GB profile

My 100 percent waterproof pants from MEC. Are nylon. I use them for commuting . After  many years of use the knees leak a small amount but my but stays dry.  One could trace the muddy triangle plastered on the back of pants on a wet ride and laminate a fully waterproof nylon section of material, covering just  the splash zone. 

On the rare time I'm invited to shuttle, Helly Hanson work pants are used by those that wish to stay dry in actual rainy conditions .

Edit , polyurethane and pvc  coatings are  waterproof.  Nylon is water resistant.

Yes North Americans are ..... big lol. 

Cam we are almost the same body shape . I would get the small size as all my clothes are size small unless the clothes are made in Europe . 

It's a big issue in the news these days . The longevity and potential health issues with Teflon.  As in PCF free. 

Recycled materials and a local company is also good to know . How well do they back there products? I would like to know . 

Much to like about the fit and function.  But I want a 100 percent waterproof ass. I want zippers at the bottom of the pant legs , elastic cuffs ? On 300$ plus pants ? 

Then I look up the 120$ True werk T2 pants suggested. 

Cam I would love a comparison of the two .

Yes my bad upper and lower Vics trail. I wonder who built Sawblade ? I'm certain Victor helped maintain  Vics , Bean and Necafe . He was a regular face on Burke constantly giving back to the sport .

Upper Vics and Bean are janky treasures well worth the climb . 

Speaking of janky . I built most of the decrepit janky ladders over the swampy parts of Flyweel 2000.  Probably swallowed up by houses now . 

Thanks for stirring up old memories.

Wow that saw blade is still there !  

I remember finding out Victor and his son Brian built that trail . 30 years ago ? Longer ?  Moutainbiking can be just as much about meeting people. Enjoying ? The challenge of the climb with great conversations while gasping for oxygen.  

Oh man I take newbies riding to experience the North Shore thinking I'm on some mellow trail with a few " features " only a few get hooked . Those that do never look back.  They become part of the tribe . Embracing challenge.  

Saw blade introduced me to mind blowing challenge on bikes.  Riding with Victor and Brian oh and Karalaeen humbled me . I walked plenty of the features they rode with confidence and style . Everyone was accepted no one was judged .

Human powered vehicles make for exelent adventures .

Adventures are not all about fun. Finding strength through adversity and challenge shared with others are probably the most cherished moments .

Beautiful story. 

Merry Christmas.

What about a spring loaded honing tool if bushings are deformed from pressing or too tight ? Guaranteed to be perfectly round after honing.  

Shame a piece of equipment that sells for 1500$ or more is not properly QC,d to check for tolerance.

I noticed my SLX cranks have a granny gear mount for the old 4 hole standard that I'm sticking with.

I love the idea of getting parts made local .So NSB thank you ! And making for all mounts ,again thankyou ! 

I would be interested in a 28 tooth up front I wonder if they make one for granny gear mounting holes . Will they consider making the chain rings from stainless steel ? 

The gift that keeps on giving . A smile . Open a door for a stranger . Give them a smile . You will feel good and it does not cost you$ .

Realy the effort is greater than spending money . There is cost involved the currency is compassion.

Tis the season for gloves that fend off the cold and the wet .

My collection of MEC windblocker gloves is exhausted . I always bring two pairs . When my fingers go numb I put on the warm gloves and stash the frozen gloves inside my jacket.  

So who makes a thin windstopper glove that is "afordable " and gets the job done ? 

BTW I definitely get winter gloves a size too large . Yes you get bunching at the palm but tight fitting gloves wick away heat much faster .

Patagonia usually does a good job backing  the products they make .  Fixing the ass with non waterproof materials?  I would contact Patagonia with my displeasure. 

In my opinion the front panels of the legs on pants and the back, ass, ahould get durable 100 percent waterproof material . 

Pit zips should be mandatory imo on jackets .   Why not zippers on pants legs to offer excess heat/ moisture to evacuate quickly.? I have pants and shorts with this feature. Elastic cufs on pants legs and jackets?  Cheap and annoying.  

Water proof breathable pants inevitably splashed with rain and mud ,we are talking about mountain biking .Are no longer waterproof and probably don't breath sufficiently.  

The tight cut of those affordable pants would be perfect if I was into ballet or the outdoor " jock" look.

My Fenix lights do exactly that . Use replaceable 18650 batteries.  Its not super bright at 800 lumens. I use two lights.  One on the bar . One on the brain bucket . 

In theory any light can be taken apart and the old " most likely 18650" batteries replaced . 

Good point illuminating us with the knowledge that lithium ion batteries can catch on fire!  I always monitor results . I also check my batteries with a voltage meter . Feeling the batteries for how hot they get is an excellent option.  

I don't night ride enough! It's a magical time to be on the trails .

How much motor oil is lost or burned in automobiles? How much oil is used in a year for a bike chain. ? 

Bike chain is not an environmental concern .  I use cheap motor oil or used fork oil. Do I care about the 5 ml of oil I deposit on the forest floor or pavement made from crude oil. No . 

Plastic is made from crude oil and it does not break down any time soon. Oil is probably eaten by bacteria in small amounts  I'm stoked that bike manufacturers are using less packaging and more biodegradable packaging ideas .

Oil is my least concern. Anyone know what we replaced lead in fuel with? Highly carcinogenic hydrocarbons.  Not a fan if breathing that deadly shit, Benzene for starters , when I'm commuting by bike . 

On a positive note I see more people commuting by bike. Even in crappy weather .  Than I ever witnessed in the past .

Meat power thread?

For commuting. Yes electric motor bikes cargo bikes with a couple of kids being shuttled to school is awesome .

Soul searching in the forest. Blending physical attributes while embracing my own meat power .

That's why I ride a bike on trails and on bike paths .

When I hear the whirring , winning, of an electric motor behind me . I slow down and watch the individual triumphantly pass me . I ride as slow as possible to give the motor cyclist the feeling of power ! And to give as much space between me and the fast dude eager to pass me . Funny people in cars are the same . They feel a need to pass me even if I'm doing the speed limit .

No one suggest slowing down and smelling the flowers. Doesn't sell.

Oddly the past Era of free ride is essentially dead . The one time speed was not important. The emphasis being fun.

Does anyone stop and admire the beauty of the west coast forest before dropping in ? I do .

Trail builders definitely immerse themselves in the tranquility of the forest . We'll some do. Every time I see Digger he is in the forest smiling . Have a fun ride . He says. I believe is his favorite line .

A trail I do often in North van I think it's called Quarry Park. Used to be a rock quarry. Some kids started building very shitty trails . Riding fast, annoying people walking . Then someone made a proper trail . Exelent drainage , proper slopes . And every tasty root and bump was preserved that I use to get jibby . Yet the trail is covered in gravel. I asked some city workers who do I thank for this spectacular rebuild of this trail. ? The city worker smiles .

Digger built it .

Thanks Todd you are the master of trail building .

I try to picture myself as a newbie recently intrigued by the sight of fancy bikes paraded on the backs of pick up trucks and bike racks . Perhaps a co worker has enticed an individuals interest with his vibrant enthusiasm and colorful descriptions of flow trails . 

A walk into a shop dedicated to selling bikes is an overwhelming sensation of very sophisticated ful suspension bikes . Grabbing your attention with sex appeal and alarming ,mind numbing outrageous prices . Having a middle class career or you still live with the parents . You justify spending a month or two worth of salary on one of these fantastic machines . 

Probably with same knowledge one has of the latest I phone . As in the the latest,  greatest thing and it looks fantastic! 

If the newbie falls in love with the sport and embraces the challenge,  the pain, the occasional crash . He may then reflect apon what his personal goal is in biking that gives him or her the most pleasure.  

