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"Jack finds the oversize rotors to be almost a necessity with the 29-inch wheeled race sled." Given everything i have heard about TRP brakes this might very well mean: "oversize rotors are almost a necessity with the G-spec".

Probably a good choice, since many reports indicate that the stumpy Evo suffers even more from a mismatch between geo and suspension.

Probably not terribly relevant for MTB, but Rohloff make an electric shifting system for the Speedhub.

It only works with E-bikes, though, the motor automatically cuts power when shifting. Similar to automatic transmission in cars.

I'm pretty sure the "VigiMary" moinker stems from the fact that the 26" Vigilante looked almost identical to the Muddy Mary.

Looking at the issue from the other side, the ability of the derailer to shift under load is pretty amazing for mountainbiking and i totally get why shimano focused on that for their new groupsets. Imagine we were all riding gearbox bikes and someone came along with a cheap, lightweight drivetrain that shifts under load. Wouln't we be all over that?

I do agree that we don't need more cogs, 12 might already be too many. But the eagle range is necessary to cover a wide variety of riding areas and fitness levels.

Interesting. I found the opposite, the Mary seems more forgiving and "foolproof" to me than the DHF. Mainly because it is more stable under (panic) braking and doesn't have the "grip gap" between the center and side knobs when leaning over. For comparable compound, schwalbe soft = maxxterra.

This might sound primitive but I just use an old sneaker sock around the tube. Won't keep it dry but keeps most of the dirt out.

Pump strapped to the frame gets a pice of gaffer tape over the join. No issues since 2008. 

Anything that can rust isn't left on the bike.

Ah, that seems a lot more reasonable. There are some hip packs with 4l capacity and two extra bottle holders, I wonder if anyone ever uses them to full capacity.

Thank you for the recommendation. I have a small Deuter backpack though that fits me like a glove and gets used every time I can be bothered to clean the bladder afterwards. Judging by the durability of my other deuter packs i might use it for another decade or more.

Looking at the picture of the bag and the text about stuffing in a 6 pack, I already feel my lower back cramping up.

How do people find the large hip packs (and their heavy contents)  comfortable to wear? I have a Rapid Pack and it's already borderline unwieldy and cumbersome. Can't imagine riding with a pack more than twice the size.

Do they work better for really large people? I'm not small but slim so that might be a factor?

Entirely unrelated ...

BRB, going to the basement to craft shimano levers to my maguras while standing in a circle and chanting summons...

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.

Keep in mind that you might want to use the camera while wearing gloves. Once you have a shortlist, maybe go to a shop and try them out with your riding gloves on.

@Hepcat, are you sure about the dual? I remember them as 65/50, harder in the center than 60a maxxpro.

Anyway, wouldn't be running either on the shore, but ymmv. 

How are prices for specialized tires at local shops? They have some good ones for the rear, especially the Eliminator.

Guess who did a scientific test of the potential for Vibrocore bars to reduce vibrations at the hands? Zhe Chermans, as usual:

https://www.bike-magazin.de/komponenten/lenker_vorbauten/test-2016-spank-vibrocore/a33999.html

Just scroll down to the small section "Die Messergebnisse: " or wrangle it through google translate.

To paraphrase: Vibrocore seems to have no effect. The difference in vibrations at the hands between a normal Spank Spike, a Vibrocore Spike and a Carbon bar is very small and within measurement error. If you ignore measurement error the normal Spank transmits fewer vibrations than the one with vibrocore.

One related thing, though. The Spank OOZY vibrocore is a lot softer and more compliant than the OOZY without vibrocore because the Vibrocore-version is made of thinner and lighter tubing. Just compare the weights of both versions and subtract the ~20g for the vibrocore foam.

There was a video some time ago of Remi and TV trying out Instinct vs. Altitude on timed runs to see which is faster. They found something like a 3% speed advantage for the Instinct, but that might be a bit overestimated because the riders got faster with each lap and they did the Instinct last. Somehow i doubt that the Slayer is so much slower than the Altitude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APZUzePObF0

Would you be able to get a new derailer hanger for the Riot if it broke? And this may be a bit besides the question, but did you look at the Banshee Prime? Same travel range, not too shabby geometry, uses the same 200x57mm shock and can be had new with warranty. I think they even sell a frame option without shock.

Posted by: FLATCH

Even the steepest road climbs don’t really compare to steep single track. Pretty much impossible to climb anywhere near top speed, not even half speed.

I know, but my point is that you only need to push ~80 watts to use the full 250w of the motor. The resulting 330w is more than enough sustained power power to basically eliminate climbing as we know it.

Posted by: Brocklanders

Posted by: craw

I think a lot of this could have been avoided if these early ebikes were less powerful and distinctly pedelecs with an emphasis on 'taking the edge off'. Instead we have these mini mopeds that basically eliminate climbing and sit uncomfortably close to e-MX despite the pedalling.

You can see in this vid from the 4-5 min mark that is not the case. 

I have ridden ebikes (touring/commuting variants) and i tend to agree with craw. In the highest assist setting, i went up the steepest, hardest road climbs in the area at max speed (25km/H) while putting in the same effort it takes to bring a normal bike to that speed on flat ground. Max assist more than quadruples your power (up to the limit of the motor). Drains the battery really fast, but batteries are getting better and e-mtbs come with far bigger batteries than touring bikes.