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This is what's wrong with The Industry™

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Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,212
4,462
We were taking a safety break when he rolled by. He did not look like he was about to send anything. I yelled at him that his fork costs more than my bike :D
Pretty sure he sent it. That is, sent you a message that his pay grade is above yours :P
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,319
5,071
Ottawa, Canada
And electronic dropper posts....meh.
I don't know about that one... I'm interested in these for two reasons, but I could be wrong about them...
1. it would be nice to get rid of the cable; and
2. as far as I understand, the main purpose of the cable is to open and close an orifice. As understand it, piezo motors (or element, or whatever they're called) are uniquely suited to opening and closing orifices.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,216
Nilbog
I have mixed emotions about wireless electronics. I would really love to get rid of my cables, they are super annoying but I also don't want to deal w/ charging batteries.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
I don't know about that one... I'm interested in these for two reasons, but I could be wrong about them...
1. it would be nice to get rid of the cable; and
2. as far as I understand, the main purpose of the cable is to open and close an orifice. As understand it, piezo motors (or element, or whatever they're called) are uniquely suited to opening and closing orifices.
Bikes should not have batteries. I appreciate the intention, but bikes are supposed to be rugged fail-safe type things capable of riding in all conditions, from pouring rain, to oceanic, to arctic cold, to boiling heat, and so on.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,319
5,071
Ottawa, Canada
Bikes should not have batteries. I appreciate the intention, but bikes are supposed to be rugged fail-safe type things capable of riding in all conditions, from pouring rain, to oceanic, to arctic cold, to boiling heat, and so on.
while I agree with the principle, you can still ride with a dropper seatpost that has failed. as long as it fails in one fixed position. in fact, this happened to me a month ago. the bolt that attaches the lever to the bar clamp fell out of my RaceFace dropper lever. Meaning I couldn't really drop the post. it sucked (well, it was less fun), but I was still able to ride. I think the seatpost is the least egregious use of electronics. I'm not really interested in it for my suspension or shifting (unless it's for a gearbox). but for the dropper post? sure, why not.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,435
19,444
Canaderp
I don't know about that one... I'm interested in these for two reasons, but I could be wrong about them...
1. it would be nice to get rid of the cable; and
2. as far as I understand, the main purpose of the cable is to open and close an orifice. As understand it, piezo motors (or element, or whatever they're called) are uniquely suited to opening and closing orifices.
No cable would be nice, for sure. On the other hand, a cable is simple, light and can be picked up from any bike shop at any time. Can even repair it trail side in most cases. Whereas a motor, battery, etc... Maybe e-bike powered dropper post? :busted:
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,102
3,818
sw ontario canada
No cable would be nice, for sure. On the other hand, a cable is simple, light and can be picked up from any bike shop at any time. Can even repair it trail side in most cases. Whereas a motor, battery, etc... Maybe e-bike powered dropper post? :busted:
Solar.

We need to protectz teh carbonz from Mr. Sun, so, we take the new flexy solar panels technology, and build it into the topcoat.

One stop UV protection and as a by-product, turning that nasty UV into 'leccy to power yer bike. :nerd:

Gonna need to figure out a portable sun for the night-timez thou.... :think:
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,676
13,021
Cackalacka du Nord
while I agree with the principle, you can still ride with a dropper seatpost that has failed. as long as it fails in one fixed position. in fact, this happened to me a month ago. the bolt that attaches the lever to the bar clamp fell out of my RaceFace dropper lever. Meaning I couldn't really drop the post. it sucked (well, it was less fun), but I was still able to ride. I think the seatpost is the least egregious use of electronics. I'm not really interested in it for my suspension or shifting (unless it's for a gearbox). but for the dropper post? sure, why not.
when my reverb went, it would extend, but then fall when younput any weight on it...unpossibru to ride on unless standing up. trbl.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
when my reverb went, it would extend, but then fall when younput any weight on it...unpossibru to ride on unless standing up. trbl.
Except for brakes, hydraulics should not be running through cables. At least with brakes, you got two, so there's your fail-safe.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
120g heavier than my $1000ish Light Bicycle XC wheelset.
Impressive. 613 F and 643 R are what my oxive rims and 180/240 hub combo turned out, ready to mount tires. Of course, I wouldn't have the pleasure of not being able to replace anything and they are probably more compliant, so I probably did that all wrong.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,512
826
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
Impressive. 613 F and 643 R are what my oxive rims and 180/240 hub combo turned out, ready to mount tires. Of course, I wouldn't have the pleasure of not being able to replace anything and they are probably more compliant, so I probably did that all wrong.
Exactly. I wanted light but normal and no hassles. I could have saved a little more weight with Extralight hubs but you have to clean and grease the freehub almost every ride so it's alumimum teeth don't wear. So I used Carbon-Ti hubs. Lighter than 240s and no hassles for 2 years. The rest is 28 straight pull CX-Rays with alloy nips and LB Flyweight rims. I retensioned them at the end of their second summer but that's all they've needed.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
Yeah, I get that they're the least shitty way to ride a bike on snow.

