. I can see that all of the frames that would be viable in price only have 10% discounts, but I will be sure to keep an eye out for some better deals on the site.