Kenny profile

Thanks Andrew, always interesting to hear thoughts on "big" bikes from people not necessarily on team "big bike". 

Sounds like you're adjusting already and maybe it's a non issue once fully adapted, but I feel like the loose front end is a common report on these bikes with head angles in the 63 range. 

I know you almost always angleset to slacken all of the things, but have you thought about going in the steeper direction for the sake of science in this particular case? 

I know numerous Sentinel and Spire owners doing this (riding NS/S2S, not Manitoba. ;))

For comparison, my trailcross GTX are also upsized, and as I tend to like more minimal MTB shoes with some flex/pedal feel, the trailcross GTX feel pretty clumsy and wooden to me. 

The nanuks have slightly better pedal feel but the upper feels more boot-like. Definitely more clunky all around versus summer riding shoes but I mean I think that's the tradeoff. 

My first ride was on wet trails but dry 5c weather with thin merino socks and my feet were sweating, it was ok but they are borderline overkill at that point. 

These are best for 0c or colder, and/or wet and/or snow. 

I think they'll be great for double duty as light weight snow boots for tobogganing and such for the few snow days a year here in the lower mainland.

They're narrow. Size up.

I run these:

https://www.fizik.com/rw_en/terra-nanuq-gtx-flat.html

They're plenty warm. Almost too warm for the lower mainland. 

A agree clip in shoes when snow and/or ice are likely a factor seems like a terrible plan to me. 

I also own the 510 goretex, the nanuk are much more like boots than the 510.

The sealant everywhere is spectacular. :) Adds to the carnage effect for sure. 

I've changed my approach these days and only get sealant involved once the tires beads are seated, then inject in the valve (core removed obviously, which if the tire is a fight to get seated will end up happening anyways of course). 

Crazy how different the bike looks with the two different wheelsets, pretty wild. I like both variants. You doing the cxmas ride this year?

If you just use bar to ground then it makes hardtail measurements applicable? Once sagged the BB part roughly takes care of itself/cancels out? 

My hardtail (L Enigma) is 1070mm, sag wagon (XL Crossworx) is 1090mm.

What's funny is the hardtail has a 50mm rise bar and 20mm of spacers. (At a glance looks like a very high cockpit setup)

My sag wagon has 15m rise bars and 10mm of spacers. (At a glance looks like a very low setup). 

That's the difference between a 140mm helm and a 170mm Ohlins. 553mm vs 590mm axle to crown. Head tube lengths are the same and stem rise is similar. 

I already tried sizing down last year, it was a terrible experiment for me personally. I flipped two frames that left me feeling like a monkey trying to hump a football whilst descending. 

My theory is these pro racers have better hamstring and hip mobility than I had when I was 12 and are generally stronger, lighter, and more athletic than I am. 

When you have those things and you can perform a really low, strong hip hinge on command, you can shorten up your bike overall and keep yourself between the axles and throw it around. 

It's exactly like golf. Pro golfers can use tiny unforgiving golf clubs so they can control the golf ball in all kinds of wild ways. 

I just need something that maximizes my chances of making good contact and going straight. 

I don't need mountain biking to be harder. My big reach and stack, and big wheel base make it much easier for me to ride confidently and without fatigue, and give my body a larger sweet spot that it can exist in, margin for error. 

At 510 reach and 1300 wheelbase (I am 180cm but have a very long torso) I doubt I'd ever go bigger, but I can't see going smaller than 490 (with 650+ stack). 

The enigma feels small at 470, but it's speed limited by nature and I avoid riding trails/features that are at the upper limits of my abilities on it, it's just for fun. If I am looking to ride really serious trails or generate serious speed (for me), the crossworx is the right tool for that job. N+1.

Sorry for the long ramble.

Any more info on the Raaw discount code on bikecomponents? Dug around a little but couldn't find it. Thanks!

The idea of the dual air chamber setup is primarily about reshaping the air spring curve to be something more coil-like (linear), so yeah, that's what he was saying, rather than buy an air shock trying to be like a coil, maybe just buy a coil.

