slyfink profile

your intro got me thinking about that roll of 3M mastic tape I have lying around... it seems to be the only tape I can find that stays put on my frame. seems like it could be a good solution for the brakes on the commuter (here on the east coast of Canada), and possibly the fatbike for winter riding. anyone have experience with it on brake levers?

re pogies, it's definitely a question of preference. Personally I don't like them. I like to ride with my hands just slightly off the edge of the bar, and pogies don't really allow for that (at least my 45N don't). I find they force me into one hand position. I also find they run really warm. warm enough that I have to wear thin gloves. But then if I crash or pull my hand out of the pogie for whatever reason, my glove is wet and gets cold quickly. they also make it harder to push the bike. For the price of them, I feel that an investment in heated gloves is better. with the benefit that you can use them for other sports (e.g. commuting, nordic skiing, DH skiing, skating, walking the dogs, waiting for the bus etc etc etc)

I hope it was clear that was a tongue in cheek comment! Though I should probably mention my first experience with merino (aside from hiking socks) was in 2005 when I hiked the Annapurna circuit. I wore a 100% merino long-sleeve base layer from MEC for 10-days straight. I may have handwashed it once. But yeah, in that situation, I was astounded that it didn't reek like the polypro stuff that existed at the time (I don't think the anti-microbial treatment for polypro had been invented yet). It may have smelled like armpits if you really stuck your nose there, but for the person sitting next to me at a table, it wasn't discernable. it's what turned me into a merino convert. 

Though I'm with Andy Eunson, merino doesn't wick moisture away sufficiently to keep my dry, so for really sweat-heavy activities, I still tend to choose polypro.

> To this day, I still haven't washed the top after many rides and a full vacation expedition to Europe for a month

Just because you can doesn't mean you should... eeew. 

I have never found the promise of stink free merino to extend beyond 4 uses. But I have found that the 'purer' the fabric, the better it performs in that sense (though you give up a bit on durability and ability to hold it's shape when you stay 100% wool)

hmmm, interesting thoughts. Setting aside the misguided "whataboutism" of EVs vs ICE, I have a somewhat divergent view of the issue...

1. People dropping 'because I can' money on an 'out of a box' bike, probably aren't die-hard enthusiasts like we are. Let them have their fancy bike on their manicured flow trails. I don't care. In fact, if it keeps them off the old-school, technical trails that don't do well with heavy traffic, all the better.

2. For those of us who don't have 'because I can' money to drop on a bike, along with competing priorities for our limited resources, I'm beginning to question the wisdom of customization and 'trying things out'. My recent experience with my trusty 2016 Transition Patrol got me thinking. Over the years, I've made lots of customizations and installed interesting things on it: King hubs, Luftkappe and tractive tunes for my suspension, Garbaruk derailleur cage and cassette mated to an 11-sp XTR shifter, lots of anodized colour matching. It rides like a dream, exactly how I want it to. And I like how it looks.

But when both my chainstays and seatstays snapped recently, I was faced with the possibility that none of those high-dollar interesting upgrades could be transferred to a new bike - hub width is now outdated, shock size is now outdated, and 11sp is no longer specced. These are things that make the bike unique to me, and I've really learned to adapt to how this bike rides (or is it vice-versa). Luckily, Transition being the awesome company they are, had replacement stays for my 6-year old bike, despite the old standards. They had me back up and running within a week. Hats off to them. 

But still, if and when this bike eventually gives up the ghost, I'm not sure I'm going to bother with personalization and  'interesting upgrades' anymore. First, I think bike geometry is starting to settle down at a very good place and even mid-level equipment is getting really quite good nowadays. Second, I think I'm a good enough rider that I can adapt to whatever bike (and equipment) I eventually settle on. Third, 'standards' change so much in this industry that they're barely worth calling them that anymore. And finally, prices are so ridiculous, even for mid-level stuff that I just don't want to give this industry any more of my money than I have to. I think the 'get a good bike, ride it for a couple of years, sell it while it's still relevant and has value, and get a new bike (or maybe a used one-year old bike) is the most sensible approach to take these days. Which still kinda makes me angry, because I'm still playing into the planned obsolescence of the industry.  But I'll still have something that rides great and won't be so attached to an object I can't keep running for years to come...

I have the Rifts. And I too have 'chonky' legs, as you describe them, with the exception that my knees are fairly normal. So thick thighs, normal knees, thick calves. I have the XL. I wish they made an XXL version (or better yet, a version with a wrap-around velcro strap for a more customizable fit). While the pads mostly stay in place (because of the calf strap), the silicone gripper rolls down my thighs, and then catches on my shorts. The end result is I have to pull them up every 30 minutes or so on a trail ride. I don't think it would be a problem in case of a crash, they do mostly stay put, it's more of a comfort thing. Also, when pulling them up I've actually heard a tear or too, which i suspsect is the elastic reaching the end of it's elasticity...

