When we still lived in IL I'd ride the local trails fairly frequently, so when we moved here 6-years ago I was happy to learn there were trails just outside of town - but I've never made it there.
I'd ride around town quite a bit the first few years, even doing a 12-mile loop of "urban MTB" once, but then my back started bothering me, the pandemic happened, and I gained 20lbs...
My old MTB was something cheap I'd pieced together about 12-years ago, but at ~35lbs it's a bit heavy, it always felt a little too large for me, and all the drivetrain components were getting pretty worn out after probably 500-miles or so. I was planning on getting a new frame & parts to build it up using most of what I have, but at 5'6" it's tricky finding a frame small enough for me.
Then this popped up 20-minutes away from me on Marketplace today:
And with the old ride for comparison.
A 29er, with hydraulic brakes & tubeless tires were 3 things I definitely didn't want, but it fits me well & is about 5-6lbs lighter than my old bike. I wasn't really in a position to drop $425 either, but I figure I'd be close to that with a used frame, new chain/cogs/sprockets/tires & whatever else I'd need to upgrade along the way. The fact it's a women's bike doesn't bother me at all, fortunately.
There were/are a couple things to address. The front tire loses air quickly & the seller said it needs resealed. I'll hit the bike shop down the street this week & let them check out the wheel/tire to make sure I get what I need. The front brakes weren't grabbing well, but a shot of CRC Brakleen did the trick. I also swapped over the saddle from my old bike. It's heavier, but I think I have the boniest ass ever, so it's worth an extra ~1/2lb not to be in misery.
Nice score! The differences between Santa Cruz men's models and Juliana women's models comes down to paint color, saddle, diameter of handlebar grip, and maaaybe some minor details of suspension damping on some models. Everything else is identical, and on a bike that age the seat and grips may or may not be original.
I'd say that bike is worth all of that $425, I think you got a good deal if it's as nice as the pictures make it look. Congrats!
In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the info. The seat was definitely original, the "Juliana" scrip on the side was still intact. Other than worn out grips & some scratches(which I think was more likely from moving than use - I'm pretty sure they're a military couple) it doesn't have much wear at all.
The seatpost on it allowed me to get a much better angle with my Velo Plush seat. On my old bike I could only get it level, but that plus the overall longer length of the bike, caused me to constantly be sliding forward on it. On the Juliana I was able to tilt it upward slightly & I didn't have any problems at all.
Killer price, those bikes pedal really well.
In reply to fatallightning :
Thanks! I noticed on the ride last night that at a similar speed & cadence to my old bike it felt like I was using much less effort. I'm pretty sure the cranks are the same length, but haven't actually checked.
I hit Biloxi Cycle Works today - nice place & super cool people working there. I got two bottles of tire sealant & tried to seal the tires at lunch. The front went ok, but still lost some air over the afternoon. I took it for a ride after work though, so I'll see if it holds better overnight.
Unfortunately the rear tire didn't go well at all. Despite shaking it up until it looked thouroughly mixed, it almost instantly got plugged whenever I tried to squirt it into the tire, and I had to use a variety of implements to dig out the valve stem before I could get the valve to thread back in & still work. Oddly enough, it held air just fine all afternoon.
I picked up a pair of grips while I was there, but unfortunately they don't fit. These bars are only 19mm, and there don't seem to be too many grip options in that size. I also got a new camelback while I was there.
He told me about some trails in Mobile & just into Louisiana that might be worth checking out after I get back in shape a bit.
How do the 29s feel with a smaller stature? After so many years of being bigger than the bike, that was my main concern with going 29" and I'm taller than you. Not dramatically. I haven't found it to be a problem on my new bike but I found it weird on some other 29ers.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I've not really noticed any difference due to the wheel size. Many of the sidewalks & sections of the streets in & around our neighborhood are pretty rough, so I've been purposefully hitting those sections to get better prepped for the trails. Anything about 3" high or greater I'm either picking up the front or bunny hopping up/off, but the smaller stuff hasn't really felt any different to me going from 26" to 29".
Decision time: I originally was thinking I wanted yellow grips to match the pedals & tire sidewall lettering.
However, I'm not finding any 19mm locking grips in yellow anywhere.
The cap & lever on the top of the fork legs are blue, so that's another option. Or I could go for the 80's/Playskool look & toss some red grips on it?
Of course black or grey are also options too, Thoughts?
Thats very unusual about the grips being a different diameter. It's been standardized for ages. Handlebar clamping diameters have varied, but grips have been the same for a while. I find if if you're having tubeless sealing issues, they may need fresh tubeless tape application.
Thanks!
I discovered 19mm is pretty common for kids' bikes, so I'm guessing since this bike is a women's bike they decided to use that smaller diameter?
I did find that the SDC Slater Jr. grips look like decent mtb grips in 19mm, but unfortunately they don't offer them in yellow. However, SDC also offers a shim kit to use regular size grips/shifters/levers on their 19mm Slater Jr bars. So I may get the shims & some regular mtb grips in yellow.
