XTRider

I have been running a couple variants of these tools for a while, and haven't had any issues with rattle on either the bottle cage or twin tube variants. There is a spring inside the tube keeping the tool preloaded, this in my experience, does a pretty good job keeping the tool quiet. Makes it a bit more difficult to put the tool away, as you need to compress the springs as you thread the cap on, but worth the sacrifice in my opinion.

Not sure how this would be possible. In the end you are taking a bike and adding to it.

My wife is 4'11" and can ride her XS juliana rubion just fine. Pretty similar reach numbers at 405mm to the 397 on the 26in YT. The rubion does have 27.5in wheels though, and 160mm of travel. Would be interested to compare stand over heights, but YT doesn't list them. Not sure why YT doesn't just make the Jefsy in an XS instead of adding an entirely different line.

Going to a bike shop to try different bikes out does little good if the bikes aren't set up for rider size from the factory. My wife runs into this whenever she tries a bike. She is 4'11" and rides an XS, although even most XS bikes are too large. When going to try XS enduro bikes this spring all the bikes came with 800mm bars installed and like three spacers under the stem. What kind of XS rider needs 800mm bars? I get it is easier to assemble this way, but makes test rides basically useless as riding with a 800mm bar vs the 710mm correct bar width drastically changes the handling and fit of the bike. Of course the bike shop didn't offer to help size the bike correctly even after purchasing and hoping we could make the bike fit alright. Went home and spent a few hours dialing everything in and my wife went from being able to stand the bike to loving it. IDK what my wife would have done if I wasn't there to fix her bike sizing for her. Basic sizing adjustment ( bar width, fork steerer length, cockpit set up) should be something that comes with every $1000+ bike. Since almost no consumer direct brands sell a bike small enough, we get to repeat this process every time my wife gets a new bike, while still paying dealer markup.

Honestly I much prefer to handle warranty issues myself vs trying to play telephone with multiple guys at the local dealer. Only time I had to warranty a frame I ended up having to connect with the manufacturer myself after waiting for the shop to go back and forth with them for over a month. "Shop Support" on warranties honestly serves the manufacturer more than the customer. I think adding that extra level of disconnect helps them to avoid dealing with annoyed customers. Everyone can just pass the blame off to someone else instead of solving the problem.

Pretty sure law enforcement has just given up on pedal assist ebikes. A group I ride with consists of like 50% ebikes. We pass cops all the time in Laguna and aliso woods, and they don't really seem to care at this point. Like 40% of the people I see riding in SoCal are on Ebikes, regardless of legality. I don't see a problem with it as long as the ebikes are respectful about it. It does kinda bug me when Ebike riders will try and lecture me about not yeilding to them when they go pedaling up downhill trails they aren't allowed to be on in the first place.

I've got the same 2015 model pack. Still serves me well. Mostly relegated to moto riding at this point as I have moved on to a smaller hip pack for all but my longest mtb rides. It's getting a bit dirty, but I expect it will keep doing its jobs for a long time to come.