ssorgs

Back to the coming Apocalypse, this paywalled story in Bicycling Fall 2023 is pretty chilling! It doesn't really concern eMTBs, but focuses on mass market E-Bikes and how their components tend to be cheap and way overmatched for the speeds these bikes go.  Specifically, there's often a dangerous combination of mechanical disc brakes and quick release front wheels, in particular. Couple that with casual users that don't usually do maintenance...and you can see where that's headed.  This article tells a cautionary tale about a 12-yo girl in SoCal that died after crashing a Rad Power Bike. 

I now find myself compelled to bring it up to anyone I meet with an e-bike.

Mostly about time and time of year for me.  I live in NW Hills so I'm within 30 min ride from all the trails north of the river along 360.  I 'to n fro' whenever I can!  Great warm up, doesn't actually take that much longer, always need the miles, and love not driving (even more than I like driving).  Started about 10 years ago when training for my first EB (which didn't actually happen till 2016)...

And, I'm still not a roadie!

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but highly recommend Dr Chris Sellers at Performance Wellness.  He's a chiropractor and treats lots of athletes, including myself from time to time and a couple of friends who ride.  We all consider him a miracle worker as he's been great at diagnostics, especially, and treatment.  One friend was having knee pain that turned out to be from pelvic issues and weak core that no one else was able to figure out... YMMV of course.

On 8/14/2023 at 4:39 PM, Sluggo said:

wider saddle to help better support the sit bones 

Best bike fit advice I ever received!  Used one of Specialized's sit bone gauges at BSS over 10 years ago and have been rocking a 155mm Henge Comp saddle ever since (though they're getting hard to find!).  Couldn't believe that I was a "large", so it was even more surprising that more people aren't on wider saddles!  Pretty easy to measure your own width - may surprise you!

Fyi, TruckerCo replacement pads are great!  No rattles and I had no issues installing on my older XTs (using a pedros lever, of course ;-).  Pretty sure @ATXZJ rec'd these...

In my experience, if the chain is between .75 - 1% worn it'll 'mate' with the cassette, though takes a few rides.  Even if it skips on cogs/gears 1 & 2.  If it's not skipping and only clicking, you should be ok.  If worn beyond 1% the cassette definitely needs replacing.  I haven't had issues with the chainring but YMMV.

RPR littered with wildflowers!

15 hours ago, bestbike85 said:

Any recommendations for a rear blinky light ? 

Big fan of this Knog's Blinder https://www.knog.com/collections/rear-bike-lights/products/blinder-rear-bike-light

recycled

Bike arrived upside down AND totally protected. Has 2 panels inside (frame and wheels).  See pic for dimensions
 

and sorry about the rain a couple of Thu ago

Bike arrived upside down AND totally protected. Has 2 panels inside (frame and wheels). 
 

and sorry about the rain a couple of Thu ago

On 1/28/2022 at 2:57 PM, circuitbreaker said:

speaking of bite valves, i have to complain about the osprey design, i go through one bite valve maybe every two months. and the pack of three replacement cost $10.

i do tend to blame this on my daugther, who likes to drink my skratch, but i feel like i've had them tear even without her help. maybe i have sharp teeth?

More for your money!  They're not immune but more firm and otherwise the same...

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09P5RWHVP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

On 8/18/2022 at 9:25 PM, June Bug said:

Dropper install did not go as planned. 

The shortest travel PNW is 120mm  and it turns out I need a 100. 

You know the loam has 25mm of height adjust?  So the shortest Loam at 125mm can actually be run at 100mm!  I'll be installing one tonight to replace a 6yo 100mm Transfer that isn't worth rebuilding...

17 hours ago, Chief said:

I agree to a certain point. A geo chart if correct can get you close to the geo of a previous bike that fit well. Unfortunately in the MTB world there are too many factors involved in sizing, head angle, seat angle, reach, stack, unlike with road bikes which are basically just TT and ST length .

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I demo'd a bike. I bought my last three MTB's as frames sight unseen with no demo just comparing what I knew was the geo of the current bike against what I was looking to get . I have a pretty good idea of what will and what won't work for me as far as sizing and then I adjust from there as in stem, seat post set back, saddle length, width etc... 

A demo is great for someone getting into the sport for sure but as you progress farther into the sport and start to understand more about it I think we get analysis paralysis with all of the available choices. My opinion on demoing bikes is choose two or three that tick the boxes you're looking for and go with the one that feels best.

