ThadTheRad profile

I love my Timber Bells, I have the 22.2 variants and it fits quite nicely next to my left brake lever in such a way that I can turn it on and off without much faff even while riding though some really chunky stuff. So heckin loud though, can make my ears ring a bit after a long chunky descent, but its volume does have a purpose.

I've built up a couple singlespeeds with nearly every fastener (within reason) used a 5mm, even had a 5mm allen key taped to the seattube near the BB that I never actually needed to use. Was quite convenient, and the peace of mind going out the door for a quick rip without worrying about if I have tools was pretty great.

Update: Last night I was back at the co-op to make a DIY version of the Wolf Tooth ReMount 22 by hacking off the excess length from an old barend with similar clamp shape and offset, hoping to verify if it provided any better ergonomics and cleaner cable routing with the old style vertical mini dropper remote. In some ways I think it is a good option for those who are trying to tinker with/make the best of recycled parts for the absolute minimum cost. With the stubby KS vertical remotes its a bit uncomfortable on the thumb due to the short lever length, but certainly better than the standard orientation, and hides the ugly noodle housing below the brake lever body quite well with the right bend radius. But it's still nowhere near as nice to operate as the below-the-bar shifter paddle style options, but for the miniscule number of people who want an ambidextrous remote it sure is a hell of a lot cheaper than even a used CBros Highline remote.

I gave it several actuations in the parking lot and then decided to dig through some bins to do one last search for a better solution. I think modifying an old shifter provides an attractive ergonomics:cost ratio for the low low price of a few bucks or an hour or so of volunteer time (if someone has access to a decent co-op) but aesthetically it's quite bulky. But in a stroke of luck (mostly due to someone taking the initiative to organize and dedicate a bin to dropper remotes) I uncovered the X-Fusion BAT that I thought was already freed from the confines of the shop. I rescind my previous comment about it feeling plasticky, my memory has failed me because it is actually a quite nicely machined and minimalist aluminum clamp, and the lever has a pretty svelte profile and reliefs along the length to provide thumb purchase. The omni-directional deflection of the lever certainly is a unique feeling from the constrained planar rotation of a traditional remote, but it does not allow for any slop/play/backlash to develop like a bushing or bearing assembly as long as the cable tension is set properly. The simplicity of this mechanism does dictate the baseball-bat-like shape of the lever (it pretty much has to be symmetrical about the axis) and doesn't feel as nice on the thumb as a wide paddle, but otherwise I think the ergonomics provided by being able to push it in any direction by my thumb or pointer finger are wonderful. Not having a wide paddle doesn't feel great, but a bit of heat shrink helps. Now, I don't really think I would choose to use it on my more serious/capable mountain bikes, but for my singlespeed/townie/rigidfuckaround bike it is perfect and satisfies what I was looking for with right handed actuation, clean cable routing, and minimalist aesthetics. I'm bummed that they discontinued it but it's admittedly "worse" than almost all the current under-bar paddle remote offerings, and the number of cockpit-aesthetic-fixated singlespeeders who demand an ambidextrous lever to install on the same side as their rear brake for the sole purpose of marrying the housings with heat shrink is miniscule.

Now, if I only had a lathe I could really get into some fun stuff with this lever...

I've used this crankbrothers tool for like 7 years now, sometimes even under the influence of THC, and never noticed this.

This is the kind of bombshell mountain bike content I come here for.

I'll admit my installation frustrations were mostly a result of being rushed, inattentive, and trying to multi-task helping a customer at the local co-op while doing this. I did make measurements (I even busted out our newest tape measure and the ultra fine sharpie!) but the mistake I made was lack of confidence making me feel like I needed to leave the cable uncut past the cable clamp, and then when I fit the cable clamp into it's seat on the post actuator I mistakenly put the bent over excess cable "backward" in such a way that it drastically limited my ability to rotate the cable and pry open the actuator lever to get it back out of the assembly. Not to mention the 2 broken drill bits while making the hole on the backside of the direct mount derailleur reinforcement plate (steel) for cable entry into the seattube. I left my good and sharp drillbits at work and was pretty bummed when the co-op staff member informed me that the trashed bits that I was using were from the newest set that we were hoping to keep safe from the more "high wear" tool users.

