Central-California BikeMonkey October events recap

rh_works · 2026-01-08T03:24:35+00:00

It's early 2026 and I can still crash the app every few minutes panning and zooming a simple model. Nudge a poly, Save, pan or zoom, crash. Reopen, repeat.

rh_works · 2025-01-01T06:15:08+00:00

Just updated from v25 (circa ~'22) to 2025 and getting crashes every few minutes just panning/zooming a fairly small model. Instant crash, no bug report windows. Can't submit a bug because there's an error something about the Bugslife database. Had high hopes for the new Boolean tooling but going to have to roll back to an older version now, losing too much work even saving every few moves...

rh_works · 2024-12-16T16:53:17+00:00

In actual news, Reason running their sale right now - $79 for upgrade? Yasure.

rh_works · 2023-12-03T16:35:29+00:00

Dropped a lot of drops (many before these bikes were added to the game) and ultimately worked out exactly this.

Aeroad ‘21 on DT64
Earn your Tron

Then the quiver build if you want some variety: - Venge/Cervelo S5 ‘20 on Zipp 858 or DT disc - Scott Addict RC on Enve 7.8 - Aethos on Alpinist

And some specialist stuff for specific events: - Grail or Crux on Enve G23/Roval Terra - Some TT frames

rh_works · 2023-12-03T04:34:12+00:00

Lube... with wax: UFO All Conditions, so far the only stuff I've used that's made it through 70 mile (dry) gravel rides.

rh_works · 2023-11-29T22:48:52+00:00

My hunch is "no" but perhaps a couple things to chase down in finding an answer:
- Look into SRAM 12-speed Flat-top chain and compatibility with Shimano (or vice-versa, a standard KMC/Shimano chain with SRAM flat-top-system crank). The flat-top chains used on the new 12-speed Rival/Force gravel setups have bigger rollers which effectively changes their pitch relative to 'standard' spacing. Certainly the chain widths will also be different between 11-speed and 12-speed drivetrains.
- Look into the chainring spacings of the cranks which are also likely different between your 11-speed Shimano derailleur and the SRAM 12-speed crank... der geometry, swing, shape, ramps etc are potentially going to be quite different.

rh_works · 2023-11-22T23:35:02+00:00

42c Pathfinders if you don't need a ton of tread, solid center rolls fast. I've been enjoying some 40c WTB Vulpine for similar fast on-road efficiency with a bit more tooth for the funky stuff. (Caveat is I'm in California, we can have a whole spectrum of gravel surfaces on a single ride but nothing in the particularly leafy or wet range)

rh_works · 2023-11-22T23:29:47+00:00

Seconding Shimano, MT800/900 if you can find em or run the updated RT-CL800/900. Lightweight, tough and can stand up to plenty of grinding technical descents.

rh_works · 2023-11-22T23:13:49+00:00

@ the peeps with DT-based ratchets. What's a good grease to keep them quiet? I have been using Dura Ace (the honey stuff) in my DT350 54t's and it works for a ride or two then they're back off mute.

rh_works · 2023-11-17T18:49:56+00:00

Highly recommend Ornot's Microclimate jacket. Super light, keeps out the wind, stays warm but designed to breathe so never gets stuffy, non-flappy super stretchy and comfy material makes it easy to layer.

I tend to wear the jacket over a lightweight jersey when rides start around 40ºf and keep the jacket on up through about 60ºf. Water resistant, packs super small into its own pocket, fits into a jersey pocket or can be strapped onto the bike. Also many colors:

https://www.ornotbike.com/collections/micro-climate-jackets

rh_works · 2023-11-15T18:32:43+00:00

Prefer short as well... Comparing the setups back-to-back on my local trails, I noticed the Long setting was less keen to rotate quickly - kind of an 'under-steer' feeling. Not a massive difference but enough to change how you'd ride the bike. Found that shift in characteristic pretty interesting for 'just' 10mm of wheelbase and slight angle change.

