my new ride

[elf]

Not quite what you were thinking!
So this weekend my wife threw me a 50th birthday party and this is what she surprised me with. Wow, what a bike. I was quite surprised as I've always wanted a full suspension bike but would never buy something like this for myself. This thing rides so nice and fast on trails once you get used to how it handles. Soaks up bumps, climbs well (sounds like I'm describing a sled). My only complaint is I've gone on two rides with it and I've crashed on both rides.Guess I gotta get used to it.

 

[G]

Be careful of your 50 year old bones. As I am sure you are aware it takes longer to heal now than it did when you were 20. Plus if you crash in the woods and become incapacitated a Bigfoot might find you and eat you. Oh No. Shouldn't have brought that up.

 

[elf]

I am well aware I don't heal or recover as fast. Very aware of that Sunday morning!

And the MN DNR tells me there's no Bigfoots in MN. But they also say there's no mountain lions either!

 

[Tracker]

ELF...bones and cartiledge are over rated.....LOL....I am runnin Teflon over bones with titanium inserts...your good ta go bro....heres to that NOT happenin....

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Happy Birthday and welcome to the 50+ Club. You've been on this earth for a half a century.... think about that for awhile.
And just for the Fun of It, here's some other things that were new in 1967:

The Big Mac
Gatorade
ATM/Automatic Teller Machines
Saturn V Moon Rocket
and Color Television was just coming into it's own.




Ski Doo came out with their "Super Olympique" in 1967 with a top speed of 48 mph, a pop-up headlight and a 14 horsepower Rotax.
Some quotes from SnoGoer included... It likes to go straight, so the only way to get it to turn is to stand up, lock your feet into the stirrups, lean forward and out over the inside ski as far as possible, and use body English to force turning.and this one operators still had to be careful that the intake body didn’t suck in their clothing to plug the carb. And the engine could backfire right into the operator’s crotch, too.

What say we all get together after the next 50 years and catch up on things. Enjoy your new ride, Elf!



Sources;
SnoGoer Archives &
Wikipedia

 

[Tracker]

1967....but you were a pup so I will post 1975 when ya was 8 and actually watching it...enjoy

 

[1fujifilm]

Happy Birthday and welcome to the 50+ Club. You've been on this earth for a half a century.... think about that for awhile.
And just for the Fun of It, here's some other things that were new in 1967:

The Big Mac
Gatorade
ATM/Automatic Teller Machines
Saturn V Moon Rocket
and Color Television was just coming into it's own.

View attachment 56860


Ski Doo came out with their "Super Olympique" in 1967 with a top speed of 48 mph, a pop-up headlight and a 14 horsepower Rotax.
Some quotes from SnoGoer included... It likes to go straight, so the only way to get it to turn is to stand up, lock your feet into the stirrups, lean forward and out over the inside ski as far as possible, and use body English to force turning.and this one operators still had to be careful that the intake body didn’t suck in their clothing to plug the carb. And the engine could backfire right into the operator’s crotch, too.

What say we all get together after the next 50 years and catch up on things. Enjoy your new ride, Elf!



Sources;
SnoGoer Archives &
Wikipedia

Nice blast from the past Gary!
I remember in 1974 my Dad brought home a used sled package; a 1970 TNT 440 and a 1970 335 Olympique on a yellow and black striped steel Ski-Doo trailer.
Fortunately, Bombardier had put a huge plastic gray backfire guard on the carb that was directly in from of the genitals. This must have been the "hi-tech" improvement of the day.
Oh yeah, our sleds had greasable bogie wheels too.
One thing they couldn't get correct though was the weld on that 335 muffler, that one lunger vibrated so much it broke the weld each season.

Bear

 

[gary_in_neenah]

One thing they couldn't get correct though was the weld on that 335 muffler, that one lunger vibrated so much it broke the weld each season.

Yup, mine too. Muffler welded too many times to remember. Mine vibrated so bad that it eventually snapped the motor mounts.

 

[mrbb]

congrats on the bike there.
I'll tell you a funny story of a friends 50'th B day
his wife, and him used to go to the Jersy's shore every summer, they even bought a place on the boardwalk.
so, she surprises him with some bikes for his B day, HIS and HER bikes, she spent like 6 grand on 2 bikes??
then bought a bike rack for there car, and a bike holder for there garage!
which he got to assemble(I got to drink beer and watch that part LOL)
that first summer they used the bikes, twice he tell's us!
since then when we get to his house he shows off his 6k bikes up on the ceiling of his garage, telling us about HOW great they are, as he too always wanted a GOOD bike, shocks and disc brakes and all!, but as you , (guessing here) just could never bring himself to BUY one!

since that 50 th B day, they have a total of about 8 miles on them and its been about 6-7 yrs now! LOL he sold the car with the bike rack on it( his excuse for NOT using them, NO way to take them to the shore any more)
SO< he calls them 6k in dust magnets garage ornaments!

