[Mtbkenny]

Hey guys (and gals), not new to 29ers but new to Full Suspension bikes and one by drive trains so thought I'd start a build/ride thread to document my transition from Rigid Single Speeding to the sweet new modern Geo single track shredder I just ordered. Also to ask for help figuring out how to get my bike dialed in for fit and function, the difference between LSC and the other one for example

The new bike I just ordered is a 2019 XL Transition Smuggler with the GX build in Outlaw Orange. Hoping to get it next week.

For a little (ok a lot) background I got my First mountain bike in 1998 - The Schwinn Moab and rocked that thing for ~15 years but was'nt a super consistent rider. Skiing was my main sport and a dose of dirtbikes, crotch rockets, Harleys, even a stint golfing for a while (shudders).

Fast forward to 2012 and I've sold all the motorized toys, quit golf and gotten pretty fat and lazy. I set a New Years resolution to lose 40 pounds by my Birthday (October) and get a new mountain bike as a reward. Crushed that goal and lost almost 50 pounds by August. I was a SAHD at the time and my budget was $1,000- the money I got selling my good ole Honda XR400.

I'd been researching bikes and realized I was'nt getting much for a grand and I hated the chain/shifting issues on my old bike and couldn't really afford a "good" cassette set and a fair amount of our local trails are reasonably flat here in Maryland. So I decided to grab a Kona unit Single speed. Meant to upgrade the fork to a shocked fork at some-point but never did.

Been averaging 600+ mile s a year since then and ridden in like 10-15 different states including renting a couple FS set ups out in the Vegas area and Moab.

So now that I'm 5 years in and really really enjoying and committed to the sport it's time for a serious upgrade! Also we love to travel and the SS was'nt cutting it - Last year In new Hampshire I did so much walking I should have just went on a hike, bike was more like a wheel barrow I was pushing up the mountain.:madman:

AND the kids are in school full time and I'm back to work so I got the OK for a $5k Budget for my 40th Bday bike present. Of Course my 40th isn't until next year but somehow I sweet talked my wife into letting me get it this year---something about safety with the rigid fork throwing me off line being dangerous

Alright - Have to head to dinner - Next post later on how I landed on the Smuggler.

 

[gregnash]

Nurse_Ben posted this in one of the other threads and I thought it was a pretty good explanation of what is what..
https://shockwiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-...-Knowing-What-Adjustments-Your-Suspension-Has

I was able to do something similar with my wife and convince her to let me get the bike at the beginning of the year seeing as my 40th is in September. Luckily I was a "standard" size for mtb's and was able to get my GG Smash.

From everything I have seen/read you will love the Smuggler. Actually was looking at that as one of the bikes I would get prior to the Smash. Ended up going with the Smash and love it.

Anyways, good luck with the new bike once you receive it!!

 

[Mtbkenny]

Nurse_Ben posted this in one of the other threads and I thought it was a pretty good explanation of what is what..
https://shockwiz.zendesk.com/hc/en-...-Knowing-What-Adjustments-Your-Suspension-Has

Anyways, good luck with the new bike once you receive it!!

Hey Greg thanks for the good luck and the shock resource. Have to read through that more when I'm looking at the shock.

I was able to do something similar with my wife and convince her to let me get the bike at the beginning of the year seeing as my 40th is in September. Luckily I was a "standard" size for mtb's and was able to get my GG Smash.

From everything I have seen/read you will love the Smuggler. Actually was looking at that as one of the bikes I would get prior to the Smash. Ended up going with the Smash and love it.

Nice!! Your wife must be as cool as mine. Yeah, I was on the fence between 3 and 4 and I demoed the 3 and probably could have made it work but really wanted the 4/XL. Awesome you got yours though and glad your loving it.

I hope so!

 

[Mtbkenny]

Bike decision!

So at first I was planning on getting a hard tail, potentially something like the Kona Honzo maybe. But after renting a Trek Fuel EX8 I realized how much fun a Full Suspension could be. Then I rented a Transition Patrol for 3 days and was convinced - yes the tuning/maintenance/cost is worth it to go FS.

