Is anybody else's hobby MTBs (Mountain Bikes)?

[Chubaka]

Oh, cool! You race XC then? Airing out an XC rig in 6 feet of air is risky, XC bikes really are best suited for staying on the ground. 6' as in height, or length? My jumping skills are....mediocre, I blame it on my skill and a heavy-ish bike (compared to my body weight).

BTW welcome to the forum! Shameless plug, if you haven't yet, feel free to check out my RCT Member Location Map Thread!

I'm about 50 Ibs over the bikes limit. I broke a crank under normal accelerating. With that said, no air for me.

I did get air on a Kfx450r years ago. That was quite a feeling.

 

[Iowa crawler]

When I was a kid I used to jump a bmx bike over everything. Evel Knievel was popular then.
When I started riding mountain bike I went off a ramp a swore at that moment if I did not die I would never do that again.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

My current favorite rides out of the collection;

2016 Trek Fuel EX 29er 130/120 travel, quite a few upgrades

And my SStache that I built up. Kept the frame and cranks, tossed everything else.

Manitou Magnum Pro 140 fork, Sun Ringle 40mm rims, dropper, etc. Stupid fun bike, probably more fun than my full squish, it just encourages you to do dumb stuff.

I remember those two bikes from your threads from years ago, didn't you at one point replace/add some pawls to the rear hub of your Fuel EX 29er? @Jimbobjr has a Stache too, a rigid one. Can no one keep the Stache a light weight trail machine?! A dropper and 140mm fork on a single speed, lightweight trail hardtail, sounds like a recipe for, no, not necessarily disaster, but lots of fun! Reminds me of Seth's "Murder Machine", (from Berm Peak on YT, formerly Seth's Bike Hacks) a single speed converted Diamond Back Sync'r Pro, with 10mm more travel (from 140mm to 150mm), dubbed the "Murder Machine"!

 

[HPIguy]

I remember those two bikes from your threads from years ago, didn't you at one point replace/add some pawls to the rear hub of your Fuel EX 29er? @Jimbobjr has a Stache too, a rigid one. Can no one keep the Stache a light weight trail machine?! A dropper and 140mm fork on a single speed, lightweight trail hardtail, sounds like a recipe for, no, not necessarily disaster, but lots of fun! Reminds me of Seth's "Murder Machine", (from Berm Peak on YT, formerly Seth's Bike Hacks) a single speed converted Diamond Back Sync'r Pro, with 10mm more travel (from 140mm to 150mm), dubbed the "Murder Machine"!

I bought a set of Bontrager Comp 30 wheels (30mm wide) for it, and it's super simple to add the other two pawls and I think it gets you like 108pts of engagement or something like that. Running a Maxxis DHF 2.5 front, and Aggressor 2.3 rear. Believe it or not the SStache is actually about 5lbs lighter than the Fuel EX, both XL frames. The SStache has aftermarket wheels from Sun Ringle, dropped from a 50mm to a 40mm, dropped a lot of weight and gained lots of engagement on the hub. It's like a BMX bike on steroids, it encourages you to do dumb stuff. My one and only complaint is I can corner it hard enough to push the rear tire into the stay, BRRRRRRRRP.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

I wwnt in for a marlin 5. I wanted 29s and the attention whore yellow. All they had was this one, which I went almost to the gates of hell to get. It was difficult price wise, but over 1k miles later I'm glad. Its like a 7k pickup with dirtbike dna.

Its funny you say that about falling apart. Shes down with a flat tire due to a tiny landscape flag. Just like on a trailer, the front tire tosses it to the second, and the second was beyond grateful to tackle it.

The week before that, I broke the bolt in the crank. Had to replace the seat line on my dollar which irritated me more with that bike shop.

I really like the bike. I've had mongoose, huffy, specialized, next, and a few I can't remember. A good 15 bikes, a few were gas. I broke every single one. Some multiple times and others was bad. My worse was I snapped a crank on a next. I landed on my belly on the handle bar. If I was so fat it would habe been stuck in me.

Picture is the first ride when I got her last year. I'm debating on a neon green yellow trek decal.

Lol that's not a bad thing, like you realized! That bike is a capable trail hardtail! And also yeah, during the pandemic, bikes are...scarce!
That's what you get when you shoot along the road on very lightweight, thin gravel tires! 2 punctures in a row, because of one little landscaping flag?! If it was sticking out of the ground at an angle straight at her tire, I can see why that happened. If it was just lying on the ground, most MTB tires would've smirked at it, and rolled right over it!