I'd rather just ski though.
Skiing downhill is alright, for any decent around here you gotta hike up though, the resorts are not consistent enough and it tends to rain a lot on the lower mountain (then freeze). Don't need much snow to make fat-biking pretty amazing, although this is a climate where the ground stays cold, so it doesn't turn into a sloppy wet mess generally, it's usually just packed and grippy. Compared with the alternative of XC skiing, I'll take fat-biking every day and sunday. XC skiing just doesn't look like any fun.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Skiing downhill is alright, for any decent around here you gotta hike up though, the resorts are not consistent enough and it tends to rain a lot on the lower mountain (then freeze). Don't need much snow to make fat-biking pretty amazing, although this is a climate where the ground stays cold, so it doesn't turn into a sloppy wet mess generally, it's usually just packed and grippy. Compared with the alternative of XC skiing, I'll take fat-biking every day and sunday. XC skiing just doesn't look like any fun.
You still in alaska?

My oh my, what to do in winter....

Here, let's get started.




Don't tell me they're expensive, we're talking about ditching fat bikes. Can't put a dollar amount on that.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
You still in alaska?

My oh my, what to do in winter....

Here, let's get started.




Don't tell me they're expensive, we're talking about ditching fat bikes. Can't put a dollar amount on that.
Even if I bought the requisite bro-dozer, trailer, 15K snowmachine, they still require a crapload of snow to work right.
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Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,631
5,545
UK
"Sure, I accidentally stapled my dick to a tabletop, but at least it wasn't a nail gun!"
Here's my dick over a tabletop above a Bluto (not mine, the Freakbike or the Bluto)
FATride2.jpg

Genuinely a more shameful pic than my dick nailgunned to a tabletop.
 

schwaaa31

Turbo Monkey
Jul 30, 2002
1,434
1,022
Clinton Massachusetts
Even if I bought the requisite bro-dozer, trailer, 15K snowmachine, they still require a crapload of snow to work right...
What in the actual fuck? Why would a rental shop let people ride sleds if there’s even a chance the trails look like that? That gives me anxiety diarrhea just looking at those pictures.
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,065
1,304
Styria
What in the actual fuck? Why would a rental shop let people ride sleds if there’s even a chance the trails look like that? That gives me anxiety diarrhea just looking at those pictures.
Because stupid I guess. And the almighty $.
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,384
818
XC skiing just doesn't look like any fun.
To be fair, XC Skate is quite amazing. It is more cardio than road or mtb riding because there's quite a substantial minimal effort you need to provide just to get going. Basically, you cannot really just cruise along with minimal effort unless you have a great technique and you are very fit.

The super cardio workout is the part that sucks about skate skiing however (unless that's what you're after). The fun part is the speed. With good conditions and a good wax you can easily reach speeds above 50km/h on sustained downhills. I'm a very bad skier for the climbs (I'm fat), but I'm decent for the downs and I reached over 60km/h on a few occasion. Very good skiers can reach 70km/h and more. I can tell you reaching those speeds on tiny skis without sidecut or metallic edges, no helmet, no ankle support and your heels not fixed to the ski is quite a rush. I find it's somewhat analogous to clearing greasy tech lines full or slippery rocks and roots on a mtb. It's fun.

That being said, I will probably add a fat bike to the stable next year.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
1,994
716
XC skiing- Let me explain my experience...

On Alpine skis I ski anything from steeps to bumps to trees. XC skiing? I fell going downhill, on the flats, uphill and even standing still. I was so bad, I actually turned around and went down a hill backwards relying on the scales to hold me... It was embarrassing.

But, the funniest thing that happened (just made me lol when I remembered it!) was when my buddy was in front of me going down in the skate tracks and I was behind him. He's somewhat experienced at this. I also weighed about 100lbs more than him. I started accelerating toward him and started yelling as I'm trying my hardest to stay upright. He looks over his shoulder all calm and does the quickest double-take I've ever seen. His eyes were about to pop out of his head! He's trying to get out of the skate tracks as fast as he can. He looked like a rabbit that got hit on the side of the road! He's trying as fast as he can and as he just got out of the way I clipped the tail of his ski, went about 30' past him and faceplanted! It was fucking hilarious!
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,971
9,634
AK
What in the actual fuck? Why would a rental shop let people ride sleds if there’s even a chance the trails look like that? That gives me anxiety diarrhea just looking at those pictures.
They are not rentals, it's from the Iron Dog race a few years ago. That's how shitty the snow conditions have been across Alaska the last few years, but the race goes on whether there's snow on the entire route or not. The machines get beat up either way from the race and are usually trashed (as in fully rebuilt) afterwards. The window where you are able to easily do those kinds of things, XC ski or snow-machine anywhere in the local area, is getting very narrow.