Vikb profile

"It's kind of crazy that bikes are designed by riders riding trails in Marin or California and then they're expected to perform as just well as bikes designed for a very different set of trails in Western BC."

I would assume riders who are into MTBs would take into consideration where the folks designing the bikes ride and what their interests are. I have nothing against people riding flow trails and designing bikes for them. As long as I don't have to ride 'em or ride the bikes designed for 'em.

With that in mind I don't think thoughtful people expect a specific bike to work everywhere equally well.

Wide tire clearance and short CS. Not impossible to fabricate with a threaded BB, but a lot easier with a PF BB. 

I spent years on a PF BB bike and so did my GF. We had no issues at all. Threaded BBs are a little easier to deal with, but I wouldn't avoid another wise sweet bike just because of a PF BB.

Nice that you can stuff a large water bottle in your Growler and carry the rest of your kit stuffed in a fanny pack. ;)

You can fit a 26er tube into a 29er wheel/tire no problem. That might buy you some extra clearance in the frame.

"In fact, we will certainly continue developing mechanical systems."

Thank you.

I will certainly keep buying them. :)

I am not particularly stoked about the idea of having to Keep two batteries charged for my mountain bike to operate. I'll stick with cables. Even in the PNWet I don't find it takes all that much maintenance time keeping my shifting and dropper operating well with cables.

Bike companies are making some pretty heavy carbon frames these days and some companies are making some fairly light metal frames. If you pick a well engineered metal frame you can get a very competitive weight for the final build.

I just recently sold my 9yr old 26er [SC Nomad]. I had a lot of fun on that bike! If I hadn't grown used to longer Reach designs I'd still be riding it, but it was too hard to adapt going back and forth.

I read that, but I take a "I'll believe it when I see it." approach to new bike releases....especially with a new company. Spring could mean fall with a few hiccups.

I have a newish bike as well so I am not buying one this year, but I'm just greedy and want to read rider reports of the new rig to factor into future purchase decisions.

The Forbidden Bikes high pivot looks nice. It would be cool to ride a bike from a company on the island. Hopefully they release the bike for sale this year. :)

I'm glad you are enjoying the G16. Once nice thing with being stoked about a niche ride is that there are not that many similar options to catch your eye! For the coast a higher BB and a slacker front end is a beautiful thing.

I gave up bike diapers a bit over 10yrs ago and  never looked back. Finding the right saddle was key and took a lot of luck and some experimentation, but it's been well worth it.

I made the move to a 29er on a niche brand last year and have been in love since. I was really concerned I'd miss certain things about the smaller wheels, but really the downsides have been quite limited and I don't see myself going back. On one hand I wish I had tried wagon wheels earlier and on the other I am glad I waited for the geo to mature.

Have fun on the G16 for another year or more. The longer you wait the bigger an upgrade you get for your money.

You mean bikes I would buy if they held two water bottles and a frame bag! I'm not going backwards on H20 and tool storage onboard the bike. :)

I'm 200lbs ready to ride and I have only noticed stiffness issues with some carbon wheels and some 35mm carbon bars. Both of which can degrade the ride quality by transmitting more vibration than less stiff alternatives. As far as cranks go I have over 5yrs on Next SLs with no issues and just got a set of Next R's at the start of this summer. The cranks and RF's BBs have worked well for me both threaded and PF varieties. 

I just got a Boost bike and can't tell any difference from my 100/142 bikes that I can trace back to the wider hubs.

I'm shopping for a hardtail at the moment and I am doing my best to find one with a pleasant amount of flex for my weight/power and avoid an overly stiff frame.

The MTB industries constant marketing spew about more and more and more stiffness is stupid. You don't want the stiffest bike possible. You want the various components of your bike to be appropriately stiff for your needs. That gets too complicated to discuss in an advertisement sound bite so we are left with "MOAR STIFFERER THAN EVER!" ;)

I've run the 2.4" Conti Trail King as a winter tire the last 6-7 years on Van Isle. Great traction. Rolls fast.

