pete@nsmb.com profile

I haven't used them yet but I have a challenging repair to take to them - a delaminated zipper cover section along a pocket on the side of my 12 yr old Mammut ski pants which are in otherwise good shape. 

To the question you ask, I just had one of those flash-through moments where thoughts and experiences collide at a fast rate. While the needs of all mountain bikers have certain similarities, I think you need a Venn diagram anytime you include the typical north shore rider. Sticking with the jacket example: like many/most, we need waterproofness and breathability (let's assume similar climate to keep this simple). And yes, everyone has durability concerns and wear points, but the possibility of falling here  is higher than most other places outside the sea2sky...so as a jacket manufacturer, durability is important but so is bulk, weight, and cost. 

The flash-through moment comes when I compare this situation to bikes & components of 10 years ago, when mainstream bike companies finally started bringing to bear their true engineering and manufacturing capabilities to products that addressed our needs here on the shore without ignoring the needs of riders elsewhere. In other words, capability and technology came together in ways we hadn't seen before, and now you could buy a strong handlebar that held up to abuse here without being too heavy to spec on a bike intended for somewhere else. Back then, there were products that worked here, but they were mostly ignored elsewhere except in small pockets of technically advanced riding and trailbuilding.

Not a perfect comparison, but the jacket you describe would be perfect here but considered unnecessarily overbuilt in lots of other areas*. Yes, you can wreck at high speed anywhere, but those crashes are rarer in other places, whereas we're always one bar-twist-with-front-wheel-in-a-hole away from an OTB into an elbow-shredding rock garden.

*bike parks excepted

Good review, Andrew. And nice looking jacket, RF. Kudos for trying something different with the gills in the armpits - not unlike what they've done with the Agent waterproof shorts and jackets with vents on the back.

Island Life, you're likely aware of this but I'll mention it for anyone reading: it's widely known that all the major manufacturers will stand behind their product in the case of a warrantable defect, but what many people don't know is that they'll also repair damage for free or for very low cost. So, if your Arc'teryx/North Face/Patagonia/7Mesh jacket gets torn while riding, rest assured that while you'll be without it for a few weeks, you CAN get it repaired.

Check out Patagonia's site, wornwear.com, for more about their cutting edge program designed to encourage re-use and repairs of their products.

No question that driving less - whatever you drive - is the most impactful choice. Going down to one vehicle from two made a big difference in our household. We use Evo and Car2Go, walk more, ride bikes, transit, etc. However that's a whole other topic, and I really was just writing a Dear Santa letter...sometimes you gotta pick and choose your battles!

Funny, I do that with wool t-shirts, too. I also have one that's too tight to wear on its own, but works perfectly as a short-sleeved base layer.

Certainly. The big brands also have to keep their 10 and 11 figure businesses running, and pivoting to EV isn't easy or cheap. Smaller, nimble brands are looking for new segments and can enter them more quickly, even though the propsect of tooling up to manufacture vehicles is mind-spinningly complex.

Looks cool. Very utilitarian. Couldn't find pricing anywhere but glad to see other companies getting ready to enter the market.

Good point. My fave icebreaker piece is their 260 weight which is much more durable than the 120 weight top I also have. The Chromag stuff is 70/30 merino/acrylic and still has that 'wool' feel which means it should do well in the odour-free and antimicrobial department.

Yeah I know. And you're right about the ski day comparison, I just like to use it because the comparison is stark. If ppl considered a trail pass much like they do a 'season's pass' or Edge Card (RIP) it would make more sense imo. 

I dove a bit deeper on Rivian and there's reason for optimism: they bought a Mitsubishi plant and their skateboard battery array platform sounds ready. Long way to go to scale up to production but they're hiring engineering stars from other brands and making a lot of good moves. We'll see. I'll need more than two years to save up for an R1T anyway.

In the meantime, check out BC's Scrap It program. Between that and the government incentive, you can knock $11,000 off any EV with a sticker price below 72k.

Very true. I could have written 5,000 words about the benefits of and living with an EV, but I'll save that for future articles ;)

Posted by: craw

Posted by: pete@nsmb.com

Hey craw, the new XT Trail pedals seem to have a stiffer spring than the new XTR Trails. I noticed this recently while swapping between test bikes and using both sets of pedals (both new). I fired a question off to Shimano to find out if the XT Trails have a stiffer spring but haven't heard back yet. I love the XTRs and run 'em cranked all the way down and that's sufficient for me, whereas those XTs were too stiff and I hadn't even cranked them in all the way. Only slightly heavier, but cheaper = great option.

