skooks profile

Acoustic bike? Give me a break Cam! That's just ridiculous. How about just call it a bike? I am pretty sure most people understand that you are not referring to a motorized vehicle.

Great list Vik! One thing to add that keeps me going is riding with people younger/better than me. Trying to keep up (and sometimes even stay ahead) is a great motivator and has definitely made me a faster/better rider. I introduced a lot of my crew to mountain biking, and it's very satisfying to see them excel at it. 

Great article Cam, and one I can relate to at almost 59. I especially like the bit about riding smarter as you age.

On the other end of the age spectrum, bike shops offer one of the very few opportunities for a young person to develop technical skills*. For the right kid, this can be a learning opportunity for skills that will last a lifetime. If they are lucky, there will be an old guy/gal in the shop who doesn't mind passing on their hard-earned knowledge. I spent years working in a bike shop as a teenager, and some of the best times with my kid were spent in the garage after dinner working on our bikes. He now works full-time as a shop mechanic and is much better than me. I would definitely enjoy working a few days a week in a shop once I retire (which won't be that far off).

*The BC gov has just made amendments to the Employment Standards Act introduced Monday would raise the legal minimum working age from 12 to 16 for most jobs.

Awesome words Cory. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ingrid, but I feel like I would have really liked her.

My Freerider Pros were also my best-performing flat shoes of all time. Light, grippy,  and comfy. Sadly they lasted less than a year before the soles ripped and started to tear off. MEC came through with the warranty, and I bought another pair of 510's. I just haven't found any other shoe that works as well for me.

Ah, right.  I re-read your article, and I couldn't agree more. It's just a bike, don't be scared to work on it. If you don't have the skills/knowledge, find some one who can help, take a course, or consult the interwebs. You will definitely learn something, and you might even fix your bike!

I am the type of person who can build or repair just about anything, just lucky that way I guess. Bikes are pretty simple machines, and I don't recall not being able to fix anything on them. I could build one from scratch if I wanted to. Of course I understand that not everyone can/wants to fix their own stuff, but I would think that a mechanical engineer would be able to figure out how to deal with anything bike related.

Sorry, I don't get it. It's a bicycle, not rocket science. The only really complicated components are shock/fork dampers, and even those  aren't too difficult to work on if you have the right tools. If you can't/don't want to repair your broken parts, I will happily take them off your hands!

When I was running RF carbon cranks, I was always wondering when they were going to fail. Now that I am running Shimano cranks I never think about them at all.

I'm glad the RF cranks are working well for you. I have tried them, and honestly couldn't perceive any functional difference between them and my alloy Shimano cranks. I actually never think about them at all, since I know they will never fail. The RF cranks? It was always I'm the back of my mind that they could fall at any time. Not for me thanks.

https://www.nsnews.com/news/vancouver-man-killed-in-christmas-day-crash-on-cypress-1.24042769

You will definitely be missing out if you don't ride Seymour. It's a pretty easy pedal over from Lynn Valley. Make sure to ride pangor and boogie man. Also lots of work has been done on Fromme this year, so the trails should be in great shape.

Anyone know what happened here?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/local/british-columbia/2019/12/25/1_4743965.html

Lynn Valley Bikes cuts their own spokes. Not sure what brand they use though.

Posted by: peterk

hypothetical question: I'm sure rebates for e-bikes are not too far away. Sure, they should be intended for commuting to take cars off the roads, but I bet that can be stretched to that 160mm eMTB. Say you get $1000 back for buying an e-bike, bringing them closer in line with a similar spec mtb, but with a motor! Would you? Will tempt a lot of even the hard line riders.

For commuting? Sure. For riding on the trails? No thanks.

Posted by: blackfly

Amen.

As I have always contended, if you cannot do the up, you cannot do the down.  The down is no more easy, strenuous or requiring any less physical demand or tone.  Moreover, if the ebike allows one to further, but not faster, what happens if there is a "mechanical"  (or now, "electrical") far in the middle of nowhere?  Hope you have the legs and lungs to pedal or push it out.......

Don't try passing me on the uphill, EVER.

I am super curious about your last sentence. If someone was coming up fast behind you on a (pedal) bike, would you let them pass? Why would it be different if they were on a moped?  I would much rather have them pass me than have to listen to the motor all the way up the hill.

Anyone know if the bear is still hanging around? Wondering if riding cabin/ Tnt is a good idea.

I just turn my bike sideways on the trail. Seems to work pretty well too !

Yeah, it really comes down to having some consideration for other trail users. It's really not that difficult, but some people just don't seem to get it. Remember, nobody cares about your Strava times.

I heard he crashed on a jump part way down FP.