Round Up: Custom Setup Tricks from World Cup & EWS Races

 What's in the box? C'mon, broski. You can tell me.

 @Stoaks: you gotta join Prime to find out

 @Stoaks: what’s in the box?

I thought that headed toward a Seven reference.

 @bdub5696: I tried to play husband.....

 My magnetic saddle and steel chamois is working out great.

 What’s in the fu@!in box!?!

 Step 1: cut a hole in a box...

 @VtVolk: I thought that was step 2. Ha ha.

 @bdub5696: google “UHF what’s in the box”. You can thank me later.

 @Stoaks: Probably the cat if he left it on the floor.

 @Victoriamike: favourite all time movie

 @Victoriamike: Phyllis Weaver should have taken her weight in red snapper! ???? so stupid!

 @QuinceyDavidson: very tasty!

 @Stoaks: imgflip.com/i/1t9rp7

 @Victoriamike: I was calling a coworker stupid today in Kuni's voice.

 Yeah, that raises a lot of questions.

Do these riders only do this to say they're running so and so's product (sponsorship reasons)? Or do they do this because those certain products allow them to make these modifications and they actually enjoy the modified product more than other stock options

 I’ve tried a spacer under the clear before, for 5 minutes.. literally feels like you are on ice, definitely no bueno.

 Maybe it helps if he needs to clip back in fast? I dunno, but Elliot seems like a smart guy, I'm sure he's tried with pins etc etc before ending up with that setup

 A pedal cage on a downhill bike still makes sense as it protects the cleat mechanism to some extent. Whether this is relevant is probably up to the individual rider though.
Another reason is the cage will help you orient the pedal in the correct position more easily. It´ll also help in those situations where you accidentally unclipped or couldn´t get clipped in fast enough for the next section.
Again, i don´t know how relevant those are to a pro rider, but i have tried non caged clips on a dh bike and liked them a lot. Still went with the caged variant on my own bike.
Anothert reason i can think of, although i do not know if this applies to the HT lineup, is that different pedals have different spacing from the crank. Especially with more robust downhill shoes this has caused some issues for me on certain pedals, so these may simply be the one Eliot felt were the best fit in that regard.

 @Loki87: I run HT exclusively and they are the best I’ve used yet, but cage/spindle width wise they are all pretty much the same. You are right about just getting back onto the pedal in a hairy situation for sure, saved me a few times.

 What do you stand on when you're not clipped in?

 @Loki87: Don't ignore that the shoe is the other half of this setup. That can change a lot.

 Syntace made a low5 and low10 negative rise handlebar at one stage. Their 12 deg back sweep bars are extremely comfortable. Unlike ergon’s enduro grips
which people(including Pinkbike staff) run backwards to get them comfortable ( I like ergon but not those grips)

 He could have put on road bike drop bars.

 Yea I get the idea of low bars but aren’t the angles completely f*cked if you run a regular bar upside down?

 Would be easier swapping to a 20” bmx wheel at the front

 @sino428: Actually no. It's exactly the same. Upsweep + backsweep = one single angle, which remains the same if flipped 180º along its axis.

 @sino428: By axis I meant plane. Can't edit it now.

 would scare me more riding Greg's rear dropout setup. I'm sure they've figured it out but no way I could trust that thing going off the jumps he does

 I always prefer a higher bar-height, but its mostly because of my shitty stiff lower back... if I could bend like a yogi, i'd probably prefer a low bar on flat courses.... More and more often I suspect that the best upgrade I could buy for my XC bike will be Pilates lessons...

 It looks like a bike assembled by a walmart employee.

 @Dan278: Maybe it does, just like the negative rise carbon stem/bar combo that virtually every featured XC bike has nowadays, like the Syncros one a few shots below.

 @two-one: my wife swears by Pilates. She does a class weekly and the additional core strength and flexibility are very noticeable. She really noticed the difference when she couldn’t go for a few months because of Covid.

 @mattg95: lol. do you not trust the bikes doing the jumps, or yourself? :-)

 @two-one: For me, it is the right shoulder that pinches a nerve to sleep. At least on a bike you can raise the bars. I had to sell my Ducati as even with risers (can get about 1.5”) for the bars, it got to where I couldn’t ride it more than 20 minutes. Getting old sucks.

 Have you seen Nino Schurter's custom Syncros bar stem combo

 @DavidGuerra: It's not the bar height to floor that's scary, its the hand-height to ass-height ratio. A BMX bike is probably has even lower bars to the ground but those get hucked off buildings.

