Lornholio profile

Thanks for the advice on my 2012 Honzo not long ago Andrew.  It's set up for town duty for now with BMX tyres and a big gear and is really fun to blast around on but I'll swap the tyres and try some trails once our lifts open, maybe change to an easy gear or dinglespeed sometime so it can climb.  -2 headset and 140mm Pike feels fine, not too short like I thought it might, so will probably keep the fork at full travel after all.

FYI you can easily mount a tube inside a Tannus tubeless insert (tube closer to the rim tape, pinning the insert against the inside of the tread) if plugs aren't up to the job.  I stopped carrying a tube a few years back because plugs have always at least gotten me home, but when a broken spoke pieced my tape on the morning of a big day trip this summer I had no option but to use a friend's tube.  It was a one lever plus strap operation and I'm back to carrying a tube + levers on anything except park days now.

I geeked out on this last summer while figuring out a new insert’s sweet spot for pressure and noticing that my pressure reading was always higher the top of 1000m laps and lower at the bottom.

Absolute pressure inside your tyres isn’t changing with elevation - it’s a sealed system with the volume of the tyre and number of air molecules inside it remaining unchanged. It’s to do with how pressure gauges work; they account for ambient air pressure which does change on a slight curve with altitude, which I simplified to 0.45psi per 1000ft for the elevations I ride. So pretty much 1.5psi per 1000m.

If you’re setting your pressure at home and are ignoring temperature changes don’t worry about it. But if you’re measuring pressure on the trail 1500-2000m higher than home, for example because it warmed up a lot since you set pressures in the morning or because you flatted, accounting for this is important.

This is worth a read, and there's a calculator for what you should set at elevation (feet only, no metres) which confirms my rounded calculations well enough.

EDIT: Looks like that link above is dead. Shame, the calculator worked great. I was looking it up for reference while riding at lower elevations on a trip. Here is that website's page on how pressure gauges work if anyone is interested, and here is a chart of atmospheric pressure to elevation - look up atmospheric pressure at your reference elevation (eg. 14.7psi at sea level) then look up atmospheric pressure at higher elevation (eg. 12.7psi at 4000ft) then compensate that difference if you're resetting pressure at altitude. So in this example you would set 2psi higher at 4000ft to have the same pressure that you would set at sea level. As I posted originally I simplified to 0.45psi change per 1000ft (1.5psi per 1000m) for the elevations where I live and ride regularly (1000-2500m) but it looks like this will get you within 0.1psi anywhere. Enjoy, nerds!

Ditto on the short & wide Brisker fit.  My hands are an XXL length and L width and I usually compromise with XL in most gloves.  Briskers were way too short.  Leatt 2.0 SubZero fits a lot better, still not perfect for me but nothing except the old Specialized Lodown XXL has been.

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.

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.