dan profile

I’d be happy to sell you mine if you’re still interested and have yet to buy one. I have a bike with a Knock Block HS and I need a $28 USD adapter to make the Haf Clip work. I’m not terribly excited about spending more - I should have thought this through more thoroughly.

Mine just arrived and it looks great. However, it was as I was unwrapping it that I realized AGH I AM A FOOL! I have a Trek so I have Knock Block keyed HS spacers. This isn’t going to be compatible. Massive facepalm. Perhaps Trevor you can put that in the article as a limitation of the product.

Thanks for the reminder about this - I just ordered one in alloy. I was a little anxious about a plastic version.

“ I watch as the young company grows to employ more talented designers” 😆

Great post, Andrew, and dang! the discussion in the comments! Gotta pour a cup of coffee and look through ‘em, I’m interested to know what others think here. 

Me, I’ve been a pretty consistent customer of one specific brand as it’s taken care of me whenever problems come up. And problems come up - I break everything. One thing about this brand is that it - unlike many - reliably offers a full-XT bike across several of its different model lines. No bullsh*t XTR candy dangling off the hanger. That said, I do wish this brand would go full batshit and spec a long travel 29er with high-end suspension, and full-on Deore, including the group’s excellent four-pot stoppers. Call me a dreamer. I’ve shared this feedback with the brand via Twitter DMs (which they always respond to!) and I have no doubt I give the marketing folks a chuckle. But again, I write stuff, they respond, and I inevitably buy another bike with the same name on the downtube.

Yep, very cool. Donated!

Great clip! Cam and Trevor, next time we ride, I'll show you this trail. ;)

Give an eMTB a spin, you’ll almost certainly be blown away at how planted they can be. The ebike I’ve had the most time on was the Canyon Strive and I was continually surprised at how confidently i was blasting over and through the spiciest features on my local laps.

Second that. And this was on my shortlist after the Altitude PowerPlay Coil. I dig the choose-your-battery approach but that list of failures in such a short period of time is pretty off-putting. This would be about 3-4 mo of riding for me too. Awesome it was all replaced quickly and under warranty but geez, I’d really be getting nervous after the first season of riding (if I hadn’t blown the damn thing up by then.) Also the difference in warranty coverage compared to the Sight is odd. I’d be inclined to choose the shorter-travel bike with the same big battery if I was still going to consider a Norco.

Glad I scrolled down this far as I have had brakes on the brain for a few weeks. I currently run two-piston XTs on my ‘21 Slash. 203 rotor up front, 180 out back*. I’m a bigger rider at 6’5” and 225# and I am all but convinced my next upgrade is four-pot Shimano calipers. So I couple of questions: what is meant by “I wish Shimano would just keep making Saints without updates/upgrades/changes”? I thought they had not changed at all since they were first released, an assumption held (or perhaps just shared) by Ryan Palmer in a very recent post on BETA. Also, in the same article he claims that current M8020 XTs are just repainted Saints. I trust he’s right but has anyone else ever heard that? Apparently the lever feel is different between the models but it sounds like the calipers are the same. Which gets me thinking, how different - if at all - are the SLX four pots from the (four piston) XTs? And isn’t there a non-series four piston below that? Lastly and most importantly, am I giving anything up by running my 11sp era levers with four-piston stoppers? What’s the ideal min-max here? I am perfectly happy with the non-series or SLX stuff if it’s going to perform the same. 

*I’m open to any feedback about going +1 on either or both of these rotors, as well.

Great to finally see some press for my favorite riding shorts! I’ve had mine about a year and my only regret is not buying them sooner. They’re my go-to’s. With four zipped pockets, I seldom have to ride with a pack, which is pretty sweet.

If you're ever on the Washington side of the border, Greg Mackenzie is the man. I think he's wrapping up a brick and mortar but you can reach him on Instagram @ButterSuspension. (His new shop space is TBD.)