Vikb profile

Yup. Super fun to watch various parts of the bike moving around in the corners. I bet they left some cool footage on the cutting room floor.

I've done 26er/275er tube to 29er several times with no issues. Tubes stretch so much I just can't see how that didn't work??

If you are like me and rarely get a tubeless flat that you can't plug you can carry a spare tube that is much smaller than the wheel/tire size it's a spare for. It will save you bulk/weight and be cheap. A tube will expand a great deal so a 700x 38mm tube is fine for a 29er MTB as a spare or a 26er x 2.1" tube for a 29er.

I have given away my spare tube several times over the last few years, but never needed to install it on my bike. That's a lot nicer with a $5CAD tube than it would with a $50CAD bling tube.

If you have the adjustment room a setback dropper and shorter stem [and/or bars with more sweep] would move you back from the front wheel. Maybe another couple spacers under the stem or a higher rise bar to also rotate you backwards from the front wheel? Maybe extend the fork to 160mm if you have that capability?

If you want a quality dropper with setback the only one that I am aware of is the 9.8 dropper. If you know of another one that is 1) not junk and 2) has something like 1" setback I'd love to know. I'm finding the currently fashionable steep STAs do not work well for my body. The only MTB I currently own without a setback dropper/seatpost is one I had custom made. Having only one setback option is making me a bit nervous.

MEC was selling the Bahco for $18 last time I checked while it was in stock. Great price for a saw that worked so well and was so easy to carry.

I just got a V2.1 x 180mm dropper from One Up. It's going up and down the same as my other droppers. There may be something else wrong with the one you have.

MEC had to get rid of a bunch of outdoors gear because their new strategic plan identified a need for 100% increase in school day packs, hoodies and coffee travel mugs. I mean if I was one of their buyers and had to choose between a quality compact folding saw or a keychain lip balm with an LED light it's not like I could keep the saw could I?

I'm hopeful E13 comes out with some wider versions of their tires this year. They look good, but I love me some big rubber.

The Bahco saw is great. Packs a lot of punch in a small easy to carry package.

FYI - if you buy a One Up dropper now they are shipping V2.1. The actuator head is different and there is no o-ring. Not a big deal, but I did spend 5 mins triple checking things when the install instructions didn't match the parts I was looking at. The actuator head looks even lower profile on V2.1 so I assume changes were made to simplify and possibly increase insertion depth.

I haven't had it long enough to really say much beyond it works well and is so much better than the 5 year old Reverb it replaced.

I got a custom hardtail this year and made the mistake of not including ISCG tabs for a taco bash. I had a reason, but my logic was faulty. I got a MRP ISCG adapter and MRP minimalist taco bash. Works fine, but if I ever need to repowdercoat my frame it'll get ISCG tabs welded on before I do! Lesson learned.

On a serious note one thing to consider is if you have a direct encounter with a bear that requires you to use bear spray you really need to have multiple cans because the bear you sprayed may not have been fully deterred even if you were able to repel them during the initial encounter. This is less of a concern in a front country setting where retreat to a vehicle is fast and easy vs. a backcountry setting where you might be days away from a vehicle.

I like to carry bear bangers with plenty of cartridges [like 9 or 12] plus one bear spray per person so hopefully several in the group. I've never had to use bear spray in anger, but I have used bangers on a number of occasions and they have been effective at turning bears around at a safe distance from me.

Bear spray has a limited shelf life so check the expiry date before every trip and use expired cans [in a safe area] as practice to get used to how the spray deploys in real life.

One more thing I will add to the discussion is that I do consider my GG Smash to be a pretty potent trail weapon so maybe that helps me feel secure when riding despite not packing a gun? ;-)

I spent 10 years in the Canadian Army. I don't own a gun or rifle. I have no need for one in Canada or the US or Mexico [specifically the Baja]. I sometimes have bear spray with me on the bike and/or travelling in my truck to bike/camp. That provides as much self-defence as I can see myself needing. 

In the US in 2016 there were 161,374 accidental gun deaths which was the 3rd overall cause of death. In addition to this total there are a number of non-fatal gun shoot injuries, but I didn't find the stats for 2016.

Despite having professional experience with firearms my risk analysis tells me I'm more likely to hurt someone else or myself carrying a firearm mountain biking and travelling to mountain bike than I am to use a firearm to change a negative situation into a positive one.

Travelling in Canada, the US or Mexico to mountain bike by far the most dangerous thing I do is to drive a lot to get to the trail head/camp. If my concern really is on making these trips safer then doing stuff like avoiding night driving/driving when tired, avoiding bad weather, maintaining my vehicle, driving slower, etc... are going to be far more effective than arming myself in order to "protect" myself.

