Here's my secret source: http://myfwyc.org/bikeled/DIY_LED_Bike_Lighting_Guide.html

This the king daddy LED right now: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394 Literally twice the lumens/watt as the LuxeonIIIs i'm using now.

Post ride report: freakin awesome. Ran 2 hours at Umstead w/o a hitch. The housing stayed cool to the touch w/ the breeze and cool air. The light was very bright and i had no trouble seeing far enough ahead going 30mph+ down hill. My friend had two cheaper LED lights and they could have been off for all i could tell w/ mine on.

The beam is pretty focuses and has a concentrated hotspot thats about Umstead trail width at about 25feet ahead. So when you look downward maybe 10 feet ahead its only about 3-4ft wide. Then the surrounding light area is about 7-8 times as big and is decent enough light to illuminate into the forest, etc. I think for a helmet light this is about right, but next i will build a more dispersed flood light for the handle bars. I guess there's no need to reinvent the wheel, I'l do what this guy did here: http://myfwyc.org/Timberlake/CreeLEDLight.

Check out the beam pattern comparison here:http://myfwyc.org/Timberlake/CreeLEDLight?page=4

Mine is like the middle one. I'll likely build the one on the right using the Cree's. But then again the flood on the left would be cheaper and would probably more match the output of my current light instead of overpowering it. hrmm

11/13/2007 7:31:46 PM

real tempting light on the cheap:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=245737

Thatd be under $20 for a light not counting battery. hrmmmm.

11/15/2007 7:51:10 AM

Anyone have any suggestions for places you can ride at night? Either "rogue" trails or official trails that allow it?

I think Legends is the only park in the area that allow anyone to ride at night w/o paperwork or a group, etc.

11/15/2007 2:15:06 PM

my wife went last night to Beaver Dam. She says that they open the trails up there on certain nights.

11/15/2007 2:18:25 PM

is she getting more into mountain biking now? why didnt you go?

11/16/2007 12:48:14 PM

she was riding at 6:00, meaning they had to leave Raleigh ~5:15. I was at work that night till about 7:00.... you know how it goes.
and yes, she is getting into mtn biking. Going to do some Xterra's next year in between her regular tri's

11/16/2007 1:06:50 PM

awesome.

i just bought the harbor freight pond lights above. i got two, $9 a pop. i'm gonna make em up and run one tonight. I should get 2+ hours out of one of these plus my LED light.

My gf is going to come and i can't give her one because i don't have another battery. hah. hrmm or maybe i can wire up an old RC car battery. hrmmmmmmm

11/16/2007 3:31:31 PM

Went out w/ a pond light last night. It was quite bright, but the flood bulb i had it in it had only like 25ft of throw. It was very wide though. It was a 40degree flood. Thats the widest flood i've heard of, but it was all they had at Lowes. Most are 34-38deg floods and the spots are 10deg.

Overall the light was more full than the LED's id say. The LED has a great through and a really piercing hot spot, but the halogen was just bigger and more full all over. This could of course be due to the optics. I have very tight optics on the LED and very flood on the halogen.

I'm going to try and find a spot and a tighter flood for the two halogens. The two combined should work out really well. I almost like these more than the LED. cheaper, easier, simplier, and seemingly just as bright. Just a little power hungry.

Btw, i almost got attacked by a herd of deer last night out there.

11/17/2007 11:17:25 AM

i'm teaching myself how to clip in and out tonight after being convinced to get into mountain biking with some coworkers

i raced bmx when i was little so it could take me a while to get back in the groove...i found a KILLER deal on a bike though.

Giant NRS2 Full Suspension and Disc Brakes

Hubs Shimano Deore XT Disc
Rims Mavic X223 Disc
Tires WTB Velociraptor 2.1 MTB (Brand new)
Shocks Rock Shox
Frame TIG-welded aluminum
Size 18.5"
Fork Answer Manitou Skareb Comp, 3.0" travel
Handles Fast-Al Titec Hellbent
Brakes Avid AD3 Disc Brakes
Crank Prodigy XC Raceface Forge
Pedals Shimano Clipless
Chain SRAM PC-951 9-speed Chain
Seat Body Geometry
Shifter Rapidfire
Bar Ends Salsa

I managed to swing $600 for that bike. I'm going to eat dirt a lot this weekend, but I'm a fast learner. I live right at Umstead so I guess I need to learn the trails there

11/28/2007 2:35:05 PM

how did this thread turn into some weird electronics engineer discussion

11/28/2007 4:36:56 PM

mountain biking generally attracts the nerd crowd.

11/29/2007 1:23:45 AM

I'm sharing how to build a $200 light for $20, shithead.

