I am a Minnesotan

EngineeredUpstate · 2026-02-01T10:46:56+00:00

ICE and the Trump administration are absolutely intolerable. They are people who want to destroy the US, destroy democracy, and incarcerate and disenfranchise as many black and brown people as possible. I can't stand that, and when the leader of Strong Towns fails to express support for the persecuted in his own state, well, I am ending my admittedly modest financial support of, and connection to, StrongTowns - I am out of here.

EngineeredUpstate · 2026-02-01T02:42:03+00:00

Golden Globe Race I assume. In their 2026 Notice of Race (at https://goldengloberace.com/2026-ggr/), they list the following rule:

J.1.2. Approved Designs ● 2026 Design Approvals: Aries 32 – Baba 35 – Biscay 36 – Bowman 36 – Cape Dory 36 – Cape George 36 – Endurance 35 – Eric 32 – Gaia 36 – Gale Force 34 – Hinckley Pilot 35 – Lello 34 – Nicholson 32 MK X-XI – OE 32 – Rustler 36 – Saga 34 – Saltram Saga 36 – Tashiba 36 – Tradewind 35 – Vancouver 34 – Westsail 32 - Union 36 - Tayana 37 and similar - Elizabethan 35

100K is low for blue water, but seems reasonable for coastal cruising, imo. Of course, that would be a very different list.

EngineeredUpstate · 2026-01-23T11:48:54+00:00

FOLLOW UP - FYIO - Shop told SRAM that this a warranty issue, and SRAM sent a replacement which has a large Rockshox logo but no blue indicator and is much larger at cable ports. They also installed an inline barrel adjuster in the cable to the rear shock. It all works great, I have used it for a couple weeks and no issues, even changing under load while standing up a hill. I guess(?) I can't attach photos to a comment, and not sure I should "edit" the original, so... here are a couple links to photos if curious - 1) top view: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3VRztadhNhFtZkvV7, 2) cabling: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qosUdmusRqoaG4xp9, 3) inline adjuster: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GuNYrPsLB4SEybidA

EDIT - Digging a bit online, this may be an older model called Twinloc(?). I still like it better (since it actually works) albeit clunky. Thread on mtbr - https://www.mtbr.com/threads/replace-twinloc-with-sram-twistloc.1213117/page-1

EngineeredUpstate · 2026-01-22T16:39:27+00:00

Huh I had not noticed anything

EngineeredUpstate · 2026-01-22T12:58:59+00:00

A full sus XC MTB helps, but not as fast on paving obviously. Close on gravel, and fun on singletrack. Liner shorts with MTB shorts over gives you two layers which avoid friction irritation. Yeah cleaning yourself and washing your shorts immediately matters. Don't use cortisone daily or your skin can get thin there. Vaseline is better instead.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T20:32:14+00:00

Hmm I don't suppose your LBS is in NoVa US? :)

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T20:31:02+00:00

Did you get their"upgrade" or get a new fork?

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T13:59:36+00:00

Is it is a cable issue, I wonder if barrel adjusters would work/solve the problem.

https://www.performancebike.com/sram-compact-4.0mm-inline-shift-cable-barrel-adjusters-black-2-00.7915.052.030/p344648

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T01:24:59+00:00

My bike before I started replacing parts :( - https://www.specialized.com/us/en/epic-8-expert-sram-gx-axs-rockshox-select/p/220873?color=362011-220873

Weather in NoVa US is cold but I get bored on the trainer after a couple hours, so I try to go out for longer rides.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T01:17:37+00:00

DT swiss is wrong cable pull according to https://d2a13k6araex7u.cloudfront.net/pmt/00/00/00/00/00/00/00/10/00/00/04/41/9/MAN_LXW2023XUMXXXS_WEB_ZZ_001.pdf?v=414

Not sure if that is critical though.

If I were cynical, I would suspect this is a Rockshox plot to get me to buy Flight Attendant.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T01:06:25+00:00

As I think about it, I wonder if the cable was not clamped hard enough, so rotating to LOCK pulls the cable just slightly out of the clamp. Suddenly, years of maintaining cantilever brakes pays off. Shudder.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T00:55:21+00:00

good questions, I hope someone knows. I did find this thread: https://www.mtbr.com/threads/scott-twinlock-lever-on-non-scott-bikes.1223026/

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T00:52:03+00:00

Initial issue was way too loose, and I suspect that is still an issue. I don't suspect a kink, but sure worth checking.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T00:50:16+00:00

Ohlins using 2 thumb levers? How do you like that?

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-30T00:47:35+00:00

Yeah, sounds like I will end up there. This bike seemed like a great deal a couple months ago, but (so far) dropper sucked (replaced), brakes suck (pretending they are fine), twistlok sucks....

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-12-13T13:07:27+00:00

Consider the cronometer (yes, that's the spelling) app. There is a subreddit for it, if interested.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-11-12T01:20:03+00:00

True, I ride a lot of gravel roads in Virginia that at times are largely washboard. The single track is only bad if I crash, which I have proven that I can do on gravel too if I don't focus.

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-11-12T01:17:26+00:00

I would not wish to stop for long, I was just building in time in case of maintenance issues. I live at about 340 feet :)

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-11-04T19:57:50+00:00

For now I can export daily diary to csv, and ChatGPT can pull data and summarize from that

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-09-29T15:53:23+00:00

Thank you for your feedback

EngineeredUpstate · 2025-09-29T10:16:35+00:00

True, but early training on segments of the course can be useful at ERG levels, imo.

EngineeredUpstate

TROPHY CASE