slyfink profile

Mark Weir? I was just looking at the Trail Boss Light Casing with Slash Guard... this seems like the "just right" porridge... :D

edited to add: after a bit more digging, this also seems to be the secret sauce Schwalbe is dishing out with the Super Trail casing - 50 tpi, Snakeskin, Apex. 

Hutchinson too with it's 66tpi Griffus with Hardskin.

I'm running this combo (EXO+ w Tannus Tubeless), and have had more punctures this year than in the past 3 years combined. Each time a puncture at the tread. I'd been running DD casings for the past three years w barely any issues. I hadn't fully realized that EXO+ is a single layer of 120 tpi. I thought it was the same as EXO. I'll chalk it up to user error I guess, for not having done the research. I've never gotten along well with single 120tpi tires. 

About the bike... I remember rumblings in the good old days from armchair quarterbacks about how the pivot bolts attaching the seatstays and chainstays were one-sided rather than "pass-through". I can't tell from the pictures how these work, or whether the aforementioned system is really problem at all...

I bought my son the Livewires earlier this year. I've found they soak up a fair bit of water, and take a long time to dry, compared to my Shimano AM7, and even his Salomon running shoes (Kids Speedcross). This aspect of the shoe really surprised me to be honest, I thought we'd moved on from those days.

Do you think we could get some of the benefit of steeper HTA by shortening our cranks? When I looked at the GIF of you on the Evil vs the Geometron, it seems like you were pitched forward on the bigger bike. But a closer look at your knees show it dropping dramatically on the larger bike. 

I have a 75° STA, and 175mm cranks. I also have very short legs (28.5" inseam). I've been toying with the idea of shorter cranks, mostly for reduced pedal strikes, but I wonder if some of the benefits of a steeper STA might accrue as well?

@onawalk : Kanata Lakes is still active. Very active even. It's been officialized by the City and adopted by a great volunteer trail crew. It's very rough, and very flat.

@merwinn, re Camp Fortune: I suppose it depends on when BITD was... there's been some new stuff built in the last 7-8 years, but not a whole lot. It's still the core of "gnarly" riding in the National Capital Region though.

The biggest change in the area might be that the NCC finally has seen the light that mountain bikers are not going away, and are a legitimate group that needs to be incorporated into the land use plans. They were dragged in this direction kicking and screaming, but many old renegade trails are now being incorporated into the official Gatineau Park trail network, and there is even a brand new trail. They have an interactive map of the trail expansion plan (Phase 1 and 2 are complete)

In my group of buddies, we still say the area has the best collection of shitty trails in Canada, but it's certainly getting better.

Thanks for the review. Could you provide a bit more information on carcass construction in Grid Trail vs Grid Gravity? (is Grid Gravity a full-blown DH construction? - low TPI, triple layer, reinforced sidewall? or more like DD and SG?

thanks for the review, I always enjoy NSMBs thoughtful and unique perspective on things. But (there's always a but?!), I'm starting to find there's always one thing missing in the reviews of these "new-school" short travel bikes... which you touch on but don't delve into. While these bikes have adopted "correct" geometry, and undoubtedly (as you mention) can go as fast or faster than bikes with more travel, they also don't have the suspension, and aren't specced with parts to deal with the impacts that they can now expose themselves to. The durability aspect is glossed over.

My opinion/theory is that people are drawn to these bikes because they are lighter and pedal better. If they are told they can ride in terrain just as gnarly as a heavier, squishier bike, why bother with all that heft? Durability, that's why. I had to talk a buddy out* of an Optic and into a Sight last year. He's always been on short travel xc bikes, but rides hard and fast. He was constantly wearing parts out. He wanted to try something with new-school geometry. I was able to convince him that the Sight is the better bike for him because it's built for the kind of abuse he dishes out. Lo and behold, he didn't need to replace anything on it last year.  

IMO, this point should be made more explicitly in reviews. You touched on it a bit (worn fork bushings), but didn't really attribute it to riding a lighter bike faster on smashier trails. I think readers would be well served by having this pointed out to them more often... again, just my opinion...

*And I say I 'had to talk a buddy out of it', but this was entirely for self serving purposes. Not only is he fast, but he's also one of those people that doesn't carry what he needs to fix his bike himself (i.e. a tube, a pump and a puncture kit), so whenever he breaks down, we all suffer, lending him the shit we schlepped around, and standing around getting eaten by bugs!

Guys, so this is happening to me now with the videos you post since you adopted the Vital practice of putting commercials before videos...

I'm any idea how to fix it? (I'm not tech savvy....)

edited to add: how come I can't paste a snip & sketch, or attach an image from my computer? essentially, Chrome said "this add uses too much resources so we shut it down".

I agree. I know what they're trying to say. But the way they are actually saying it is like nails across a blackboard for me! (first world problems, I know...)

I really like the look of these shoes, and they are at the top of the list to replace my Shimano AM7s when they eventually die. They tick what I'm after: not disco slippers, a cleat that goes far back, available without BOA, and (apparently) stiff enough to be good to pedal in. 

But good God, does it ever bother me to read "optimized for all [pedals, cleats, engagement]"... Like, it really irritates me. By definition, optimized is not universal. Try harder, words matter.

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)!!!