Speaing of ANYTHING [not] MOUNTAIN BIKING, i got an old '87 Schwinn road bike that i'm gonna fix up and make into a communter bike. maybe a single speed if i start feeling adventurous, but theres a couple big hills on the way to work... :/

11/29/2007 8:26:58 AM

for all your mountain bike needs check out http://www.dropnzone.com

Taylor, manager and ncsu grad, has said that any orders coming from tww people will receive free shipping regardless of what it is, within US. He knows his stuff pretty damn well and the service has always been great



[Edited on November 30, 2007 at 3:14 PM. Reason : ]

11/30/2007 3:02:19 PM

so i survived my first ride at crabtree. obviously i wasn't very fast, but we did all of the loops and i only had to stop twice (i need to build up the stamina). i went down once on one of the quick drop and climbs because i got too much air and didn't peddle out. i need to work on pedal positioning though because i hit roots a ton.

it was lots of fun and GREAT exercise. i live near umstead, so i can use that for conditioning since i hear it isn't technical at all.

12/2/2007 7:11:08 PM

Was out at Beaver Dam today. Good ride, hadn't ever ridden in the winter before.

You really have to stay on top of things more in the winter when the ground in covered in leaves. There is a much smaller room for error with braking and cornering due to the slippery leaves.

12/2/2007 10:10:53 PM

i was at beaver dam today too, those leaves get a little slippery on the corners

12/2/2007 11:47:56 PM

I rode beaver dam on Sunday. I wouldnt call it "winter" yet This weather is perfect!

Yeh the leaves are slippery. Its interesting though because it makes you look for burms and tree trunks and clean dirt spots to get the turning done on. Beaver Dam rules.

MOODY, yeh umstead is just wide gravel roads/trails. It is a bit hilly though, so its great for cardio.

[Edited on December 3, 2007 at 10:34 PM. Reason : fdfdf]

12/3/2007 10:32:03 PM

Just got back from a great ride at Lake Crabtree. If you haven't been out today go now, the weather is perfect!

12/8/2007 4:20:32 PM

Riding Beaver Dam again tomorrow ~2pm, hopefully the weather will be alright

12/8/2007 5:58:35 PM

Quote :

"Man accused of making bike trail holes FULLERTON, Calif. - Police said they arrested a man who acknowledged digging holes on a park bike trail as payback for nearly being run down by a cyclist. Warren John Wilson, 52, faces a single felony count of vandalism, police Sgt. Linda King said Friday. King said nearly 50 holes measuring about 1 foot by 2 feet have been found since June along a trail at Laguna Lake Park, and in some cases attempts had been made to hide them from cyclists. She said some riders went over their handlebars after hitting the holes, but none reported major injuries. Detectives watching the trails questioned Wilson, who said he had nearly been run over by a mountain bike rider and began digging the holes in retaliation, King said. Police said Wilson had been released from custody. A phone listing for him could not be found. "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080105/ap_on_fe_st/odd_bike_trail_vandalism;_ylt=Aki7rCmkFISdePV5mOcoSbAZ.3QA

1/6/2008 8:52:15 AM

^ on a similar note, I was riding up near Hickory a couple weeks ago and we took some single track off of some logging trails. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of branches and small trees across the trail, in what I would definitely describe as "non-random distribution" - i.e. they seemed to be laid perpendicular to the trail and with more frequency than the surrounding forests.
One of the guys I was riding with is also a hunter (he says he has his "redneck season" and "athlete season" ) and he says that he knows for a fact that hunters use that same trail to get into the woods, and they continuously throw debris into the trail behind them to discourage bikers from using the trail.

1/6/2008 10:38:43 AM

here's a video my wife shot the week before Christmas in Tsali. I told her to go to the bottom of a big downhill on the Right Loop and shoot me coming down. When I got to the bottom, I realized a split second too late she was standing directly in my line, and I bailed and went head first into her bike. Cost us two new wheels for that little stunt - my front wheel completely folded over, my knee bent her back wheel beyond repair, and my head dinged up her front wheel pretty good. I just wish she had kept the camera trained on me for longer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXo0z26a2ZM


check this incredible downhill video out. It says its in "VT", but I don't know if that means "Virginia Tech" or "Vermont".... both places have really good downhill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78i7wuABlGY

1/6/2008 12:33:40 PM

That last video looks pretty crazy, thats gotta be vermont, looks like an old-growth forest, not too many in virginia

Reminds me of downhill runs out on vancouver island in british columbia

1/6/2008 11:46:29 PM

I rode the outer loop at Beaver Dam for the first time Sunday. It was actually my first real MTB trail - I haven't been on a bicycle in many many years but I decided I needed some form of enjoyable exercise.

After doing that short loop I realized I am not in very great shape these days

1/7/2008 2:31:00 AM

Looking at picking up a Gary Fisher Cobia:

http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/cobia


Thoughts? This will primarialy be a commute to work / kick around for fun / scouting for hunting bike, not anything extreme.

