u/mithtyn

Been wanting to ride more, and haven’t been able to because of all the smoke in my area. If I want air below 120 on the AQI scale, I need to drive 5+ hours…

But, as I was walking through a thrift store this morning, cane across a Giant Cyclotron Mag Trainer for $10! Picked it up, and now just need to get a compatible rear skewer for my rear wheel on the G1 Explorer, then I can at least ride in my room tonight!

I’m looking to get new tires for my G1 Explorer.

My commute is like 95% paved, so originally I was considering something like the Schwalbe Marathons for the physical plastic shield in them for puncture protection. However, I’m now considering throwing in an occasional trip along USBR-10, which has some stretches of light gravel, and “hardpack”. So, that may change my tire needs.

I saw the Marathon Almotion, and am wondering if that may be a good option for me. Still going to be good for pavement, but for when I make a longer trip that has some light gravel, it should still have good traction, and puncture resistance.

Are there any other options that I’m not aware that would be good?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I don’t have tubeless wheels.

Convince me to keep my Ozark Trail G1 Explorer or upgrade to something “better”. My budget isn’t the best, but I could swing upwards of $2000.

I used to ride a lot back in college, and recently got back into it. I will not be doing much off road. Very light gravel. I went for the Explorer about a year ago for a commuter because it seemed to fit the bill. Now I’ve put a couple hundred miles or so on it, and I’m enjoy being back on the bike.

Now, I’m wondering if I should look at getting a better bike. Not looking to spend over a couple grand, but maybe something better than $260. I’ve put around $300 in parts into this bike, and I’m personally okay with the loss, knowing I would let be able to recoup that.

Two of the bikes I’ve looked at that are tempting at the moment: Canyon’s Endurace Allroad, and then REI’s Co-op ADV 2.1. Both are in the $1500 (USD) price range. Better quality drive train, one has hydraulic brakes, the other would be similar to my Explorer with mechanical disc brakes, which I’m not concerned about. While I do have hills, it’s not drastic and I’m not aiming for speed.

What I’m really aiming for is higher durability & reliability. Might do some small bike-packing (upwards of 60 miles each way). But, around 90% of my riding would be paved. My work commute has about 40’ of gravel to go through, and my buddy’s 700cx28 tires do not cut it in that patch (or rather, they cut too much and slip around). But, the Explorer’s 40s don’t care. So, I’d like to be able to have that ability.

Would either of these be a bad choice, or is there something in that price range that might be better for me? I’m not in a rush because my bike works great for now. I’m probably realistically going to make this purchase over this coming winter or start of next spring. But, I want to start looking now and learn what sort of features / components to look for or to avoid.

Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: Any experience with the Fidlock bags, in particular?

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I’m looking at a Fidlock Essential Bag for my bicycle. With my commute & at home, it’s nice to be able to take the bag of my “essentials” off quickly & easily. I have a handlebar bag which carries my things, but I leave my bicycle outside at home, so if it’s going to rain I want to be able to pull the bag off, easily. And then reattach. And, when I go to the store, it would be nice to just pop the bag off to go into the store, and the reattach when I come back out.

The Fidlock system with bags seems like a nice solution. But, I’ve not been able to find many thoughts on the Fidlock system, with the exception of the bottles, but I’m not interested in those.

TL;DR: What is your experience with the MIK system? What racks have you found that have been “budget” friendly, or maybe I should avoid? Or, are there other quick connect & disconnect systems that I’m not aware of? Any attachments you use for commuting that have been great?

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I’m looking to get something like the MIK system. Currently, I have an OT G1 Explorer with OT’s rear rack. I have the occasional need to pack more than I can fit in my current rockbros pannier bag, and was thinking about maybe a basket for the rear. But, most I found were not quick to attach or remove, and I’d only want the basket maybe 2-3 rides a week, whereas I’m riding it daily. After some more looking, I came across the MIK system, and the adapter plates to basically turn any bag / crate compatible with MIK. This could be handy for me to throw a small lunch cooler type thing on top of the rack, or a basket when I’m going to get groceries, or if what I’m needing to take to/from work is bigger than what fits in my pannier bag, so I can drive the car less.

I saw Ibera has a rear rack that is “dual-system”, so it works with their PakRak system, & with MIK. The price of $50 USD is attainable for me, and looks like a much better rack than my cheap Walmart one. So that seems like a good buy for me. But, I’m not sure about the attachments. Some of the already made attachments are definitely out of my price range, and the adapter opens that up a bit. About $30 for each adapter seems reasonable? Could get a decent trunk bag, add an adapter, and be good to go, and the same with a basket/milk crate.

So, what are your thoughts? Are there some better options that I’m unaware of, cost-wise, that still allow me to remove & attach relatively quickly?

Thanks!

Is there some trick to getting Ursaring in the Cube Corp raid den? I’ve been resetting for the last few days at night trying to get Ursaring to spawn here so that I can get a peat block. By resetting, I’m clearing the den, and then saving the game, using a wish star piece, and then resetting if it’s not Ursaring. I do get different pokemon each time, so I know my RNG is still rolling. It’s just been days and a couple hundred resets so far, and countless Scythers, but not a single Ursaring…

Is there some sort of “time of day” or something that I’m missing??

Looking for some advice. I’m starting to get back into bicycling, and last year purchased an Ozark Trail G.1 Explorer Drop Bar V2 (with the aluminum fork & upgraded 2x7 Shimano HG cassette).

Long story short, due to my own lack of knowledge, I ended up getting a medium frame, and really should have a large (I’m 6’2”). I’m on a budget, and can live with the medium frame, but would like one that fits better. From what I can find on Walmart’s app, I can get my hands on a Large Frame flat bar version, but not a large frame drop bar. I’m mechanically minded, and wouldn’t be bothered by swapping the drops bars & drivetrain from my medium to the large frame. The question is: is it doable, and/or a waste of time? I want the drop bars over the flat bars, and it seems cheaper to go about it this way (again, my personal manual labor is not a big deal to me). I don’t really care about the 2x7 vs the 1x8 drive train, more of the drop bars vs flat bars.

Also: my personal use case is commute to work (~4 miles), and some minor riding on the weekends. Mostly road, with some minimal gravel/dirt here & there.

Edit: Bot told me to include my budget: I’m thinking $500 near the high end. The flat bar bike is like $260+ tax. I’d probably want a different cassette and brakes and what not, and am completely fine doing small upgrades over time. Really just looking for a large frame bike I can do minor upgrades to and maintain to keep reliable for commuting & weekend riding.