andy-eunson profile

I just installed a pair of Dissectors on my hardtail. Oh yeah. Way faster than the Assegais I had on from the wet season. I was dinging rims until I put way more air in them.  We are in hero traction conditions right now though. We’ll see what the weekend brings.

When I was racing XC I was all over the semi slicks. I had a number of Bontrager semi knob mostly in 1.95 or 2.0 or whatever too narrow we all used back then. Fast tires but only a little more grip than a hockey puck when it got slick. I ran a pair of Ritchey semi slicks for the Test of Metal and holly crap those were fast. They had what looked like a knurled pattern with very shallow scooped paddles across the the tread every 3 cm or so. It made one realize that most of the Shore even when it’s raining is hard surfaces. Not that much mud really.

There are parallels with skiing and probably other sports too where improvements in equipment change the “mechanics” of how you do stuff. You can still a frame and slide skis but a better stance with slightly wider feet and doing less allows you to carve skis much better. Fat rockered skis work better in powder too. I think we are starting to see bikes get longer rear centres for larger frames too. Some modern bikes seem to be BMX out back, downhill out front.

Totally. If you can get what you want already built. My Chameleon when I bought it only came with low spec build kits. Crappy hubs that would likely be as smooth as Fred Flintstones wheels in no time, lame ass short travel fork, and brakes? SRAM level something. Might as well go back to v brakes than those. Low level SRAM drivetrain too. No dropper. So many things needed changing it made sense to pick and choose what I actually wanted.

Yes. I tried my Chameleon at the longest chainstay length. Climbs better and I sense no effect on other aspects of handling. 150 36 on it too. No idea what the seat tube angle is. Some interweb experts will tell you that the geometry will be destroyed and ruined. And the warranty will be void. We know better. 

Being short I guess I don’t really get the steep seat angle thing. I need to be balanced on the saddle while pedalling. If my bb is to far back under me it causes me to lean forward and my hands go numb. Raising the bar alleviates this but sitting more upright is less efficient for laying down the power. The modern road fitting set up will get a rider on a trainer and while pedalling in a moderate gear you take both hands off the bar and slowly sit up. If you slide forward or pedal harder and faster or engage the core too much it’s because your balance is off. You move the saddle rearward to get weight balanced.

So yesterday I changed my brake lever angle a bit. Popped them up about ten degrees and lo and behold, I like it better. I think I had then there a while back but new bike and adjusting without really paying attention I put them down more than I should. I tried flat once and it was really awkward. Late last year I cut my bars down to 740 from 760. Liked that too. I’m not a big guy at all so wide bars never made sense. Retired those bars this spring so I tried 760 again. Nope. I like to understand the reasons why certain positions and fit adjustments work or don’t.

Flat levers don’t work for me because it causes me to reach up by dropping my wrist to get a finger on the lever. Too far down is another reach. I look at how my finger moves and line up the brake lever in line with that. I want my wrist straight when I’m attacking. That’s the strongest position. Boxers punch on a straight wrist. Slap shot, straight wrist. 

But experimenting is a really good thing. Copying is not necessarily good. Often you hear an argument about an unusual set up and people say “it works for them”. Like Kulhavy’s set up. It may work, but perhaps a more traditional set up might work better. Perhaps Kulhavy would have won races like Nino with a different bike set up. 

The wide bar thing is another. I see riders with their hands further apart than their elbows all the time. I m not sure that’s a good thing.

Good sentiments. I think in normal times many people have a need to fill their time with outings, places to go, people to see, things to do as an escape from things that may be weighing on their minds. I know guys I used to ski with, ride with and other stuff get girlfriends and you never see them again. Like activities were what they did to replace a relationship. I know others who race triathlon, volunteer for various things, have a job and children and seem to need to be busy at all times. I think to some extent it is their way of dealing with mild mental illness.

I think some people now are discovering that “let’s go for a walk just outside our front door and not have to go somewhere” is good for us. Not being able to shop for the latest clothing and other stuff makes us realize we don’t need to buy frivolous shit all the time. Stuff is just stuff and doesn’t make us a better human. 

I’m gonna go for an easy ride with my dogs this morning and pick up some brake pads on the way home so I can fix my neighbour’s bike for her. There some new trail work to try out.

I always figured that the riders with way too many spare things are the ones that don’t make sure their bike is running well in the first place. The riders that break a chain but don’t replace it when they get home, their cable housing has several kinks in it, tires are worn, spokes loose etc. Or sometimes they are big guys that ride rough and break stuff that way. I’ve been riding off road for 37 years and only bent a derailleur hanger once. It broke a few weeks later because I had straightened it and was steel and not a replaceable one. I’ve broken the odd chain but not in years. 

I pack pretty much the same as you AJ. it’s really all I need. In my bum bag though I do have some spare bolts and a cleat. That’s for longer days where I’m out there. I also have a couple zip ties tucked into my crank axle.

I don’t care for CO2 either but again in my big day pack I have one because when the bugs are bad, it’s nice to get going quicker.

Agreed. I seem to recall the first Hayes disc brakes had ceramic pistons. At least the piston looked like it that time I did bleed and forgot the put the pads back in, spun the wheel and pumped the lever until that pin the held in the missing pads went into to rotor holes and snapped out. Maybe the pistons were cast metal. I dunno. I don’t lose coffee out of my mug. Oil vapour?

