First of all thank you for creating a great forum, have been reading as much as I could and trying to weigh all the options.
I recently moved and my house was smack dab in the middle of some trails (albeit not as intense as I would like), crushed granite surface. So after not being able to use them I started researching getting a bike and what exactly I was looking for and what I wanted to get into.
I was looking for a bike that was a great bang for the buck, capable but not "pro" level as I wasn't riding at that level yet (for lack of a better term, aggressive level). I have two buddies that do some trail riding up in Wisconsin and in the local Chicagoland area, and seeing some of their gear/videos/pictures I definitely wanted to get into some downhill and single track (I think thats what the proper description is) with them and be able to go a little more aggressive than standard trail ridding.
My LBS had a closeout 13 Trek X-Caliber 8 and I was able to work out a deal to get it for $819.99 + 10% off any accessories I wanted. Long story short I had a budget of about $1,000 and wanted to stay under that but not skimp on a decent product.
Having raced motorcycles in the past, figured the saying "you never skimp on the head protection" held true, I picked up a well reviewed helmet (Bontrager - Lithos). They also had a nice "quick-clip" seat post bag on sale so I picked one up as well (immediately coated it with some NeverWet that I use on my climbing gear). Also picked up a set of SSR Multisports to take advantage of the 10% at the time should I purchase clip in peddles latter after doing more research. I did pick up a set up $20 metal peddles to replace the plastics that came on the bike.
My first and so far only rides have been on the trails around the house, which leaves a lot to be desired (Millennium Trail in Lake County, IL btw). After getting a few rides in I found some additional items I wanted to get/needed to continue building on my "kit." Went on Amazon and got some SKS Shockblades front and rear, and water bottle holder and insulated bottle, dry chain lube, crankbrothers multitool and since it was Amazon Prime and they were on sale.. some Fox Racing Pawtector Gloves.
I have found CAMBr to be a great resource for finding local trails and I am hoping to get out to them soon. In the mean time I have a few questions and or requests for direction on parts/set up/ necessities from what came OEM.
Questions:
I notice some bikes have a single crank(?) up front, and just the RD. What is the point of this setup and does it fit my mold? I hardly every switch gears using the front DR, and figure less moving parts = better plus I still have the RD to find gears.
I prefer my brake levers be usable by just my pointer and middle fingers as that was how I had my race bike set up, I found that I could be more precise with the brakes. Is that something that I could carry over to my MTB or is it recommended I continue to grab a full fist of the lever? Just seems like a lot and I would prefer to have a few more fingers on the handles. How do I go about changing out the levers or can I just move them and or adjust them to get the "perfect fit" for me so that I can use the levers with just those two fingers and finesse the brakes?
Front Shock Setup: I understand concepts of dampening and rebound (not to sound like a broken record but again from motorcycle days) however for the life of me, fiddling with my shocks I really cant tell where the sweet spot is....Ive fiddled and fiddled but I don't know what the proper set up point is as I have never felt that sweet spot on a MTB before. Any videos of guides I can reference that will help me dial these in? They are the Rockshocxs that came on the bike, they have dampening and rebound adjustments as well as a gradual lock out.
Seat post: Now at the LBS they set the seat for me, and to me it seemed wicked high, but they said that was good body position for me. Now I still can't get used to it being that high, so I lowered it a bit....a little better. I noticed on some of the videos posted on here some people use a telescoping seat post, Rockshox - Reverb, or some other sort of method to have quick adjustments or shock absorbing property. Any direction on this, or is my money spent better else where for the time being?
Any other feedback or links you can send me on what is a definite upgrade for the X-Cal8 would be greatly appreciated. Very excited to be apart of the boards and community.
-Aaron
I recently moved and my house was smack dab in the middle of some trails (albeit not as intense as I would like), crushed granite surface. So after not being able to use them I started researching getting a bike and what exactly I was looking for and what I wanted to get into.
I was looking for a bike that was a great bang for the buck, capable but not "pro" level as I wasn't riding at that level yet (for lack of a better term, aggressive level). I have two buddies that do some trail riding up in Wisconsin and in the local Chicagoland area, and seeing some of their gear/videos/pictures I definitely wanted to get into some downhill and single track (I think thats what the proper description is) with them and be able to go a little more aggressive than standard trail ridding.
My LBS had a closeout 13 Trek X-Caliber 8 and I was able to work out a deal to get it for $819.99 + 10% off any accessories I wanted. Long story short I had a budget of about $1,000 and wanted to stay under that but not skimp on a decent product.
Having raced motorcycles in the past, figured the saying "you never skimp on the head protection" held true, I picked up a well reviewed helmet (Bontrager - Lithos). They also had a nice "quick-clip" seat post bag on sale so I picked one up as well (immediately coated it with some NeverWet that I use on my climbing gear). Also picked up a set of SSR Multisports to take advantage of the 10% at the time should I purchase clip in peddles latter after doing more research. I did pick up a set up $20 metal peddles to replace the plastics that came on the bike.
My first and so far only rides have been on the trails around the house, which leaves a lot to be desired (Millennium Trail in Lake County, IL btw). After getting a few rides in I found some additional items I wanted to get/needed to continue building on my "kit." Went on Amazon and got some SKS Shockblades front and rear, and water bottle holder and insulated bottle, dry chain lube, crankbrothers multitool and since it was Amazon Prime and they were on sale.. some Fox Racing Pawtector Gloves.
I have found CAMBr to be a great resource for finding local trails and I am hoping to get out to them soon. In the mean time I have a few questions and or requests for direction on parts/set up/ necessities from what came OEM.
Questions:
I notice some bikes have a single crank(?) up front, and just the RD. What is the point of this setup and does it fit my mold? I hardly every switch gears using the front DR, and figure less moving parts = better plus I still have the RD to find gears.
I prefer my brake levers be usable by just my pointer and middle fingers as that was how I had my race bike set up, I found that I could be more precise with the brakes. Is that something that I could carry over to my MTB or is it recommended I continue to grab a full fist of the lever? Just seems like a lot and I would prefer to have a few more fingers on the handles. How do I go about changing out the levers or can I just move them and or adjust them to get the "perfect fit" for me so that I can use the levers with just those two fingers and finesse the brakes?
Front Shock Setup: I understand concepts of dampening and rebound (not to sound like a broken record but again from motorcycle days) however for the life of me, fiddling with my shocks I really cant tell where the sweet spot is....Ive fiddled and fiddled but I don't know what the proper set up point is as I have never felt that sweet spot on a MTB before. Any videos of guides I can reference that will help me dial these in? They are the Rockshocxs that came on the bike, they have dampening and rebound adjustments as well as a gradual lock out.
Seat post: Now at the LBS they set the seat for me, and to me it seemed wicked high, but they said that was good body position for me. Now I still can't get used to it being that high, so I lowered it a bit....a little better. I noticed on some of the videos posted on here some people use a telescoping seat post, Rockshox - Reverb, or some other sort of method to have quick adjustments or shock absorbing property. Any direction on this, or is my money spent better else where for the time being?
Any other feedback or links you can send me on what is a definite upgrade for the X-Cal8 would be greatly appreciated. Very excited to be apart of the boards and community.
-Aaron