Hearing two "hissss"s in a row would be a real bummer and swear-word inducing! I haven't heard of puncture things being thrown to the rear tire before to puncture it too before, that's not super common in MTB as we usually don't have small sharp things on the trail, just offending rocks, nasty landings onto something, ect.

You broke a crank bolt? Was it the kind of crank that has two bolts that hold it onto the bottom bracket (BB) spindle? Seat line? Like as in seat post?

That's what you get with Trek, there's a reason why they're so popular! You must ride hard, or just the extra mass "durability tests" the parts! I've never heard of a snapped crank arm before, nuts! That must've been a combo of cheap parts (no offense!), extra mass, and bad luck! Glad you're ok, thank goodness for that, er, "padding"?

Have you decided on the decal yet (seeing as your comment was sent almost 5 months ago)?

 

[Chubaka]

My tires are huge 27.5x3.0. The tread is smaller for my liking, I want thick dirt bike lugs. The landscape flag was lying flat on the road. Just my luck that it picked up. I would have rode the 2 miles home with it in the tire but it was whipping around and my bike has enough scratches on it. I pulled it out and it was a slow leak. I was able to bike 3/4 a mile before I deemed the pressure to low.

I currently got another flat and I feel play in my crank. The same play when I broke the bolt. When I get the tire done I am picking up a new crank bolt and machining a few to last until I buy a new bottom bracket.

The Trek decal is in my cart. I have damn near $100 in vinyl wraps to buy. I'm gonna buy a sheet and cut it out.

 

[Iowa_dude]

I have a Trek Marlin 6 I waited almost a year to receive. Still trying to get my legs use to some milage before getting on any trail. We have several off road trails here, this one I'm planning on killing one day.
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/596663/lewis-and-clark-monument-trail

 

[The_RC_Dude]

I guess everything has a risk.
I do ride on the street but just riding around and to the store.
Riding motorcycles on the street has kinda gotten pointless for me. I prefer the track. The power and acceleration of a 300+ hp motorcycle is so much that you definitely dot play around or just twist the throttle.

When I went 214 on a Busa I spent two days going from 125 mph to 175mph in baby steps. And the bike could probably go much faster than I rode it. I was just getting the license passes.


I hold records at the Maxton mile and the Ohio mile. Those tracks are closed. I hold the 250cc four stroke track record at the Arkansas mile and hope to bump the record up some.
The 123mph speed record I set in Ohio is currently the fastest Kawasaki 250 ninja on earth.

True, if you think about it, just about anything in life can injure/kill you, if you really try. I mean, you could die from a paper cut due to a bad infection or blood loss. Very unlikely, but possible, not to worry you guys! Just some FFT.

Just be careful with that kind of motorcycle! 300hp+ for a motorcycle seems pretty bonkers, especially considering the power-to-weight-ratio (like in RC cars, where that ratio can be pretty bonkers), my dad has a Civic Type R, that pushes some ~330hp, and it tops out at ~160mph IIRC (just going off the top of my head), and that acceleration is noticeably stronger than other sedans, even with it being FWD. I'd imagine that if you twist that throttle all the way off the bat, you'll either snap your head right off your neck, wheelie down the road (or Lord help you, flip over, like a failed RC standing backflip!), and/or just spin out/drift down the street. Hopefully that thing has some kind of street limiter that tops out at like 100mph, if you got too excited and gunned it when the light turned green, people around you won't know where you went!

Since I know so little about motorcycles, I'm wondering if these high powered "bikes" need a wheelie bar of sorts when taking off at high speed, almost like a drag race?

Holy cow, I never seem to stop being surprised at the "bikes", 214 is crazy! Some 'Lambos can't do that! Must be peeing-your-pants freaking scary to shoot along the track at that speed on a motorcycle!

Yup, you always want to increase that record a little just to put it a little more out of reach of other wannabe record holders! 123mph PB? 1-2-3 go! (see what I did there? That was really bad lol!)

How does it feel to know you have the fastest "bike" of that kind on earth?

Lmao. Me ride a bike. Sometimes I randomly fall over holding a remote in my hand. I’m out.

