skooks profile

"I'd bet in 10 years time there wont be many 2021 carbon bikes on the trails as 2021 metal bikes."

You are probably right, but in my experience, carbon fiber frames are both easier to break and easier to repair than aluminum frames.

Also left out of this discussion is the issue of recycling. An aluminum frame is easily and cheaply recycled. Carbon fiber not so much. This brings down the CO2 cost of aluminum even further relative to carbon. Wether people *do* recycle their aluminum frames is another issue worth discussing.

That's how I feel too. I would love to have the ti frame, but not at 3x more $$ than steel. I had a lowish cost target for this project, and the steel Ty hit it nicely.

Agreed. I can definitely feel the compliance in the 2.6 minion with the insert.  Frame flex? Not so much.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUHEbNtr6sD/?utm_medium=copy_link

Cool shot from tonight's ride. That's a large Ti, small steel, and medium Ti

Had my steel Ty for about a month, and it is ridiculously fun. I am right between sizes and I sized down to a small. The bike feels so nimble and sporty compared to my medium Fugitive. It's really fun swapping between bikes. The Ty will handle challenging terrain almost as well as the Fugitive, just slower. It's very confidence inspiring on steeps and more work on chunky trails. The only time I wished I was on the Fugitive was riding Ned's. My ankles and back were not happy with me .

I was lucky my son took to mountain biking in  a big way. He surpassed my skills when he was about 12 and went on to race DH competitively. So many great memories of riding with him. Doing the southern Chilcotins with him and his buddy at age 14 was one of the best trips I have ever done

I am also on the 20+ year flat pedal challenge. They are absolutely more fun *for me*, and that's really all that matters. I rode toe clips then cleats for a number of years, and always run cleats on my road bike so I do have some experience with them. I don't believe flats hold be back in any situation, and when I fail to make a difficult climb (R&R) I don't blame the pedals! #flatsforlife

SRAM makes a similar direct mount steel chain Ring. Cheap, strong, and (relatively) heavy. They seem to last forever too

Absolutely agree Andrew. Love the photos too. Where is that rock-roll to wood ramp feature (if you are allowed to say)?

Great takeaway Cheap!  I think my space blanket is the most important thing in my pack. I have used it once when a buddy broke his back and was starting to go into shock. Luckily north shore fire department got to us quickly. Can't say enough good things about those guys and gals.

Posted by: KenN

Posted by: niels@nsmb.com

I find it's mostly avoidable if you design your life so that you don't have to depend on a car and if you do want to drive, can avoid when & where everyone else is going.

Uh yah ... that's just the easiest thing to do, because nobody has circumstances that make such changes virtually impossible.

Who said it's the easiest thing ? It's hard to disagree with the point that building your life around not being car-dependent avoids traffic stress and is an admirable goal. Nobody said this is easy, or even attainable by many.

Posted by: Ned

Invincible rubbery groms are fun to ride with.  This kid ^^ is a charger.  Reminds me of my nephew.

Yes, riding with hard charging kids is awesome. Their rate of skill progression is amazing, especially compared to how slowly I seem to progress these days. Here's one of my riding partners, age 9. So inspirational!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUAnp-5J-kR/?utm_medium=copy_link

Yes, the ti Ty is a thing of beauty!

Knolly Tyaughton

Great post Vik thanks. Congratulations on your move to the Comox Valley. We just spent a week in Cumberland and loved the riding and the area. I think I could happily live there .

Back to bikes, I got my first new hardtail in 20 years a month ago. Steel frame Knolly Tyaughton. 65ish degree HT, 75 degree  ST 440mm reach in size small 430 ish mm chainstay, 1190 ish wheel base 29er. Running a 160mm Lyric. I choose to size down on this bike  and I am very glad I did. The bike feels so agile and sporty. Way more so than my size medium Fugitive, even though the static geo numbers are very similar. Is this an inherent property of hardtails as the steepen up and get shorter as the fork compresses? I will happily throw it down anything I would ride my Fugitive down. The Ty handles steep trails just fine, just not as fast as the fully. Climbs better though. I will try to post a few pictures soon.

Cheers, and hope to ride with you again sometime. Guided tour of the Comox Valley?

My commute is 20km each way. Average 1 hr of riding. I used to ride year round, but winter riding in the rain and dark has lost its appeal. Still ride most days outside of monsoon season though.

NSR long-lined out an injured mountain biker today. Anyone know what happened?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRLFECmDWxa/?utm_medium=copy_link

That's brutal. Hope you get your bike back.

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

Where is the best place for mountain bikers to park in the area as an alternative? Parkgate park? Would be good to have some sort of designated acceptable parking area for mountain bikers as parking seems to be a consistent issue in most areas as the mountain bike specific parking (for lack of a better term) is almost always way too small. Is this something that the NSBMA deals with? I always thought that the parking lots of local schools would be a good option as they are rarely used on the weekends, which is also when you get the most mountain biker traffic.

PG park has signage indicating that the parking lot closes at 8:00. I haven't noticed them closing the gates or enforcing this though. Has anyone else?

I recently bought a Chevy bolt EV and I have to say I am Impressed with it. I have always considered most North American vehicles to be crap, but this is changing my mind. It's a well designed platform, and the driving experience is great, especially the single pedal regen braking. If I only drove it to work and back (50 km/day) I could easily keep it charged with the 110V level 1 charger.