I first looked to Kona because I've been really happy with my Unit. But it seems like their two most popular bikes were the Process (more travel then I wanted) and the Hei Hei (less travel then I wanted). Their new-ish mid travel bike the Satori has seemed to be met with pretty poor reviews, low sales, and honestly just had a sort of strange look to it.

Then last Fall I had the opportunity to meet up with some of the Guerrilla Gravity employees and riders and they seemed like a really great small company and they got on my short list. Fast Forward to February-ish when they announced their new American Made carbon and I was watching video, reading reviews, even listened to a few podcasts on them and decided to go with their mid-travel Trail Pistol.

I spent a couple months pouring over build options and even had the chance to demo one at the Dirt Rag Dirt fest in PA through a Can Creek event. Bike was awesome! Unfortunately in my size with their new manufacturing process the date has been pushed back a few times.

I had initially been ok waiting until June, and then July but when it got moved to late 3rd QTR or later I started having some second thoughts about riding my current bike another full season. AND to top it off I'm soon to go on a month long road trip and the possibility of having a new FS rig to break in on the trip started sounding really appealing.

So the search was on with availability admit-tingly being a large consideration. I still wanted to stick with a smallish brand, not necessarily as niche as GG but maybe not the Trek/Giant/Specialized type stuff. I did consider the Trek Fuel EX8 which would have a been a good value at $3,500 with the GX build but I didn't want to be locked to their proprietary "Reaktiv" shock situation.

I knew for sure I wanted : 29" wheels, GX Eagle, 120 rear, 130-ish front.

Main considerations were :

Evil Following

Transition Smuggler

Santa Cruz High tower

The Evil was almost $900 more then the other two and no way I wanted to inch towards $6K. They also do online only it seems? And I have no/little mechanical experience so I was really hoping to get it built out by someone else. And most shops provide at least a year of free tunes and you typically save the ~$150 or whatever in shipping doing it that way (put towards some pedals!)

The High tower was actually my next choice partially because I've seen tons of Santa Cruz in Magazines/youtube over the years and partially because my LBS carries Santa Cruz and I'd like to give them the business and have them for tunes/support. But Alas there are no XL Hightowers to be found!

So on to Transtion, back when I was searching out stuff on GG I ended up listening to a few other Vital MTB podcasts including the one with Kevin Menard - The transition owner/founder (one of two I believe) and it seemed like a pretty cool company. Also talked with a guy from Bellingham back in Moab last Fall and he had great things to say about them; as did the folks At Chili Peppers bike shop where I rented the Patrol.

Lo and behold - XL Outlaw Orange in stock and ship out in two days. Called a couple local shops to inquire about getting it that way and one guy was really knowledgeable - talked to him on the phone almost 20 minutes on a Saturday - Turns out he was a high school kid; works there part time - guy was like an encyclopedia of bike Brands/specs/geo

So I went down yesterday and threw down the ole Southwest Visa and made it official. Kind of a small old school shop compared to my regular LBS but only about 45 mins away and 20 from one of my main current jobs so it works. Ordered directly from the owner (other guy was in school!) and he said he'd build it up as soon as he got it and give me a call.

All goes well I'll have it for my trip leaving next week. In some respects it may seem like the final decision was a bit rushed after the GG delay and it was but I was wearing a bit thin on specing out options, shocks, wheels, etc and really just wanted to get riding. And a lot of the parts/style is pretty similar among-st brands. Don't think you can go too wrong with a modern $5K bike; Think I'll be pretty happy overall.

Biggest compromise is not getting the Cane Creek Coil I really wanted. Figure worst case I run the Fox air for this year and if I still want the shock I'll pick it up over the winter. If it costs me $500 I'll consider that the cost of riding this season and it'll be worth it (paid ~$300 just to rent the Patrol for a 3 day weekend last year)

So, that is where I landed.

