craw profile

Call Zap to do a shootout.

Even without a motor I outweigh most riders on an ebike by a fair margin so the collision would likely be ugly for them.

I am in total agreement. 

Longer battery life, lower weight, less assist.

Awesome drone work. Very impressive riding, ladies!

I'm at position 3 as well and life is good. I think the G16 has very different setup requirements than a steeper head angle bike.

Lucky for me I'm a heavy and more aggressive rider then! I had lots of RS damper issues and every Fox 36 I've ever had became a creaky heap within a few months so I was running out of options. So far the Helm has been awesome. My only complaint is that the HSC adjustment lever sticks out from the fork leg so it's easily bumped.

I like the look of the DVO Onyx SC as well, which I suppose is what I'll try next.

You had me with the second paragraph.
I switched my G16 to coil in the rear and it rides much much better. For my 230lbs air shocks were just too sticky. The coil shock moves well and is super supportive in the mid stroke. I'm definitely converted.
On the front not so much. The ability to tweak fork pressure so granularly is awesome. My Helm doesn't suffer from any early stiction and has proven to be tough. I couldn't see the extra weight of a coil fork paying off for me though it's cool that there are a few options now for those that want it.

I teared up a little. Not gonna lie.

Totally. And all those gizmos and yet people are still saying that short chainstays climb better. Make the bikes fit right and have the shocks tuned well and none of this extra stuff is necessary.

These bikes look great. Glad they're finally available here.

Specialized Cliplite 2FO shoes and Look Enrage+ pedals. The shoes are a perfect combo of light, stiff and walkable, look nice and those BOA closures are amazing. The Looks are basically Shimano pedals with 30% more spring retention available.

Posted by: cooperquinn

"Agreed. Now NSMBA has to step up to the plate and get something happening instead of this wait and see approach. At the very least big no ebikes acending on DH flow trails signage would be a great start. "

As a general rule, we (the NSMBA) don't control signage. We can (and do) advocate for signage or signage changes, consult on proposed signage, and provide other input for signage on DNV land, but we can't just go print signs and put 'em up.

The NSMBA doesn't put up those trail signs? I didn't know that.

Posted by: fun-house

I tried to get into the hardtail game. Bought the only "XL" hardtail on the used market that matched my criteria. Thought it was a reputable buyer (I had even bought from him before), but took it home and realized later it was actually only a L. He refused to do anything about it other than to offer me a 100mm stem, and now doesn't answer any of my messages. Anyone interested in a L Torrent frame if I find something else to swap it with?

That sucks! You'll sell it eventually. Then start learning the geometry for the bike you're looking to buy and bring a tape measure when you go check it out.

Posted by: Cheez1ts

It looks like Burns Bike Parts (https://www.instagram.com/p/BzdH3Z0H6WL/) will CNC custom crowns for the boxxer, dorado, Onyx DC, and 40. That would allow you to get anything you want with a 46mm offset.

I find many of these fork upgrades cost prohibitive. Anything approaching $500 and you may as well sell your fork, throw in that $500 and get the right product (presuming it actually exists).

Posted by: grambo

Full Pull is awesome. Wonder if traffic will increase with ebikes especially as they graded a bunch of the access road so it's a lot more rideable now. Your point stands though.

Maybe the builders could ask that it be removed from Trailforks. I would hate to see that trail overrun. Its difficulty of access is part of the charm. Heavy bikes churning up that trail in record numbers, especially the steep softer sections would be very bad.

The stranglehold of the model year system on design. Patents flash freeze innovation. 

Interesting ideas.

Posted by: oldmanbuilder

Posted by: grambo
I was in Whistler on Friday and a group of 3 dudes on ebikes came flying up the Blackcomb road. They had already done two laps (Microclimate, Dark Crystal) by 11am and were on their third ride up to hit Dark Crystal again when one's battery died. They went back down to the village to get another battery and keep riding. They were friendly enough, and their POV was they are on holiday with limited time and want to ride everything... so there's an example of a somewhat sensitive trail that is getting punched hard (DC) by heavy bikes for multiple laps that would never happen except by the most fit riders on normal bikes.

perfect example of how these things will change usage patterns and mess up trails that were protected by difficulty to access.  good times in our future. 

i foresee more new trails being built iwith heinous hike a bikes.  that's the direction i would go in, anyways.

Except that many ebikes now come with a walk mode that engages the assist to help with walking and pushing. But that wouldn't help with a tricky section you have to clamber over so maybe that's the answer.

I recently rode Nanaimo on a few subsequent days. 
On day 1 I rode Sexy Flanders/Max Power/Hutz. Easy pedal up a fire road. Fast trails with some good whoops. Enduro bike is fine. I meant to return to climb higher to FTR>Rollercoaster but didn't get a chance.

One day 2 I rode around near Doumont, I accessed it off Biggs road. This zone was much tamer, very easy climb up to Cripple Creek. Cripple Creek was fun, with a couple of sizeable platform-to-transition drops that come out of nowhere. Down below Finer China was the real standout. A 1.1km pump track/berm masterpiece. I'm not great at manualing through subsequent whoops but I improved pretty quick with so many in a row. Very cool trail. And it's relatively low on the mountain so pedalling up to hit it multiple times is totally doable.

Maple Syrup in Crofton is interesting but more of an island XC quasi-epic than BCXC.

Posted by: Brocklanders

Posted by: craw

I think a lot of this could have been avoided if these early ebikes were less powerful and distinctly pedelecs with an emphasis on 'taking the edge off'. Instead we have these mini mopeds that basically eliminate climbing and sit uncomfortably close to e-MX despite the pedalling.

You can see in this vid from the 4-5 min mark that is not the case. 

Seems to me that video made my point. I think they make climbing too easy but maybe I'm weird in wanting to go out there and better myself systematically. My point was that if these bikes gave less assist, didn't make it quite so easy, didn't make the slippery slope to full on e-mx quite so clear, that people wouldn't be having such a hard time with them.

I think a lot of this could have been avoided if these early ebikes were less powerful and distinctly pedelecs with an emphasis on 'taking the edge off'. Instead we have these mini mopeds that basically eliminate climbing and sit uncomfortably close to e-MX despite the pedalling.