That stumpjumper steve linked has what looks to be electric tape on the frame near the chain. Should I do that to my bike? I'm guessing its to protect it from the chain bouncing off of it.
Very timely article for me - I hope others find it beneficial as well.
http://expeditionportal.com/buying-your-first-mountain-bike/
I'll be riding AF Canyon a week from today if anyone wants to join. We'll shuttle up to the summit, ride the ridge to 252 to cascade springs, then shuttle back up and ride all the way down to tibble. It'll be a long, fun ride. I'm sure you could handle it Andrew.
FWIW, my favorite shop in the valley is Bike Peddler on main street in AF. They often give me 20% off for no reason. Great guys.
Andrew, I am your exact size. I ride a medium giant reign. I love it. I ride mostly Lambert and af Canyon and consider myself a solid intermediate rider. I think it is hard to beat the value that giant and GT give you. I used to work at Taylor's in Provo and the Taylor family is why I buy all my bikes there. I do agree with Steve though, BP in AF is my second go to shop, they just don't the sell giants
The bad part about our size is we are right at the cutoff for medium/large. I have second guessed my decision to buy a medium several times. Each time I go ride a large and realize I made the right choice. You are welcome to come test my reign any time. I owe you at least that for pulling my dad out of HITR.
Now go buy a bike and talk Gary Willard into one. I have been trying to get him on a mtb bike for a couple years.
Time?
We're flexible. Unless anyone has any objections, I recommend 5:00 PM at the mouth of the canyon. Hopefully my hardtail will be built up by then and I can test it out. For those who don't know me, I can't seem to leave AF Canyone before 10 PM, even when I plan on exiting by 7. For this trip, the plan is to ride 'till 8:30 and be out by 9, but be warned that anything can happen.