andrewfif profile

I have ridden the crap out of union rims for almost a year and never broken one. Live in bellingham and was in bootleg canyon for 4 months of winter. I weigh 225 and ride fast and often. Also run stupid low tire pressures because I’m a delicate flower. Short version you can’t lose with those rims. They aren’t light

Hi Andrew,

I owned a titan for about a year. Ran a couple of diff 210 droppers. At first I had to shim it to 190 or 200 clipped in as I was saddened by the linkage getting in the way. Some dude online pointed out a life changer lol. You can use a 30.9 (v1 is what I got) and shim it to 31.6 and you get just enough clearance from the taper on the seat tube to get almost an inch of insertion.

Super true about the huck. That bike only has one mode-full on. Enjoy

Hi there! I'm hoping to get some evo's this week and also a drivetain. What did you use? I prefer controls that come off without removing grips (push ons for life)

Cool article Sanesh. I think you captured a lot of important points in the this piece. One thing I’d like to hear more about is the active inclusivity and its relation to your important discussion of qualifications. I don’t go about promoting biking to everyone I know because while I love it and encourage anyone to try it and I’m all about making it cheaper and more accessible culturally, I don’t think everyone should mtb. I will not go out of my way to find underprivileged people at this point in my life and try to bring them to riding. The idea that we love something and it’s brought joy to our lives doesn’t mean it will to everyone. I know you know that, but the logical fallacy that not actively seeking to ‘fix racism or inclusivity’ is racist is rampant and suggested in your article. The main issue with it is that in this scenario you define the terms of equality or the ideal operating society. Which is the same power that others may feel they have. Thumbs are tired, but my point is great article and I am worried that people often get caught in savior syndrome when while there certainly are socioeconomic, cultural, and historical factors at play, often it’s a statistical problem. More women ride bikes now. And more will in the near future. I have exactly one black friend that rides locally to me. But statistically he’s possibly over- representing the population where I live. But his kids, his family, his black friends all add to the riding pop as time goes on. Mtb is such a young sport. I think that we should totally market (it’s a business) to those groups less often seen if you’re trying to make money and share the love. But mtb is just a fun sport. Over time I think it will naturally become diverse. But it would be an absolute shame in my mind that someone would get more opportunity because of the color of your skin regardless of what your pigment is. Sometimes I think that it may be more important for humans to focus on feeding ourselves and providing shelter and love than getting them into an elite sport. Of course not mutually exclusive, but priorities. Thanks for your thoughts and good writing.

Thanks for looking. After a long chat on the phone with rev I went ahead and ordered a pro set (black because it’s softest by a tiny bit) in the rg5 size. Super curious but nervous about the bar width reduction as I’m on 780 sw lab 12 deg bars. Clamp width is 8.7mm so I’ll be on 760 pretty much. They told me try them and return it if I can’t handle the bar reduction. Really impressed already with the customer service. Thanks for your review as it finally got me curious enough.

Hey there! I used the Swayze as my gateway drug. Loved them but a little narrow for me. I’ve since moved on to the oury v2 push ons for the last couple of months and I’m in love. I use spray paint and it’s easy. Even removed and reinstalled no issues. I’m a huge tinkerer and have been really curious about these. I guess I can buy and return if I don’t like them...but have you used the oury v2 to compare? Those cushion areas I think move in a similar fashion so I’m curious if it’s worth the hassle. The bar width could be an issue for me too as those clamps are egregiously large.

I want to mention the Dayna had an old crappy bike and that Sadie didn't have one at all and we spent lots of time discussing options. They both love their bikes!

That's an awesome article. I haven't laughed like that in a while. My wife is new to riding and loves her liv bike. She's confident and has cleaned the downhill on the hardest trails in St George after only 4 months of riding. Because she didn't bike until we got married we spent a lot of time talking anoint women's bikes and fits and that kind of thing. We probably got the first liv embolden in Utah. I couldn't be more impressed with it and she loves her bike. Since then my boss and coworker both got the exact same bike! As a huge supporter of women's riding I thought this was just a fun read for anyone who has had to make choices surrounded by the marketing we live in.