AndrewMajor profile

But do you need 12x individual gear ratios or would the same, or near to same, 500% spread as Eagle over 5-6 ratios work perfectly fine?

Would love to get some time on Microshift. Their thimbles are great! Hahahaha. 

Seriously though, been on BOX 9 a while - there’s a lot of interesting stuff out there and coming in competition with ShRAMano. Be interesting to see if any of it catches on.

I would have loved to see next generation Hammerschmidt. Better BB, less drag, maybe a smaller jump between rings, dump a bunch of weight. Glorious.

It’s linked in the prequel to this piece but if you didn’t see it I’ve previously written about the best ever marketing campaign and the interesting moonshoot that was a Hammerschmidt from a current perspective.

I’ve been riding Box Two (9) for a while. It’s fine. 

I’d track down an 11-46t SunRace 10-spd cassette, 11-spd SLX derailleur, and NOS 10-Spd SLX or XT shifter plus a decent chain and it’ll give you a better shifting package (with one more cog).

Is the clutch tension reduced? I’ve always found that Shimano derailleur arrive with too much clutch tension (presumably planning for when they break in) so I back them way off and then add tension over time. Makes a big difference for feel at the lever.

I don’t know what the magic bullet is to get the ride of a DH tire at a lighter weight but I do know that in the past the industry has proven itself capable of collaborating to make open rim/tire standards happen (UST) so it’s theoretically possible.

No problem with your point about electric cars - as mentioned in other comments here, a 500% gear range is certainly more universal from an OE perspective.

Not clear what’s a PIA about swapping cassettes though. Changing a chain and cassette (with a quick link) is maybe a three minute job?

Just off the top of my head, Pivot and Knolly both make current model bikes that are front derailleur compatible as do a number of Euro brands. Lots of options if a front derailleur is a priority.

There are also plenty of frames with suspension geometry that isn’t massively tied to chainring size and in terms of manual shifting they’d work great as long as a grannie ring clears the swing arm. You certainly would do it with a Santa Cruz but there are plenty of other bikes out there.

My opinion, not NSMB’s opinion:

I think 10t cogs are silly - and I think, from what I’ve read and heard in the past, that Shimano agreed with me until they needed a reason to justify MicroSpline. Proven loss of efficiency etc.

I don’t see any reason to go 10-45t over 11-46t with a slightly larger chainring. Or for that matter 12-47t or etc.

I’m totally down with the 450% mountain bike drivetrain and agree that for real MTB usage the tight gaps between ratios aren’t desirable.

Ignoring the intended conversation starter that is this piece about 5-spd, I’ve had awesome results with SunRace’s 11-46t 10-Spd cassette and would have a hard time personally justifying the expense to “upgrade” to more ratios or a wider range.

There are some very interesting stories going around - please note I don’t have the means / opportunity to verify them - about riders buying 12-spd Shimano derailleurs to get SRAM+Shadow or 12-spd Shimano shifters to get SRAM+double shifting. 

The best I’ve heard is that, apparently, combining AXS with new XTR cassette/chain/chainring delivers “mind blowing” shifting under load and everywhere else. 

——

The issue with running Shimano 12-spd w/ SRAM running gear is that you give up the only real improvement in going from Shimano 11-spd to 12-spd which is the anytime shifting delivered by the proprietary chain/ring-cassette system. 

Or, are you running SRAM cassette with the new Shimano chain and ring?! That would be interesting.

I think a lot of small builders are holding off on T47. For one, BSA 68/73 is perfectly awesome and then even if T47 makes sense (stiffer frame/weight) Trek is changing the standard (narrower BB shell / fatter cups) so it’s more usable in mass-assembly and once they adopt it fully they’ll be de facto dictators of the standard so the appeal may be lost.

Anyways, if Dekerf doesn’t have cutting tools it’s doubtful anyone in Vancouver+ has them.

I’m also a vote for using heavy duty sleeve retainer and just swapping bearings in PF30 cups.

May also be worth a call to Mighty Riders. One time talking to Mighty-Ed he mentioned they’d found something magical for PF install sans creaking. I didn't commit it to memory as I’m not a PF-any-size fan.