Yeah they do seem good about making updates as they go, maybe wait for version 2.3.6. 

Seriously though this seems consistent with most stories you hear about EXT. Their stuff is going to be amazing, eventually, but in meantime reviews sound almost like beta tests. 

Ohlins took a few years to figure things out on the MTB side of things. I have a current model RXF36 which has a similar air spring setup and I love it. I do wonder if the concept is practical for a rear shock though since the "++" aka "ramp up" chamber needs so much pressure...

Yeah shoes that soak up 10lbs of water and take forever to dry are just a pain. 

I also find with my trail Cross GTX that my feet still get pretty wet unless I have pants on that really stay properly "overlapped" over the cuffs of the shoe. 

Obviously rain will come in the top and especially if your socks are longer than the shoes (I actually need to try getting some "no show" super short socks) they'll wick water straight in, so using waterproof shoes with shorts is mostly pointless for me.

The trailcross GTX have super stiff and super grippy soles which doesn't work for me, I can't feel the pedal or locate my feet properly. 

I just ordered some of the Fizik Nanuk GTX flats which are more like boots and I am hoping will actually play double duty as winter boots when taking the kids tobogganing and such. 

I had some fixik shoes previously which were awesome but slightly too small (apparently common to have to size up with fizik). I sized up this time so should be interesting. They are expensive but especially if they double duty for snow days with kids I'll get a lot of use out of them.

The table in this brake test is so good:

https://enduro-mtb.com/en/best-mtb-disc-brake-can-buy/

It explains a few interesting things, such as that "power" can mean different things depending on context. 

It can mean how much actual torque the brake can impart - a function of pad/disc friction, clamping force, and rotor diameter. 

Or, it can mean at what rate can the brake system convert kinetic energy into heat, and dissipate it into the atmosphere. 

So for example you could have a very "grippy" brake that feels crazy powerful, but heat soaks quickly and becomes useless, or vice versa.

The column of 30-15km/hr times is a pretty interesting one since it's a common use case. 

The saints have the shortest time other than the trick stuff and and I think that's what contributes to the super powerful feeling. 

I love mine, but they definitely work best when I'm really aggressive in my brake usage - ie identify braking points and brake HARD, otherwise no comfort braking.

Up 60k, but that's only about 3%, so considering inflation, technically it's down I suppose. 

That said it's still up more like 30% from pre-covid and I don't intend to move for another decade or so, so it's pretty irrelevant to me at this point. 

I would not be surprised if they turn my neighborhood into condos around that time, which would work for me.

My L enigma, roughly the same as last posted, except I replaced the magura mt trail sport brakes with deore 4 piston. I am really enjoying the power curve, as it's more like the saints on my "big bike". 

I have no real plans for it this year honestly, the biggest problem is my full suspension bike is feeling super dialled currently so I'm not riding it much. 

The rear insert is a tannus, I may change that for a burlier option, cushcore pro or similar.

Other than that, while it's fun, especially to just hammer corners with, really it's worse at almost everything versus my full suspension bike haha. 

If you believe the internet lore, maxxis WT casings were originally designed around an i35, but then i30 sort of became standard. 

I think either works, it depends on what you want. 

As you'd expect, an i35 will make the tire profile more square and a bit higher volume. 

The cornering lugs will engage sooner which means the tires will roll a little slower and wear a little faster. But, if you don't tend to lean the bike way over when cornering and/or aren't ripping lots of flow trails, it's likely having the cornering knobs be more "accessible" will increase cornering and off camber confidence. The higher volume will allow slightly lower pressures and over reduce trail chatter as well. 

I30 will have a rounder profile. Faster rolling, less "unintentional" engagement/wear on the side knobs, and a more pronounced transition to cornering knob bite when leaning the bike over at speed. 

i like i35 on 27.5 and hardtails, and i30 on full suspension 29ers (they have enough confidence and "steamroller" effect as it is).

