mammal profile

Temp change makes a very perceivable difference in fork air pressure. I find this when setting up my single crown in my cool basement suite, then heading out for a hot summer ride. Way to stiff right off the bat.  I also notice a considerable difference with large altitude gains/losses.

Jeff's all-around skill set blows my mind.

Not sure why, but maybe they want a bit more cable length available beyond the clamp screw. Zip tie secures the extra length from getting in the way. I was very curious about that myself.

Shocked this title wasn't "A Rude Awakening". So obvious.

Someone in the pinkbike comments nailed it on the Marin/Polygon bikes... Something to the effect of, "the silhouette has all the grace of a shitting dog".

Great point about side-side play. This would probably stop my rear DH rim and spokes from getting all those damn pock marks from chain contact. I also run a suuuuuper old rear shifter/derailleur combo (original XO DH) without a clutch, so I may be in the market for these doohickeys.

I think the Hoff will be the first Syndicate woman, for sure. Would be a great move for the team, and for her. I guess it also depends on other offers, she's making a pretty good case for herself this year. She's getting good race support from the Syndicate, I'd say they're the runners up.

My mistake Tim. I actually knew that, but transposed that info backwards... 

Great to hear you're getting back into the action! It'll be good to live vicariously through your reports, as we used to race in the same Expert-through-Elite categories, approximately one lifetime ago (I stopped racing in 2008). Another mutual NV acquaintance should be racing there as well, same cat as you. Hopefully someone has a decent go-pro of the Masters course, it'd be great to see.

Masters is run on the following weekend, and has different requirements than the Jr/Senior UCI World Champs.

I got a custom hardtail built by a friend of mine this year, and had him make it as modern as possible (low and slack/long as the tube set would allow). Amazing difference, as my reference point was a 2012 Chromag.  Geo has come so far, and hardtails absolutely SLAY with the right geo (much like most bikes these days).

Is that sarcasm? Because the bits of tape could still lift when levering a tire, and you need to cut/apply 32 little pieces of tape?

Posted by: andy-eunson

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: BeesIntheTr

For sure ease of access makes a difference, but who knows how much more often it will happen? That's where I think culture plays a big part. 

I agree that LOTS will probably see more ebikes, especially with Norona telling everyone they can legally go up there.

It is my understanding that the Ministry of Forests Land And Natural Resources has said no ebikes there.

I know that, at the very least, WORCA has taken that stance with their latest program (despite opening up a lot of their system to ebikes). I'd be interested to know if that was based on fundamental agreements or guidance from the Ministry.

Even last year when WORCA released their survey to user groups, trying to get a stance on how people felt on the matter... Lots of people's reactions were way over the top. A whole lot of "I'll ride my ebike all over Sproatt, there's nothing you can do to stop me".  I've heard they're considering a maintenance hut of sorts up there. Perhaps they'll use it for some tip-of-the-iceberg enforcement purposes.

Posted by: Kieran

I won't be buying one for a very long time but...

What if I buy an ebike and commute to my riding destination and never use my truck again for travel or as a shuttle option?

Does that entitle me to shred where I want? Is this a possibility in the future for a big number of riders in the Van area? Fewer vehicles on the road would be a good thing, right?

Well it certainly wouldn't address maintenance, conflict or access/permission issues... So no entitlement from where I stand.

Posted by: FLATCH

By your own statement trail organizations don’t seem to have much say as most areas are crown land.

What they wish and what is reality are two different things. I don’t see any grey areas.

You misunderstood me then, and saying most areas are on crown land is just another broad statement that doesn't capture the scope of the issue. Allowing the Orgs to act in accordance to their organization's best interests, and in accordance to agreements with Land Owner/Managers is the basis of what's allowed the amazing trail centers we now have, to grow and flourish. To me these relationships have been absolutely key in allowing growth in areas where there riding zones are in private land or mixed (private and crown, like KCTS).

If you're ( the royal You're) keen on short-circiuting this relationship by pointing to a preliminary legislation (which will be adjusted after the trial period), then that's "your" prerogative. I think it's harmful to the sport to turn a blind eye to the details of current legislation or down-play the established system of advocacy and maintenance. Assuming that "since they've sold 1000's of the things, it's reality" doesn't do justice to the issue, or give proper respect to the the Orgs that are only trying to manage their resources and agreements.

Trail Orgs, who act on the basis of their agreements with the Land Owners/Manager, have made bans. The closest examples are KCTS and UROC. Sure, KCTS is a bit handcuffed by the government regs, as some of their routes are partially on gov land and partially on private land, so it's sticky but ebikes are still currently banned from their system. UROC is a part owner of their land, and co-manage with the forestry company, who agreed to non-motorized use. You could also throw in WORCA and the Sproatt area.

Again, if you're expecting Land Owners to ban ebikes, it's not going to come in that form. If they can't manage this issue through the acting trail orgs (with whom they already have non-motorized agreements), they'll just ban all forms of bike access.

Posted by: Ouch

My understanding is it's been monitored, so a bit premature to say they're here to stay. Certain trail system have banned them and other have the legal right to implement bans as well.

That is correct. And I'll add that the worst justification, from my perspective, is the "Too bad, deal with it" line. That's been the company line all the way from the manufacturers, down to the dealers/renters, and trickled right down to many of the riders.

Posted by: FLATCH

But they are not self propelled. No input no forward progress. But I guess we've been over that.

Whether a throttle triggers a motor or pedal input, they're motorized. I don't care to argue this point further if it's unclear to you, but motorized/non-motorized is a very important distinction and not really debatable. And yes, that's been covered.

Sure, valid points (other than range changes with how many batts you carry). Motorized transportation then. I prefer not to group them together with mountain bikes, as those are self-propelled in my mind.

Im honestly not trying to belittle ebikes. I just think that's what they are. Motorcycles a pretty awesome, as long as they're used in the places they should. If people are offended with that term, they should probably come to terms with the different perspectives people have about this.

As for informing/educating, that needs to be done, that should also be provided by retailers. Currently nobody's taking on that responsibility.

WRT = with respect to. More science/math short hand than internet short hand, but it all blends together FWIW 😉