andy-eunson's posts

I’m selling mine but I haven’t had a nibble yet. I see other similar bikes where the price is far more than what I’m asking for mine or lesser bikes for the same or more. Gonna be some good deals on used I suppose.

It took a few days of fiddling last season to find the set spot of tilt and setback. So then winter and four months off the bike. I do my first ride of the season on easy trails in Squamish. Feels fine but normally for me the next ride will see me standing a lot. Not this time. Next ride it’s a tiny bit uncomfortable, as is sore butt, but only for ten minutes. Next couple rides it’s all normal. Gotta like that. I think it’s the 611 with the squishy bits out back in a 13 cm width.

Posted by: earleb

Now our conversation this morning makes sense when you said you have a too many bikes problem. 

Keep one Cache, set it up for commute, gravel, and fondo.  

Keep Chromag for riding around with the kids. 

Keep Titan. 

Sell the rest. 

A set of fast light tires/wheels that can be swapped back n forth from Primer to Titan and adjusting either bikes fork up or down 10mm can change the spectrum of each. 

Heavy tires 170mm Titan for shred. Light fast tires/wheels and -10mm Titan for trail. Heavy tires and 160mm Primer for ht shred. Light fast tires/wheels and -10 Primer for xc/trail.

Agreed

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: andy-eunson

**Posted by: **

When was the last time you did service on your fork? Is it possible the transfer port between the upper and lower chamber is clogged and causing the air imbalance? If it continues to suck down, Id suggest doing a air spring service to see if that cures it.

I’m good at servicing. I have a full service annually at S4 and I’ll do one or two lowers services myself at home in the interval. And I’m a little obsessive about measuring how much my forks are extended. So I do keep on top of things. It’s something we should all keep on top of though.

My issue is not with the air spring otherwise the zip tie under the wiper wouldn’t do anything. One zip tie under each, pull fork to full extension and remove the little zip ties and it’s good. And I do hear a small hiss of air too when I do this

Posted by: mrbrett

Theory: maybe a heavier rider naturally vents the lowers from the fork flexing. I’m about 210lbs. My 36 visibly flexes a bit.

I weighed 141.8 after yesterdays ride. Flex for me is a non issue now. I’ve had the opposite thing happen to my forks than over pressured lowers. I had a vacuum where the fork was drawn down at rest. Zip tie under the seals, a small sound of air and they returned to full extension. My guess is that at deep compressions, a little flex and air escapes the seals. The fork then extends under much less force and seals up again. Do this several hundred times and the forks sucks down. ???

Posted by: mrbrett

I have excitedly pushed the bleed valves on mine after bike park days, rough descents, long big mountain runs and not once heard a well defined whiff of Fox Flatulence fluttering from the ‘fore mentioned fart buttons. I was hoping for a hiss, but nothing. 

Maybe mine are silent but deadly. 

I would be ok with the screw in/screw out plugs I think.

Bwahahaha. Made my evening. I’m gonna use that.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

"1-3hr dadlap" <-- I love it. That describes 99% of my rides and I've got 3 kids to prove it.

So, back protector packs. What's comfortable and with a pack that holds somewhere between 15 and 20 L and is set up for bladders?

I think with my 12L pack what bugs me more is the size puts a lot of pressure in a small area. Something that spreads the load out would be cool.

I have the Camelbak Chase Protector and find it’s very good. Not a huge volume in the main compartment though but it has vest like pockets which I really like. I have a Black Diamond 22 litre ski vest/pack that is really good as well as a Black Diamond running/light alpine vest pack too. I think my Distance 8 would be ok for riding too but it rides a bit high and might interfere with a helmet. There is a Distance 15 too I think.

So I got my first ride in this season in Squamish on my new Fuel EX. It has the performance 36, not elite, and has no bleed valves but there is what seems like a thread in plug for them. The fork was a bit harsh and I forgot my shock pump assuming I had too much air in them. But then when I got home I decided to use the bleed valves. Discovered there is no valve per se but I unscrewed one and there was a whoosh of air. No whoosh in the other side and now the fork feels a lot better. So the question is, how often does one need to use bleeders and would it be worthwhile installing some? I have burped forks in the past with a small zip tie under the wiper but wasn’t something I needed to do often. Are the newer forks any different?

