Andeh profile

On my current bike (Guerrilla Gravity), I had it mounted to the attachment points on the bottom of the top tube.  I'm assuming that the bottle's attachment to it's magnetic mount strip was flexy enough that the bottle was bouncing off the topside of the downtube.  But it could be vertical play within the magnetic catch.

On the previous setup ('19 Sentinel), I have no idea why it rattled.  My guess is the whole system was flexing or moving slightly.

My bikes are generally pretty quiet, and I'm aware of certain noises they do make, so when I change something and there's more noise, it drives me nuts.

I've tried Fidlock systems (the 2019 bolt-on version, and the newer bolt-on version with the flip cap) on two different bikes because I really like the clean aesthetic when you're not using a bottle.  Unfortunately, the bottles rattle like a shopping cart going downhill - deal breaker for me.

Yup, my kneepad tears are all from pedals catching while hike-a-biking.  I'm convinced it's a conspiracy by kneepad makers to make you buy replacements by making the backside out of something normally found in ladies' underwear drawer.

I'm on team "max grip."  The last couple years I've been riding Impact Pros, which are both super grippy, protective, and fit my flat feet well.  Current pedals are Tenet Occults (6 months use), which are even grippier than the OneUps I was on before that.  I don't race, and don't consider myself especially coordinated, so clips are never going to happen.  But I am very particular about my foot position on the pedal, which is the biggest downside to "max grip."  However, what I've found is that even if the position feels funny, with the "max grip" setup I can have my foot in pretty poor position and trust that I'm not going to come off in the bumps.

I'm sure I'm jinxing myself, but I haven't had so much as a scratch from pedal pins in the last couple years.  I frequently got those as a beginner, but as I got better about dropping my heels and switched to the Impact Pros, it stopped happening.

NSMB has been responsible for more than one purchase of things I previously didn't know I needed.

Unfortunately, in the opposite direction, WeAreOne indicated in a recent SingleTracks interview that their bike will be SuperBoost.  Bah!

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/dustin-adams-of-we-are-one-composites-shares-the-benefits-of-carbon-fiber-mtb-rims/

That falls into my "too slack / weird BB height" category.  With a 160 fork, you're at 63.3 HTA, 75.4 STA, and 346 BB height in Gravity mode.  Doing a mullet with Smash stays is slightly less slack (63.4 / 75.8 / 334) but I'd still like to see the numbers a bit more normal before I go buy a new rear wheel.

I've got it "short" forked with a 160, so it's theoretically at 64.2 HTA, 76.6 STA, 345 BB.  (I measured it once at ~64, ~77, 345.)

Fair point about the adjustment points.  It's the same issue with other geo flip chips - 90% of the time, everyone runs them in the slackest/lowest position.

I both agree and disagree with your points on chainstay length.  Agree:  longer is better, almost all of the time.  I've been riding a Gnarvana (with 450mm CS) the last couple months and the added stability feels soooo good when going fast, or in chunk.  Disagree:  I'd rather see a bike come with adjustable CS.  I think most manufacturers will hedge their bets towards shorter, so adjustable would let them spec it on the short side but me run it a bit longer.

I really think the next bike I buy will be designed as a mullet.  I've played around with a few conversions, but these invariably have issues that I don't like (BB way too high or way too low, HTA & STA way too slack).  I'm 5'8" / 172cm so I can and do ride a full 29, but it becomes a bit of a handful on tight, off camber corners.  When I've ridden mullet conversions, they've felt incredible on those types of corners.  They do feel less good on square edge chunk/holes, but there's not a ton of that where I ride, so I really think a proper mullet would be the "bike for trails I ride, not the trails I want to ride."  Ideally, GG will make a set of stays for a dedicated mullet, so I don't have to wait until 2023 to get this.  ;)

The Patagonia Landfarer shorts became my favorites this year.  No garish logos like Fox or TLD, light and super breathable while shrugging off the occasional butt-buzz of a 29er.  No fiddly waist adjust straps.  Perfectly designed hamstring cell phone pocket.  Cargo pockets for lightweight items like gloves, chap stick, or gummies.

I like the feel of their Dirt Roamer shirts but the fit is too snug for me.  The fit on their Capilene Cool Daily is more of a traditional "relaxed" fit that works a lot better if you're not a beanpole like AJ.  They're long enough in the back to be sufficient, but if they made a MTB version that was an inch longer in the back it'd be perfect.