Howdy folks,

If anyone came across one of those fancy-pants Ford Chip-Key-Fob things on Fromme today please PM me or e-mail me to major(dot)andrew(dot)r(at)gmail(dot)com.

In addition to making someone’s day the owner will definitely beer you for the effort.

Thanks,

Posted by: Brocklanders

No one has a right to these trails, we are guests. The more these things resemble motorbikes, the further we move away from it being mountainbiking to it being a motorsport. Then who knows where it all ends up. Will we lose trail access? I guess it's up to the land managers.

My post was un-necessarily cheeky & sardonic because that's how I deal with sh*t - apologies. I have the same concerns as you, as do many people. I've already seen throttle actuated pedelecs on Seymour for example.

What is most surprising to me, that I tried to capture, is the cultural shift (adoption & acceptance) from the first big dump of snow to this spring. I feel like Rip Van Winkle. I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have gone from extolling the virtues of the self-propelled mountain bike and the local culture to explaining why their unique needs justify* an offroad pedelec.

I'm just really hoping they don't f*** it up for the rest of us. Access, keeping experienced trail builders, relationships with other users - there's a lot potentially at stake to be able to punch out a longer and faster after work lap and it definitely needs to be talked about.

*I chose 'justify' because most these folks I know seem guilty about the choice.

Posted by: tashi

BREAKING NEWS: Mountain moped company employee thinks it would be best if mountain mopeds are allowed on non-motorized trails.

In other surprising news, the sun rose in the east this morning and human activity has environmental impact. Groundbreaking.

If you go back and read the 'MrSimmons' (note air quotes) post it's a pretty standard trolling recipe.  A pinch of sanctimony, a very (very) light dusting of non-fiction, dump in some ad hominem attack, stir in heaps of false equivalency, a bit of fatalism, more ad hominem, and then, in conclusion, just sprinkle of nihilism. 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I just assumed it's an anonymous poster with a provocatively chosen user name. I'd be really surprised if MrSimmons is actually Mr. Simmons. For one, Wade is fully aware that people really do "[give] a shit" about both access and the culture of mountain biking. Two, I don't think he'd comment if he didn't have anything intelligent, constructive, or at least experiential to say. 

There's also no advantage to any e~bike brand, or their representatives, to pop their heads up right now. The hard work and marketing are done, the silence from land managers is deafening, and people are buying the machines - lots of them. Now's the time for them to be engaging with dealers to make sure that when the e~bike curious customer is coming in their brands are well positioned compared to the competition - there's a lot more differentiation in the market than just comparing frames with Eagle components hung on them.

I hate being the harbinger, but anyone here who hasn't noticed the massive archetypal shift this Spring on Fromme and Seymour isn't riding their bikes enough. Sorry. You can't ride up No Quarter on the weekend without being chased by someone's kitchen appliance at some point - WHIRRRRR WHIRrrrrrrr whirrrrRRRRR.

The cat is out of the bag and it's f***ing everywhere. And the thing about cats f***ing is that they multiply exponentially. And there's nothing that's going to slow down that momentum and no enforceable rule or guideline that's going to make things the way they were even a couple of years ago. Anyone thinking of e-mailing their local trail association who wants to know what they can do about it - they can advocate for uni-directional trails and clear signage before there's a serious accident now that trails like Asian Adonis are two-way-possible for more than a tiny minority of riders. That's it. Sorry again.

"But it's a different activity, they should advocate for their own access," you say. Within less than ten years half the board and builders with the NSMBA, and probably every other trail association - even WORCA - will ride offroad more with electric motor assist then solely under their own steam. Sorry.

Recently, Wade Simmons told me that in ten years half the bikes I regularly see on North Shore trails will be Pedelecs. I think he 's wrong. I think it'll be five years. There is a dam holding back purchases right now as the joiners wait for Pedelecs to be mainstream enough. And as my friend Alex says, "taking the easy way out has always been mainstream." The Dam breaks this year. More sorries.

