geraldooka profile

The OR Helium or Helium II (the II has a nicer cut) is great if you could only bring just one jacket jacket. Its much more akin to a true rain-shell though and not a very breathable one. Its an order of magnitude less breathable than the 7mesh (or several orders). However its my go to for travel where I only want to carry the one shell. Though that was before the 7mesh and now I think I may just opt to take it for the small additional hit on weight, bulk etc.

PataGucci Houdini is a brilliant piece and my most used jacket its just so bloody versatile. Its heavy use in my jacket rotation has meant the DWR coating is long gone but it still keeps me warm if a little damp. I did splurge on one of those 7mesh units but I can't bring myself to take it beyond commuter status because it is literarily the nicest article of clothing I own.

Or a glutten for punishment :) I suspect your riding goals and mine are quite different outside of what we would each define as "fun". I have had a lot of fun riding my rigid Krampus on the rough stuff but I just have no interest in busting a gut pushing it single speed especially with what I consider to be mindbogglingly heavy tire/insert combinations you dig. Though I can appreciate the idea and I really love simple machines like your Walt V2. I'm just never going to be fit enough to enjoy that SS experience. Running as light a wheel and tire set I can get away with has been one of the best things I've ever done from a strictly gear acquisition point of view to my cycling life.

I'll also put my hand up as someone who can appreciate a so called unbalanced bike. I'm fortunate to have sliders that can let me have my cake and... But I just love riding my hardtail in full short rear mode I can pop that wheel up and hop off rocks like I was on a BMX!

I think it depends... I truly love the 120TPI Knards; one of the original 29+ tires made. They're not terribly tough but I've ridden them on street, gravel and gnarly tech singletrack (Hartland) on the island and more here. No issues, love those bloody tires. On the other hand I recently gave away the DHF/DHR 29x3.0 set I had because honestly it was like riding though mud hauling those things around. Incredible traction but I'm a 150lb recreational cyclist and I'm not heading out to punish myself on the climbs. Both tough casing versions and light casing may well meet ones needs or one may be a better fit it really depends. Also I don't want manufacturers to stop making light versions! :)

He's gone full hard!! ;)

RC is the new FC!! I jest ;) 

Nice rig. Walt has always been on my list for a new custom bike. I totally get the feeling around having a custom rig made for you; a lot of the success falls on ones crazy ideas. Having had a custom frame built up by Eric of Myth Cycles last year I can say I really do love having those little details I craved but could never find in the stock market and yes I think there are things I would do a little differently next time if that ever happens again... Its tough to get it perfect on the first try.

Why did Shimano ruin their MTB brakes?... A mystery no one has ever gotten to the bottom of. What happened in 2013/14 at Shimano that convinced them to re-design their brake line-up for the worst?...

@Andrew Major - nice review. Have you bled Shimano brakes? Are these as easy to do?

Ah yes, always the media darlings those two. South islands got some sweet riding too ya know! :) Ya we get up there a couple of times a year.

In Victoria, you know that little backwater town on the island. :)

CoilAir, it can be as complicated or simple as you like! The leverage ratio refers to the amount of force applied for a given travel distance. Bikes can have higher, lower or variable leverage (and as such force applied) differences through out the entire range of available travel. In the case of the Process 153 it appears that you're leverage ratio changes very little from zero travel to full travel and falls from a higher leverage ratio to a lower ratio approximately 2.84 to 2.62. So at the beginning of your travel you have a bigger lever i.e. more force than you have at the end of your travel a smaller lever i.e. less force. The force chart is simply indicating how much force that lever is applying at a given travel.

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Make sure your wire and spade are appropriately sized for the amperage. Good luck. Coffee machine down = bad.

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I have a Nimble 9 which is similar in Geo to the Honzo or Taro. I can say that its is a great bike with ridiculously short chain stays and a similarly very short wheelbase. Its a fun bike to ride for sure but not nearly as fun as my Heckler.

That was tough to stomach as first (my first modern bike I built) but riding back to back even on trails that really don't warrant the Heckler I'd prefer to be on it. I have relegated the Nimble 9 to my bike packing bike and occasionally will take it out for a ride around town but for fun on the trails its the Heckler all the way.

Despite its geo I just can't manipulate the 29er as easily, level wheel lifts, front wheel lifts manuals etc. are all more difficult to do on it. I suspect that despite the progressive geo one still has that BB drop to contend with and that changes leverage ratios significantly. The heckler with its much longer wheelbase (1138 vs 1080ish) much longer chain stay (439 vs 415ish) feels more nimble and fun, it does have the smaller 27.5 wheels and a correspondingly shorter BB drop… My 2 cents.

I'm also heading in the light as possible direction. Went from Flows to lighter wheels (still trail oriented) and from the 2.4 Ardents to the 2.2 Ikons. The difference in weight/feel has been awesome (I run both tubeless.) I'm now convinced that my bike budget needs to redirect as much funds as possible to even lighter wheels! I like those Beavers but the EXO version is 760grams which likely means closer to 800 about the weight of the Ardents…

The start of our local haunt here (Hartland) is one big climb. The rest is short ups and downs its just too much climbing for the big tires for too little pay offs on short downs.