Ha ha, yeah I wish I had a caterham https://www.uscaterham.com/ And it is indicative of another interest, not hobby as I can't yet drive. I'm saving to get a car, but now that the local SCCA chapter (WOR to anyone who might be interested) has a rental Rallycross car I might use the money to get something else... (but my new C'dale F5, which I'll get pics of during my Colorado trip, is a damn good bike IMO).

Rallying is good.

What is WOR? I only know CARS, RSO and RSQ (Canadian national and a couple of provincial rally associations) and am not familiar with the SCCA chapters.

WOR is the Western Ohio Region https://worscca.org/ And yes I know, a MTN biker from Ohio sound funny, but there is a great trail 30 mins from my house and a number of trails close in and my family goes on a number of vacations to places with MTB trails (Thanks to Uber low cost of living). Also around here we don't have many true rally events; most things are Rallycross (still sweet though). In my mind all things on dirt are better than all things on tarmac.

from road to dirt...


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Curious George rocks!

f**k yeah! especially when he is popping a wheelie

Since the acquisition of the Ransom the Stinky has been sitting idle and since most of the parts on the Stinky are the same as I was going to put on the ransom I stripped her down and put some of her clothes on the Ransom. Soon as I get a new rear derailleur, fork, chain guide and brakes she will be finished.






DBD

One of my Epic from this week.

Hey nac ... A couple problems with that pic, the resolution is WAY up there and takes forever to load and secondly and most important, there is no dirt on it. Did you clean the tires before taking the pic?

Definitely a nice shot though.

DBD

lol yeah I took the chain off and soaked it before going riding this week. I figured since I was scrubbing the cassette and soaking the chain, I might as well take it all the way. I made her purty.

You guys who get OCD about cleaning your mountain bikes really crack me up. Perhaps you should ride on a road where there is no dirt to soil your tires.

Yeah taking care of your equipment is ******** . Have fun replacing your components because it's a mountain bike and you're too cool to keep stuff clean.

having a nice clean bike before a race is good. It also makes it a bit easier to work on the bike.

Perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but...

...it's called soap, clamhat. Some of us use it.

Please don't mistake taking a toothbrush to your drivetrain, and cleaning your tires as "taking care of your equipment", and that a lack of doing so will necessitate "replacing your components". My routine consists of simply hosing off my bike and making sure it's lubed up properly, and my drivetrain has lasted nearly 1800 miles and through a winter of Humboldt's muddiest, and is still going strong (minus a chain in September). Past bikes have recieved the same treatment, and I've seen the same results.

I'm not saying that it's bad practice to keep your bike clean, but the returns diminish very quickly beyond a simple hose-off. I'd rather be OCD about keeping things mechanically sound, or planning my next ride, than how shiny my bike is.

Soap? A rag and some Simple Green will suffice (unless your talking about washing yourself, then yes, I do use soap).

Funny thing is, I do what you do. I took the chain off and dropped it in a bowl of simple green. Pulled the wheel and cleaned the cassette, put the wheel back on and sprayed the bike with the hose . Then I took a towel, wiped down the frame to get the spots the hose didn't, then with the damp towel I wiped the cranks, the the chainrings and the tires.

I don't see what is all "OCD" about that. It took me ... I don't know, five minutes or so. It allowed me to give the bike a good once over for any safety issues, including checking the tires for sidewall tears or problems, get the crud off the frame from the past month or two of riding and keeps it in good condition.

Maybe you should spend some more time riding; You seem tense and easily offended about the condition of someone else's bike.

You don't do what I do. You do the somewhat more OCD version of what I do.

I'm not offended, perhaps you are. I'm simply pointing out that some lengths people go to about the looks of their bikes is overkill. Checking for safety issues isn't overkill. Keeping grit and grime out of places where they could do some damage isn't overkill. I forgot if it was here or mtbr, but someone acutually pulled out their brake pads and cleaned them, only to wonder why they weren't working later. THAT kind of thing is overkill. Cleaning tires is overkill. I would even go so far as to say scrubbing your cassette and soaking the chain in simple green is overkill (running it through a rag or a park chain cleaner gets the dirt away from where it matters).

Dirt is a fact of life in the sport of mountain biking. All I'm saying is that the excessive time and effort people spend trying getting all the dirt off their bikes is largely an excercise in futility if their goal is to expand the life of their components.

Let's see...Should I follow the advice of some dude on the internet about how to keep my bike running great, or the advice of personal friends who happen to be some of the best respected mechanics in my city?

So conflicted

Keep your bike cleaned and lubed and itll last you close to forever!
Heres my bike that I posted a while ago, made some changes to it that include the
Ritchey "Tom Slick" tires and Ritchey SPDs

Nice bike, dude. My buddy rides a Proflex that he's had for years. Bunch of upgraded Carbon pieces, CK stuff, Paul brakes, etc. Sweet bike

Hello mine is the Trek Jack, my wife's is the Giant.

New front derailleur (FD-M950) and close up on new crank (FC-M970). The new front derailleur was much easier than the old XT to set up. It sure makes a difference when you use the correct derailleur (i.e. top swing vs. bottom swing). I had used an existing bottom swing derailleur and it was always finicky in it's adjustment.

And before anyone comments on how low the outer plate of the derailleur is, it is in the correct position. This derailleur swings out in an arc, raising up as it starts out, then lowers over outer chain ring.

Hey scelia, I would really like full sized pictures of your bike. Just send your camera and bike to me and I'd be glad to do it for you.

How large would you like? They come out of the camera @ 4368 x 2912 (12.7MP)...