Posted by: AndrewMajor

I know a lot of folks working in the industry currently - wrenching, running shops, in distribution, working at bike brands - and from what I gather, I think we’ll find that a couple of years from now we’ll look back and see there was a lot of doomsaying about nothing.

Companies went pedal-to-the-floor into the post-Covid-selling-spree WALL and there’s certainly some wrecks being patched up, but I think most outfits will heal.

Totally. The COVID bike bubble was exactly that, and when a bubble pops there's a brief over-contraction and then things normalize.

That said, in parallel to that, we have ebike sales cannibalizing Enduro bike sales. That is a potentially bad thing for people on the shore, where our trail bikes are mostly Enduro bikes.

The focus of bike R&D departments is going to become increasingly more e-bike centric.

In the past, ebikes have mostly been adaptations of Enduro/trail bikes. I think soon development will become focused on ebikes and it'll be the other way around and normal bikes will get whatever trickles down from the ebike.

The problem with this is that the design requirements for ebikes don't fully overlap with the requirements for normal bikes, and I think that could negatively impact pedal bike designs.

Luckily, normal bikes have managed to reach a pretty well evolved state of prior to this paradigm shift, but these models are some of the last ones where to be designed as a pedal bike first and foremost.

I think that version looks way better than the previous one with the "ear loops".

I have an original proframe I don't wear much because the visor sits too far into my field of vision and I subconsciously position my head/eyes to try to avoid seeing it, which gives me headaches after long descents. I'd love to try the new model with adjustable visor as it's a comfy helmet beyond the visor issues.

So did Santa hook you up this year?

Post any new stuff and first impressions!

Two items for me:

1 Leatt Pro 3.0 shoes, still some models on excellent sale here:

https://fortnine.ca/en/leatt-3-0-pro-flat-mtb-shoes

Only one ride but so far I am in love. Since Shimano discontinued the gr9 I have cycled through probably 5 different sets of shoes, crank bros, fizik, giro, etc with minimal success. 

Good grip, not floppy but not super stiff and wooden, good fit, great lining that wicks moisture really well. Awesome. 

2 Wizard works hobgob hip pack. 

I recently got the specialized polartec neoshell jacket which I love but it's not very packable. I needed a hip pack with external bungee to store it. I also wanted a water bottle holder and something a little boutique/ hand made. 

The actual hip belt is hard to adjust and pretty thin, but the rest of the bag's construction and layout are fantastic. It might be ok, but I can see myself possibly changing the belt webbing at some point. Otherwise total "end game" level piece. 

https://www.wizard.works/shop/bags/wearable-bags/hip-packs/hobgob-hip-pack/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to justify what happened.

Just can't help but wonder/wish maybe there's a better explanation than just sheer ignorance and narcissism (like some type of misunderstanding or miscommunication). Especially if there was a sign up though, probably not, unfortunately. Just your garden-variety idiot at work.

What do you use for spoke thread prep?

If it's not carbon safe, that's probably an issue regardless. You could use graphite powder, given it's basically carbon.

I had been using Stan's spoke prep, including a little on the nipple/rim interface, but I've since learned it's basically PTFE so I am thinking I should use something else in the future...

Yeah I think it's the rock after the short climb, right line is smoother but off camber, mid and left lines less of camber but undulate more.

Looks like some of the undulations in the middle were filled in.

I wonder if there were "official" looking signs around regarding the trail work?

It's almost like someone was just confused and assumed the modification was unsanctioned and ripped it out?

That move and the other one shortly after it (rock with some exposure to the right, directly before the wood roll down) are the only things not blue about the trail, it probably makes sense to clean them up a little and return the trail to a blue rating. If the trail fundamentally made more sense as a black I'd say they don't need anything, but to make it a blue it makes sense.

That said I think people only access FA from black rated trails, so maybe it doesn't really matter if it's blue...

No the resolve is a totally different setup, and lower even still than one up, but it's sort of integrated into the stanchion itself.