niels@nsmb.com profile

Don't forget EU pricing includes VAT which is 19% in Germany. They list discounted prices incl. and excl. VAT on https://www.raawmtb.com/madonnabike. However, their online shop doesn't seem to have been updated yet for ordering outside EU. Probably best to contact Raaw before ordering.

I've also heard good things about Newmen rims. According to their website, they have a Canadian distributor.

Weekday rides are awesome and I consider myself a lucky bastard that I often have the entire mountain to myself. But even on weekends it's fairly easy to avoid the crowds on the Shore. Just choose your time and trails smartly. Don't tell this to anyone else but Seymour is often blissfully quiet on Sunday afternoons around ~3pm.

I think the main point Dave is trying to make is that many helmets, even those with one of these new technologies (that may or may not help in some situations), don't fit many people's heads properly because they only come in a small number of sizes, each of which is supposed to cover a wide range of head shapes, and instead relying on the retention system for 'fit'. Therefore it seems logical to prioritize finding a helmet that actually fits your head properly because a helmet that doesn't stay on your head when you hit the ground certainly won't protect you, no matter what advanced technologies it uses.

Would be interesting to test that upgraded '11 Slayer in a modern day context!

FWIW, I unintentionally went from 46 to 42 mm offset on the same (27.5) bike due to an emergency CSU swap on my Pike. I think I did notice a very small difference in steering on the first ride (a bit calmer if that makes sense) but it was not really significant and by the end of that ride my brain had totally adapted to that small change and I can't say it had any lasting impact on my riding.

So I'd say that in isolation it doesn't really matter. But maybe combined with many other small changes in geometry the total sum of those changes can be significant?

Fixed

Being expensive is one of the main selling points of a boutique brand 😉

I retrieved your removed comment from the bin ;-)

Ah, missed that, thanks!

That's like saying "I've ridden in both cities, and Vancouver is no model for Amsterdam's mountain biking future" 🙂

Amsterdam has been suffering from overcrowding over the last decade. That affects all aspects of life, including cycling. More people, more conflicts. Cycling infrastructure being an integral part of urban design, bicycles being the main mode of transportation, and cycling being very safe even without helmets, are still awesome and what I miss most from Amsterdam.

Just a note about Squid Line - it's a great trail but feels (to me) more like an XC flow trail, to make it really fun you need to pedal and pump a lot to maintain speed. Nothing wrong with that but if you don't expect to pedal it may be a disappointment.

Bear mountain has some really good trails too.

Posted by: syncro

In that case you could consider dropping her off at Belcarra park and then driving over to the Eagle trail heads. Rocky Point could also be an option too.

Those could be nice options to try, thanks!

Posted by: bikesandbarley

The first place that came to mind for me was The Boer Mtn trail network in Burns Lake. Park/camp at Kager Lake rec site and ride and paddle from there. Kager lake is small but options on both Burns and Decker lakes which are also close by. Bit of a drive to get there for sure but the riding is outstanding. Could break up the drive with a couple of stops along the way: Williams Lake and Fort St James where Stuart lake is right at the base of the trails too.

Thanks! That could be a great camping/riding/paddling road trip. There is so much in BC we haven't seen yet.

Thanks. She has paddled on Buntzen Lake and it's pretty small. Québécoise women are very picky about their lakes!

Never ridden Eagle so I definitely need to do that sometime.

To my partner, kayaking is what riding is to me. Therefore, we are always looking for spots where we can do both. Our ideal spot has:

• Access to calm waters (lakes, inlets, bays, etc.)
• Access to mtb trails
• Parking nearby
• Bonus for camping nearby

As my partner doesn't drive due to a medical condition, we strongly prefer places where we can just park and both start and end our journey right there.

So far, we really like the following spots:

Deep Cove 👍
Close to home, and we have a go-to spot that is usually quiet and has parking right at the beach.
She can paddle Indian Arm, mostly calm water, lots of little spots to paddle to (islands, beaches), lots of sea life (seals).
I can ride Seymour, end with a Darkside lap and finish at the beach, awesome.

Porpoise Bay, Sechelt 👍
Provincial park with camping, beach, showers.
Beach access straight from the parking/campground.
Coast Gravity Park is close by, possible to ride there from campground, the road climb sucks but there is a good chance to get a lift from other CGP visitors. Ride a little bit further for Huggies which descends all the way back to the campground, awesome.
Ideally, the paddling partner shuttles the riding partner up to CGP and drives back to the PP.

Ellison Park, Vernon 👍
Provincial park with camping, beach, showers.
Beach access from campground, requires short hike down steep path.
MTB trail access from campground, connects to Predator Ridge trails, awesome.

We both liked Kalamalka Lake, Vernon 👍 and Three Blind Mice / Okanagan Lake, Penticton/Naramata 👍 but didn't find a good parking spot yet where we can easily start and end both our journeys. Any tips welcome!

We didn't like Golden Ears PP / Alouette Lake 👎. There are some trails open to bikes but they're not that good. Kayaking on the lake was OK although it was very windy.

One potentially good spot is Comox Lake near Cumberland. Looks like there is a private campground. I know the trails are good, anyone knows how the camping and paddling are?

If you know any other good spots in BC or WA, please share!

Thanks!

Hi Mike,

Joining NSRide is a good way to meet other riders and get to know the trails. https://www.nsride.com/

And check out the NSMBA Fivers, fun low key events disguised as "race". https://nsmba.ca/fivers/

Also, many trails are often rideable year round, but some winters they can be snow-covered for a couple of weeks or months.

The dirt is awesome on Seymour right now. Just did 3 laps, up GSMx3, down John Deer, Asian Adonis, and Forever After & High School. Powerlines road still has snow on it and the first 50m of Forever After as well. Otherwise all super grippy dirt, no mud!

May still be worth checking in with an independent repair shop, it could be just weak soldering.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Thread bump

Have a late 2011 MBP.

At startup the MBP shows the apple logo and load bar. The screen is a mix of white horizontal bars across the screen. Load bar won’t progress to login screen. Goes grey/white afterwards.

Is the GPU toast?

Yes, GPU toast, pretty amazing yours lasted this long, it's a known problem with that model. Mine started failing in 2015. Had to buy a new one as I rely on it for work.

However, there is a hack to disable the GPU and run on the secondary graphics chip full time. I did this on my old 2011 and my wife is still using it to this day. The only thing it can't do anymore is 3D stuff, but everything else works.

Don't remember exactly what I did but found this link in my bookmarks, I think that was one of the pages describing the hack/fix:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/force-2011-macbook-pro-8-2-with-failed-amd-gpu-to-always-use-intel-integrated-gpu-efi-variable-fix.2037591/

It's pretty hardcore geek level, so only attempt if you know what you are doing. On the other hand, you got nothing to lose ;-)

Posted by: rnayel

They are min-max approved.

+1

I have them on a bike and they've been fine. Don't notice any difference compared to other cranks, they just go around like any other pair I've used...