Posted by: trumpstinyhands

Posted by: bmv88

Might be stating the obvious but seems to me that the increase in unsanctioned loamers is a direct result of the lack of new trails on Fromme and Seymour. As a comparison Squamish had 5 new sanctioned trails last year. Did the Shore have any?

Squamish has hundreds of trails and plenty of new ones, yet the unsanctioned building going on here at the moment is bordering on the ridiculous. So it has nothing to do with lack of new trails. It'd be awesome if the effort was put into fixing up the old trails rather 'building' yet another loamer that will only last a few months before it's wrecked.

Whistler too. I know of numerous off the map trails around here some of which will become deep rutted trenches but also a number that are well built bench cut with hard climbing sections and steep drops too. There are some that are without question double black or perhaps even more difficult “pro lines” if you will. There are nine I could show people just in my end of town . I find them mostly through the hikes I do with my dogs when I’m tired of the Karen’s and Kevin’s of the world whining about me riding on trails where bikes are allowed. Or my dogs are off leash way way out there. 

Is there a desire or need for more trails? Do these secret trails exist because the older legit trails are being dumbed down? Does the sport in places like North Van need to grow? Does the mountain bike community really want the extra mileage that ebike riders can place on the trail system? 

To me the answer is more legit trails. If there are enough trails with enough variety and no place to put “loamers” then maybe the rogue builders will mostly stop.

He’s a bit much at times but he makes you think. I wonder if some of the threaded bb bikes I’ve had where I’ve needed a new bb annually was just out of spec? I had a Kona Hei Hei years ago where the brake studs were too low and I couldn’t really set the brake pads correctly. Built by Sandvik to the wrong spec. I had to buy rims that sloped in to the tire to get the pads to track ok. The replacement was marginally better. I learned later from a friend at Norco about the wrong brake stud spec. So you wonder about manufacturers which are often contractors eliminating steps to make better profits.

https://youtu.be/3l6EcBg9EPA

Entertaining

Posted by: Xorrox

Finally! 

Now all we need is for DNV to open the Fromme Parking lot.  They never did get back to me as to why this continues to be closed and opening this is one of the least risky things possible.  I don't think Fromme Parking lot is going to turn into another "Lake of the Ozarks" or "Trinity Bellwoods" situation ;)

All we need is a few more people to politely contact DNV about this to get it re-opened.  I know its not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it just ticks me off when public organizations/governments act in irrational ways.

We managed to get the West Side Main FSR aka Black Tusk road opened up. It had been closed along with the East Side Main FSR which goes to the Cheakamus Lake trail in Garibaldi Park  The park is closed and there is forest fuel reduction logging taking place up there anyway. The road up to the Tusk is gated way down low so it’s not a reasonable access to the park. So there was no real reason to close that side which allows vehicle access for kayakers and hikers and riders who wish to go up the Loggers Lake etc. It also allows people to spread out as opposed to parking up and down the road in clusters as was happening. Well after a bunch of people questioning that, it has opened.

Posted by: FLATCH

Prescription lenses. I use glasses to read and drive now and in low light conditions like today I find myself wishing I had them. They aren’t the kind of glasses I would ride with though. Anyone run prescriptions?

I have prescription Adidas riding glasses with a photochromic lens. They are good for road or when it’s dry out but as soon as it’s damp and cool and I’m riding slowly like an off road climb it’s fog city. That’s why contact lenses are great. For most serious sports I wear them. I’ve had a few others too but the big problem with all prescription riding glasses, what do you do when they are too dirty, too fogged or they are fogging because your riding speed doesn’t keep them clear. Non prescription is simple. Take them off and you can still see well.

Posted by: ReductiMat

I like it just as a log to my activities.

The fact Danny Hart and I share(d?) the KOM for Original Sin is testament their timing is complete and utter bullshit.

Yeah. I bested Jesse Melamed on a really short trail, before I realized that his time was from the previous longer trail. But still, I wasn’t able to get within 30 seconds of my supposed KOM on a trail that takes me a minute and a half to ride. Supremely inaccurate. And look at the route after a ride.  How many times does the route place you 100 metres off?

Posted by: Brocklanders

Posted by: abuxton

There's is a natural spring on the road to Lynn Headwaters about 2 mins in from the gate. It's handy if you're in the area. Been drinking out of it for 20 years.

So um about that. People line up to fill containers of water from that spring, especially on weekends. I don't know if anybody realizes that the majority of houses up above that you can see on upper Hoskins were built in the 70s. I would think that their sewage pipes probably leak somewhat and shit does in fact flow downhill, or in this case seep... Just saying....

Agreed. Plus various lawn fertilizers and weed killers, dog poop run off. I like tap water just fine. Or filtered water when I’m out there. Way out there where there are no people I don’t have much problem. But around people and livestock no way.

Maybe a small filter like the MSR Trailshot is in order.

That Mission stuff is pricy but nice too. I bought Steppe hoody this year on sale. Highly water resistant and somewhat wind resistant. It’s fantastic and worth the price. And because of shipping errors on their part I ended up with a second for 60% off. I was tracking my order and when it didn’t show up when it was supposed to, I checked with Fedex and they said it was recalled by Mission. Called them and they said they had shipped the wrong thing to a number of people and recalled it. I didn’t get the email as most others had so he shipped a replacement right away. When the recalled one came back to they they shipped a second one. It was dropped at my door so I had no chance to refuse delivery. They were going to to send me a shipping label for return when I suggested I buy the second one too for the sale price but Mission offered a better price yet. I’m happy.

I can’t find any reference to Fromme being a park.