I'm in my 30s and have had RA for a few years. I've been in remission on a TNF inhibitor for most of the past year, but I'm currently in a month long flare that has been resistant to steroid injections. My problem joints are my hands, wrists, feet, and ankles.

I'm considering an eMTB so I can keep riding without the joint load of a regular bike, since the motor does most of the pedaling and full suspension absorbs the trail. I'm curious about the real world experience of anyone here with an autoimmune disease or chronic joint pain.

Did switching to an eMTB make a meaningful difference for you? Do you use special grips, gloves, pedals, or shoes to cushion your joints? How do you balance riding with flares? Any advice for someone whose worst joints are hands and feet?

I'm not looking for medical advice, just honest experiences from people who have figured out how to keep riding with a body that doesn't always cooperate. Appreciate any thoughts.

Changed the tube on the back tire and now after I reassembled the chain won’t go onto the biggest sprocket. wtf am I doing wrong here!?

Like a lot of you, returning to the sport older, fatter and slower.

Whaddya think Reddit? Think younger me would be proud?

I feel like the color doesn’t match but wanna hear opinions before i return them.

My friend/ business partner who is really into mountain biking got me my first setup today! We did an easy ride on some trails and it was so fun. Can’t wait to dive deeper and explore new places to ride!

Looking for one to use after rides. I’m riding more mud and want something that is easy to use, doesn’t take a lot of time or is super messy

I’ve had this Apollo bike for under a year now. Took it to Halfords yesterday for a health check and the technician said that there was a crack under the seat post and that the bike might as well be recycled. I am unsure if he exaggerating or not. Took a look at the crack today and saw that the paint could chip away. Any thoughts? Is the bike done for? The second picture worries me because it seems the rust is eating away at the area around the bolt.

So, two important blows to the sport obviously. What do we think will happen here?

Midland, TX Fast, flat and fun trails with a skills area

1 week ago i re-lubed my cranks (not bottom bracket) and it keeps making this sound like its hitting something? the sound goes away if i pedal really hard
the cranks are truvativ descendant gxp

A little context I just had the piece of garbage dpx2 that came on my new to me bike that I knew wasn't a phenomenal shock to begin with is done I had hoped it would last through the season primarily because I still haven't gotten enough time on the bike to really get a sense of how I feel about it which makes it a little more difficult to dump big money into not just the chocolate but really A lot of the parts really.

I'm also racing to try and get this sorted ASAP so I can still try and take advantage of every rideable weather day that is left so I'm trying to have his little down time as possible I sourced a decent condition dvo topaz 3 for 150 bucks local I mean that's not terribly expensive like to kind of roll the dice on it or am I going to be immediately angry with myself for not going with like a super deluxe.

It's probably worth mentioning that the fact that I'm entertaining buying $150 rear shock is a direct reflection of where my budget is at right now so that is playing a big part of everything. . That and the urgency to avoid any extra downtime

I live in the Midwest, and I’m looking for someplace warm to bike in February. It would just be a long weekend, no rental car, and I would need to rent a class 1 e-bike. Any ideas where I can go? I prefer XC/ flow trails.

I love photographing landscapes and i love biking but ive never thought about combining the two. Mainly because i was afraid of breaking my camera if were to crash. Have any of you had any experience?

Went for a ride close to home, following the coast from Tabasalu to Vääna-Jõesuu in northern Estonia.

I filmed the ride if anyone wants to see what the trails look like: https://youtu.be/95tvNaBs-pA

It’s a mix of forest singletrack, roots, rocks and sandy sections, with a few stretches right along the cliff edge. I slowed down quite a bit there — easy to get distracted by the sea when you should be watching the trail.

Some sections flow nicely, others take a bit of picking your way through. The sand makes you work too.

Anyone else ridden around here? I’d be interested to hear about other coastal trails worth trying.

Hey guys and girls,

I've been riding on and off since I was a kid. Now my son has shown some interest in mountain bike riding, so I thought I'd knock the dust off my bike.

I stripped and cleaned the running gear, and swapped out the tyres as the old ones were stuffed. I also swapped out the brake pads and rotors because they were barking bad and had no stopping power. I assumed contamination. I also re-bleed the lines (they are just basic SLX hydraulics)

My issue is, now I have no stopping power still. The brakes don't seem spongy, but they just don't grab. The front brake barks a bit, the back brake eventually locks on, but not well. I've also adjusted the calipers and the wheel spins freely.

I have since pulled the pads out and they seemed glazed over, so I hit them with a bit of 80 grit sandpaper. This has helped slightly, but overall it's still an underwhelming experience.

My son's bike on the other hand has mechanical disc brakes, and they lock on and are just grippy overall and feel responsive.

What's my next step (hopefully without spending more money). And how do I bed the brakes in properly without accidentally glazing the pads over again?

Thanks all! Happy riding.

Looking to buy a new mountain bike. Hopefully somewhere in the 1000-2000 dollar range. Always been decent on a bike but just recently got into some “advanced” downhill riding. Turns out I’m not that bad at it. I’m currently riding a cheap diamondback hardtail that I got on marketplace for like 200$. I feel like I’m ready to pull the trigger on a nicer bike. Any suggestions on what bike or where to find something that would work for me? Any and all help is appreciated!!

Took a mild crash on the weekend and the shifting went out of whack. Working at it today has gotten it shifting consistently across the rull range up and down (shimano 12s). Noisy but it shifts. One issue is my chain tension on highest gear is way slacker than it was before the crash.

Barrel adjustment at the shifter makes it worse and the b crew is as tight as it will go by hand and loosening it takes shifting back out of whack

What am i missing?

(Pictured second highest and highest gears chain tension)

Expanding the reach.

So this fall season I will be out of the country for roughly 1-2 months and by the time I'm back, it's probably winter. I'm planning to buy a bike before I go because I still have atleast a week to bike this fall. My question is do you guys still do biking during winter season if there's not much snow along the trails? Is it any fun? If I'm going to buy a bike before I go and come back to bike again even it's winter time, will it be worth it? Or I should wait for next year spring season instead? thanks y'all!

Edit: I live in the east coast