dorkweed profile

this man has his priorities right.

Largely true - Vancouver has among the highest property crime rates in North America. It was Miami when I lived there in the early 2000s (and got my bike stolen, house broken into, etc) but Vancouver appears to have won the war and superseded Miami's crime rates!  It's been a few years since I checked - latest data simply says Vancouver among worst three cities in North America.

I'm just a joey here and not a tester, etc, but I have friends who have been bashing about these wheels for a while and are happy with them.  All the ARC series of rims (alloy, carbon, offset, narrow, wide, etc) seem to be holding up well (ie. they are not indestructible) but folks seem happy with them.  I can't speak to what nipples/spokes, other than suggesting brass nipples for reliability and ease of service.

Makes sense 100%.  I get it and thanks Uncle - I enjoy your work.

I've seen some OE pricing and you must admit, it has the capacity to shock someone.  I'm not persuaded everyone in the current value chain is actually adding that amount of value.  The markups in the industry are pretty remarkable. That said, it leaves room for startups like one-up, among others.

Fair. I'm still not persuaded that "everybody does it" is a good enough reason to not post the bikes/spec in question here, but I'll move on. I also get the balance companies are trying to strike between cost and performance, so on that note, would be interesting to know the OE costs on some of these tires.  I bet a high-end Maxxis can be had for about $30 and for $10 at the low-end. Thanks for your reply.

Dave - why the redaction in this article?  I assume it's to protect advertisers which frankly bums me out - especially in an article from a hard-hitting journalist such as yourself.  It feels like the criticism here is ultimately pretty mild, so if you're self-censoring here, what else is being censored?  Would you/NSMB write a crap review of the new Enduro if it sucked?

I had this exact feeling yesterday when out for a ride. Bikes, tires(!), suspension, geometry, it's all so much better now, and I think I'm at/near peak at 46... It's awesome...

I tore mine badly (I forget the grade) in the WBP, but I lived in New York City at the time.  I went to visit a young hotshot orthopedic surgeon in Manhattan and I'll never forget what he said: I'm an othorpedic surgeon! I get paid to cut people open! I love doing it! ... But I can't recommend you get surgery for this. 

And I think he was right.  I did a ton of physio the first 10 weeks and went riding that fall.  Since then I ride semi-regularly and I rarely think about my shoulder. Only when I have to sleep on a hard mattress, and carrying a large pack when skiing.  No regrets on not having surgery. I think it could be better than it is, but I do almost nothing to take care of my body, other than ride and ski - no weights or other training, and I'm sure I would benefit from it if I did so...  Maybe when my kids are older.