More Tech Randoms: Suspension, Tires, Paint & More - Crankworx Whistler 2018

 And here I thought ceramic bearings were already made of pure snake oil to begin with.

 Someday you might even land some action not requiring polylube,, figers crossed teehee!!!

 @skylerd: Ceramic for suspension pivots. Let me think about that for a few moments....

 Wheels are a no brainer, ceramic been the shiz for decades but when was the last time you had to replace your pivot bearings.

 @fecalmaster: Pretty much every spring, rainy muddy winter rides are hard on bearings. During the summer the bike hardly gets wet, but around here there's no avoiding water for 9 months out of the year.

 @fecalmaster: usually once a year, even in a dry climate. Check yours - I bet they feel like trash

 @fecalmaster: Literally every year... What bike you riding and where?

 @OrangeGoblin: Every bike you can name except an Orange on the muddy/ snow messed north east, mainly Catskill park and upstate NJ. Check it out some time, rocks bigger than your house.

 @fecalmaster: You've never changed pivot bearings? Ever?

Well, I'm not sure if you're the luckiest person in the world or what, but everyone I ride with, EVERYONE, changes their bearings roughly yearly - A British winter is brutal on pivots.

 @OrangeGoblin: I had to on a giant reign, couple Santa Cruz but not too often and I going orbital for decades. I know you guys get alot more rain in the UK but we get 100 times more snow, specially last couple years in NY. Love me some snow riding and been doing it also for decades. I mean we're hitting snowboard jumps with the boarders.

 @fecalmaster: a month ago. And then 6 months before that, and then 3 months before that, and so on... Riding everyday is tough on these ponies

 @tfriesenftr: That has to smell doing all that work. Like stated aware of UK slopfest but , snow, sleet, ice, salt. Not sure which is worse but yes ride every day, specially in the snow, I guess my proactive maintenance is paying off.

 It's not just you. A total yawn fest.

 Either you're a dentist or just one of us plebs.

 For reals... lotsa riders (and I) are on our own builds based around china-direct carbon hoops and decent hubs. A nice performance upgrade at less than half what the "premium" shiz costs, and with awesome reliability to boot.

 Especially when they come from company who can't make a set of carbon cranks without the insert falling out...

 @WasatchEnduro: So you build and lace you own wheels? How about for someone that not as handy, what are our options? I weigh 145# and only a moderate aggressive rider. I'm sure cheap carbon will hold up to my riding just fine. I'm never spending $1500+ on plastic hoops.

 @smoothmoose:

Some of my bros build their own, some (like me) have a local shop do it. Occasionally Light Bicycle, Tandell, or Nextie have sales which can knock a carbon rim down from close to $200 ea to $135 ea. A friend just found Nextie's on sale for $135 ea. I think they're i31-i32 width.

I paid $215 for my LB rear rim and $165 for my Tandell front. I'm properly beating the sh*t out of them but also using huck norris inserts to add a small measure of insurance. For me getting a stronger, stiffer 29er wheelset without the weight penalty has been nice, but the actual overall weight loss is almost negligible for how they're currently set up (to last). I've "gone cheap" before by using an existing hub, but there's still new spokes (and prob nips) required plus labor if you're not doing it yourself.

Wayne at SpeedGear bike shop (speedgearbike.com) is an awesome builder and works with you to customize hubs, rims, etc. Right now a LB carbon set w/ Hope hubs is running about $1k. Not cheap by any means, but I'd argue that's a better wheelset than many $2k options.

And in my experience "cheap" refers to them being priced "affordably", but with negligible quality differential vs name brand stuff.

Good luck! There's a lot to consider and what's worth it to one rider may not be to another.

 @smoothmoose: Pretty sure you can buy all your parts (hub, spokes, nipples, rims) and have a shop build up your wheels for like $75. Result is way cheaper than buying a pre-built wheelset, and you get to customize exactly as you'd like.

 @AndrewMacNaughton: Don't know why they are down voting you, The insert problem is a known issue.

 @smoothmoose: I've built all my own wheels with legit hubs and nextie or LB rims and have had 0 issues so far. I weigh 195 geared up and ride moderately aggressive too, drops, gaps, etc.

 I would recommend anyone to learn how to build their own wheels. I've done ten wheels in my life tops, and none has ever folded. Just get a good teacher. Take your time with it and don't try to finish a wheel in one day. You will feel a great sense of pride when you finish a wheel!

 @Jvhowube: my shop is like $200+ to build a wheelset. They hate it if you don't buy from them too

 @Chingus-Dude: Find a new shop ?