Totally agree!  There are too many variables you just can't control for when demo'ing - whether it's bar width, number of headset spacers, grips, saddle, etc.  Any one of those, and others, can make or break a demo, which makes demos kinda arbitrary, imo.  I do think you can differentiate some between suspension types, but again, that's gonna be muted or amplified by those other factors.  The flip side is you can hardly go wrong with so many great bikes out there - you adapt to it and you adapt it to you as you dial fit.

I have one of these on the 'chuck' head. Not sure whether mine has threads, but I only have to set it in the schrader side and push it on the presta valve for it to work...

https://www.amazon.com/Presta-Adapter-Chain-Floor-Spare/dp/B000X63JUO

Fan of this Fix It Sticks set.

Handles

3 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

Am I doing something wrong? how do you deal with the extra weight on the helmet?

lights to consider:

• Outbound Hangover — killer light for the price. my only concern is, being a self-contained light and battery, it's going to be uncomfortable enough that I won't want to ride it. it's actually pretty darn lightweight though.
• Glowworm Alpha Plus — very light, dual beam, handlebar remote, external battery.
• Gemini Duo 2200 —very similar to the Gloworm but brighter.
• Lezyne Multi-drive 1000 — another similar light that allows for USB charging
• Magic Shine MJ902S — ridiculously bright in theory, cheaper than the others. MS had a poor reputation for a bit there but they might have gotten better.

I have an older Gemini Duo 1500.  It's my only light and I wear on my helmet (as far front as I can), along with a replacement 4-cell battery pack (back of helmet). I find that this set up is pretty well balanced and I like that it's reasonably self-contained. 

However, I've had mixed results with Gemini. This is my 2nd light of theirs.  I had a Xera 950 and left it on top of the car one night. It fell off on 360 may have gotten run over.  It still worked but the lens popped out and housing was too dented to take the lens anymore.  They gave me a discount on the Duo 1500, which was cool.  But after the original stock 2-cell battery crapped out after 2 years or so, I've had overheating issues in the summer.  I've used a replacement Gemini 4-cell and a couple of different ~$30 amazon 4-cell batteries because the Gemini replacement 4-cell was very expensive, didn't last more than a couple of years at best, and still saw my light overheating.  I even made an aluminum heatsink for it, that was only marginally helpful.

I did just get the ~$15 handlebar remote for it, which makes it much easier to dim when stopped or going super slow, if necessary.  That may be my savior.  Otherwise, I love the light!  It's size is great, I can mount it under my visor so no shadow and doesn't hit branches.  Best thing is that the L, M, H settings are configurable.  Most lights on high only run for <2 hrs.  I have 'Medium' set at 75 or 80% so I get >1100 lumens and the 4-cell lasts about 3 hrs.  Most other lights have Medium at 50%, which I find much less useful (though as max lumens go up, this becomes more tenable).

So, I still think Gemini is worth it on balance because of the configurable settings and remote.

Otoh, there's the Oxbow Voyager https://www.oxbowgear.com/product/voyager-mountain-bike-helmet-light-kit/ that I saw on fb that looks identical to the Duo with 2100 lumens and I believe a 4-cell battery for $119!  Replacement battery is only $39.  Of course, not much 3rd party info on it...

Bummer!  Dennis does do pick up / delivery to ATX.  I did a pick up at House Park last.

Dennis (C6) is a fair amount higher than Krys (CCR).  If Krys is still in town and doing this, I'd hit him up. He works with carbon professionally and this is a side gig.  He actually fixed the downtube repair Dennis had done the year before that was failing and out of warranty.  He charged me $200 while Dennis was quoting well over $300.

There is (or at least was) another local carbon repair guy: Krys Brown (Cracked Carbon Repair) 949.310.2011. Did a great job with my bike 2 summers ago.

Well 6 mos later I'm back where I started (but with more knowledge!) - outboard bearing partially blew up during the EB.  Was making an awful creaking/grinding sound after Thumper I think. So bad it seemed like coulda been cracked carbon, but still pedaled ok.  Then noticed this am that it was back pedaling roughly, so when I pulled the freehub body tonight the outboard bearing didn't turn at all.

I'm guessing these grooves weren't there when new?  

Can I just flip the spacer so the grooved end is pointed inboard and replace the bad bearing? Or is this thing toast?

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

I'm riding a singlespeed hardtail

Ah, so it's not just technique - you're actually doing it all wrong!

just kidding...

53 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

FWIW, I'm riding a singlespeed hardtail and I rode BMX for nearly 20 years before getting a mountain bike, so my technique is derived from that experience. it probably works very differently with a squishy bike with spinny gears.

Yeah, ymmv!  My *solution* may be for a different problem...