boomforeal profile

fun article cam. last year my son was able to ride -- and basically appropriated -- his mom's bike, a base level 2013 rm instinct i picked up right before the pandemic hit and upgraded using my pre-boost parts bin. this spring he looked like a clown sitting on top of it, but i was able to find a replacement frame in XL and basically just swap the parts over, only needing to lengthen the rear brake hose to make it fit. feeling pretty fortunate when i hear friends' struggles to find bikes for themselves, let alone their growing spawn

Fair enough. It’s pretty close to what you are describing, is why I ask. I’ve been riding one for just over a year and really dig it.

hey andrew, have you ridden an optic?

didn't see this reply cam: we moved to nova scotia in 2016 when my partner found a job right after getting her phd. plenty of trails around here, but nothing like what i'm used to of course

i got a substantial "bro" deal on the airliners through my lbs. they weren't cheap, though i think they've recently come down in price considerablu. installation was a piece of cake

i just took possession of a pair of WaO carbon wheels. so snappy! i haven't transferred the inserts yet but plan to do so this weekend

ooh yeah, that's the good stuff

at the risk of going full tire nerd and leaning into confirmation bias, your impressions make a lot of sense

i found the previous butcher grids to brake well in a straight line and wear slowly (glad those two characteristics remain) and corner really well in most conditions, but get sketchy when things get especially wet or dry. it sounds like the new rubber has solved the former issue; as for the latter...

there's an interesting primer on mtb tires on blister that talks about the impact of transition knobs. if the butcher was redesigned so that there's less of a gap between the inner and side knobs, that might explain why they don't dig in well when leaned over in hard conditions

thanks for indulging me pete ;-)

i appreciate the vivid ride narrative (i haven't ridden the shore for over 18 months so have to make do with living vicariously through these kinds of stories -- and you have a great voice for this pete) and the insights into specialized's new rubber (i ran a previous gen butcher for a bit last year and was surprised by how 'dead' it felt -- glad to know it wasn't all in my head) and tire manufacturing setup

but i can't help notice there's not much here on how the tire rides or its non-compound characteristics. are we assumed to be so familiar with the butcher [or the dhf ;-)] at this point that a review of the tire doesn't need to address how it handles in corners/various angles or under heavy braking, what the tread/lugs/ramping/siping is like and translate to trail manners, etc.?  not all of us tire nerds are compound jockeys -- some of us enjoy a good tread pattern analysis

perhaps i'm jumping the gun and this will be addressed in the promised update -- on that note, i really appreciate that nsmb is taking a long term approach to reviewing stuff where it is feasible and makes sense

nice review cooper

i appreciate your willingness to "give the people what they want" and compare the spur to the tallboy

wish someone had done that with the optic and the tallboy (not pointing a finger at aj; just wishing) as they seem pretty close in purpose (i.e. a bit burlier than the spur)

i'd be interested in your impressions of the vittoria airliners cam

out east without the big hits, compressions, and rocks i hadn't originally been paying attention to inserts. then all of the guys at the lbs got airliners and started raving about the comfort and grip. i finally ponied up for a pair at the end of the summer and it was pretty eye opening. a bit more rotational weight for sure, but the increased grip on wet roots and comfort of low pressure, along with the support in corners, was wild. bigger improvement than going tubeless for non-fat tires, imo (though obviously you have to do that, too)

if that's the kind of feel inserts offer broadly, i'm not sure why people relegate them to the rear wheels -- as you say above, the improved grip and cushion out front is a big part of the appeal

thanks pete

i would imagine most companies would rather have a full bike reviewed vs. a frame built up by the reviewer as it provides them with more control over the aspects the reviewer's experience and that's more likely how consumers are purchasing their stuff. i guess i'm not surprised that banshee was keen on a frame-only review as they seem more likely to sell framesets than most/larger companies -- and especially given the issues you noted

having had to switch my riding style after moving away from the shore and knowing your proclivity for singlespeeding i can appreciate why you're not feeling the super-steep STA

building up a frame-only to make the review happen, very much appreciated. i'd be curious how banshee felt about this approach?

my prototype banshee prime is still the mountain bike i have the fondest memories of. but the weight of that thing mixed with riding with people much fitter than me induced me to replace it with something both lighter and longer travel. i wish i hadn't sold it though

i love everything about this review -- and still have pt. 2 to look forward to! awesome work andrew, thank you

Oh and mine's a wagon wheeler.

🔥

you're building an adhoc

i am sure if you want to get right into it, a bike with slightly longer chainstays and steeper head tube might be better at flatter and faster terrain then what is in the sea to sky. but i would not trade the reach of a BA for that if my surface.

thank you

seen single track from all over the sea to sky, that mysterious "interior" B.C., a huge swath of the northern USA, and a quick bump to NZ. yet to see a down side to the long low slack short thing.

i've been wondering about this. i've had the opportunity to ride my v1 surface back to back with bikes with more progressive geometry, mine and others, and the short reach and conservative geo are noticeable. i recently moved out east, where the trails are flatter and tighter - while i imagine the new crop of long/low/slack chromags are well suited for local and sea-to-sky riding, i've wondered whether they're less versatile than the last generation, and whether they'd suffer on less aggressive terrain

there were several guys racing flat barred cx at the Squamish provincials, but the purists were like…

https://www.flickr.com/photos/palleus/30912499940/in/album-72157677053382296/

that's how i imagine racing cx always feels

gtrguy nailed it

schwalbe rocket ron is a decent option: light-ish, cheap-ish, aggressive-ish

https://www.bike24.com/p2100867.html

http://nsmb.com/spawn-savage-2-0/

I haven't really looked into it that much, but how is the Surface different from the Primer (besides the Dekerf vs. Truelove welding?)

primer

surface

The builder matters too; Truelove vs. DeKerf.

only in terms of the beauty of the welds, afaict

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=160277

ah, that sucks. great bikes and very progessive designs. is anyone making production bikes in canada anymore?

i just sold my adhoc but i really grew to like that bike. i think i would have kept it for years if i'd stayed in vancouver

Bummer…we love our Xprezos…still hope I can find a couple of linkage rebuild kits.

i found a website that purports to sell them

http://cyclesxprezo.bigcartel.com/product/rebuild-kits

but you can't actually buy anything. anyone know a source?