OwenFoster profile

Thanks for this guys.  Play safe

My impression of what drives the real a-holes is not adrenaline or to 'zero in and forget anything but the trail' at all.  It's not even a part of it I'd assert.  

Closer to the genuine motivations AND internal monologue before-during-after the effort or these types are;

'I'll get the KOM' 

'The post I'll make today about how rad I am will get so many likes' 

'My Insta story should have the floating SAVAGE logo on it with a selfie of how sweaty I am at the top of the climb, yeah that's perfect'

'I'll show everyone who follows my Strava that I just did a causal 50kms form my house, no big.  I'm a goddamn champion!'

Love this so much.  Matt's a gem and is also very fast.  6th in pro at the Squamish Enduro this year... ON THIS BIKE.

The option is there on all drop downs worldwide now.  They will show as SOLD OUT for about he next 36h in the US and International stores while the software syncs.   You can sing up for an in stock notification and you'll here as soon as they are ready to ship, again that is by Friday of this week.

Canadian store is fully operative.

White 2003 Balfa BB7 w 5th Element Shock, Brake Therapy, Boxxer Team, Mag30s and Intense Rubber.  Such a weapon for sending your carcass off silly old freeride features.

I was at the bank taking out the cash to buy the next bike (the Very First Reign X1, 2006) and the teller, a young guy asked me what the wad was for.  Cheeky I thought, but I was i n such a good mood en route to soon-to-be new bike day that I indulged him.  He followed up with 'are you selling your old bike?'  

The serendipity of exchanging my beloved Balfa for a different wad of banker money later that evening makes for a good story but to this day I wish I had kept it.  10+" of single pivot rowdy was just such fun.  The travel ended when the saddle was in the tire.  26 may be dead but I'd still shuttle it.

It's all just so personal with stoppers isn't it?

I was advised to try Magura MT7s from a friend recovering the use of this arms after a C-spine injury, he found they had 'the most power for the least effort'  

I found this true and the application of the clamp to the rotor really jived with me.  A lot less on/off than typical Shimano yet more confidence inspiring than a sram dish sponge.  

The issue was the levers.  I found myself not a fan of the feel, material choices, durability, bleed porting or even the look / industrial design.  Having a real love for Shimano brakes and the wanting to match the group for which I already had m9000 cranks, mech, chain and originally cassette (OneUp'd to 11-45) I purchased some M9000 trail levers and cut the MT7 levers loose.  

I wouldn't ascribe magical powers to the hacked setup but I did immediately have the ability to cast spells on forest gnomes causing them to burst into chorus, have won the lottery 52 weeks in a row and last month I cracked the sky with a wink and a nod.  Probably unrelated... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_experience

lol

Haha.  Yes, Matt's set up is legendary as well for sure.

Non-clutched is a winner. A few years ago I set up a Chromag Aperture as a 2x1. Using a Zee short cage/DH mech with no cable to both tension and allow the growth between a 30t and a 36t narrow wide 104 ring (bolted to each other sandwiching the tabs)

The 20t Surly cog out back made for a reasonable, mostly seated climb at 20/30 but with a hand shift at the top I'd have a great charge gear for down or around town at 20-36. 

It was an odd solution but allowed for a very versatile big with the fun of SS. 

Its fun to craft a franken toy.

Big wide flow highways make sense to discuss/sanction given their half life and potential impact. Wee little seasonal single track? Overkill. The list of problems with unauthorized trail building that FLNRO lists is laughably synonymous with all forestry, ATV use, hiking trail development, approach trails to climbing/bouldering, surveying/steak laying. All of it.

Personally all I want is to move some logs out of the way of a natural weave through some bespoke mature forest and maybe rake a bit. The rest is the bastion of rubber and repeat punctuated by touch up maintenance on the most miserable of days for riding. When its proper f'd you can either do the real work of making a sustainable version of it with buckets and effort OR just shut the damn thing.

Sanctioned trails are for aging. Parks and Rec Sites is the department of trails which will get old. Crown land is for all, working to make the woods in your backyard a better place is IMBYism and should encouraged approved with a signature from Victoria or not. I truly wish every wingeing bleeding heart laptop virtue beckon would just go rake a trail or cut drainage the next time they want to bite the hand that feeds and blame builders for a 'problem' that doesn't exist.

Blame it on The GnarSeekers. Its not the fault of the folks visiting town asking Armand or Al the best trails after Rupert and The GarbageBear to ride... oh no, they still have much to vacation ride which contain the 3 principal tenets needed in order to be Legal; wide, golden, and low angle. Those winding and predictable flowing tourist traps are real infrastructure and will not go away once built, much like a road. There is most certainly a reason to measure twice cut once so-to-speak and make sure all these big old bastards are sanctioned.

This is my first comment on NSMB so lets see its not too provocative to post. haha

Cheers gang, good talk.

Owen