Vikb profile

The one thing that has come to mind talking bikes with people in these crazy times is you are not saving money if you end up buying a deeply discounted bike that isn't right for you. People are going sale mad and impulse buying stuff that isn't right for them...because mega sale!!!

It's a variation on buying that clapped out used bike that needs a full drivetrain, brake service, new drivetrain, new tires, etc... The initial cost is attractive, but at the end of the process the deal is not all that sweet.

I'm a fan of figuring out what I want and then looking for the best way to get it vs. looking for deals and then figuring out if I can make the item work for me.

Fall. Just because those first rains after the dry summer are so glorious and the combo of still having frequent warm-ish dry-ish hero dirt days is hard to beat. Plus I dig winter/snow riding and Fall means that's coming.

100%. I'd rather trail ride winter than summer on the island. Although spring and fall are the best seasons by quality of riding experience and full mountain access.

I'm impressed by how many Arrivals I'm seeing out and about. For a small brand they are selling a fair amount of bikes in my neck of the woods. Not sure which travel version as I am not paying that much attention to the details, but the distinctive stealth fighter angles of the frame are hard to miss.

I've used S4 Whistler and its previous incarnations back to the Vorsprung days for years now and only had positive results.

If you have an OG Houdini jacket or the current "Air" version they breathe pretty well and I'd say they are a good option. The current "normal" Houdini is different than the OG version and the premium "Air" version and is more akin to wearing a trash bag when it comes to breathability. It gets confusing talking about them as there are 3 different products that all are "Houdini Jackets".

The lack of waterproofness is a benefit...if...it comes with a high level of breathability...and...you don't ride in heavy rain. The current "normal" Houdini fails IMO because you get poor breathability combined with poor weatherproofness.

My enthusiasm for rain riding stops after steady drizzle, but it returns once the rain drops fall as frozen flakes. In fact I'd say a good snow ride is better than a good summer ride. ;-)

We definitely have some different winter riding clothing needs. So I understand why you'd want the Showers Pass vest vs. what I would prefer. I max out at light drizzle. Beyond that I am heading home. Most of the time I can schedule my winter rides so it's just after or just before it's going to rain steady. I get really rained on in the winter once or twice. So I'm after warmth and breathability more than weather resistance.

"The Clairebarian recently outgrew just the shoulders in an old MEC jacket (it’s a lot shorter than it was too, but perfect for MTB) so she’s trying #VestLife this winter too."

Once you go vest it's hard to go back to jackets for high output activities. Good to learn that early.

Patagonia Houdini Vest. Packs up to nothing. Massive comfort range/impact on my trail happiness. Fit happens to suit me very well. Has been quite robust given the weight/packed size/fabric. If they made them again I'd buy two!

The jacket version is a decided Meh! It does nothing really well other than pack small. If you are doing anything more than standing around it's a sweat locker. Good as an emergency layer, but not something you want to wear on the regular. 

FWIW - Patagonia does make a more breathable "Air" version of the Houdini jacket at double the cost of the base version. If you really want a packable jacket that's less sweaty and you have the treasure.

I run SRAM Codes, various Shimano brakes and some Magura MT5s on my bikes. I don't really care what brakes go on what bikes. I run the same 200mm/180mm rotors on everything that shreds.

Posted by: Kenny

We see it as human powered versus electric.  They see it as bike vs no bike.

I'm spending more time on my local trails on foot. While there seems like a clear difference to me between mountain bike and e-bike in terms of hiker/runner interactions I'm educated in the distinctions. There are issues with mountain bikes and people on foot, but it's at a manageable level since very few mountain bikers can consistently achieve Olympic level power output. E-bikes tip that over to a level of problematic that needs some attention beyond just posting right of way/courtesy signs at the trailhead. So while I would prefer the distinction be human powered vs. motors for changing trail access I can understand/sympathize with it being foot vs. wheels.

Of course bike companies aren't helping by making mountain bikes and ebikes almost indistinguishable. There are no Trail Cops who are going to carefully inspect each machine for specification prior to riding a trail. So it does become more practical to just eliminate wheels on some trails if you want to solve the problem.

I ride in water resistant vests and jackets in the winter on Van Isle, but I don't go out of my way to ride in heavy rain. I find waterproof gear ends up wet inside from sweat anyways so it's not that useful to me. Not clothing, but having large-ish fenders front/rear and a downtube splash guard keeps a lot of the dirty trail water off me which helps a lot for comfort. I like Andrew's waterproof vest idea for heavier rain, but my solution to that is just adjusting my ride schedule to avoid heavy rain.

In terms of trail access where I live I don't see ebikes getting trails closed per say, but I certainly could see some trails getting set aside exclusively for walkers/runners/dogs. There was always some tension between riders and peds on certain trails closer to town, but now that everyone can ride at Olympic level power/speeds, even uphill, the problem will be exacerbated. Assuming it happens that won't be a ton of trails as the range of folks on feet is [for the most part] fairly low. 

Other places that have more delicate land access issues may see more serious changes due to ebikes. There is nothing stopping the Rise of the Machine so we won't have to theorize for too long.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

If Vik’s powered exoskeletons for hikers and runners will just hit the market for mass adoption soon we’ll be back on equal footing.

https://youtu.be/uj4G9wmwCNI

Pre-Orders are open! Much cheaper than an e-bike. Same idea. You, but MOAR!!!

https://www.hypershell.cc/

Posted by: Endur-Bro

How do you think weight distribution works?

My post above explains my take on CS length vs. weight distribution for each wheel.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

I love how the image you chose to prove your point 

The image wasn't chosen to prove my point. It's just an illustration regarding weight distribution and CG. If your new bike with long CS climbs well for you that's great. They obviously suit some people. Unfortunately they don't work well for everyone...that was my point.

Posted by: Tremeer023

Workshop lean with new frame bag:

I approve! The world needs more framebags! ;-)

As long as the service life is in line with my expectations I don't mind replacing wear items like brake pads, tires, rotors, grips, wheel bearings, BBs, etc... That just means I am riding a lot and it's well worth staying on top of bike maintenance tasks to keep the ride quality high. I'd rather be doing regular maintenance and riding a lot vs. not having to do much because my bike is gathering dust in the garage.

I don't get many upgrades this way as I tend to build bikes from the frame up and use whatever parts I prefer rather than buying a complete and wishing stuff I don't love would just wear out or break so I can replace them. So when something wears out it mostly gets replaced with something similar. 

I had a bit of shock when I started working PT at my LBS fixing bikes. While I do almost all of the maintenance tasks on my own bikes it didn't occur to me how few different parts I worked with. I tend to buy the same stuff over and over so maintaining it is pretty routine. Getting a random bike in the stand with parts that are not familiar to me and that have been abused to varying degrees was a challenge! That was partially quite enjoyable and partially quite frustrating.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

They have a bunch of ~ bike parts so they’re basically mountain bicycles right?

Ya. I mean they are only wrist-assist. They don't move without a human turning a bike part.