got a warranty heading my way 
and on tiny rulers x love of calipers chat, check this shit out that I stole from popās toolbox last weekend:
5 Likes
Iāve got a brass thing very similar to that, I use it like 98% of the time Iām measuring something. Itās almost perfect, would be absolutely lovely with a little bent wire pocket clip on the back side.
1 Like
Why Shimano telling me to size my chain without any load on suspension?
Right after this they say to āshiftā into big/big and make sure the chain isnāt too short at furthest extension of suspension travel. Kind of confusing. Shouldnāt I do the above sizing at the furthest extension of travel like the SRAM manual suggests?
Even the name is excellent.
1 Like
Oh look, different instructions in another manual for the same product.
Result:
I took out another pair of links and it is ALMOST taut. Still 2 links longer than my SRAM chain was.
Y u no use old chain as the right amount of links since that worked?
SRAM to Shimano derailleur. I figured it might have a different amount of chain wrap.
Are you doing the length without the chain wrapped through the derailleur, then adding the 5-6 links?
Yeah. But I now think in both instances Shimano is not asking for the same process as SRAM is. Like āfully extendedā means no compression. I dunno. I took 2 more links out this morning, so now the Shimano chain is 2 links longer than my SRAM was, or possibly the same. Next time on this bike Iām just sizing it in the 10 cog and not worrying about it.
Probably the best mtb-vlogging content out there right now, fuck I really want to ride with Bex, Martha and the gang. So much silliness <3
SISTERāS ON THE LOW LINE!! #GOWAAN
1 Like
I donāt really know if any one else recognise this.
Iāve totally lost all confidence riding my MTB, itās giving me so much anxiety. I gave up today after two hours of struggling on the mountain today. Iām riding slow, Iām crashing because I ride so slow (get stuck on stuff: rocks, roots etc) and trails Iāve ridden many many times before feel dangerous/scary. I stick to blue trails, reds and blacks just care me to much.
I have no one to ride with (like zero riding friends here, Iām not cool or fast enough to hang with the other locals) so Iām not really pushing myself, because if I crash/hurt Iām alone and that doesnāt feel safe.
I donāt like riding with dudes, the bro-thing/masculinity gets to me and as a queer-person and non-dude it just feels wrong.
I donāt know how to find the joy/positive in riding again.
I feel like a fraud rolling up on my Swoopā¦
11 Likes
Not that I have ever even been on a proper mtb let alone had the skills to rip, but I only ever ride alone, and yeah, in the woods by myself thatās in the back of my mind, so I just stick to my old 80s rigid bike and sweat and grunt up steep fire roads and plunk slowly down barely technical little descents because its within my and the bikes limits, and still leaves me feeling beat up in a good way. In fact when the pandemic got really scary every ride was weird because I wanted to take advanted of empty roads but knew that the consequences for injury felt much scarier between maybe not being found for a bit and the fear of hospitals back in March/April/Etc.
The Swoop wont stop being a badass bike if you leave it at home for a bit, get out on something more chill and push yourself in a less dangerous way.
1 Like
So much of mountain biking is mental. I feel like Iām riding badly like 9/10 times, basically any time I donāt clear a techy section that I cleared once or twice before, when conditions were perfect. Iāve felt like Iāve been riding badly lately, but I think itās the summer heat- fall riding is always better.
Iām also one of the technically worst riders in my group because I didnāt do bmx as a teen and havenāt been riding mountain bikes for 20 years. Kind of sucks, but then Iāll ride with a noob and Iām waaay better than them. Iām kind of in between, and I just sort of hope if I ride more Iāll get better?
1 Like
I definitely feel the lack of confidence lately especially. I donāt know why.
I super relate to not feeling totally comfortable with most groups of mtb dudes Iāve known. Maybe just my own insecurity or maybe Iām just not a gnarly dude, but I have never really enjoyed the vibe I get from the groups Iāve encountered.
Definitely have some imposter syndrome about my nice bike. But I still like it.
1 Like
@viggen thatās tough. Iād say just go out there with the mindset to have fun. Ride stuff you know you can clean over and over, doing it faster and faster. Just start fresh! This is supposed to be a fun hobby not a job.
2 Likes
I went through this feeling a few months ago. Riding was joyless and not fulfilling. What I ended up doing was reevaluating my goals. I picked out a few skills I wanted to focus on (nutrition and cornering), so now I have some sort of purpose when Iām on the bike.
I can empathize with not connecting to other riders. Iām older and have a family, which doesnāt really fit the demographic. Getting hurt and having to go to the hospital is not really an option here in Freedomland, so I am a lot more risk averse than the average bro. Also, I like to ride competitively, but Iām riding for myself, rather than trying to better someone else. Iām not sure many people understand that, which makes me feel more alienated with the average rec rider as well. USians tend to have this all-or-nothing attitude where if you canāt be the best, then donāt bother trying.
Maybe weāll come out on the other end of this global experience in a better place with respect to inclusivity. I saw Hannah Bergman is now on the Redbull roster, so thatās cool. Iāve met her on the trails a few times. I think sheāll continue to be a positive influence on the sport.
riding at Galbraith in Bellingham yesterday afternoon, at least 60% of the riders I encountered out on the trails were women
also saw zero bros, though there an awesome old local kook climbing well on an older ~180mm DH bike with the seatpost up
maybe our late start let us miss the crowds, but it was really encouraging
1 Like
feels vig. i basically donāt ride my mtb anymore for this reason. i end up having more fun on a cx bike because i already know iām gonna fail to ride most things. plus trails are crowded AF right now. tempted to sell my trail bike and get a new one once the boom busts
i used to ride with the fastfolx and used to be one of them (never an expert descender but i could open it up a bit) now iām a slow dad who is afraid of getting hurt because the whole world depends on me (or so it feels sometimes)
1 Like
In the PNW, the focus on all-mountain, enduro, downhill riding where the trails are all a mile long and are either all non-technical uphill or all technical downhill really bums me out. There doesnāt seem to be much effort put into building anything else and most people donāt seem to want to ride XC trails. This has kept me off my bike mostly. I donāt think Iāve ridden my trance in over a year.
donāt forget thereās also the modern machine-built fast flow trail like Olallie and Raging Ridge to dislike!
Kyle go to Soaring Eagle itās pretty awesome XC dithering thatās easy to navigate and has gotten a lot of maintenance without the crowds ā and Fort Ebey is an even better version that you can glamp at
While they get attention for the Trenduro trails, Capitol Forest and Bellingham both have a hundred miles of mellower trail apiece on taller terrain
2 Likes