Lol improve your balance/coordination! It is said that once you learn to ride a bike, you don't forget! I can't say something like "Oh yeah, that's true, I once went a decade without touching a bike, and I hopped back on one and shredded a black diamond trail with style first go" from personal experience though. Try it, start with just riding on the street and paved bike paths, then some gravel paths, and then go to easy, green MTB trails, you'll probably find it fun and relaxing eventually! We all start somewhere, and it's never too late to start!

I'm about 50 Ibs over the bikes limit. I broke a crank under normal accelerating. With that said, no air for me.

I did get air on a Kfx450r years ago. That was quite a feeling.

Hmm, yeah, that crank on that Next bike (I think that's what you said earlier) probably wasn't of best quality...if you send it and get air, don't tell me you bent a pedal spindle or flattened the BB bearings, you're not nearly that heavy I imagine! I'm not "fully grown" yet, and I'm more on the underweight side, so I haven't broke any parts yet, other than a bent brake lever (shop said they'd have to replace like over half of the brake unit parts to replace the lever, and bleed the system of course, so it'd be over $50), don't ask, it involved somewhat soft dirt, a sharp, steep poppy berm on a small dirt pumptrack, and me glancing to the side at the wrong momment!

 

[Iowa crawler]

( Since I know so little about motorcycles, I'm wondering if these high powered "bikes" need a wheelie bar of sorts when taking off at high speed, almost like a drag race?

Holy cow, I never seem to stop being surprised at the "bikes", 214 is crazy! Some 'Lambos can't do that! Must be peeing-your-pants freaking scary to shoot along the track at that speed on a motorcycle!)


Land speed bike do not use wheelie bars. The tire is 220 mm so it is just a matter of throttle control. They also don’t have extended swing arms because that is not good for high speed traction.

This is a 1000 cc bike going 245 at the old Maxton track in North Carolina. This is not me riding. I am way way slower than this. But it’s fun to watch. The camera does not speed up.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

When I was a kid I used to jump a bmx bike over everything. Evel Knievel was popular then.
When I started riding mountain bike I went off a ramp a swore at that moment if I did not die I would never do that again.

I can barely bunny hop, but I'm riding a heavier budget hardtail that weighs ~31 pounds. I've ridden my friend's 20" BMX before, I'm still young, and it was a lot more harsh ride, even up an down the street off a few small jumps. Sketchier too, due to the head tube angle being some, oh, like 5 degrees steeper (SIGNIFICANT handling difference, even a couple degrees difference in the head tube angle makes a noticeable difference in bike handline, for those who didn't know)!

"... and swore at that moment if I did not die I would never do that again." I thought I read that wrong, most of the time people would say "...and swore at that moment if I did not die I would never do that again.". Some people prefer to keep their tires on the surface, that's fair, as long as you have fun, are safe and responsible, and that's all that matters when biking!

 

[HPIguy]

Did somebody mention moto? Man I miss these day this time of year as the weather warms up.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

I bought a set of Bontrager Comp 30 wheels (30mm wide) for it, and it's super simple to add the other two pawls and I think it gets you like 108pts of engagement or something like that. Running a Maxxis DHF 2.5 front, and Aggressor 2.3 rear. Believe it or not the SStache is actually about 5lbs lighter than the Fuel EX, both XL frames. The SStache has aftermarket wheels from Sun Ringle, dropped from a 50mm to a 40mm, dropped a lot of weight and gained lots of engagement on the hub. It's like a BMX bike on steroids, it encourages you to do dumb stuff. My one and only complaint is I can corner it hard enough to push the rear tire into the stay, BRRRRRRRRP.

I'm wondering, are you somewhat unnerved by what I know about your bikes?
Did the Comp 30 wheels come with 6 pawls? I'm not very knowledgeable on hubs and such, lol! The engagement on the Shimano hub on my bike is....mediocre, it could do with some more pawls or points of engagement. It makes "racheting" to get around really tight turns or a sharp U-turn on the street under power, weird.

When you turn very tightly under pedal power (ideally, of course, you'd keep your cranks level or drop your outside foot and just glide, but in some situations you need to be under power), you want to "rachet", that is, not turning full pedal/crank cycles as you run the risk of a pedal strike. So basically, when "racheting", you'll start with your dominant foot, and have your dominant foot's crank at about like the 2 o' clock position, and then do like a <1/3rd revolution, then pedal back <1/3rd of a revolution so your dominant foot is back at 2 o' clock, but you never have the dominant foot go past about 5 o' clock. It's not the most effecient way of pedaling, but for those tight, uphill switchbacks, it works.