I have a US buddy I have road tripped with who is a gun/rifle owner. I told him if he wants to bring a weapon with him I'm not travelling with him. About the only folks I would trust with a weapon near me are true experts like special forces/SWAT. Normal LEO/military folks nope. Gun enthusiasts/amateurs no f**king way.

I'm really glad that Canada has more restrictive gun laws and I'd happily make them even more restrictive while still making sure that hunters are able to buy and use rifles/shotguns.

I'd rather run a proper front fender [ie. Mudhugger or RRP] than fork boots. They keep my stanchions really clean and don't trap anything inside. Personally I don't care how cool fork boots look. If looking cool was important to me I wouldn't run a full front fender. I'm pretty sure that's not cool. But, it's really effective.

The rear fender is great for keeping my dropper and shock clean. But, ya also not cool.

When I met my GF somehow the topic of car oil changes came up as she was driving me somewhere. So I asked when she changed the oil last. She replied "I can't remember. The oil light hasn't come on and the car drives fine so it's not time yet."  Yikes!

Posted by: xy9ine

Posted by: Vikb

but of course going custom is $$$ compared to a production steel frame.

$250 usd for full custom is fairly enticing:

https://www.marinobike.com/producto/custom-hardtail-mtb-frame/

I've seen one of his builds in the flesh, and while not dekerf quality, they do look solid. i'd be all over this if i were building a new ht.

Marino is a great deal, but I'm not sure you'll get the same level of customization in tubes/flex as with a domestic builder and if you do it won't be at that price. I'm generally not worried about how the tubes are welded together. I'm worried about selecting the right tubes to get the feel I am after.

Marino may be able to do that, but the Marino built bikes I've seen ride feedback on were on the overbuilt stiff side...just like most production steel frames. That's easier, cheaper and less likely to fail/cause problems so it's not surprising that's where frames end up most of the time.

In other words not all custom options are equal.

All that said even if they are on the stiff side Marino frames are cheap and allow you to test out geo non-mainstream ideas without a big price tag.

I don't think a strobe is a great idea even on the streets. Blinding folks driving 1+ ton vehicles around you doesn't seem smart or safe. It would be the car equivalent of deciding to drive with high beams on all the time because it's "safer" since you'll be more visible. 

Personally I use a solid bike light from Germany that has vertical cut off like a car headlight so that it's not shooting a ton of light up in the air right into driver's eyes. It's plenty visible and fits right into what driver's brains are looking for in terms of identifying another "vehicle" when deciding what to do. In Germany it's illegal to use a strobe or even a solid light that doesn't have a vertical cut off because the result is not "safer".

A YT channel I watch recently had a bunch of demo rides on hardtails at OuterBike Moab. A steel frame was the most comfortable/lively feeling and the Ti frames were stiffer. You can make steel or Ti or even AL ride stiffer or softer depending on the tubes selected and the frame design. It tough because frame flex is one of the characteristics I care the most about in a hardtail right after geo, but unlike geo it's very hard to evaluate without a test ride. A frame with the "right" amount of flex for my 195lb/medium levels of fury on a large frame isn't going to be what my 120lb GF with low levels of fury on a small frame would want.

Best you can do without a demo is find some online reviews from people close to you in frame size/weight and leg power and try and guesstimate how you'll like it. Frames tend towards overbuilt/too still in my experience so it's a hunt for a frame with more flex generally.

My last hardtail I finally got a custom steel frame built and nailing down the "right" amount of flex was one of the things I made sure the builder knew was really important to me. The bike rides really well, but of course going custom is $$$ compared to a production steel frame.

Posted by: Cheez1ts

Remind me again why we don't all just run tubes.

Just speaking for myself...

- fewer flats [especially those pesky slow leak ones]

- lower rolling resistance

- higher traction

- ability to run lower pressures without pinch flatting [I run ~20psi +/-2 at 195lbs ready to ride weight]

- fast flat repairs with plugs [in most cases]

I've had an unusually high number of tubeless flats in 2019 at three [thanks Maxxis EXO! ;-)] and each one got fixed with tubeless plugs on the trail. The fix goes like this...#1 stick plug in from outside of tire, #2 pump up tire and #3 ride my bike. That's a lot faster and less hassles than when I was running tubes and flatted more often. 

I don't bother with tire inserts.

I'm the grouchy old guy yelling at other cyclists on the bikepath to let them know their high power LED fast strobes are not making me happy.  ;-)