I tried very hard to get a SRAM chain, but the 11-speed XO1 chains aren't available until June. 2023. But nooooo, I can't order them from Europe (or even the US), because that would be bad for North American bike shops.... (even an X1 chain doesn't show availability until November 2022)

I'm generally a form follows function type of person too, but when given the option, I figured why not! I had originally selected blue plates and orange pulley wheels, but figured that would be too much!!!

re the clutch, I thought about it after my second ride, but haven't done it yet. I should have thought of it while I had the cover off during the installation. But I'm not sure it's the derailleur bouncing around as much as the chain oscillating between the pulley wheels and the chainring.

another point worth mentioning is that this system is quieter than what I had before (XO1 cassette, KMC chain, black spire snaggletooth ring). part of it may be that I'm not constantly parked on the largest cog and my chainline is better, but I think their chainring runs very quietly.

Interesting to know about the pie plates. I had emailed them a few years ago inquiring about this, and they told me they don't sell them separately. Hopefully they've permanently changed their tune and this wasn't a one-off.

Interesting timing. This past weekend I just installed Grabaruk's 10-50 cassette, front oval ring, cage and pulleys on my 2016 Transition Patrol. It replaced a 10-42t XO1 cassette. 

A couple of things I learned during the install:

wide-range cassettes and their longer cages also need longer chains. This makes for a floppy, bouncy experience, which I wasn't expecting. Almost like going back to the days before clutch derailleurs.

Also, the chain needs to be longer than the old method of "full compression + 1 link" in order to get appropriate chain wrap and b-position. I had to do some digging through on-line tutorials about how to determine appropriate chain wrap and its effects on shifting, and how to set b-position. I eventually got there, but had shortened my chain too much, and had to add some links back in.

In terms of performance, it seems to shift fine. I have an XTR shifter and XT derailleur body. It definitely prefers one-click shifts, and seems to get overwhelmed by the 4-jump thumb presses. But I can live with that. I'm definitely still on the fence about the floppy chain. We'll see after this season. I need the extra range to rehab after a back injury. Once I'm back to full strength, I may go back to the older "taughter" system as I still have all the old parts packed away.

So I'm curious about the whole "use only Magura blood" thing. I've had my MT5s for 3 seasons now. I had a fresh jug of Shimano mineral oil when I first set up and installed my brakes. So I figured I'd use that up before getting Magura's fluid (thank you very much internal rear brake routing...) . I've gone 2 whole seasons without a bleed, and they are still solid. Am I missing something here? Am I putting myself at risk of catastrophic failure or something?

ridden the KS LEV? howzit compare? you compare it to Reverb and Special-Ed's posts, but my experience is with the LEV, whose features are closer to the Kronolog than the other two… thoughts?

I'd be really curious to know what tires the top 20 were on. Width and casing, tubeless (or not), and how many tires they went through during the race…

Thanks for the coverage guys, it was awesome. This race is definitely on my bucket list….

It's probably hard to measure the impact that Digger has had on mountainbiking in general, not just to the North Shore. I remember flipping through Bike mag waaaay back in the early 90's and dreaming about riding North Shore type stuff. Then watching the NSX series of videos. I think the Shore spawned a style of riding that has spread throughout the world, and Digger is in no small part responsible for that, having envisioned, and created those trails. I think he needs more than a plaque, he needs a statue!!!

In the mean time, I'll raise my glass in his hounour after my next ride (which should be tonight).

How 'bout a Tall Boy vs. Evo 29r head-to-head, mano-a-mano style?

I thought I'd just add a note about feedback's customer service. I have an old "Ultimate" bike stand that had broken parts. I eventually found out that Feedback had bought Ultimate, and so I emailed them about replacement parts. Not only are they stocking replacement parts for Ultimate racks, they are also honouring warranty's and offering discounted rates to retrofit and upgrade Ultimate racks to the new (higher) quality of Feedback's designs. They were willing to work with me on shipping options, and helpful in helping me figure out how to do the retrofit. I was pleasantly surprised. they're good people.

"Not just because of the trails, the tales and the exquisite women, but because of the people." Are you suggesting that women aren't people?!?!

otherwise, nice write-up… makes me want to go.

I'm not sure I understand your beef with the contact adjust. Are you saying you run your levers as far from the bar as possible, and so therefore the reach adjustment is useless? If that's the case, then you're the opposite of me. I try and run my levers as close to the bar as possible, and without a contact adjustment, I can't get the lever close enough. which then renders reach adjustment useless. I run the levers close to the bar because I have short fingers, and I try and keep my hand as closed as possible to avoid arm pump.

nice write up though… keep us posted about how the bleedings go.

could be the Jura, or the foothills of the alps, a little farther south and west.

i have a question though, can it be called an "enduro" ride if he doesn't have any water? Maybe he stops to drink from the streams… :)

I'd like to know about the rims/wheels. what was it like to ride carbon rims, and do they seem like they'll hold up to some abuse?

hahaha, lol at the Dobermann "Le Pink"… it's the name of a strip club in Gatineau (well, Aylmer to be exact)!!!