rwalters profile

Hi Mike! I heard you might have some volume spacers I can borrow...

Bleeding 50 Reverbs a day sounds like a special version of hell.

If only one of us had a spare bazooka you could have borrowed for the knife fight.....

Where was LR when we went to the polls last month?? #missedopportunity

NZ is the only other locale I would consider living in outside of BC. The people and bike culture are the best in the world.

Riding bikes is hard!

I also keep a mental note of crashes and "near misses" that happen to me while riding. And while I'm sure there are some scenarios where clips might have saved the day, I am certain that the vast majority of my slip-ups would have had worse outcomes on clips. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm far more comfortable and confident pushing limits on flats.

One side benefit that I appreciate from exclusively riding flats is that you are forced to really pay attention to what your suspension is doing. If you want to ride really fast in rough terrain on flat pedals - your suspension must be really dialed. Clips allow you to be a bit lazy.

I really have more fun in all situations on flats, but I know I could ride a bit quicker on clips. If I were still racing seriously - I'd likely be on clipless pedals, simply because it's one less thing to worry about as your body is near full exhaustion, hanging on for dear life at the end of a race.

Gotta side with Coop on this one - I've had the misfortune of using the Canyon bottle a few times.

If you ride in muddy conditions, and you love getting a mouthful of dirt every time you take a drink of water, then this bottle is for you!

Nah, just the end of your article - seemed to imply that the gravity crowd is inevitably going to go electric, which is almost opposite to my experience on the shore.

As long as you give the crown / headtube area a good wipe down after a dusty / muddy ride, you shouldn't have any real trouble with wear. This might not be the case if you drive or shuttle on bumpy, dusty roads. If in doubt, just get some 3M frame saver on the contact points.

In the era of small bikes are cool, I decided to go bigger. I wanted a DH bike that I could pedal around on, and I think this bike comes pretty darn close. It's not light, it's not the best climber, but I can beat the absolute piss out of it, and it doesn't fall apart. 

Notables:

-Zeb Ultimate

-Float X2 Factory

-Nobl TR37s

-OneUp everything

-Codes, 220mm rotors

-Assegai, DHR2, Tannus Tubeless Armour

-11 spd. drivetrain

Posted by: Gdreej

I wonder if there's a reasonant frequency related to bigger rotors, more material to vibrate - seriously! My Old 200/200 Codes screamed when wet, but it's also likely you're heavy on the brakes, late, as you should be - instead of brake dragger Dreej here.

Ha, I've actually found that the best way to quiet them down is to very slightly drag them - even when you don't need them. You're in good company Dreej - apparently that's now Minnaar brakes as well.

I've always been a "brake as hard as you can for as short a time as possible" kinda guy - and that's probably not ideal to silence howling brakes.

Posted by: thaaad

I HATE the Sram gurgle/warble so so so much. So much that I'm thinking of selling my Code RSCs despite the brakes feeling and performing great. 

I'm tempted to try a different brand of rotor but I don't really want to drop a hundred bucks on rotors and it not make a difference.

My thoughts exactly. Experimenting gets expensive - especially if it doesn't yield results.

Posted by: craw

My 2020 Code RSCs gurgle a lot at lower speeds, which I find annoying. And the odd shriek if the rotors are still cold and wet but generally that doesn't last long once the rotors warm up. That being said I hate those noises.

I know the exact gurgling noises you're talking about! If I could get away with ONLY those noises, I'd be super happy!

Posted by: Brocklanders

Codes, Magura, Shimano. I have never had a squealing problem with OEM brand name pads. Bought some aftermarket cheapies and they made a hell of a noise, went directly into the garbage.

Wish I could say the same! I've had howling across the whole range of brand combinations. :(

I'm almost surprised I haven't seen more local discussion about this. Maybe I'm hopelessly incompetent when it comes to setting up my brakes, but it seems to be a very common problem on the shore - especially in the colder, wetter months. Riders I know just seem to live with it and expect it to be the norm these days. With bikes getting bigger, heavier and faster (and with bigger wheels), brakes have necessarily gotten more powerful. My new 29er needs all the braking power it can get, so I'm running Code RSC's with 220mm rotors (and yes, I do feel I need the 220mm rotors. I started on 200s, and was surprised to find that I definitely needed more power at the front. Maybe the 220 in the back is a bit overkill). My old 27.5 bike also experienced brake scream when they were cold and wet, but the new bike with bigger rotors is definitely worse. I've done every tip and trick in the book - rotors and pads cleaned with brake cleaner and/or alcohol (I can pretty much rule out any kind of contamination). I have my calipers pretty much lined up dead-centre with the rotors (this seems to be the most common suggestion online to fix howling brakes). All mounting bolts are tight, and loctited. I'm running metallic pads (I've tried both Sram pads and "off-brand" pads). Bike is a 2021 Specialized Enduro with a Zeb Ultimate. Wheels are Nobl TR37s.

I suspected that my howling brake dramas may have been related to the stiff carbon wheels I've been running - but I see buddies on aluminum rims with the exact same problems. And Shimano, Sram, it doesn't seems to matter - they all scream.

After they warm up and dry off, the howling usually goes away. But as you can imagine in the winter months, the brakes don't get a lot of opportunity to dry off.

Anyone have any tips or tricks? Would it make sense to try resin pads over the winter months? How about using 1 metallic and 1 resin pad in each caliper (I've heard of WC guys doing this - seems a bit desperate)? Does anyone have experience with another brake brand that is far better at keeping quiet compared to Sram or Shimano (while still offering the same power)? Curious to hear other riders on the shore with their experiences.

With all the dubious new standards coming out, maybe it's time the bike industry tried coming up with a more robust brake mount interface. My hunch is that while bikes have gotten stiffer, heavier, bigger, etc, and brakes have gotten more powerful - the mount is now the weak point in the system, and hasn't kept up with increasing demands.

Posted by: Pizza-Diavola

I've been on an e.13 9-46 TRS+ / 11s xtr combo for two years now, with no issues other than I just replaced the three al cogs. The x01 I had on my previous bike lasted 4+ years as my main ride. The e.13 is wearing quicker but I was able to keep it going.

Did the spider I sent you work out or did you find another solution?

Yes it did! Thanks again for sending it. I had to do a bit of custom machining on it to make it fit my bash ring, but it works well. I owe you a beer (or two or three!).

Agreed. Any metal-to-metal interface either gets grease - or loctite. I even grease threads on bolts that are not prone to coming loose.

Lots of good tips, thanks! I can't run a 28t front with my current crank/spider setup (only has 104bcd holes, which only goes down to 30t). I think my ideal solution would be the 10-46 SunRace XD - but it seems this cassette isn't available anywhere (discontinued??). If I can't find one of those, I'll wait till spring to grab the ethirteen TRS Plus 11.