I’m quickly laying out this week’s SBTISAOAF before I jump on my bike for a rare two-rides-in-one-day opportunity brought to me by night riding. This morning’s Fromme Friday featured good company and even better dirt and I’m pedaling up for more of the same this evening. That, probably, means that this won’t go live until Saturday.
Thursday-Andrew went and drank the last Guinness in the fridge so Friday-Andrew is going without when he gets back from his ride and that will certainly affect his interest in hanging about and getting this sorted before some shut-eye. Anyway, enough about intra-Andrew conflict, here are six bicycle things I’m stoked about this Friday.
The Light.
Ever changing as clouds swim lazily around and sunbeams attempt to pierce through them and the trees, the light in the forest these days is amazing. There has been plenty of rain but with the ground not being as baked as last summer the soil has absorbed it well. Combined with plenty of fresh, clear, drainage (Thank You, trail builders & drain clearers) the dirt is amazing right now.
September is usually my favourite month to ride but this year has been the best I remember. It helps that both my bikes are feeling dialed in and everything new I’ve been riding in the last month or so has been brilliant. This was the second week in a row that Fromme Friday was perfect.
On that note, for local-ish folks planning to attend, if you missed Fromme Friday this week then no worries, I almost did as well. Shout out to my friend Mark at ETS Automotive for getting our car troubles sorted ASAP. Claire didn’t miss any school or hockey, I managed to keep the Friday streak alive, and our ’10 keeps rolling towards that 1/4 million kilometer mark.
We’re not just nice-daying the Fridays, so while this beautiful light won’t last the beautiful faces have committed to keep showing up and sharing their light with us. Keen for some Fromme Friday action? A reminder to reach out for more details. It’s a no drop ride but folks need to be patient (with themselves and others) and need to be comfortable chug-chug-chugging up No Quarter to the 6th Switchback under their own steam. That is to say that this is not an e-bike friendly ride.
(Trail: 7th Secret – Thank you, NSMBA!)
The Night – Part Deux.
Since last week’s SBTISAOAF I’ve been out on a couple of night rides. One that started in the dark and ended up much darker. The other started before dawn and ended up in some of that incredible light mentioned above. My new work schedule is going to have me doing both kinds of night riding much more frequently this year and it’s been nice to ease into it with clear skies, perfect dirt, and reasonable traction of the rocks and roots.
If you are thinking there are some CSW (Canadian South West) nighttime rides in your future I can’t over-recommend getting out there right now and enjoying the ready trails and milder temperatures. It’s also an opportunity to dial in snack (and snack access) and kit. Most folks find they eat and hydrate differently on night rides.
And before you say it Mr. #JerryWillowsHatesMyBike. I have a fresh rake on the way and on the truly heinous nights I’ll be hiking up in my rain gear to give back.
(Trail: Dreamweaver – Thank you, Sarah & PeteR)
It’s interesting, while I’m playing with lowering the bars on both of my bikes in the daytime, I find the higher setups I’m running are better at night both up and down. The more upright, but still very long, positions work well for seeing the trails and weighting the front tires while at the same time not overcommitting to an unpredictable, or at least unseen, sport surface.
During the day I’m not not making any climbs or finding I’m moving significantly slower uphill and I’m comfortable riding down all the usual single track suspects but 10mm more aggressive feels good. I may put that in my backpack until spring and enjoy the high ground for the fall and winter nights.
Kool-Stopping.
There’s a shortage of a few key Shimano 4-piston pads these days and that’s resulted in many conversations about aftermarket alternatives. There’s always a brand that’s on trend at the moment – Galfer, Sinter, etc. – but I like these Kool-Stop sintered pads.
Nina’s bikes are coming off Magura Performance pads, Claire’s SQ24″ and Chromag were both running a mix of SRAM Sintered pads and Galfer ‘Greens’ and I’ve been using factory Hayes pads on my bikes. I used to run the resin version, and slightly prefer the feel and performance, but for longevity I had switched to metals.
Anyway, the above was the answer to the question “well, do you run them?” But now that’s a yes. Performance is good, longevity is good, price is good. At least, price is good compared to a lot of pads on the market. They’re maybe a bit louder when they’re cold and wet but that really depends on what they’re being compared to.
