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I'm looking at a new MTB, coming from roadbikes and after talking to our local shops I've got it sort of narrowed down to a couple potential bikes. The Trek Fuel EX 8 XT and the Kona Process 134 CR. On paper at least they look largely the same, save for Shimano vs SRAM and 4mm of rear travel vs fancy-rear end regressive valving. Carbon vs aluminum frame as well but they somehow weigh the same so I'll call that a wash. Kind of a tossup, one of my local shops has a leftover 2020 Kona in stock that I can get for ~$600 more than the Trek and I could have it today. The Trek isn't expected to come in until mid-May at the earliest (and with supply chains being as hosed as they are who knows). Is there anything I'm missing that should sway me one way or the other? The cost difference isn't a huge consideration as much as getting the right bike. I live in Canmore FWIW and will mostly just be using the bike as a do-it-all trail rider. I'd like to not have something too mushy to pedal cross country and maybe do some light bikepacking with but able to do some downhill without feeling like I really need more travel. If we go to Whistler or somewhere with lift-accessed downhill a couple times a year I'll just rent.
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Mar 21, 2021 21:34
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Smashed my shin with the pedal for the first time the other day landing off a jump and holy poo poo ow. I feel like every ride I pendulum back and forth between “this owns” and “I should just sell my MTB and stick to road riding” which is how I used to feel about snowboarding so I’ll stick with it for this season at least.
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Jun 28, 2021 22:34
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Yeah my pedals unfortunately come up just under my knee/shin guards. I'd have to wear something full length to cover it off, which would be way too hot for pedaling I think. I'll probably switch back to clipless at some point, I started on flats to make learning technique easier and make sure I wasn't using the cleats as a crutch.
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Jun 29, 2021 00:04
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Semi related to armour chat above, is it worth getting a full face helmet for resort riding if I’m only doing it maybe 10 days a year? I’m close enough to Panorama and Fernie that I’ll probably start popping over there for some weekend trips. A full face helmet seems to run like 300-400 at my LBS though.
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Jul 17, 2021 02:53
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VelociBacon posted:Yes, 100% worth it. You're way more likely to need it if you're only riding that often. It shouldn't even be a second thought - I don't ride park without a full face. I got my fox rampage whatever for I think less than $200 so I think you can find better deals somewhere. Fox Rampage here is $250 (CAD), I found a coupon for POC so I'm going to order a bright pink Coron Air from them cause I like the colour and it's going to work out to not much more. Thanks for the advice! Coincidentally one of my friends just sent me a picture of the aftermath of her ride a Silver Star this week where her full-face saved her full face. Good enough reason for me.
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Jul 17, 2021 04:23
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rockcity posted:Anyone have any recommendations for a compact presta pump? I want to pick one up to keep in my hydration bag. I grabbed a Crankbrothers Gem for like $45 CAD. It comes with a mount designed to go under your bottle cage, works great and doesn’t take up any space in my bag. No gauge though if that matters to you.
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Jul 20, 2021 05:30
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jamal posted:I really disliked the guide R brakes that came on my hei hei. Two bleeds and fresh pads and they were still weak. Initial bite was garbage and I had to pull them really hard to get slowed down from higher speeds. Swapped the levers to the RSC version and they're way better. Less free stroke, better initial bite, more power overall. Just from having that little "swing link" deal in there and contact adjust. The Guide Rs on my bike feel like garbage as well, hard to lock the rear wheel even if I want to. I’ll try that as well, good tip.
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Jul 25, 2021 19:28
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I suppose it’s worth mentioning I’ve only noticed this in a bike park so far. The bike is a kona process 134, I took it DHing for the first time this weekend and probably it was just too much down for the brakes. Would Saints be too much brake for just trail riding? It sounds like Codes may be a better all around brake if I’m upgrading. I’ll try a bleed first at least but even on the first run of the day today I was able to pull the rear all the way to the bars without it locking up which is pretty bad. Front felt like I wasn’t lacking too badly. Edit: stock pads, not sure what they’d be honestly. I’m pretty new at this. WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Jul 26, 2021 |
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Jul 25, 2021 23:58
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I kind of like the brake screaming, covers up the sounds of my screaming you know? Thanks for the advice all, I’ll pop over to the bike shop tomorrow and probably spend some money.
