pete@nsmb.com profile

The outer material is tough. They'll also repair it if you happen to tear it.

I didn't include this in the article but 7Mesh is also experimenting with a pilot program that'll allow you to bring your jacket in to certain retailers and they'll clean it and restore its DWR for you.

Thanks for the additions. This '2-minute expert' already had a suggested reading time of 4 minutes, so I had to keep it pared down. It was also primarily about how Gore-Tex works, and secondarily about care. Caring for Gore-Tex is pretty much its own 2-minute expert as well.

I've never heard 'clown college' but that's awesome. I've also never heard of atmospheric pressure affecting a membrane. The dude who said it should be tarred, feathered, and banished to live above 1000 ft in a remote area only accessible by like-minded idiots.

Good tip about turning it inside out!

That is a crazy good deal. Nice grab!

It's in beta. You need a Garmin (they may have added other brands) right now to make it work.

I don't know about links on numb.com either, but they're totally fine here on nsmb.com ;)

Thanks, Vinay. More soon!

Thanks for that, Glass. I don't even know why I included that in parentheses in the first place - I think I saw it written like that somewhere (with Switz in brackets) when I was searching for a link. Are there two different bases/village areas?

Upvote for 'floating SAVAGE logo'

Unsurprisingly this thread strayed a bit from the original question but it's been a good read. 

The poll is flawed, though: you need to include an option stating that the respondent feels as safe riding in the US as in Canada. Instead it goes from 'only when choosing a riding location carefully' to 'feel safer riding in the US than in Canada'. In any case I realize the poll is secondary to the question. 

I think it's an interesting topic and a use case outside the typical assumption for gun use - at least to people outside the US, whereas for many Americans this question probably doesn't seem out of the ordinary at all. Personally, I've been traveling to the US very frequently since I was very young and can count the number of times I've felt unsafe on one hand: one of those was when driving in Palo Alto and a wrong turn had us driving through a neighbourhood complete with several porches filled with guys that looked like gang members drinking Olde English in the middle of the day. We definitely missed the turn to Stanford. The irony of it all wasn't lost on us, once we had a chance to exhale and laugh about it. 

Anyway, I understand why people feel unsafe in the US but I also think it's irrational. Life is inherently unsafe and driving a car is the most dangerous thing you do on a daily basis. Of course there are dangerous people and your chances of being shot are higher in the US than Canada, but a high number of gunshot wounds are also either self-inflicted or caused by a weapon owned by the injured. Don't carry and your odds reduce significantly. 

But I also understand the American psyche and the attitudes and history that shaped the ideas around self-determination, guns and freedom, having studied it in university and being fascinated by American history for some time before and after post-sec. 

What's funny though is that despite all my time spent down there skiing, riding and golfing - often in remote places - I never encountered the discussion of carrying a gun while riding until about 5 years ago. We were in rural Oregon and bumped into a few fellas also out riding and we ended up shutting back up together. They were friendly and showed us a few trails. We had fun. At some point the topic of carrying while riding came up - I think because we encountered some shells on the ground (not a rare occurrence in Oregon) but one of them may have broached it when mentioning that there were some meth-cook RVs in the area a la Breaking Bad. Whatever it was, the one guy mentioned that he always carries when riding in that area - and always, as I recall. 

We asked if he'd ever bumped into any meth-cookers in the area? 'Yes'. 

Had any of them ever been a problem or made him feel threatened? 'No'. 

Huh. Ok then. America and guns in a nutshell. 

The other mention I wanted to make was with respect to wildlife and protection - bear spray vs guns. Came across this article awhile back and thought it was worth posting for those that are interested. 

https://www.outsideonline.com/2401248/does-bear-spray-work

Posted by: Stuminator

Played golf & rode on the same day. Life is good. (Did a lot better on the bike, lol)

As someone who loves golf and used to pack them both into a day on a regular basis, that is good living indeed. 6 or 7 am tee time, done before noon, ride in the early afternoon and retire somewhere with a bit of sun and a beer.

Had a quick thought about the second part of your post - that you did a lot better on the bike - and that made me think 'yep, that's me too these days'. But part of that is the quantifiable nature of golf. We don't HAVE to keep score, but we always do. The bike equivalent would be to monitor your speed in real time (a la Strava premium) and judge ourselves 60+ times over the course of a ride ("you suck! what kind of line was that?", "Damn I'm fat and slow" would be 90% of the time, and every now and then: "I am the greatest rider this trail has ever seen (at least in the last hour)").

Which made me go even further down the rabbit hole. Part of the misery of golf is that we obsess with keeping score all the time, but it's not necessary in some ways - and in mountain biking, we're free to enjoy ourselves and play like kids and not worry about bogeys or double bogeys (or losing $5 on a hole). Is this an inherent advantage of a sport like mountain biking? Yes, I think it is.

And lastly, a round of golf for the average hacker can involve a lot of bogeys, double bogeys, etc. Is there an equivalent in golf? If a par is making it through a section of trail according to an arbitrary standard (fairly smooth and fast, no mishaps) then a birdie would be hitting it faster or smoother than usual, or nailing a section you don't normally expect to ride clean. But a bogey, or worse, a double bogey? A come-off, and one with consequences. 

Good thing we don't have that many bogeys on a mountain bike ride.

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.