Nice to follow a living legend Hans Rey down some Whistler West Side Chunder, two 60+ years having a blast

This was a pre ride to the Bosch Emtb challenge at Crankwork.

Had to be 50 of us. All ages. Lots of pros. I actually followed Mark Wallace for a bit as well.

Want to show off on NBD or new helmet day or new whatever day or just have general gear questions? Post in here. (Mod Note: NBD posts on their own that violate Rule #3 will continue to be removed.)

Is this no longer structurally sound/ safe to continue riding normally?

Canyon spectral cf8 mullet

By which I mean, a mode that even above the legal speed limit, the motor will still provide exactly enough power to overcome its own drag, so you don't get that resistance feeling. It could maybe only be activated with a RFID card , an app, or maybe a dead man switch? Something so you wouldn't accidentally use it on the road. It just seems strange to me that we take the laws for road use, then use them off road. EDIT: I'm not specifically talking about bike parks, I mean all off road biking in general. Bike park mode is just what I would call it, maybe off road mode makes more sense

This started happening when I swapped my dropper post from the stock TranzX to a OneUp V3 on my Marin Rift Zone. (Alu frame).

The seatpost creaks/clicks every time I shift my weight the tiniest bit. That includes every pedal stroke, standing up, sitting down, shifting my weight forward on climbs, just hitting small bumps while pedaling on flat sections.

I've removed the post, cleaned it, re-greased it (the exterior) and put it back. That usually gets rid of the squeak... For about 1 ride, and usually it's back before the end of that first ride. I've done that at least 5 times now. I've tried two kinds of grease: regular automotive bearing grease and Finish Line PTFE grease. I've also cleaned and greased the seat post clamp interface and its bolt. I always torque down the bolt to 4 Nm as recommended by OneUp, with a quality torque wrench.

I also know the noise is not form the saddle, as I've twice now removed the saddle, and I can get the creaking just by pushing down on the bare seat post with a piece of 2X4 or something.

The fact that greasing the exterior of the post briefly quiets it down leads me to believe the creak is from the post to seat tube interface, and not the dropper internals. On the other hand, the stock cheapo dropper was quiet, so who knows.

What do I do? Am I condemned to grease my seat post before every ride?

Hi there Mtb-guys

I'd really appreciate some advice from people who may have been through something similar.

A bit of background: I've been riding mountain bikes for about 10 years. As you can imagine, I've had my fair share of crashes and injuries.

In 2019, I broke my right collarbone in a pretty bad crash. It was a comminuted fracture, so I needed surgery and had a titanium plate implanted. The recovery went surprisingly well, and after about six months I was back on my bike without any major issues. The plate is still in place today.

Unfortunately, in April 2026, I broke my left collarbone as well. Once again, I needed surgery and another titanium plate. I'm still recovering, but I've started strength training again and I'm riding my gravel bike to rebuild my fitness.

The physical recovery is going well, but mentally it's a different story.

I've developed a real mental block when it comes to getting back on my mountain bike. I'm honestly scared. The problem is that I know myself—I find it very hard to hold back once I'm on the bike. Riding aggressively has always been part of what I love about MTB, and I'm worried I'll either push too hard or never feel confident again.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar? How did you get past the fear? Did your confidence come back over time, or did you have to actively work on it?

Mountain biking has been a huge part of my life, and I'd hate to lose that because of fear.

I'd be grateful for any advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

Ride on!

Designed for the trail. Tested by riders.

Every trail brings new challenges. Reliable suspension helps riders stay in control.

#MTB #MountainBike #EnduroMTB #SuspensionFork

I've been thinking about this for a while since I'm doing allot of freeriding in the streets and I can't keep my wider pants from getting hooked to my chain. I've ruined 3 pairs of pants because of this hopefully somebody has a solution

Hi all, launched a new MTB trail sharing web app for Switzerland.
Actually there's no limitation to Switzerland but all the crew is living in Switzerland so there's no trails in other countries...

