taprider profile

Looking forward to reading more

Yes

Regarding kinematics, a smaller chain ring (at least on my bike) has greater anti-squat. So shifting with a front derailleur to a larger chain ring for downhill results in free-er moving kinematics, then shifting to a smaller chain ring for the uphill results in less bob.  Best of both worlds ;-)

what is that music?

is it a question for Uncle Dave?

Not much action in the comments section this week.

Where is the usual Uncle Dave controversy?

maybe next week might be Ear Buds vs Ear Worms for bikepacking

+1 for not having a dangle mug

Find or make your own route that you hit a town late afternoon, load up with a hot meal and wrap left overs in tinfoil or put in a sealed pot, beers in your bladder (with ice if needed) then climb a trail out of town and camp high and enjoy your beer before sleep.  The next day will hopefully be mostly single track along a ridge or on a high plateau, before dropping downhill to the next town at the end of the day and repeat.

I completely agree with you about being pro-backpack for actual bikepacking on mtn bike or hiking trails.

Initially bikepacking was defined as multi-day self supported rides on trails, and multi-day rides on gravel or pavement was just called "bicycle touring". But over the past 5 to 10 years, "bikepacking" has increasingly been redefined to mean gravel biking with luggage (so how is that different from what bicycle touring was back in the 1960s and 70s?). To me it feels almost as bad as how e-biking is being pushed as being real mountain biking.

Bikepacking on actual mtn bike, hiking, horse or game trails is really dammed hard and likely only appeals to the strongest and weirdest 10% (kind of like Red Bull Rampage appeals to lots of mountain bike riders, but less than 0.01% can actually do it).

So does the original definition of bikepacking need a new term to distinguish it from "gravel"? Enduropacking or something? ;-)

You fooled me Andrew
At first I thought "William S." was going to refer to William Shakespeare and Andrew would provide some witticism like "Lord, what fools these mortals be!", “Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat.” or “You Banbury cheese!” or something

Bike Standards
is an oxymoron

Posted by: thaaad

I always thought aluminum was metal.

Interesting.

As well, just plain aluminum is not alloy ;-)

the Coquihalla was not open for travel during construction

I second the previous comment that liners give sidewall support. So could consider the weight of a 25mm rim plus light liner might equal a 30 mm rim without liner.  A liner that squishes down between the beads, filling up all the internal volume of the rim channel, can act as a bead lock too.

is harmonics the reason that Shimano centrelock rotors have a rubber plug bolted to the back of one arm?

Posted by: bux-bux

... Cypress ... built that really cool monorail ride thingy.

Not as cool as the old Alpine Slide roller bob sled, but after someone was killed I think they were all shut down

One layer of as thin a tape as possible is best for troublesome inserts

So is there anything thinner, but as strong as Stans or Tesa?

WOW, incredible that you are alive

you must be one tough nut such that the van was totaled and not you

@Ride.DMC

you were wearing a helmet during that van crash?

I guess you were shuttling

Posted by: boomforeal

To be fair, I think he was pretty surprised I considered the tyres worn out as, like many on here I suspect, I'm anal as hell about my bike, can't deal with the slightest bit of wear and get depressed if I have to go a week without upgrading.

fyp

After riding in Churn Creek (a long time ago) with friends, I took our multi-time flatted tires to the N Van "Co-op" to dispose into the pile by the door, and immediately a guy/customer began picking through them for the ones that still looked good on the outside. I told him they are full of cactus thorns and you will need hundreds of patches to make them work, and even with tubeless sealant they will look rabid. He said he will just cut his patches into 4 and make them work.

Now when I have a tire that has been ridden in cactus country, I take tin snips and cut through the beads to save some fool their time and glue or sealant.

Re -dishing (or less dishing)  is a good idea, it makes for more even spoke tension both sides, and because the spacing is all on the brake side it moves the cassette outwards for a better chain line

But maybe your spokes are too short on one side or too old, new spokes are still cheaper than a new high end hub.