Lornholio profile

Look up Morvelo’s overland shirt if you’re OK with the flannel shirt look. It’s a really thin stretch softshell that looks like a shirt. Long slim cut (very long arms) and great pockets at the kidneys. Love mine. I was waiting to see if they brought out some other colours and would have picked up another for sure (plain black or dark grey would be a winner) but it’s not on their website any more so might be discontinued.

Weatherproofing is good but breathability isn’t great - I guess you can’t have both. If you try to force your breath through the fabric you can get little bit through. Could you say how the RF Conspiracy compares in the same test?

I used a Halo headband for a couple of years.  Works well but looks ridiculous when worn and even worse when removed as it leaves a line on your forehead, so leaving your helmet on for post-ride drinks is the least bad option.  But hey, if you're considering these Macho Man Randy Savage glasses maybe you don't care about things like that...

A Sweatbuster helmet pad has been working very well for me for the last 5 years or so in several helmets and makes a Troy Lee A1 even comfier.  Easy to remove and wring out in a stream or water fountain mid-ride or throw in the wash regularly.  Check it out.

Any info on the fit?  I seem to have particularly long and skinny hands/fingers and am always between XL and XXL for a good fit on width/length.  The old Specialized Lodown with the velcro cuff (which I cut off a sewed) were the best I ever had but the newer slip-on ones are a bit too wide in XXL and too short in XL.  100% Brisker XL fits me well for width and a little short but usable for length, if that's any help.  I like minimal but durable gloves so might try to 1.0.

And isn't the 2.0 Windblock the same thing as the 2.0 Subzero?  Looks the same anyway.  Biskers work well for the few cold rides I do, but those look good.

Sensus wore out twice as quick for me. I’m sticking to classic mushroom style. Usually Longnecks but DMR Sect are great too and come with a smaller flange so no need to trim.

I keep meaning to buy safety wire pliers and always say “next grip change I’ll get some”. New bike build next week and I still don’t have any. Next grip change I’ll get some.

Former ski shop worker here. At my first two shops we had more beer sitting around than we knew what to do with between December-April.  A couple of times I was asked to take some extra home for friends just to make space. Home baking was always the best, and meant more to us than cash.

I used to use Castrol Red Rubber Grease to lube Shimano pistons (usually Zees) after cleaning every pad change or two which is widely recommended for automotive brake seals.  I changed to a mix of grease and mineral oil a couple of years ago thinking it would be easier to apply and find that the pistons last longer now before going sticky.

A Shimano yellow bleed block with one quarter removed is a very useful tool to make for isolating single pistons.  I clean and lube all pistons (Q-tips for cleaning, small paintbrush for lubing), reset them all and then check how evenly they advance from a couple of lever pulls.  Then isolate each piston to work it in and out a few times, more for the stickier pistons.  Reset them all and clean the caliper thoroughly inside & out with a rag sprayed with isopropyl.

CushCore has a video on their own YouTube channel showing you how to insert a tube with the CushCore Pro still in place.  You need a tube with a long stem and I think they might recommend a low volume 29" tube or even a road tube if doing it on a 27.5" setup.

I put a CushCore Pro in the rear of my Patrol last year after getting too many flats on my 1100g-ish rear tyres (usually Michelin WR2, similar to Maxxis DD) even after increasing to 28psi and really didn't want to go higher than that, and figured I could probably run that tyre with an insert at a similar weight to DH rubber without insert, maybe with less pressure.  I'm completely sold.  Felt noticeably better when I dropped 3psi but not a big difference dropping another 2-3 to I settled on 25psi and only had one flat in that time but that was a heavy landing directly onto a sharp rock which dented both sides of the rim and snapped a spoke.  I wondered about dropping back to EXO weight when when I first got the CushCore, or dropping pressure a little more especially when more grip might be desired but for peace of mind I'm happy with how I run it.

If I can get hold of a new 29" bike next summer I'm going to give Tannus Tubeless a shot for a little lighter weight, €20 cheaper than CushCore and easier removal/installation.  CushCore on/off gets a lot easier the more times you do it but is still a hassle especially if you need to do it three times in the space of a month for a tyre change then snapped spoke then rim damage.  If it works, cool.  If it doesn't I'll go back to CushCore.

I'm still 50/50 about trying an insert on the front but I rarely flat my front (Michelin Enduro Front these days at about 1000g) and don't really want to add more weight.  Maybe the old 850g Magic Mary Snakeskins with a light insert would be good to try but looks like those don't exist any more.  If I could borrow an insert for the front I'd try it out of curiosity.

80kg rider, riding day-to-day on very rough natural French walking trails with lift access 4 months of the year.

Ryan, do you think that the new Tannus offers the same sidewall support and impact protection as CushCore Pro at a givemn pressure, just maybe a little less damping?  I'm likely switching to big wheels next spring so will need to decide whether to stick with CushCore Pro or give the Tannus a shot.  CC has been great for me (except for that one time I landed hard on a very pointy rock...) but curious if Tannus will work for me while giving easier setup and 100g less weight.

This. For best feel I always do bleeds or fluid topups with the freestroke wound out, finish the bleed and close everything off, then wind the freestroke in.

You can remove the snake-eye blanking screw on SLX and Zees and replace it with a grub screw to give you the freestroke functionality. Just don’t screw it in past the point of feeling the slightest bit of resistance - I broke the tiny lever it pushes against pretty easily the first time I did this.

Related: DD vs EXO & CushCore rear, opinions/experiences?

I've been on DD equivalent rears on my Patrol for a while (Michelins currently) but ended up needing to run 28-29psi recently to avoid flats from rim dings. Put a CushCore in there for the last few rides before the snow arrived and dropping to 24-25psi felt great. Wondering if I could get away with an EXO with CushCore to save a bit of weight. Sidewall durability isn't really a concern - only ever slashed one and that was a very lightweight Schwalbe. Guess I'll only know if I try it. Or just run what I have now and not worry about it? 80kg rider in a very rough part of the Alps and take a BC trip each autumn.