Right now you have friends who are walking back all the venom they've ever spewed about Pedelecs. The machines are already accepted for commuting and all the Armageddon and catastrophe predicted hasn't really occurred (just endless anecdotes about assholes riding way too fast on shared resources). We're well beyond the early adoption stage with mountain Pedelecs and people are buying them right now who were looking to join a lynch mob last year. Yes, Dave Norona called it - wrap your head around that. Yeah, sorry.

North Shore shops will sell 100+ offroad Pedelecs this year. Next year it will be thrice that at least. Being an asshole to one person on a Pedelec is like killing one spider in your kitchen. It would probably be better for everyone if you just let it go. If not this year, then definitely next year, every time you walk into a local shop there'll be a 50/50 chance that someone who works there will bring up Pedelecs unsolicited. Sorry.

It's not doom-and-gloom, it's the reality. You can quit and do something else with all the free time and money you'll suddenly have. You can join and be one in a sea of e~mea culpas. Or, you can just keep pedaling your person-powered-bike in the woods with or without your like-minded friends. Sorry.

If you can't stop thinking about it on the trails then I'd recommend single speeding and harder tech-gnar descents. There's no capacity for bicycle philosophizing when you're eating your own lungs climbing No Quarter and trying to survive down Boundary...

Sorry,

Posted by: DanL

Did I miss an episode or have you done a strip down of the one up dropper?

I haven’t had a OneUp post for testing; not something I’ve been inside.

I run the, coil spring, e13 TRS+ 170mm on both my personal bikes. Awesome remote and 100% mechanical with nothing that can really fail (like anything it does get sloppy and require new key ways). An adjustable wrench, strap wrench, and Shimano cassette tool are all that’s needed besides hex keys for a full rebuild.

I recommend pre-stretching the coil spring and a bit of Slickoleum under the seal head for best performance.

Gentlepeople,

The entrance to 7th Secret smells like the un-serviced port-a-pisser at a week long asparagus growers convention in August. 

In other words, its f*cking disgusting. 

Obviously there’s a need to answer nature’s calling in nature but let’s spread it out it a bit please. 

It is not hard to jump in the bushes at the 6th or ride up around the 7th and as an added benefit to a piss-smell-free trailhead you won’t flash unsuspecting fellow trail users your sweaty junk. 

Please ask your friends to urinate sociably when urinating socially.

Thanks,

Lots of service only shops open(ing).

Bicyclehub (Dave) and Wheelthing (Jeff) are both service only bike shops in North Van. There’s also Essential (Jaclyn and Jessica) which does repair and rentals but doesn’t sell bikes. There’s also Inside Line in Calgary and I know of a few other service only and service primary shops starting up in BC and Alberta.

Actually, I should include Darren at Dream Cycle on that list. He sells custom builds but it’s a service primary shop and he’s been on Commercial for more than a decade.

Here's another one: Bootleg Bikes in Kimberly BC. Jody has a great reputation as a tech (and for customer service) coming out of Winnipeg and Canmore.

Lots of service only shops open(ing).

Bicyclehub (Dave) and Wheelthing (Jeff) are both service only bike shops in North Van. There’s also Essential (Jaclyn and Jessica) which does repair and rentals but doesn’t sell bikes. There’s also Inside Line in Calgary and I know of a few other service only and service primary shops starting up in BC and Alberta.

Actually, I should include Darren at Dream Cycle on that list. He sells custom builds but it’s a service primary shop and he’s been on Commercial for more than a decade.

...

That said, online (and previously mail order) bikes have been a reality forever. I’ve never worked in a shop that wasn’t happy to charge a fair price to build a bike out of a box or install a part bought elsewhere and I’ve been around a while.

It’s a problem when folks show up with incompatible parts and expect a shop to trade them, and it takes longer (and therefore costs more) than most people expect to do a pro job building (or rebuilding) a bike out of a box. There’s also a queue for service from April-ish through early September.

Aside from being realistic about those factors I can’t fathom where the issues being brought up derive from. In my experiences - and again I’ve worked for a few shops and with a lot of them - that’s good paying work anywhere people are charging money to turn wrenches on bikes.