DadStillRides profile

For anyone else curious about those bars, the brand actually appears to be called Terrain Control Industries. Bars look nice! Too bad they don't come in a larger rise option.

Taking your argument/thought experiment a step further, couldn't it be said that carbon is the superior material for what you desire in a front triangle too? We all like the subtle flex/damping characteristics of steel, but I've been wondering lately with all the specific traits manufacturers are able to achieve with carbon design, layup, weave if they couldn't mimic the feel of steel, but you know.. do it better and lighter (I say all this as the owner of an aluminum full-sus, steel hardtail, and steel dj).

I used a pair of gp1s on both my commuter/cross bike and mtb for a couple weeks several years ago when I had a broken pinky and couldn't bend it around a normal grip. They worked great for this purpose. Like others, I wasn't a fan of how often the grip wasn't situated at the perfect angle during points in a ride and immediately switched them off for a normal grip once all my digits were working properly. On the other hand (pun intended), my wife has had these or similar on her mtbs over the last 7 or 8 years and loves them.

Yeah, that's what I thought when looking at those sq labs images. Do my wrists angle like that? No, their bars must be too wide. Are wide bars even still fashionable?..

Agree on the hardtail efficiency myth. I was surprised to find I was faster climbing my full sus on my nearest trail network, and I think you're spot on that it's the difference between taking weight off the saddle a bit over even small roots and rocks that you'd just monster truck through with rear travel.

Interesting article. I agree on almost all points. It was touched on a bit with the comments about the recent blur review, but the findings assume an average terrain where climbing and descending are nicely separated. There is a lot of traversing with little ups and downs on many of my local trails, and a lighter bike makes a real difference maintaining speed (this being said by someone who rides a banshee with alloy wheels that's never been weighed, so I'm talking light within reason). If you're so lucky to live in a place like the shore, by all means build your bike to maximize the fun part.

BTW, I tried to buy a pair of those Newmen wheels for my hardtail, but didn't have luck finding them in the states (or really anywhere) when I was searching this spring.

FWIW, enve seem do a great job designing compliance into their bars. I had always scoffed at their prices, but after riding a coworker's bike with the enve dh bars, I understood the value proposition. They are expensive, but they are also the most comfortable bar I've ridden. I later toured their facility when I worked down the street (albeit a decade ago), and there was some shade thrown on companies switching to the 35mm clamp and putting out handlebars that are way too stiff. They put a lot of effort into getting the perfect flex before it was an aspect many riders considered, and I doubt they've deviated on that.

But triflow

I also had a MoCo Revelation that came in 130 on my Ragley Piglet. Similarly felt the need to switch it out. After looking at all the options I just swapped out the damper to a charger 2.1 and "upgraded" to the new properly designed debonair spring. I have been surprised how much this has improved the ride without increasing travel. Might be worth checking out if you still have the revelation and want to put it to use again. Mods required less than $300 (USD) and an hour in the garage if you know what you are doing (longer for me).

Beautiful bike! Love the mix and match variety with the components.

One thing I'm curious about is the rear suspension. Seems like with all the advanced designs available, a fairly standard linkage driven single pivot would be the least favorable option, yet people love commencals and marins (and some konas) that have them. Is the shock that good at making up for some of the less than desirable single pivot attributes? Is it because it's bordering high pivot territory? or am I missing something else entirely?