 @Jvhowube: What shop?!? Assuming somewhat standard spoke/hub/wheel configuration and parts - lacing/dishing/truing a wheel is at least an hour each if you've done it a good amount of times before and actually come out with a precise, well-built product. What shop charges $75 for two hours minimum of SPECIALIZED labor?

 @Chingus-Dude: That's not totally far off - wheel building is an art. You can't just read Sheldon Brown once and have a wheelset come out perfect and stay perfect. A well trained mechanic/wheel builder can.

And yes they hate internet parts. How can they keep the lights on when you don't even want to pay them labor (let alone let them make any money on the parts)?

Just remember who is and isn't there for you when you need a set of brake pads or snap your hanger before the weekend.

 @joedirte: I've snapped a hanger 12 times last year. no issue.

 @joedirte: Basic wheelbuilding is NOT an art.

Doing is fast takes significant skill but if you're in a hurry wheelbuilding is not hard. Mussons book makes it easy. You can also do the lacing yourself and bring your wheel to the shop for final tensioning if you aren't ready to do the whole thing.

 @Chingus-Dude: You snapped 12 derailleur hangers in a year? No wonder you dont have money for wheelbuilds.

 @WasatchEnduro: Thanks good tips.

 @joedirte: There was a shop in my area that built wheels for $25 each. He could do a set in under an hour too and they were more perfect that i've been able to get my builds since.

 came here to say this.

 Well, we may have considered doing that

 @VorsprungSuspension: may you have considered 180mm single crown support?

 @djjohnr: We may have full details will be available in the not too distant future.

 @VorsprungSuspension: take my money please

 I'm literally going to throw money at your face. I'm going to book a flight from Oz, knock on your door, chuck money square at you, then im going to leave, fly home, and await my parts. I kindly suggest the day after you announce said coil conversions you wear a full face when answering doors. Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

 They had a pre production coil conversion at their crankworx booth. I don't know why pinkbike didn't mention it as it had been one of the products they had been pushing their hardest and honestly pretty cool I'm not too sure on the details but it has a hydraulic bottom out to increase end stroke ramp and is travel adjustable via adding spacers. Idk if they have this up on their website yet but we will get the full details when it launches

 @VorsprungSuspension should consider dropping their own suspension fork.

 @djjohnr: we'll happily take your money once we have something worthwhile available to give you in return

@Rabbuit well you could use electronic methods since the old handful of coins to the face is both harder to count and somehow more painful than the credit card transaction fees... haha.

@vtracer you were most definitely paying attention!

@gonecoastal thanks for the kind words but we are a long way from being capable of anything like that!

 And this isn't even remotely the worst fire season we've had... in terms of hectares burned and property lost.

It IS the third worst fire season we've had in recorded history, but when you look at the actual numbers in terms of damage/destruction, it pales in comparison.

 Kickstarted needed for the helmet w/ integrated breather idea!

Nasty, nasty-ass air here in Utah too. I had to go on vacation to southern California to find clean air wtf.

 hahha came here for this. they are worried about their lungs, but not worried about riding WBP without a fullface? yeah my lungs are fine but my jaw is now wired shut.

 @WasatchEnduro: I could see a market for them in moto hare scrambles or desert racing too. The dust is no joke!

 Not directed at you, but in general- The idea of a respirator with proper filters is great if you just can't stay away. The one thing hairy males want to keep in mind is they don't work as intended with a beard, even a short one at that.

 @jcrr: and the problem with many respirators, especially the N95 variant that people are now wearing, is that they aren't designed to be used for sports. Their efficacy drops off entirely after alot 30 minutes of regular breathing, let alone vigorous breathing. And in fact, can increase exposure risks if kept on beyond that as they can in fact harbour particulates. As a health care professional, I chuckle to myself when I see people doing sports with them on because I wonder if they know that it can be entirely counter productive to wear them in that capacity.

 Has anyone tried a luftkappe in a 2015 fox 36 rc2? I'm very happy with my fork... but I am also intrigued by this.

 Never too late to pick up a trade , this province is screaming for tradesman. Oh and Steve,s stuff is killer run it on my 36 and my rear shock. A product that makes a big difference $$$ well spent.

 @jaame: if it ain't broken don't fix it.

 @jaame: Yes, it makes quite a good difference if you charge pretty hard.

Start with a good rebuild of your fork though. Might just need maintenance. Especially if it hasn't had any maintenance yet. Fox has good stuff but their assembly is rushed and extra slick honey in negative air spring is very common.

 @mollow: Three reasons:
1. Experimentation is fun.
2. You don't know if something is better until you try it.
3. It's really easy to adapt to suspension and think it's great simply because you are riding well and adapted to it. Insert example of people being blown away by their forks after a rebuild.


Also nothing wrong with keeping as is and just maintaining it.

