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This is what's wrong with The Industry™

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,660
1,237
Nilbog
yea, i will never not love wrenching on bikes. sure, incompatibility and proprietary nonsense is a point of frustration for me as well, but overall i can still typically find stuff that's compatible. i still plan on building / assembling my own bikes in the future.
I am similar, I buy things w/ the anticipation of swapping frames as the years go on. I have been pretty lucky adapting since boost started...It seems to be much more inexpensive to do that also, I never seem to get what I want out of a full bike on the used market. I am also so picky that I pretty much need to build everything from scratch anyway.
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,436
890
I am similar, I buy things w/ the anticipation of swapping frames as the years go on. I have been pretty lucky adapting since boost started...It seems to be much more inexpensive to do that also, I never seem to get what I want out of a full bike on the used market. I am also so picky that I pretty much need to build everything from scratch anyway.
Same here. My fingers are crossed tight that Boost remains relevant for several years. If it does, I will probably resume my former habit of only upgrading/replacing parts and frames as needed. I actually just built a lighter duty Boost-based wheelset for my main bike.

Upgrading my bike and transferring parts from one bike to another was one of my favorite aspect in mtbiking and I sincerely hope we can get back to being able to do that relatively easily. Lizard jokes aside, I may be wrong, but I have a feeling the industry is well aware of how pissed off many of us are about the standards clusterfuck they created.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,469
5,105
It's also worth acknowledging that 20 years on, we're not the same people we were. Different priorities, needs, cares, knowledge. I'm no longer wondering if a Michelin 2.8 will fit under the arch of a boxxer 151 for example. I've also stopped changing bikes every couple of years... and I seem to need a whole lot less input on things than I used to.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,111
1,799
Northern California
Nothing has changed for me in terms of wrenching on the bike. Since the 90s I've had to buy new tools for things as new products/tech comes out, that hasn't really changed for me. Truing/tensioning wheels, bleeding brakes, performing lowers/air can services hasn't changed. I've did a few full damper rebuilds years ago, but switched to using suspension servicing companies to save myself time. Same thing with wheel builds.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,111
1,799
Northern California
I think a bigger reason why bike forums aren't what they used to be is simply the number of options people have if they want to dork out on bikes online. Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit etc. Back in the day forums were mostly it. There's also something around generational habits there.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,131
10,683
AK
I am similar, I buy things w/ the anticipation of swapping frames as the years go on. I have been pretty lucky adapting since boost started...It seems to be much more inexpensive to do that also, I never seem to get what I want out of a full bike on the used market. I am also so picky that I pretty much need to build everything from scratch anyway.
Boost adaptors are like $10 on ebay.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,824
7,073
borcester rhymes
It's also worth acknowledging that 20 years on, we're not the same people we were. Different priorities, needs, cares, knowledge. I'm no longer wondering if a Michelin 2.8 will fit under the arch of a boxxer 151 for example. I've also stopped changing bikes every couple of years... and I seem to need a whole lot less input on things than I used to.
just want to quote this for posterity. I used to need the newest of the new, but once I got my DH bike dialed in, I haven't felt any need to change any part of it, aside from what's broken. I thought I was there with my XC/Trail/Broduro bike, but it looks like i might be swapping my favorite part of that bike for something even weirder...
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,660
1,237
Nilbog
Boost adaptors are like $10 on ebay.
Are you referring to washers which fall out on the trail if you need to take the hub out? I travel w/ my bike a decent amount, that type of stuff freaks me out. I guess what I am saying is that if I am building a wheel/etc, I try to make sure the shell is adaptable for future spacing.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,131
10,683
AK
Are you referring to washers which fall out on the trail if you need to take the hub out? I travel w/ my bike a decent amount, that type of stuff freaks me out. I guess what I am saying is that if I am building a wheel/etc, I try to make sure the shell is adaptable for future spacing.
I guess I just don't see the huge disadvantage. 10-20 extra seconds to put the spacers in, or I can buy entirely new hubs, spokes, get them built, etc. for $$$$. With tubeless tires, plugs and modern racks, taking a wheel off is rare enough in of itself. I don't think the "adaptable shell" is going to work out in the long run either, since the entire point of these different spacings is to change the spoke spacing and put it more outboard, any adaptable hubs are probably a stop-gap till the company re-tools and then availability of those old...um, spacers, becomes an issue still. I mean, worst case, if you are that paranoid, get 2 of the kits. $20. Or spend $1200 I guess?
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,959
21,473
Canaderp
I mean, worst case, if you are that paranoid, get 2 of the kits. $20. Or spend $1200 I guess?
He is a Porsche owner, so :fancy:

But it sounds like his concern is just the pain in the ass of dealing with something that falls apart when you take the wheel off. Whether that's trail side, packing it away for a trip or general maintenance. We all know what happens with that type of thing, it falls off and goes rolling into the nearest crack in the ground, never to be seen again.

That would majorly suck trailside or on a trip, getting your destination and having a useless wheel because one little spacer got lost or something.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,111
1,799
Northern California
That would majorly suck trailside or on a trip, getting your destination and having a useless wheel because one little spacer got lost or something.
Tangent - What the fuck is up with shock bolt spacers? Not the mounting hardware, but those spacers that go on the bolt next to the to the mounting hardware that some fucking companies use.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,486
4,212
sw ontario canada
Tangent - What the fuck is up with shock bolt spacers? Not the mounting hardware, but those spacers that go on the bolt next to the to the mounting hardware that some fucking companies use.
Sometimes it seems in some regards we go backwards. My first Knolly back in 07 came with a spherical bearing equipped CCDB coil.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
17,334
14,164
Cackalacka du Nord
I am similar, I buy things w/ the anticipation of swapping frames as the years go on. I have been pretty lucky adapting since boost started...It seems to be much more inexpensive to do that also, I never seem to get what I want out of a full bike on the used market. I am also so picky that I pretty much need to build everything from scratch anyway.
thisssss

re: forum, what are you looking for? there was as much, if not more, asshattery here 10 years ago as now. could there be more dh racing conversations? maybe, but there hasn't been a ton to talk about over the past year. tech questions tend to get answered fairly well, in the end, by mostly knowledgable people; differences of opinion are generally respected. the population here generally skews older now...not many 20-somethings to be found. they probably all have their own discord channels or ig circle jerks going. between the four major mtb forum options (mtbr, vital, pb, and here) i'll stick with the monkey.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,508
In hell. Welcome!
thisssss

re: forum, what are you looking for? there was as much, if not more, asshattery here 10 years ago as now. could there be more dh racing conversations? maybe, but there hasn't been a ton to talk about over the past year. tech questions tend to get answered fairly well, in the end, by mostly knowledgable people; differences of opinion are generally respected. the population here generally skews older now...not many 20-somethings to be found. they probably all have their own discord channels or ig circle jerks going. between the four major mtb forum options (mtbr, vital, pb, and here) i'll stick with the monkey.
In soviet russia, the monkey sticks with you. :monkey:
 

Lelandjt

adorbs
Apr 4, 2008
2,639
998
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
Lets take a moment to recognize that Ridemonkey even still exists. When Bike announced they were closing I thought that was the end of this place. I can't go to MTBR. I started a thread there about the Gambler and the first response was that all that tech stuff and various geometry options "don't matter, just ride" and if I'm unknowledgable enough to ask the internet what setups they're running I should have my shop take care of my bike. This from a Denver kid* who fancies himself an enduro racer, and NEVER HEARD OF LELAND TURNER! KIDS!!!

*I checked and he was the guy who started the Ransom thread, so his attitude about discussing bike setup on the internet varies depending on the model.

Long live The Monkey
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,131
10,683
AK
I would (and have) ride with some of the people on mtbr. I would ride with the people on RM and have a beer after.
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,665
1,158
La Verne
I dont think this is unique to ridemonkey.
I frequent other forms
Thumpertalk.com, mainly the suspension subform
The suspension form was a really active place with some sharp fellas from 07-12... people like Dave Johnson from smart performance, and Jeremy wilkey from mx tech and others used to write in depth about all things suspension related.

