APRandom

I work in bike shops, and in one I used to work for we were putting together a high-end bike with XTR. The front derailleur shift lever was DOA out of the box, so we had to get another one. And I am frequently called upon to de-gunk 20 year old shifters where there are no mechanical problems, except the factory grease they pack into those things turns to glue over time. Apparently it is made partially from fish oil. When it gunks up the only thing that dissolves it is automotive brake parts cleaner. Nasty stuff. Other than that, Shimano makes good products. Their hydraulic disc brakes seem to be the most reliable, easiest to bleed, etc.

Not funny, actually. Look up the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. Everything you see in this article will be Wildernized if that passes.

Yeah, don't come here. We're full of nuclear waste and neo-nazis. Go to Marin County, California, instead.

@Boardlife69: Don't forget the fear and loathing.

I would suggest a class action lawsuit against IMBA for misrepresenting the interests of mountain bikers. They have become the lap dog of the Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, e-Bike manufacturers, and whoever will throw a few pennies on the table. They are a complete fraud. They lie when they say they can't lobby; their 501(h) election says they can spend 400-500 thousand dollars on this crucial activity. Stop sending them money. Send a subpoena or two instead. Never forgive. Never forget.

I built my first "serious" road bike wheels around 1975: Rare one-piece chrome-plated-steel Campy hubs, Fiamme red label rims, and I forget what kind of spokes. That was when Clement Campionato del Mondo Seta tires were $25 each. Quite a sum back in the mid-1970s, but I got three of them. All the parts came from the Montrose Bike Shop, So-Cal. Later on, I became friends with Gravy of GravyWheels, and he built me a set. Never once had to touch them with a spoke wrench until I wore through the back rim. And still later I went to BBI and learned the "secrets" of how to accomplish this.

Interesting that Transition is marketing to people who don't like the e-Bike concept. This must be a significant demographic. My shop sells Transition. We also sell Haibike e-Bikes. Our policy is to make sure to tell e-Bike customers that they are only allowed on motorized trails, and we have plenty of those to choose from.

@arphia: I helped my son put one of those things on an 80s Kuwahara mountain bike. Too much power, constantly having to adjust things. The solid rear axle became bent in more ways than I'd ever seen. To quote Ralph Nader: "Unsafe at any speed!"

This is nothing new, except for the signage. I grew up in Marin, lived there since I was about three years old. It took me a while to realized the place is a hell hole due to all the snotty attitudes, so I moved to where people are a hell of a lot friendlier about 22 years ago. The last place I lived was in Mill Valley, so I spent a lot of time riding a bicycle on Railroad Grade. I have also hiked every square inch of that mountain, found a couple pot farms and homeless encampments. When you're on foot you can follow game trails endlessly. Bikes restrict you to roads and trails, and I like to go where nobody else is, so I bush-crash quite a bit, an outlaw hiker, so to speak. What I noticed is that the fire roads, the only place bicycling is allowed, are also popular with elderly hikers, because the grade is consistent, safer, etc. So you have old people walking and younger people riding bikes on the same routes. Meanwhile the singletrack trails are empty. I know this because I hike as much as or more than I ride a bike. In 1989 (the year of the earthquake) the MMWD rangers started using radar guns to enforce bike speed limits, but they did not post any signs that they were doing this. They were more interested in catching people than slowing them down. They set up the speed guns at mostly the same place, at the bottom of a long straightaway on RR Grade with clear visibility. Very tempting to ignore the brake levers. One day, as I was riding the bike up that dirt road, I noticed a couple rangers with the radar gun, so I kept riding uphill and stopped, warned cyclists to slow way down. The first time I did this I stayed in one place too long, and the rangers caught on to me, came up to my position and played the "good cop / bad cop" game. One yelled at me, threatened to arrest me, etc. I told them I wanted to slow people down just as much as they did. "Why don't you put a speed-checked-by-radar sign up there?" All I got was bla bla bla, obstruction of justice, etc. I was so put off by this typical asshole cop behavior I publicly resigned from the Bicycle Trails Council of Marin, something I helped start. The second time I acted as a living speed-checked-by-radar sign, the speed trap was set up at the same place, but I went further up the road, and left my position before they caught on. May I suggest that the people who still ride there do the same thing. If you are riding uphill, and see the ranger with the radar gun, just keep riding and and warn people to slow down as you go. The rangers will be waiting at the bottom of straight sections with good visibility, pretty obvious spots.

From what I have heard (I moved away 20+ years ago), in Point Reyes National Seashore in California, in the Phillip Burton Wilderness part, which is just about all of it, nowadays the rangers will confiscate the wheels of your bike, write a citation, and make you walk all the way home in bike shoes, carrying your bike frame, even if you rode from your house 30 miles away. (It was legal to ride a bicycle there, in the designated Wilderness, until 1984.) You never EVER want to end up in federal court, unless you have a plan that includes the Supreme Court, expert lawyers, $ix figure$ or more, and friends in high places. Never f**k with federal rangers, or cops in general. Ever.