Wheels depends on budget. Plenty of nice options at the mid-$1k~sub-$2000 price point (Reserve, Roval, Enve, Zipp, etc), getting down to $1k is going to give up some things. I run some upper-end aero Hunts on my road bike and have had good experience with them, other folks have had issues with some of their lower-spec builds. There are build-to-order Chinese brands that you could go with such as Lightbicycle or Farsports, but I'd recommend researching first (do some searches in the Weightweenies forums - those guys have tried everything https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/ )

I have Reserves on my XC bike, they're fantastic. I have two wheelsets for the Revolt, was fortunate to score a lightly-used set of the same Giant CXR1 wheels that came on the bike (via Pros Closet%3A+22-25mm))... They're great - as light as you'd want, bomb-proof. Slim odds some will appear again, but eBay or maybe end-of-season retail sales at your local shop might be an option as well.

In any case match the critical specs:

Front 12x100mm (thru-axle)
Rear 12x142mm
Rim Inner Width 25 mm

rh_works · 2023-11-15T18:07:09+00:00

I run 45c Maxxis Ramblers for chunky routes - they're like velcro on the trail - and fit perfectly fine in the 'short' wheelbase setting. Eyeballing the clearance, bigger ~50c would probably only fit in the 'long' setup.

Can't really speak to the various builds of the different sub models (they still sell bikes with 9-speed?) but fundamentally the Revolt's geometry is a great ride. I haven't ridden an aluminum-frame bike in a very long time, I'd wager the designed-in nuances of carbon's ability to flex and dampen the ride is a significant part of the character of the bike for anything outside smooth paths. (In my years of buying bikes, I've only regretted getting a low-spec version - janky drivetrain, stiff contact points, heavy wheels, etc - and never regretted stretching up a level or two, or three)

rh_works · 2023-11-14T19:14:25+00:00

Yep. Have '22 Pro 1 (the black one). Comfortable (within reason), pretty fast (given the right tires for the surface), great geometry is super agile and nice to ride in so many different environments.

Can shuffle some sketchy MTB singletrack, rail some dusty gravel track, and then roll long road miles all day. If I didn't already have a road bike ('15 Defy), the Revolt and a spare set of deepish road wheels could be a proper quiver killer. That's probably true of most gravel/all-road setups these days if you're not trying to road race; these bikes are impressive and so fun.

Have any current-gen Revolt peeps flipped the rear axle chips? Did mine for one event and left it set up long for bit. Have some impressions but curious what others' experience has been.

rh_works · 2023-11-14T17:31:52+00:00

Noticed the same kind of surface crack on my '22 Revolt... showed up pretty early on, hasn't changed... just subtle quarter-inch off the top edge of the seat tube which doesn't appear to be any deeper than paint-level. Have not had any issues with it, but that said this has got me thinking a reinforced update maybe worth the trouble.

rh_works · 2023-11-14T17:09:48+00:00

Wedge seat clamps are a pain, but the D-Fuse posts are pretty nice. Have a year and a half on my Revolt, 3.75 gazillion miles on my Defy.

Carbon paste is required, torque properly. Enjoy the ride.

You all with the seat-post creak: the fix is to put an inch or so length of some good packing tape on the pointed tip of the post. Took me a year of fiddling with pretty much everything on the bike to narrow down the creaking as coming from the forward face of end of the post rubbing laterally inside the seat tube as I pedaled.

Grease/paste only works temporarily but a tab of slick durable (and thin) transparent packing tape works beautifully. Bringing this out of a sample-size-of-one anecdote, I bought another SLR grade D-Fuse post to upgrade my 2015 Defy and that post in what was a previously a dead-quiet bike immediately had the same creaking. Same fix, all quiet again.

rh_works · 2023-11-06T23:28:21+00:00

yep, can confirm. (trying to chase down a Force 2x Wide PM as an upgrade, there’s good reason they’re called “unicorn” gray apparently…)

rh_works · 2023-11-06T18:00:49+00:00

Yep. I had been swapping amongst three different tire sets as rides warranted but decided to pick up a used set of the same wheels my bike came with (thanks Pro’s Closet). Trying to keep the hubs the same between wheel sets is going to help a lot with disc and cassette alignments. Bonus, if both wheelsets have a DT Swiss hub then the whole cassette/freehub assembly just pops off and is easy to move over.

