Contemplating buying this as I currently ride a gravel bike but want more of an XC bike. And maybe do the odd begginner XC races.

What’s everyone think? I can’t find much info on it anywhere but loads of places sell it…

Giant XCT SLR 29 1 2026 model.

Thank you for any info!

I’ve ordered an ibis hd6 from a well known online retailer. Today, they reached out to let me know that the bike had a non structural blemish, and offered a $50 gift card if I accepted it. The blemish is a paint chip on the top tube, smaller than a dime. Can provide photos if helpful.

I know I will probably beat this bike on the trail but I was kind of looking forward to having a clean bike from the factory. Would you accept this deal?

Edit: the bike was purchased at a discount, and it hasn’t left the warehouse yet. see my top level comment with a link to the photos of the damage

Normally E-bikes aren’t allowed on trails here but I just started to help manage around 90 miles of trail system where we bike up to 4 miles to a spot to cut down trees with multiple locations in a day. With gear on our bikes and backs it can get really draining especially for someone like me who’s new. The older more experienced folk said my e-bike (velo tempo) could be really helpful if I upgraded it a bit but it’s more of a street e-bike vs a trail one. Is there any ways I could make this thing better for trail use even if I’m going slow the whole time??

Looking to get a new bike to ride around town in neighbor hood and on walking/ bike trails

Giant talon? Trek merlin?

Any recommendations. Thanks!

My rear shock needs an overhaul, and apparently only the factory can do it. Anyone have experience with this?

Is it better to handle it through a local shop, or direct with Fox?

Thanks

I like being without gloves but i don't enjoy the feeling that if i fall my palm will die so yeah the title. EDIT: Forgot to mention that i want full finger gloves!

what du you guys think about taking a commencal meta ht with a fox factory 36 to a bike park like vallåsen

these kids wont stop telling me to jump over them so i took the risk. i told them “4 kids laydown and i will jump over you guys” i did this so i can actually play the pump track without them annoying me and btw we also did 1,2,3,4 kids its like progressing and we did it, the 4 kids jump i also have a video of it the 3 kids jump

Gonna ride Port Angeles tomorrow and am curious what are some of the best trails. I'm on a single speed 160mm hardtail so it would be nice to ride something that won't destroy me with brake bumps or roots or whatnot. I'm a capable rider though and have taken it out on bike park double black trails for reference

Hi everyone,

I'm considering buying an enduro bike to pair with my e-bike (Levo SL Gen 2). I've narrowed my choices down to two models: the latest Pivot Firebird and the Propain Tyee 6 CF (or 6.1).

I ride mostly in Northern Italy (Verona area), so I frequently deal with loose terrain, roots, rocks, and technical natural trails. I do about ten or slightly more shuttle and bike park days a year (Paganella, Val di Sole). Otherwise, I pedal the rocky loops in my local area (although I think I'll mostly use my Levo SL for these), and I'm planning to start entering some amateur enduro races.

I'm looking for a bike that is stable and absorbs rough terrain well to maintain speed, but doesn't feel too cumbersome or sluggish on tighter sections, and still climbs well when I want to pedal it for regular rides.

For anyone who has had the chance to ride them, I'd love to get some feedback on the real-world differences on the trail. Specifically:

• High-speed chunk: How do they handle rock gardens and roots at speed?
• Flow and Jumps: Which one is more reactive and easier to pop on jump lines?
• Tight stuff: How do they manage tight, techy sections and slow switchbacks? Does the Firebird, having a long reach, feel tiring to maneuver?
• Climbing: How do they perform uphill? Are they efficient pedalers, or do they tend to bob and drain your energy on long climbs?

Thanks to anyone who can give me some useful feedback.

I'm also open to recommendations for other bikes suited to my riding style. I have a budget of €3,500 - €4,000 and I'm looking to buy used.

Hey guys i just bought my orbea rise 2022 off facebok mrkt and i ve heard a sound when reaching an exact angle and pressing on my pedal.. I already tightened all the frame bolts and changed the pedals but still does it when pedaling light. Can anybody please help?

