jason profile

That “issue” on the north shore rack is a Norco issue.  Not an issue because you put a Boxxer on a trail bike. Every Norco DH bike I know has difficulty on an NS rack.  You have to bend one of the tines on the rack to make it fit.  

The head tube is just that much bigger on Norco bikes making it hard to fit the rack tines in between the fork and head tube.

Not SantaCruz specific, but I now ride a large Transition Scout (27.5" wheels, 150/160 travel, 485 reach), 37mm offset fork, with a 40mm stem, and a 780mm bar.  I am 5'11" with a 31" inseam, and unlike Cam who is a waif (:)) I am a respectable 195lb (hahaha).  I could not imagine going back to even a 456 reach of my previous Patrol.  I ride same trails as Cam for the most part and love that I rarely feel that tippy OTB feeling.  The bike is plenty moveable in tight turns, steeps are awesome, in fact other than slightly less travel, the bikes seem very similar.  Given that I don't see how you would not go XL on the Nomad.

On my small bike (transition scout 150/160mm) that I ride primarily north shore and Squamish and mostly stay on the steepest, rockiest janky trails, I use an Assegai maxx grip dd on the front in winter (in summer I uses a DHF did maxx grip) and a maxx grip DHRII DH on the rear (all seasons). With pressure of 20 front and 21 rear for winter and 21/23 in summer. No inserts on this bike or my DH bike for that matter.  Seems to meet all my needs.  

I used to run lighter casing but had to run too high pressure to avoid flats or dings. The heavier casing works great for my 92kg weight. Rolling resistance is Meh, and I am slow as shit going up, but care more about the down anyway.

Agree on the shuttle guard.  I had 3M clear underneath and the Ride Wrap Shuttle guard did not stay on.  Ended up using contact cement to keep it in place.  Now it will only come off when I remove the 3M clear underneath the shuttle guard.

Have wrapped a few bikes now and have only used 3M clear and then custom cut it to fit.  But lets be honest, I will never get the 3M clear to fit as well as a custom Ride Wrap.  the gaps between pieces of tape are huge.  I think for my next bike I will use Ride Wrap.  It will save me lots of time and will look much better.

Lastly, I use a fair bit of 3M Mastic 2228 tape for frame protection in high wear areas or in areas that get impacted in a crash.  Part of the down tube near the BB,  on the driveside chainstay to complement the factory chainstay protector, and on the seat and chainstays near the rear axle.  I find this helps protect my bike from the lack of riding skill and reliance on crashing.

No kidding.  What a gap.

Thanks Cam,  I often take the time to cover the braid if I see one starting.  Sometimes a losing battle as a trail gets busier, but I still stop and re-cover the braid.  Have seen the more permanent barricade from builders on trails as well.

Love Bookwus and have been riding it a bunch as of late (have taken that 'high line" a few times just no where near as fast as Wade.  Goals...).  While I love the jank (and the weather related deterioration of the trail), and generally don't like to see a trail "dumbed down"..., I like the new work on Bookwus.  The cedar use in some of the more soggy and muddy holes is welcome and some of the erosion repairs bring the trail back to original use.  Still janky and still has all its difficulty.  

What I saw shortly before this recent work, and saw on a few other double black trails, are some ridders making "ride arounds" (braids) of the hardest sections of the trail.  This occurred on Bookwus but was repaired by the builders to eliminate this ride around and restore the original hard line as the only option.  Not against those riding trails above their level as that is how we all progress, however every time a rider makes a braid around the hardest sections of trail, the trail loses some of its gnar.  A braid gets ridden more, original line becomes less ridden, more riders on the trail, more ride arounds happen on other difficult sections and the trail loses its original flavour and difficulty.  If the section of trail is too hard, walk the section and leave for another day.  

So question to Cam as this is a contentious issue... How can this sort of change to a trail (braiding around the hardest section of a trail) be managed?

That rock slab is a no brake slab.  seen a few folks slide out :)

pretty much where I ended up a couple years ago. Not as flat as Yoann, but much flatter that I used to ride.  The longer top tubes (reach) has really changed the body position on a bike and the lever set up (moving closer to flat) makes sense.  Never have arm pump and great control.

I have now gone to a three pack system, with each pack containing everything that is needed for a ride without the need to shift items from one pack to another.  In other words I have three pumps (plus the pumps at home)

Pack 1 - Dakine Stealth for shuttles and bike park.  Pump (OneUp), tube, multi tool, bacon, links, valve, patch, zip ties, levers.  Perfect to fit under a jersey when water is not needed.  don't notice at all.

Pack 2 - Backcountry https://www.backcountry.com/backcountry-mtb-fanny-pack?skid=BCCZ219-GAR-ONESIZ&ti=U2VhcmNoIFJlc3VsdHM6YmFja2NvdW50cnkgYmFnOjE6MTpiYWNrY291bnRyeSBiYWc=  Same stuff as the first pack but also carry's water and maybe a extra pair of gloves and food.  

Pack 3 - Camelbak Skyline 10 - for when I need more water (up to 3 litres) as well as when extra clothing is needed.  This is the go to pack for wet winter or hot summer.  same stuff as bag 2 for tools. 

Key is that water, tubes etc. never go on the bike.  Everything is in a bag or in the case of a phone in my pocket.

Good call on the Range as well as the fork upgrade.  I went through the same dilemma last summer.  I have a Dh bike for whistler and most of Cypress (cherry, sex girl, 5th as well as the east side trails) and I also had a Transition Patrol (medium frame) for Fromme and Seymour.  Could not decide what to get to replace the Patrol, which had many, many days on it.  

In he end I got a large Patrol aluminum frame (2017 vintage, not the new SBG 2018) and  built the bike up with new and old parts (sold the old patrol M bike complete).  The choice for me was perfect.  I got the longer reach and wheelbase by going up a size, but otherwise the bike is perfect.  

The Range has 10mm more travel in the front as well as 5mm more in the rear than the Patrol but otherwise very similar.  It should be a great choice.  Gotta love having the end of year deals at JH.

Cheers