Vikb profile

The sole is definitely soft and flexible on that new Adidas/5.10 shoe. Not something I want to smash downhill on for long. I've warmed up to them for less demanding riding though.

I don't use padded shorts or cream and ride all day. I don't have a particularly "hard" butt, but choice of saddle, underwear/shorts and riding position provide the comfort. Experimentation is key as what's comfortable for 4hrs may not be comfortable at 12hrs or 18hrs.

Good luck with BCBR!

That's odd mine will dry overnight if I put them on the boot dryer when I get in from a ride. I'd have no use for shoes that took a week to dry.

I have the low top Freerider EPS right now and had a different version of the Freerider that was weatherproof before this pair....I don't recall what the model name was.  My feet stay dry in the EPS shoes most of the winter. Stepping into a deep puddle or savage rain are exceptions, but those are rare for me. I have had no issues drying mine on a boot dryer. I pull out the insole and the dryer does its job long before I need them again.

I might get another winter out of these EPS 5.10's, but I'm hoping they offer them or another similar product soon so I can stock up.

They come and go, but 5.10 have had winter shoes in their line up that are fairly waterproof. I'm on my 2nd set and like them a lot. My feet stay dry in all, but rain-pocalytic conditions. Next time I see some for sale I'll buy a couple pairs.

I toss any worn out grips, but I have a habit of buying grips that look interesting and throwing them in a box. So when it comes time for new grips I have quite a few to try! Cheaper than a cocaine habit. ;-)

My grip fleet [everyone has  grip fleet right?] features a wide variety of Ergon grips. The less techy the riding the bigger they are and having a bunch of option is great to try out when dialing in a bike. I've also got a bunch of high rise bars in the parts bin and full fenders on just about all my bikes. People can say what they want about my bikes. I don't care as long as I am comfortable I'm happy. :-)

Great looking bike. I'm glad you found something that works so well for you.

I don't worry about bike weight within a reasonable range. From the data I have my PRs on a 28lb all carbon FS enduro bike and a 34lb metal enduro bike are all in a similar range and mostly down to fitness. I do pay attention to bike fit/ergonomics/suspension setup a lot and to the rolling resistance/grip of my tires. That seems to make much more impact on my performance than +/-2lbs.

I have also been moving from a hyro pack to all water/gear on the bike the last 5-6 years and I have noticed I like the stability that imparts to the bike a lot. The machine tracks very well and it's not easily knocked off line.

I wish my garage had CNC machines in it. :)

Nice work on the bikes. :)

Posted by: niels@nsmb.com

I've always ended up with settings that are wildly different from the manufacturers' recommendations or settings posted in reviews and bike checks.

Same here. I don't look at the manufacturer's recommendation for my suspension and just set it up based my preferences. Ocassionally I'll look later on when it's raining out and I am bored. It's funny how different their suggestions usually vs. what I like.

Other than sitting on someone else's big to validate sizing I don't bother demoing them. The setups are usually so far off it's not going to tell me much and people get annoyed when you adjust 10 different things on their well dialed bikes!

Posted by: RAHrider

Anyone else have this same experience? I am going to get the shim stack tuned with my next service. Don't even get me started on how overdampened my wife's suspension is always.

My technique on all my forks [MRP/Fox/SRAM] is to open the HSC/LSC fully. I'm ~180-190lbs out of the shower depending on time of year. I've never wanted more compression damping unless I was on the road for a good long time. That said I haven't felt that the wide open compression damping setting was still too aggressive on any of these forks.

No I cleaned out my sausage casing gear over the last few years and sold/donated/recycled it as appropriate. While I still had a drop bar road bike I was that weirdo that rode it in plaid shirts and flat pedals with MTB shoes. My go-to MTB riding wind vest was made for trail running and I use it and a bunch of my MTB gear when hiking/skateboarding/etc... So I get the cross-sport-gear pollination, but I don't drink the roadie nectar in particular.

Posted by: syncro

Just letting the bike dry on it's own is the faster way to cause wear and tear. 

That ^^ doesn't make any sense to me. Other than the chain water on the outside of your bike is not going to cause any extra damage drying vs. hitting it with hose and then drying the bike. It's not the water on the surface that is causing issues it's the water that gets pushed past seals because of the hose that's the issue.

I put protective tape on all my MTBs [not Ride Wrap] and I dry brush as needed. I'll wash with a bucket of soapy water and a rag at the end of the winter or when I need to do a big service and I'll be handling the bike a lot. So I wash with water usually twice a year.

I never understand people hosing their bikes off. Just seems like a great way to accelerate service intervals.

Nice work. I do home DIY carbon "repairs" and black "anodizing" with a Sharpie marker. Looks okay from 4' away! ;-)

Posted by: michel77

Decided to try a full-sus again this year. Accumulated some parts during CoVid downtime and built up this Starling Murmur when I finally got the frame from the UK. Been out for a few rides and I'm very impressed so far. Pedals and climbs much better than I expected, smooth and quiet on the downhills. Think this one will be around for a while :)

Wow. Great looking ride. A steel FS rig is one of the things I'd like to try sometime in my MTB career given how much I love to ride steel rigid/hardtail bikes. Enjoy the new bike!

Posted by: Heinous

I guess a bike intended to be ridden that aggressively has to be pretty strong, and at a certain point you’re just reducing travel, but not weight, or improving ride characteristics any more!

Sure. It's like riding an aggressive steel hardtail. On paper it kind of doesn't make sense. It's going to weigh as much or more than a FS bike without the performance of the rear squish. But, the folks that are passionate about riding hardtails do it because they ride differently not necessarily better. Or at least not better in a way we'd all agree on. I think the same goes for short travel aggressive bikes.

Posted by: cam@nsmb.com

Just bolted a 170 mm Fox 36 to the front of the Honzo ESD for the final chapter of the test. Looking forward to trying it but I wish more of my buddies rode hard tails. That would make it more fun, and less punishing trying to keep up. It’s pretty rewarding when I do though.

I'd like to throw a leg over an ESD. It's one of the few hardtails I am keen on where that might actually be possible!

I feel like am being a good role model as the number of people I ride with who are adding hardtails to fleet grows. I'm also seeing 3 or 4 times as many hardtails [mostly quality rides vs. people getting on old hand me down rigs] on the trails these days than in previous years. Could be COVID related or could just be a surge in interest.

Posted by: AJM

Thanks for kicking off the 2021 thread Vik (and your note a while back on bikepacking setup). Keen to see what 2021 brings on the thread and will try to share more with my Chromag Rootdown now in play. Cheers all!

We need more Rooty photos for sure. I've started focusing on my bikepacking rig and putting mileage on it [while staying local] so it and my body will be dialed once COVID restrictions ease and we can travel around BC again. I've got some trips in mind that will be fun starting with some island riding and hopefully getting back to the Chilcotins as well.