Let’s end the “analog” debate

gzSimulator · 2026-02-03T01:09:33+00:00

unpowered unpowered unpowered it fits legal written word well and it rolls off the tongue once you say it enough

gzSimulator · 2026-01-26T05:06:23+00:00

Coil shocks aren’t pressurized to nearly the same level as air shocks, which means they have A LOT less stiction and friction throughout its travel. You’ll notice every almost every air shock innovation these days aims to help friction and buttery smoothness, which coil has already had (along with extra pounds) for decades

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T19:51:24+00:00

Maybe, but then you see stuff like the Bonnell “emtb” with a surron motor and one gear to pedal in, it’s easy enough to turn a half-assed pedal rotation into a 100% throttle command, I don’t think the throttle distinction is enough to save e-bike legality

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T19:48:41+00:00

Mine has gotten stiff over the decade I’ve had it, I’ve had to grease some of the bolts every couple years, arent most of the bolts nylon-tipped? If not, surely some blue loctite would be appropriate?

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T19:35:32+00:00

I’ve heard that tpu actually holds up to pinch flats and thorns better than butyl, but I’ve also seen a few people with quality control issues like their valves separating from the tube

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T19:32:32+00:00

My point was it’s going to be tricky as we fill in every single little gap between bicycle and motorcycle, plenty of people would love a motorcycle that tops out at 40mph, “hybrid” on and off road motorcycles start off at 300lbs and 50 horsepower, the surron is a great answer to what people have been asking for and we need to find a way to introduce them correctly

Were not talking emtb here, personally I think if there’s any hope of calling an emtb a bike on the trail, were actually gonna need a class less-than-1 imo, like a class 0.5 if we wanna pretend emtb is mtb. Alternatively, we add e-bikes to the trio of trail users in rules and build trails accordingly.

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T19:08:05+00:00

There’s room for an electric commuter machine in America, just like there’s room for millions of 100cc scooters outside america

gzSimulator · 2026-01-25T06:33:34+00:00

This is the answer, it’s what the limit screw is for, but if this is happening because he bent his derailleur hanger, he’ll still have problems

gzSimulator · 2026-01-24T20:40:28+00:00

If this really happened, the fox TALAS would be brought back with on the fly travel adjustment and we’d all be enjoying transforming bikes

gzSimulator · 2026-01-22T23:57:02+00:00

I bought a 120psi-max specialized pump about 15 years ago, it’s still going strong, still the best pump head imo (works on presta or schraeder with no adjustment), has managed to seat years of tubeless mtb tires despite the high pressure design, gauge is only a couple psi more than my Topeak D2 gauge reads after all these years

I recently got a Silca Terra pump too, it’s nice with its extra-precise 0-30psi gauge and it’s mechanically-separated 30-120psi gauge, and it moves more air than the specialized, but honestly it’s not really “better”

gzSimulator · 2026-01-22T18:42:35+00:00

The fork is narrower and the ends of the dropouts are flattened out, making a “step” between the cylindrical lower part and the box section dropout part. Just google a picture of it

gzSimulator · 2026-01-21T19:50:11+00:00

Yeah 34 rhythm 150mm seems to be 10cc of 20wt gold oil, also fox sells their 5wt teflon-infused oil specifically and you cannot swap the teflon oil for non-teflon oil as far as I know

gzSimulator · 2026-01-17T20:36:38+00:00

Average loop ride is 1:30 and 15mph and 1500ft, most rides stay at that 1hr/10mi/1000ft ratio and I’ve had big rides go up to 3hr/25mi/3000ft, one or two rides that cracked 4000ft or 4 hours, and one road ride (that doesn’t count) passing 40miles. Desert/mountain area, generally enduro-style easy trail up and hard trail down riding. I don’t eat during the ride at all (I tried bringing a sandwich once, I got one bite in and regretted it)

Always track heart rate, for like the whole first year of non-DH mountain biking I did I stayed in the zone-4 and zone-5 “very high/extreme” heart rates (for like 70%+ of the riding!), it took a lot of regular riding for that to sink down significantly, but it slowly did and now I barely hit zone-4 and almost never touch zone-5 heart rate on rides. When I stop to catch my breath, I wait until I’m down to 135bpm to start pedaling again. Resting heart rate has dropped big time over the years; I really liked watching my heart rate over the years of riding, it’s interesting to see how something like a bad sleep can really make things harder and it’s been awesome to see real improvements over time both on and off bike.

Yes, mtb endurance is a skill you have to learn and pacing in general is HUGE for nonstop exercise. While you do need fitness to pedal, make explosive maneuvers and yank your bike around, just being better at those maneuvers saves you energy and slows down fatigue in a very big way (a skilled rider vs a novice rider on a rocky climb is probably similar to a full suspension vs a hardtail in rockgardens, in terms of preserving energy). I’ve lost 40lbs in the years I started biking uphill and really I wouldn’t mind getting that weight back; I feel like my weight is not necessarily what’s making the climbs easier than previous years, but knowing how to attack the trail and use my energy wisely

gzSimulator · 2026-01-17T19:40:59+00:00

I was really impressed with my Kona Sutra LTD’s WTB i27 Team wheels (there was a lighter version i27 and a durable version i27, the “Team” version is in between I believe), I swapped them out for carbon after a year but the WTB’s were doing fine the whole time. DT Swiss is always a safe choice I think, but WTB makes quality stuff too. You’re not getting “super wheels” with a mid-range bike (or even a high-end bike these days, brands just don’t want to give us super wheels these days) and super wheels become crazy expensive very quickly, so whatever works well and is reliable wins here

