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Not sure about availability in Canada, but MaxxGrip EXO DHF and DHR2 have been in the Maxxis product range for years.

Or do you specifically mean EXO+ ? The additional super thin (~80g) anti-puncture layer is probably not worth it unless you ride in cactus-country.  Compare this graph of a lab tests which plots pinch-flat resistance against weight: https://s14761.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/END_039_VT_Reifen_Maxxis_2000_GER.jpg

That would indeed be great. Some commuter helmets have semi-permanently mounted rear lights, but those are generally cheap, weak, don't last and run on tiny, non-rechargeable lithium cells.

I would guess that the impression of decent climbing manners is helped tremendously by the tyre choice. A (relatively) fast rolling rear tyre like the Aggressor will make every bike pedal better.

But i'm sorely disappointed that Rocky is speccing cheap entry level DT370 hubs on a bike in this price-class. I would have expected at least DT350s, which would have prevented the hub issue.

Even theoretically, linkage forks are not a clear upgrade over telescopic. Each have their pros and cons. For instance, telescopic forks have inherent advantages which linkage cannot feasibly match: A guaranteed perfectly linear suspension “curve” combined with lots of space in the stancions allows for much better spring and damper performance than any linkage forks can achieve. [Edit:] Maybe "suspension curve" is not the right term, what i mean is, there is a one to one ratio of spring, damper and axle movement, which is very advantageous for designing dampers and springs.

Not sure how well the comparison works in this case, but positive appropriation of derogatory terms happens quite often. Not just by marginalized groups themselves. Take, for instance, the terms "sick" or "mental". Many of the words we use today in a neutral way had negative meaning at certain points in time. "pedestrian" or "rustic"  come to mind.

In general, if a derogatory term loses its derogatory meaning, i consider that a net positive for society. It also often implies that the target of the slur is becomming part of normal life instead of being shunned by society.

I doubt that the outrage is because of a connection to Yeti marketing. Theirs is a famous brand within our sport, but i wouldn't overestimate their importance.

It seems much more likely that the outrage is over the use of language. Specifically, the authority to ascribe meaning to words and the power to decide who is socially allowed to use which one. This is a thorny issue, because there are very valid reasons to declare terms as socially inacceptable (e.g. the N-word ). On the other hand, making the use of common words that are not used with derogatory intent socially inacceptible is a pretty strong invasion into peoples lives. Therefore i'm not surprised that even the perception that such a thing is happening can trigger strong counter-reactions.

Not really concerned with anything yeti and totally appalled (once again ) by the PB comment section, I have a small comment to make:

Stating that use of language should change every time "A group pointed out that the language being used wasn't respectful to a certain subset of society. Does it matter if that is 1000 people or 1,000,000," is a bit short sighted. There is probably not a single thing or word or concept or thought that wouldn't have some group on the internet who are offended by it. In the case of yetis tribe, being respectful is of course fine, because there is meaningful historical and social context. But I sure hope you don't insist we all stop talking about pasta strainers because the church of the flying spaghetti monster is offended by our mundane use of their holy headgear.

What kind of roof rack can you trust a 10k bike with while driving a Porsche up the sea to sky highway?

As impressive as most lockpicking videos look, lockpicking is almost never used for bike theft, according to the police.

It is just so much easier and quicker to cut locks with a big bolt cutter than learn to pick dozens of different cylinders (whose construction changes every few years). Not to mention that in reality a thief would often need to pick the lock in horrible conditions ( dirty lock, hanging upside down, lying on the floor, in bad light.....)

Who “upgrades” their derailleur anyway? If the range was fine when you bought the bike, why should it suddenly stop being fine? And if it wasn’t, why buy the bike in the first place?

Posted by: velocipedestrian

I also remember a guy I worked with who'd bought a 'North Face' down jacket on his travels through Asia. He said it was from the same factory, and the North Face guys just had someone on site doing QC while their order was made. When he left the factory kept sewing...

The fabrics seemed legit, but the seams were a bit shit.

Things like that "might" have happened in the early days of offshoring, but major brands nowadays mostly succed in ensuring that knock-offs are actually knock-offs. And then there is the stuff which doesn't pass QC at brand factories but gets sold on Ali instead of being thrown away. Technically, that is from the same factory.....

I don't think Bark Busters are compatible with carbon handlebars. The stress concentration might even be dangerous for light aluminium bars. And then there could be the perception that hands would get trapped in them during a crash.

What about rear-wheel-traction? Not being as far forward on the bike might be beneficial for that purpose. Considering the kind of power pro-racers can put down, keeping the rear wheel from spinning is probably important.

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?