 @DavidGuerra: yea I think I get it. You would simply roll them around, you’d actually flip the bar over so the right/left grips are on the opposite sides.

 @sino428: Yes, I was considering doing that on my enduro bike but didn't get around to it.

 @Deoratwo: running a dropper kinda eliminates that tho. I like to run my bars relatively low. You get more pressure on the front wheel and it can actually make lifting you front wheel easier for some reason

 @carym: I had a similar problem with left shoulder blade, pinching nerve causing numbness and severe pain in left index finger and thumb. Wider bars helped and a fully split keyboard for work eliminated the source of the problem.

 Mountain bikers can end up in traction from an injury...but this traction can cause an injury =P

 That saddle screams balls of steel, which would infer infertility...

 @Sscottt: balls of necrotic tissue =/= balls of steel

 I was thinking " Damn, that's an intense way to deal with hemorrhoids!"

 He was going to name it the “S&M Saddle,” but S&M Bikes already had the trademark.

 I think the bigger problem here is the nonsensical new brake lever clamps from Shimano.

 They are for me, my mitts cover 100% of any grip.

 Good for doing tricks that involve removing your hands from the bars. Easier to catch the bars since the grips are longer.

 I have short grips on my computer bike that scare the hell out of me but I don't want my full length grips was I hold them quite close to the inside. Or my bars are just too wide.

 @fullfacemike: The new clamp from shimano actually helps with this problem, since the clamp is further inboard, it allows you to run your levers further outboard before the clamp interferes with the grips. The only thing nonsensical is your comment.

 @wohwee: You need to take a one more look at the lever, look hard, really hard.

 @Mondbiker: Yep! Just clocked it. My bad, apologies @fullfacemike. I’ll leave now :thumbs:

 I like to have some grip further out than my hands so if I clip a tree my little finger doesn’t get smashed

 What is it you think is nonsensical about the shimano lever? Looks like a perfectly valid design to me...

That doesn't make any sense is the dud cutting his grips down, but then running his levers an inch away from the end of the grip. He coulda just left them full length and run the levers butted right against the end of the grip.

 @gabriel-mission9: The new design forces the brake lever inboard and puts the clamp where the shifter usually lives, which is exactly why his levers still appear so far from the shortened grips. Now you either have to push the shifter further inboard too or use I-spec shifters which isn't always an option or economically feasible. It wouldn't be a big deal except all current part numbers I can find with the regular clamp are B01S-level while everything Deore and up is the new style so it makes mid-level bread-and-butter brake upgrades that much more of a pain in the ass.

 @fullfacemike: I haven't seen a bike without i-spec or matchmaker in years.
As for the lever appearing so far from the shortened grips, I get that. I run my levers an inch or so from my grips too. I just think its a bit silly that he claims to need to cut his grips down, but then leaves a gap between them and the lever...

 @gabriel-mission9: You don't seem to understand; the new levers have a bracing foot at the outboard end. Jesse's lever IS up against the grip, or very nearly so. As for all bikes being I-spec or Matchmaker: I don't know what you do for a living but I fix bikes and a staggering number don't utilize I-spec or Matchmaker. I'd go ahead and say the majority don't. Moreover the new brakes are just so that Matchmaker doesn't always solve the problem and you can't just convert any regular Shimano shifter to I-spec nor can you get all Shimano shifters in a native I-spec configuration.

 I seriously can't comprehend doing this. I already feel like mountain bike grips are vastly too short for me and my hands are pretty normal-sized. I have always wondered how anyone with large hands could ride the industry standard sized grips, given that I feel like my hands just barely have enough room to avoid the lock-ons. I have largely opted for flangeless push-on BMX grips for this exact reason, as you can get them as long as 165mm, which gives you some room to adjust your hand position a bit while riding.

 Try Nitrile or Viton o-rings. EPDM will swell with chain oil. 70 to 80 durometer works best. Looks like he is running one on the upper bolt.

 Mastic sucks. Is great when first put it on but then turns into a mess.

 @CantClimb: I got some stuff called "slapper tape" from Marshy a few years ago. Absolutely does the trick of keeping things quiet and protected on chain guides, chainstays and down tubes.

 @Dropthedebt: ok, interesting. Thanks.

 I used velcro Has been working great!

 @stormracing: the soft bit of velcro is the bomb!!

 @Dropthedebt: It's just 3M Scotch 2228 rubber mastic tape sold in 1m lengths for £12, instead of 3m lengths for £24.
Marshguard also sell cable ties at double the normal retail price too.
I rather save my money so I can later squander it on slightly less lazy marketing ploys.

 @Malky79: I didn't say I parted with any money for the tape, simply that I got it from Marshy.

 Yeah, for some stupid reason we can't get 3M Scotch version here.... although we have every other 3M product. So I bought the Marsh Guard slapper tape, great for the chainstay, although I now run a STFU.... but horrible to put on the inside of your chain guide.

 I could be wrong but the picture looked like friction tape, not mastic tape. Friction tape would be better in a chainguide and doesn't gum up too bad.

 My gravel bike levers are slippery and 3M grip tape like you'd put on stairs works great too, no drilling required.

 I don't think you've been looking very hard. There are many different grip lengths, diameters, and types available. Some grips even come in multiple diameter options for the same model.

 I dont agree with your assessment that we are short on bar and grip options. There are bars ranging from 7-16° sweep (and beyond, in the bikepacking & klunker worlds), and grips from 28-35mm diameter. Lots of options IMO

 @dthomp325: you beat me to it haha, I started typing, got pulled away and didn't refresh the page when I came back. But yeah this is one are where we actually have a ton of options!

 @AndrewHornor: There isn’t a single 12* sweep MTB bar with decent rise and > 780mm width, at least that I can find. Custom steel or ti doesn’t count.

 @JustinVP: isn't that annoying? Wider bars *should* come with more sweep by default.

At 780/12°, I know of SQlab and Ergotec. Salsa Rustler is almost there at 11°.

I think somebody makes grips that add a little sweep. I'm forgetting, but maybe Reverse Components? Could be worth your while to look into.

 Look for Time Atac pedals, it’s essentially the same idea. Has been out for years, and maybe that’s what Blenki tried to replicate on his HT pedals

 @Minikeum: I rode time pedals for years. Then on to mallets. They wear out fast so I figured it try HT because you can adjust them.

My cleat felt like it hung up and got snagged between the spring bar and the rear of the body. Right where his guide plate is.

I've since gone back to mallet and just replace twice a year.

 I’m guessing that more offset equals more leverage which would mean more load applied on bolts and rear triangle.

 Distance from axle to mounting bolts. The farther the axle is away the more torque applied to the rear triangle at the mounting bolts. It’s also a good story to keep Greg from going down yet another setup rabbit hole...

 I think they have it wrong here? I thought I remember them saying they couldn't go any shorter than 17mm because they needed the pieces that they were machining to have enough material. Not that they couldn't go any longer.

 @jaredmh: I think you're right. I think they couldn't go shorter than 17mm in this configuration.

 Depends on your preferences. I tried it once - felt awful!

 Every time I've tried it, there comes a point where I pull it all the way to the bar, even with non-Shimano brakes. I haven't tried Hopes, which I understand are the most consistent, but I've found I actually prefer the lever to be quite a ways out anyway. You know what they say, big hands, big bite point.

 I think it just depends which part of your finger you prefer to pull with. If you like to pull with the lever under the second bone of the finger, you need the lever closer to the bars. If you're a distal phalanx puller you need it farther out. Someone once said to me that if you're deathgripping for jumps or high speed sections of trail, running the levers closer in makes it easier to get your finger back on the lever after, which makes sense if you do that..

 I find it helps reduce arm pump

 @stubob: I've found the same thing, and easier to modulate in very slippery condition

 @stubob: I agree. More of a 'fist' gripping the bar than replying on just 3 fingers and your thumb. Couple that with a flatter brake, bingo. I ran my Guide RS like that since the start, a spongy brake.. but nice feel, sometimes would touch the grip when they werent warmed up and now the Hopes just don't fade at all, so even better.. no grip touching when you need them most.

 Biomechanically you have more grip strength the closer the lever is to the bar, so braking should take less effort with a setup like that, but of course you need to avoid the levers bottoming out on your bars or adjacent knuckes.

 @n734535: i really enjoy the idea of riders identifying themselves as distal phalanx pullers. This is going to be my new car park chit chat bullshit."Nice bike, i see you're running your levers quite far out - you a distal phalanx puller?"

 @rmkerr: sir, this is a family establishment.

 @rmkerr:

 @FatSanch:

 I dont think I have ever done that on a bike

 If I remember correctly, the Sram button is paired with the AXS dropper so it works with the Scott lockout.