Ddean profile

I dont think that my modern geo Naked 29+ (long front) is overall as capable as my Slayer but I can say that until speeds get medium to high, its probably as good but its certainly more rewarding.

I think that 29rs are breathing life back into hardtails and my decision for a 29+ was to take that to the next level. Unbelievable traction. Lower pressures soften out the rear a bit more (especially with CC)....sweet set up (Fox36 upfront).

I think how encumbered you feel on a hardtail depends upon what trails you want to ride. I dont enjoy the fast and rough stuff on any bike and 90% of the time its just me and my doggo out there so I dont have to consider what anyone else wants to ride either.

A sweet hardtail is off the charts cool to anyone whos opinion matters :)

Each are rad and we are lucky to have them here.

Even better is that there are hundreds more on the Shore not listed here, each making all of us and the Shore better than we would be otherwise.

Something is wrong when a random bike on the back of a truck is noticed to be different than the millions of currently marketed bikes.

Everything needs to be considered in context. When you shred the Shore like Graham does, parts break.

Great review. Great bike. The wheels would probably be fine outside of BC :)

Following up on this I wanted to check out the battery situation of these new un-corded lights - I cant find it anywhere. This is surprising to me as battery power is one of the most critical aspects of the equation. Perhaps Outbound justifies this by having the abi;lity to charge during the ride via USB? This way perhaps they can make lightweight lights (using smaller batteries) and if run time isnt great, buy the spare and cord it and have tons of power? 

The batteries on my Ultimate DH are 6400mAH on each the helmet and the bars. The battery pack alone weighs far more than the Hangover light and battery (and mount!). Math suggests that Hangover gives up a ton versus the helmet mount from the Ultimate DH (which is a Road Edition with a gopro mount mated to the bar mount trail edition).

Perhaps the new un-corded set up with a spare battery (or two) would be the ultimate in flexibility - bring the spare(s) when you might need them - dont if you wont and enjoy no cords?

All this talk of lights makes me want to get out and use them soon!

I ride with last years Ultimate DH kit. ADORE IT.

I personally dont mind cables, especially on the helmet where its easy to throw the battery in your back pocket or pack, but I understand the preference to not to if you dont mind fewer amp hours on the helmet light. To me, its simple math: if you want battery power you have to carry that weight somewhere and its better to have good power connected via cable than less power carried on your helmet (big battery vs smaller battery).

The quality of my Ultimate DH kit is incredible. The light is powerful and relentless. Ive had zero issues. 10/10 for me

Agree that the gopro mounted light on the helmet is a must these days! Morgan, gopro mounts stick on - no straps to worry about!

Personally, I feel that the security of a cabled helmet battery is helpful as you can carry a spare and worry less about rationing power. That said, the cord is a pain sometimes.  I would also worry that you have to decrease battery size so much for it to be tolerable to carry the battery on the helmet. The cable allows you to put the battery in your pack.

I ride with the Outbound Ultimate DH kit myself. 

BTW - if you wait for blackfriday, a bunch of the manufacturers are likely to have deals on lights.

Its a different day when the rogue actions actually set out to re-gnar a trail. As you all know, Bookwus is fairly unique on Fromme - barely armored - janky rocks and roots - that plank is terrifying - but my impression is that what is most unique is that Bookwus is a gnarly dirt/loam trail that is on the map and authorized!

The rogue actions described all seem to be pointed at reducing the traffic on the trail. Sign removal. Modifying the bits that de-janked it somewhat or improved the experience for most. Making Bookwus a more enjoyable trail seems to be exactly the opposite of whomever is doing this wants. Keep it less visible and make it unpleasant for those who choose to ride it - thats the goal it seems.

Or perhaps the goal is to keep it from evolving into something that looks like 7th? If Bookwus becomes more fun for more people, it will eventually become armored just like the rest. And then we have lost Bookwus.

Zero excuse for removing the trail work of authorized trail workers on an authorized trail - that is BS. But this is probably a symptom as you dont have to look too far on the Shore to realize that people are struggling with how many of the authorized trails have evolved. Armored trails are still gnarly (and fun) but they're a different experience than Bookwus in my opinion. Never an excuse for the entitled actions of this/these person/people however; its not their trail!

I would throw my vote into the hat to protect the janky not armored experience of Bookwus, and that might infact mean keeping it very low traffic. It also means not riding it when wet, which Im guessing whomever is doing this feels that they're entitled to do also. There are two ways to avoid armor - keep traffic low and keep traffic off it entirely in the wet.

Perhaps Bookwus should be officially closed in the rainy season? That is probably the best way to keep the armor off it, if that is infact the concern. Id support that to protect the experience that is Bookwus.

Loved 

Trail dogs make the world a better place regardless of where they came from but this is especially great because the lives of these dogs is also so much better than they otherwise would be have been.

Well done to all those who make the efforts to change a dogs life.

Exactly.

Those who built and are maintaining those trails (they do not maintain themselves) put them behind a big climb for exactly that reason - access was a squirrel catcher limiting traffic and thereby limiting the effort required to maintain the trail to something manageable. I would hope that those on ebikes would respect the builders and other keepers of the trails wishes if no ebiking signs show up on them. Some might say that the builders cant legally keep ebikes off any trails, and they'd be right, but they didnt build the trail and probably havent helped maintain it. If they did, they would almost certainly respect the builders wishes.

Theres a place for ebikes for sure,  but its not in sensitive areas where those who are caring for the trails chose the location specifically to limit traffic. Its also not where Rocky has done a few of their promotions.

