Will it work?</div>
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<div style=”color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;”>My goal is to convert it to a 1X drivetrain. 32T Front X 13-42T Rear.</div>
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<div style=”color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;”>Sadly the Trek Marlin 4 has a freewheel and not freehub, therefore the only option is to change the hub or wheelset.</div>

Yes, all good things to consider. have you purchased bike insurance yourself?

I have not since other policies covered the bikes. Pays to raise the important questions during the process of choosing insurance. Create a list of questions and question the coverage of many items as you feel necessary. It is worth knowing if you are buying the same coverage multiple times over.

What size of bike/wheels are you interested in?

Something with minimal BB drop will enhance the playtime experience, so perhaps looking at a street trials bike, such as Inspired Hex, Fourplay or Arcade would be in order.

From that approach, you can get into more activity with greater ease since street punks, um trials bikes are designed around wheelies/manuals and far greater things. Then you get to work your way through learning a loooong list of skills that take mountain biking to a whole new level.

For some very well done tutorial videos, https://www.youtube.com/@SuperRiderTV

Honestly, you can do more on a typical mountain bike than you think! Avoid full suspension since they consume too much energy and inertia than does a hardtail.

DJ is heavy in comparison to a true BMX. True BMX’rs are intentionally light and meant for racing vs. a DJ being made stronger for big hit action.

Street Trials bikes are designed for riding obstacles and things considered not rideable. definitely worthy of looking into if you are interested in getting into more than just a wheelie or a manual here and there.

Sooo…

Coverage terms need to be clear. Does it cover accidents, property damage, fire, theft etc.

What is the premium? Would that premium buy a new bike in less than say, two years? Frankly, people need to investigate the terms of their homeowners/renters insurance. They may already have coverage and not know it.

Peace of mind is also a key component.

Was it worth it? Would you mind sharing your rates and what you had covered? Was the claim process easy? Any insight would help…even directing me to an existing forum on the topic that I missed!

Thanks!

Start with a 30, test it for a few reasonable rides. If curiosity prevails, the 28 can be had too. LBS’s might have a couple rings you can test with before purchase. Worth asking, anyway.

Suspension settings can be a rabbit hole since it is more subjective than seats and tire pressures!

Frankly, a mullet does require tuning riding style to it. Rollover is often humorous since some folks aren’t adept at trials! Hell, I can roll over things that 29’ers have difficulty with, on my 26″ wheeled trials bike, but that’s a seperate topic.

I am of the experiment with things that are easy tweaks, like wheels. Then it also gets on to practice makes progress, to borrow a phrase from SuperRider on ewww tewb. Give each experiment enough trail time to acclimate and take away a solid answer. Sometimes it doesn’t require the acclimation phase since it seems horrible right off. Needless to say, play with it and get an idea of what works for you and not a crash test dummy. Borrow wheels if need be.

Thank you for the additional input. I agree with you that buying a new bike is silly expensive, and therefore an unnecessary step at this point. I think for the near term I’m going to swap out the tire set and maybe upgrade the chainring to help my gear ratio, then ride it for a while and see how it goes. My next step, if I’m still not satisfied, is convert it to full 29er and see how that feels. The thing is, I love this mullet build on the flat and the downhill single track. It’s so playful compared to the 29er.

The issue mentioned above by Bike Nerd, about dialing in the rear suspension, is something I have to mess around with. I’ve never paid a lot of attention to this setting, so it’s hard for me to know good from bad.

The thing with mullet is, it is not for everyone. Of people I know that are on them, similar build to my own (Lanky 6′ beanpole) have all said similar things on their experiences. Gearing needs to be done according to the rear wheel’s diameter. That does affect the ratio of the drive train. They also mention tuning their riding habits to the mullet.

My experience in being on the trail with them is that they do everything with no issue. They haul ass, they go full send, just like everyone else. While I ride an RSD Middlechild with a one speed automatic transmission, sure, I keep up or leave em here and there. I get trialsy if I am on knobbies so, there is that however, we get in many awesome adventures with no issue.  The collection of bikes in my stable is 18 strong.

There have been a couple peeps that didn’t get on with a mullet. They were keen to try it  and did a rent with option to buy so they could do a proper shakedown. Good thing for the gents that didn’t find it a good fit.

Frankly, before tossin the towel… Borrow a 29 rear and give it a try. A bona fide shakedown!! A bike purchase can be silly expensive. Put in a few rides and see if the change makes the cut.

Also, spend some time making sure you’ve got the rear shock set correctly.  Multiple reviewers complained the rear suspension on the Stumpy is difficult to set up.  Too firm and the bike didn’t descend well.  Too soft and the bike didn’t climb well. The Stumpy has a very narrow sweet spot.   Some felt that they were never able to get it quite right.

If you do sell your bike, you sound like the ideal candidate for a Transition Spur, Ibis Ripley, or Rocky Mountain Element.  Something a little more sporty.  You could also convert your Stumpy back to full 29.