 

[gregnash]

Nicely done... Like I said above, I am sure that you will be more than happy with the Smuggler, it was definitely on my short list of bikes to ride but my concern was opposite of yours, I wanted slightly more travel. This is why my Smash ended up being perfect. I had looked at Norco, Canyon, YT and Commencal as my other short list-ers but overall GG won out.

If your trip happens to lead you across the country into Northern NV territory hit me up. Can't wait to see the new bike day!

 

[Nurse Ben]

Transition makes good bikes, sturdy and good riding, you should be happy.

Sorry about GG, they're just bogged down by the process, maybe next time!

Like Greg said, if you get out Tahoe way we'll ride.

Edit: For the coil, check out the Bomber CR, super nice and not expensive ($350), similar to the Vanilla. I like it more than the CCDB and as much as the RSSD

 

[Le Duke]

You’re in for a shock going from a SS to a Smuggler.

Every Transition I’ve ridden is meant to go down, and goes up very poorly. They are not efficient bicycles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mtbkenny]

Nicely done... Like I said above, I am sure that you will be more than happy with the Smuggler, it was definitely on my short list of bikes to ride but my concern was opposite of yours, I wanted slightly more travel. This is why my Smash ended up being perfect. I had looked at Norco, Canyon, YT and Commencal as my other short list-ers but overall GG won out.

If your trip happens to lead you across the country into Northern NV territory hit me up.

Can't wait to see the new bike day!

Thanks, Surprised you made it through that book...brevity not my strong point! Who knows I could wind up wanting more travel; but I think it's a good place to start.

I wish, those trails you ride in that Carson City off road video look amazing! This is just a southeastern family road trip; going to try and squeeze some mountain biking in. Usually I try and get out early in the morning as my kids are pretty late sleepers so my wife can chill with book/coffee and not have to do too much extra kid watching. Just got her a bike though and my older daughter a new bike so can try and get some additional beginner miles in with them potentially as well.

Me too :thumbsup: Really hoping it comes in time for me to take it for a spin on my usual ride; going to be tight though since he said 5-7 business days plus build and we are leaving Friday morning (next Fri)

 

[Mtbkenny]

Transition makes good bikes, sturdy and good riding, you should be happy.

Sorry about GG, they're just bogged down by the process, maybe next time!

Like Greg said, if you get out Tahoe way we'll ride.

Edit: For the coil, check out the Bomber CR, super nice and not expensive ($350), similar to the Vanilla. I like it more than the CCDB and as much as the RSSD

Hope so!

Yeah no worries, and maybe next time for sure.

Thanks for the offer to you and Greg. Not heading west this year.

I'll keep it in mind, probably gonna run the stock this whole season and I'll consider the coil over winter.

 

[Mtbkenny]

You're in for a shock going from a SS to a Smuggler.

Every Transition I've ridden is meant to go down, and goes up very poorly. They are not efficient bicycles.

Yeah it's going to be a lot different for sure.

What I'm sure it'll be fine, I'm in Suburban Maryland - not exactly known for our mountains and I'm coming from the SS so used to working pretty hard for my ups.

Have you ridden the Smuggler? Sounds like it's a lot more efficient for climbing then it's 29er big bro Sentinel.

My typical 11 mile home loop only has ~400 feet of climbing. I climbed Captain Ahab last Fall on my rental Transition Patrol which is about 1,200 feet and it seemed fine. I didn't have the tech skill for some of the climb but the long stretches I pedaled alright.

Guess I'll find out soon enough, don't think I'll have many climbs on this upcoming trip though.

 

[Jayson44]

long post ahead, so Tl;DR is that you need to learn how the Transition likes to be ridden.


I rode SS exclusively for 10 years. I had a geared road bike, but only for commuting. MTB was SS only as it was the only MTB I could afford. very much your same situation...wanted to save some cash and got hooked. fast-forward 7 years and I move to Colorado up to the mountains. I wanted a new bike so I saved up my cash. after 3 years, I got a great deal on a Trek Fuel EX9 and pulled the trigger. it's been 2 years now and I'm finally in love with the Trek the way I was with my Bianchi and feel like I know the bike as well as I did my Bianchi.

my biggest hangups were pretty much all related to the "new geo" and not the gears or FS.

