Remember, we’re all ambassadors for cycling, so be polite on the road and the trails and observe the leave no trace principles. The bike started life with Berghaus flat pedals, because I felt like that was what I should run. However, a couple of months in I gave up on learning to hop things properly and switched to Hope XC pedals, hoping that they’d help me get some air. hyper mountain bike In fact, they didn’t as the sensation of jumping through the suspension was completely new, and my poor technique bunny hopping did not translate to a bike with suspension. Regardless, I did continue to run the Hope pedals because I felt more secure clipped in, which inspired greater confidence which in turn improved my riding, even if it was for the wrong reasons.
You can drop half a cassette at once or make single shifts with the expected precision, and it works, but not as nicely as SRAM electronic shifting. I have never NEEDED anything to work as nicely as SRAM electronic shifting in horrible conditions. Together, we made a decision about the direction that my riding would realistically take. It didn’t seem appropriate for my skill level to go for an all-in enduro tire like the sticky yet resilient Tacky Chan, although there were points riding through the UK winter that I wished I had.
The frame was welded just outside of Dresden, Germany. While we discussed a basic bitch build kit as an intro to mountain biking, when I collected the bike it was built with some of the most esoteric, decently high-end made-in-Europe parts out there. The biggest problem I’ve seen is improper assembly and setup. Even a big-name bike can give a miserable experience if it isn’t set up properly. And sadly, this is an area in which most big-box stores are lacking. There are instances where that may be somewhat accurate because there are certainly some questionable bikes I’ve seen on the shelves at big-box stores.
Even if I did, it changed how I ride gravel for the better. It took a while to get used to the idea that sometimes, where traction ends, the fun begins, rather than my old road cycling mindset, where traction ends is the beginning of the road to A&E. The geometry was designed around being versatile and fun, with long travel but less ultra-long and ultra-stable hyper bicycles than an enduro bike. After a few trips out to various trail-heavy bits of woods, I just started riding it as much as possible on anything to get a feel for it and the way it moves, and in a way, it became exciting for all the right reasons. On the SRD, I could pretty much ride anything that exists locally, which I hadn’t experienced before.
Joining the esteemed ranks of Mazza, Martello and Mota, Mostro assumes the mantle of the “M,” offering gravity mountain bikers … Plus, a local bike shop is also a great place to find your next bike — something to work up to. A friend got tired of hearing me talk about riding and decided he also wanted to get into cycling. A few days later, he showed up at my door with a $99 Hyper Shocker full-suspension bike from Walmart.
At just over 400 euros it’s not inexpensive, but it’s built to last and offers an insane range for the weight. Tires are, for me, one of the most important choices for any build. Most people, including Schwalbe themselves, seem to think that the “G” in Schwalbe’s G series of tires refers to gravel, however, it actually refers to wildman and all round good egg Grant. Grant works for Schwalbe in the UK but in his spare time is also a tire nerd, who indulged me and my fantasies about the kind of riding I might do for far longer than reasonable. It was built under the ambiguous and slightly tongue-in-cheek Sour SRD umbrella (more on that below). It’s neither an enduro bike nor their new race-proven ultra-distance/XC prototype we saw at last year’s Bespoked.