Cheez1ts profile

Here’s the defence: The sram guides had an issue with piston swell causing the levers to seize, shimano had a floating bite point issue, the first release of trp Quadiems lacked power, the Maguras has mixed reviews in lever durability, and Hayes had mixed reviews on quality control. 

The Code was the only brake I was comfortable buying for a while. Once you’ve got them on more than one bike, it’s easy enough to make an argument to get them on the whole fleet. I even have codes on my dirt jumper at the moment.

What elbow pads did you get? I think I left mine on the roof of my car and can’t get the same model anymore. I’m looking for recommendations. 

Regarding the full-face, I wear a proper DH helmet for every ride and I hang it on my bar to climb. I started doing this regularly when i was pedalling up cypress, and now I like the full face everywhere. If any of my gear was new I would probably not be happy about my helmet occasionally banging into my fork, but it’s not.

Sometimes flicking the lever a few times isn't enough, gotta leave it overnight.

Get the brake in a spot where gravity can be your friend (might have to angle the bike in the stand if you're internally routed) and then strap the brake lever down overnight. Air bubbles will slowly bubble out in the top syringe.

I've had success doing this by solely lever bleeding on Sram and Shimano brakes (i.e. not using the syringe on the caliper) if you want to skip part of the process. I do not have magura brakes, but based on the youtube video I found it looked like the same process as sram brakes.

Thanks Deniz and Cam, I appreciate this article and the previous. I already picked up the Loam Goats as spares after the last article, but it’s great to know more about the other options. I expect to refer back to this article in the future.

Loam Goat pads ordered for my codes. Thanks! Free shipping and $35 for two sets of pads make them worth trying

Thank you Deniz, I'm interested in your findings.

I've mostly had Codes on all of my bikes for the last 10 years which have had the same pad for that decade.

I wish I had jotted down notes like this over the years. The metallic Sram pads have been the winner for me, but it would nice to know what the next-best option is/was. There's definitely been some pads that resulted in a loss of performance.

It doesn’t appear that the frame can take too long of a dropper post due to the pivot and kink halfway down the seat tube. Did you have to make any compromises when setting your saddle height?

Dear Dave,

Please include me on the list of people you bother for shuttles if you ever get another DH/FR bike to review.

Overwhelming consensus is that we all love your writing and read your review of expensive glasses that we otherwise wouldn’t have. 

I think the takeaway is that the majority of those who take time to leave a comment aren’t willing to spend this much on glasses. 

But there’s even one comment that agrees with you that these are great. What more could you want man?

Fits well is a good point. I should plan to try before I buy (ie not buy online)

I was in the gondola when my buddy scratched some mud off my down-tube and showed me I had a big crack near the head-tube. Safety justifies replacing parts on a semi-regular basis.

I saw ReductiMat rip a crank arm in half on his YT and I’m pretty sure he was back in the lift line a few hours later. He’ll be fine.

Thanks velocipedestrian, I felt that even their non-clearance bling was priced well. My stuff arrived in a coupe days 👌

That starling is a very nice, what are you doing to the suspension?

I have a zee cage mounted upside down on the downtube of my frame so it’s stressed more than is probably normal. It started losing full bottles after a season or two. I can usually get away with a half-full bottle and have had it for 4-ish years. I think I need a king cage.

^I’ve seen a couple of angle-set on the buy’n’sell for $40 now. Might be able to get one of those instead of reducing travel.

Velocipedestrian, I hope you’re sub 160lbs. I bought TRPs DH brake when it was first released and could not get enough power out of them despite trying shimano pads and larger rotors.

Neils, your stock Reign has me kicking myself I didn't get the Trance X when it was first released.

I'm on a 2018 XL Production Privee Shan No. 5 frame:

• 140mm RS Super Deluxe Coil Ultimate Shock

• 160mm RS Pike with Push Coil Conversion and Avalanche Damper

• Hope Pro 4 hubs, Chromag BA30 rims, Minion DHF tires, & Tannus tubeless inserts F/R

• Previous generation Code Brakes

• Still needs a dropper

• One of the XD Sram 12spd setups (haven't learned the names, fresh Shimano 11spd waiting in the wings)

I was looking for obscure small parts yesterday, and every local shop I reached out to was great:

1. They e-mailed back within a couple hours with detailed and extremely helpful e-mails.

2. They all went above and beyond in a different way that I wasn't expecting.

3. They all appeared to be reasonably-well stocked.

I've been quite impressed by Dunbar, Kinetik, and North Shore Bike Shop every time I've interacted with any of them since the supply chain issues began.

It's definitely worth sending them an e-mail or giving them a call if you're looking to stock up on a specific part.

From how I understand it, if the duty is 13%, that is just duty. You would additionally pay GST and shipping.

This was one of the comments on the release article on that other site:

As per Canyon's website:

"Q: Are there additional costs after ordering?

"A: All prices on our website are net prices. The following additional charges apply: CAD 99 shipping for bikes, CAD 49 for accessories, CAD 29 for the Bike Guard – our custom reusable transport box – as well as an optional CAD 99 fee for delivery and assembly by Velofix. UPS will charge an additional 13% import duty for bikes and between 0 and 18% for other gear. In addition, UPS will charge sales tax depending on your location (GST/PST or HST)”

I've had shimano alfine tensioner on all my Whistler Bike Park DH bikes with success for the last 10 years.

They're cheap and work. One in stock for $34 at Corsa Cycles in Squamish https://www.dunbarcycles.com/shimano-alfine-ct-s500-chain-tensioner-black.html?source=googlebase

Based on your pictures though it looks like you're not in Squamish. Nice rig!