Sizing: I was between sizes and had to do a lot of adjusting of things like moving the saddle way forward and getting a 35mm stem. wider, flat bars were also new and hard to get used to since I rode Alt bars for so long. I went with a size larger instead of the smaller size, so that may have affected my learning curve a little. I might have felt more comfortable going with the size down.

Slack front end: my Bianchi, while "progressive" in 2007 was very steep compared to Trek, and I was very used to how the front end handled. it carved at speed and was very stable at slow tech. the Trek "flops" the front on slow tech (especially climbs) and it took a while to get used to that. the other part is that I used to be able to do what I call a "thrust bump" with the front end where you shove your arms forward to bump the front tire up over an obstacle when going slow in tech. the Trek doesn't do that very well because of the angle of the fork. you have to lift more than push, if that makes sense.

Long: the Trek hangs the rear wheel up on obstacles a lot more than the Bianchi did. slow tech in rocks, bumping over things, I sometimes get caught on the rear wheel. the Trek is also harder to manual and hop. some of that is the weight (23lb SS vs a 30lb FS), but the length is noticeable. same with how quickly it whips corners...it's not as nimble. it's also barely fits on my bike racks...both roof trays and the hitch trays. just something to think about.

the Trek definitely likes to be ridden a certain way, and that took some learning. your Transition will have that and you'll have to figure it out in order to enjoy it. I've actually had to become a more aggressive rider to enjoy the Trek because it likes to be plowed through things and is not very good at slowly picking lines through tech the way I used to on my SS. now that I've been riding it for two seasons (one of which we had a baby so I only got in about 500 miles) I'm much more familiar with it and how it handles. I've forgotten the Bianchi and how it rides and that has helped. I'm definitely faster on the trails I ride on the Trek and I'm definitely having more fun on it. so I have no doubt you'll enjoy the Transition.

lastly, forget what you know about standing and mashing. you will hate life trying to do that on your FS.

J.

 

[G_T]

Was the Ripmo on your list at all? I am in the exact situation, GG-wise. That email hurt.
My current ride is 15 yrs old, so giving up a season of riding a new bike doesn't seem appealing.

Since the delay was officially announced, I've gone back and forth from buying a used interim bike until my Smash shows up, to just waiting, to buying one of the other bikes I had considered instead of the Smash. The others I thought about are exactly the bikes you mention, but I also am considering a Ripmo (XL can be shipped this week).

I'll be demoing the Smuggler and Ripmo for sure, both get really good reviews for Front Range CO trail riding. If neither of those can convince me to cancel my GG order, and I can't find a used bike that makes sense, I might just suck it up and get by with demos and my current bike, a '04 Enduro. There seems to be a magic pull about the Smash I just can't get away from, and the fact that I can turn it into a Trail Pistol (which would essentially give me a Ripmo and a Smuggler in one) is really appealing.

I don't think I can go wrong on any of these bikes, but I'm trying not to let the emotional blow of the GG delay entice me into a bad decision for my situation. Thanks for posting this and adding some perspective to my dilemma.

 

[Mtbkenny]

long post ahead, so Tl;DR is that you need to learn how the Transition likes to be ridden.

I rode SS exclusively for 10 years. I had a geared road bike, but only for commuting. MTB was SS only as it was the only MTB I could afford. very much your same situation...wanted to save some cash and got hooked. fast-forward 7 years and I move to Colorado up to the mountains. I wanted a new bike so I saved up my cash. after 3 years, I got a great deal on a Trek Fuel EX9 and pulled the trigger. it's been 2 years now and I'm finally in love with the Trek the way I was with my Bianchi and feel like I know the bike as well as I did my Bianchi.

lastly, forget what you know about standing and mashing. you will hate life trying to do that on your FS.

J.

Hey Man, thanks for the thoughts and post.