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Jul 26, 2021 01:54
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Got my bike back after a rear bleed and new pads. Apparently the OEM resin pads were basically completely gone so I upgraded to some metal ones. Feels much better, will take it out for a trail test tomorrow.
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Jul 27, 2021 00:37
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Taking lessons straight up works, y’all! My wife got me a couple more as an anniversary gift, can’t wait to get those booked and done. Basically haven’t touched my road bike since I picked up a mountain bike this year, having heaps of fun. This is from one of the routes I can squeeze in before work in the morning (did the lesson last weekend):
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Jul 28, 2021 23:24
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dema posted:Nice. That's a pretty big change. What did you learn? A few takeaways: - My knees were sort of pointed inwards and close together, impeding my ability to get the bike properly leaned over. - If you’re worried on loose steep stuff just lock the rear wheel and sort of surf it. Not great for the trails I’m sure but it makes it a lot more predictable. He told me to just embrace the loose. - related to point one, since I wasn’t leaning the bike over enough I had to go way slower in corners and was holding my front brake too far into them, which was the source of a couple falls I’ve had. A lot of it was just having someone to stop and break down features with so I could pick better lines, and to push me more outside my comfort zone. I also took a look at my suspension setup, when I picked up my bike from the shop they had set the fork rebound as fast as possible. Backed it way off and that’s helped my control on rough stuff a ton. I still need to work on the finer points of cornering, I think I’m braking a bit too deep but mostly on the back brake now. Dropping my outside foot more consistently as well when I can.
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Jul 29, 2021 00:24
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It was just myself and one of my riding buddies. Panorama has 2.5 hour private lessons for $90, some of the best biking money I’ve spent. I’ll try the rear suspension tip as well, thank you!
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Jul 29, 2021 01:44
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The first new bike I bought as an adult the shop didn’t assemble correctly and when I took it for a ride the front brake fully fell off approaching a stop sign. That was the least happy email I think I’ve ever written.
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Aug 13, 2021 21:40
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Rapha has a sale on, I've got a few of their MTB jerseys and really like them. Good fit, they include repair patches in matching fabric and have a free repair program for damage that you can't patch at home: https://www.rapha.cc/ca/en/sale/category/sale?q=gender:Mens&. Ctl + F for "trail" to find the MTB stuff.
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Aug 14, 2022 02:08
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Where's a good place to go with my mountain when it's like -35 in March and I'm sick of snowboarding? I assume like Nevada/Arizona or similar but does anyone have a favourite spot? Also obligatory "I hate money" NBD post:  This thing is an absolute ripper, and climbs a million times better than my Kona Process. Am I skilled enough to need this much bike? Absolutely not but look at it. WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 18:00 on Sep 27, 2022 |
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Sep 27, 2022 17:53
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Suburban Dad posted:Very cool looking bike. What is it? It's the Arrival by We Are One. The frame, rims, bars and stem are all made in Kamloops. Super cool little company that's been making carbon wheels for years and just started manufacturing their first frame. 160mm/150mm F/R travel but rides like a much shorter travel bike. Lots of pop and a very lively ride.
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Sep 27, 2022 20:04
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VelociBacon posted:That's a really cool bike but you must leave Kamloops at once (if you live there), you only get one life and it's a hideous waste to spend it in that city! Come join us in the lower mainland it's more expensive and has it's own issues. I have transcended the lower mainland, spent two years there when I graduated university. Now I live in Canmore so I can repeatedly reassure people that "no no it's really more like BC than the rest of Alberta, I swear. We're progressive!" for the rest of my life. WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Sep 27, 2022 |
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Sep 27, 2022 20:15
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Bud Manstrong posted:I would say Sedona. Try to avoid the week of the mountain bike festival. Moab is an option as well, maybe a little more likelihood of weather. Don’t go during the Easter Jeep Safari. Sedona looks like it has some great trails! Is it worth getting a guide for the first day or two, or is it pretty easy to figure out the trail system once you're there?
