MTBrent profile

The only reason I see not to wear a FF is if you're concerned about the occasional funny looks and comments from other half-shell riders.

Except for when my kids are on the Shotgun seat, I wear my Stage on every ride, XC to DH.  Light, ventilated, comfy, Fidlock.  Perfect.

Dangly derailleurs on off-road bicycles are dumb (i.e. singlespeeds rule).

BUT, Zee M640 and some Big S chain and 11-36 cassette combination will always get the shifty shifty nod.

I was just thinking of this last night while parking my bike.

I remember Darren from Push (I think on Vital's podcast?) saying that after climbs/before descents he would hold his bike with the front wheel in the air and the fork inverted to get the lowers lubed up top to bottom and that there was a noticeable difference when doing so.  I've never tried it, but I'd say he knows a thing or two about suspension so there must be something to it.

Nice.  For the Horst layout/design, I agree the carbon over aluminum chainstay ROI is negligible.  Bonus points for external routing.

I had one of those full aluminum versions (Altitude 750)!  Again, a great bike.  According to Strava, I rode it for 2k+ happy miles before selling it.

If someone is willing to put in the time to address those pivots, they're definitely a great used option.

I almost didn't open this article for fear of having to look at those pivots ever again, but alas, another excellent min-maxing.

That generation of Altitude (and other models) was, and as you've shown still is, a great bike.  But those pivots... oh man.

Also, is that chainstay original?  I saw more than a fair share (mine included) of cracked/broken examples pass through my local bike shop via warranty.

I raced snocross for years.

I have yet to find a scent or sensory experience better than combusted 110 premix floating through 15°F air at the crack of dawn.

On a side note, what’s the feedback on those Chromag Wax grips?

I ran the Box 7sp DH group all last year with a 36T on the outside of the spider of a Saint crank.  Simple and bombproof!  I switched from singlespeed just to retry the gears thing out again, so the not-so-low granny gear didn't bother me at all.  I'm going to try a 30T ring soon.  Fewer gears, better chainline, lighter weight, and smaller dangly shifty bits should be the future.

I recently rode around the yard carrying my 1 year old daughter just for fun, which naturally prompted my wife to take some pictures. While I enjoyed seeing the pics and smile on my daughters face, I was equally surprised to see how far in my hands were on the grip, even though I was gripping the bars the same way I do every ride!

Between that and now this article, I will be breaking out the tape and hacksaw. Thanks, Andrew!

Side note: The above situation was just a small happenstance, but from previous experience, seeing yourself from a third person perspective in pics or video can be eye opening for realizing and adjusting your own setup and/or riding form/technique.

The seat tube is indeed straight and uninterrupted: