superman_4 profile

I've been riding 5.10 Impacts for many years.  Never had any issues with the actual performance of the shoe, but the durability on the last pair was disappointing.  Shoes started to fall apart after only 2 seasons (of light riding).

I've had great success with my Northwave winter commuting shoes, so I decided to try their flat pedal DH shoe - the Northwave Clan (which uses a Michelin rubber sole).  Price is same as Impact so why not.

After a month of riding, I'm pretty impressed.  The 2 major criteria I'm looking for are stiffness and grip.  In terms of stiffness, its roughly on-par with the Impact.  No noticeable difference.

In terms of grip, it's actually quite interesting.  It's a different sensation than the insta-grip of the Impact (which as other's have mentioned, can be annoying when trying to adjust your foot to the right spot).  Let me try to explain it - with the Northwave's when you initially put your foot on the pedal, it feels like it's sliding around all over the place. The initial grip is much less than the Impact. But once you get your foot in place, after a few seconds of pressure the shoe seems to "absorb" the pins, and you feel quite locked-in.  Not quite to the same absolute extent as the Impact, but I'd say roughly 80-90% as locked-in.  I've been riding in the rain/mud a fair bit, and once I get going down the trail I haven't had any issues with my feet coming off.  It took me a couple rides to get used to, but now I quite like it.  If I drag a foot in a corner or something, it's way easier to get my foot back in the sweet spot of the pedal, vs Impacts.

If your a rider who needs 100% maximum grip, I'd say stick with the Impact.  But if you're someone who struggles with the 5.10's inability to allow for micro-adjustments to foot position, and you don't mind sacrificing a tiny bit of outright grip, I'd say the Northwave Clan's might be a good option.  

One note - Northwave's fit is notoriously tight.  Go up to a larger size from what your normally run.  Seriously.

Last fall I bought an e-mtb (Spesh Levo - hardtail 29'er). I bought it solely for the purposes of commuting to work through winter (in Alberta, you know, a place with real winters) . Note - For years I did the 32km commute under pure pedal power, but with a new-born baby and associated lack of sleep, it was just too fatiguing to spend 1hr+ each way in -25C + snow/ice, on top of an 8-10 hr workday. I'm a giant pussy, I know.

Anyways the e-bike (with studded tires) was great for that purpose (other than diminished battery life at -30C). Now until yesterday, the bike had never touched dirt (or even been ridden at all since winter ended - when the local landscape doesn't resemble an arctic wasteland I prefer to pedal to work under my own power).

Now yesterday I had taken the day off work to go riding. I had about 3-4 hrs to spare - normally I'll head out to my local trail system and crush a few pedal laps before heading home. Except.... it rained all night prior, and our local trails don't do well in the wet. Since I wasn't too keen to destroy the shit out of our precious loamers in those conditions, it was either ride some gravel roads/paths, or sit around at home. Since sitting at home was not an option, and riding gravel is normally boring as shit, I figured what-the-heck, why not try taking the e-bike out for her virgin taste of mountains? Given how moist things were, I targeted a loop involving 99% gravel roads/quad tracks.

And.... It was awesome! I did 46km (with 900m climbing), deep into the mountains, in 3.5 hrs! (including a 30 min lunch with beer). A loop that normally would have taken me 5-6+ hrs. And the best part is, it was fun as hell, even cruising uphill on a gravel road (something I normally find un-enjoyable) I had a shit-eating grin on my face the whole time!

Maybe e-bikes aren't so bad after all...

Just want to follow up and say thanks to everybody for the great advice! 

We're staying in Roberts Creek and it's been fantastic!  Trails are amazing, beach is awesome, quiet laid-back vibe, basically perfect in every way.  My only regret is that Coast Gravity is closed and won't open until after we leave - oh well, we'll have to come back another time. The local trails have been more than enough to keep me entertained anyways...

You guys are right, we don't want to leave haha.  If only I could convince my boss to let me work-from-home indefinitely.  Plus a huge raise - cost of living out here is insane, especially when compared to Calgary (although that's probably a discussion for a different thread).

Cheers!

Hey guys,

We just had a baby so I'm planning to use my parental leave to take a 2-3 month extended vacation this winter (to somewhere warm, or at least warmer than Alberta). Original plan was to spend the entire winter in Arizona (we'd already booked a sweet pad right by South Mountain in Phoenix). But with Coronavirus out of control, anywhere in the states is sadly looking unlikely.

Figured the next best option for a semi-warm winter would be somewhere along the coast. While I grew up in Burnaby, I don't know too much about the South Coast (other than metro Vancouver itself), so hoping for some expert help. We'll be looking to rent a 3-bedroom place for 2-3 months. Originally thinking Cumberland or Sunshine Coast, but we just don't know enough about the area to know what other options there are.

Criteria:

- Somewhere not too busy. No metro Vancouver. Probably not Victoria, Nanaimo, or Squamish, unless someone can sell me on a quiet suburb. But not too small either, don't want to drive too far to go grocery shopping etc.

- Warm (and not too rainy) winter weather. Want to be outside as much as possible. Figure anywhere on the East side of Vancouver Island would fit this criteria? Is Sunshine Coast wetter, being right up against mountains?

- Riding - must be within riding distance of a decent trail network. Ideally somewhere with a mix of blue/black trails, at least 200-300m of vert (or more). I'm a pedaller, so somewhere with a quiet up-track that doesn't have a million shuttlers whizzing by.

- Pump-track / skills-park nearby would be ideal (for our 2-yr old)

- Within 20 mins drive of ocean/beaches would be sweet (just for the kid to muck about, don't need fishing or surfing)

- Bonus points to anywhere that has decent options to take the 2-yr old on the super wet days. Indoor pool, libraries, kids play-place etc

- Need to be able to find a 3- bedroom house for several months rental, in a location that meets all these criteria

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I just got back from 5 days in Nelson/Rossland.  My thoughts:

• My 3 Favorite trails in Nelson were Newtsac (great blend of slabs and woodwork) & Morning Sickness (fantastic slabs) @ Kokanee Park, and Upper/Lower Skirt (fast and perfectly loamy dirt) at Mountain Stn. 
• Mtn Station is a terrific trail network, everything there is great; in addition to the Skirts try TNT, Eli Sim, Smiling Buddha, Fat Chance, Tiger Beef.  I hit almost every trail at MS and there wasn't a single one I didn't enjoy.  Honestly it wouldn`t be a bad strategy to dedicate 2 whole days to MS and just knock off as much as you can
• Turnstyles is very ALine-esque.  If your only doing 1 run at Morning Mtn I`d almost do something else, the jumps are pretty big and unless you`re a very confident jumper it`s the type of trail you`d want to do multiple times to dial-in.  Maybe do it if you can follow a local who knows the speed for the jumps well
• I didn`t love Paper Bag, it wasn`t really fast/flowy enough to be that type of trail (too many loose flat corners and baseball sized rocks to carry good speed), yet not really tech enough to be challenging in that sense either.  Depends on the style of trail you prefer, I like either maximum speed/flow, or ultra-tech, I found PB to be neither
• If you`re going in the next couple weeks 7 Summits may be snowed-in still.  I`d contact a shuttle company in Rossland to find out for sure
• I really enjoyed SMD and Whiskey in Rossland, both are of the fast and flowy variety, not super tech, but lots of opportunity to go real fast

I'd be hesitant to go for Guides - everyone I know with Guides has had troubles with them.  Wifey has them and they are shockingly inconsistent for a modern era brake; one day they work, the next they don't. 

For brakes, stick with Shimano.   The upcoming 4-piston XT looks very promising, if it isn't urgent I'd hold out for those.  If you do end up going for Guides, I'll sell you a lightly used set for cheap; they'll be coming off wifey's bike when we upgrade her to the new XT's.