Interesting, I'd hoped for love at first ride! But I'm sure it will take some getting used too. It's easy to get hooked isn't it? It's a great sport.

I know, that's gonna be the thing I miss the most. Curious to see if I'll get used to seated climbing or use the lock out to stand some or what. Most of my local ride is rolling so I'll not really have the option to lock out. But even on the small hills there I much prefer standing. I tried that first hill on a demo a couple weeks back and almost wrecked right over the bars. Between the gear I was in being way to easy and the fork diving it was pretty jarring.

my biggest hangups were pretty much all related to the "new geo" and not the gears or FS.

Sizing: I was between sizes and had to do a lot of adjusting of things like moving the saddle way forward and getting a 35mm stem. wider, flat bars were also new and hard to get used to since I rode Alt bars for so long. I went with a size larger instead of the smaller size, so that may have affected my learning curve a little. I might have felt more comfortable going with the size down.

Slack front end: my Bianchi, while "progressive" in 2007 was very steep compared to Trek, and I was very used to how the front end handled. it carved at speed and was very stable at slow tech. the Trek "flops" the front on slow tech (especially climbs) and it took a while to get used to that. the other part is that I used to be able to do what I call a "thrust bump" with the front end where you shove your arms forward to bump the front tire up over an obstacle when going slow in tech. the Trek doesn't do that very well because of the angle of the fork. you have to lift more than push, if that makes sense.

Long: the Trek hangs the rear wheel up on obstacles a lot more than the Bianchi did. slow tech in rocks, bumping over things, I sometimes get caught on the rear wheel. the Trek is also harder to manual and hop. some of that is the weight (23lb SS vs a 30lb FS), but the length is noticeable. same with how quickly it whips corners...it's not as nimble. it's also barely fits on my bike racks...both roof trays and the hitch trays. just something to think about.

So my 2013 Kona Unit was actually stolen out of my Garage Halloween weekend in 2015. I was still broke and I loved the bike so I ordered a 2016 Unit, unfortunately it didn't come until April. But the 2016 is a lot more modern, longer, slacker, and then of course I've been on 29's for 6 years. So hopefully I won't have quite the learning curve you did coming from the 2007.

Sizing - So in height (6'2") I'm on the verge of L vs Xl with most brands, but with reach/wingspan (6'6") I'm pretty squarely in XL mostly. Still probably could make either work but hopefully it'll be OK. Reach on Kona is 483 increasing to 500 on the Smuggler - 17 cm is what like 5/8 of an inch, no idea how noticeable that will be.

Slack - HTA Kona - 69 vs 66 on the smuggler so it's slacker but not a ton. Not sure I understand what you mean with the thrust bump. I usually lift the handles more or time a hard crank of the pedals to lift the wheel and lift the bars together.

Wheelbase - Kona - 1170 vs Smuggler - 1242 - So about 72mm, 2.75 inches longer; again not sure the ride implications of that difference. Hauling it in a 8 ft pickup bed so that shouldn't be an issue with racks at least.

---------

But, only time will tell

I'd hoped to ride both still; but thinking maybe hanging the Kona up at first will be better. Don't really feel like taking two bikes on the trip so that should be a pretty good trial/ break in period. Should get to ride a little more often and longer then my typical week at home; plus little rides around campground with wife/kids and stuff can start just messing around with it.

 

[Mtbkenny]

Was the Ripmo on your list at all? I am in the exact situation, GG-wise. That email hurt.
My current ride is 15 yrs old, so giving up a season of riding a new bike doesn't seem appealing.

Oof, sorry your in the same boat.

You know it was'nt on the list, and if Ibis was I'd lean more to the Ripley I guess. I honestly haven't really remembered hearing or reading or even knowing of Ibis until I started reading on these boards last Fall some. I must have read or seen them somewhere and not paid attention?

They look pretty sleek with the finish and paint job, similar GX spec comes in around $4,899. Just weren't really on my radar I guess.

