caved and got one of the new stumpjumpers. went with the comp alloy 29 - kinda bummed they don’t do an alloy model with a nicer fork, but oh well. the rhythm should be fine for me and the rest of the spec is exactly what it needs to be.
either way, stoked to go right into dipping my toes in enduro racing. was gonna go for it in stroudsburg on sunday, but 5 days of straight rain leading up to race day has me thinking that’ll be a no-go. probably for the best to give myself a few weeks to learn on the bike before pushing limits.
anyway, what ya’ll like for gear? i’ll just be half-shelling and wearing knee pads, but i’m in the market for those as well as new baggies.
The glen park enduro is canceled because of the storm, Hella trees down they wouldn’t get to clear.
I like the giro montaro I have and the bell 3r in the half shell mode.
I need some new knee pads, too. Have the g-form ones, but they kinda suck (stitching came out of one pair within first few times wearing it, and not long enough above the pad to stay put). Act as decent knee warmer. Specialized ones are pretty shit.
Sadly we don’t stock any others, so sizing things up is tough. Kinda thinking about 7iDP Transition Wrap.
I’m donning a Giro Switchblade, since swedish enduro craves a dh certified full face for all the down/race parts. No racing in a half shell here… Sure a bit warmer than a standard trail helmet but hella nice only needing to bring one helmet, take the shin guard off and throw on my back pack for the transport between stages (we have a helmet on head att all times when on the bike-rule) Have a Scott half shell for more leisure/xc type stuff.
I really like IXS Flow for knee-pads, comfortable for a full day in the saddle and offer the best protection for under 300g. Read up on my shit before buying and went with them. Have had them for two straight years and they have seen multiple crashes and their fair share of hours in my washing machine, still not a single stitch gone and no holes or scuffs… A+ would buy again.
nah, i ended up getting the black one. see: pydj thread. not a huge fan of the acid mint
those IXS pads look nice. i’d been eyeing up the POC VPD pads, as well as the new fox flux for a lid.
kinda relieved to hear about the enduro frank - hopefully they find a rain date? looks like i’m going down to baltimore to race my road bike instead. go figure.
I’ve been eyeing the Bell Full-9 crabon helmet with the magnetic cheek pads. I have an older Transfer without any miracles in it. I’m going to try popping the pads for today’s enduro for the first big transfer stage, but I’ll probably leave them in the rest of the time. Today’s experience may influence my decision to spend money on another MTB helmet instead of replacing my old road helmet.
Per viggen’s recommendation, i bought the ixs pads. They are comfy, but for me the lower seam is too sharp and the overall length slightly short. If i stand up off the bike, my quad like spills over the top of the pad, and the lower seam digs into my shin. After i’m done wearing them, i have a nice deep indentation into the front of my shin from the seam. I can feel it when riding, but it’s worst when i’m standing.
The fabric inside that goes over your knee cap is super comfortable - it feels like it kind of suspends the pad and you dont feel the foam portion of the pad at all. If it weren’t for the lower seam, i’d say you can hardly feel them while wearing them. But that lower seam just might be uncomfortable enough that i am going to look for another knee pad.
Also, got my dropper back from raceface/easton. OR, I should say a refurb turbine back from them. Odd mine was only refub sent back, others were sent back with just a service. Of course the other two didn’t work when installed, and mine did (for now). So odd that the play in the lever disappears upon first drop and raise. Pretty shit design with too much friction internally. At least it works for now. If it happens again, I better get a turbine r, too.
There were no flowers in March/April, but the dirt was better…
Im backpacking in the north cascades sat-mon, but have tuesday off as well… anyone magically free that day to go play around… maybe find that new trail that descends off inside passage on tiger?
You could make the first one work but the ergonomics would probably suck. Second style will work better. There are similar ones (from KS and maybe others) that will replace the inner clamp on lock on grips.
