MattyB profile

Gay marriage was not legalized in Canada unitl 2003, in the US until 2015, and not until December 2017 in Australia. Until 2020 you could be fired from your workplace because of your sexual orientation in the US. In 2016 a man killed 49 LGBTQ+ people in a gay club in New Orleans. further, LGB youth are 5 times as likely to to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth. The 'crusade for liberation' is not a long dead fight, its an ongoing campaign for protection from discrimination, and equality. To claim that no one cares about a persons sexuality is a vastly flawed generalization.

I'm in a very fortunate position where I am able to share my story with the world without of being rejected by those close to me. I am proud of who I am and I celebrate my differences. Since 1903 when being gay was a crime we've progressed a lot. That progression was earned through riots, activism, and allyship; today I'm using this article as a means to continue driving the conversation.

I'm sorry you didn't take more from the article, I hope you took something from this response because thinking like yours is contributing to holding the world back.

Thanks Sam, it's been really great to see all the positive feedback. I hope we can cross trails sooner than later!

Thanks, writing this was a huge battle of trying to say I wanted to say while still feeling comfortable sharing the story with the world.

I rode clipped in for the first couple years until one day I went to my local bike park with the intention of trying flats out. I brought clipless shoes and pedals with me, but forgot a pedal wrench and I haven't really ridden clipped in since. I really like the direct connection feeling of flats through corners and clipless has always given me anxiety of clipping out unexpectedly ever since.

Commenting on a couple points made in your article, the rim strips are definitely hit or miss depending on tire brand, I've found that if you are aware of that you can tell by how the tire is going on if you will need to tape it to get material out from under the bead seat. 

Working in a shop setting I've seen drive ring failures in these hubs, its most common in large riders powering up rocky climbs with lots of traction, but I will also state that its a fairly low percentage and the Trek warranty department is amazing to work with to get people rolling as quickly as possible

It's been a while since I ran egg beaters, but I remember them having a very vague transition from the end of float to the beginning of release. I guess it doesn't matter I spend most of my time on flats now anyways

I will argue that for lots of markets organic pads are acceptable. What I don't find acceptable are shimano's resin only rotors, I managed to destroy a pair in less than a season

I always try to be very friendly to all the people I see while out on the trails, I mean I'm playing bikes why wouldn't you be cheery. 

When I went on a solo riding trip to Moab I always managed to find a riding just by chatting at the trailhead and being nice to people as they went by. Met a group of doctors from california, and their friends from detroit. Met a nice couple and their australian friend as we goofed around down the enchilada.

Saying hi to people isn't just a nice thing to do, you can meet some rad people that are gonna make you ride more enjoyable.

I actually had an issue with the Chainsaw fender on a boost Lyrick. The arch was so wide that the fender didn't have enough of a curve to it and the tail could flop a little bit. Hitting rougher trails let the fender hit the tire and it was a bit terrifying

I managed to destroy a pair of X-talon 190s in 2 months. They were fucking fast for orienteering racing though

I haven't had a ton of riding on the bike yet, I bought Chromag's demo bike when in whistler on vacation got a couple days riding and waiting for it to be shipped to Ontario for me to enjoy it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/H6uE8HCYKgtbxpJ4A

The bike rides amazing, its surprisingly flickable for being such a monster truck. The front end is quite manageable while climbing, and 3" of tire on the ground provides all the traction you need for rooty climbs. One thing that surprised me is that when I took it into the bike park the huge diameter and tire volume just eats up braking bumps and I was riding flow trails way faster than I was on my trek slash. Going downhill the bike is awesome, it definitely still rides like a hardtail, but having the big tire is enough to take the edge off and tire you out less descending. Overall, I don't think I've ever been this happy or excited about a bike purchase before.

I just picked up a chromag arcturian, amazingly capable bike, I was always a fan of the trek stache, and this just shreds harder;

newer posts will have the fix in them, the added a sprung washer under the seal to press it into its seat

I actually know quite a few of the 9point8 guys, they recently solved the air leak issue with an updated mainseal, I think there is a press release posted somewhere, I've had the fix in my post for the past 6 months and it hasn't skipped beat