madman91

Hello,
I have about 3 questions related to mountain biking and a little explanation.

I purchased a specialized hardrock 2003 pro disc off of ebay for 300$. I rode mostly streets with my 26x2.2 tires. I upgraded to specialized 2005 fatboys 26x1.25 and they are amazing. At that time i had no real intention to ride singletracks, mountains, hills, trails, etc. Now with me being in Poland for vacation i am amazed with these trails. Just looking at these make me ashamed to wear those small tires on my mtn bike. I think me is gonna try da trails.

Q1: Was me buying my bike off of ebay about 6 months ago a waste of money? ( 300 for a spesh hardrock pro disc 2003)

Q2: Should i attempt trails with my hardtail or should i wait till an upgrade?

Q3: Will crank bros eggbeaters C(chrome) with shoes be good for trails? ( https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/126...ome-Pedals.htm )


I had more questions but i forgot them, will get back on this though.


Thanks

mtnbiker66

1- Your hardrock sounds like a good bike for 300.
2- Your bike will be fine on trails,my son trashes his.
3- eggbeaters will be good for ya'

J-McKech

1. No way dude, you got a good deal. You like it right? Then thats all that matters.
2. The bike is a machine, take it out there and trash it.
3. Good pedals.

madman91

3 more Q's
1: How far are you guys from your trails?
Mine are very far and they arent that great. 2: What would you do in my case ( lack of trails )

3: Do you guys ever ride just in the forest? Just flat out into the bushes, grass, logs, etc.



Btw thanks for the quick responses to the original 3.

Gorsar

To your original question of are your 1.25" wide tires ok for single track.. Not particularly. I don't know about the fatboys but even if they have an aggressive tread (I'm doubting) it is cutting your contact area almost in 1/2 over conventional MTB tires (1.95 - 2.5). I'm not saying you can't do it, but be very careful in limited traction conditions.

You may want to consider getting a spare wheelset/cassette and mount normal 2.2" width tires on them for your trail riding and keep skinnys for road use. Just a suggestion, but one worth considering..

Edit: After looking up the fatboy it is definitely NOT a mountain bike tire! This is a quote from Specialized site: "Instant black top speed for your MTB. Tough, durable "slick" tire for mountain biking on the road."

This tire offers you virtually NO offroad traction and you're asking for trouble to take it off road at all, unless you are a big fan of laying on the ground! You IMHO should definitely consider getting some MTB trail tires before venturing offroad..

LowCel 

As for the first three questions - With that bike there is no excuse not to be on the trails, just put a decent set of tires on your current wheelset. After that buy a cheapwheelset and cassette to have your road tires mounted to for the road.

1. I live about 30 miles from my local trails, I only work 10 miles from them though. I usually just go ride after I get off of work.

2. Move!

3. If on my mountain bike I am always in the forest. At the most I will be on the road 1 mile in a ride. I avoid paved roads as much as possible to try to save my tires. If I am going to ride the road I'll use my road bike.

cyccommute 

1. Trails are as great as you want to make them. I live 15 to 20 miles from some of the best mountain biking around but I can't ride it every day...that job thing, you know. But I also have some trails that follow a creek bed in an open space area for nearly the whole way to work. Nothing technical or even that difficult but if I go out and pound them as fast as I can, they are hard enough to get the blood flowing. And, because they are a different kind of terrain than the "real" trails, I've learned different skills which make me a better rider.

2. Look for social trails in parks and greenbelts. See where the kids ride. Put on knobbies (I don't use slicks on any of my mountain bikes), pump them to the max pressure and ride to the better trails. Reduce the pressure at the trailhead, ride, pump the tires up when you are done and ride home. I know this wears tires out but I've found that Panaracer Dart/Smoke tires wear like iron and give good trail traction. Plus they are cheap now days.

You could also drive to a trailhead on the weekends.

3. Just bashing through the bush isn't usually a good idea. There's lots of stuff under the grass that can cause problems. Ride were others have gone before. That way they find all the logs and rocks and bogs and abandoned coal mines

Go ride that mountain bike as it was designed to be ridden. I've ridden a lot worse for a long time.

madman91

sry i wasnt planning on using fatboys on the trails or tracks... sry for misunderstanding

jeff williams

Some trails are very far from me, I use a Serfas Vermin rear\high psi to get a low rolling resistance and get me there.
Out a little air and hit the dirt.
I don't run the Serfas front, I use a knobbed XC tire, little rolling resistance is front and the prospect of washing out the front because of tread is more scary.
I also run a smaller rear tire for decreased resistance.

1.95R -2.10F
Currently 2.05R -2.30F

Again, a little higher psi rear 'till you get to the trail and then lower.
The Serfas tire was very good wet road, and surprisingly able offroad -the exeption -mud.