That's an ideal solution if it's true. My current pedals are XTR but I have zero issue using XT. Do you think this logic applies to DX pedals as well?

I haven't had a reply. Will ask again, and include DX. Also, keep your eyes open, the new Saint clipless pedal will be available soon - we're trying to get a pair asap for testing and spring tension is something we'll pay specific attention to.

Posted by: grambo

Posted by: tungsten

They offer frame only yet?

Nope, not part of their business model which depends on doing massive OEM parts orders with Shimano, e13, Fox, RockShox etc. Also why they don't offer customization options instead focusing on limited SKU's with high volumes.

Pete: have had NSMB whitelisted on uBlock, no issues with ads.

Thank you!

I use uBlock as well. But you guys are whitelisting your favourite MTB site(s), right? And if not, I'd love to hear directly if we've been running ad types that you find offensive. We try to keep a pretty clean reading environment around here, but some ads are necessary.

I had the same problem with RF Indy pads tearing, but that was before I knew this trick (applies to ALL slide-on knee pads): 

When you put them on or take them off your foot, rotate them so that they face backwards. This puts less stress on the stretchy material, and they'll slide on and off more easily. Whatever knee pads you run, they'll last longer.

Also, I don't know if you can find them in many places yet, but I can recommend the Sweet Protection Bear Suit knee pads. Nice to pedal in, stay in place, no chafe.

Hey craw, the new XT Trail pedals seem to have a stiffer spring than the new XTR Trails. I noticed this recently while swapping between test bikes and using both sets of pedals (both new). I fired a question off to Shimano to find out if the XT Trails have a stiffer spring but haven't heard back yet. I love the XTRs and run 'em cranked all the way down and that's sufficient for me, whereas those XTs were too stiff and I hadn't even cranked them in all the way. Only slightly heavier, but cheaper = great option.

Hi guys, with a nod to the local shops, I have unstuck thus thread. Niels figured it was helpful, and it is, but you're right, it's also a bit of an extra push to the online guys which is unfair in light of the fact that the Inside Line is a paid board used mostly by local shops. 

<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">We certainly advocate supporting your LBS whenever possible but also realize that the reality is that sometimes online pricing is impossible to resist. Poz's info is useful and naturally can remain as a reference - thanks for compiling it, Poz. </span>

I thought it would be a good time to revive this thread. Anyone got some new lights/discoveries to share? Any brands out there that you'd like us to look into as far as review units?

Hallowe'en special coming up soon! They released season 3 on Canada Day and also did a special for St Patrick's Day last year.

The Youtube clips are good for giving you an idea about the show, but it's so much better when you watch the episodes all the way through. Crave gives you a free trial month, so you can sign up and binge-watch Letterkenny, then decide later if you want to keep Crave.

Posted by: shoreboy

Having owned a Kuat, and currently using a OneUp and a NS Rack, I would stay away from the Kuat.  In my experience it wasnt nearly as well built as the OneUp.  Within one season it developed significant play in the arms that lock down the wheels, and generally felt 'loose' the entire time we had it.  The OneUp is a far superior product in my opinion.

I ran the original NV for a few years and while it developed a bit of play, I wasn't disappointed overall with the build quality and never worried about the hold it had on the bikes. I now have the new version, though, and it is certainly better. I'll be writing it up in a little while. For me, the OneUp is sturdy, but ugly (some people care about that, some don't) and doesn't have some of the functional advantages of the Kuat. NS racks are their own kettle of fish. Arrangement of bikes, ease of use, looks - lots of factors. I think NS racks look terrible on the back of some vehicle, but every style of rack has its trade-offs.

Posted by: bux-bux

A friend of mine did some business  with an unnamed Ebike company out of Whistler, the one with the batteries in the backpack. He did a full day on it and said he was shocked how fast and the amount of power on this thing has, Electric dirtbike was the description. They are all technically pedal assist, but they are full on motorized.

They are NOT 'all technically pedal assist' so let's just straighten that out. The Kranked bikes require you to wear a large battery on your back, which connects you to your bike (not nice) and the motor is operated by throttle. Pedelecs (aka pedal assist) which are the format of e-bike being introduced by most brands do not have a throttle, and the motor engages only when you pedal. There is a big difference in rider experience, and, most importantly, in the amount of torque delivered to the rear wheel. As much as you can argue that an e-bike is different than a mountain bike, a throttled bike is also different than a pedelec.