Breathing Life Back Into Your Ride....... How?

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Breathing Life Back Into Your Ride....... How?
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flag v7fmp
FL
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 3:43 Quote
Hey peeps.

Just a curious question..... you have your bike, you love riding it, but slowly you start falling out of love with it, you start hankering for a new bike, you fall out of love with it more, start thinking you will become a better rider on a fresh whip.

Then realisation hits. Your bike is more than up to the job, you remember you used to love it. You definitely don't need and wont feel the benefit of a new ride.

So how do you inject love back into your current ride? An upgrade here or there? A thorough break down, clean & lube?

Fresh points of contact? grips, saddle etc?

Maybe something off the bike to raise stoke levels? A new bit of kit? gloves, jersey etc?!

Lets hear your thoughts and opinions!
flag Facescab
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 5:18 Quote
Slowly upgrade everything and end up buying a new bike anyway.
flag bighitter
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 5:58 Quote
I subtly drop hints to the Mrs that by bike is too old and is becoming uneconomical to keep fixing. Sooner or later she tells me to go buy a new bike to stop me moaning. Problem solved!
flag swedishfishmx
O+
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 10:52 Quote
A new piece of kit works wonders.
flag zsandstrom
O+
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 11:06 Quote
I totally get where you're coming from on this.

The way I see it, this the result of the tension between two major parts of our sport: gear culture and ride culture.

For better or worse, mountain biking is not ONLY about riding; it's also about what you're riding. Some might contend that this is because we've been taught to think that way by the people that are selling us the gear we ride. But....remember the first time you rode a bike with a dropper post? Remember your first experience with hydraulic brakes? What about your first ride on full-suspension bike? You can't tell me that those things haven't revolutionized the way that you ride, or that they've had no effect on your level of enjoyment.

Point is, cycling is a gear-based sport. And, to some degree or another, the enjoyment of your equipment IS a part of your enjoyment of the sport.

So, to that, I'd ask the question: which are you trying to fix? Are you trying to love your bike more, or are you trying to love riding your bike more?

If the former, then I'd suggest doing something equipment-oriented. Cheapest option is definitely a complete teardown and rebuild, including servicing the pivot bearings and touching-up the paintjob. You could also go for a nominal equipment change like widening your handlebars, or getting new touch points (as you suggest). If you really want to get clever, you could consider a new rear shock, a new fork, custom suspension tuning, or new wheels. These things will change the ride characteristics.

If you're working with the 2015 Scout on your profile, my suggestion would be to pick up a Vorsprung Luftkappe for your fork, a Works Components 1.5* angleset, a shorter stem, wider bar, and a needle bearing kit for the rear shock. This whole affair would cost about USD$350, and you'd have a considerably different feeling bike than when you started, with modern geometry and suspension that is noticeably better.

But....if you're just trying to fall in love with riding again, you need a new way of thinking about riding. Maybe it's taking up MTB phtography. Maybe it's only riding new trails for a month. Maybe it's finding a new group of riders that talks less about their bikes are more about their ride experiences. Perhaps it could mean getting a dog and teaching it to be a trail pup, or maybe even coaching a new rider through those first few sucky rides. Try something new. Challenge yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Send that drop you're afraid of. Help build a trail. Just....do something different than what you're doing.

Point is, people generally feel this way because they're bored. Either you're bored with your rides, or bored with your gear. They key to fixing it is to identify which of those it is, and treat its cause rather than its symptoms.
flag sdken
Posted: Mar 8, 2019 at 12:53 Quote
Upgrading suspension has always changed the bikes personality, you could play with that.

Or bike with a new group that pushes you to your limits every time
flag v7fmp
FL
Posted: Mar 9, 2019 at 0:20 Quote
All interesting feedback, thanks guys.

Some of my more recent posts have been hypothetical or out of pure curiosity.

I am all good with my riding and equipment at present, I was just interested to hear what others do when stoke is low.

Zsandstorm, a very interesting take on it and very sound advice, identify the root cause and address it.
flag Facescab
Posted: Mar 9, 2019 at 2:09 Quote
zsandstrom wrote:
I totally get where you're coming from on this.