Thing is with back packs or waist packs, is that they are never ever as comfortable as no pack. People will say that a pack makes them sweat. That’s a myth. Going hard makes you sweat. That pack prevents evaporation. Having a variety of storage things for various longer or shorter rides, or rides where weather means you might need a layer or lose a layer will dictate what to carry your stuff in. There are also back protector packs. For me, I wear my Chase Protector pack for longer rides or stupid shit, bigger bum bag when I’m not needing lots of water or protection and a race belt for shorter rides. I also have an MSR Trailshot filter for longer rides where I know there is water which negates the need for a large pack with a big heavy bladder.

Posted by: craw

Posted by: Hepcat

Posted by: andy-eunson

My dentist recommended that I wear one while mountain biking because I had a root canal on a front tooth last year. He said that tooth isn’t nearly as strong now and it could snap off if I hit it on something. I do wear a convertible helmet on tougher trails but not always. I’ve also chipped my front teeth in a crash a long time ago when my fork snapped off. Didn’t hit my face then. I’ve chipped teeth just riding hard too. I think I might clamp my teeth at times. 

Mouth guards are pretty cheap at the hockey store but which one.  Anyone have any advice?

Dentist is a family friend and he made me one. Used to wear it when hucking back when. Reason wasn't to protect teeth though it was to help prevent concussion. Apparently 70% less likely when wearing a mouth guard.

How is it to breathe with it on? Do you have a photo of the type of thing you used?

I have a night guard my dentist made. Keeps me from grinding my teeth at nigh. But it’s hard plastic. He took a mold of my teeth and sent the mold away to have the guard made. Then he adjusted it to fit really well. I ordered one from Under Armour just now. I needed ginch too so there you are. It’s a heat mouldable hockey type. It’s probably like the one I had when I played hockey as a kid. Drop in boiling water for set amount of time, drop on cold water quickly, stick in your mouth and chomp down until it’s set. I see lots of skiers who compete in freeride and moguls wear something and as said, it’s also to mitigate concussions in an accident where your teeth bash together I guess. Not sure I buy that reasoning but it can’t hurt. Doesn’t seem to impeded their breathing or hockey players for that matter.

My dentist recommended that I wear one while mountain biking because I had a root canal on a front tooth last year. He said that tooth isn’t nearly as strong now and it could snap off if I hit it on something. I do wear a convertible helmet on tougher trails but not always. I’ve also chipped my front teeth in a crash a long time ago when my fork snapped off. Didn’t hit my face then. I’ve chipped teeth just riding hard too. I think I might clamp my teeth at times. 

Mouth guards are pretty cheap at the hockey store but which one.  Anyone have any advice?

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

The few times I've ridden solo in Grizzly country I have been one loud mofo.

Speaking of which, where's the best place to carry bear-spray?  Might be heading up to Canmore, Banff area.  I've generally kept it in a side pocket of my pack but maybe there's a better way.

I have a water bottle adaptor for my spray. It goes around the bear spray canister so it’s right there on the frame. I was bluff charged twice last summer by a sow with cubs. And when I ride in Fernie I’ve seen grizzly tracks and there was one in our yard too. Every person there seems to have spray. It needs to be handy. Some riders have a Fanny pack affair. I will also use the bottle holder on a Fanny pack and some packs have a shoulder strap pocket that will fit a canister.

Posted by: syncro

Yup, talk test is legit, I use it almost everyday at work with new clients/patrons. But the talk test is for signaling the low end of the aerobic zone and is used for warm-ups or low level aerobic work, it corresponds to about 60-70% of max HR.

So I ride alone most of the time. But if I’m talking to myself and someone happens to see me….? After many years of participating in endurance type sports I know that going by feel is not good enough. Heart rate is a great tool though. If I can’t elevate my heart rate I’m probably tired. If my pulse doesn’t slow return a normal rate after a good effort, it may be time to go home or take a shorter route. But a rider needs to know or have good idea of what their individual max rate and anaerobic threshold is too. 220 minus your age might work, but it might be way off like it is for me. 

I bought a Garmin Fenix 6 watch recently to help me gauge how rested I am or aren’t. I’ve had in last couple years days where I am completely exhausted. Might be long Covid but it might just be the ageing process. After I had Covid though I would get those days every week. It has been getting better but not completely gone. A young friend of mine had that symptom too after covid.

Posted by: DanLees1978

He is quite excited and I've told him he'll be doing most of the build himself.

This is so good. I’ve taught my nephew and a friends kid to build wheels this way. They did all the work while I directed and supervised. Great way to learn. Your child will love it.