DanL profile

SOL sacks combo'd with the blankets will give you a better and drier shelter in place, but add in hand warmers too if you're doing that

haha, awesome, I was lusting after that WZRD slingshot as well. Now that's a gearshot!
I'll get my coat / vest

sawyer mini and the lifestraw/bottle combo have been very versatile for me

Is the difference in internals for the pro vs expert in mattoc/mezzer construction worth the price difference as well? 
And before I subject it to the tender mercies of the dremel, I cannot find spare crown races for the maxhit headset - is anyone aware of which ones may fit?

I hear you on that, being Super or Enduro isn't an attribute I have but wanting an N+1 for the fast chunk or large drops is real

I've got something similar from IceBreaker and the combo of thin sleeves and some light loft on the front makes for an excellent mid layer or full outer

The rest of the spesh/fjallraven catalogue is going into some amazing Clem Fandango territory

Wow, that's a gorgeous shirt, thanks for that one! And the framebags as well, always been bag-curious - this could be the year.

Cooper, are you going to model the field suit later next year?

Hopefully a testament to this bike will be that it can be enjoyed on a wide gamut of trails with a wide selection of desired outcomes. Until I'd read your thorough WR1 variations investigations there was not a part of me that felt like that bike would be even close to something I'd be able to ride and not feel "all talk and no trousers".
I love the new artwork on that wall, the blue patch almost appears to mimic the bike colours.

Those are some gorgeous stick leanings!
I'm also looking forwards to this series, as soon as the chainsaw turned up I thought it was such a great price point for what it promises and from Devinci no less. It sits perfectly beside the more lux looking Troy frames in the racks.
Your riding impressions are also going be closer to my levels of enjoyment (and neighbourhood) than in the Barelli/Vanderhoek riding continuum -  as much as I enjoy seeing their riding, wondering how the bike feels is equivalent to watching Kelly Slater surfing a door and a table and thinking about the furniture.

I'm very much enjoying the smooth, frictionless feel of a full shop tune up and fork rebuild. Great start to 2024

Posted by: [email protected]

No worries, happy to do it.

What sucks about this kind of project is you put a lot of time in it and if everything goes as expected, nobody notices the difference! ;-)

always thank your infra techs for nothing being noticeable!

I have the patriot15 - it's good. If you're down with how USWE packs work, the sas-tec is unnoticeable.
I think that the way that I can cinch the pack to my body using the straps etc, means that I think the protector will stay in place better but that's just my non scientific opinion. It has a lot of compartments which I like as I can section everything out based on how quickly I want to access it and can still strap a helmet in (or on if it's my Fullface which it usually is). The only other pack I have that is as well made is my evoc trail25 but that's just too large.

Posted by: fartymarty

I guess the message for me is that you should support the brands you really like and want around in a few years.  Ditto LBS if it's a goodun.

I try to make a point of supporting brands that support my local trails making sure they understand why I’m buying from them. Quid pro quo !

I just began going through very large forum posts like "Ride more..bitch less" from page 1 and it's been an excellent source of history and anecdotes

Posted by: Endurimil

Christmas decorations lean.  Found while on a ride. Some one had decorated this a bit for Christmas on a trail near a little creek.

What a great find! I love this

It's funny you mention that, I started to notice that forks were feeling less plush but was putting it down to old shoulders.

I didn't get on too well with any of them. Medium was where I started. Tried softer and then started to look at other springs that could fit and then decided to look at other forks instead. If it was possible to get very incremental amounts the Z1 might be worth another look for me, but I also wonder if the damper would need re working?

Chatting to the guy at the gate who was flagging, it's for the new gondola and sewage upgrades.
I got caught in a traffic jam on the first switchback of 4 trucks going down meeting 2 trucks going up. It's surprising the road isn't more chewed up.

It comes come down to how much goldilocks zone each fork covers for you and the differences/tradeoffs between 'good-enough' and 'constantly searching'
I had a Z1 coil on my hardtail and really liked it, especially for the price, but there was a point where I couldn't get exactly what I wanted from the grip damper and the rebound. I moved to a Formula selva which greatly increased the fiddling I could do but expanded the range at the expense of more bracketing etc etc 
Now I'm on the most basic Yari damper, so back to square zero. I can feel what I don't like and know what I would like to get done in terms of damper upgrades.

The bestest fork I ever did have was a factory fox36 Fit4 with a Vorsprung smashpot fitted. So I'm now on the hunt for a good price used chassis/damper to get that conversion done again.