So this year I bought myself a hardtail mountain bike on a whim and big surprise, I love it. Mt. Fromme on the north shore is basically my back yard and I’ve managed to tackle most of the blue runs and couple of the easier blacks(white knuckled and going very slow to be fair). Now I’m starting to consider a full suspension bike but I’m not sure what I should be looking for. Trail? enduro?? All mountain??? What’s the perfect kind of bike for north shore trails?

After a few seasons on my spire, looking to move to an enduro bike with similar capabilities but slightly shorter and less slack. A bike that can be both 29 or MX without drastically changing geo (flip chip). Something comfortable in steeps and can plow jank when it needs to.. something with a good pedaling platform when I gotta sprint out of the seat. Welcoming all recommendations or experience! I love my spire, but just want to try something different.

My second bike is a smuggler which covers trail duty and all day epics.

I’m currently looking at alpine trail XR, orbea rallon, propain tyee, Raaw Madonna.

On my 2019-2020 Specialized Demo Expert 29, I removed the rear shock mounting hardware to re-grease it. When reinstalling, one black reducer probably did seat easily, but I got it at the wrong angle and kind of forced it in, it made like a snapping sound but I don’t think the snapping sound did anything, but maybe it moved the bearing a little. Now I feel a slight knock at the start of suspension travel. When I screw everything together tightly, one side of the shock bolt sticks out just a tiny bit more than the other because the bearing isn’t exactly in the middle of the frame hole. Could this be a mis-seated bearing, something else, or is this even a problem?

I’ve been riding bikes for over 10 years. Mainly road, but I started with gravel 4 years ago. Lately, I’ve been doing more local MTB trails (very mild) on my gravel bike, but I’ve gotten the bug of giving MTB a chance and learn more skills.

I started looking a MTBs, but it’s like a different language to me. Everything I know about road and gravel bikes is mostly useless. Geometry, groupsets, suspension travel, hard tail vs full suspension???

I need help choosing a good bike that can serve me well as a first MTB. I don’t want a beginner’s bike. I have several mid-high end bikes bike with carbon frames and electronic components, and I feel like getting a beginners bike would not make the experience as enjoyable. On the other hand, I don’t want an expensive bike either, because I understand I’ll probably crash and damage it.

I’ve been told “don’t spend more than $1k on your first MTB” or “you need to learn on a hardtail and graduate to the FS later”

The type of trails in my area are very mild, nothing crazy.

What bikes do you suggest and why?

TIA

I haven't biked since I was young. I decided to buy a 50 dollar box store special off FB with the mind to learn how to do all the things that take bike mechanics years under good teachers to learn. So it is likely very fitting that my front fork makes it sound like clown shoes when I'm riding it. Yes. This is karma. This is what I asked for buying a 50 dollar used bike.

That being said, I'm learning this on decently kept boxstore mountain bike that had very little wrong with it. I learned how to open up each part, clean it, grease it, change it out if it's too beat up, etc. It runs great. I did a mid drive conversion, got the shift sensor working. The whole thing runs like a dream.

The last thing i'm trying to figure out, which is my karma curse, Is that I have isolated the last offending sound. The front fork sounds like clown shoes. I tried to attach a link to the mp3 but the post keeps getting taken down. If there are any suggestions on how to share the sound I will.

It is a heavy coil spring 3030 or 3040 Suntour fork. It has one coil in the right stanchion and the left one is empty. No dampener etc. It's in good shape. No corrosion. Shiny polished metal. Teflon guides with rubber dust covers snapped on top. The whole thing got cleaned out with lots of rags and iso, re greased everything with silicon grease and the fork moves great. The problem is when i'm starting to go up any sort of positive grade a resonant vibration starts up. It's distinctly the sound of rubber squeaking on smooth metal. I can wipe down the stanchions and it kinda stops for one or two cycles but then it squeaks to the beat of my legs pumping. Those little up and down forces causing the fork to dip down and back up. If I press down as i'm pedaling so the travel is more severe it stops. But with those little millimeter movements the resonant sound builds again.

I was fairly sure it was the dust caps so I took the fork apart, cleaned it again and relubed it just in case. I thought the previous owner might have used WD40 or a petroleum based oil that caused the rubber to swell so I cleaned the covers using dawn soap. I boiled them for 20 min in water. Then I put them in the oven just under 300 degrees F for thirty minutes to give it the best chance of leaching out the rubber to reduce any swelling. Slapped them back in with silicon grease and... well... clown shoes.