3/14/2008 4:36:38 PM

I got my new bike yesterday. I've had a few bikes and it's pretty decent. Top quality components and pretty cheap. Why did it have to rain today?

http://www.woodstockbikes.com/707/707.htm

3/15/2008 5:11:41 PM

any casual races coming up? my new year's resolution was to do at least two. maybe I need to start reading trianglemtb....

4/27/2008 9:41:33 PM

bike spam:
http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=529085

6/8/2008 11:29:31 AM

Think I might sign up for the Tarwheel in CH next sunday. anyone else riding these days?

6/9/2008 8:59:26 AM

my brothers friend sold an old super V cannondale for 250$ last weekend.

was he a desperate college student needing money, or are used mtn bikes really that cheap

it needed new tires but otherwise was fine. the frame was in great shape. i remember as a kid the chain hopped off my cannondale and ripped a huge chunk out of the frame by the rear wheel hub? I'm no bike expert obviously

6/10/2008 8:21:54 AM

^It depends on how old it was. This year's $600 bike will be next years $450 bike. Every year the components are updated and improved over the previous year's model.

6/10/2008 8:36:05 AM

Quote :

"Every year the components are updated and improved over the previous year's model."

that's a stretch...... each year they label the components differently (2007 XT vs 2008 XT), but if there are actually any changes to some of the models can be debatable.

6/10/2008 8:42:21 AM

Actually, quite often (every couple years) the line below inherits the line above's tech.

for example the '07 SRAM X9/X7 stuff is the '06 SRAM X0/X9 stuff. They just moved everything down the line to make a new/better '07 X0. If you keep an eye on the forums you can find these times and get get the current lower line a LOT cheaper than the previous year's higher line (same thing) or if they didnt shift, you can get last year's stuff significantly cheaper than this years and have it be the exact same thing.

6/10/2008 9:31:41 AM

I just bought a new Cannondale Rush 4 http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd70/teaniner/cannondalerush001.jpg

And I'm looking for some cool places to ride around Arbor Creek Apartments (near Jones Franklin and Buck Jones Rd. by Harris Teeter, and near Hope, the gigantic warehouse of a church)

I know about and ride a lot of the trails you can drive to, but was wondering if anyone knew of some good stuff I could ride out of my apartment and get to. There is some cool terrain around the complex, and I mostly just screw around near here when I don't have a whole lot of time.

Also, if there is anyone else around here that likes to ride, definitely let me know.

7/28/2008 3:22:44 PM

I haven't heard of anything within riding distance from there, unless you count Crabtree or CC.

7/28/2008 3:53:36 PM

^^ I have one of those MOUNTAIN BIKING IN NC books at home. It has a pretty extensive Triangle section, i will check it when i get home.

7/28/2008 3:55:12 PM

haaaay!

i ride a mountain bike

it is fun

i fall sometimes though

7/28/2008 3:56:23 PM

^^ that would be awesome, thanks.

7/28/2008 9:50:40 PM

Someone a few pages back mentioned performancebikes.com so I thought someone here may be able to answer my question. I was getting ready to buy an Iron Horse Warrior 5.0 for $599. I was going to go to the store today to see which size frame I should go with (I am almost certain that the 19.5 will do it). However when I checked the website to make sure I had the directions to the store correct, they had raised the sale price to $759. Is it likely that the price will go back down any time soon?

7/28/2008 10:15:34 PM

^^^^CC (centennial campus) is pretty much dead, unless someone wants to tell me otherwise. Most of it's been bulldozed for the fucking golf course. Tried to ride it around may and got nowhere.

^^^^^nice bike. those lefty forks make me cross eyed trianglemtb.com lists the big trails. Don't believe that there's trails at lake johnson - the southwest side of the trail is now closed to bikes (has been for years) and the trail on the southeast side is short.

^ you could get a decent used bike for that money rather than getting fleeced at retail...
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/772141185.html $500 KHS full susp.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/770624196.html $600 fisher sugar 3 full susp

7/28/2008 10:56:39 PM

when i lived at sumpter square off of jones franklin i used to ride from there to lake johnson. if you don't feel like riding all the way down athens drive, there's a paved greenway cut through behind the highschool down to the back side of the lake. the single track there wasn't particularly long, but it was challenging enough for a couple of afterwork laps. between the road ride, the paved trail and singletrack i usually managed to get in ~15 miles.

7/28/2008 11:28:45 PM

^ that's what i'm talkin about. Thanks!