I guess all I’m saying is don’t just dismiss Kool-Stop pads because they aren’t currently cool and they’ve been around since multi-compound v-brake pads were a thing bike nerd argued about.
V2.
I feel like I’m probably due for a proper writeup about my Waltworks V2 “double hardtail” since I do still get correspondence about this NSMB piece from 2020 and a lot has changed.
The most notable difference is likely that I’ve been running the bike as a mullet since I received it back from WZRD with the fresh headtube installed. This was, of course, inspired by the year I spent on my Banshee Enigma “Freeride BMX.” The super short chain-stayed Banshee is lots of fun on pumpier and more playful trails but whether dual-29″ or mulleted the 2″ longer rear center on the V2 is lovely when the going gets rough.
On this note, folks often ask what I would change if I was building a V3 and the biggest thing is a slightly steeper seat tube angle as part of designing the bike around the smaller rear wheel. I would also ever-so-slightly steepen the HTA. I’ve simply shifted my saddle forward a bit and that’s working for me.
(Trail: Leppard – Thank you, Old Man Pete & Joe)
There are a few notable recent build changes as well. The most notable change performance wise is the addition of a 3″ Specialized Ground Control rear tire. I’m working on a piece about this rubber right now so I’m not going to say too much here. It’s not as ‘fun’ as the Specialized ‘laughter rear tire but it’s better in almost every way. Would I go as far as to say it’s the best rear tire I’ve ridden on a hardtail regardless of terrain, application, and intended purpose? Yeppers.
The other obvious change is that I’m running a 40mm NSBillet Overlord stem with a 75mm rise Hunter Smooth Move handlebar (thanks for helping to set that up Ben!). I’ll be writing more about the Nitto-Japan-made Hunter bar soon as well and eventually I’ll be comparing it to a couple of alt-bars with similaresque geometry – the Stooge Moto and my pending-replacement WZRD bar.
The last notable change is that I moved the ‘micro-drive‘ one-speed setup over from my Enigma. This gives me essentially the same gearing I ran before but with the added bonus of using parts I had already (18t cog) and improved ground clearance.
USED Hardtail Of The… (Week?).
This week’s used hardtail comes to us from La Belle Province. It features a Canadian crafted Chromag frame from 2019, so it features their current geometry, and aside from the very reasonable price it caught my eye because it’s the same version that the Clairebarian rides, just one size bigger.
For $1250 you get a size medium Samurai frame, welded by Mike Truelove and painted a gorgeous purple colour, a DT 350 rear hub, your choice of a Lyrik or MRP suspension fork, and all the other parts needed to make it a rideable bicycle. With all the usual caveats that I have not seen or inspected the bicycle, this looks like the best deal in the whole of Pinkbike’s buy-and-sell never mind on a used hardtail frame.
It’s always a good idea to get suspension serviced when buying a used bike, and at the same time the MRP Ribbon air has a number of retuning options for rider weight as well as, depending on when last overhauled, options to make the fork work smoother. They are not common, but MRP makes excellent suspension products and supports them well after sale.
Run it with 26+ rubber, the dual 27″ wheels it ships with, or short fork it and put on a 29″ front hoop for some glorious mullet action.
Here’s the advert, assuming it’s still available when this goes live.
The Afterschool Squeezes.
So, much, hockey! It’s been tough getting out on bikes with Claire between school, work, hockey, and all that and it has certainly felt like we are squeezing in rides. There’s a silver lining to this in the reward that – busy and tired – Claire is really keen to get out. Just us two, with friends, no matter the weather. This is an experience we’ve both spend the last four years investing in and it’s awesome. I take our bikes to work with me which means in addition to everything else we’re packing gear in the morning before school and the grom is on it.
I’m hoping once we’re used to the new normal we can get back up to thrice a week but for now the double is hard to complain about, even if one of the rides is a few lower laps and a good chat about the day.
(Trail: John Deer – Thank you, Penny & Martin)
Speaking of afterschool squeezes, I’m working on doing a better job of coordinating my MEATengines content as well but for now other than Friday (sometimes on Saturday) updates I can’t commit to what days of the week stuff will pop-up. Thanks for checking in though.
I really appreciated all the (predominantly positive) feedback on the Devinci Troy launchitorial. Where media releases make sense and I have something to say beyond ‘here’s new sh*t’ I’ll be sure tackle similar style pieces.
Cheers,
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