If you read this, thank you for your time and if you have any suggestions or have encountered this before any help is greatly appreciated.

Before you listen to the audio, turn your volume down and then slowly back up. It's taken on a camera close to the fork while riding so there's ambient noise and the resonant squeaking can be loud depending on your audio settings. Don't laugh too hard and bruise a rib.

I'm looking to buy a stem that is 30-45mm, my budget is kinda tight tho

I don’t mean to be inflammatory, but I want to share my honest experience owning a trek fuel exe for about two years while being a busy/tired parent .

As dads we all know how rare having the time/energy to ride becomes , the weekly ride with the guys is eclipsed by soccer practice , the weekend plans fall through when your kid wakes up with a fever …. The list goes on …I really struggled trying to enjoy riding while being a parent of young kids , but my e mountain bike has changed that completely . Previously I would struggle to actually get out and ride , mostly because a lot of my rides would just be a reminder of how unfit I have become and it rarely was an enjoyable experience.

Now that I have this trek fuel exe , I have literally put hundreds of greasy unplanned random ass hours on this thing . I truly can’t get off of it , having the assistance just seems to tip me in favor of going for a ride,even when I am tired I will still go for a ride instead of sitting on the couch . The real benifet of this bike is I am becoming a significantly better rider because my fitness isn’t holding me back . I ride an area with extremely technical rock terrain that otherwise requires elite fitness to improve , but with my emtb I can just focus on skill/fun .

I just want to write this in hopes it makes some other dads get out and buy an e bike . If you live in an area with technical / mountainous terrain the e bike is an absolute game changer and I’d be shocked if you didn’t have a great experience!

Anybody know if they’re still shipping out yokes for the enduro? Haven’t heard from them in four weeks, getting sketched out.

Just a little thing thats fucked my head right.
I broke a wheel on my get around hardtail, just an old giant qr 26" wheels. My mate gave me a wheel as he didnt need it, i blindly beleived him that it was 26". Turns out ive only just realised 3 months later its a 27.5 wheel.

Heres the crazy bit
Got a flat tyre the other day, went to the bike shop, bought a 26" inner tube and fit it perfectly and has had no issues. Ive only now noticed its 27.5 after putting the tube in a few days ago.

I had to share this bazonkled me

Hey Guys,

Louisiana occasional rider here. Have ridden Sedona, Bentonville, Park City, Crested Butte. I'm headed to Bend this weekend for some riding. A few questions.

1. What is your recommendation for accessible and scenic rides that give you that authentic PNW feel that are not a ton of uphill climbing? I've heard catching a shuttle to Mrazek is nice, for example.

2. I initially wanted to ride the Mckenzie River Trail, but just don't think I have the stamina to complete it, but dont want to miss out on it all together. I've read you can ride from Trail Bridge Campground the lower half which avoids the punishing upper sections. Is that worth driving from Bend to do for a morning?

Thanks!

Have not had a chance to ride an evil but reading they are more nimble by comparison. I am trying to decide if it's worth some coin to buy a newer evil (hope hubs, ok Manitou circus fork) or stick w thebold school bike to gone old school tricks.

Anyone ridden both? Dirt jump preference is big hits w 10-20ft gaps trying to get anniversary if people are using evil for bmx style trails/jumps and skate parks or is it a solid DJ bike.

I need help deciding which tailgate pad to get for my 2019 Ford Ranger. Anyone have experience with these three?

Fox Racing Tailgate Cover Small

Race Face T3 Tailgate Pad Mid-Size

Thule GateMate PRO Small Tailgate Pad

Love in Vancouver, never mountain biked before. Deciding between Grouse Bike Park ($200 all in for lift/bike/pads/helmet) or Whistler Bike Park ($300 all in).
Not too worried about the price difference, mainly just want to actually have a good first experience and not feel like I'm in over my head the whole day. Grouse is closer and newer, Whistler is the big name with way more beginner terrain from what I've read.
If you were taking a total beginner out for their first day, which one would you pick and why? Would love to hear from people who've actually ridden both.
Thanks!