doug-m profile

Pretty cool to see the world's best on trails that look like the ones I ride. Vermont isn't BC by a long stretch, but there's still plenty of jank, gnar, and fun to be found and built.

During my annual winter teardown and rebuild, I feel each bearing and if it needs it just pop the seal + clean + flush + fill. File under 'bike hacks you're probably not supposed to do' but I haven't had to push a bearing out in 4 seasons of owning my Transition. I also weigh 130lbs and don't often ride in the wet, so YMMV.

3 seasons into squishy bike ownership, my approach has been to disassemble the frame and inspect bearings each winter. If any feel gritty or notchy, pop the seals to clean + flush + re-grease. Have done most of them now, so far so good!

Hope Dakine gets around to adding those jacket straps to the Hot Laps 2L. Much more useful to me than the daisy chain. The other thing they should add is a little zipper pouch/pocket on the unused left hip wing and it would be 11/10 perfection.

The indoor bike park in my area is on its way to reopening after a few years hiatus, probably gonna get one a Shonky when it's time. Gonna be so fun, gonna get so hurt ;-)

Maddening, indeed. Park Tool has stepped in to make dedicated aluminum tools for the new landscape of Shimano 16-notch cup sizes:

• BBT-49.2 for 39mm OD (XTR BB93)
• BBT-59.2 for 41mm OD (XT BB-MT800)
• BBT-69.2 for 44mm OD (the good old near-universal size we all liked)

I'm basically a flat lander but have been rolling my levers up a bit at a time, somewhere between flat and 45 deg now. Feels good, as if my arms are in a better position to move with the front suspension during a dip in the trail or compression.

Been using R&R Super Slick in my freehubs. Works well.

I really want to get a set of these for my trail bike, but then I know I'll be bothered by the paltry 36 point hub on my singlespeed. So it's either none or two #whaddayagonnado

I really want to get a set of these for my trail bike, but then I know I'll be bothered by the paltry 36 point hub on my singlespeed. So it's either none or two #whaddayagonnado

Another American here. Thanks for bringing attention to this issue among the MTB community in Canada. I support this boycott in concert with other actions against Vista Outdoor, and #NRAboycott as a whole.

It's a tough spot to be in for bike shops, Bell/Giro/Blackburn/Camelbak employees, and sponsored athletes for sure. Taking a guess that many of those that will be affected don't share the positions and politics of Vista Outdoor, and a fair point can be made that boycotting Vista's cycling holdings won't sway their support of the NRA. Bike Portland and Red Kite Prayer have covered this in detail. 

A sad reality of the gun regulation debate in the US is that motivation spikes after every tragedy, then fades. So the time is now to send any message we can, keep up the pressure, and hopefully-beyond-hope get action from government. It's the NRA in particular that callously and repeatedly stands in the way of the most basic reforms. For example, since 1996 our Center for Disease Control has been barred by NRA-backed legislation (the Dickey Amendment) from researching gun violence as a public health crisis; we don't even know the full extent of the crisis.