dave_f profile

I have one setup with 6 of 9 cogs running on a hope pro trials hub (short steel freehub, wide bracing angle), zee derailleur, and SRAM XO 9-speed shifter. The cable is spaced out around 6mm at the derailleur.

Keep your 9 speed shifter, people are paying premium prices as it seems the higher end Shimano 9-speed shifters are no longer available. Or if you don't need it yourself, find someone who needs one and will give it a good home.

Thanks for the reply, maybe it has to do with the difference in speeds and use. Looking for the formula for flop, I find flop=trail*sin(ha)*cos(ha) where ha is head angle. So the forks with short offset (the Enduro bikes) should have "floppier" steering if the head angle is the same.

It's interesting that the Enduro forks being run with similar head angles (Fox 38) are offered with 37/44 and 44/51 offsets, but the downhill forks are 48 and 52. Why do Enduro bikes need more trail than downhill bikes?

Yeah, that's what I thought as well. "This bike? Oh, I've had this bike for ages, it's not new. Don't you remember?"

On another subject, try getting on a lift this winter with an old asym snowboard. All the kids too young to know what it is will be in awe.

I can't say for sure, I didn't read a firsthand report and it was a long time ago. I remember thinking it was strange the Marshals were checking helmet closure, like who would be stupid enough to not fasten their chinstrap? This was what was circulating amongst the riders.

Shoei seems to have discontinued the snap type buckle which consisted of a pronged plate released by squeezing both sides of the buckle (similar to the Skylotec buckle).

Evidently there is a Fidlock version approved for motorcycle use. If it turns out to be 100% foolproof, maybe we will all be using them eventually. In the meantime, it's hard to beat double D for safety.

Double D-ring is about as foolproof as it gets. Years ago, a motorcycle race I was participating in was stopped after someone left the track at high speed. They found him eventually, no longer alive, helmet off. At the time, many approved helmets had a click type chin strap. Subsequently, the marshals checked everyone individually at the start for awhile to make sure their helmets were on properly. The safety instructor for the climbing equipment we use at work says SOP is you have your partner check your harness to make sure everything is closed properly and you haven't snagged your t-shirt in a latch or mistakenly don't have it completely latched, because it happens. My halfshell has one of those plastic buckles and I'm OK with that, but if your life depends on positive closure and fit of your downhill helmet's chinstrap, double D is a plus I think.

It took me awhile to figure out how to try and say what this article got me thinking about. Taj Mihelich's bike check and his statement that getting on a long travel 29er is like becoming a passenger and hanging up your bike skills etc. articulates a bit of the part I'm not sure about. I get the argument that modern bike geometry gives you more leeway balance-wise, maybe making it easier to try a different posture. I'm not sure it's the key to unlocking next level riding.

Sometimes you see something inspiring and think to yourself "If I could make a wish and wake up tomorrow and look like XYZ when riding that would be it" For me, Brandon Semenuk's unreal segment is a prime example. That was 5 years ago. Pretty sure he was riding with that style in 2006.

For me the gold standard has always been Flaig. I used it exclusively back when I was road racing motorcycles. You can set the zero point, it's rugged, and they list an accuracy of +/-1 percent. No battery, just works. I tend to disregard measurement products where the manufacturer doesn't list how accurate they are. Haven't tried using one for presta valves though.

Actually Lynskey does this as well. Off-center tapped hex nuts to compensate for frame tolerances (probably due to welding). Better than tossing a ti frame.

I picked up a Chris King classic rear hub used (don't know how many miles were on it, but the anodizing was faded on one side) back in 2009 with the stainless freehub. Since then I've put about 40,000 miles on it commuting to work year round. I clean and relube the bearings and spline drive about once a year, and I replaced one of the outboard seals at one point. At this point it looks like it will keep running smoothly till I retire.

I was able to get a good deal on some new CK hubs and parts including the bolt-on axle when the move to boost happened. I went so far as to machine a set of 135x10 dropouts for my Banshee Rune (the newer ones only support 142 or 148x12) so I could keep running the rear hub for bikepark use.

I think for awhile hub shells were available individually. Do you know if they still offer individual hub shells, it would be nice to be able to just swap the internals and axle if necessary at some point?

I am still running a 135 Chris King rear hub with the 10mm bolts on each side. I use a long handle 8mm allen to tighten them down. The bearings run directly on the one piece axle. I went so far as to make a set of dropouts so I could keep running it with my current frame (Banshee). I think it's the stiffest setup I have, other than maybe the 14mm threaded one piece steel axle on the rear BMX hubs. I do swap it out for a 10mm thru axle wheel for light duty if I don't want to carry the 8mm allen.

I torque the Kabolt 15mm axle on the fork I use for DJ to 17 nm. If you look at the Fox 15mm QR axle, it actually has a 5mm rod that stretches like a classic QR.

For 20mm axles I'm a fan of designs with a thru axle like the CK (one piece axle) or OS DT 240 (end caps thread onto the axle). A lot of them have the inside bearing races running directly on the fork axle, depending on the fork design the bearings can spin the races on the axle or rattle around, especially with variation in axle diameter.