Cheez1ts profile

I've gotten into skinnies for the first time in my life since your scare yourself article, thanks Andrew!

That fork sounds brutal. I think I’d rather have no damper than an inconsistent one.

It would be nice if low end forks came with a high-end compatible chassis (I.e straight 32mm or 34mm stanchions). As you mentioned with finding an old Saint calliper for the brakes, you could probably find old high-end dampers and springs to upgrade the suspension from old forks with worn stanchions or leaky air-springs. Suntour could ship their fork with the double-springs and plastic top caps, and the buyer could easily find new internals from friends or the buy’n’sell. Suntour would get the added bonus of their name still being on the chassis too.

In my personal experience it doesn’t seem to matter how wide or firm a saddle is. When I move into a more aggressive position for a steep climb, I roll off my sit-bones. The narrower the saddle, the more upright I need to be to stay on my sit-bones.

The photos for this piece are perfect. Great job Andrew.

After seeing the price, I'm now curious why there's all this hype for the new Hayes? They're priced pretty close to the Code RSC, and far above the Code R.

Thank you for throwing the comparison in there AJ!

I've been calling the Trance my next bike since I rented one in Salt Lake City a couple of years ago, expecting to toodle about on XC trails, but ending up in bike parks and other non-xc terrain. That was the 27.5 version. I'm happy to see the new model get the nod from you.

I learned long ago on a Specialized Enduro that geometry isn't everything, if the suspensions platform doesn't jive with my riding style, I'd rather be on a hardtail.

I ran avid/code rotors, developed a leak in the rear code lever, pulled the TRPs off my enduro bike and put them on my DH bike. i didn’t like them so I swapped the TRP pads to Shimano. Then swapped both rotors to bigger Magura’s. then gave up and put the front code back on and am dealing with the rear. The TRPs were on Shimano rotors on the enduro, but they didn’t see too many rides and had the stock pads. The MT5s on the same Shimano rotors feel pretty good already even with the stock pads.

Yeah, I have Shimano pads front and back. I gave up on the front pretty quick though. I’m still running the TRP rear, but I put an old code on the front for the majority of this season.

I bought the TRPs. They’ll probably end up on my hard tail. 

Not enough power for my liking in the bike park, and I’m 180lbs. I even tried upping the rotor size to old Magura’s that were 210 (?) front and 203 rear. 

Someone in the lift line at whistler asked me about them, and I replied that I was actually wanting to ask the guy beside me who also happened to have them what he thought because I was finding they didn’t have enough power. Guy beside me in the lift line was offended and told me yeah he has to brake with two fingers sometimes, but they have ample power. Dude that asked me responded that yeah, his kid had them and found they didn’t have enough power either. 

I bought a set of the Magura MT5s for a good price from Germany. They’re feeling more powerful than the TRPs so far on the enduro bike, and they were cheaper. They’re also mineral oil and have the plastic lever for cold days.  I’ll have them on the downhill bike next season, but it was too big of a pain to do the internal cable routing at the end of the season, especially considering I’d like to have them back on the enduro bike this winter.

I bought the TRPs. They’ll probably end up on my hard tail. 

Not enough power for my liking in the bike park, and I’m 180lbs. I even tried upping the rotor size to old Magura’s that were 210 (?) front and 203 rear. 

Someone in the lift line at whistler asked me about them, and I replied that I was actually wanting to ask the guy beside me who also happened to have them what he thought because I was finding they didn’t have enough power. Guy beside me in the lift line was offended and told me yeah he has to brake with two fingers sometimes, but they have ample power. Dude that asked me responded that yeah, his kid had them and found they didn’t have enough power either. 

I bought a set of the Magura MT5s for a good price from Germany. They’re feeling more powerful than the TRPs so far on the enduro bike, and they were cheaper. They’re also mineral oil and have the plastic lever for cold days.  I’ll have them on the downhill bike next season, but it was too big of a pain to do the internal cable routing at the end of the season, especially considering I’d like to have them back on the enduro bike this winter.

Ooh that one looks awesome ^ 

What was the problem with it/why is it no longer used?

I drilled a 2x4 into the wall of a small den and then drilled 4 hooks into the 2x4. In practice it’s slightly inconvenient to get bikes in and out of. The roommate and I each have one bike half-wheeled into the den, and any bikes we ise infrequently are hung on the hooks. I guess it’s better than having those infrequently used bikes hung in a place they’ll be stolen.

Reign has my vote. I was very impressed by the Giant Trance that I took to all the bike parks around Salt Lake City (it was the worst rental Go Ride had available and the only bike they were okay with me taking to the bike parks). AJ seemed to quite like the new Trance too. If I was intending to mostly bike park, but still wanted to pedal a bike, I'd buy a Reign. More travel. Great suspension platform.

The XL Aurum A7 appears to be slightly shorter than the '18 XL Demo. Solid Strike is even shorter if I understand the stack/reach relationship correctly.

When I was looking for a new DH bike in early 2018, the XL Demo was the longest aluminum DH bike that I could find.

Everything has since gotten longer. Having done some looking into it, (but not comparing the changes that altering stack would have on reach) I think that if you want a longer DH bike than the 2018 XL Demo, you're going to have to look newer than 2018. In 2018, the Carbon YT Tues was long, but their aluminum frames were shorter than the Demo. This is very different now with an XXL that has nearly 500mm reach. The New Nukeproof descent is up there too. That being said, that frame is double the price of the Aurum.

Hey Mic, how tall are you?

The reach on the A7 isn't very long, only 452 even on the XL.

That was my biggest gripe with my DH bike when I got a modern enduro bike: I couldn't stand having the DH bike feel shorter.

It might be fine now, but as you upgrade the rest of your fleet, you might really start to dislike the Aurum.

Convert to coil 😂

I find being wrong a good learning experience. 

And fair enough. I’ve had two pinch flats this year, and one tube in a tire explode in the sun in my car. All tubes had 40psi in them. I probably could have avoided all 3 with rim strips. Does sealant dry out in a hot car?

Remind me again why we don't all just run tubes.

Dunbar had a RockShox Monarch air Adapter Tool in stock last week when I rebuilt my shock and had no way to pump-up the piggy-back. 

Either it was dumb-luck, or they keep suspension parts stocked.

I’d give them a call first if they’re near you.

Go with your original gut and raw your frame. As long as it’s done right and doesn’t cause your frame to oxidize, I don’t think it would cause people to pass on your bike in the buy’n’sell.

In my experience, the Canadian company did have the US incorporation. The US company then sponsored some employees from the Canadian company to do some work in the US.