skooks profile

The latest crop of hide-away tools are clever and all, but for me the best solution is always going to be a multi-tool stored in the belt pocket of my backpack or fanny pack. It's cheaper, easier/faster to access, and there's a huge selection of multi-tools to choose from. I also carry the wolf tooth 8-bit pack pliers, but I don't love the small, fiddily bits.

I guess Noel changed his mind about 29ers. I'm very glad he did!

I have the steel frame Ty, and I couldn't agree more with everything you wrote. I wouldn't choose it as my only bike, but it's the one I almost always grab for solo missions or long, fun, epic group rides. Your last sentence really resonated with me:

" Knolly's produced a bike that makes me want to ride. A lot. "

The telescoping dropper would be very cool. I built a telescoping seatpost using 2 quick releases for my kid back in the day when his bike had the shock running through the seat tube. Clunky but it did the job.

Timely article Andrew. We recently bought a used bike for my 5'3" wife. Her most important requirement was adequate standover clearance, and most bikes didn't have this. We ended up with size small Comencal Meta 27.5 and she is happy with the fit.  Unfortunately the rocker pivot goes through the seat tube, and really limits dropper post insertion.  A short travel post isn't necessarily the answer since we would have to raise it enough for the pedalling position that she couldn't get it low enough when dropped. We spent a long time looking at dropper dimensions, and the optimal solution is a 120mm travel v2 one up which we may need to shim down 10mm. I'd love to see her on a longer travel post but it just won't work. Sure makes me appreciate my Knolly, which easily takes a 180mm dropper in a size small frame.

PSA: KMS tools currently has a bunch of their Wera handtools and some Knipex stuff on sale.

https://www.kmstools.com/kmsflyeronline/#page1

I still have my 1990 Rocky Mountain Blizzard. Beautiful steel frame with the maple leaf fade paint job. Was still welded locally if  l am not mistaken. I ride it often as a gravel bike, and it's probably the only frame that I will never consider selling. Does it ride well? Not compared to anything with modern geometry but in its time it was cutting edge. I have it built up with an ancient Recon so I could run a disc brake up front. It's actually my third Blizzard. First one got swiped downtown, second one cracked at the bottle bosses, and this one was a warranty replacement. So many great memories with these bikes!

I hear you about time constraints. I have to say that time spent in the shop with your kids is gold though (assuming they are interested). One of the most gratifying thing I did with my kid was to spend time in the garage working on bikes. He was totally into it and used this experience to get a job as a shop mechanic at age 14. He is good at it too. He has rebuild every part on his car and is studying mechanical engineering. His hands-on experience is going to serve him very well in his career.

This issue makes e-mtbs even less appealing to me. I can easily maintain and repair my  real (non e-) bike. Parts are available from many sources at prices I can afford, and most aren't proprietary. The difficulty of easily and affordably repairing an e-mtb makes it a non-starter for me.

I just did an ebike conversion for a commuter bike with parts I bought online. Way more appealing than an off the shelf bike in terms of cost and reparability.

If I could only have one MTB it would have to be a full-suspension rig. My Knolly Chilcotin/Warden/Fugitive were my only bikes for many years, and I never wished for anything else. Added a Knolly Tyaughton hardtail recently just to have something different to ride, and I love it. Perfect geometry in my opinion, and handles any trails I want to ride.  If I had to pick one bike (shudder), it would definitely be the full-squish.

Posted by: shoreboy

Head winds are unpredictable and varied. The hills I encounter, are the same ones everyday, so I know what to expect. Headwinds are definitely more evil.

Yup. Hills always pay you back, but headwinds can't be trusted.

It's pretty muddy up there. I'm going to give it a few weeks before heading back.

Posted by: mrbrett

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: Endurimil

Since you brought up the SRAM Dub standard.....

What it took to crack the crank bolt last December. Sram cranks where not reinstalled.

Sram Dub go fuck yourself.

I’ve removed tons of SRAM DUB cranksets to change rings or bottom brackets and never needed more that a big 8mm (or smaller 8mm and small cheater) and years of experience.

Certainly, I accept that yours could be a strange outlier. But a bar like that shouldn’t even be needed to remove a DT Swiss drive ring. It’s like anything else with bikes, sometimes the best practice is to throw in the towel and go see your local service professional.

Sometimes they have access to tools or information you don’t, but often - as with DUB cranks - it’s just reps.

If my SRAM bolts are reeeally reeeally stuck, I do a thing where I take the bike out of the stand, get the crank level, pointed toward the back of the bike. Put an offcut of a 4x4 post or some similar wood under the end of the crank arm/pedal area. Put the 8mm in with a 30 degree angle or so, like 10:00 kind of angle. Then stand/stomp on the end of the allen key. Pops the bolt loose every time. If you use a 3/8" breaker bar with an 8mm socket it even ramps up the pressure for those ultra stuck ones, because less handle flex.

Toss 200 lb of jiggly man at an 8mm bolt in just the right direction and it doesn't stand a chance!

Yeah that's my technique now too. I made the mistake of using an impact gun with a non-impact 8mm hex bit and the bit exploded. 2x4 and breaker bar works every time. Also, greasing the threads every time makes life much easier.

my commute is 20km/300m climb one-way, going up to 30km+ soon. I recently converted an old commuter bike to electric power. Its a great option to have if I'm feeling particularly tired or the weather is crappy. Only downside is that I don't get much exercise on it, so I still do most trips on my pedal bike.

The drivers holding up traffic are annoying, but it's the tailgaters that really make me shake my head. They typically ride my bumper for a while, then cut in front of me and end up tailgating the car in front of me.  Happens all the time.

4 for me. 1x fully as my main MTB, 1x modern hardtail, which sees almost as much use as the fully, 1x road bike for commuting, and 1x e-commuter for when I don't feel like riding the road bike. I've found the secret to making my drivetrains last longer!

Posted by: Silk

Posted by: SixZeroSixOne

Just wondering: which trails are managed by independents v NSMBA?

Executioner, Upper / Lower Crippler, Pipeline and I think Salvation. 

Basically all of the all of the long standing North Shore builders with 20+ years experience are being hit by this.

That really sucks. Is this the result of some bad behaviour by some new builders on Seymour?

That's really unfortunate that a few people's actions have resulted in a significant impact on many of us. I sure appreciate the work you have done on pipeline, and hope this gets resolved.

I've got nothing against other people riding ebikes (as long as they aren't acting like jerks), but in my opinion they are a crutch. There will probably be a time when I need one, but hopefully that isn't any time soon.

That Pipedream looks like a great bike. Sounds similar to my Knolly Tyaughton. The combination of great geometry and steel frame makes the bike feel very responsive and comfortable. It's the bike I choose every time if I am going for a solo ride.