Now I don't know if the higher end KS posts use a different actuator linkage part, but the one on the budget e10 models has caused me some pretty major frustrations as I have become more experienced with them, but with some measurement and proper order of operations I'll agree that they aren't too bad to install, but having the cable clamp at the actuator is pretty annoying for those of us who are more likely to make several smaller cuts to get the housing length juuuust right. They are a half decent low-budget solution within the limited options for 27.2 posts, but the next time I need a 27.2 dropper, I'm putting down the extra dough for the PNW Components options. Or hell, maybe I'll just use a Trans-X Jump Seat so I don't need to run a remote and cable at all.

I've got a couple singlespeeds and a few geared bikes at the moment, and I certainly still frequently make "ghost shifts" where I try to reach for shift lever that isn't there, kinda funny that I have this habit despite having spent faaaaar more time on singlespeed than geared due to it being my drivetrain of choice on my commuters. Funny enough having the lever for the dropper post on one of the SS bikes seems to have helped minimize this subconscious attempt to want a lower gear, even when I'm pretty gassed at the end of a ride.

I'm leaning toward the CB remote, and maybe considering a custom machined copy of the X-Fusion Bat, or maybe a modified SRAM adjustable-clamp shift levers on a bearing and cable stop assembly directly mounted to my cheap old avid cable brake lever via some new threaded holes.

Or maybe I'm overthinking it and should just run the mini thumb paddle I have and find a better cable noodle (or bend up some tubing) that suits the radius I need to get the housings mated neatly into the heat shrink. If I'm really itching to do some machining and metalworking I'm sure I could make a new lever that fits the bar clamp/pivot component to get the alignment and adjustment I want.

I actually setup a nearly identical clamped-cable-at-cable-end-stop as that DOSS lever, for the externally routed actuator on the KS e10 post on my partner's bike. Just took a few minutes of rummaging through the bolts and nuts drawer at the co-op but I'm not as satisfied with the looks, maybe I just need some anodized washers and more deliberately selected bolts though.

I was just installing a KS post that uses the annoying cable crimp assembly at the post end the other day and I was absolutely baffled by how much I struggled, and it wasn't even the first time I've installed this post. There is absolutely no reason that a crimp should be utilized in such a low clearance area that is inaccessable once the post in in the bike. You are forced to either bend the cable at the crimp and force the additional length into a small area with a tight radius bend that makes it difficult to even get the cable crimp stop into its seat of the actuator (which is also has a shape that is downright painful to pry open with your finger to do so) or you have to completely abandon the option of test fitting and adjusting your housing length and cut the cable to length with some serious confidence. It is completely asinine for those of us who end up making small adjustments to the housing length to get it just perfect. If I had a remote with a cable clamp I would have just clamped and superglued the crimp at the soldered end of a new cable and cut off the fixed stop at the opposite end so that length adjustments can be made at the remote end as they should be. I might tap some threads and add a clamping set screw to my remote and re-do it so that I can do it in the preferred manor.

For those of us with dropper-equipped singlespeeds who want to have as clean of cable routing as possible, it makes sense to run the dropper on the right side (or same side as the rear brake), so that these housings can be married with some heat shrink tubing and run to the same primary set of cable stops/guides or internal ports. In this case the Crank Bros lever is (maybe?) one of the only options in the more ergonomic shifter paddle style that is ambidextrous. This ambidextrous quality kinda limits maximizing the ergonomics of the paddle shape due to the requirement for symmetry, but it seems to me like a pretty good option for this case. There is also the (now discontinued) X-Fusion Bat and Yep Components JoyStick that satisfy this, but the Bat was too plastic-y for my preference and the JoyStick isn't readily available for me. I'm currently using one of these style ones, but I'm not really happy with the aesthetics of the cable noodle. If anyone knows of some other ambidextrous paddle-type options I'd love to hear em, I'm almost considering remove the ratchet mech and one of the levers on a trigger shifter but really don't like the bulk of that option.