This is where the weirdos on hardtails come in . Probably the hardtail crowd on decent hardtails grew bored of the forgiving nature of full suspension bikes and wish to reduce the dependency on complex equipment. Embracing the pure feeling of joy one has being the pilot verses a newbie being the passenger.  

suggesting a newbie to get a hardtail is as easy as convincing someone to buy a new  300$ android phone from London drugs .  Comes with a good warranty,  it's dependable,  works great . 

But it's not sexy.

The bike industry is to blame ? 

No it's the shallow consumer culture we all embrace . As that's where the money is . 

For all you hardtail weirdos.  Thank you for being weird .

I personally have not riden a steep seat tube frame . I'm considering ,dreaming, about building up a simple , reliable hard tail .  With modern geo. 

Yes a seat post clamp set back is a good solution for steep seat tubes . I do sit while climbing to conserve energy. 

Lately a particular trail I have been enjoying on Cypress has many short punchy climbs . I use an attack mode with out of saddle body English for the steep challenging sections. 

What hard tail would I get?  

Andrew post a totally sick looking shore ready hardtail. Being tested with a set back seat post.  

Yeah I want that bike ! 

Wait the Banshee hardtail Andrew is test riding . Short stays for playfulness and it's terribly sexy ! 

But I digress. 

The message I'm getting . The riders skills are most important and what feels right is what you need .

Meat powered thread. 

So why the discussion about motor bikes ? 

Can we discuss the joy of human powered contraptions ? 

I noticed seat tubes are getting super steep. I always get off the saddle for serious teck climbs . 

Am I old and stubborn?  Can teck climbs be mastered with your ass on the seat ?  Does sitting offer better traction ? 

Am I the only stubborn old fool still standing , using body English to clean steep tecky climbs ?

Sarcastic humor or a vicious rant about the ignorant cunts that have taken over the right hand lane that used to be the appropriate place for cyclist to avoid death . Now it's a parking lot often reducing two lanes into one narrow path for automobiles. Such as the street I live on. It's a rant about cyclist dying because automobiles are considered imperative and bikes are just toys . It's definitely an observation that cycling lanes may make you feel safe . That false sense of security will get get you killed if you don't take action . 

If you don't commute by bicycle.  My apologies you probably have no clue what I am discussing.

I must assume the right side of the road is a parking lot for automobiles.  Thus not to infringe on the rights of the users of automobiles I ride to the left of the parking lane . 

Yes the lane to the right with cute bicycle images is also a parking space for construction debris and automobiles.  Again to enable these user groups to have access to said lane I ride to the left of this parking spot . Sorry bike lane ? 

This crucial parking spot for automobiles and construction equipment is clearly displayed all over North Vancouver and in every other district.   

I feel it's imperative that cyclist leave the right hand lane open for parking and create a dangerous and selfish act when considering riding to the far right . 

I'm quite certain by the amount of cars parked on the right hand side that the city of North vancouver is adamant about cyclist riding to the left of the right lane . 

I commute full time by bike . I am most serious when I say bike lanes are very dangerous.   Taking up the whole road may upset some over entitlement red necks and soccer moms . Fuck em I prefer to not get sucked under a dump truck .

I find this subject fascinating as I don't own a car I commute full time by bike . 

In north Vancouver and Vancouver down town . People are courteous and generaly look out for pedestrian and cyclist. 

A car for personal transportation is not mandatory it's not a right . It's a personal luxury not to be taken for granted. This luxury involves responsibility. 

Every time people who have this luxury and don't use signals , chat with phone in crotch, get angry and drive aggressive. 

You endanger people's lives . 

No cyclist do not want to die . Either do pedestrian s . I see close calls every day . Often it's an inattentive pedestrian. 

Thing is an automobile traveling at 50 kph or 10 kph still weighs two tonnes ! 

It's actually up to the person in the automobile to not kill and maim people . 

I look forward to the day automobiles are automated . You say to your smart phone take me to .... A car shows up and takes you where you want to go. 

Get rid of the people operating the automobile all the accidents cease to exist.  No more traffic jams .