Bushpilot profile

I put these on my hardtail recently (Magi X2 front, Gum X rear in 29.2.4) and have two rides on them. First was at Eagle in Port Moody two weeks ago and at Bear in Mission today. Both days it was below 7 degrees out. I think it was around 2 degrees when I rode Eagle and around 4 or 5 degrees at Bear today. Tires are set up on a 30mm internal rim with Tannus tubeless. I played around with pressure a bit but kept them in the range of 18 to 20 psi front and 19 to 22 psi rear.

I found them unnerving and, for a couple of moments, terrifying. Recent comparator setups were Continental Baron Projekt with Tannus and Cushcore Pro and also Maxxgrip Assegai Exo+ front and DHF Maxx Terra Exo+ rear (with Cushcore Pro). 

It feels to me like its really hard to find the sweet spot (at least in this weather) for this tire in terms of pressure where it feels compliant enough but not squirmy. With inserts I don’t have that problem with any of the other tires mentioned. I’m thinking I should have paid more attention to the commentary about these (especially the Magi X2) being not great (or worse) in the cold:

“Aggressive riding in dry conditions and rocky terrain suits the Magi-X² front but when it gets cold and damp, the softer Gum-X3D performs better. Warmer (15º C and higher) wet riding with the Magi-X² was great. This adds another cost and involves more time faffing with setups.”

I think I’ll pull these off and try again June 1st...

Hi Andrew. Are you aware of anyone making carbon levers for the Cura brakes? I recently switched to Cura 4s and they've been great but I definitely noticed the cold levers as compared to the carbon levers on my old brakes.

Peet dryer is the bee's knees.

I definitely left skin on that rock

From what I can tell, bar comfort seems to be pretty subjective.  Here's what outdoor gear lab had to say about the Deity Blacklabel bar:  

"They are plenty stiff even with a 31.8mm bore/clamp diameter, and the 800mm width provides ample leverage. Steering feels direct and precise, but maybe a touch too little compliance leaves these bars on the slightly uncomfortable end of the spectrum compared to bars that reduce vibration better like the Spank Oozy Vibrocore or Ibis Adjustable Carbon, both of which are designed around the 31.8mm clamp diameter. More comfortable 35mm options include the Santa Cruz Bicycles Carbon and RaceFace Next R bars.

We liked the sense of control provided by the stiffness of these bars, but couldn't ignore the hand fatigue generated by them over relatively short runs. They are stiff, and steering feels very direct with plenty of leverage for muscling the bike around at speed or through rock gardens. It didn't take long, however, for our testers to start losing feeling in their hands with the feedback that came straight through them."

I have a OneUp bar and a Rental Fatbar Carbon (35mm clamp).  The Renthal bar definitely feels more "precise" when it comes to steering input.  But I don't notice much difference in comfort between the two.  Maybe I'd notice more of a difference without Cushcore, good suspension and low-ish tire pressures...

Any chance you could explain the spray paint method? I had ‘ok’ luck using Renthal’s basic grip glue with their push-on grips and better luck using isopropyl alcohol (same method as ESI grips). I’m about to put on another set of fresh ultra-tacky push-ons and am curious about how this spray paint method works.

+1 for the Houdini.   Pretty decent water resistance, tough, weighs nothing, ok breathability and goes for $125 brand new (and you can often find a sale price).

"...hammer my one gear up No Quarter out of the saddle".  My body aches and I feel like barfing just reading that.

Very thorough and much appreciated.  The Öhlins fork is on my shortlist to replace what I’ve currently got. I haven’t ridden one yet though so I’m glad to see it’s on the list!

What are the other forks on your top three or four list?

Posted by: Bushpilot

Snow was starting to stick to the ground at the power lines on Seymour yesterday morning. Any idea if it stuck around / got worse?

Aaaand I’ll answer my own question. Just a whisper of snow on GSM and touch at the power lines as of today at 4:00pm.

Snow was starting to stick to the ground at the power lines on Seymour yesterday morning. Any idea if it stuck around / got worse?

