dave_f profile

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?

FWIW, the Axion is a dark matter candidate.

Hey Andrew, I'm not going for anything. Sorry if I came across the wrong way. Also a bit off topic regarding offroad use. The light has side LEDs and comes with a bar mount, so I thought I'd ask.

Not too long ago a 1300 lumen light would have been bulky and expensive, but battery capacity and LEDs keep improving as the cost comes down.

Nowadays that high end class of light is billed as having the lumens (6500) and beam pattern of aircraft landing lights. So based on the props and comments I guess the answer is yeah, give it three years and there will be a lot of folks out on the road with that type of light.