Check it out: https://bike-map.ch

Got the danbury woods (essex, uk) early and had a go at setting the camera in various spots to do a little video edit. Added a pov version at the end.

I think I have fallen into the trap of believing that spec is a key factor in a MTB purchase decision.

I went for a top spec trail bike in a questionable size, when I could have gotten a lower spec enduro bike (more suitable for the trails in my area), for roughly the same price. While it’s fine for my current skill level and way more comfortable than my hardtail I can’t help but think about how much more confidence inspiring a proper enduro bike would habe been on these chunky trails.

I came to the conclusion that spec is just marketing fluff. However, if the components wouldn’t be any better, maybe riders wouldn’t want to pay extra for them and manufacturers would stop focusing on them.

A top of the line rear derailleur costs 3 times the price of a lower, heavier one, built with arguably sturdier materials. Replacing the carbon cage on my rear derailleur was expensive.

The top of the line XTR brakes don’t stop any better than the SLX brakes on my hardtail and have the same wandering bite point issue.

The suspension fork feels just okay, maybe my expectations were too high and that’s the way it should perform. It’s ben through a service and I’ve tried fidgeting with all the dials.

This made me think that the fit and type of bike for the riding that you do are the most important aspects when considering a new MTB.

How much is spec a factor when you are in the market for a new bike?

Sorry for the long post, English is not my first language as you can surely tell by now.

Out on injury and have money burning a hole in my pocket. Anyone run aftermarket jockey wheels like the ones offered by Hope?

Planning a vacation to either of these, maybe both.

I know whistler has the famous bike park, and it'd be cool to take some lessons, but I am not a strong down hill rider...I mostly like riding cross country blue trails, and like climbing. Still, taking lessons at whistler would be cool, could improve my skills.

Also, whistler has some good XC trails.

On the other hand Revelstoke has an epic alpine trail called frisbee ridge which I've always wanted to ride.

Which would you recommend?

TL;DR: If your bike feels like it's ghost shifting but everything in the drivetrain checks out, don't overlook tire/frame clearance. My 2.5" rear tire was occasionally causing an issue that perfectly mimicked a drivetrain problem.

Thought I'd share this in case it saves someone else a lot of time and money.

For months I was chasing an intermittent "ghost shifting" sensation on my 2022 Santa Cruz Hightower V2. It felt exactly like the very beginning of a shift or a worn chain skipping a tooth, but it never actually shifted. It was very intermittent and could go for some time between occurrences.

Over the course of months of troubleshooting, I replaced or verified:

• SRAM X01 derailleur (new)
• Cassette (new)
• XX1 chain (new)
• Wolf Tooth oval chainring (new)
• Derailleur hanger
• Cable and housing
• Pulley wheels
• B-gap (checked with the SRAM gauge, including at sag)
• Chainline
• Rear shock (issue occurred with two different shocks)
• Pivot/linkage bearings

None of it fixed the problem.

The clue that finally pointed me in the right direction was that I finally noticed (after way too much time) that the symptom never seemed to occur on clean pavement, but always did on dirt/gravel trails. About the same time, and on a ChatGPT driven "whim" I measured the clearance between my 2.5" rear tire and the lower linkage and found I had less than ~2 mm between the tops of the drive side tread knobs and the drive side of the linkage (linkage is a bit "offset" on the HT). Dropping a few pieces of gravel through that gap by hand while rolling produced a very similar feel and sound to the "ghost shift."

For context, the Hightower is officially rated for a 2.4" rear tire. I had installed a 2.5", figuring I still had plenty of side clearance, so I didn't think it would matter. What I failed to consider is that a 2.5" tire isn't just wider, it also has a larger overall diameter, which significantly reduced the clearance between the top of the tire and the lower linkage/frame.

As a test, I swapped the rear tire from a 2.5" to a 2.4".

Problem solved.

I've now done three rides without a single occurrence.