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Sep 28, 2022 02:00
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snyprmag posted:New bike day. Test ride a top of the line one, loved the bike but didn't like electronic shifting or need the lighter frame. This is the basic R trim. Would have gotten the S package, but the wait would have been till January. Agreed with everyone else that that's a rad bike. Is that the new hightower? I got out and enjoyed some fall weather this weekend, although this ride ended up being a lot of hiker-dodging since it's a shared trail. Still fun though, and there were a couple sections where I could have some fun anyways. It's always a crapshoot for us whether we can ride after Canadian Thanksgiving so I'm trying to get as much in as I can now. 
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Oct 3, 2022 14:49
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snyprmag posted:Yes, it is a new Hightower. I can't capture with the camera how it transitions between dark red and purple depending on the light. Where in Canada is that? I want to do a road trip next year with the new ride and am strongly considering BC. This is in Alberta, but pretty close to the border with BC. BC is a great choice, especially if you want to mix in some lift access days instead of pedaling everywhere. We really don't have any significant bike parks in Alberta unfortunately.
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Oct 3, 2022 17:01
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Welp someone put up a bunch of fishing wires across a couple trails overnight. I just PRed them yesterday so I guess I’m done riding those ones for the season. I blame the horse people, just knowing what trail it’s on and the local animosity between the groups but it could just as easily be someone who doesn’t like bikers where they walk their dog in the morning.
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Oct 8, 2022 22:29
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marshalljim posted:That's got to be a felony of some kind, right? Definitely. They may/may not get caught but I suspect the local cops will take it fairly seriously given how many of them also ride. There are trail cams at a few points in the area so if we’re lucky they’ll show up on there.
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Oct 9, 2022 06:01
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Nine times out of ten when I have minor shifting issues the derailleur hanger is bent, cable is good to check though too.
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Oct 9, 2022 22:58
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Scrapez posted:
Hell yeah, that's a nice looking bike! I love the green around the chainstays.
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Oct 14, 2022 16:17
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mexecan posted:Life update. Bought a Forbidden Druid and life is grand. Forbidden had a season end sale which made it an easy decision for me. At first I thought the high pivot design was truly hideous but it's growing on me. Arguably a nicer bike than I need but YOLO and it's a Vancouver Island company so happy to support them. The druid is awesome and rips way harder than a 130mm travel bike has any right to; I spent a bit of time on a dreadnought as well this summer and it was like riding a cloud, high pivot is so neat. They've got a prototype DH bike that was running around at WC this summer, excited to see that when it comes out. Edit: did you mullet it?
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Oct 31, 2022 16:10
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I had a Kona Process 134 for a couple seasons. Nice bike, but the climbing performance leaves a lot to be desired both due to low anti squat and because the actual seat tube angle is quite slack by modern standards. With the seat up your rear end is hanging out almost at the rear hub and it can be quite tricky to keep the front end down on steep climbs. Depending on the exact trim (AL or CR) the stock brakes are a bit poo poo as well, but that can be a relatively cheap upgrade.
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Jan 6, 2023 01:00
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Trailforks is the most common one.
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Jan 15, 2023 03:31
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Is that Fox Factory and Reverb AXS on a hardtail? I love it Edit: and belt drive? What is this bike? WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Jun 15, 2023 |
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Jun 15, 2023 00:46
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Going to MTB from road is such a weird feeling. I’m three seasons in and my brain still doesn’t like how loose things feel on the MTB and can’t comprehend that drifting and sliding a bit is totally okay.
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Jun 16, 2023 02:11
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prom candy posted:I will say I feel pretty uncomfortable with the seat down. I think I probably need to work on my riding position in general. Has anyone pointed you at the Ben Cathro videos yet? I looked through the last couple pages and didn’t see it, but they’re super worth checking out. His body positioning one will probably help a ton if you haven’t seen it: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iVLJIuYwW_g
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Jun 18, 2023 16:18
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Got out to Silver Star for my first park trip this year, exactly one year after I was last there. Super cool to see the difference a year makes, I took my first-ever jump lesson there last time out and stuff I was casing then I was overshooting the landing by like 15 ft this time. I’m going back in a couple weeks and I think I’m feeling ready to hit some of the black jump trails now that I can consistently clear or overshoot all the blues.
