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So they actively tried to make it look like raw EPS even though it isn't? That seems soo weird. I don't think anyone is hankering for the retro look of cheap helmets from before the in-mould era.

Haha, the bike industry was pretty close to full standardization in ~2009. Pretty much everything was compatible with everything on every frame. Then they intentionally and totally f*cked it up and created a billion of ever faster “evolving” systems. Wanna bet when the next fork steerer diameter is due?

There doesn't seem to be much (if any) correlation between price and creakiness. The relatively inexpensive Suntour Durolux and DVO Diamond are not known for creaking, while the top-money fox forks are notorious. Then again, the expensive Öhlins forks also have a good rep for no creaks.

TBH, i don't see much point in buying aftermarket Fox stuff unless it comes at a huge discount. The MSRP seems unreasonable considering the same stuff as part of a complete bike isn't much more expensive than the competition.

I'm not convinced by the "beginners on flow trails hurting themselves a lot" argument.

I see beginners crash a lot but they ride more slowly and don't get seriously hurt most of the time.

The good riders and especially the pros crash rarely but when they do it means a trip to the ER and some more titanium in the body.

I kind of thought it was common knowledge that fast (flow) trails are much more dangerous than slow tech.

The physics are very straightforward: Energy involved when crashing goes up quadratically with velocity.

True, but there are positive factors as well. Regions like sub-saharan Africa or Latin America have worse healthcare but also much younger and less vulnerable populations.

Interesting. Similar scenarios have been considered/exercised/run by lots of countries and institutions, usually modelled on SARS or Influenza.

The results in this case are not fully applicable to COVID-19 because some important aspects of the pathogen are vastly different. Most notable the assumed (age-independent) hospitalisation rate of 50%. That would have far worse effects on the economy than Covid and force governments to prioritize the provision of infrastructure and supplies over preventing deaths.

The current crisis is fairly unique in so far as one of the typical problems in times of epidemics, shortage of essential personnel due to illness and death, would not be a huge issue.

The Drosten interviews are great! Especially because he is not panicmongering like a lot of the press. That guy knows what he is talking about and is calm, collected, scientific and keeps things in perspective.

I think whoever is talking about "historical human-changing event" needs some historical perspective. Compared to what humanity went through in terms of diseases, this right now is barely in the bottom third of the badness-scale. If this had happened 200-300 years ago it might not even show up in the history books because far worse stuff was just a fact of everyday life (cholera, smallpox, plague, typhus, TB, polio, malaria, measles, i could go on..). 

What gives me hope for the US is that their decentralized structure with relatively independent states means they are less reliant on a functional central government than other nations. Sensible actions by state governors might be able to make up for a lot of the mess at the federal level.

Keep in mind that the elderly with underlying conditions (which is pretty much a tautology, almost everyone over 75 has some kind of health issue) would often have had many more years to live.

Just for reference, every single presidential candidate in the US is part of the high-risk group.

Second what Hepcat said. On a modern bike, a TA fork would lower the BB so much that even with shorter cranks we would constantly pedal strike while climbing tech. They would be nice for steep non-technical climbing like in the alps but that is just too narrow a market.

And with current bikes the main limits to climbing efficiency isn't pedaling position but rather sticky tires, downhill-optimized suspension and "longlowslack".

There are thousands of posts about this issue on multiple message boards in various languages but no definitive answers. Distilled facts I could gather:

Affects multiple generations of brakes, going back at least 7 years.

Affects all generations of XT and XTR brakes, 2 and 4 piston.

Saint brakes seem to be rarely (if ever) affected. Not sure about Zee.

Not all individual units are affected and some more strongly than others.

Cold temperatures seem to make it worse.

People have been experimenting with different hydraulic oils. This has helped in some cases but not all.

Posted by: Bagheera

Seems to be quite different here across the pond. I'm usually happy with the work they do and when I pick up my bike, they tell me to take a ride around the block to make sure everything is as it's supposed to be. AFAIK, the pimply kid is never allowed to work on my bike. When I come in, it's usually "Go right through, Dave (shop owner) is in the back." Also, on various occasions, they did overtime and/or snuck me in when they were really swamped to get things ready for a race/vacation/just to keep me rolling. Moreover, replacement parts (when they had to work on wheels or a fork, for example) or even demo bikes as replacements (free of charge) so I wouldn't have to go without a bike on a sunny weekend. No complaints. I usually bring cakes or ice cream instead of brews.

So cake is the secret to having amazing shops?

Joking aside, i live on the same side of the pond as you do and my experience with bike shops hasn't been great. Over many years and multiple cities, i found a handfull of good shops.  But the good ones were either dedicated to touring/bike travel/commuting or triathlon or they were specialized wheelbuilders and suspension shops. No good all-purpose MTB shop.

I cut mine with a cable cutter, no issue at all. When installing the barb, make extra sure that it goes in all the way and stays flush. I used the clamping blocks from the bleedkit and a vise for holding while hammering in the barb.

A rebleed was necessary, make sure to use the correct fitting (there are two different ones in the bleed kit).

Are Adidas Terrex Trail shoes sold in Canada? Can't find them on the website. They use 5.10 rubber for the soles but are (reportedly) much better made than the 5.10 themselves. Plus they are actually quite decent for hiking.

Some riders in the alps swear by approach shoes made by La Sportiva. The ones with "Megagrip" soles.

Posted by: rwalters

Very well said. The difference between a given tire with and without inserts is much like an air sprung fork with and without bottomless tokens - tire inserts and tokens accomplish some of the same things. Tire insert allows you to run lower pressures, allowing more suppleness "off the top" (better traction, comfortable ride). A hard hit causes the air pressure inside the tire to ramp up quicker than in a tire without inserts. Of course, the insert isn't solid plastic, it's closed-cell foam, so there is some compression going on in the insert itself. Definitely takes some trial and error to get your settings right, but well worth it.

Wouldn't you need to compensate for the lower air volume by increasing tire pressure? Smaller volume ramps up quicker but takes less force to compress in total, just like with narrow tires.

@Znarf: I know a few people who swear by Syntace bars, mostly because they can be had with a 12 degree backsweep. What sweep are you using?

Posted by: RAHrider

Anyone use the specialized butcher 2.6 GRID tyre? My wife has them on her bike and I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to put a heavy 2.5 minion DD max grip up front for the winter. The specialized are much lighter and if the grip is comparable, I'd let her run the lighter ones in the wet.

I have one as well. Not a bad tyre but grip on wet roots and rocks is in no way comparable to Maxxgrip. Rolls very fast, though.

Keep in mind that soft Maxxis rubber hardens considerably in cold weather. Specialized Gripton and Conti Black Chili don't.

Regarding the TO: Continental Baron and Kaiser in Black Chili rubber are supposedly more grippy than Maxxterra and lighter than DD. Haven't tried them yet so this is second hand information.

More details on the new Banshee Titan, looking very nice. Limited first run of only 100 frames, though. Might be hard to get hold of one.

https://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/New-Bikes-from-Banshee-Introducing-the-All-New-Titan-29-and-Rune-V3,3113

Posted by: Endur-Bro

I love how long travel single crowns flex and creak on Mtn bikes. Then the industry acts like these things magically don’t when another 20lbs of bike are added to them. I don’t believe the 170-180mm forks are using the e36 chassis but I(m often) could be wrong

If you are thinking of bikes in the G1 style, I don't see a reason to use anything other than a dual crown.

Axle to crown isn't too different from a 180mm single crown and at that point the weight probably doesn't matter anymore.