MEATengines 2022...

Posted by: velocipedestrian

I can't immediately think of any other individual products that ain't what they used to be [shakes fist at cloud], but there are a few standards that have made bikes worse. 

15 over 20mm axles, trunnion, internal cables, press fit, 35mm bars... 

Places where durability has been sacrificed at the altar of weight, and, of course, batteries.

You forgot the side benefit of being forced to buy more shit because the stuff you have that works fine now doesn't work because hey, we need a new standard to sell you more shit.

I'm a loam lever guy myself! It's just so comfy. On a different note, I realized I accidentally took a page out of Andrew's book by swapping the squishy fork on my -2 Angleset Timberjack for a rigid carbon deal for winter riding. It sure is a slack beast, especially with no sag to steepen it up. I'm planning on selling my fox 34 anyway and I may just keep the rigid fork on all summer.

Posted by: fartymarty

No issues with smoothe Shimano ergonomics here...

Yeah, I've done this too, but got annoyed with nowhere good to clamp the cable. It was fine until I removed the post for service, then getting it all dialled again pissed me off. 

The more I sand the Wolf Tooth, the more it resembles the XT on the other end of the bar. 

Also, snap on the Wax grips.

The DOSS remote is one of the most comfortable levers IMO.

Posted by: thaaad

The DOSS remote is one of the most comfortable levers IMO.

I've managed to acquire three. I'm normally not much of a collector or a hoarder, but they ain't makin' 'em anymore.

After going through a few left gloves I rounded the end a bit and smoothed it out but not as much as yours.

Posted by: snowsnake

They aren't mentioned much as some other options, but my Race Face vault hubs are on their third bike, one of which was killed by a dump truck, and are going strong on the original bearings. I guess we're only on the fifth year of the hub's existence, but I will be interested to see how they hold up long term.

I started thinking about hub reliability again after reading about the I9 1/1 failure on the Juliana review. Definitely a good response by that company and a model of what should be done when a new product fails. It’s always a nagging question whether a reviewer gets preferential treatment, though I didn’t get that impression in this case.

Anyway, the hub led me back here and I was derailed again by the comment above. Can we please hear the “killed by a dump truck” story?

Another "oddity"... does anyone else use schraders?  I've been on them for over 10 years now an wouldn't go back. 

Also while i'm having a brain dump - does anyone else soften their suspension for winter?

I was out riding last night and it was particularly slippery and slow and I was thinking that I should drop in my softer springs into my forks and rear shock. I figure you're going a lot slower than summer and are less likely to bottom so you may as well run more sag to get more grip.  Damping will need to be adjusted to suit - quicken everything up because it's all moving slower anyway (slower impacts).

Posted by: velocipedestrian

Also, snap on the Wax grips.

They're not bad but I still prefer the Renthal Ultra Tackys as they have a thinner diameter.  I have fairly large hands but just like the thin diameter and super sticky rubber.  I'm going to give the Wax grips a good go over winter tho to see how I get on with them.

Posted by: fartymarty

Another "oddity"... does anyone else use schraders?  I've been on them for over 10 years now an wouldn't go back. 

No. But I see the advantages for adding fluid / cleaning out gunk. 

Have you found rims pre drilled, or are you embiggening the holes?

Old Mavic UST rims (at least the gravity-inspired ones?) came with both Schrader and Presta. I only used Presta (as it's easier for me to keep all the bikes in the house on the same valve...), but it seems they wouldn't have done that for no reason- surely there were other people happily using Schrader.

Posted by: fartymarty

Also while i'm having a brain dump - does anyone else soften their suspension for winter?

My air fork softens itself automatically in the winter due to temperature change, and I don’t try to fight this effect. I agree with your rationale on the lower speeds and lower traction being better suited for a softer spring, so definitely give it a try if you have one. 

This is the inverse of winter dropper etiquette which requires max++ pressure to keep the return speed adequate.

I feel like damping can be a mess in the winter. Ideally you’d dump some lighter weight oil into the suspension, but I’m not riding an individual bike enough to justify 2 or more $200 fork services a year for cartridge oil changes. However, lighter way oil for the lowers always feels good! One nice product to have around is Red Line LikeWater which is a 0wt oil that’s very temperature stable. You can use it to lower the viscosity in your other suspension oils too.

I also use LikeWater in my Cura4s and other mineral oil brakes. Much less freeze-solidey than the bike branded toothpaste at -20.

TLDR: Softer is good. Or go rigid for simplicity. :)

I don't soften suspension for winter, but I do routinely put on a fresh set of tires so I have sharp knobs and then I run them through the summer and repeat. After a year it's time for a new set.