On my bike, the full engagement from one pawl to another can be up to like 2.5 "hours" at the cranks, if you think of the crank arm as a clock hand. EDIT: Nope, I exaggerated that claim, I checked, and there is a whole 21-PTS on my Shimano hub, so it's actually more like a little bit more than .5 hours at the crank arm between engagements!

Drivetrains weigh a fair bit, even modern 1x drivetrains! Does the SStache "lack" any other parts vs. your Fuel EX? "The SStache has aftermarket wheels from Sun Ringle, dropped from a 50mm to a 40mm..." you mean it had 50mm wide rims?! That's like about double the rim width of my rims, does the SStache run plus sized tires, like 2.7"/2.8"-3.0"?

I was thinking that it was like a modern day BMX, but MTB style! No need to worry about the rear mech getting bashed, shifting gears, extra cables, geared drivetrain maintenance, ect! It really is a lot like Seth's "Murder Machine", built for the same reason! Are the seat stays narrower than normal? You said you are running a 2.3" tire in the rear on a 40mm rim I think? That'd put the cornering knobs up pretty high instead of lower, at the side. Just put some frame protection on the inside of the seat stays so the tire won't rub through the paint. I've liberally taped my bike lol!

Did somebody mention moto? Man I miss these day this time of year as the weather warms up.

Yup, motos that do 200mph+! Wheeeeeeeelie!

 

[HPIguy]

I'm wondering, are you somewhat unnerved by what I know about your bikes?
Did the Comp 30 wheels come with 6 pawls? I'm not very knowledgeable on hubs and such, lol! The engagement on the Shimano hub on my bike is....mediocre, it could do with some more pawls or points of engagement. It makes "racheting" to get around really tight turns or a sharp U-turn on the street under power, weird.

When you turn very tightly under pedal power (ideally, of course, you'd keep your cranks level or drop your outside foot and just glide, but in some situations you need to be under power), you want to "rachet", that is, not turning full pedal/crank cycles as you run the risk of a pedal strike. So basically, when "racheting", you'll start with your dominant foot, and have your dominant foot's crank at about like the 2 o' clock position, and then do like a <1/3rd revolution, then pedal back <1/3rd of a revolution so your dominant foot is back at 2 o' clock, but you never have the dominant foot go past about 5 o' clock. It's not the most effecient way of pedaling, but for those tight, uphill switchbacks, it works.

On my bike, the full engagement from one pawl to another can be up to like 2.5 "hours" at the cranks, if you think of the crank arm as a clock hand.

Drivetrains weigh a fair bit, even modern 1x drivetrains! Does the SStache "lack" any other parts vs. your Fuel EX? "The SStache has aftermarket wheels from Sun Ringle, dropped from a 50mm to a 40mm..." you mean it had 50mm wide rims?! That's like about double the rim width of my rims, does the SStache run plus sized tires, like 2.7"/2.8"-3.0"?

I was thinking that it was like a modern day BMX, but MTB style! No need to worry about the rear mech getting bashed, shifting gears, extra cables, geared drivetrain maintenance, ect! It really is a lot like Seth's "Murder Machine", built for the same reason! Are the seat stays narrower than normal? You said you are running a 2.3" tire in the rear on a 40mm rim I think? That'd put the cornering knobs up pretty high instead of lower, at the side. Just put some frame protection on the inside of the seat stays so the tire won't rub through the paint. I've liberally taped my bike lol!

Yup, motos that do 200mph+! Wheeeeeeeelie!

Nah, not at all. Honestly, it's been so long since I did the upgrade, I don't remember if they were four or six pawl hubs, and Trek just left out the extra pawls to try and make you buy a higher tier wheelset. Ratcheting the cranks is super important here on the east coast, and especially on the single speed. Both my bikes have an hour or less engagment if memory serves, but I haven't ridden in a while.

It's the stache I was referring to digging the tire into the stays in hard cornering. It's a 29x3.0 29+ tire, and the Stache has super short stays so the tire is really tucked up under you. The stays taper at the front as all frames are, I could move the tire back some, but then you lose the benefits of having the tire tucked as far under you as possible. I do have tape there to protect it as well. Did I mention I turned wrenches at a bike shop in college? Best job I ever had, just no money in it.

