As cool as that sounds, how many reviews can you listen to where the only feedback is "bike is not a Geometron therefore shit"
This is what's right with The Industry®
- Thread starter Jm_
- Start date
yer. the format sounds neat (no ad revenue / no bias), but the reviews i've seen so far (or fast forwarded through) are tedious. like he goes on for an hour about the saga of a loosening norco pivot bolt. dude needs to learn to be concise & edit aggressively. and the sustainability of the revenue model does seems questionable...
Hadley's website may only exist in one's wildest imagination but their customer service is very real and unbeatable. 
Maybe Dark Cycles will come back.
He seemed refreshingly honest, although some of the things he came out with had to make you wonder?
Nobody is buying a bike from Norco or a Canyon Sender after listening to that podcast.
He placed 15th at the Masters worlds on the Sender (with factory level suspension mods) and believes he could have gotten on the podium had he been riding the Commencal Supreme? He was 15 seconds off the podium!
Everyone knew the Supreme was good but damn if that ain't a hot take?
Also
Don't buy a Norco if you are looking for quality.
He fired some shots.
The industry needs more of this brutal honesty/ transparency in the reviews and tests.
His review videos are interesting although he spends a lot of time bitching about the same thing over and over. I own the Norco Shore he reviewed, although I built mine up from the frame. He keeps bitching about dropping the chain because the version he's testing wasn't spec'd with a narrow-wide ring. That's obviously a stupid spec from Norco (maybe supply chain related?), but to spend three videos on it seems like beating a dead horse. Just swap the chainring and be done with it. I haven't experienced the bolt backing out issue he has; I have my own set of complaints about the bike, although that's pretty universal to every one I've owned.
^THIS. amazingly, he actually got a refund on the bike based on his epic saga. i was expecting some critical design faults when I first checked out his review videos, but it seemed to boil down to a loose bolt & a poorly spec'd chainring? a bit of locktite & swap out the cheap ring & be rolling in 15mins, but he spends HOURS going on & on. jesus he's tedious.
what an asshat
^ you may be correct there. the concept / format is great, and there's no doubt he's a skilled rider & astute technical analyst, he just needs an editor to (aggressively) constrain his output.
I've only watched a few minutes of one of the Shore videos and he says that he wanted to switch the chain ring out, but he can't as the crank won't come off the bike.
I'm guessing they are Sram cranks?
So he should really be bitching about Sram and not entirely about the bike...
I still have a pair of Arachnid pedals in the bin somewhere.
They would take some skin off.
Dafuq? Aren't they fitted with self extracting bolt?
If its a DUB crank then yes they are, but it requires a steam locomotive level of torque to get them off sometimes.
I bought an 18” breaker bar to get mine off. Still had to prop the bike against the wall while on it and stand on the breaker bar to break it loose.
I think he didn’t have a crank puller and the cranks didn’t have the integrated nut inside a nut.
I know paul well and rode with him a bunch when he lived in Morzine.
I think it is in fashion to moan about “the industry” or “the government” or “the whatever.” Consumers have rights, right!
I think not. His bike was a very low end spec.
Go the extra mile and buy the 2 3' sections of PVC. Put one on the crank and one on the breaker...comes off like butter.
I think lots of people still try to do dumbass stuff with allen wrenches and the like, all those do is round out the interface and make it even harder. Using drivers/breakers, it's not much of a big deal IME.
I've watched a few of his videos. It does seem like he complains over much at times. Or maybe he's just British. "Grumble, grumble, moan, grumble... this Commencal is the best downhill bike I've ever ridden."
Also maybe he can tighten production a bit, work off a shorter script or bullet points so he doesn't ramble too much. Not a lot of people are willing to watch 30 to 40 minute reviews. I don't know how he will sustain his venture using the current business model but I hope he gets that farm/bike lab up and running.
Most are, but they are specced to be torqued to 40 foot pounds. Though it feels like way more torque is required to remove it.
And they are aluminum bolts.
A friend and I ran into him in Finale in 2017 post Trans-Provence, my friend knew him quite well from when they worked together in Whistler....grumbly seems apt from my recollection. Overly confident in his own opinions and preferences as being relevant to everyone is what I remember thinking about some of his perspectives.
I had one with an Octalink BB about 15 years ago and it was great. I just bought an FC-M8100-1 for my new hardtail build. It's pretty and very simple! I am sure I will like it a lot
I was just a bit bummed to realized I needed to buy two new tools: One to install the BB-MT800 (Park BBT-59.2) and another one for the Shimano Direct Mount lockring (Park LRT-4).
To be fair, while I never had issues with Shimano cranks, there seem to be reports of them cracking. I have mainly seen this for road cranks, e.g.: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/shimano-crank-failure/I had one with an Octalink BB about 15 years ago and it was great. I just bought an FC-M8100-1 for my new hardtail build. It's pretty and very simple! I am sure I will like it a lot
I was just a bit bummed to realized I needed to buy two new tools: One to install the BB-MT800 (Park BBT-59.2) and another one for the Shimano Direct Mount lockring (Park LRT-4).
Just checked...the BB and lockring do have the same spline pattern. The BBT-59.2 is for a 3/8 drive and the LRT-4 needs a wrench. Basically, you can install both with the lockring tool.I mean why couldn't they just be the same tool?
Last edited:
i remember when saint cranks came with the actual full handled metal tool in the box. not the little plastic thing.
Mine did not. Do you have the current M81XX model?
Are they the XT cranks like in the latest budget versus baller PB nonsense video?
Mine came with the tool. Might depend whether or not you get the OEM or end user package.
My only complaint with XT cranks is that the spider feels purposely heavy to create a more desirable upgrade path to XTR.
I got the aftermarket version with the end user package. I just triple-checked and there is not tools to be found in the box.
I doesn't matter. I would have bought the metal version anyway.
Regarding the spider: I got the spider-less version and the OneUp Switch system. The bike is not assembled yet, but the OneUp/Shimano crank is looking pretty good!
Nothing a dremel can't fix.
Mine came with the metal version. This was also pre-pandemic. Wouldn't be surprised if they stopped including the tool to align resources elsewhere.I got the aftermarket version with the end user package. I just triple-checked and there is not tools to be found in the box.
I doesn't matter. I would have bought the metal version anyway.
Regarding the spider: I got the spider-less version and the OneUp Switch system. The bike is not assembled yet, but the OneUp/Shimano crank is looking pretty good!
Yes - XT M8120 Crankset - 175mm.
I had already pre-purchased the Park tool, unfortunately.
I remember the Shimano tool was sorta hidden in the box under one of the flaps and I didn't find it until I went to throw out the box.
I also have a current set of SLXs that didn't come with the tool, as far as I remember.
I had already pre-purchased the Park tool, unfortunately.
I remember the Shimano tool was sorta hidden in the box under one of the flaps and I didn't find it until I went to throw out the box.
I also have a current set of SLXs that didn't come with the tool, as far as I remember.
I would agree, the XT chainring is approximately 115 grams where an aftermarket is 55-60ish. You add one of those rings and your not that far off of the xtr setup.