Have other riders out there had a similar experience with these mullet bikes? I’m tempted just to sell it at a loss and get another 29er from a different manufacturer. For background, I’m age 62 and ride a couple times a week in the Los Angeles area – about 90% fire roads, 10% single track. The links to my old and new bikes are below. Appreciate any advice I can get.

2014 Kona Hei Hei Supreme Bike – Reviews, Comparisons, Specs – Bikes – Vital MTB

S-Works Stumpjumper LTD (specialized.com)

Thanks!

Can anybody recommend a 28T chain ring that would be an easy swap?
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks!</p>

Titanium and chromo were fine materials to work with. Welding is the part that is needing most attention to detail, such as heat control during the welding process. Especially with titanium!

I’m an experienced rider and could have afforded the Carbon with equal components as the aluminum if I wanted, but I also knew regardless of which bike I got I would buy an upgraded wheelset and that would have made the carbon bike waaay more than I wanted to spend.  I still keep up and have just as much fun as my friends on high end carbon.

I may be a few years late in seeing your question and answering it.  In case you never got an answer and are still curious, I may have an answer for you and anyone else who is asking the same thing.  I have been shopping around for Tektro brake rotors recently.  As you mentioned before, the first number in the Tektro brake rotor part number is the diameter of the rotor in millimeters.  The second number of the part number is Tektro’s own code for the type of brake rotor.  From shopping around, I figured out that the “24” means that the rotor is made to be installed with single piston brake calipers.  “52” (i.e., 180-52) means the rotor is made to be installed with two piston brake calipers.  “35” means that the rotor has a Center Lock type of hub instead of the standard 6 bolts for mounting onto the wheel.  I hope that answers your question.

Any suggestions for a good paint brand or just in general for doing this?

Point being, getting precise dimensions on a metal that can be machines to 0.0001″ accuracy using a CNC machine vs. carbon that it hard to even get to form a perfectly round shape in high volume production, is a big difference.   I suppose bonding was more problematic overall as Trek had issues on the first PCLV.  I wonder what the aerospace industry is doing to resolve this?

Anybody know something about this?

https://i.imgur.com/mBG9ZU9.jpg

I just bought a Canyon Neuron trail bike and decided to go with the aluminum version. Honestly the biggest factor was the cost, and while there are weight and ride quality differences between carbon and aluminum, the advantages of carbon weren’t enough for me to outweigh the cost, at least in this particular decision.

That’s over a  25% grade.  Trust me, that’s sketchy just hiking on loose surface.  Even harder since it’s at altitude.

Anything new on the horizon with Shimano to counter SRAM’s dominance in the MTB (and gravel) world?

I was wondering, does anyone use or have experience with a hard cased bike box?   Seems some of them may be too heavy to meet the 23KG/50LB weight when adding in a MTB.  Road and gravel bikes are always G2G, but our MTBs are much heavier.

Thoughts?

Thanks in Advance,

Frank

Sandblasting the frame is a big job. You need to remove EVERYTHING, pedals, gears, bottom bracket, head set, etc. It’s rarely worth it.

Check if the suspension is at least holding air by topping it off with a shock pump and checking it after a ride or two. Wipe down the stanchions.

That should get you started!

I got a used bike from a friend and am wanting to get in in better condition. I have a few questions about how to  do certain things and I do not have much knowledge in this field so Iam asking you guys for some advice such as:

Which parts of the bike do I have to clean and with what..degreaser?just plain soap?…

how do I make sure the front suspension is working and if not how do i clean and improve it

If i were to sandblast the frame should I remove the pedals and the gears along with them?

I have a few questions more and will probably get a few more as I go along with the project. I can provide photos so If anyone can help me out, I thank you very much

LP

*because we all have fancy carbon wheels 🙂

I’d love to have you do a podcast with yourself.  After all these years, it would be great to interview yourself and tell is what you have learned over the past years of hosting your podcast.  It would be so interesting to hear that.  But, that would probably be a ton of work for you.  Keep up the great work and love the show.

Anyway, to my question.  You have talked with a lot of people in the industry.  The interview with Sam from Cane Creek has convinced me to spec out my new ride with Cane Creek products but, I am currently trying to decide which frame to go with.  The Ripley V4 or the Ripley AF.  On a cursory look, it seems like a number of frame manufactures are putting out aluminum framed versions of their best bikes.  Not sure if this is just targeted at cost savings, or if aluminum is making a comeback since we have “discovered” it is actually not a bad frame material since they can do so much with the material and make it stiff and compliant based on wall thickness and shape.

If price was no object, nor weight savings, since the weight isn’t that big of a difference between the two when talking about MTBs, what are your thoughts based on what you know/learned?

Anyone is allowed to chime in of course, and I am sure it will be a lively debate, but looking to get a gauge on the current thinking of a Ripley in carbon or aluminum.

Thanks in advance and again, your show is something I listen to as soon as I can on my commutes.

Frank

Not sure what changed, but this is annoying. I sent an email yesterday to the help address, but did not receive a reply.  Can someone please look into it?

I tried to add a screenshot picture but that wouldn’t unload.

Thanks,