tashi profile

YT and NSMB: the bikes I buy and the websites I frequent in the future will be the ones that don’t involve motors, no matter how swag the steez nor how lit I can get.  I stan  mountain bikes, not mopeds.

I get that this article is largely about an attitude shift, one that I personally think is an inevitable consequence of our sport going mainstream and official resources actually coming in line. There’s benefits to these changes, but increased entitlement is inevitable. 

But to get specific: “Ride don’t slide”, back when it was the mantra, never seemed that relevant to the trails I rode at the time.  Descents (and many climbs) were largely fall line as routes were based on deer trail or existing hiking, hunting and skidder lines, not “proper” slopes with grade reversals and other speed control features and trails were ridden in, not “built”. Getting down something without skidding your 1.8” Ground Control was basically impossible.  “Ride don’t slide” then seemed to me to apply to lower angle, smoother trails along the lines of what you’d find in California - which, predictably was starting to have to address trail design and user conflict while we were essentially doing whatever we could get away with and being largely left alone.

$10k and jail time?

I can't risk that.  

I guess some of my local trails will go unpruned and undrained this winter.  Oh well.  I'm sure the land managers will step up.

I like the big sweep (around 11˚) bars as well.  I got hooked on the Salsa offering, then wanted something wider.  Now I have the best of both worlds with their new(ish) Salsa Salt Flat bar: 11˚backsweep, 6˚ upsweep, 800mm wide and whatever price point and material you like.  I got mine for around $50 and virtually any bikeshop can get Salsa stuff.

https://salsacycles.com/components/category/mountain_handlebars/salt_flat

I was hoping that this “produce review” would include something about tomato’s, I can’t find good ones anywhere these days.

Yeah small parts for Shimano brakes would be nice. I won’t buy SRAM anymore if I can help it and I really like that Shimano brakes just work and that they’re relatively affordable.  I always seem to have to retire them because some little seal or piston or something has died, something totally serviceable.  I have basically zero time for wrenching these days but if I could get parts for the Shimano brakes I have I’d for sure find an evening to sit down and get a couple of bikes worth of brakes going again. As is they’ll probably end up in the landfill.

And i for one would totally support a LORDCO model, dot matrix and DOS and all.  If it ain't broke...

27.5” wheels seem to me to be the only thing that is actually problematic to deal with now. 

You little wheel guys really got screwed there - you basically got forced to change to something not compatible, but basically the same as what you were already running.  

10 speed, non-boost spacing and 31.8mm bars are all super easy to deal to come by and still easy to find good stuff new or NOS.

Now if only Shimano would make a brake that’s good AND worth the effort to rebuild...

I have no idea why anyone would get butt-hurt about your articles. To me this one reads like something that describes the virtues of riding to the trail, and some hot tips on how to get it done. I really don’t understand why folks seem to think that because one thing is good, they’re being critized because they’re doing it differently. Just because min-maxed bike is good it doesn’t mean a super bike isn’t awesome also. I gotta wonder if your friend has lingering doubts about his purchase if he gets all defensive. 

Can’t two different things be good?  I used to ride to the trail a LOT. It was good. Now I drive to rides, almost exclusively. It’s good too!  Holy shit!

I’m perfectly comfortable crossing frames off the list that are priced in the Geometron category. Zero loss there for me.

One of the ways that I see this playing out is this:

- industry markets these as mountain bikes

- people use them as mountain bikes

- other people object to motorized vehicles on trails where they're not allowed, and "mountain bikes", motorized and real ones alike, are banned

- mountain biking as a sport splits: one group goes back "underground", one group continues riding the "official" areas and at resorts (who expand to pick up the slack), and one group gives up the sport.  I'm conflicted about how I feel about this scenario, but none of it sounds like "increased sales" to me.  

This tech is good, and has a place, but it may just not be in mountain biking.  They could be trading long-term sales for a short-term bump, and costing their customer base official access in the process.  Some of us have already chosen to not spend our dollars supporting companies (LBS's included; personally I already refer to my LBS a scooter shop to their staff) that are selling them, our numbers will only grow if the above scenario starts to play out.

Ha! Are Freudian typos a thing? Def. should have been "wide-rage". I'm fully woke about the existence of fast ladies, don't worry.