In follow up, Im not talking about authorized trails such as 7th that might be viewed by some as having a difficult climb infront of it. 7th is exactly where ebikes should be in my view.

Imagine jumping on one of those bikes, basically rigid road bikes with wider tires (and racks!) and hitting the Shore without a helmet.

They negotiated the hush payment down from $25M to $4.5M and were about to pay it before the NYT broke the story. Sounds legit!

Posted by: S4d33

Hi Ddean and everyone - any updates on the outcome? 

It’s such an amazing trail network on Cypress. I get gutted thinking about losing the trails every time I’m out there. 

Thanks for everything you do!

Feedback was overwhelmingly to increase the scale of Cypress Village. 

The trails around the first switchback are going to get nuked, but that was always the case. To the extent that we can work with developers on reroutes to prevent full trail closures we will. It was always going to happen so we need to work as constructively as possible to get the best outcome we can. 

In the meantime there’s other stuff happening on Cypress that could be pretty good for us. 

Time will tell how it all shakes out. Enjoy Cypress in all it’s glory while you can because it is going to change. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t still be awesome

Ps Cypress sucks, don’t go!

I’d love a Chromag FS if they were good.

Great write up! Thanks so much for that!

I love so many things about the RAAW. Aluminum. Geo is right. Its not a bike you will see others on. It checks a lot of boxes for me.

Where are you located Znarf? Are you on the Shore? Actually getting one of these frames is one of the hurdles - if you're here and got one, Id be interested in hearing how you did that.

I think that you addressed one of my riding concerns that the bike might be less than ideal on janky (slower) gnarly stuff versus fast flow. Ive seen multiple references to the Madonna being great at cornering - which implies fast flow to me. I have wondered how it does navigating through slower janky stuff on gnarly terrain. My guess is not great? It does seem that it would be a good choice for steep moves.

And pedal strikes. My current previous gen Slayer has a tough time with this on the second steepest setting (which is also the second highest bottom bracket setting).

Logistically the RAAW might be tough to get versus something local like a Chilcotin but it does look like a sweet bike. Ive seen comparisons to Banshee Titan that suggest that the bikes are similar, and thats a local bike but I dont think that I could ride a non-DH Banshee, or I have some mental blocks about doing that anyways. I hate Specialized for sooo many reasons but that Enduro is probably the bike that checks off the riding characteristics Im after; unfortunately it doesnt check off any other box! Thats a rat race bike!

Posted by: Znarf

Hi,

here is my fully ripened and nerded out build of a "Madonna RAAW".

There is not a single component left, that is "just" on there, apart from the pedals (wrong color, also blame COVID for the red fork lowers) and bar end caps.

Sorry for the shitty pics, more in my album.

https://nsmb.com/photos/user/3984/album/madonna-raaw/

Anyone up for a nerded out part-spec-list with some practical, yet arm-chair-engineer part reviews? =)

Tease: Textile spokes, Trickstuff brakes, special bottle, flexy bars.

I love that RAAW Madonna V2. Tell us more about it!!!!

EDIT: I had to come back and check this page to see if you had replied Im so interested in your bike. What a ride. Im puttin it on my list!

This could be the time for a new FS bike for me too.

Im loving my Naked HT and over the past 12months its seen 95% of my use instead of my previous generation Slayer (and 100% in the last 6mos since my son took my Slayer over completely -hopefully his new bike comes in soon so I can get mine back).

Not in a rush for a new and somewhat unnecessary FS because my Slayer is still awesome, and perhaps I will change my mind once I actually get to ride it again, but a couple things have got me thinking about a new FS: going back to 29r for the FS (I love my E29 before the Slayer) and the new bikes seem to have taken confidence inspiring to a new level.

My riding has changed since Im now on the HT all the time. Not doing the gnarly lines so much on it but I am loving rides like Dales and Forever After and Lower S&M and middle Sex Girl and the other techy blacks....thats the type of riding I love. BUT when you stop riding gnarly stuff its uncomfortable to go back to steeper moves.

Some bikes are catching my eye: Specialized Enduro, Chilcotin, new Slayer, Dreadnaught....maybe Altitude...I love the boutique like bikes (like my HT) and would think about going that route for a FS too as I think that if you feel that your bike is "special", that you avoid the new bike rat race more so than otherwise.

But maybe Im just daydreaming because I havent ridden my FS in months! 2 weeks till kids Slayer arrives.

If you want to find unmapped trails you need to start walking around or cross your fingers that someone you meet on a ride will show you around. You're not going to find anyone directing you on line as that DOOMS THE SPOT.

You think that filming the Shore on unsanctioned trails is bad? How about how Rocky promotes its ebikes: charge up the bikes and head directly to the most sensitive trails on the northshore to show that if you have an ebike, that you can lap the most fragile of trails over and over and over again because the climb to get there is wiped out.

God forbid that Rocky promote their ebikes as a way to shuttle without a car. Nope, they promote them as a way to get to areas that are sustainable only because they're challenging to get to. Rocky is not good at math it seems.

Theres a visibly massive push by the manufacturers to have all the "content providers", whatever that means, to get all over social media and sing the praises of ebikes of late. Seems that the manufacturers are doing what they can to fight to stigma of riding one of these from within the "community"

I dont care who rides em these days just stay on authorized trails with them and who cares. And dont expect people to pull over for you on the climbing trails.

Re loosing the cabled battery pack on the helmet - that means that you're carrying the battery on the helmet! If you want lots of energy, that is a lot of mass. If you want low weight, that is not a lot of energy.

I hate the cable but until energy density improves, for me,  the math isnt there (yet) for cable-less helmet lights (unless you want to turn them off for the climbs).