Since the delay was officially announced, I've gone back and forth from buying a used interim bike until my Smash shows up, to just waiting, to buying one of the other bikes I had considered instead of the Smash. The others I thought about are exactly the bikes you mention, but I also am considering a Ripmo (XL can be shipped this week).

I'll be demoing the Smuggler and Ripmo for sure, both get really good reviews for Front Range CO trail riding. If neither of those can convince me to cancel my GG order, and I can't find a used bike that makes sense, I might just suck it up and get by with demos and my current bike, a '04 Enduro. There seems to be a magic pull about the Smash I just can't get away from, and the fact that I can turn it into a Trail Pistol (which would essentially give me a Ripmo and a Smuggler in one) is really appealing.

I considered that buying and then re-selling a used one as an interim approach, ultimately combination of laziness and impatience ruled it out for me I guess. It's gonna be a hard and unique situation for everyone. A big part of it for me was my upcoming vacation; it's a family trip but even if I get to ride like 6-8 days that's a fair amount of riding and in some fun new places vs my usual spots.

By the time you go around and demo a bunch and think on it you'll probably have a better idea, though it sounds like you want to wait. I agree with the pull toward the Guerrilla Gravity - it's a really cool thing they are doing. Like you said if the demos don't wow you ride what you got now and wait to get it.

I just made a really fast decision from the time I read about the delay Friday night to Monday morning ordering the Smuggler. Only thing I can think is a combination of the trip deadline and my being "over" the decision making - to be honest (don't know if you read the other GG thread) I was wearing a little thin on the decisions in general re: wheels, shocks, GX vs NX etc. so the "click buy" was having some pull. Which is ironic because the ability to customize was/is one of the biggest draws for GG.

I don't think I can go wrong on any of these bikes, but I'm trying not to let the emotional blow of the GG delay entice me into a bad decision for my situation.

Thanks for posting this and adding some perspective to my dilemma.

Yeah the can't go wrong did weigh on my decision process. Any of these bikes are awesome, even if one is awesome-r there is the old bird in the hand worth two in the bush to consider. But I hear you on the emotional decision, I worried about that too.

Yeah man, good luck with your decision.:thumbsup:

 

[Mtbkenny]

Still no word on the new bike. Going to give them a call tomm to check status.

Been having a pretty good few days on two wheels though.

Thursday night made it out on my local loop and actually hit a PR. I don't use Strava or a super exact record keeping but I use an app called "map my run" (thinking of switching to Strava though with the new bike for the cumulative stats). Previous record was hour 21 minutes and change, this time was one hour 18 minutes 30 secs. Usually more like 1:30-2:00 with breaks,sessioning, etc.

I was in considerably better shape the last time so I think it's more of my downhill and technique that I've improved more so then the fitness aspect. Also one traffic light each way on the paved section so that can always influence a few minutes.

Saturday did a fun family ride over on the Eastern Shore of MD on this trail that starts at the Chesapeake bay and traverses Kent Island (about 5 miles each way). We usually ride it out to a place called The Crab Deck for lunch and ride back. First time my youngest has made it the whole 10 miles!

https://www.traillink.com/trail/cross-island-trail/

Sunday made it out for another loop at the normal spot but did a few different new sections and switched up some of the order (up the downs, vice versa). Also messed around on a new wood section they just built, need some practice. Harder then it looks!

And then today, the new pedals arrived. Went back and forth on Diety, One up, and crank brothers. Finally just went with the Crank brothers since they were a bit cheaper and all looked similar.

Hopefully I get a call tomm, gotta get packing on Thursday!!

 

[skiahh]

You're in for a shock going from a SS to a Smuggler.

Every Transition I've ridden is meant to go down, and goes up very poorly. They are not efficient bicycles.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure which you've ridden and which you haven't.

My Smuggler goes up just fine. Not the best, but for a 4-bar/Horst link bike, very, very well. In fact, I'd say it climbs as well as my OG Pivot 429, with DW link. And that's on flats vs being clipped in on the 429.

