D_C_ profile

In my view, these bikes are pretty long. Hardtails have their reach increase as the fork sags, whereas a full-suspension’s  reach stays the same or shrinks through sagging of both ends. A medium hardtail with 450 reach is a long bike.

Agreed on the head angle though, but you can always bump up the fork to 150 for an extra degree.

That said, reviews from people who paid money for something are often relief of cognitive dissonance, attempts at validating their purchase and convincing themselves they made the right choice over another option. There's really no winning when it comes to avoiding bias.

Confirmed. I deleted my comment. I just figured I didn’t have anything interesting to say so I pulled the plug. Haha

"IMO it wouldnt really be a fair test to pit a "cheap" alloy bike vs a premium carbon offering for the same reason you mention; it would say more about the manufacturing and design than material; apples to oranges."

If your budget is around ~$5000 and looking at non-boutique brands, you're likely faced with the choice of the aluminum frame with better parts or the carbon frame with a lower-end build. That comparison, while somewhat apples and oranges, would be interesting (e.g. Norco Range C3 vs A1, Specialized Enduro Comp with upgraded wheels vs. Enduro Elite, Giant Reign 1 vs Reign Advanced 1, etc.).

Nicely done. That said, Knolly has produced high-end alloy frames for most of its existence, aimed at the performance market, so it’s not surprising that the alloy bike rides well. I suspect there might have been more clear differences with brands like, say, Giant or Specialized, where the alloy bikes are geared toward those on a budget. This comparison says more about Knolly bikes than it does about materials.

I think what can be concluded is that it’s possible to make a good aluminum bike.

I just set up a ReMote LA with a Manic (already had the ReMote then got the seatpost). Unlike some other posts, the Manic doesn't drop until the lever is fully pushed over (as opposed to actuating as soon as the lever starts moving). The LA version works fine, but I agree that the regular version would work better, resulting in less lever throw.

"Do we need a bar size between 31.8mm, and 35mm? 31.8mm is so heavy, but 35mm is too stiff and not as impact resistant. Someone out there thinks 33.28mm sounds like a good compromise."

Stop giving them ideas. Nobody thinks this. Nobody.

Deleted. Oops

The first time I saw a bike going for $5000, I nearly spat out my coffee. But after becoming desensitized by countless reviews of $10000 bikes, $5000 seems like a deal. Mission accomplished.

DNV Council and the local MLA aren't into the idea.

http://www.nsnews.com/news/district-of-north-vancouver-trashes-compost-plan-for-mount-seymour-1.23080501

Posted by: UFO

If you're interested in a pretty mint 2017 Devinci Django in medium with most parts new from my Specialized Fuse, feel free to PM me for details

Sent you a PM. I’m intrigued.

Posted by: T-mack

I'm not a hardtail rider and never will be but I do have a question. With 180mm travel up front and considering the whole bike pivots around the rear axle, won't it feel super unstable when you're deep in the travel? A dually at least somewhat maintains its geo to a degree when both ends compress.

It’s definitely a consideration. I found my old hardtail with a 120 fork easy to feel good on. My Rootdown BA with 150 mm fork was a bit harder to set up. I went with 150 over the stock 160 for that very reason, but it’s still a matter of balancing stem spacers, fork air pressure and tokens to get the ride height I want. I like my hardtail with a firmer fork setup than my full suspension to keep the front end up.

Posted by: earleb

None of the above. 

Buy a Instinct BC and sell the E29. 

Get a L instead of the M and still put an angleset in it to bring it to 64.9 and give it some more wheelbase. For XC find the lightest possible wheels you think you can run.

I'm liking the geometry better on the Instinct with the regular metric shock at 140 mm and a longer travel fork. The BC Edition is pretty tall and steep due to the longer-stroke rear shock.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: UFO

One bike that marked a lot of my check boxes was the Commencal Meta AM HT. $530 brand new, threaded bb, lightweight, 29/27.5+ compatible, slackish geo with 150mm fork, or quicker xc geo with a 130mm fork.

damn, they have them right now for $280

Pretty sure the one on sale is the old version, which is 27.5 wheels only. Still a good buy if you want to run that wheel size.

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: grambo

OP are you Canadian? If so sign up for the Evo car share (www.evo.ca) it's pay per minute/hour use of a Prius that has bike racks on the roof. It is $15/hour... more expensive than the bus but very convenient and cheaper than owning a car even if you did 1-2 rides a week.

You can find the cars spread around downtown pretty easily and can leave them in any non-meter parking area.

EVO will not get him to the North Shore trailheads as they are outside the 'home' zone.  They could get him closer than DT, but he'd still likely need transit to make it close enough to avoid a long pedal.

You can keep the Evo while you ride, but that also means you're paying for it. In my experience, it is often cheaper to rent a car than book an Evo for longer periods. They're really priced for short trips.

For me, it would be between the Honzo and 2016 Stumpy, just because they both have fairly modern geometry. For what you're after, I think an older Transition Smuggler or Kona Process 111 would be ideal. These bikes were ahead of their time and match up well with current models, so you may be able to find a good deal on an older one.

It may be without base since many people run carbon bars without issue, but I don’t trust them. Bars are often in the line of fire, and having bars snap would be pretty terrible. So that is one place I stick with alloy.

Second one.

I did get hassled about bringing a dirty bike back into Canada once, though. The guy was claiming that dirt and mud can be a vector for biohazards brought across the border.

Thread about it here: https://nsmb.com/forum/forum/gear-4/topic/psa-wash-your-bikes-before-crossing-the-border-1162/

Transit to Fromme and Seymour is pretty good. The time to get to either is similar, with Fromme being a bit quicker to get back downtown at the end. Busses have bike racks on the front, and you can bring your bike on the Seabus (passenger ferry).

Fromme: 

- Take 210 bus to Mountain Highway and Coleman to get there 

- Finish with a trail that pops out on Braemar (e.g. Lower Expresso / Pennzoi) and ride down the hill to the Seabus to get back downtown

Seymour:

- Take 211 bus to and from Old Buck trailhead or 214 bus to and from Hyannis trailhead

- Optionally, finish with Bottletop and ride down Riverside Drive to Phibbs Exchange (big bus loop) and catch any bus going downtown

Other than structures being removed, has Ned's really changed much in recent years? It is eroded to bedrock and till and can't really erode further. I'm not sure how one could fix up Ned's, short of completely rerouting it.