I've been very anti-backpack for most of my time on a MTB. In my early days on a hardtail it was easy to carry everything I "needed" for a long ride on the bike, that being 2x 26oz water bottles, a tube taped to the main triangle bb junction, and multitool and patch kit in a small saddle bag (no dropper post at the time), maybe a couple of granola bars in my packets, when I needed to carry anything else I begrudgingly used a kinda mediocre Camelback daypack. 

Now I always carry some additional gear like a first aid kit, packable jacket, knee pads, analog tire gauge, bear spray, and more snacks so a hip pack makes a lot of sense, but if I put the hydration reservoir in it, it gets a bit cumbersome and unstable, and never seems to sit right on my skinny hips. I recently retired that 15 year old Camelback and treated myself to a Mystery Ranch Scree 32 pack, with adjustable size, internal frame, and well padded hip straps, all features that were lacking on my old pack, and whaddayaknow, now I don't mind wearing a pack. My back certainly gets sweatier than the hip pack, but my hydration reservoir is larger and more stable, I can carry camera gear, everything in my normal kit with room to spare, and I'm even able to strap a shovel or rogue hoe to it without much fuss, and its more stable and comfortable than my hip pack. I've never really considered shelling out for a nicer daypack since I felt they were better suited for hiking, which I was fine using a pack without as much features or refinement given how infrequently I go hiking. 

I will also admit my silly hypocrisy of me being averse to using a pack for actual mountain biking despite the hundreds of miles of silly street hits, wheelies, townie xc trails, and rushed commuting I did in college while wearing a completely unsupportive "casual" laptop backpack (didn't even have a hip strap).

I'm a big fan of what Wolftooth is doing. On my big squishy bike I run the B-Rad bottle shift and a Fidlock bottle, while I don't run a shock with a piggy back and still would have clearance for a 22 oz bottle and classic bottle cage without it, the B-Rad makes for easier access to both the bottle and the pump. On my fatbike/hardtail I run the 2 slot so that I can shift my bottle down the downtube to get as close to the seattube as possible and allow more clearance for a non-custom frame bag, clearance is still a bit tight between the nipple of the bottle and the bag, so I may try out the Double Bottle adapter. The only gripe I have is the use of t25 torx fasteners, despite being a big fan of Torx bits in most other applications, a low profile hex drive head would be preferred so that a ball end hex driver could be used, it's the kind thing where you really don't need to be accessing the fasteners often but if you don't have the ideally sized/shaped t-25 tool it can be a pain in the butt, however I do appreciate that Torx is a more durable solution for low-profile screw heads compared to a 4 or 3mm hex.

I think there are certain applications where a King Cage bottle lowering cage would achieve the same result in a lower profile. Or installing some extra m5 rivnuts if you have the tooling, clearance, and confidence. But the B-Rad system is a truly great solution for 95% of mounting quandaries.

Hail Boognish

Posted by: snowsnake

The combination of trails in town where I live in Alaska are incredible on a hardtail - basically the only reason I own a full-sus is for long distance backcountry stuff. Lots of folks around here just squish their way around the XC trails on long travel enduros, and there’s definitely a bit of stigma towards hardtails. The bike I’ve spent the largest portion of my riding career on was a Trek Marlin 7, which admittedly isn’t the most capable hardtail, but was plenty for me to ride (almost) everything I wanted to around here. One of the only negative experiences riding a MTB that’s stuck with me is a couple years ago someone I know saw me out riding on that bike and literally told me to “get a real bike”, which has only spurred me on to ride harder on my hardtail. My full-sus has been down for maintenance for a bit now, and I’ve been really enjoying the hardtail-only life again - though an interesting discovery I’ve made is that I much prefer the ride feel of aluminum 27.5+ wheels to carbon 29ers without rear suspension to add some give.

