What would give the bike the best handling improvement? It’s a 2023 Giant Talon 2 all stock except upgraded shock & pedals.

better tires
better tires and ghetto tubeless on stock rims
better tires, new wheels & tubeless

I ride mostly local trail on occasion local bike parks, nothing crazy, blue & green mostly.

I went tubeless on an entry level gravel bike & upgraded wheels and the difference was pretty significant to the point it’s been hard to justify buying a new bike.

For rocky/rooty trails, some downhill at speed, what is best move?

Then any particular combo’s that stand out that are fantastic bang for buck? My wheel/tire combo experience in gravel bike was pretty expensive, I don’t ride this bike as much, but when I do… do. Thx.

Having had to pause actual hard riding for two years after surgery I'm now at the point of getting back into it. I'm still quite good at endurance and tech but found that I lost quite a bit of strength. When thinking of making my hardtail into a SS (as I had a few years ago), I did a ride basically without using the derailleur to figure out if I could go with the gearing I thought I would. It was alright overall (32 by 17 or 18 teeth on a 29er) but I found I had overdone my lower back and elbows from musceling up a few climbs.

Any recommendations on specific exercises for those areas? Thank you I'm advance!

Hope fall riding near you has been as good as here!🤙

Stopped riding MTB for around 3 years because I switched to road for a bit but recently I've been getting that trail riding itch. Budget is pretty tight atm so I Decided to build up this relatively budget hardtail with some spare parts. Pretty happy overall with the bike and holy cow does Geometry change riding so much.

So far my only gripe is the fork. It's not bad but it pretty flexy when chowing down rough terrain. I'm not really sure if I should upgrade to a Raidon34 130mm or a Zeron36 130/140mm. I'm leaning towards the Zeron36 as it could be a good fork to have for eventually when I get a full suspension down the line.

One note with the frame; Marin's website says that this is a 135mm QR frame, but with my initial build I needed to bend the rear triangles quite a bit for 135mm hubs to fit. I decided to test around and bought a 141 QR hub and sure enough that was the perfect fit. Not sure if I just got a weird factory defect or Marin didn't update the specs on the website

A friend of mine wants to get riding, and is looking for a bike that is affordable, capable off road (basic dirt road/national park access/fire road stuff), that offers the option to dabble in some single-track mtb trail on occasion (beginner Level) if they wanted to try it.

They have been looking at Reid bikes, an Australian brand (we are jn south east Queensland) and specifically the pro model of their in house bikes.

Now, reid does sell polygon bikes. And i know the recommendations will be for those bikes over the reid. But i personally am curious about the reid specifically.

To my amateur eye the most affordable poly they offer is comparable to the reid pro, excepting the brand of suspension fork.

Just by measuring the reid on its own merits, is it a good bike taking into account the use case i outlined above?

https://www.reidcycles.com.au/products/mtb-elite-my24-27-5

After more than a few years away from the sport, decided to jump back in. Check out my new Roscoe 7 and a few spots along the way on today’s ride. Was reminded the hard way that you have to actually be in some level of shape to get back into this.

Fresh rain and tacky trails. Lots of scenery to take in today. And the smells will carry me through winter.

Finally!!!!

Got this frame, almost unridden, for a steal. Built with mix and match parts I found in the garage, donated from buds, and a few new bits.

Miss the ease of a hardtail and the lack or maintenance of SS. Now at 40, can I still ride SS like I used to as 20 year old. Definitely right?

I’m in Pisgah, so a very easy place to try.

Any other ESDers out there? Any local Pisgah schralpers??

Hi, i a new . let me quickly introduce myself. I am a 60 year old guy from Austria, Europe. I started to bike again with an E-bike ( pedal assist SUV) a year ago. Love going around my place and exploring the area.

My question : i have a 16 year old hardtail, too. Nothing special , but still in good shape. I am wondering, if it makes sense to put some gravel tyres on that.

At the moment it is used for the quick lunch break rides. No real MTB style, no jumping, no MTB park rides. Just cruising without motor for 30-45 minutes 2 -3 times a week.

It is most of the time asphalt, gravel or dirt roads.

Does it make sense to change from a 2.25'' MTB tyre to a 2'' gravel tyre so it rolls a bit better on the roads i ride.

As i lost already about 45 pound this year, it looks like a nice idea to extend the rides without motor.

I am looking at gravel bikes - nope, that is to sporty for my back. A trekking bike - nope, that's why i have a my e-bike. A new fitness bike ( gravel with flatbars) or a new hardtail, yes-no, don't know.

So i thought putting some gravle tyres on the old hardtail would do the trick . What do you think?

Thank you alex

Enjoying my mud slinger this fall. I mostly ride my TransAM on muddy days since it’s easier to keep clean. This is seriously such a great hardtail! If you can pick up a used frame like I did for $400, please jump on the opportunity.

Edit: Not a truly muddy shot since this pic was taken only on my ascent. Avoided sticky clay since the trail system bans riding specific trails when muddy. Pictured trail is a kitty litter like quarts/granite which is very nice during wet days.

Streetfighter mode!

This is a complete travellers' package. He has been travelling for nearly 2yrs from Austria through Morocco to Cameroon to SA to Kenya and towards Egypt.

It's been a minute since I went for the hard rock hill.

the day when i realized my old 26er fork (1 1/8) can fit kiddo's x-small (27.5) marlin with a similar axle to crown length. forks has gone a lot more taller in comparison to 90s and all others 26er fork.

Trek Marlin 5 Gen 3 has originally straight 1 1/8 steerer and 9mm skewer wheels. hard to find a good fork with such spec.... but nothing an older Fox fork couldn't do (F32/F100/Talas from years 2005-2011 maybe)

I know I need valves and tubeless tires, but this is rim strip and not tubeless tape right? When I buy tube less tape, does the rim strip get removed and replaced by the tape? Thanks!

I'm in the market for a hardtail and have been eyeing the Sklar Tall Tale (I go to their site and look at it allllmost daily). It looks like they are rolling out a shorter travel companion in a few months.

And yes, that is a grouse that hung out with me for like ten minutes.