The way I see it, this the result of the tension between two major parts of our sport: gear culture and ride culture.

For better or worse, mountain biking is not ONLY about riding; it's also about what you're riding. Some might contend that this is because we've been taught to think that way by the people that are selling us the gear we ride. But....remember the first time you rode a bike with a dropper post? Remember your first experience with hydraulic brakes? What about your first ride on full-suspension bike? You can't tell me that those things haven't revolutionized the way that you ride, or that they've had no effect on your level of enjoyment.

Point is, cycling is a gear-based sport. And, to some degree or another, the enjoyment of your equipment IS a part of your enjoyment of the sport.

So, to that, I'd ask the question: which are you trying to fix? Are you trying to love your bike more, or are you trying to love riding your bike more?

If the former, then I'd suggest doing something equipment-oriented. Cheapest option is definitely a complete teardown and rebuild, including servicing the pivot bearings and touching-up the paintjob. You could also go for a nominal equipment change like widening your handlebars, or getting new touch points (as you suggest). If you really want to get clever, you could consider a new rear shock, a new fork, custom suspension tuning, or new wheels. These things will change the ride characteristics.

If you're working with the 2015 Scout on your profile, my suggestion would be to pick up a Vorsprung Luftkappe for your fork, a Works Components 1.5* angleset, a shorter stem, wider bar, and a needle bearing kit for the rear shock. This whole affair would cost about USD$350, and you'd have a considerably different feeling bike than when you started, with modern geometry and suspension that is noticeably better.

But....if you're just trying to fall in love with riding again, you need a new way of thinking about riding. Maybe it's taking up MTB phtography. Maybe it's only riding new trails for a month. Maybe it's finding a new group of riders that talks less about their bikes are more about their ride experiences. Perhaps it could mean getting a dog and teaching it to be a trail pup, or maybe even coaching a new rider through those first few sucky rides. Try something new. Challenge yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Send that drop you're afraid of. Help build a trail. Just....do something different than what you're doing.

Point is, people generally feel this way because they're bored. Either you're bored with your rides, or bored with your gear. They key to fixing it is to identify which of those it is, and treat its cause rather than its symptoms.

What a great post. ^^
flag Jetmo
Posted: Mar 9, 2019 at 11:16 Quote
Facescab wrote:
Slowly upgrade everything and end up buying a new bike anyway.

LOL

I bet if it was easier to simply change the color of our frames, we'd get a new round of stoke just through aesthetics alone.
flag Buggyr333
Posted: Mar 9, 2019 at 19:53 Quote
If it hasn't been done in a while, doing a full tear down suspension rebuild makes a world of difference. As does getting a custom tune done.

This coming from someone who just replaced his steed.... Sometimes a new bike is what you need.
flag gbeaks33
Posted: Mar 12, 2019 at 15:52 Quote
I wonder about this sometimes. As zsandstorm posted above, mountain biking is so gear based that sometimes (for me) it is a turnoff. Don't get me wrong, I love talking about bike gear, but I really don't like having to "think" that I should always be looking for something new. Because, really, that isn't true at all.

I ski a lot in the winter. For some reason, the ski culture is not as gear based. But essentially it is the same people. People love to talk about gear, but the need for "new" gear isn't as important compared to biking. I've had the same pair of skis for 6 seasons, and my ski jacket and pants I bought in 2011. There's no chance I'd be riding the same mountain bike for 6 seasons. And bike shorts I bought last year are probably already ripped and the crotch is worn out. I don't upgrade my ski stuff because I don't feel that there is a reason to. I love my skis and the new versions are literally exactly the same thing with the same cut. I don't love my ski boots, but that's another story...

Anyways. What I've been doing lately is thinking about how annoying it is to break in a new pair of riding shoes, or thinking of how many times I fiddled with my fork settings to make it feel nice. Or how many damn forum posts I wrote about which oval chainring works with my old drivetrain (I bought 6 different versions, and ended up going back to what came with the bike in the first place). I put a lot of work into getting my ride to feel alive...and I don't need to do anything to breathe more life into it now.
flag v7fmp
FL
Posted: Mar 13, 2019 at 1:18 Quote
gbeaks33 wrote:
I wonder about this sometimes. As zsandstorm posted above, mountain biking is so gear based that sometimes (for me) it is a turnoff. Don't get me wrong, I love talking about bike gear, but I really don't like having to "think" that I should always be looking for something new. Because, really, that isn't true at all.