Anchorage perhaps? I made a trip out there last summer to visit a friend and stole his girlfriend's bike for a day, rode from his apartment near Westchester Lagoon all the way down the paved Coastal Trail to Kincaid Park and we tried to ride as much of those genuinely fun undulating "cross country" trails as we could, and all the way back on paved trail...

...and I was on her 150mm travel Norco Sight and my buddy on his 170mm Trek Slash. That was pretty par for the course it seemed, only saw two hardtail riders all day, one on a hardcore HT and one on an XC bike. My buddie's been trying to convince me to make the move up there and I think I could maybe justify getting rid of my big squishy enduro bike and just having my Kona Woo with a winter fatbike wheel and rigid fork setup and summer 29er+ and suspension fork setup. Super jealous of the moisture y'all get in the summer, and the lighted trails in the winter seem like one of the best way to get some reprieve from cabin fever, but my buddy does complain a lot about how fucking cold his rides to work are in the winter, but he claims it's still better than driving during that part of the year.

Best part of that ride may have been the entertainment provided by all the tourists on rental hybrid e-bikes on the coastal trail, zig zaggin with each pedal stroke, pushing the bike up a hill, or being unaware of a giant moose blocking the trail. My pal gave that lady a good fright when he told her to stop and that if she went any further she would most definitely get gored by Alaska's most agressive land animal.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Woo with -2° sounds great. Do you ever find yourself thinking you'd want something longer and slacker? Progressive fat bikes seem to be entirely the realm of custom builders.

In it's stock form the Woo has a 483mm reach in a size L compared to my 2019 Commencal Meta TR with a 475mm reach in a L, so it is certainly plenty long enough and I do think the extra ~1cm of reach is noticeable, could also be due to the reach of my Meta being shorter than the stated 475mm given the geo chart is for a shorter fork than the 150mm I'm running. I've heard some discrepancies between the geometry charts and the actual fork length that is specced with the Meta TR. At first I thought it felt too long (compared to what I am used to on the Meta), so I slammed the seat forward and have a short stem and bar with some healthy backsweep to push my hand position back.

Stock rigid fork on the Woo has a 515 A-C vs and a 130mm 29er for runs 541mm, which luckily enough comes out to 515mm at 20% sag. With the 2° angleset it's still not quite as slack as something like the Honzo or some other progressive hardtails, but it seems like it is well suited to my intentions for the bike. I would be very curious to measure what the actual sag comes out to with the fork and headset changes I have made.

I think the trend for fatbikes to err on the side of steeper headtube angles is a pretty valid choice given that the typical fatbike ride is pretty slow going and more XC-like. Riding in snow and riding a loaded bikepacking bike (the uses that seem to be most common for fatbikes) is a much much different experience than riding the fast downhill speeds that have pushed bikes to slacker and slacker headtubes, even when the opportunity is presented to let it rip on the downhills it's still nowhere near the speeds and steepness on most mtb trails. I think the Woo's geometry is a good middle ground that could work well for a pretty wide variety of uses, its long enough to not be considered "dated", the chainstays can be short enough to be playful or long enough to provide a bit of stability, and the head tube is steep enough to provide sharp handling at slow speeds in snow, but can slacken up just enough to be well complimented by a 130mm (or maybe 140mm) fork. And to be completely honest I probably don't even ride enough to make much of a valid opinion on what the best geo for a 4 season bike would be.

Probably voids Kona's lifetime warranty to run an angleset, but I forgot to submit that info when I bought it anyway.

On Progressive Fatbikes.