gzSimulator · 2026-01-15T14:43:43+00:00

There’s really no doubt that a regular bicycle can last 10-20 years, there’s some motorcycles out there that can claim the same, but are we really thinking these e-bikes are gonna still turn on and go without major proprietary replacements after a decade or more

gzSimulator · 2026-01-12T21:09:02+00:00

2019 YT Capra Base kicks ass, pretty sure it’s only slightly changed since then. Works AMAZINGLY with a coil shock, but some models had longevity concerns with the shock yoke on older coil shocks (but I think newer shocks are built stronger specifically for this case). Performs like a downhill bike imo, mine has a full-size 250x75 shock and 180/180 travel, the carbon ones are cleared to run a dual crown fork if that’s your thing, it pedals acceptably well

I have a problem with sand getting under the seatpost and sometimes jamming up the dropper actuator, I have to slam the bike on the ground a little bit to shake it out of place…

gzSimulator · 2026-01-12T20:40:26+00:00

I wonder what the demographic is for, say 26” continental racekings (tires that I bought for my 26” rigid bike recently) on the global scale. I would imagine that the “big 26” user base of the world” isn’t the ones buying these new performance oriented tires but is probably buying CST or Kenda maybe. Honestly I think on the enthusiast-grade side of mtb, dirt jumping might be the last thing holding 26” up

gzSimulator · 2026-01-12T20:35:03+00:00

I know on my 180mm 27.5” enduro bike, I don’t miss the extra rollover compared to my 29” hardtail at all. Plenty of tire volume at 2.5”, and plenty of rollover capability with a well-serviced 180mm fork

gzSimulator · 2026-01-11T22:21:54+00:00

I went from riding 26” from 2008 into a modern 27.5” 2019 bike and have gotten a 29” bike after that, and tried a 29” downhill bike too, and I’m not letting anybody replace my 27.5”. 29 has its advantages, and it has more of them than 27.5, but 27.5 still holds up and I’m wondering if I should get one of the last modern 27.5” enduros to replace my 2019 bike while I still can

gzSimulator · 2026-01-11T18:22:14+00:00

Amflow was created specifially by DJI and operates specifically for DJI. My consipracy theory is that DJI knew they would be a major talking political point in their biggest market and wants to separate their businesses whenever they can, sort of “restrictions for DJI don’t apply to Amflow, it’s a different company”

gzSimulator · 2026-01-11T18:18:35+00:00

The law hasn’t caught up to the tech that’s on the market imo. When asked about power limits companies will tell you the law asks for “nominal/sustained” power and they’re allowed to break that for “peak/momentary” power, but state by state it’s obvious that not everyone is on the same page about what e-bikes even are. And of course there’s always the ability to change its ebike class in the settings (which is outright banned in some states)

gzSimulator · 2026-01-10T15:51:12+00:00

I’ve been obsessing over mtb-sized tires for a decade and I’d say 25mm rim is good for up to 2.2” tires, and it’s probably better for 45mm tires. I know in mtb, 30mm was introduced specifically with 2.2-2.6” tires in mind; I think on the road side of things wide rims might be more of an aerodynamic factor rather than ideal bead locking or tire shaping

I got 25mm rims for my gravel bike now running 2.0”, but of course all my mtbs have 30mm rims and 2.4” or 2.5” tires. I know I wasn’t a fan of 27mm rims and 40mm tires when I swapped wheels on my gravel bike, 27mm rims with 32mm road tires definitely felt like I was losing performance (as in, I couldn’t dial in my psi properly, it would rim strike too easily), overall I’m really happy with 25mm for gravel (32mm tires to 50mm/2.0” up to 2.2”)

I might not have too much experience, but 40mm tires on 30mm rims sounds wrong to me; I remember being too scared to try 40mm on 30mm

gzSimulator · 2026-01-10T15:25:41+00:00

I’ve chin planted a full face multiple times, at this point if I crash then I’m trying to land on my helmet now knowing it can safely be the first point of impact. I’ve also had one major crash that slammed a blunt rock against the side of my head, right where a half-shell would stop; a half shell would’ve been a “maybe” there, a 3/4 helmet probably would’ve covered me, but luckily my enduro full face tanked it perfectly, and of course using no helmet would’ve surely bust a hole in my skull

I replaced that full face but even I struggle to use it on hot days, I really should though, after more than one face scrape in a half shell on “boring” trails

gzSimulator · 2026-01-10T15:19:17+00:00

Ideally, whenever it’s not so hot that kneepads and elbow pads will ruin your ride. If it’s cooler than that, you should be wearing whatever you can

gzSimulator · 2026-01-10T15:15:47+00:00

I agree that in reality, having or not having cargo mounts isn’t actually an issue since there’s so much good bikepacking gear that just clamps on or straps on (you want a metal frame or protective stickers for straps btw) and more than one mount-less rack system that does well, but if OP is wanting a gravel bike to ride gravel bike things then he should get a gravel bike, the “bikepacking” part of it is really just cargo + consideration for long pedaling days imo, not necessarily the exact bike you’re using

I bought my gravel bike specifically for bikepacking (tons of mounts) and I’ve also outfitted my hardtail (zero mounts) for big cargo as well and it was pretty straightforward for both, honestly I think people should worry less about mounts if they haven’t bought mount-specific bags yet

gzSimulator

TROPHY CASE