I ski a lot in the winter. For some reason, the ski culture is not as gear based. But essentially it is the same people. People love to talk about gear, but the need for "new" gear isn't as important compared to biking. I've had the same pair of skis for 6 seasons, and my ski jacket and pants I bought in 2011. There's no chance I'd be riding the same mountain bike for 6 seasons. And bike shorts I bought last year are probably already ripped and the crotch is worn out. I don't upgrade my ski stuff because I don't feel that there is a reason to. I love my skis and the new versions are literally exactly the same thing with the same cut. I don't love my ski boots, but that's another story...

Anyways. What I've been doing lately is thinking about how annoying it is to break in a new pair of riding shoes, or thinking of how many times I fiddled with my fork settings to make it feel nice. Or how many damn forum posts I wrote about which oval chainring works with my old drivetrain (I bought 6 different versions, and ended up going back to what came with the bike in the first place). I put a lot of work into getting my ride to feel alive...and I don't need to do anything to breathe more life into it now.

I couldn't agree more. somehow it feels like we are never 100% satisfied with our bikes... or certainly not for long.

I love my 2018 Rocky Mountain Altitude, its all the bike I will ever need. I bought the build that suited my budget and it had parts that I wouldn't need to replace. That hasn't stopped me changing the wheels (although I did toast the original set, so it was needed), bars, rear shock, tyres, grips, saddle. And now I am looking at a new Stem and I want to change the brakes.

Will any of the above make me a better rider..... highly unlikely. Will it make me love my bike a little more.... yes, for a week or two!

Its like some sort of drug and a new pair of gloves or bike part gives you that quick fix, for a while. Some days I feel like my brain is consumed by what part I 'need' to buy next or what bike to dream about owning next.

The winter season doesn't help, as there is more time dreaming of bikes and less time riding bikes!
flag englertracing
O+
Posted: Mar 13, 2019 at 13:59 Quote
I like the suggestion for the angle set and luftkappe.
sometimes 1 degree will cut it....
not a huge fan of the RWC needle bearings.
All new pivot bearings are a nice thing. the enduros are ok, they offer the max bearings with marine grease
New wheel bearings. Dont fall into the trap of thinking enduros are the thing to have, they are relatively low quality Chinese bearings, You would be much better served going to a bearing house and looking for NTN brand LLB suffix bearins, far better quality than an enduro or ezo.


tell us more about your bike and what could be improved
flag v7fmp
FL
Posted: Mar 13, 2019 at 14:59 Quote
englertracing wrote:
I like the suggestion for the angle set and luftkappe.
sometimes 1 degree will cut it....
not a huge fan of the RWC needle bearings.
All new pivot bearings are a nice thing. the enduros are ok, they offer the max bearings with marine grease
New wheel bearings. Dont fall into the trap of thinking enduros are the thing to have, they are relatively low quality Chinese bearings, You would be much better served going to a bearing house and looking for NTN brand LLB suffix bearins, far better quality than an enduro or ezo.


tell us more about your bike and what could be improved

As said previously, this is a hypothetical question and just looking at people opinions.
flag englertracing
O+
Posted: Mar 13, 2019 at 15:15 Quote
v7fmp wrote:
englertracing wrote:
I like the suggestion for the angle set and luftkappe.
sometimes 1 degree will cut it....
not a huge fan of the RWC needle bearings.
All new pivot bearings are a nice thing. the enduros are ok, they offer the max bearings with marine grease
New wheel bearings. Dont fall into the trap of thinking enduros are the thing to have, they are relatively low quality Chinese bearings, You would be much better served going to a bearing house and looking for NTN brand LLB suffix bearins, far better quality than an enduro or ezo.


tell us more about your bike and what could be improved

As said previously, this is a hypothetical question and just looking at people opinions.

its hard to answer because its a different story if its a 1999 fsr, or if your tired of your 2017 nomad 3.
It depends where the bike is lacking and what your doing with it right?
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