I had been wanting a 29er for a few years. I demo'd a bunch of bikes and remained intrigued, but never managed to settle on a wagon wheeler that checked all my boxes. So I bought a couple 275ers and rode those. Fast forward 5yrs and I stumbled across Guerrilla Gravity bikes. They look great. Have all the features I wanted and my 29er stoke was high so I pulled the trigger.

A couple blog posts about the build and why I picked the Smash:

https://vikapprovedblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/guerilla-gravity-smash-29er/

https://vikapprovedblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/09/guerrilla-gravity-smash-build/

3 months in I'm really happy I made the choice. This bike was fun from the first pedal stroke [unlike my 29er demos] and has exceeded all my expectations. I knew it would be a great a descender, but the climbing capabilities of the Smash are a nice surprise. I'm glad I took a chance on GG and finally got a big wheeler. It's been a blast to ride.

I'm working on a review, but I have been feeling lazy. I'll post a link here when I get 'er done. :)

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vikapproved/sets/72157691878835305

Posted by: PSY

for you guys that use waist packs...do they ever move around a lot while going through chunder and stuff?

Our rides all seem to start with big climbs so the fanny bag is no issue for that and I will empty the water in the fanny pack first so usually when I am headed down and things get zesty the fanny bag is empty or nearly so and I don't even know I have it on.

Posted by: PSY
thanks for sharing this - good tip on the soft bottle. definitely gonna try this setup out
what's inside the timbuk2?

I carry my phone in there...mostly to take photos with.

Posted by: grambo

Semi thread jack -- what fanny packs are people running? Anyone using ones with built in bladder? For longer rides, I have an Osprey hydration pack with a 3L bladder (never use 3L except Chilcotins -- usually 1.5-2L for long hot days). For after work shore rides I am dumb and just carry a multi-tool in pocket and my 500ml water bottle on bike, if I flat I walk/trail run out. Fanny pack with 1L seems like it could eliminate my need for the pack on pretty much all rides.

I've tried a number of fanny packs. My favourite is this $15 MEC bag. Holds a 1L soft bottle plus a couple extra things. With 500-600ml on the bike plus tools on the bike I rarely need more than this. I drink from the bottle on the bike and refill from the soft bottle in the pack. That means by the time I am ready to get shreddy on the descents I don't have much weight in the fanny pack I don't notice it at all.

My two bike storage setups. Upper bike I can ride without a pack up to 4hrs in the summer and longer in the winter. Lower bike I add a 1L soft bottle in a $15 MEC fanny pack for rides over 2.5-3hrs in the summer. I carry my full tool/spare/pump on the bike. Crazy thing is I help folks with hydro packs fix their bikes all the time. In theory they have all the cargo capacity to carry tools/pump/spares....but seemingly they don't.

I have since ditched the CO2 for a pump and added a derailleur hanger. I'll often throw $20 in there for emergency pub money.

I carry basically the same items on both bikes. On my Knolly my pump is external so it does get a bit dirty. I was going to put it in plastic bag at work and seal it, but I keep forgetting. Porcelain Rocket under DT bag is 6-7 years old and going strong. Contents stayed dry all winter despite splashing from front wheel. Only getting one bottle on the bike is less awesome than the GG, but still it's enough for 80%+ of my rides.

Places I've ridden somewhat recently that prohibit e-bikes:

• Sedona [sign above] on most MTB trails [everything managed by USFS]

• Moab banned on all MTB trails. Okay where motos are allowed. [also USFS managed]

• Pemberton banned on non-motorized hiking and biking trails. Well signed.

• Cumberland banned on MTB trails. I didn't check the signage.

• Victoria area CRD MTB trails are banned. Not signed. Okay on Regional Trails - ie. the Goose and Lochside, etc..

Anyone out there running the same carbon rims on their AM/Enduro bike for more than 2-3 years? How far would you take them before selling them or relegating them to lighter duty?

My carbon light bicycle rims are 4yrs old in 2017. I'll be using them until they break. So far I have hammered them on rocks, pinch flatted tubless tires and still not a mark on the edges of the rims.

I've got plans to replace them. No idea how long they'll last.