Chief

Sorry I can't be there, wanted to come out and give a hand. Unfortunately work got in the way.

Personally DT Swiss is my choice for aluminum. XM 481's can handle anything here in centex.

Phil wood tenacious oil is good for some things , but a chain isn't one of them unless you're trying to resurrect an old chain that has gotten stiff with corrosion. Better to just replace it.

We have become a society of sedentary people that think that just going to the gym is going to give us the fitness and health we need. Sitting at a desk all day is one of the worst things to happen to us as a species and one of the major contributors to our decline in health in modern times. Many people who appear to be very healthy and go to the gym to try to replicate a lifestyle that no longer exists are at just as high of risk for heart and health issues as some guy sitting on the couch eating junk food. We were a nomadic species that needed to hunt and forage for our food and that eventually led to farming, but now we no longer need to do these activities due to industrial evolution. Sitting at a desk for hours on end is an unnatural behavior for us and whether we know it or not it creates stress because deep in our minds we know we should be moving. I am far from the poster child for health and fitness, but I have always remained active. I have cycled regularly from the age of about four years old, I have always had a physically demanding job and still do, when the weekend comes I'm usually outside doing yard work or some sort of physical activity. Just try replacing some fence posts or planting a tree or mulching your garden, you'll quickly realize how the gym doesn't prepare you for these activities. I also go for walks with my dogs on a regular basis. Staying active and being outside is one of the best ways to relieve stress and maintain an even level of fitness. JMO.

Been using this for years. . I used to use Rock and Roll on my road bikes until I found out about this. This cleans and lubes at same time without the build up of crud I used to get from Rock and Roll. Wax based lubes will build up on drive train making thorough cleaning a PIA and time consuming.

This is one of the few benefits of carbon. Once an aluminum rim gets severely out of true it's never the same, impossible to get even spoke tension and trueness together. Regardless of how out of true a carbon hoop gets once you relieve spoke tension it goes back to its original shape, whereas aluminum once it's bent it wants to stay that way.

So....you want Yosmithy to send you titty pics?🤔

DT Swiss used to post a tech page like that but I can't find it. I think the brand of tire you run has a bigger effect on how your bike feels more than +-5mm rim width does. Now if you were going from 20mm IW to 30mm IW you'd notice a difference. As most of us know tire size numbers seem to be very arbitrary across brands. Tire width and case volume is a big factor in tire shape when it's mounted on a rim. But generally the Stan's guide is a good start. Disclaimer; not a fan of Stan's rims.

The Force is strong.

OK..... so who got a new bike?!

Looking like it wants to pour down right now.

30psi will definitely protect your carbon hoops. But depending on your tire choice 30psi might not be the best ride or handling. I had Schwalbe tires previously, a new version Hans Dampf 29x2.35 front and a Nobby Nic 29x2.35 rear on 29mm IW hoops. I was running 28 psi rear and 23 front. Tires felt good and handled well at those pressures without rim strikes. Switched to Maxxis DHF 29x2.5 front and Aggressor 29x2.5 rear. Aired these tires up to the same pressures I was running in the Schwalbe's. They felt like I had 45-50psi in them. The carcass is much stiffer in these tires than the Schwalbe's they felt like solid rubber tires. I aired the Maxxis down to 20psi rear and 15 front and they feel pretty good now I may be able to go a bit lower, but at these lower pressures no rim strikes at all. So air pressure is going to give different results between different tire brands. BTW I really like the Aggressor on the back, almost enough to consider it for the front.

Got a short ride in this morning. Trails are great, temps good, humidity high, sweat fest 2019 has officially begun. Go get some today before the rain tomorrow.

Plastic is fantastic😂

Looks good!

I pulled my times off my Garmin lap feature. The 520 will automatically reset your lap when you stop and hit the lap button then start riding again starting a new lap segment. I personally don't like Strava. I would think a GPS device would much more accurate. My old Garmin 200 would stop on certain switchback segments because they were so close that the Garmin thought I had stopped moving.

I'm on carbon hoops Nextie for about a year now with no issues granted I don't ride like Seth does but at 235# on 28 hole hoops you would think I would have had an issue by now. Some of your issue may be due to the tires you're running. I just switched to Maxxis tires and OMG they are stiff and harsh at the same pressures I was running my Schwalbes. The Schwalbes were way more supple but the Maxxis would definitely help protect the rim in contact situation. What carbon hoops do you have?

I was wrong on installation direction of Shimano chains . Side stamped with name needs to face out and be able to be read and pin goes in from inside to prevent noise and shift issues. Tried uploading pic of retaining lip but won't show as jpeg. IMG_4853.HEIC

Chain pins have a very small retaining lip on them almost microscopic. When you push one out you shear that lip, that's why they're not reusable. If you push a pin too far into the link when you install it you can partially or totally shear that lip causing it to slide out and break the chain. It's only the newer chains 10s and up that are constructed like this. I guess because of how narrow they are. Next time you push a pin out look at your chain tool you'll see a tiny ring of metal on your tools pin. It's also important which side you slide the new pin in at least on Shimano chains, it has to be installed from the outside of the chain.

I like it!

Keep a 6" adjustable with you and you fix pretty much anything.

Same here. Exactly 1 minute slower. 21:05. I felt it was harder to maintain momentum on the HT the FS sucks up a lot of the chatter. I also felt slower on the straights going into turns although the HT didn't feel like the front tire wanted to wash like my FS I think that's just due to not carrying as much speed. The HT was a handful through the ditch a lot of bouncing around on the rocks which I don't get on my FS. The fork on my HT, a basic Yari is also not as plush as the Diamond on my FS hands were hurting about halfway through ride. So back to the FS and working on technique and playing with tire pressure. The HT shaves a bit of time off Deception when I ride but I think that's just because it's better suited for that type of riding

Is your bike ok? It looks nervous to be out in the wild.😁

Gonna give it a run on my hardtail. See if that improves time. I'm usually faster by about 2mins through 1/4& DD on my hardtail.

I'm with you on that. Down the roots, up the berm, left around the tree, down and back up the berm right, down and up into PIcnicX. Be careful of that second berm when it's wet it's slippery as f*ck.