andy-eunson profile

http://www.biketechreview.com/reviews/wheels/63-wheel-performance

From what I’ve been reading lately, the rotating weight thing is a myth. It’s the overall weight that matters. That’s what is being accelerated and pedalled uphill. Makes sense then that even if heavier wheel systems do affect acceleration and climbing performance it’s not that big a deal. Particularly when over performance factors are greatly enhanced. That said, climbing the Black Tusk road today and into Jake I could have used a lighter bike.

Part of pro sports is injury management. We might think riders are “injury free” but I’ll bet a lot of them are nursing some nagging injury most of the time. As the athlete ages those injuries add up and it becomes harder to perform at the top level. I would not rule AG out of another good season of high placing but still, this season was full of hard luck and too many injuries. Sometimes I think a coach or trainer needs to tell an athlete to let it rest. I know sometimes athletes will go for second and third opinions until the opinion is go for it. I think Vonn did that a few years back and blew her knee again because she was not ready.

It does seem that ebike racing is the antithesis of UCI human powered racing. The UCI has numerous rules on weight, frame design, pits and spare wheels and bikes designed to keep racing between the humans and not the equipment. I’m not as opposed to ebikes as I used to be and really it’s more the hard push some people had that was telling me essentially that climbing is not fun and only going down was fun. I take pride in my climbing. I like that hard climbs reduce the likelihood of seeing more riders out on certain trails. In many places I don’t think the sport needs to grow. In the really big picture I think humans need to see that unrestricted growth, of both the economy and population is the cause of nearly all the problems on the planet.

Not sure about that shifter. Shimano’s first under bar shifters were called push push. Both upshift and downshift paddles moved in the same plane and were located close enough that mis shifting was common. It’s hard to tell from the photos how far apart those levers are. It looks OK in one photo but not so much in others.

One question I have is “how thick is the soft rubber layer on a 3C tire?”  It seems to me that when the soft rubber is worn down to the hockey puck rubber base compound that the tire is done. Is that when the sipes are worn off? Sooner?

Nope. I dislike the tan sidewalls immensely. I remember the Panaracer Smoke being the first decent tire in all black but we xc racers thought they were heavier. Found out it was just black dye. Rejoice.

OWN I think. I thought it was British actually. The shoes looked like something Arcteryx would make. The market certainly seems to want a cycling shoe that does not look like a cycling shoe because heaven forbid that someone see you cycling and think your a cyclist because your wearing cycling shoes while wearing brightly coloured cycling clothes.

Rest from what caused it which was snow shovelling in winter and clearing trails in spring with a small saw and brushing axe. The elbows are just showing a hint of problems now after maybe 150 days riding this year since April.

I have Revgrips on my hardtail. Nice grips. Feel good and three diameters available. Well made. Expensive. Made zero difference for me. I was having elbow issues and thought it was worth a test. Thing is I don’t deathgrip the bars and if you grasp a normal grip and “rev” it, the fat pads on your hand move in the same way. I’ve said it before, but riders like me who have ridden the shore, in winter, on bikes with minimal or no suspension, with rim brakes, have special forearm powers.

Posted by: Znarf

The Michelin is a great tire for rough trails, it’s super soft and wears in a couple of days though.

There are two compounds available in the Michelin Wild Enduro. I believe the MagiX is the softer of the two. GumX is harder and supposed to be the higher performance tire. According to Michelin. I’m on the GumX front and rear. Wear rate is very good. Still in good condition after about four months.

I am my own mechanic except for dampers and complex droppers. For that I go to. Vorsprung.

My views on the ebike thing have softened of late. The only riders I’ve seen on them in the Whistler valley so far or older guys. Guys in their 70’s by the looks of it. My one neighbour as well has post concussion syndrome that doesn’t allow him to go hard. I’m sure there are young bucks out there that use the ebikes to get in more downhill. This may change of course.

At first I was quite put off by the hard sell some people were advancing. I found it mildly insulting as I was told it was more fun as if climbing was not fun. Ebikes they said were the future of mountain bikes. Based on what I am seeing I don’t think that’s going to happen. I also think if ebike riders want a voice in trail access that they need to form their own groups and do so.

So many of the arguments both pro and con on both sides are baseless supposition.

Posted by: nouseforaname

Squirmy is because mid fat is a bag idea for experienced/aggressive riders. Great for beginners and folks looking to build a little confidence.

There's a very small window of air pressure where the tire doesn't flop about on the rim, but still has enough compliance to get a benefit from lugging the big carcass around.

5 years and it will be relegated to weird niche bikes. Tops.

Agreed although on a wide enough rim for a given tire width you should have enough support. I tried a Maxxis 2.8 on a 30 mm rim on my hardtail. Too squishy for me at 140 pounds and 13 psi. I was washing out on some corners I think because the tire was folding over. Went 2.4 and it’s all good. I run those at around 15 or 16 psi.

Posted by: Ddean

I always have a smallish 4-5inch blade pocket knife. I wonder if a whistle would be effective to scare off a cougar that doesnt immediately take off?

Well. A whistle may get a taxi and you can stick her in there and pay the cabbie to drive her far away. I do actually whistle for my dogs a lot, when I have them with me. 

PSA. A grizzly has been seen in the Sproatt area on or around Into The Mystic.

I usually have a sizeable knife too.

Posted by: tashi

My animal behaviour prof worked very closely with bears for years - he was convinced that bear spray wouldn't stop a charging grizzly, but that it's real value was that it would give you enough confidence to not act nervous around them, which often causes them to get antsy.  He stoped carrying it years ago, and his students would carry it long enough to feel comfortable and then often not bother after a while.  The only bear incident he ever had was getting charged when he was with a student who couldn't relax around the bears.

I'd carry it, strapped to my bike, if I were riding in bear country.  I also holler "No Bear" or something similar regularly, when hiking or riding in bear country to avoid sneaking up on them, which is pretty easy to do on a bike or if they're all doped up on berries.

That makes sense. I’m not generally nervous when I come across black bears. I’ll make noise so they can detect me and give them space until they go away or I do. I did about three hours solo yesterday. On a steep climb on the Black Tusk road I came upon a small group. I had my bell dinging and I was whistling (badly) and was accused of being on an ebike because who whistles on a steep climb. Ha. But they heard me coming so any animals would too.

I was in Fernie for a few weeks and Canmore for a few days and it seemed that many riders carried bear spray with them strapped somewhere accessible. Both those places do have grizzlies at times but mostly black bears. Just curious about people’s thoughts on bear spray as I usually ride solo in Whistler and often in places that are off the beaten track.

https://youtu.be/Pa5KIL4JxCc

Walk mode demonstrated. What ebikes really need is a lift mode to get one in a truck or roof rack.

I have a few spare bsa 30mm bbs if you are in Whistler.