That bike was my supermoto. Basically take a dirt bike, and put it on wide sticky slicks. With extensive mods it'd do about 108mph. The only way it's breaking 200mph is behind a 200+MPH car. Most fun streetbike I ever owned.

 

[DHerM16]

I'm wondering if anybody else rides/likes MTBs on this forum? I know that @HPIguy (not to call you out!) used to like them (not sure if he still does). So again, does anyone work on MTBs, ride them, or even maybe work in a bike shop? I think it goes without saying that I ride MTB and work on mine!

Edit: Probably should have said this earlier, but I have a Co-op DRT 1.1 (the ether colored version, the paint is very nice IRL). Not the fanciest by any means, it's pretty basic, but get's the job done.

Foes F275 all mountain & Intense M16 downhill. I also work for a non-profit that takes used bike repairs them & give them to people in need.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

I have a Trek Marlin 6 I waited almost a year to receive. Still trying to get my legs use to some milage before getting on any trail. We have several off road trails here, this one I'm planning on killing one day.
https://www.mtbproject.com/trail/596663/lewis-and-clark-monument-trail

Hey, my dad has the Marlin 6 too, he has the 2021 '6, he bought it last year IIRC. Trek lowered all the Marlin bikes on "tier" or number last year, while keeping the same build. So the 2021 '6 is the same as the 2022 '5, the 2021 '8 = 2022 '7, ect. Do you have the 2021 '6 or the 2022 '6 (which would be equal to the 2021 '7)?

We almost excusively ride green trails, and I hit the occasional blue trail. My dad got lucky and waited less than a month I think for his Marline! Have you noticed that on all Marlins, if you look through the rear wheel spokes, on the left chainstay (disk caliper and rotor side, the non-drivetrain side), a few inches back from where the left chainstay is welded to the BB (Bottom Bracket), there's a little picture, a "easter egg" if you will, a little nice touch that the designers put there. I'll let you look yourself, but for those who don't, I'll let you guys in on the "secret"! Here it is: In the said location, you'll find a dude on a Marline (the bike) wearing a Marlin costume (fish)! The dude also appears to be jumping (but no jump or landing is shone). See what Trek did there?...Marlin, bike, Marline, fish?

 

[Iowa_dude]

Hey, my dad has the Marlin 6 too, he has the 2021 '6, he bought it last year IIRC. Trek lowered all the Marlin bikes on "tier" or number last year, while keeping the same build. So the 2021 '6 is the same as the 2022 '5, the 2021 '8 = 2022 '7, ect. Do you have the 2021 '6 or the 2022 '6 (which would be equal to the 2021 '7)?

We almost excusively ride green trails, and I hit the occasional blue trail. My dad got lucky and waited less than a month I think for his Marline! Have you noticed that on all Marlins, if you look through the rear wheel spokes, on the left chainstay (disk caliper and rotor side, the non-drivetrain side), a few inches back from where the left chainstay is welded to the BB (Bottom Bracket), there's a little picture, a "easter egg" if you will, a little nice touch that the designers put there. I'll let you look yourself, but for those who don't, I'll let you guys in on the "secret"! Here it is: In the said location, you'll find a dude on a Marline (the bike) wearing a Marlin costume (fish)! The dude also appears to be jumping (but no jump or landing is shone). See what Trek did there?...Marlin, bike, Marline, fish?

It's a 21, I'll have to check that out.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

My tires are huge 27.5x3.0. The tread is smaller for my liking, I want thick dirt bike lugs. The landscape flag was lying flat on the road. Just my luck that it picked up. I would have rode the 2 miles home with it in the tire but it was whipping around and my bike has enough scratches on it. I pulled it out and it was a slow leak. I was able to bike 3/4 a mile before I deemed the pressure to low.

I currently got another flat and I feel play in my crank. The same play when I broke the bolt. When I get the tire done I am picking up a new crank bolt and machining a few to last until I buy a new bottom bracket.

The Trek decal is in my cart. I have damn near $100 in vinyl wraps to buy. I'm gonna buy a sheet and cut it out.

Plus sized 27.5 tires, huh? What bike were you on? I'm pretty sure you weren't on your Scalpel, as XC bikes normally don't have, you know, 3 inch wide tires, ! The tires on my bike are looking a bit worn, the tread isn't super deep either, and now it's like a heavier, light duty XC tire with that worn tread! Sometimes, I swear I can pull off a bike version of Tokyo Drift when it's wet outside! lol Bear in bind, a more aggressive tread will mean more weight and rolling resistance, and a 3.0" tire is already bulky.