A couple years back because of covid restrictions I decided it wasn't worth it to get a ski pass, so for the first time in 15 years I needed something to do in the winter other than skiing and I decided it was a good enough excuse to get a fatbike. I found myself a smokin deal on a Kona Woo that a local shop had stolen some drivetrain parts off of in order to to get a customers bike fixed at peak bike part shortage times, and just my luck I had everything I needed in my parts bin to get it built up. I was really attracted to the long reach and short and adjustable chainstays of the Woo and that it didn't seem like it's geometry was too XC. Took it on a couple of dirt trail rides in the fall, a couple of snowy rides on highly trafficked winter singletrack, some lunch-break townie trail rides, and a single ride on a groomed XC trail. In it's stock rigid 26x5" fatbike form it was pretty fun on dirt despite the odd steering characteristics that arise with 5" tires on hard surfaces, an absolute blast on (the right) snowy singletrack, lovely for townie trail rides, but I found it boring on wide groomed trail and complete overkill/too sluggish for (my specific) winter commuting. I didn't ride it as much as I thought I would but still had a blast on it. I did some back to back testing against my buddie's fatbike from 2015 with much more XC geometry and they were worlds different, completely different capabilities and truly the only similarity between the two was that they both had gobs of traction, the Woo's geometry was just better able to utilise that traction in an engaging/fun riding experience. The following winter I had a ski pass again and didn't go on a single fatbike ride throughout the entire winter, skiing was just so much better for getting that adrenaline rush I need than fatbiking could provide despite how fun the Woo proved it was to ride. I took it on a few evening smoke sesh rides on neighborhood paths here and there, but it really didn't see the use it deserved, never commuted on it either. After a long and unfruitful wait to try and order parts to lace up a 29er wheelset for it, I lucked out and found a used wheelset with 197mm rear and 110mm front Hope Pro4 hubs laced to 35mm internal width rims. I bought a -2 degree Wolftooth angleset, some TRP Slate T4 brakes (the stock resin-only shimano 2 piston were not my jam), slapped in a 130mm air spring in my Revalation taken off my FS bike, stuffed on Cushcore Plus and 3" Surly Dirt Wizards and got it all re-built ready to rip some dirt. Holy shit it is a fun bike, especially after falling into the trap of lazy-line-choice that my FS bike provided it really provided some new challenge to my local trails and is an absolute hoot to ride, and it really confirmed that it's initial purchase wasn't completely impulsive.

So for someone who is wanting a hardtail for dirt riding, and also happens to live somewhere with winter riding opportunities, an agressive fatbike with two wheelsets is a pretty great solution and in my opinion is worth the "downside" of the wide q factor and semi-niche hub spacing. It may not be the silver bullet to provide the motivation to actually ride in the winter, but it certainly can be a tool to scratch that itch if you've got the right trails for it. The Kona Woo has been pretty great for that for me. However if your winter riding needs are only commuting and riding packed snow trails and paths, it might make more sense to just get a bike that can fit a 3" studded tire and not bother with all the faff of fatbike hub spacing, multiple wheelsets, and different forks, a plus bike is likely a more practical 4 season bike for a lot of riders.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: ThadTheRad

Am I remembering correctly of a MEATengines post during peak of bike part shortages about the rarity of SRAM self extracting crank caps? Last weekend I went out for a little hike to scout out snowmelting progress on the most popular trail near me, and lo and behold the one piece of trail litter I discovered was a SRAM Dub self extracting cap.

HA! Yes, Don't Cap Yourself.

Turns out our friend Will up at Republic had hoarded them all up like toilet paper. He sent me a photo of the nice pile of them.

Aha, wonderful! That post was the first thing I thought of when I recognized it's distinct shape embedded in the moist soil.

I immediately stashed it away in a dark corner of my local co-op, patiently waiting for the day that someone comes in with theirs missing and I can dart back into the staff room to grab it, making sure to let them know how lucky they are that we had one in the shop. As the nature of a bicycle co-op or DIY shop is more suited to older bikes with more ubiquitous and recyclable componentry, the satisfaction of not having to tell someone that we do not have any of whatever propriety and hyperspecific part they need and will need to source a new item (likely with some degree of scarcity these days) for their modern mountain bike component is a deeply satisfying and overwhelmingly rare experience.

Am I remembering correctly of a MEATengines post during peak of bike part shortages about the rarity of SRAM self extracting crank caps? Last weekend I went out for a little hike to scout out snowmelting progress on the most popular trail near me, and lo and behold the one piece of trail litter I discovered was a SRAM Dub self extracting cap.