{"id":246383,"date":"2026-06-02T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/springing-back\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:00:04","slug":"springing-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/springing-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Springing Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

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As everybody knows by now, this blog is merely an avocation; my vocation<\/em> is of course my ongoing mission as the Classic Cycle<\/a> Old Crap Test Pilot, and the latest bicycle I am test-piloting is the 1999 GT XCR 1000<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

However, I was having two problems with the bicycle, which turned out to be related. The first was that the movement of the rear suspension was creating tension on the front derailleur cable<\/a>, which in turn was causing front shifting* problems:<\/p>\n

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*[For those of you born in the 21st century, bicycles\u2013yes, even mountain bikes\u2013used to have multiple chainrings, sometimes as many as three (!), as well as a second shifter and a frontally-mounted derailleur to move the chain from one ring to another.]<\/p>\n

The second problem was that the rear shock was leaking air, causing it to bottom out excessively, exacerbating the problem above.<\/p>\n

So I returned the shock to Classic Cycle<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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And have now received not only the overhauled unit, but another<\/em> one just in case the first one still doesn\u2019t work:<\/p>\n

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Plus, Paul was even kind enough to include a shifter cable and some housing so I could address that front shifting problem, which I have now done.<\/p>\n

So I am ready to resume testing.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, I prefer not to drive places in order to ride, and while I do feel smug when I arrive at a mountain bike trail and am the only person who actually rode to to it, this is not my primary motivation for doing so. Rather, it\u2019s mostly because I want to maximize my riding time, and every minute spent in a car is one that could be better spent on a bicycle. Plus I live close enough to the trails that riding to them is actually enjoyable.<\/p>\n

However, the calculus changes if I need to run a car-based errand that happens to bring me close to a mountain bike trail, in which case tossing a bike on the car and squeezing in a quick ride becomes a much more attractive proposition. So yesterday that\u2019s just what I did, and I\u2019ll admit it feels pretty good to zip up to the trail in just a handful of minutes, even you do have to deal with the GODDAMN SENIOR DRIVERS:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Obviously I honked constantly while screaming \u201cJESUS CHRIST, JUST MOVE TO FLORIDA ALREADY.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of driving, I don\u2019t talk too much about automotive cycling accessories (or cycling automotive accessories) like racks and stuff, since I don\u2019t do that much driving-to-ride anymore. (I did a lifetime\u2019s worth when I used to \u201crace\u201d cyclocross, plus all the driving-to-go-mountain biking I used to do when I lived in Brooklyn. When you live in Brooklyn you\u2019re like 20 miles in any direction from decent riding, and it\u2019s sort of like being trapped in New York City\u2019s crotch.) However, one nice thing about old-fashioned mountain bikes with quick release axles is that I can use them with my old fork-mount roof rack trays\u2013though I guess there\u2019s such a thing as thru-axle adapters, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d feel great about putting the hefty Jones up on the roof, if the rear wheel strap could even fit around the tire, which I\u2019m not sure it would:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

I believe the rack I\u2019m using is this one<\/a>, and the handy thing about it is you can put it on or take it off in a matter of minutes without any tools, which is useful when you\u2019re a schnorrer<\/em> like me who stores his car for free in the public right of way. Roof racks are also more convenient in urban areas since you need every millimeter of fore-aft space you can possibly get in order to parallel park. This means if I\u2019m too lazy to remove the rack it doesn\u2019t take up extra lateral room. Oh, here\u2019s a shot from the other side where you can see the longer front shifter cable housing to account for the movement of the rear suspension:<\/p>\n

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And here\u2019s a weird accidental selfie I took of myself in the reflection of my pollen-smeared window:<\/p>\n

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Anyway, in no time I was out on the trail:<\/p>\n

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Front shifting is working well now, and after some initial fussing I think maybe the shock is too.<\/p>\n

Obviously, whether you\u2019re a fan of modern Industry Standard Fully-Suspendered Mountain Bikes\u2026<\/p>\n

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Or of unsuspenderated ones like I am\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026both are going to be more capable than this old GT. (Though the brakes, hubs, and most of the drivetrain components on it are absolutely fantastic.)<\/p>\n

However, riding the \u201cbest\u201d bike is not what being the Old Crap Test Pilot is all about. And what is it about? Why, it\u2019s about enjoying the bicycles in the context of the era in which they were designed! Or something. And riding an old aggressive mountain bike like this is fun\u2013even if it wants to throw you off of itself, which it ultimately succeeded in doing:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

[The bike and I were both fine.]<\/p>\n

Jan Heine says larger wheels don\u2019t \u201croll over stuff better,\u201d<\/a> but once you\u2019re talking about actual rocks and not gravel I respectfully disagree:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Though in this instance we must also take into account the rider\u2019s profound lack of skill. <\/p>\n

And yes, a full-suspension bicycle like this is everything I\u2019m against, but please bear in mind that the statute of limitation on my prejudices is 25 years, after which most bikes simply become charming. This is because I am, above all, a contrarian, and once a bike reaches full obsolescence I automatically take a great deal of delight in riding it. And with rim brakes, \u201cbad\u201d geometry, 26-inch wheels, and a triple crank, this bike is a contrarian\u2019s dream. <\/p>\n

Old full suspension mountain bikes are the new singlespeed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As everybody knows by now, this blog is merely an avocation; my vocation is of course my ongoing mission as the Classic Cycle Old Crap Test Pilot, and the latest bicycle I am test-piloting is the 1999 GT XCR 1000: However, I was having two problems with the bicycle, which turned out to be related. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":246384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-246383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}