 I threw a luftkappe in a 36 Fit4 from 2016. Insanely better thru repeated big hits and just generally felt more composed. Also ran more pressure, but still tracked better due to I think the larger negative spring.

 @AndrewMacNaughton: @jaame
Luftkappe and Fractive in my 36 Fit4 and Corset on my shock.
I was happy with my fork before the upgrade but the differences are overwhelming, it feels even better than a 2018 36 Evol Factory that I tried the other day so I wont be changing my Fork anytime soon (Although a Vorsprung Coil wouldnt be a bad idea).

 @Segu: I've just got my fork back from having its first full service. I've serviced the lowers and air side many times myself, but things the first time I have had the lot done and new wipers.
It feels great, but this upgrade is very affordable so I'm considering it. That, or maybe a DVO onyx SC. Different price ranges though!

 @cheetamike: actually, are you serious re your comment "province is desperate for tradesman"
? what about residential builder with primary background in carpentry ?

 @tadgercat: not sure I am a machinist and similar trades are in need of skilled people..

 @tadgercat: you would have to go to school an become a red seal carpenter....

 Across cycling disciplines, cyclists are the only people who think cyclists are cool. But that’s good enough for me!

 Pretty much all mountain bikers are superstars..

 Sure, Peter Sagan.

 @Bailey100: You get all my up-votes for this!

 You'd think vernon felton were back with mistakes like that.

 @thesharkman: he’s gone?

 @bubbrubb: Ya. Went to Specialized... marketing director, or some such.

 Lol @mtbikeaddict:

 @mtbikeaddict: appreciate the reply. Been reading his stuff since the OG BIKE days, sad news.

 @bubbrubb: No problem. I'm sure plenty of people missed the memo... there was just a small mention earlier this year, iirc. Yep, now he's officially the "Global Mountain Bike Marketing Manager at Specialized Bicycle Components", apparently.

 Shhh...

 @VorsprungSuspension: with some sort of anti bottom out device it seems, sweet!

 @VorsprungSuspension: never been one to keep my mouth shut once it’s out in the open! Still planning for a fall release?

 Now if they'd just get it together and base the SE4 off of the G4, not XR4.

 That's how we ride here in South Korea 50% of the time. TT

 yea man, looks post apo tho

 @richierocket: Umm. They said our air quality was the worst in the region's history... worse than China, India, etc. I guess we don't have it year round, though.

 Yep, sometimes hitting save at the right time makes all the difference...fixed!

 @danielsapp: proof reading and then going over it again after its been posted also helps

 Isnt the key to making mtb tyres knock off maxxis designs then go from there ?

 @zyoungson: That's why what Kenda did is so impressive.

 But what's "light bike park"??

 @WAKIdesigns: to be fair I think bonty make some of the most underrated rubber out there, if they weren't so closely linked to Trek they would probably get more attention. Pretty good target for inspirational ripping off, most people wouldn't notice.

 @Kickmehard: I know, I absolutely love their rubber. They make excellent patterns. Even if their DH tyres are "strongly inspired" by DHF and DHR2 their "Enduro" and Trail line is possibly the best out there. The only tyre that Maxxis has that can rival Bontragers intermediate range is Aggressor and it is heavier. With Bonty you can easily mix XR/SE3, SE4 and SE5 depending on what bike you are riding and it will work very well. Their compounds are this bit harder than Maxxis MaxxTerra, and that's enough, they last longer. The only they are missing is a good semi slick like Rock Razor aaaand it would be great if they had their own Super Gravity/ Double Down carcass. I was riding those 1.5plies all summer on 160 and they are excellent replacement for DH casings.

 @Verbl-Kint:

greens & blues only.... so Utah bike parks only, not "BC rated".

 @WAKIdesigns: Agreed! Been saying it for a few years, SE5/G5 possibly the best all around front tire and the SE4 is the best all around rear tread pattern I have ridden. Just add the wider options and some DD casings.

 @E-ROG: G5 is the Minion DHR2 3C for poor people

 @WAKIdesigns: Have you tried the SE2, that's a semi slick and somewhat like Minion SS and Rock Razor.

 @Thorjensen: not yet. But I am told it’s not as good as Rock Razor or Slaughter.

 @WAKIdesigns:

Well i've been blown away on my SE5/SE4 setup for a couple of years now. It has only been my width OCD that had a hard time dealing with a 2.3 front and a 2.35 rear tyre. Performance wise it has been stellar.

 they need to kill the nevegal name. worst of the worst.

 @WAKIdesigns: bontrager se2!

 Thanks, I keep those gems hidden

 funny, are you partially blind or something ?

 @zyoungson: Nope its the truth