short term review....

PatrickBrown

Active Member
after riding hartshorne yesterday AM for only 1 lap on the SS, I am completely toast. legs are like rubber, upper and lower back aches, and shoulder and arms arm sore. ugh

this cycling is killing me. I'll be going back to allaire in the next couple days, the hills of hartshorne are a struggle right now lol

Pat
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i know exactly how you feel. i was there too. the tourne used to completely toast me on my geared full squish. all five miles of it that i did and that never, ever included going to the top.

i hit a personal milestone yesterday...almost 20 trail miles on the mary. two years ago when i got back into riding i never, ever would have thought it possible to ride a bike that far, let alone a bike with only one gear and no suspension.

just keep plugging away when you can.

nothing really worth getting was ever gotten easily.

well, unless you win the lottery. :D
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
yeah I hear ya on the just keep riding thing, however I do think I need to get some geared riding time in or its just going to keep killing me.

anyone have a geared bike I can rent for a while lol

Pat
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
after riding hartshorne yesterday AM for only 1 lap on the SS, I am completely toast. legs are like rubber, upper and lower back aches, and shoulder and arms arm sore. ugh

this cycling is killing me. I'll be going back to allaire in the next couple days, the hills of hartshorne are a struggle right now lol

Pat

Pat, Hang in there.

I would question your choice of equipment though for trying to get back into cycling shape. I believe you're on the Haro Mary right? Now don't get me wrong, I have a 29" SS myself and love it to death, but that seems like an odd choice to me for a guy like yourself who has been out of biking for quite a few years and is trying to get back into cycling shape. To ride the 29 SS rigid bikes, it takes a reasonable amount of fitness just to get the bike moving and up the hills. You might try to borrow a geared bike for a few weeks until you get used to spinning again. I think you would feel alot less drained then you do right now. Once you get a few more rides under your belt, then switch back to the SS.

I'm sure others will disagree (like your LBS owner, God love 'em). But I would hate to see you give up out of frustration. Just my $.02.
 

Maurice

New Member
Nice job. Starting off with a single-speed may be tough but give it a few rides and it will feel a lot better. Progress in biking is tremendous with just a few rides (assuming it's not one a month...).

Always nice to see people out exercising.

Maurice
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
Pat, Hang in there.

I would question your choice of equipment though for trying to get back into cycling shape. I believe you're on the Haro Mary right? Now don't get me wrong, I have a 29" SS myself and love it to death, but that seems like an odd choice to me for a guy like yourself who has been out of biking for quite a few years and is trying to get back into cycling shape. To ride the 29 SS rigid bikes, it takes a reasonable amount of fitness just to get the bike moving and up the hills. You might try to borrow a geared bike for a few weeks until you get used to spinning again. I think you would feel alot less drained then you do right now. Once you get a few more rides under your belt, then switch back to the SS.

I'm sure others will disagree (like your LBS owner, God love 'em). But I would hate to see you give up out of frustration. Just my $.02.

Jeff. I agree with you now 100%. but to clear 1 lil thing up.... the only reason I bought the 29er SS bike was that it was the least expensive way to get me pedaling at all. and the coolness factor also.

but I gotta say this, I can ride this bike at allaire, and have a hard time but still make it through, anywhere with any type of hills at all, and I'm a goner.

I'm gonna look into borrowing a geared bike. because even as I have been off the bike for 7 years, I think that I could still put in a decent couple laps on a geared bike even in the mild hills. but for now this SS is torture lol.

but whether its on a borrowed geared bike, or if I have to keep on the SS, which is a lot of tiring work, yet still fun, I'm definately still going to be putting in 3-4 rides a week. I'm here to stay either way

Pat
 
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Frank

Sasquatch
Try changing the rear gear for a while until you get your legs back. Mine came with a 32-20 on a 29er, but it didn't feel right. Now I'm running a 180mm crank, 34frt, and 22rr. I spin just a tick more and can deal with the climbs better without stalling. I rode Hartshorne yesterday too and was able to clear most climbs. Gear change did well by me.
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
Try changing the rear gear for a while until you get your legs back. Mine came with a 32-20 on a 29er, but it didn't feel right. Now I'm running a 180mm crank, 34frt, and 22rr. I spin just a tick more and can deal with the climbs better without stalling. I rode Hartshorne yesterday too and was able to clear most climbs. Gear change did well by me.

yeah I wanted to meet up with you at 11AM yesterday but I had to be out of there by around 1130, so I went a bit earlier....
 