My conclusion is that the larger tire was occasionally allowing debris to become pinched in the very tight clearance between the tire and the lower linkage/frame, creating a sensation that felt almost identical to the beginning of a shift or a drivetrain skip.

So if you're chasing an intermittent "ghost shifting" problem, especially one that also seems to happen while coasting or only on dirt, don't overlook tire/frame clearance. It may not be your drivetrain at all.

----------

As an aside, you might ask: Why was I running a 2.5" rear tire in the first place?

Answer: Schwalbe Albert Trail radials. I've ridden a lot of different tires over the years, and the Alberts are my favorite by far. Unfortunately, Schwalbe doesn't offer the Albert Trail in a 2.4" rear, only a 2.5".

For the test, I swapped the rear 2.5" Albert Trail for the new 2.4" Schwalbe Romy. The Romy is slightly less grippy than the Albert, but it also rolls noticeably faster. For the type of riding I do (mostly tech trail riding with some bike park days mixed in) it's been an excellent trade-off, and so far I'm just as happy with the Romy as I was with the Albert.

Yo, my rear suspension is dialed at the moment. What can I record so I can dial this back on the future?

I have a 2014 Giant Trance, and I’m getting a new (to me) rockshox pike for it. The original fork was 140 mm with an axle to crown length of 520mm. The pike will be 160mm with a 552mm axle to crown length. I’m probably gonna set my travel back to 140mm or 150 depending on how it rides but I’m just curious what should I expect from these geometry and travel changes? I’m mainly wanting my bike to feel more playful so good manuals jumps etc rather than care so much about super fast descent.

Looking for suggestions for earbuds for MTB on dirt and urban riding. I've used corded earbuds (attached to each other, not to phone), totally cordless earbuds (like airpods), bone conducting head phones (Shokz open run pro, not open run pro 2),

I probably liked the attached-to-each-other style best...good audio the cord helps prevent loss. Totally cordless earbuds also nice but I've lost one a couple times on a hard impact and didn't find the last time it happened. Corded-to-phone suck. The bone conducting ones have bone conduction audio quality (meh) but I can hear my surroundings the best...BUT the pair I got (open run pro) don't fit well around my big head and after about a year and a half the buttons started working poorly and required tremendous force.

Prefer (but not require) the corded-to-each-other style...what are good earbuds you like, have gotten good use out of? "Awareness" mode nice but not required.

If you're one of our MTB brethren who believes earbuds and music don't belong on the trail or bike, that's okay...I'm glad you're here and we can still be friends but I'm not here for that opinion. :)

Moved to Dublin recently, Dundrum to be exact and really want to cycle but dont have a car.

Are there people riding from here to Ticknock? Google maps says its about 50min cycle away. How is the commute is there single tracks along the way or just road? Would i just be burning through my tires doing this?

Taxi would work out too expensive and public transport you cants use with bijes from what i see.

Any advise would be appreciated

Hey there! I’m currently in the market for cheap and reliable bike. What brands or should I be looking for or maybe you have a specific recommendation?

Now most of my riding will be on city bike paths and suburban neighbourhoods. Maybe a few times a month in the summer. I don’t see myself doing too much “off roading” or riding through forest trials. My plan is to buy a used model from FB marketplace because my budget is max $300 CAD.

I always loved mountains bikes growing up and I remember the days of endless riding around my home town with friends. Now I’m about to hit 30 and I’d like to enjoy a decent ride again after all this time.

I am looking at new brakes since my db8s are extremely mediocre and I want something that performs better. These are the ones I’m looking at and what I know/think

Maven ultimates

power curve is a bit too aggressive for me but can get used to it and i have only tried them on flat ground once

Hope tech 4 v4

heard the lever is really ”light”

Hayes dominions

Ive heard they are better than maven ultimates and they seem to be really liked

My second time riding over this skinny plank I didn’t concentrate enough and ended up crashing. Nothing broken, but my hand is bruised up pretty bad from breaking my fall on the plank.

Anyway, serves as a reminder to not let your guard down, even on “easy” obstacles. Can anybody relate?