Cypress

I talked with a friend of mine "in the business"...

Good:

1. I can get a discount on a new Scalpel.
2. They are lighter than advertised on the site. His medium Team Scalpel came in at 21.2 lbs (advertised at 22.5).

Bad:

Apparently cold weather "stiffens" the suspension up a bit.


Discuss.

never

What is there to discuss?

You can get a discount and it's light...great.

Cold weather changes suspension performance...happens on all bikes. The Scalpel is an air bike, so tune it for the weather.

Cypress

VVVVVVV


lol?

never

Wouldn't call that a discussion, just pointed out facts which you had already posted.

born2bahick

LOL Where you live that suspension will be "stiff" 8 months a year!

ZeCanon

Suspension in winter just isn't happy.
I'm surprised that the real weight is under the advertised. Makes me think the bike he had had some changes made to it, because I can't see a bike company anywhere over estimating their weights.

Cypress

So, the Lefty on my upcoming Scalpel has Ti springs... will this make it worse or better than the air filled Lefty?

3MTA3

just get it & stfu.

Cypress

Coons!

Terrapin Ben

I mean you're not going to ride too far into november and wont start riding untill the end of april or early may, so i wouldn't worry about how the cold affects the shock. I ride an air shock and have not experienced any trouble. if you are going to be purley training and racing go for the scalpel. sounds like a sweet deal. if you are going to just be doing recreational riding, go for the rush. i'd go for the rush, but i don't race. anyways since you are second new MT mountain biker posting on the forums, and given the number of Oregonians and Washingtonians on here, we may be able to get together a pacific NW group ride pretty soon! good luck with the new ride and happy trails!

Cypress

We'll see about how much I'll be riding. It hasn't gotten too cold yet... I rode tonight at 17*f, and still broke a sweat (the ride sucked though).

You're only 200 miles away from me! Mercy lands!

never

How can you assume that? I'm a fair bit north of you guys and ride in the mountains all winter long. You just have to be willing to push the bike up and target the rides that are all climbing at the beginning and all descent for the second half.

Cypress

I've been riding around soccer fields on campus for the last two weeks. Wayyy too much snow in the hills to ride.

Terrapin Ben

I assume (hope) there will be too much snow in the mountains to ride a bike.

M_S

Nah, skiing is too expensive. On the plus side, all this cold white stuff makes normal rides much more interesting.

SeqTarRou

What's wrong with a little snow? As long as its cold enough to stay frozen and not get too slushy, its not much of a problem to ride in it.

never

There's never too much snow to ride in the mountains...just depends on how you feel about pushing the bike up the climbs. And if you ride trails that get hikers over the winter, it's even better.

Terrapin Ben

I guess i just rather be skiing. Oh well. Maybe I'm Not as dedicated a Biker as i thought i was...

Cypress

Not enough people here to pack down the trails. You'd be riding in 2 feet of powder - which is damn near impossible.

When the temps hit -30 to -40, it's downright nutty to be riding.

never

As long as it's a decent descent, with a bigger bike, powder is fine...actually rather fun.


It's cold but doable...just depends on the windchill. I've commuted and hit the trails near my house in weather like that but no mountain riding. But temperatures like that generally don't last more than a few weeks. It's even better here...yay chinooks!

dminor 

Oh, you mean like my annual snow hike-a-bike on this little hill behind my place:



Last time I did that, though, the snow was so heavy and wet, it was almost a push to go back down .

Snow is definitely for snow races, though:

Cypress

You are all that is man.

never

Nah, I just REALLY like riding my bikes. And descending on ice and snow makes riding everything else seem easy!

Cypress

You mean, descending your bikes.

2 feet of snow is not rideable. Up or down. That means your cranks are "submerged" regardless of position.

If you think you can get a ride in with the amount of snow we have, by all means, you're welcome to try. The snow will hold you upright as you attempt to pedal and fail.

dminor 

Time to break out the ski-bike at those depths.