You were planning to ride 2 miles home, with 2x flat tires, with the freaking flag still in your tire?! You'd definitely have a whole new batch of scratches on your bike! With those big ol' tires you don't need much PSI! Good call though, if you kept riding, you'd probably damage your rims, which get could pretty pricey to replace!

Over a month ago, I got a puncture in my front tire (don't ask...I have the story posted on the "What did you break today?" thread), so I threw in my old rear tire's tube (that one leaked, but when we pulled it out, we couldn't find any holes or punctures, so we binned it for later use), one day later, that was flat, could've been the front tire, or the tube just had a slow leak. So then we bought a GoodYear tube, installed that, it held air for like almost a week, then one day, bam, it was flat when I went to grab my bike. So then we bought 2s Bell tubes, installed one, and that one is still holding air after over 3 weeks. I also patched all those previous tubes. I think I also patched one of the tubes, and tried that on the bike before the Bell tube, and that patched tube leaked too, and I found the other hole in it lol! And yes, I checked the inside and outside of the front tire like 4 times for glass, thorns, ect, no luck!

I'm seriously going to go tubeless if this issue persists, I've never had trouble with tubes before (my rear tire's tube did punctured mid-trail last year, I was wondering why the rear end kinda slid around, and what that flapping sound was ).

How many punctures do you have on the front and rear tires? You might have something sharp still stuck in the casing, check the tires! If you keep getting punctures on the same tire, consider a new tire. I have frame protection tape on my bike, it's 3M Heli tape, apparently it was made to be applied to helicopter blades to help prevent smaller nicks from bugs, rocks, ect. but it works great for bikes!

 

[WillsRCRepair]

Oh, cool! You race XC then? Airing out an XC rig in 6 feet of air is risky, XC bikes really are best suited for staying on the ground. 6' as in height, or length? My jumping skills are....mediocre, I blame it on my skill and a heavy-ish bike (compared to my body weight).

BTW welcome to the forum! Shameless plug, if you haven't yet, feel free to check out my RCT Member Location Map Thread!

Sorry I have not replied in awhile. I go 6 feet in the air on my trusty old Diamondback overdrive. its very sketchy. Its not meant to do that but its fun. I also take it to the downhill park sometimes.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Can no one keep the Stache a light weight trail machine?!

The Stache with a rigid carbon fork, carbon wheels, and no tubes can be a quite nimble trail machine. Everyone that has ever ridden mine likes it and are surprised at how I handles. I also have a single speed setup I run on it sometimes. I have/had a lot of bikes and if I can only have one favorite it would be the rigid Stache.

 

[The_RC_Dude]

Sorry I have not replied in awhile. I go 6 feet in the air on my trusty old Reading, UKe. its very sketchy. Its not meant to do that but its fun. I also take it to the downhill park sometimes.

That's fine, I miss some replies too! I bet it's sketchy, be careful! You might want to look into a modern trail hardtail for that stuff, or a dirt jumper if you ride a lot of dirt jumps and that stuff, just don't expect to use a DJ (Dirt Jumper) as a daily driver!

Like an actual DH park, with a chai lift and all, or just a bike park, on some green and blue trails?

The Stache with a rigid carbon fork, carbon wheels, and no tubes can be a quite nimble trail machine. Everyone that has ever ridden mine likes it and are surprised at how I handles. I also have a single speed setup I run on it sometimes. I have/had a lot of bikes and if I can only have one favorite it would be the rigid Stache.

I bet it's probably under 25 pounds! A rigid carbon fork probably isn't the most forgiving, I would imagine, so you'd probably want more supple tires, and/or ride less gnarly trails (ie. no rock gardens, or big jumps/drops). Does the CF fork have the same crown-to-axle measurement as the stock fork, in order to keep the same frame geometry? So you just casually swap between a geared drivetrain and a SS setup? For me that conversion would take about 2 hours, if I've done it multiple times before, have all the specialty tools, and don't stop to clean anything ( I almost always clean parts/places that I couldn't get to before when I'm modding/upgrading my hardtail or one of my RCs)

I've now heard from 3 people that SS hardtail are stupid fun...but I don't have the money or space to get another hardtail to try it on!