Speedtalk.com used to be a place filled with all sorts of racing industry professionals, Darin Morgan who did the heads (pro stock) at rher Morrison, Calvin Elston who built headers for things from nascar to lemans cars, all sorts of cam designers, head porters, engine builders, dyno operators, calibration engineers and machinists posted there it was huge in 07, now its just ok....
 

Lelandjt

adorbs
Apr 4, 2008
2,639
998
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
was it someone from mullet cycles? :rofl:
His only input was to ride the Gambler as a Mullet, so maybe.
Speaking of riding Mullets, I feel like if I know my wheels are different sizes I'll be looking for how that affects the ride and turning. I think I'm gonna need to have my girlfriend do all the wheel swapping and geo tweaking that goes with it so I can blindly test the 3 wheel options I'll have.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,642
1,092
coloRADo
Lets take a moment to recognize that Ridemonkey even still exists. When Bike announced they were closing I thought that was the end of this place. I can't go to MTBR. I started a thread there about the Gambler and the first response was that all that tech stuff and various geometry options "don't matter, just ride" and if I'm unknowledgable enough to ask the internet what setups they're running I should have my shop take care of my bike. This from a Denver kid* who fancies himself an enduro racer, and NEVER HEARD OF LELAND TURNER! KIDS!!!

*I checked and he was the guy who started the Ransom thread, so his attitude about discussing bike setup on the internet varies depending on the model.

Long live The Monkey
Yeah, as you found out, that was #nicksucks. A competent racer (not pro), nice enough guy in person but his internet and social media presence...well....kinda sucks. Yes, he is in the front range and races endurbro.

Theres a scott dealer south of denver, the bikery. Thats who i use for all things Scott, and im pretty sure #nicksucks uses too. I know he has a scott or 2. Is your shop a Scott dealer? Then you probably have the same rep?

Its too bad he kinda pooped all over what could have been a constructive forum, maybe it will still be a good thing. I used to go to mtbr for local front range stuff, and brand/bike model chatter. Like you just tried to do. It would be cool to hear your findings.

I am running mullet on 2 bikes at the moment. But have not tried any geo adjustment, just the wheel swap. Mainly i find the gyroscopic forces are less, which makes for faster directional changes. Plus i think the smaller rear wheel helps with the overall turning radius to be smaller vs full 29. Oh...i cant prove it, but i think pumping with a smaller rear wheel is better. You tell me :)
 

Lelandjt

adorbs
Apr 4, 2008
2,639
998
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
Is your shop a Scott dealer? Then you probably have the same rep?

I am running mullet on 2 bikes at the moment. But have not tried any geo adjustment, just the wheel swap. Mainly i find the gyroscopic forces are less, which makes for faster directional changes. Plus i think the smaller rear wheel helps with the overall turning radius to be smaller vs full 29. Oh...i cant prove it, but i think pumping with a smaller rear wheel is better. You tell me :)
At Avalanche Sports in Breckenridge we're not a Scott dealer but because the Scott dealers in the area don't do service and so many are brought into our shop for work I got an account with the Colorado rep to get pivot parts, derailleur hangers, etc and I can get the occasional EP bike for myself.
From my experience owning 27 and 29 enduro bikes I'm expecting the same traits you note when trying mullet on the Gambler. Because I'm probably done racing DH the real question is gonna be if I use a 29 wheel up front. I still like the dual 27s on my gen3 Nomad that's my "play bike".
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,003
708
SLO
I dont think this is unique to ridemonkey.
I frequent other forms
Thumpertalk.com, mainly the suspension subform
The suspension form was a really active place with some sharp fellas from 07-12... people like Dave Johnson from smart performance, and Jeremy wilkey from mx tech and others used to write in depth about all things suspension related.

