Anita Handle

I agree with you that I would have assumed that the one with taller stack up of headtube, fork and bar rise would have measured taller. If it were mine, I'd wonder if the Smash was set to a lower travel setting or stuck down. Do the travel markers show the right value when unweighted? I know it's more slack but that is quite a difference.

For intense hydration needs, like during hot summer rides of a normal duration, I prefer the formulations that are intended to be iso-osmotic. Their goal isn't to fuel you with carbs, their goal is to have a solution that transports fluid through the intestinal wall as easily as possible. Osmo has worked really well for me in the past and I tried a new one last summer but I'm pretty sure it was trying to kill my kidneys. After several days of using it my kidney area started to hurt more and more until I wasn't able to ride trail (after riding TO the trail) because the bouncing and movement was excruciating. Stopped using the powder and the pain went away. I think it is called NBS Nutrition. I'm no endurance athlete like dragon slayer/EB types though. They seem to use more advanced strategies which do include liquid calories for super long rides. Usually just use water plus a PBJ if I am out long enough to need calories. I'm of the understanding that it isn't an electrolyte imbalance that causes cramps but I do know that it is important to replenish.

Woodford Reserve.

I've bought maybe three new bikes since my '92 Diamondback Ascent EX that I had on layaway. $450 for that bike but I might have gotten those sweet Deore LX cantis and shifters if I could've bumped it up to $550... Maybe even that PLUSH Tioga rigid fork!

can you post prices and sizes for everything? Ok but seriously, the wheels were priced well? What sorta percentage off are the shoes?

So Action LED handled it directly? That is who I bought mine through as well. BUT TEAMSLOAN HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

I have an X2 that is currently not functioning with no apparent damage and I've been meaning to send it in. Glad you had a good experience with them.

At the $500 price point, I advise to get a good used bike. I also offer to help find one on CL. Though I do agree with you that $3k for a "budget" bike is tone deaf and elitist. $3k should be a bike that anyone could rock out on without falling apart. Perhaps some compromises on the quality of the suspension dampening and weight but a it should be a really good bike.

If you have BSA, try to avoid the 30mm spindle cranks. It is possible to do BSA with a 30mm spindle but it isn't as clean as a 24mm and bb intended for BSA. SRAM NX cranks are ~100 bucks but what the fuck is DUB??? Another goddamned standard? fack.

have you tried the "mini bleed" method where you only open up the lever end, attach a syringe to the lever with some fluid in it and flick? http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/5-minute-shimano-mini-bleed/ Magura has a similar process, where the caliper is left alone, but it involves actually drawing a vacuum at the lever end and drilling a small pilot hole in the syringe so that when you draw back to a certain point, you can release the negative pressure. Negative pressure can do wonderful things for getting a bubble to migrate. https://www.magura.com/media/1856/quick_bleed_instruction_final_techtip_2_may_2012_01.pdf

My old XTs from... 7 or 8 years ago are still kicking. Hard to beat those XTs for reliability. I do get a weird lever feel fairly often during rides, like one moment it goes a certain distance to engage then suddenly it requires a lot more lever pull to engage. I assume it needs a good bleed. With my Devinci, I installed SRAM. I loved the feel of my SRAM Guide R brakes. Strong, good enough modulation, easy to bleed (with the kit at least). But I ended up with the issue where the lever mechanism starts catching. They've supposedly fixed it but I felt a bit burned by Avid. Now I'm running Magura MT-5 and they are great. The best modulation so far and very strong with the quad pistons. I did run into an issue where a shop in Bentonville stripped the bleed port on the lever and claimed that the brakes were simply not taking a bleed because..., you know, they're Magura. I was going to replace the whole lever but, because the Maguras are flip-floppable and have bleed ports mirrored on both sides, I ended up just supergluing the bleed port screw on one side and bleeding it through the other side. I had completely removed and emptied the lever so I ended up needing a second bleed to get it nice and firm and consistent but they are working nicely again. Pretty easy to bleed, imo. Downside of Magura is that plastic lever body and the lack of local availability of little maintenance bits and pieces like olives and hose barbs and such. NOT THAT ANYONE ASKED... ha

y'all with y'alls bougie XTR breaks...

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yet they're selling it on their website. Who knows. https://pinggps.com/collections/ping

looks like the crowdfunding campaign happened two years ago and according to their updates they started shipping in mid-2018 but there are people commenting that they still haven't seen anything. The company stated that they're not responding to comments on indiegogo because it's a "time suck" and to go to their FAQ/website for info.

That thing is tiny for something with GPS, BT and cellular. I'd be shocked if they came anywhere near the low end of their battery lifespan of 3 months. People have tried things like that but they're usually really big, really expensive with monthly fees or have a weird way of mounting to a bike.

the official IMBA approach used to be to go through the middle to avoid widening the trail. I don't know what they suggest now.

Outta sight, outta mind. I frequently forget that there are other forums dedicated to certain topics. I don't typically surf to every forum that has stuff that I might be interested in. Pretty much just go to this one. It would be cool if one main forum had a little box with "hot topics" in other forums.

What will you do when you get to a non-rideable part? Levitate over it??? Walking around it or riding gingerly around it ain't much better than splashing right through.

Interesting... I had not ever noticed that on Hydromet. Took me a few minutes to find it even with your note! It doesn't seem to show anything for Walnut Creek park, unfortunately. Also, it looks like it is an estimate and not very localized. I have to wonder if there is a suitable sensor that we could stick into the ground near various parts of the trail and then network to get a decent idea of what the Walnut conditions are. Maybe the best measurement we have for Walnut is the Hydromet station at Walnut Creek and Metric?

Those two are indeed a more appropriate choice since they're my age-ish. But I couldn't make a choice.

I find that Bike James overstates his case a bit. Ok, a lot. I wouldn't claim that one pedal is better than the other. I only question why I should experience the fumbling an bumbling of a learning curve to move to flats. After trying for a while I just said, meh, and went back to clipless. good riders use flats. good riders use clipless.

sanctioned trail building = Ginger unsanctioned trail building = Mary Anne and GO!

That's an interesting observation. I'd guess that of the people I know and run into probably 10% ride flats, at most. Some go back and forth. I can't tell if one of us has a really bad anecdotal estimate of what people are using or if we run in different circles. Most of my friends are average type riders. Not elite racers, not super huckers. Just "bikers".

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