Also: $150 for an 11-sp cassette is reasonable. I'll still choose 10-speed (SunRace cogs/XT derailleur/XTR shifter) for as long as possible; I'm actually considering the 9-speed MicroSHIFT for my hardtail. I miss thicker chains and cogs. My dream group would be 9 or 10-speed wireless Shimano electronic shifting that self-adjusts, can take a hit, and has reasonably priced wear items. SLXi2? Also a wireless dropper post with a 4-position lever that corresponds to different heights. Hydraulic seems good for brakes.

Edit: fuck internal cable routing.  Give me guides for full-length housing.

Posted by: earleb

Posted by: tashi

I’d assume it would have to be the same as it is now: social pressure to not break the posted rules and sometimes people call the authorities.

Not prefect but perfect is impractical.

A problem with this is that our sport was basically built on disobeying the rules. NO trails back in the day were "legal" or sanctioned for bikes. EVERYONE rode anyway. Look at all the riding on unauthorized trails today. Someone out riding the darkside on their pedal bike is going to call in the dudes riding on their ebikes? Neither of them are supposed to be there.

We're down an ugly rabbit hole here. Anyone know the motto of the Jackson Hole Airforce? Swift, Silent, and Deep. If ebikes are banned from trails there will be a lot of riders taking up that motto.

I don’t see how this is a “problem”.

We were all “rogue”, some of us wanted legitimacy so they fought for it. They got some push back from established groups, some reasonable, some not. We all got legal trails where appropriate and got locked out of other areas.

Personally, I think that in a lot of the official areas mopeds will be a problem so I’m encouraging us to see them for what they are, a new user group, and respond appropriately. If you wish to welcome them than that’s your prerogative. My efforts will be focused on mountain bike trails.  

As to your example, no, I don't expect that one rule breaker will "call in" (out?) another rule breaker.  As to the rabbit hole you refer to, there's plenty of rogue riding and building that still goes on, even though we have legal trails.  Many of us are already down that rabbit hole.  Luckily the trails there are often hard, tight and not friendly to folks with super heavy bikes, poor handling skills and weak legs.

Posted by: nouseforaname

Posted by: rhw

IMHO it's a smart move to lift the roof of the high-end mtb market another, what is it, $2K?. Great for middle-aged men with too much money and too little time! ;-)

Saw a $10k+ bike the other day. It had a GX Eagle cassette and XT brakes. And no motor.

I'd do it, If it didn't cost me anything. Though I'd prefer it was Shimano.

I like a lot of what modern wife-range drivetrains have to offer but can’t believe how we’ve just come to accept million-dollar wear items like cassettes.

You can pry my 10-speed XTR shifters from my cold, dead hands.

If it was free I’d be running it already. 

If it cost the same as analog XT and Shimano made it I’d buy it when my current drivetrain dies.

Accept that things have changed, stop volunteering my time cutting and maintaining trails in official areas and do more poaching I guess.

Posted by: Ddean

Sorry, my mistake. But my concern is that if the MTB community lobbys against ebikes and convinces the powers that be that they’re dirt bikes and those who make decisions believe that, what will we tell the powers that be is the best way to police them?

Without that answer, it’s a risky discussion to have.

I’d assume it would have to be the same as it is now: social pressure to not break the posted rules and sometimes people call the authorities.

Not prefect but perfect is impractical.

You're probably right Andrew.  Based on experience I also assume that Rocky's employees are more reasonable.  That's why I'm being tounge-in-cheek in response to his post, the arguments presented will unravel on their own.

The Cummins is great if you want/need a shitkicker powerful engine, but based on the prices I see them available for they’re a pretty poor value when put up against a big gas v-8. 

My $6000 ‘99 with the gas 360 would be $18,000+ truck if it had a Cummins and similar mileage, condition and equipment.  If you can find one.  It gets fairly poor mileage, but $12,000 buys a lot of fuel even at $1.48/l.

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.

I believe that Andrew is probably right. Cats out of the bag when it comes to official mountain bike spots and public perception of what a mountain bike is.

Oh well.  Get ready for more rouge trail building and poaching as the purists attempt to keep the trails quiet and tight.