Speedtalk.com used to be a place filled with all sorts of racing industry professionals, Darin Morgan who did the heads (pro stock) at rher Morrison, Calvin Elston who built headers for things from nascar to lemans cars, all sorts of cam designers, head porters, engine builders, dyno operators, calibration engineers and machinists posted there it was huge in 07, now its just ok....
Screen Shot 2021-03-21 at 7.14.19 AM.png


I love it when my 5.0 is making 4000 ponies.........
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,665
1,158
La Verne
what’s the point in tuning motors anymore? electric vehicles are faster
Show me a 1000hp ev that will do this for 425 or 10000 miles. The good part is around 3 mins
700,000 freedom dollars screaming through the desert.

An ev finished this, this year. In about 2x as much time as the winner.

Also
Maybe people enjoy racing
Say you like mx
And you wanna race.
Your not doing it on an electric bike.
And everyone your racing against is running different weight crankshats, ported heads, different cams, ecus with traction controll.

Things like this
Been around since the 50s
950hp.... super old racing class Nation wide.... no electric still racing hard. 35-65000$ for a motor.
Some people like to build their own (me)
Fun story they put dirt on bristol (smallest track in nascar) in 2001 they removed a few degrees banking and these cars ran 15mph and 1 second a lap faster than the nascar qualifying record...
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
great another sport without right turns
Kinda paradoxical given the non-leftist orientation of the Land of the Free™... :rofl:

Now, trying to stay on point (well, sorta...) my dream car would be a Shelby Cobra. Given there are les than 10.000 of the original ones in existence today, I know my chances of scoring one are fairly scarce. I've always wondered if I could get any gasoline for it if I'm able to afford one in 25-30 years... :D
 
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englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,665
1,158
La Verne
great another sport without right turns
Yeah I understand what your saying.
But um go to a rally.
The cars all pass.
They are racing the clock not each other
You don't know how they are doing
Being there in person sucks actually.
Same with most big road race circiuts.

I'm a big fan of the desert racing I posted but.
They pass by and shower you with rocks and you may never see them again. Did they win? Break down? Guess we will find out later or tomorrow or never....

Oval track short ones anyway not long nascar bs. You get to watch the cars go all the way around the track battling side by side.. sometimes taking several laps to complete a pass or swapping position multiple times a lap.
You don't really get to see this in most forms of racing, circiut racing and motorcycle it happens, but your not going to see it from the stands.... no way.

I think nascar is quite shit.
But dirt oval I grew up with. From my first introduction I knew people in these events.
I raced for 5 years and won a championship.
Sliding into a corner Laying horsepower into hero clay lap after lap dialing it in and pushing the limits of traction each lap till you've gone to far and backing off brings a faster lap time. It is something hard to convey. Its made fun of as rudimentary and dull. Setting up a completely asymmetrical car is a complicated task corner weight cross weight, different wheel offsets and diameters, tire pressures damper settings, and ride heights for every corner.

All the euros poo poo it but speedway bikes are big there.
Sprint cars are just like speedway bikes.
Over powered monsters that are hard to just get around the track. 950hp and 700+ ft lbs in a 1375lb car..... its a power to weight ratio few people will ever experience....







Kinda paradoxical given the non-leftist orientation of the Land of the Free™... :rofl:

Now, trying to stay on point (well, sorta...) my dream car would be a Shelby Cobra. Given there are les than 10.000 of the original ones in existence today, I know my chances of scoring one are fairly scarce. I've always wondered if I could get any gasoline for it if I'm able to afford one in 25-30 years... :D
Several companies do reproductions which are actually improvements on the originals.
Much cheaper and not so much worry about damaging them
 
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slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Several companies do reproductions which are actually improvements on the originals.
Much cheaper and not so much worry about damaging them
Yeah, I considered the replicas for the reasons you mention (there's even a guy here in Argentina building decent ones if you supply the engine and transmission), but the original ones have that extra "aura"... Though I still think a Cobra with modern guts, manual transmission and actual brakes would be da shizzz. No body modifications for me, thank you very much.