craw profile

I must be the outlier because my gear doesn't smell. Because I wash it regularly.

Borax Is for real. You should definitely be using that regularly for all your athletic gear. Definitely wash you pads and gloves occasionally too. In the summer I leave my gloves, shoes and pads out In the sun after use and wash them often.

So now that Cush Core has proven its value surely the next evolutionary step Is for tire manufacturers to add something to the tire casings themselves? If the ride benefits justify an extra 300g then surely we could do 150g built into the casing?

I definitely agree with the flatter lever orientation. The guys at Geometron suggested it to me a few years ago and it took a while to really get used to it but it was worth it.

The best things are.

My Cane Creek Helm Air is holding up well under my 230 lbs of  monstrous leverage on two very slack HTA bikes and nary a whisper (and one of them's a hardtail). It's overdue for a rebuild, which Is totally fine after 100+ rides but still zero creaking.

How far are we from abandoning presta as a practical valve stem format for tubeless?

I would really enjoy that.

You should get NSMB-branded ones and sell them In your store!

I have a big pack and small pack option. Both get a triangle bandage which addresses most of the likely flesh wound options. In the big pack I add a SAM reusable splint and tensor bandage, which are both surprisingly light and together provide a huge range of injury coverage. Those triangle bandages are super versatile. Big enough to wrap a nasty cut or long enough to serve as a sling. Buy them at MEC

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/4007-900/Triangular-Bandage

Not to harp on this further but here we go. So here's another company that can't bring Itself to vary chainstay length or seat tube angle by size now thinks I need a battery and motor on my bike?

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

So here is V2. Slightly adjusted geometry and bigger tubes. It took a second try to get it perfect.

What dimensions did you go with (and how tall are you) out of interest?

I'm 6'6".

Reach: 520, sta: 76', hta: 63', cs: 450, drop: 55, head tube: 150. Wheelbase is a bit over 1300. Plus vintage 180mm XTR cranks. So far it's just right. I since dropped the stem and still feel like I'm sitting a bit high with that 35mm rise bar so I'm due an experiment around that. The whole bike feels solid and torsionally stable, which is impressive for ti on a bike this long. It really is true that good fit/geometry>suspension.

Your bike is so big I thought it was 27.5's at first glance. It's awesome that for the first time you are lowering your bars - I know the feeling. Even on an XL at just 6'2" my bar is 20mm rise and my stem is 15mm above the headset and I still have a 5-7 cm drop to the bars from my saddle. I can't imagine my saddle 4" higher than it is already.

Who said it was the first time I'm lowering my bars? It's pretty clear my seat is all the way down in this photo.

Shouldn't have assumed that it was the first time - I take it back. When you commented on having to find a builder to use a longer head tube as well as the 35mm rise bar, I figured most bikes you ride have the stem at the top of the steerer as I do. You must have a more flexible back than I.

I don't usually ride with the stem up high. I always leave a few extra 5mm spacers so I can adjust. Even this bike has the same head tube length as the previous one and this is the same bar-stem combo on this bike I want everything lower. I have a 20mm rise bar sitting around so I'll run that as an experiment eventually.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

I actually just noticed the saddle at full slam. 😂 

That must climb like a goat with the 450mm CS? I really should’ve asked for the longer CS with my G16. Oh well always a G1 ¯_(ツ)_/¯

You can always buy them from Geometron...

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

So here is V2. Slightly adjusted geometry and bigger tubes. It took a second try to get it perfect.

What dimensions did you go with (and how tall are you) out of interest?

I'm 6'6".

Reach: 520, sta: 76', hta: 63', cs: 450, drop: 55, head tube: 150. Wheelbase is a bit over 1300. Plus vintage 180mm XTR cranks. So far it's just right. I since dropped the stem and still feel like I'm sitting a bit high with that 35mm rise bar so I'm due an experiment around that. The whole bike feels solid and torsionally stable, which is impressive for ti on a bike this long. It really is true that good fit/geometry>suspension.

Your bike is so big I thought it was 27.5's at first glance. It's awesome that for the first time you are lowering your bars - I know the feeling. Even on an XL at just 6'2" my bar is 20mm rise and my stem is 15mm above the headset and I still have a 5-7 cm drop to the bars from my saddle. I can't imagine my saddle 4" higher than it is already.

Who said it was the first time I'm lowering my bars? It's pretty clear my seat is all the way down in this photo.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

So here is V2. Slightly adjusted geometry and bigger tubes. It took a second try to get it perfect.

What dimensions did you go with (and how tall are you) out of interest?

I'm 6'6". 

Reach: 520, sta: 76', hta: 63', cs: 450, drop: 55, head tube: 150. Wheelbase is a bit over 1300. Plus vintage 180mm XTR cranks. So far it's just right. I since dropped the stem and still feel like I'm sitting a bit high with that 35mm rise bar so I'm due an experiment around that. The whole bike feels solid and torsionally stable, which is impressive for ti on a bike this long. It really is true that good fit/geometry>suspension.

Now I want some hash browns.

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: craw

So here is V2. Slightly adjusted geometry and bigger tubes. It took a second try to get it perfect.

Looks great enjoy it! Prototyping is a great way to get an amazing bike. :-)

A lot of the custom builders around here are so fixated on little head tubes and really short rear ends so I kind of had to go further afield to get what I wanted.

I always hated riding in glasses. Partially this was because I always chose shit glasses with shit optics. Eyes are delicate things that really deserve to be protected.

So I recently committed and bought a pair of 100% S2s and they're great. Clear and photochromic. When I ride alone they don't fog because I don't stop much (riding with other people however...). Optical quality is outstanding and I'm totally happy to wear them all the time. Feeling really good about this choice.

So here is V2. Slightly adjusted geometry and bigger tubes. It took a second try to get it perfect.

Posted by: ReductiMat

I like it just as a log to my activities.

The fact Danny Hart and I share(d?) the KOM for Original Sin is testament their timing is complete and utter bullshit.

The ride log tool in Trailforks is good if you just want basic ride stats.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: JBV

...wouldn't advocate for this approach for most adults.

c’mon now this is nsmb, surely you jest?

Like you I want to keep my body complete and fully functional, but I appreciate what Wade is saying  and if you think about it crashing doesn’t have to be a warp factor 9 get off or missing the transition on a 50ft gap jump. 

You can have small consequence get-offs that test your mind without breaking your body. Things like trying to go a bit faster through a tight low speed corner can put you in the dirt and leave you laughing. You’re testing a skill set with a low consequence of error but still working on getting your brain to process that challenge and stoking the fire to get just a little bit better at the same time. 

That’s using sports psychology to its advantage.

This. 

You can be in a slump because you keep hitting the same stuff the same way. If you try new ways, say a different lean angle/weighting through a turn, or an alternate line up some tech climb, you're going to go wrong sometimes. Small tumbles might turn you on to a new way to do something, a new technique to work and boom, new skills. Learning means occasional failing, just try to keep it safe.