The Sentinel, not so much. It goes up fine, but if you're doing a lot of miles with a lot of vertical, it's not the bike I'd choose. Same for the Patrol. I have not ridden the Scout, but my 13 year old climbs just fine on hers.

No doubt there are better climbers out there, but as a total package, it's a fantastic bike!

 

[cassieno]

A 120mm horst link bike, I don't think you need to worry about how it pedals... Sure it won't be as direct as a ridgid SD, but that's the point.

Looks like a great bike OP.

 

[Mtbkenny]

You're in for a shock going from a SS to a Smuggler.

Every Transition I've ridden is meant to go down, and goes up very poorly. They are not efficient bicycles.

Not sure which you've ridden and which you haven't.

My Smuggler goes up just fine. Not the best, but for a 4-bar/Horst link bike, very, very well. In fact, I'd say it climbs as well as my OG Pivot 429, with DW link. And that's on flats vs being clipped in on the 429.

The Sentinel, not so much. It goes up fine, but if you're doing a lot of miles with a lot of vertical, it's not the bike I'd choose. Same for the Patrol. I have not ridden the Scout, but my 13 year old climbs just fine on hers.

No doubt there are better climbers out there, but as a total package, it's a fantastic bike!

I asked the same question whether they'd specifically ridden the Smuggler and didn't get a response.

I switched to flats a couple years ago as well, glad to hear they are climbing well for you.

Nice, hope I feel the same way

 

[Mtbkenny]

A 120mm horst link bike, I don't think you need to worry about how it pedals... Sure it won't be as direct as a ridgid SD, but that's the point.

Looks like a great bike OP.

I'm not worried about it, and like I mentioned up thread not doing too many big climbs here in the Baltimore/DC suburbs.

Thanks!

-----------

So bike came in Tuesday; but hasn't been built yet!!! Talked to the shop guy yesterday and he said they were going to try and build it in the afternoon. Asked to call when he's done, and haven't heard back.

Don't want to bug the crap out of him or have him rush the assembly; but also really want to get it today. May give him another hour or so and then try him again just to check progress. The shops ~45 mins away but can easily turn into 1.5 hour or worse with Thur/Fri afternoon rush hour beach traffic since it's towards the Eastern Shore of MD.

Could even try to grab tomm since I'll be heading to the shore for first stop of our trip; but wanted to have more time to get the packing figured here at home then rushing in their parking lot.

 

[Mtbkenny]

Well with not much time to spare, it's here!!

Picked the bike up around 4 today, looks pretty good. No real chance to ride other then a few minutes around parking lot at bike store and my neighborhood. It poured today so trails were muddy and I didn't really have time to ride with ALL THE PACKING.

I realized we have a lot more money in bikes then we did last summer with 3 of the 4 of us getting new rides this year. On top of that my daughters went from a 16" and 20" to a 20" and 24". So jamming everything into the pickup any which way was'nt going to cut it this time; especially as many times as we are moving and packing/unpacking.

So I spent the last 3-4 hours rigging up the truck and trying a bunch of combinations of bike orders/rotations. Kind of like the least fun and most rushed version of Tetris ever. To add to the fun it rained about half the time.

But I think I got it dialed in now. Got it so that there are some wooden dividers between each bike to keep the gears/cassettes segregated. And the wood is all down low so it really only contacts the rubber. Also had to move and re-arrange most of my tie-downs and stuff to work with the new config. Wound up being able to get my bike on the outside so if we are somewhere I'm the only one riding (likely to happen at least twice that I can think of) I can get mine out without having to unload the other two big bikes

Also made a last minute itinerary change by adding a night in Ocala so I think I'm going to get to try the Santos bike park out one morning :thumbsup:

This weekend we'll just be at the beach so I'll ride it around the campground messing with gears/shocks/dropper a bit. Tuesday we'll be in Williams burg Virginia and I'm hoping to ride a t a place called Freedom park. That'll probably be my first real ride to get some impressions from.

The bike and box in the truck - (looks like plenty of room without the camping gear and other 3 bikes!)

The Smuggler!!