Kevin26 profile

Thankfully I wear riding kit a lot more often than my suit.

The consensus I get is; not cool look,  and vast majority of them are really uncomfortable. 

I've got skinny arms so unless they're tightened like a blood pressure cuff (and most of them don't have straps that will tighten them properly anyway) all elbow pads become wrist guards on a rough downhill.

Lululemon men's athletic underwear is a great option too.

I think it's all a personal preference/fit thing. With the right saddle it's easier to ditch it, and might depend on your bum too.

I agree and think just survival riding and ticking off trails can lead to a skill 'plateau'

Mmhmm snowmobiles are the only motorized sport I've had experience with and they make mtbing look cheap too. Add the logistics of storing/transporting, and lining up the good weather days with good partners to go with means its hard to get the same fun per dollar as a mtb.

I've heard of that happening and check mine once in a while, has always been fine.

Yeah my big 'too much gear' pack I'll bring sometimes when I know we're going with a big group with people that are newer and usually have something wrong with their bike... Lo and behold "hey Kevin do you have a shock pump/spoke tool/bandaid/chain lube etc" it's like I could see the future. But on my own or go-to riding buddies that are keeners the minimalist set up has worked 100% of the time so far.

Very similar to my 'usual' set up although I don't have the one up pump so multi tool in pocket, tire plugs and a few zip ties strapped with the tube. Plus spare hanger and quick link taped snugly to seat rail. 

Also will bring out a big evoc pack for certain rides that fits the "too much" description to a T and might have the kitchen sink tucked away in the bottom. But needed for my guiding gig in the summer, rides where help is far away, etc. I do get a kick out of it when I save the day with something weird in there though.

Wonder if there's a way to do a hidden pump. Topeak does one that hides in a (non dropper) seat post. But then again anything that tiny would be probably be a terrible pump.

Pants are high on my list too, heard good things about the race face agent, and the fox options look good too, they're all expensive though :(

Pretty sure Assegai exists in a exo+ maxx grip, maybe try that? I can't really help because I always just go back to DHFs after trying anything else haha,

Posted by: Sanchez321

. proceeded to eshew climbing for descending joy and gnarly lines (or as gnarly as they could be in Victoria's "Dump") 

Hey there is some legit gnar in and around the dump!

I disagree on learning on a 'lesser' bike or hardtail, I think it would hold you back especially sea to sky and lower mainland. If you're keen to do lessons to get started that will help your learning curve way more anyway.

Best sources for used bikes are pinkbike's buy n sell, and Facebook marketplace and a few buy n sell pages. But I think you should get a sweet new bike, and start building a relationship with a good shop.

Posted by: syncro

I'd start with spending $2K on something used but relatively modern just to give yourself an idea of what you want to get into. After about 6 months you can then sell it for close to what you paid for it and move into what you really want. I'm a big fan of going used and having multiple rides for different types of terrain than going new and having just one ride to try and cover everything. The added bonus is that if your main ride goes down due to repairs you still have another bike to ride.

Except when I sold a used bike (for 2600) last summer I had 40 messages in a day and people were practically fighting over it... Reasonable used bikes and budget new ones might be tough to find. And a high end 150m(ish) trail bike would do a darn good job covering everything!

I would agree on book rental+lesson, either endless biking (north van), or squamish and Whistler have lots of good companies too. and you'll get hooked (obviously) so buy whatever ~150mm or so travel trail bike (kind of the sweet spot for lower mainland/sea to sky) you can find, with your pretty big budget you'll have a chance at finding something although bikes are kind of scarce these days. If I could pick anything I'd try to find a stump jumper evo, been drooling over that one.

I had a 2003 sasquatch it was sweet but new bikes are way better haha.

Present to myself, I finally got new ski boots after 5 or 6 seasons on my old ones. Turns out it was a bit of the 'boiled frog' syndrome and I can't believe I was putting up with how packed out and crap my old ones have gotten now that I've gone skiing with a new well fitting pair.

1. Agreed on code rsc's. Pretty much perfect.

2. Expensive, but my Oakley DRT5 helmet has been awesome!

3. Like everyone, started riding in pants more often and probably won't go back to shorts unless it's like 20+

4. I worked as a bike mechanic for the first time this summer, was sweet

5. A few years ago I was up to 4 bikes. Was down to 2, then when the bike park was late opening and no extended play I figured I wouldnt ride DH much so sold my DH bike and have just 1 bike now (long travel 29er) and it's kinda nice just owning/maintaining/storing/paying for just 1 bike. Didn't feel held back in the bike park much at all.

Spotify premium doesn't have ads, it's pretty sweet.

If you want a similar trail but with jumps head over to mikis magic and slippery salmon, super fun

I had a 4x4 pick up until 2 years ago. In 4x4 it was perfectly fine with nothing in the back, in rwd it was like you described, good for donuts.

I think it's pretty critical to have weight out back in rwd only vehicles, I've driven a lot of rwd work vans and the difference full vs empty was very noticeable.