I went out at lunch today & was surprised to find the front tire seemed to be holding air just fine overnight, while the rear tire - which seemed fine yesterday afternoon - was now about 1/3 way flat.
Tubeless usually seals better after getting a ride in on it like you found with the front. If you do need to redo the tape I've been using Gorilla tape for a while now as it is affordable and does the job, you can buy the narrow rolls which will hopefully be the right width for your rims.
Trialforks.com can be a really good resource for finding places to ride around you if you haven't found that already.
In reply to adam525i :
Oh cool, I'd not stumbled across that site yet.
I think my grip situation has been figured out. I rode by my daughter's work this afternoon. She's an interior designer so I got her opinion on grip color. She suggested blue, and since I can find them in 19mm that'll be both cheaper & easier.
Is it crazy to suggest buying new bars in a standard diameter? Are your brake lever and shifters specific to that diameter too?
Juliana bikes come with a proprietary handlebar that necks down from 22.2mm to 19mm just for the grip portion. Everything inboard of the locking collars on the grips is standard adult MTB. The reasoning behind it is to offer a smaller OD grip for smaller hands without having to make the rubber padding really thin.
It would be possible to replace the handlebar, and thrifty types can probably find deals either buying used, or seeing if any local bike shops have any takeoffs. Or just shop for 19mm grips, as it sounds like you've been doing.
In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :
I originally thought I'd swap on the bars from my old bike because I didn't like the way these felt, but as soon as I got it home & started adjusting it I realized the bars were just rotated so they were fully swept back. I turned them about 45* upward, which put my hands in a much more comfortable position. I'd guess these bars are probably lighter than the Truvativ ones on the old bike, plus I want to keep the old bike together for now until I decide what to do with it.
Well after screwing around trying to figure out grip options, I ordered these today.
I went with a shorter stem to hopefully make the front end a little lighter to get off the ground, as well as a standard size pair of zero-rise bars so I can use normal grips.
6-days after purchase I've lived up to the thread's title.
I ended up riding 6.6 miles of trails, plus another 1.1 mile of gravel road back up to the parking lot. The trails were nice & the 3 I road were pretty easy. I only encountered one other rider - who complimented me on the ex-GRM van as he sped past. The only problem I had was the seat bolts worked loose, but I had my mini Park took kit, so that wasn't any big problem.
I can already tell this bike is WAY better at trails than my old one. The gearing just works, & there's never any trouble finding the right selection for the terrain. Being able to switch the suspension in/out of "climb" on the fly is great, although I didn't encounter anything steep enough to need "climb" mode.
That's better, though I kinda want a matching blue seat now...
I just learned something about the bike. I figured Juliana Joplin was a pro XC racer & this was her signature model. Not at all, Juliana is the brand(now spun-off from Santa Cruz), and Joplin is the model.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:
That's better, though I kinda want a matching blue seat now...
My first new mountain bike was a Tech (a Canadian manufacturer) in the mid 80s - back when U brakes were the new hotness and we used Shark Fins and Shark Teeth to prevent chain suck and chain grab. Black with pink (or was it yellow?) lettering on the tubes, pink grips and pink toe clips. You just gave me a flashback.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I was actually pondering earlier that if anyone makes brightly colored 29" tubeless MTB tires they'd look pretty good on it.
After riding the ~7 mile trails a couple times, I've found my wrists hurting, especially after I've been leaned forward on the climbs, and I've realized it's because my hands are twisted inward by both the minimal sweep and width(720mm) of my new bars.
I was doing some experimenting with a protractor & it seems like about 12* of sweep would be perfect, so I stopped by the bike shop up the street to see if they had anything in stock. They didn't, but they had a Specialized hybrid bike with 15* sweep bars that felt pretty good. Although I think that might be a bit too much sweep.
So before my ride tonight I tried the East option & cut 1-1/2" off each end of the bars I bought last week, bringing them from 720mm wide to about 644mm.
That helped, but I still need a pair with more sweep. Unfortunately the only pair I found with 12* of sweep are $99. I did find a pair like my current ones, but with 9* of sweep vs 7* for $24, but I'm not sure that's enough of a difference to matter?
I've used a couple versions of bars with considerable back-sweep for a long time, due to shoulder issues. One was called an On-One Mary (broke in half after more than a decade):
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBOOMA/on-one-mary-handlebar. I replaced it with this: https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/clarence-bar.
The other is a Soma Sparrow, which I use on my road bike (just a fixie with no brakes):
https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/the-sparrow-bar-490520560.
I've since been riding much straighter MTB bars without noticing shoulder effects, so . . .
In reply to rustomatic :
Interesting, thanks! I just ordered some Ergon grips that specifically state they help with wrist pain, so I'll try those before I swap bars again.
