metacomet profile

Trailcross GTX with a nice and tall and unrestrictive gaiter that doubles as a lace cover, some insulation around the foot especially in the toe box, and an aerogel footbed and I’m sold.  For real.   There is a huge gap in the market for a shoe like this for flat pedal riders in cold climates.  There is literally nothing out there.  SPDs suck in the snow and ice, but somehow there are a million winter specific clipless options, and not a single decent flat pedal shoe.

Long Term Follow-up reviews rock.  It is something So simple, but easily offers the most value to the reader/user (kind of like readily available replacement parts).

Exactly.  I think the trend towards bash guards on the ISCG tabs started showing up at the same time as the trend towards direct mount single chainrings.   Riders probably began noticing they still needed Some sort of bash guard after wasting their chainrings over and over, so this was the most obvious solution, but maybe not necessarily the best solution since the original intent of these tabs was more for chain guides.   The best solution would be some sort of true frame mounted bash guard/shield that spans the width of the BB and extends up the downtube a ways, as well as a bash ring, just like on a trials bike, but I think we would probably all agree that would be overkill on anything But a trials bike or something being used as such.  My DH bike has an ISCG mounted bash guard and chain guide, but those tabs look WAY more sturdy than anything I've seen on a trail bike.  I've also honestly never found myself impacting it as frequently and directly as the bash rings on my trail bikes just due to the nature of the way the bikes are ridden.

The road is the one place where you might spin out for any amount of time, but even then I am more than happy to just level my feet out and just coast for a ways and enjoy looking around.  Its not costing me anything, and I am on my mountain bike after all.  I've got 11 speed Sunrace 11-46 on my bikes and not in any rush to change that gearing.  28t on the fatbike and 32t stainless rings on 27.5 wheels, any my low range is plenty good.   If I had a 50+ cog out back I'm sure there are times I would use it like everyone else, but there are enough benefits to staying with a 46 tooth that I'm more than content with what I have.  The only thing I wish my gearing had is hyperglide+.   Imagine for a moment if Shimano re-upped there 11 speed, and even 10 speed groups with better 11-46 or wider range and hyperglide+ and even gear spacing!!  I imagine I am not the only person out there that could see why this would be very desirable to a huge chunk of people out there.

I Absolutely subscribe to the bashring camp.   Was very happy when I saw the CAMO bashspider from wolftooth come out.  Once I wear out or destroy the alloy RF chainring on my fatbike, I'll be ordering one along with a 28t stainless chainring.  I'd also second the desire for a smaller option for their 28 and 30 tooth chainrings.  A smaller one will look much more appropriate next to the smaller rings, and restore a good chunk of ground clearance.  My primary FS bike and my hardtail are both running Saint cranks with 104 bcd RF bash rings, and they have seen a Lot of rocks and all kinds of crap over the years and have the scars to prove it.  I always cringe and scratch my head when I see friends destroy their unprotected and dainty direct mount chainrings.  The lack of bash ring compatibility has been the biggest thing keeping me away from considering any crankset other than Saint.

I liked the dissector a good bit, but there's room for improvement.  Mostly in the cornering knobs.  And the two-ride then refund theory is probably due to how f'ing quickly the side knobs give up and begin to fold over and undercut.  
I'd like to see a re-run of the dissector, shaped more like a Assegai.  Big, wide, and well supported side knobs like the Assegai, and with similar center knobs, just much shorter to roll quicker and maybe even save some weight as a result.  The Dissector clears better than the Aggressor and holds a lot of promise, but it just doesn't hook up as well when leaned over. They just seem to get overwhelmed on hard surfaces like slabs and hardpack and such, fold over, and then wear to near nothing at the base in just a few rides.  Assegai/DHRII has been the killer combo for me, but it would be nice to have a better'er at faster rolling rear option like we hoped the dissector was going to be.

Is it possible to replace the E-13 Wintek cartridge with the Crank-Bros Wintek cartridge? Or do they use different fixing mounts/hardware/actuator/design, etc that make them non-interchangeable?

I think SRAM may be a different matter all together, but I haven't had the bearings in XT/XTR/Saint pulleys start feeling crappy or give me any other sort of issue, but the SLX ones always seemed to get contaminated and feel crappy rather quickly in my experience. I’d clean them and grease them and keep them running until eventually replacing them.  I haven’t personally ran a SRAM drivetrain since the 90’s so I cant really comment on them other than seeing many broken mechs and lots of friends complaining about persistent issues trailside. Mostly crapped out clutches, messed up pulleys, and being delicate and finicky overall.

Do the 12 speed SLX pulley wheels still run on bushings, rather than cartridge bearings?  That was always the biggest/only thing separating the SLX from XT derailleurs.  I have swapped out the SLX pulley wheels for nicer ones in the past after they crapped out, or when I needed to add another small item to the cart.  It does make  a noticeable difference especially once the SLX ones are worn out or contaminated.

Awesome!  Thanks for posting your early impressions.  I've been running the tubed Tannus inserts on my DH bike for two seasons now, and have been really liking them for that application.  No flats in all that time, no mess, and dead simple.