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Jul 4, 2023 03:20
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Like skiing, trail ratings are relative to everything else in the area rather than absolute. There's not much riding in Banff, and their trail ratings are set by Parks Canada with your average tourist on a rental bike in mind so... yeah. Star Wars and Topp Notch are great fun, otherwise you're better off heading towards Canmore.
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Jul 6, 2023 19:29
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I’d go at least 200/180 and preferably 200/200 for DH, especially if you’re fast. Kinetic energy squares with velocity, so a better rider who brakes hard and late probably generates more heat even though they’re braking less time than someone dragging. I have Magura MT5s which are pretty DH friendly for a reasonable cost, if I were buying new today I’d probably look at Formula Cura 4s. Never ridden them but heard really good things.
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Jul 26, 2023 23:43
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Aphex- posted:I've got cura 4s and I love them. I've just come back from 2 weeks in the Alps doing 2000m descents in one go with a 200mm front and 180mm rear rotor and they were pretty much faultless. They only got pretty noisy when it was super dry and dusty and after sustained braking but they never lost power or anything, highly recommended! I'm waiting for Moment's new ski collection to come out, but if I don't see anything that piques my interest, I'll probably make the jump from MT5s to Cura 4s next month. I really like Hope as well but they're significantly more expensive in Canada.
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Jul 27, 2023 06:27
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Steve French posted:They redid the commander, stiffer and 92/102 vs 98/108. Deathwish 104 tour. Countach 110 (same as already revealed last year). I think other than that mostly minor tweaks and new topsheets. I don't wanna derail this thread but you should post some pics of the DW104 Tour in the ski thread if you have access somehow! Edit: worst page snipe of all time? WHERE MY HAT IS AT fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Jul 27, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 23:19
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Had my first proper big crash of the year at Revy today. It was so stupid and entirely my own doing, first run of the day and I was feeling good so riding way too fast for a trail I’m doing blind. Came hot out of a 90 deg left berm and oh poo poo there’s a jump at the bottom. No time to react and pump it properly so I landed on the front wheel, went off the side of the trail and landed on the opposite bank of a ditch, chest first into a rock. I bought a back/chest piece at the start of the season and it turned it from a day or season ending injury to just getting back up and riding the rest of the day. I’ve got some scrapes on my arms and legs and a bruised knee/chest that can feel coming in but I seriously doubt I would have gotten away without a couple cracked ribs or even a sternum injury with how fast I was going. Just absolutely reckless behaviour and I should know better, but at least my armour bailed me out this time. The rest of the day was really fun, been taking lessons and it’s helped my confidence a ton in steep/loose/tech. I’m absolutely gassed though, top to bottom is almost a 40 minute lap.
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Jul 30, 2023 07:02
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I never seen people wear them trail riding. Worth having at a bike park.
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Jul 31, 2023 04:15
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In the DH park most people will wear goggles, they’re no fun to pedal in though. As for kit, most of the difference is in durability, crashing is a lot more common in MTB obviously. I got some Rapha jerseys for cheap when they did their end of season sale last year and they’ve held up really well. They come with matching fabric patches and have a free repair program as well. I wear pants when it’s cool enough to do so, but if you’re wearing knee pads the amount of leg exposed is pretty minimal.
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Aug 3, 2023 00:09
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I’ve started riding with a backpack that has a back protector all the time and a full face for descending about 90% of the time. For long climbs I take the chin bar off and either strap it to my backpack or handlebars. I really like a photochromic lens on my glasses for being in and out of trees. I got a pair of smith shifts with a lens that goes from fully clear to just dark enough for full sun. Lots of my friends like their Goodrs as well.
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Aug 3, 2023 05:41
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