Had this guy for 5+ years.  At least 30,000+ kms with two 35lb+ bikes.  Zero issues.  Just starting to fail on me now (mounting bolts are rusting out/seizing - this is after leaving it on my vehicle for multiple Alberta winters).  I will buy another in the spring.  Hard to beat for the price - unless having the clamp on your top tube is a deal breaker for you.  I ride my bikes pretty hard, so a tiny bit of paint scuffing is the least of my concerns.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5018-825/XTC-2-Bike-XC-Dual-Receiver-Hitch-Rack

I'm rocking this guy:  https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5045-339/Trail-HT-Waist-Pack

Fits a ton of stuff - I usually carry a pump, levers, patch kit, multi-tool, jacket and several clif-bars, with room to spare.  Only complaints - the straps dig into my waist a bit, also wish it was a hair smaller/lighter.  Prior to this, I was actually rocking a Dollarama fannypack which cost me $3.  That thing was mint, lasted a full season, more comfortable than the MEC one with similar capacity.  Alas, the strap started to tear, and my local Dollarama was unable to acquire a new one for me....   Should have bought 3 or 4 of them for that price!

Anyone bought a custom built wheel off CRC lately?  Last time I bought one was 3-4 months ago, I accessed their custom wheel builder by typing "custom wheel" in the search bar.  But now nothing comes up???

Alternately, anywhere else to get a cheap+solid rear wheel?  At the beginning of the season I used the CRC custom builder to pick up a fully built Stan's Flow on Zee rear hub for $210 - hoping to get something similar.  Pretty damn good deal, even if it did only last 2/3rds of a season.

Anyone spending $600 for a 2-bike rack is either insane, or has way too much money on their hands….

Pick up one of these from MEC. http://www.mec.ca/product/5018-825/swagman-xtc-2-bike-xc-dual-receiver-hitch-rack/?Ns=p_min_sale_price[HTML_REMOVED]h=10+50258+50259[HTML_REMOVED]f=10+50259

I've had one on my wrx for 4 years. Multiple trips to Utah and all around BC; we probably have [HTML_REMOVED]20,000 kms on it, with 2x bikes on it the entire time. Never had a single issue. Only downside is that is presses down on the frame vs the wheel, so you can get a little bit of rubbing on your frame. Best fix for that is to make sure its super tight. No movement = no rubbing.

Great thread, giving me some ideas for trips this year and bringing back some good memories! I feel like I've only ridden a fraction of the trails BC has to offer, but here is what comes to mind:

Al-Matador to 3-Kings (Fernie) - over 1,000m descent with a little of everything including exposed alpine, tight steep tech, and built up stunts /logrides

Slunt to Brokeback (Fernie) - fast ripper, one of the best lines in Fernie

Martha Creek (Revy) - I love big vert and this is one of the biggest, seems like an endless descent

Upper Oil-Can (Fromme) - Love the log rides and rolldowns, I remember how stoked I was the first time i cleaned UOC top to bottom without stopping

Wonderland (Squamish) - Favorite trail to hit with the GF, she loves it and I love it

Nicoles (Burnaby) - This is the trail I grew up on as a kid, I remember hitting it in the early 2000's on a shit xc bike with rim brakes and it seemed like the gnarliest trail ever. Remember getting my mind blown seeing someone clean the pole and wheelie drop off the end. Even though I can crush the whole trail in a couple minutes these days it still remains a fave

Sandinista to Triple Crown/Slayer to Frank's (Burke) - There's just something about Burke… Steep, wet, rooty, duffy, everything I love about mountain biking.

16km commute each way.

6am - 1/2 cup quick oats in the microwave, add a scoop of protein powder, a scoop of flax seed, and a spoonful of peanut butter.

10am - banana

noon - sandwich container stuffed to the brim with a mixture of beans, lentils, and quinoa. Sometimes throw in some sautéed kale/broccoli to add some flavor.

3pm - apple

5:30pm - eat a banana on the way down the elevator to give some energy for ride home

7pm - dinner, usually a stirfry

10pm - evening snack is always nuts; peanuts/almonds/cashews