SO< enjoy that bike, at my age, If it ain;t got a pulse or a motor I ain't riding it LOL

 

[elf]

congrats on the bike there.
I'll tell you a funny story of a friends 50'th B day
his wife, and him used to go to the Jersy's shore every summer, they even bought a place on the boardwalk.
so, she surprises him with some bikes for his B day, HIS and HER bikes, she spent like 6 grand on 2 bikes??
then bought a bike rack for there car, and a bike holder for there garage!
which he got to assemble(I got to drink beer and watch that part LOL)
that first summer they used the bikes, twice he tell's us!
since then when we get to his house he shows off his 6k bikes up on the ceiling of his garage, telling us about HOW great they are, as he too always wanted a GOOD bike, shocks and disc brakes and all!, but as you , (guessing here) just could never bring himself to BUY one!

since that 50 th B day, they have a total of about 8 miles on them and its been about 6-7 yrs now! LOL he sold the car with the bike rack on it( his excuse for NOT using them, NO way to take them to the shore any more)
SO< he calls them 6k in dust magnets garage ornaments!

SO< enjoy that bike, at my age, If it ain;t got a pulse or a motor I ain't riding it LOL[/QUOTE

I probably get in 60-70 rides a season, ride 3-4 times/week. So I should get a lot of use out of it but I still never would've spent that kind of money. When she asked what I wanted I said a new set of forks for my existing bike or a B&M bumper for my sled.
Got out for a 10 mile ride tonight and had a chance to ride it hard and fast (no kids with) on some good trails and it's amazing. I can ride so much faster than on my old hardtail. And I felt so much better at the end. But you go from a $400 bike to a $3k bike and you'd better notice some improvement.

 

[mrbb]

yeah Bikes came a long way as to what riders can do on them, some of them extreme down hill guys and adventure park riders are just insane with where they will go on a bike/
My biggest issue here is, every where you go its UP a hill 400-800 feet in elevation like changes every 2-5 miles, fun on the down hill, but grows old all the up hills
I'm down to just one lung as is and bad knee's and back,
so, pedaling power , ain;'t what it used to be!
I have MX bikes for the urge to go be dumb, and not sweat the hills,
sold the sport bikes, miss them, but I am too little self control over speeds on them, and they too came a long way over the yrs, from my 80's Interceptor to my GSXr's
sadly speed limits haven't climb high enough for them IMO, something wrong when you can hit 80-90 mph in first gear and still have 5 more to go LOL

do scratch there itch once in a while buying and flipping one,
Maybe some day my mind will have more self control and be able to own one again , but then again, ain;t getting any younger, maybe best to stay off em LOL

 

[chunk06]

What's a good bike cost and where is the best place to buy one? I have a $400 Trek and I found some good trails around here and it's not holding up! In the past I would research a subject to death, but have no time for that anymore. Can I get a good upgrade for $1500 ish? I'm a big boy that seams to put too much abuse on my current one.

 

[elf]

yeah Bikes came a long way as to what riders can do on them, some of them extreme down hill guys and adventure park riders are just insane with where they will go on a bike/
My biggest issue here is, every where you go its UP a hill 400-800 feet in elevation like changes every 2-5 miles, fun on the down hill, but grows old all the up hills
I'm down to just one lung as is and bad knee's and back,
so, pedaling power , ain;'t what it used to be!
I have MX bikes for the urge to go be dumb, and not sweat the hills,
sold the sport bikes, miss them, but I am too little self control over speeds on them, and they too came a long way over the yrs, from my 80's Interceptor to my GSXr's
sadly speed limits haven't climb high enough for them IMO, something wrong when you can hit 80-90 mph in first gear and still have 5 more to go LOL

do scratch there itch once in a while buying and flipping one,
Maybe some day my mind will have more self control and be able to own one again , but then again, ain;t getting any younger, maybe best to stay off em LOL

Here in Duluth its a lot of climbing also. There some areas that aren't as bad but a lot of the trails start near lake level and work there way to the ridge line. Fun stuff. I'm not a huge fan of the climbing either as I'm carrying more weight up those than most of the little guys.

I used to ride motorcycles too and miss them but a wise man (my dad) once told me that a person with young kids should not ride motorcycles. Maybe thats an extreme view but I have had several former coworkers who have been killed on motorcycles leaving young families behind. On the plus side though my kids are only home for 3 more yrs so then maybe its time to get back on a motorcycle!

 

[elf]

What's a good bike cost and where is the best place to buy one? I have a $400 Trek and I found some good trails around here and it's not holding up! In the past I would research a subject to death, but have no time for that anymore. Can I get a good upgrade for $1500 ish? I'm a big boy that seams to put too much abuse on my current one.