Frank

Sasquatch
it's all good

I'm gonna hit Allaire today at 5:30ish for a post Hartshorne recovery ride.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
hey pat, have you considered maybe runnin' a 1x9 set up on your mary? it is possible and it would get you into a geared bike on the cheap.
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
hey pat, have you considered maybe runnin' a 1x9 set up on your mary? it is possible and it would get you into a geared bike on the cheap.

hmmmm no I havent...... since I havent been in the loop for so long, I didnt know this was an option. I gotta find out about it for sure. let me ask our bike god Jay about that.
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
hey pat, have you considered maybe runnin' a 1x9 set up on your mary? it is possible and it would get you into a geared bike on the cheap.

Thats an interesting idea. The frame would probably accept the derailer hanger from the Mary-XC since I'm guessing they it's the same frame as the SS. That would only cost you a shifter, derailer, and rear cassette. And give the option to go back to SS at any time.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
folks are doing it for sure. from what i understand there is zero difference btwn the mary xc and the mary ss in terms of the measurements and such. that's another great thing about that bike.

i'd eventually like to 1x9 my 970...at least when/if it retires from road duty.
 

Bike N Gear

Shop: Bike N Gear
Shop Keep
If you put a 22t cog on the back the climbs will be noticeably easier. You will spin like crazy on the flats & dh's, but the you will make the climbs.

I've been riding a SS 29'er for a couple of seasons now, and Hartshorne can be tough. There is nothing technical to slow you down, so its only your lungs or legs.

I actually find Chimney rock to be much easier on the SS. Its rocky & rooted, but the climbs aren't as bad. You should also check out Six Mile Run or Mercer County park for flatter terrain.
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
If you put a 22t cog on the back the climbs will be noticeably easier. You will spin like crazy on the flats & dh's, but the you will make the climbs.

I've been riding a SS 29'er for a couple of seasons now, and Hartshorne can be tough. There is nothing technical to slow you down, so its only your lungs or legs.

I actually find Chimney rock to be much easier on the SS. Its rocky & rooted, but the climbs aren't as bad. You should also check out Six Mile Run or Mercer County park for flatter terrain.


gary, glad to hear you are doing better, dont know if you remember me but I am Pat, Josh Pierces old friend, I was the manager after he left the EB store.

as for gearing it down, I am torn, I already feel like I am spinning WAY too much if I go to allaire. so that may not be an option.

as for the 1x9 setup, not sure if the Marys rear hub is compatible with a cassette due to width or other reasons. my goal is to make one bike good for more than one park. if not, I need more than one bike.

Pat
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
and whats wrong with that?
you say that likes it's a bad thing :hmmm:


the only thing at all bad with buying more bikes is the lack of fundage at the present moment due to buying my first house. believe me I plan on having a couple bikes for sure, but with my present situation, I dont want to be limited to only riding allaire because my SS is too tough and I am too wimpy to ride hartshorne lol
 

Bike N Gear

Shop: Bike N Gear
Shop Keep
gary, glad to hear you are doing better, dont know if you remember me but I am Pat, Josh Pierces old friend, I was the manager after he left the EB store.

as for gearing it down, I am torn, I already feel like I am spinning WAY too much if I go to allaire. so that may not be an option.

as for the 1x9 setup, not sure if the Marys rear hub is compatible with a cassette due to width or other reasons. my goal is to make one bike good for more than one park. if not, I need more than one bike.

Pat

Hey Pat,

Never know who your talking to with this modern technology. I wouldn't want the 22T for Allaire, but its not too big a deal to swap it out for Hartshorne. Also, if you are running the stock tires, replace them with something lighter....pretty much every 29'er tire is lighter than the Exi. I weighed the one on the front of my bike it was 1110 grams. I replaced it with a Specialized Resolution (also a 2.3) and took off almost a pound.

We should hook up & ride....I'm always looking for someone slow to ride with (lately:drooling: )

Gary
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
a different viewpoint...

I began riding SS about 14 months ago. Even as a pretty fit rider, I was taken aback at times by how hard it was to turn over the gear on some of the steeper climbs, but I knew that would happen. As time went by, it (predictably) got easier. The same will happen for you.

So my words of wisdom are to gut it out, unless that gear is just impossible to handle right now. I'd see about a 31 for the front before adding 2 teeth on the rear; try to change gearing in the smallest possible increments.
 

PatrickBrown

Active Member
I began riding SS about 14 months ago. Even as a pretty fit rider, I was taken aback at times by how hard it was to turn over the gear on some of the steeper climbs, but I knew that would happen. As time went by, it (predictably) got easier. The same will happen for you.

So my words of wisdom are to gut it out, unless that gear is just impossible to handle right now. I'd see about a 31 for the front before adding 2 teeth on the rear; try to change gearing in the smallest possible increments.

I think I'm just going to gut it out as you say. its more or less that I dont have the stamina to Keep turning it. not that I cat turn it at all..... again, I only have 4 rides under my belt. I'm considering just laying off hartshorne for a couple weeks to get some strength back
 
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