SteveR profile

A great thought provoking read. Thanks , Mike! There’s nothing quite like a bike ride to clear the mind.

Really enjoyed reading that, Cam! At 68 I've pretty much decided that progression to me, means working on the small, often subtle things that I could improve upon. Cornering better, pedalling smoother, finessing low consequence features etc...No more tough stuff, especially since cracking ribs in a fall (while riding an easy feature!) early this summer, and realizing how much longer recovery takes now. There's always something to learn!

Yes, the Shimano M520 pedal should make the list. I've been running them for decades on all 3 bikes, plus on my wife's gravel bike. And a lot of friends do, as well. And look- that's a Volt (Koda on another) on my "gravel" bike (old steel hardtail), and although the Spesh Eliminator/Ground Control combo has been my preference over the DHF/Agressor lately, there is least one partly worn DHF hanging in the bike room as a backup. Along with my favoured hub, the DT 350, does that make ME a contemporary Classic?

I shouldn't have clicked on the article, for as I wake up this morning in cold snowy Alberta, it only makes me long for the desert of southern Utah! Just back last week from our yearly fall trip to the region, actually, but it was two weeks of camping and hiking, with no bikes. Next year we'll mix it up- it's been too long since I've ridden Moab.

Great article, Dave! Like others have commented- as an old grouch I despair at times about the short term "me" attitude of too many in our sport. Dig the hell out of hillsides in a local park to create features that will only become abandoned, eroded eyesores? Sure! We were only having fun, and look at the cool photos! Carve out a new unsustainable loamer where a  trail that badly needs a bit of maintenance exists mere metres away? You bet! We'll have a great time roosting, until we don't, and then we'll just make a new one! And now you've got me going on my pet peeve- the worry that the e-revolution is paving the way for full motorization. I know- old guy shaking fist at clouds.

Thanks for the tune- never really got into the New Pornographers, but I've been a Neko Case fan for a long time, with Furnace Room Lullably being on high rotation on a recent Utah desert roadtrip.

The push is coming from industry, fed by the very human desire to have more, more, more, and wanting to make things easier. For the record- I don't hate pedal assist bikes, and like Kyle- I know several people, older than my 68 years, that have had their riding life extended by e-bikes, after suffering injury or illness. More power to them! Maybe I'll get there too, someday. However, "who are you to mess with my good time" is the exact response from the SurRon riders who were ripping around this summer on the non-motorized (pedal assist allowed) trails that I maintain. THAT is where my e-concerns lie- what is all this leading to?

I, along with Barry and others, have opinions on the relentless push towards the motorization of bicycling. This does not make us "haters"- the stock reply of e-bikers when we voice our legitimate concerns about where this might be headed. Let's hope that North Shore Motorized Bikes does not become the reality in the next decade.

Unfortunately, that's not just a shore thing, Jerry.

I've only rode the shore a few times in the now distant past, always in dry, even dusty, conditions, which felt right at home coming from Alberta riding. Having grown up on the wet coast- I had my fill of dank, dark and damp forests long ago. Those wet features would scare the crap out of me!

Thanks for the thorough review, which unlike yesterday's, I actually read in it's entirety as I'm potentially in the market for a new FS. Bonus for it being tested on the kind of trails that I mostly ride!

What we have here is a Dekerf Team, 2000 vintage. Originally built up in xc race mode with full XTR  including V brakes,  in 2006 I stripped it and dropped the frame off at its birthplace while on holidays in BC, where it had a disc mount brazed on, and a new coat of copper paint. Over the years it had gone through several makeovers, with the XTR shifters and King headset being the only original parts remaining, and had gradually lost its status as my main bike, but still saw regular real mtb use until getting my Surface in 2016.  Since then, it has been slipping into decrepitude, mostly serving as my "gravel" bike, outfitted with 35 mm tires. Back to the present- after a late October dump of snow, a couple of weeks of warm dry weather has meant a return to almost summer conditions on many trails. Too lazy to swap out the Ice Spikers currently on the Chromag, I dug a lightly used set of Fire Pros out of the tire rack in my bike room, gave the fork a service, bled the brakes and have been ripping around the local trails on this so-called "relic" from the past.  Yowzaa, I had almost forgotten how quick this bike is!  But, there's no way I'm having fun on outdated geometry, with 650 gram, 26 x 2.1 tires that actually measure at less than 2.0, and a 100mm fork, Right? Wrong! While I'm not ready to give up my more modern bikes, this has me reviving my dormant plan to refurbish the Dekerf once more.

Posted by: fartymarty

Steve - I had my first SS ride in a while yesterday and it wasn't my legs, it was my shoulders and triceps that felt it.  I generally climb seated so standing was a hard work.  Was a good challenge tho.

Is that a Chromag Surface?

Yes, it's a Surface.

Posted by: mrbrett

Paskapoo? Are you running skinny studs, Steve? Just recovering from a medical thing for another week and I've been going nuts with no biking. Looking forward to pedaling a bit in the near future ... deciding what sort of a bike is the right one to have cued up and not sure I need a fat bike yet.

Yes that is Paskapoo. Excellent conditions on Ice Spikers, in the morning when everything was frozen solid.

All this SS talk makes my legs hurt!

A bike lean from yesterday in Cowtown:

And one from a month ago at close to the same spot:

Posted by: Blofeld

Posted by: SteveR

A sweet Walt at Paskapoo! I ride and maintain trails there on a pretty regular basis. No bike lean photos, though.

Nice! I ride on the other side of the river more often. Will keep an eye out for your Chromag!

I actually live on the other side of the river, 2 minutes ride from the top of Waterfall Valley (Bowmont). So I ride Bowmont and 12 Mile a lot, but Paskapoo is my favourite riding area in the city.

I've encountered another green Surface a couple of times in Bowmont in recent years, but that one is more of a plain green while mine is metallic. The frame is more than a bit beaten up and chipped, so my winter plan was to strip it and have it powdercoated, probably in emerald green again, but I never got around to it. Next year.

Monday's lean:

Posted by: Blofeld

Rainy day lean against an old truck in a swamp.

A sweet Walt at Paskapoo! I ride and maintain trails there on a pretty regular basis. No bike lean photos, though.

Spikers and flats to summer rubber and spd's for a great dirt ride yesterday at my local (house is just back of that dark stand of spruce on the skyline). 

I have to admit that those Hornby photos make me almost long for my teenage stomping grounds in Powell Riviera! 

This is what my riding looked like last week:

Surface on January 2. First ride of the new year!