I got 12s locally for an "acceptable" price. I now have 12s on one bike and 8s on another. The platform on the 12 is a bit bigger so there's a tiny bit more to "aim" for when clipping back in if it is rowdy. But that difference seems pretty negligible to me. I found the feel of the pedals when clipping in and unclipping to be exactly the same (when the pedals have no pins). The only real difference, other than the colour and the price, that I can tell between them having ridden both now is that the 12s allow 4 pins per side whereas the 8s only allow 2 pins per side. Because of the pin placement on the 8s (in front of the cleat) there's zero pin engagement on the 8s when clipped in. With the 12s you can set up the pins (behind the cleat) to contact the sole of your shoe when you're clipped in if you want to increase the "grip" / "secure" feeling without adding additional tension to the pedals. I paid double for the 12s what I paid for the 8s. I like the feeling of those pins behind my cleat contacting the sole of my shoes but that feeling doesn't magically double the value of the pedal to me. I need another set for another bike. I'll buy 8s again.

Other thing to note: I've noticed more pedal strikes with Time's design than I have with HT, Shimano or even Crankbros. I suspect these pedals are just that little but much thicker that I'm accidentally contacting stuff I used to clear.

Last thing: I love the "feel" of these pedals. The engagement is super positive and damp. It feels really solid and quiet. We'll see how they hold up.

Thanks for the replies. You’ve collectively twisted my rubber arm...bought a new helmet today.

Assuming NO impacts/crashes that would justify immediate replacement, how often do you replace your trail helmet? I’m also assuming trail style helmets that aren’t hard shell (i.e. POC Tectal, Oakley DRT5, Giro Montaro, TLD A2, etc).

I tend to use mine between 150 and 200 days per year and sweat lots so I tend to replace them about every 3 years because that “felt” about right to me for ages. I have no idea how quickly helmet materials degrade with sweat, dirt and UV though. 

Do you replace less or more frequently than that and why?

Posted by: grambo

The 12 is about $240CAD on sale, the 8 about $140 online.

Where might I find the 12s at that price?

Posted by: Jcway16

Thanks for all of the replies! 

I have noticed the DHRII mentioned quite a few times as a good front tire over the DHF. 

DHRII seems like it could be a good (and lighter) set-up front and rear. 

Does the DHRII front get rid of some of the vagueness that the DHF can have, or does it also have to be railed to really engage those side knobs?

I’m really looking for something that is going to feel locked in at all angles.

The DHR2 is indeed a good front tire. It brakes and corners well. I don't notice so much (or maybe am not bothered by) the DHF drift / float zone people talk about. In any event, the 2.4 DHR2 is narrower than a 2.5 DHF so I figure you might find the DHR2 less vague since you should be able to engaged the side knobs faster. I spent a lot of last summer on a DHR2 front and Dissector rear combo, both in 2.4. I'll probably do that again once it warms up and we see more sun.

Posted by: Heinous

The Dissector feels better everywhere than the Aggressor. The aggressor has always felt like a huge compromise that really only excels on liaison style climbs. The Dissector rolls really well. It does occasionally slip a bit climbing on tech stuff, due to the tight spacing, but pressure with help a lot with that.

This.

The Dissector is an excellent rear tire. It corners well, it’s fast, it’s light enough, braking and straight climbing traction are acceptable for a fast tire. Beware though: in my experience the side knobs of the regular Exo 29x2.4 version of that tire turned to garbage after about 100km of riding (knobs undercutting all over the place). I didn’t have that problem with the Exo + version in the 29x2.6. I rode the Aggressor for a little while and was pretty much underwhelmed in all conditions. I think the Rekon is better at being a fast tire than the Aggressor and doesn’t give up all that much in the cornering and stopping department. The Dissector is still pretty fast and I found it cornered better than the Aggressor or the Rekon.

Fromme update: 

As of yesterday at 4pm there were snowy patches at the switchbacks on Mtn Hwy (starting around the 3rd IIRC) but it was all pretty much climbable. Snowy / slushy around Leppard and mostly bare on Crinkum and below.

Posted by: Brother-Lu

Posted by: thaaad

Aren't the ERAs like 2 grand?

1480euro = 2295.64 Canadian pesos. Peanuts really.

Alba distribution handles EXT here. The ERA is on their website for $2499. Maybe a shop would sell it cheaper but that's the local MSRP.

And I still want one.