kperras profile

Kamloops is a great riding destination, and should part of any mountain bikers' pilgrimage, but there are many reasons why some trail networks and locations are left off Trailforks and other mapping apps.

5 years from now, the same article will be written about shift and brake cables routed through headsets. You've been warned.

Hidden bonus: I found the Storia to be roughly 100g lighter than other comparable shocks with similar adjustments. If you're weight conscious, this is a tempting spec.

Nice feature. I appreciate the less conventional vehicle choices out there, and this one fits the criteria. Side note: those KOs must be rock hard by now!

To give some insider perspective, a 55mm CL gives us more room to package competing design elements such as internal cable routing, stiffer CS yoke and MP designs, and 2.6 aggressive treaded tires with enough clearance to the frame. At the same time we have to balance this with heel clearance, and preferable Q-factors. Crankarms are also shaped to avoid ankle and shoe contact. It's all really tight down there so some breathing room is nice to have.

For some (like me), washing your bike after every ride is unavoidable during the wet season. Now the bike is getting subjected to water twice as much. 

To keep your suspension bearings lasting longer, these are my go-to actions:

- Use the "Shower" spray on the garden hose nozzle. Not the "Jet" spray. No power washers either. 

- New bike: remove bearing seals, pack in extra grease (I use Bel Ray waterproof grease since we have a 5 gallon pail at work). Re-install seals, and wipe all excess grease away. The excess will allow dirt to stick to it and consequently allow that dirt to sandpaper your pivot hardware over time, as it will be harder to wash away.

- Every couple of months, remove the pivot hardware to wipe down the outside surface of the bearings. This next part is key: hit the bearings with the closed chuck of a drill and rotate them for a few seconds. This helps both redistribute the grease and reposition the balls in a different spot so they don't wear the same contact surfaces.

In wet North Vancouver I've gone a full year on high wear (main pivot) bearings with the above actions, and much longer on the low wear (swing link) bearings.

Lastly, notchy pivot bearings that can still spin and remain tight are ok. These are blunt objects we are using to carve up the forest, not surgical instruments. Replace bearings when there's play, but don't sweat it if they don't feel brand new.

For sure. I'm not here to slam a competitor for their choices, but rather to highlight that the Shore is an incredibly unfriendly place for most bikes. Our needs are here are, uhm, "special".

To be fair to Canyon, North+West Vancouver's terrain and trails are incredibly unfriendly to DC bikes. This review might have been better served by testing in Squamish, but then it wouldn't reflect this publication's (niche) location embedded in it's name. 

Even when developing RMB's new DC platform, our personal touches required for enjoyable riding here locally don't translate to the rest of the world where the trail networks are much better suited for these bikes. 

Locally in NV, my Element has been immensely rewarding when hitting the climb trails on Fromme and Seymour, and tackling blue descents like Expresso and Forever After. Using the BCBR route of years past isn't exactly a fair spectrum of trails. This is a solo-ride bike, or with a group of friends who own similar platforms which, around here, is limited to just a handful of riders. 

It is only after a few mods (tires, brakes, +10mm fork travel) that I am better equipped to ride more technical options like B-Brew, Lower Oilcan, C-Buster, and more. But then I've eclipsed the reasonable spec that serves this platform well in the ROW markets.

Some handy tips: 2.3 Minions (3CT of course) are in the same weight category as other DC appropriate tires, such as the 2.4 Rekon. You trade rolling resistance for winter traction and better mud clearing abilities. The OneUp 180mm dropper is the lightest reasonably priced dropper out there and has a low stack height for the vertically challenged.

WRT to tires, you could have gone to a fast rolling, reinforced casing tire like a 2.4 DHR Double Down in the rear, and a high grip, light casing tire in the front like a 2.5 MaxxGrip Assegai or DHF (DHF clears better in the mud and grips slick surfaces better as well). Paired with inserts, it's an ideal low PSI, winter combo.

I have a large ziploc freezer bag completely full of broken 12spd XTR and XT derailleurs from the last 24 months of riding. I also have a smaller bag of broken or worn XO1 and GX derailleurs. I'm on my 3rd AXS derailleur as well.

Some of the failures are bad luck: a  grapefruit sized rock jumping up, or a errant stick flicked by the front tire. Many of the failures are design or materials issues. The XTR carbon cages come to mind, and there are many more issues well documented online with both brands. 

None of these failures were poor line choices. 

The 24 month period preceeding the one above? Not a single derailleur failure.

Shout out to my first AXS derailleur. It went to hell and back, and at the end of its life it was unrecognizable yet still shifted with absolute precision. I'm guessing it outlasted what would have otherwise been 4 mechanical derailleurs.

1 key with a fob on a keyring. Hyundai branded. Found it on Severed D before getting to the Dear John entrance. PM me if you know who it belongs to.

The Fox Frame looks really good and seems to have the latest of every technology. If it fits right, that would be my first choice. Plus it comes in the best colour that never goes out of style or looks like shit after one muddy ride.

Not a chance.

Sweet. Just re-uploaded my profile pic.

No more rep :(

Years of hard work gone ;)

Easiest is park at Old Buck Parking lot, or Parkgate Mall. Ride up Old Buck and turn left at the Powerlines. Climb till you get to Pingu. Ride Pingu then any of these trails: Pangor, Boogieman, Dear John/John Deer, Severed D, then return via Bridle Path to wherever you parked.

Climbing trail only good till the last few switchbacks. Lower Oil Can is good except there's a tree down about 3/4 of the way down. Tiny one, only requires a hand saw.

I thought I'd share with you fellow board readers.

You can match Shimano SLX lever (or XT/XTR/Saint) and MT5/MT7 caliper. Such combination is even better than original Magura set :)

After one of winter crashes I completely broke my MT5 brake lever into pieces. Looks like the plastic it's made of is utter crap and will break easily. There are several reports here in Europe about MT5/MT7 prone to breaking. The same happened to fellow biker I know with his MT7.

You just need proper Shimano lever (newest ones) like M7000, M8000 M9000 etc.

My current set is SLX M7000 lever + MT5 caliper (with original Magura hose) bled with Shimano mineral oil.

There are several pros of this combination
- Shimano parts are lots cheaper than Magura stuff and they are available everywhere
- Shimano levers are tough made, not from platstic-fantastic like Magura
- brakes work better: Shimano levers are less spongy than original Magura and you get lots of extra power just from changing lever
- you can choose SLX, XT, XTR or Saint levers an pair them with either MT7 or MT5

What about the modulation? I find the gradual increase in power to be a substantial benefit to the Magura brakes.

It's a move to improve margins not lower retail prices.

Incorrect. It's a move to maintain competitive pricing. As soon as one manufacturer re-engineers the pricing structure others must follow or close their doors because they aren't selling bikes for two reasons:

1)They are priced appropriately when produced domestically but everyone complains about the high prices because company XYZ is cheaper for the same spec or

2)They are priced appropriately when compared to the competition but now the margins are so low or non-existent that the company is longer able to keep its doors open.

The norm now is to have goods produced overseas; don't kid yourself. Everyone is on a level playing field so to speak.

I think weight is pretty important for kids. If you have a fixed price in mind, I'd consider getting the lightest (but also highest quality) bike possible, which might not include duallies. If you want to add comfort and confidence to your kids bike, getting some high volume, good quality tires are a good place to do it.

I typically prefer Maxxis tires, but the selection of 24" tires are limited to DH options which don't apply here. Schwalbe has 24" options in a few casing options. Much better than getting low end, plastic feeling, XC tread patterned tires.