^^

Quote :

"nice bike. those lefty forks make me cross eyed "

Thanks. Have you ever tried a lefty? I'd read that they felt the same or better than a reg. fork, but it was one of those things i wouldn't believe until i actually rode it, and it's the most fun fork i've ever ridden. it allows me to fly through sections that i'd usually have to slow down for, which keeps my eyes further down the trail. when the fork is out of your peripheral vision, you completely forget about the asymmetry of the thing.

i'd definitely recommend it. if any of you ever want to ride sometime, i'd be more than happy to let you try it out.

7/29/2008 9:08:35 AM

so yalls be riding them 2.1s huh?

anybody into slightly more aggressive riding?

7/29/2008 9:11:54 AM

Quote :

"^^^^CC (centennial campus) is pretty much dead, unless someone wants to tell me otherwise. Most of it's been bulldozed for the fucking golf course. Tried to ride it around may and got nowhere."

I've never been there myself, but from time to time folks pop up on tmtb saying there is still some good trail out there (seems like I've seen that more recently than may, too).


^ what exactly is "slightly more aggressive" riding?

[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 9:19 AM. Reason : a]

7/29/2008 9:18:39 AM

i've marked some spots on a map where there used to be a lot of single track. Some of it is gone now because of the convention center and school, and some of it is golf course. But I think a lot of it around the lake is still untouched. There must be some trails still out there
(google maps) http://tinyurl.com/5kjgcz

7/29/2008 9:44:45 AM

cool. i love technology.

7/29/2008 9:50:59 AM

something with a slightly higher sketch factor

im not talkin DJ'ing

im talkin full on gnar fest: rocky, rooty, slippery, the rougher and more technical the better.....on a real steep slope

eh?

7/29/2008 10:23:49 AM

any recommendations on a good bike computer? one that can offload data to the computer would be cool, records altitude, etc.

[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 10:40 AM. Reason : .]

7/29/2008 10:40:07 AM

^^
then go to Western NC. Not going to find anything gnarly or steep, long downhills here.

There is of course Tsali, about a hour west of Asheville. There are good trails there. Here are tracks of 3 of the 4 main trails in Tsali (only missing the Mouse trail)
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4655676
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4655375
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4655374


But I think the best kept secret for mountain biking in NC (or the whole east coast) is the Pisgah Forest trails - up around Lineville Gorge and Mt. Mitchell. That's ~3.5 hours from Raleigh, just west of Morganton, and there are tons of trails there. They're mostly unmarked (but they are legal), so you need to take a guide or a good topo map, or download a track onto a GPS.

Here's some examples of some trails I (or my wife) have done. There are a lot more that we plan to do, because we have some friends in Hickory that know them all. See the map view and profile view to get an idea of where they are and what kind of profile you get.

Here is the 63 mile loop that makes of ORAMM - the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell. It's an annual mtn bike race that was last weekend that my wife did for her first time. Most of the uphill are dirt and fire roads, and the downhill is almost all single track.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6369929
You can, of course, make several shorter loops. You can start in Old Fort and make a loop by riding up the fire roads to the Parkway, then down the single track called "Heartbreak Hill" for ~25-30 mile ride. That ride is basically a long, hard slog uphill, then miles of screaming downhill.
Or you can do the southern loop, which is more technical, "traditional" single track that has a lot of up and down, instead of miles up up followed by miles of down.

Here is a 33 mile loop in Pisgah, almost all on fire and dirt roads. Not much single track, but lots of climbing and descents, and useful for building fitness
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6044655

This is another loop in Pisgah/Linville Gorge, where the uphills are mostly dirt roads, and the downhills are very techincal single track
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5576089

This is a variation on the previous loop, with an alternate downhill track. Look at the elevation profile and you can see the grade of the downhill around mile 10-11. It is easily the gnarliest, steepest, most dangerous downhill I've ever seen. I did the 2nd half of this loop by myself because the rest of the group was doing ~30 miles, and I actually took a wrong turn into this downhill section. I was by myself with no cell phone reception, so I nded up walking a lot of the downhill because if I crash, I could have seriously hurt myself and would have no way to get out
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3565655

Here is some trails in Wilkesboro, about 2.5 hours due-west of here. It is in a state park, and the trails are very well marked and maintained. They do a 24-hour race there in June. It also includes a dedicated downhill track with jumps and obstacles (which we didn't do, it's not on the GPS track)
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5748906

7/29/2008 10:59:56 AM

@melaut - my main riding buddy has a c'dale prophet with a lefty. I've ridden it a little, but my frame of reference is a bottom end Trek, so any fork would be better than what I have. The main thing about it is that I can't put his bike on my fork trays. it's a neat piece of engineering though, and I believe what's said about it.

@agentlion - so when I went they were cutting a road from the direction of the golf course to the (alumini center?) parking lot, which cut off the trail leaving that section. the trail that came off the little parking spot before that is definitely gone. I'd be tempted to try to park in the middle school lot and try from there. Think I'll try it this week sometime.

7/29/2008 12:26:20 PM