andy-eunson profile

I use a spray bottle with a little dish soap. And similar brushes. About once a month I’ll fill a bucket with dish soapy water and brush the bike down after a gentle rinse. I’ll scrub the chain, cassette and ring(s) as well and might use a little citrus chain cleaner for that. I take the chain off when it’s worn and ready for replacement. In my experience if you don’t over lubricate the chain and use something like Prolink or Rock n Roll, you don’t get much build up. Avoid Phil’s Tenacious at all costs. It is awful.

I found the Osprey reservoirs fine. Camelbak are better though. I don’t care for overly complex multi pocketed packs. The more simple the better. I have an Acre Houser that I like a lot more than my old Osprey which I gave to a friend. And why a pack would be made from anything but waterproof material is beyond me.

It sounds a bit like shifting is similar to the old friction set ups where you had to let up a touch to shift, but without fiddling to ensure the derailleur was lined up in gear. Is the transmission drag only when coasting or is there drag when pedaling?

I used a left side SRAM matchmaker for my right shifter for the same reason.

I liked the fatter version of the Easton grip. I think it was 32 mm?  Does Race Face make that still?

Dave nails it. I was involved in a cat skiing trip where it was cheaper if we organized our own group of 12 plus we could chose skiers we knew were capable of skiing hard lines. Similar issues. Guys would bow out at the last minute and want their deposit back, or not pay the deposit, or bring friends that weren’t strong skiers. Or some guys were all about “guys week out” so we will get too drunk and be pigs. Ultimately we quit doing it because it was more hassle than it was worth. 

Set out the parameters at the beginning to all. That way it doesn’t look as though anyone has been singled out. “Deposits are required by X date and failure to pay means you won’t be booked in. No exceptions. Hold to your guns.

The ride quality of carbon is supposed to be that it is stiff where you want it stiff and compliant where that is desired. I think in all materials it has always been thought that stiffer is better for bike frames. But is that true? I’ve read that steel is not ideal for suspension because it is too flexible. I also read something about Formula GP motorcycles being made stiffer and stiffer until riders lap times were slower because the frames were too stiff. So frame designers built in some flex again to make the motorcycles faster. If you watch some slo mo videos of mountain bike riders you will see back wheels flexing all over the place on some frames, less for others. So is “steel is too flexible” marketing crap? Certainly a bike can flex too much. I had a steel road bike where I could make the chain rub on both sides of the front derailleur. My current carbon road bike descends way better than any old steel bike I have had. Handling is just that much more precise. 

A few years back I tried an aluminum hard tail 29er to see if I’d like big wheels. I did. So I then went for a carbon hardtail with pretty much the same measurements. Wasn’t a lot of difference truthfully. Lighter for sure and I could feel that but they both had a good ride quality. 

The long and short of it is, I think build quality and design are far more important that materials. Bikes like this I find intriguing.

Oh. Tullio Campagnolo is famous for inventing the quick release. Derailleurs were invented by others. He had a flat in a cold snowy race and was not able to undo the wing nuts due to having cold frozen hands. Thus the qr was born.

Yep. I was running XXO 11 speed but those derailleur had issues with creaking and coming off unless you used a lot of locktite and the clutch required service more often then it should so I took it off once it was worn and replaced with XTR derailleur and shifter and XT q1 speed cassette. The 42 on the XT wore fast for me. Went through two cassettes in 2016 and multiple chains and rings. It sounded as though the derailleur issues with 11 speed were addressed with eagle and I had a large gift certificate from retirement to spend so I did. Last summer I went through a chain and a ring. Although the chain measured good I decided to replace it because it had lots of rides and the ring looked done. I am very impressed with durability. If. IF. If DUB works out to be as durable I will be doubly impressed. 

One issue I have is shifting. It doesn’t drop into higher gears mid cassette and higher which I attribute to cable friction. The cable routing on my Bronson is a bit circuitous and a polymer Shimano cable helps a lot. I may try fiddling with b tension more too after reading other people’s issues.

Remember when Shimano came out with outboard bearing bottom brackets and the 24mm crank axle?  Buy the crank and it included the B.B. AND the tool to install and remove it. That would help SRAM sell cranks aftermarket and they could stop making old standard cranks. I have to admit that at first blush a new crank axle standard made my eyes roll. But after thinking about it a bit this is not a big deal. I personally don’t see how a 29mm axle allows better sealing. But time will tell if their new DUB bbs actually last longer. If I decide to retire my four year old Next SL I’d probably go XTR and get their bb too. I know they work well for me and  many aftermarket bbs exist too.

Trance Advanced 0 because the seat tube angle is what I prefer.

I’m liking my DVO Diamond 160 on my Bronson. The Pike was a good fork but had developed bushing play. The cost to fix that was prohibitive. New lowers I was told. And I had scratched one upper tube and again, a new CSU was too costly although I had buffed out the scratch well enough that it was not an issue. The issue I have often had with Fox forks is that the air spring is too progressive for a light weight rider like me. At 143 I rarely got full travel. I can bottom that DVO every now and then yet it stays pretty high in its travel. The OTT allows me to dial in the initial suppleness. It’s buttah.

I wonder if the longer travel posts put so much more leverage at the seal head that air leaks are going to be more common. So perhaps for longer droppers, select one where the seal head does not hold air pressure as well?  Are there any?

I rode the hell out of my 9point8 and it only started losing air in December after maybe 150 rides and I use it a lot. I bought the service kit and redid all the rubber bits and brass deals. Works fine again. I recall looking at the reverb service video and thinking “nofuckingway” I’m doing that. I’ll screw it up. Too many steps. That said my last reverb went two seasons with no service. Only a couple remote bleeds.

I have a 31 inseam, 5’5” and I like 175. I used to always run 170 until I forgot to specify that on a group a long time ago but I preferred the longer crank. I don’t hit my pedals hard very often so I suppose I have learned to adapt.

I pulled a tick off one of my dogs after riding Squamish as well. Last year was quite bad in Whistler and Pemberton but only for a couple weeks in spring then nothing. Is that normal with ticks?

Posted by: taprider

so longer frame with 66 degree head angle and 50 mm stem vs longer frame with 65 degree head angle and 65 mm stem?

You’ve been drinking Rod.

No. Just get a longer frame that puts you in a proper riding position with a 50mm or so stem. The longer stem slows steering input but doesn’t really make a bike stable. Head angle and trail are what make a bike stable or twitchy more so than stem length and bar width although those do affect handling too. I mean road bikes genearally have long stems plus the reach of the bar and hoods and road bikes are way way more nervous than a mountain bike.

The problem with short reach long stem bikes comes when you’re descending steeps, on the brakes and you move your body rearward in relation to the front contact patch to keep from going over the bars, and this places more weight on the back tire, less on the front so traction on the front suffers. Pretty sure this is why Cancellara crashed out of the London Olympics. If bikes are too short it is harder to keep your weight between the wheels. A common comment when 29ers started getting popular was the riders felt more in the bike rather than on top of the bike. Bigger wheels demanded longer stays and longer front centres. Weight was more easily kept between the wheels.

Chameleon coming soon.

I guess my shoe phone is outdated huh?