JBV profile

bollocks. i climb better due to the bike, and the Shimano 12sp drivetrain on this bike, with some brutally fast climbers. the only thing holding me back with those dudes is my age and size.  climbing with (against?) guys who are 10yrs younger and 40 pounds lighter blows goats. but i can clean more tech sections than ever before.  it's like the bike is magic or something.

Tim mentioned something about the XT der. as well. mine got real sticky a month ago after a couple months of ownership. the shop said it's been common to all their new Shimano 12sp ders, including the XTR. easy fix with some lube of the clutch but an odd PITA when it first occured. i loosened off the clutch a bit as well.

i think the Sentinel (old and new alike) is 'sexier' but i love the aesthetic of the Slayer. looks good, but it's a sleeper, not an attention getter. until you ride it. then it's game over for any other bike. at least that's how i felt then and now.

google Remi and Jesse and see what they are riding. Jesse does a bike check on his as well.  this is what they are using.

i've probably been overly vocal everywhere, but i love this bike and echo Tim's review entirely. mine is semi-custom (wheels and cockpit) and is about 4 pounds lighter. it's a friendly beast of a pedaling machine. best climber i've owned and i'm now a quiver of 1 with my Slayer. i'm mostly in position 3 and i probably don't routinely ride terrain like Tim, nor as fast (though i try).  i haven't noticed much in the way of sound and i'm ok with the stock brakes/pads, though i have some Disco kevlar's waiting in the wings as these wear out. at 194cm, i find the xl with 50mm stem to be perfect. i wouldn't want any larger. i'm not sure exactly why, but it's a goldilocks bike for me, and i feel lucky to have found it. we're married now, no more looking to change or upgrade. no seriously. 

oh, and i use a Sprindex 500-550 as a replacement for the stock spring. it's all the adjustment i want and is deserving of a stand alone review. it's the bomb.

what, your office doesn't agree with your Fight Club lifestyle? not that you want to talk about it...

yeah it could be price related. they were very prominent at a nice shop in Squeamish a couple yrs back, now they don't even stock them. they are premium price brand in a crowded and fickle market place. having said that i'm on my VPD lite knees 5 yrs in and they are only slightly worn. my buddy still rocks his original VPD knees and they are about 8 yrs old. premium price, premium quality.

their System line up is intriguing. complex design and i think, the most expensive PPE on the market. very hard to find these days as well. i suspect something has changed in their distribution channel because POC is no longer available at a number of their previous dealers.

oh i see, the bit just above the ride 4 chip?  yeah that does look like a second grade part. mine sure doesn't look like that, it's all smoove.

yeah i have no idea what they are seeing. i'm not sure what to look for. every part on this bike, and i've poured over mine at great length, looks incredibly top notch. more so than anything else i've owned (with the price tag to match)

that's a classic. surely the best video of its kind. what i really wanna know is, are they all still friends with the driver, max headroom?

^^ i bet you're the life of the party kinda guy eh.

this thread is like an echo chamber in my brain. i'm 52. been riding for about 15 yrs, was always sporty, but no bmx, no skate, no jump sport history. mostly like trail riding. but i also want to get the most out of local trails and hit all the features. i just want to be the best rider i can, and the rider i am in my head, which is the guy that hits most stuff cleanly, except for the big stuff. 

i only started to hit drops a few years ago and i'll hit many, but happily balk at a certain height or gnar factor. i've also watched every video on the topic, read all i can, and i reckon i can explain the theory of every type of takeoff and lip and what to do, but i can also describe how to skate like Connor McDavid so.....

i'm getting better and more confident at small jumps and gaps, but when speeds pick up i get shit scared. the consequences of jumping at speed get wild, let's be honest. i've had a few close calls and the thought of ER time and being off the bike and everything else keeps me honest. 

the advice here is unquestionable. park time and commitment to repetitive jumping in a setting of professionally designed jumps seems to be the only sure fire way to competence at it. this will be my limiter as i won't be spending much time at Mt Washington just for this purpose. 

good luck and stay healthy.

https://www.geohandguards.com/

Posted by: ReductiMat

tungsten, if we could extract the energy it takes to live in your world of cognitive dissonance the world would have free energy.

fuck is this funny!

i don't know either, but that PB showdown had some comments where the lady reviewer said in the comments that you notice a steeper head angle on tech climbs for precision. personally i couldn't care and wouldn't even consider a steep head angle anymore given the stability at speed with sub 66°, but then i'm not racing in either direction. apparently, it makes a noticeable difference?

i hadn't ridden coil and didn't know what i was missing, until my current bike, which was designed around, and came with a coil shock. now i get the old saying, 

'once you go coil, you spoil'.......

a new to market option:

https://theloamwolf.com/2020/07/24/review-geo-handguards/

did more research, asked questions at tire shops.  the Fountain tire guy recommended the Toyo open country all weather. did some more research. seems highly regarded and big in Australia. price was decent, and they had my odd size in stock. guy was super helpful and knowledgable. said they had low failure rates, relatively quiet on hwy and were super tough for the Island blast rock roads.  re shoed the old horse today, we'll see how it goes. they look great.

I bought a pair and had them on my bike for about 6 weeks. Loved them. Kept the hands dryer and the knuckles protected from the branches and overgrown foliage of the trails. Had a crash and broke one of the shields off. No replacement available from CRC so now collecting dust in the parts bin.  Frustrating waste of money at this point.