I'd just go to your local bike shop and tell them what you want to use it for. They'll steer you in the right direction. You can get a good hard tail for $800-1000 and good full suspensions will start at $2000. Also look at bikesdirect.com. You can buy online pretty decent quality bikes at good prices. My previous bike came from there and while it's a no name bike it comes with pretty good components. The biggest issue with their bikes is probably the wheel quality. I'm on the heavy side (250) and ended up buying a higher quality rear wheel as I was busting a lot of spokes.

 

[kwikgren]

View attachment 56861
Nice bike. I got a new Trek Top Fuel 9.8 this year. It's a good choice for the kind of riding I do, combination of paved roads, two tracks, single track, and hills. Today I rode from my house at Lac La Belle, up to summit of Mt. Bohemia, down the backside to Mandan, pavement to Copper Harbor, up and over Brockway Mtn. drive, down to Eagle Harbor, up to summit of Mt. Baldy, down to cutoff road to Delaware, pavement back home after checking for mail. Enjoyable 5.5 hour ride. Don't listen to the naysayers. Do what you enjoy. Some of my neighbors think I'm nuts to spend 4 grand on a pedal bike, but they would go ga ga if I bought a new Harley for 30k or a Corvette for 60k, either which I would only use a few times a year where I live. And I'm not into ATVs and the other motor toys all of which take up more space if you're not going to be using them.

 

[elf]

My riding now is almost 100% single track here in Duluth. I like the flowy trails better than the real rocky technical trails but I do them all. We spent a weekend last summer in copper harbor riding. Great time.

 

[chunk06]

I'd just go to your local bike shop and tell them what you want to use it for. They'll steer you in the right direction. You can get a good hard tail for $800-1000 and good full suspensions will start at $2000. Also look at bikesdirect.com. You can buy online pretty decent quality bikes at good prices. My previous bike came from there and while it's a no name bike it comes with pretty good components. The biggest issue with their bikes is probably the wheel quality. I'm on the heavy side (250) and ended up buying a higher quality rear wheel as I was busting a lot of spokes.

Thanks! I also go 240-250 depending on the day! Looks like some decent prices on Bikes Direct. I have bought a few bikes at my local shop and have never been impressed. I definitely need disc brakes as I was going down a good downhill the other day after going through some wet grass and I had a hard time slowing the bike down. I rode dirt bikes when I was younger, bike is no replacement, but at least there are places to ride them.

 

[frnash]

… The biggest issue with their bikes is probably the wheel quality. I'm on the heavy side (250) and ended up buying a higher quality rear wheel as I was busting a lot of spokes.

… I also go 240-250 depending on the day! …

I've been slowly losing weight (kinda difficult for a "couch potato"!), and I'm still at ≈ 220-225.

Apparently many industries are in the same antiquated position as the FAA:
From Jetwhine, July 8th, 2009: "As Obesity Grows, FAA Sticks to 170 Pounds" (Standard Pax Weight).

They do have some serious points. Particularly as to this:

"Airline seats must withstand 14g with a 170-pound occupant, a total load of 2,380 pounds. Put a 259-pounder in that seat, and I hope it will hold the resulting 3,626 load. If my math is correct, the additional 1,246-pound load my body would exert means I’m going places if that seat wasn’t designed to keep a 170 pounder in place at 21g."

But their "Standard Passenger Weight" wasn't quite correct even for 2009.
According to FAA's ADVISORY CIRCULAR AC-120-27E, AIRCRAFT WEIGHT AND BALANCE CONTROL, DATE: 6/1/2005(pdf):

"The Standard Passenger Weights" were (and still are) as follows:

Summer Passenger Weight = 184 lb.
Winter Passenger Weight = 189 lb.
​

In determining these values, of course they're playing statistics, particularly for large turbojet aircraft.

And the FAA is still fiddling around with a yet undated DRAFT AC-120-27F, containing no useful information yet on that subject.

---

Example: consider the nice new Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet:

Seats: 5-7
but …
Payload w/full fuel: 498 lb.
​

That's approximately two of us folks, with zero baggage and not even any nav charts!

 

[elf]

Thanks! I also go 240-250 depending on the day! Looks like some decent prices on Bikes Direct. I have bought a few bikes at my local shop and have never been impressed. I definitely need disc brakes as I was going down a good downhill the other day after going through some wet grass and I had a hard time slowing the bike down. I rode dirt bikes when I was younger, bike is no replacement, but at least there are places to ride them.

I had the 529HT off bikes direct. 29" wheels, 24 speed, pretty good hydraulic disc brakes. Good bike. I put wider bars and a beefier rear wheel on it. For $400 it was a lot of bike.