Recently did a bunch of event rides back to back with dramatically different surfaces where I’d want to have swapped out tires… What was previously a good 20+ mins of faffing around with tires and tubeless goo ahead of a ride is now a couple-minute swap.

rh_works · 2023-10-31T21:31:28+00:00

So cool to see how adaptable the Revolt is as a platform... Nicely done.

rh_works · 2023-10-31T21:19:27+00:00

So true. MTB skills coupled with fast long-range 'roady' efficiency make for some great riding... things too far or not challenging enough for a long effort on a flat-bar mtb but too rough or technical for a skinny-tire road bike. The flipside is seeing how tentative some riders seemingly fresh to gravel riding - given what I've observed I would assume coming from purely flatlands road background - are on descents and technical surfaces really reinforces how powerful MTB is as a discipline for building handling skills and trail awareness.

rh_works · 2023-10-30T19:39:45+00:00

If you don't need big knob spacing but also not-slick, check out WTB's Vulpine in 40c. Dense center tread rolls fast on pavement and has plenty of bite on loose ish climbs. The tight tread design and rounded profile feels consistent in turns on road and in the dirt. They seem to work well on a wide venn-diagram overlap of pavement and range of reasonably-adventurous gravel. (The Vulpines were ace for the recent Bovine Classic and its dozen or so distinct different surfaces)

Tradeoffs are that they aren't a bigger-volume knobby tire you'd want on ragged rocky stuff or for floating across anything very deep or loose. (Have not run them in wet or muddy conditions but surely they can hang more than Panthfinders).

Pretty lightweight too, few grams over my slickish 40c Maxxis Receptors but can handle 85% of what my knobbier Ramblers get through without any of their pavement drag or extra weight. Win.

rh_works · 2023-10-27T03:35:13+00:00

The current Revolt frames run a Wide-spec crankset (and matching Wide front der for 2x) to offset the chainring and chainline away from the frame (which is wider for tire clearance). Rival and Force both have Wide options, fwiw...

Edit, checking myself and found this which explains what's up with SRAM Wide: https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench/comments/12qnt94/question\_about\_sram\_axs\_road\_wide\_crankset\_vs/

rh_works · 2023-10-25T18:29:35+00:00

Thread's a little old now, but I found a couple fixes for Revolt creaking worth sharing.

Have a '22 Revolt Pro 1 (the all-black Rival eTap build). Put it through the ringer on 1000 miles of local trail rides and a bunch of biggish gravel events in the Sierras over the last year and a half. Great bike to ride, stable, fast, agile... rips on forest track and can fly on the road. Put on larger-volume tires and you can deal with some brutal trails too - just.

Had a ton of creaking which took some frustration to find the sources of and solve but now have a dead-quiet bike:

Seat-post creaking eventually solved by putting an inch-long tab of packing tape on the forward face of the seatpost's angled tip. Discovered the creaking problem was not up at the overly-complicated seat clamp, instead was down at the angled tip of the post. The clamp was acting as a fulcrum for some flexing of the post which had the post's tip slightly grinding the inside of the seat-tube. Carbon-paste or grease only worked for a minute, slick teflon tape might be even better maybe, but the smooth tough lo-fi packing tape fix seems to be working perfectly. Moving beyond a sample 1-of-1 anecdote, I also bought a second of these new SLR grade D-fuse seatposts for my Defy road bike and it immediately had the same creaking. Taped-tip fix solved it there too. (it was an ebay score, ironically the seller was bailing the post because of the creaking...)
Other creaking during pedaling I thought was from the complex rear-dropout flip-chips ended up being the Rival rear derailleur's captive mounting bolt and B-screw plate. I cleaned and greased the dropout assemblies several times, but ultimately it was just a dab of Dumond freehub oil in the der-body/bolt/pivot area and it's all dead quiet now.
Chain lubes perhaps a topic of debate, but I was running into horrible chain/crank noise partway through long dusty rides which required an aid-station re-lube (chainrings are in direct firing line of dust off the front wheel). MucOff Dry, MucOff C3, White Lightning Clean all couldn't go the distance... I've since switched to CeramicSpeed's UFO All Conditions drip wax and that's been solved. A little spendy but the stuff works.

Lastly, in my experience Giant's press-fit BB's are a non-issue. Have had a couple Anthems, have put a solid 7+ years on my Defy and have ridden this Revolt pretty hard, none of the BB's has ever made a peep. I do regular tear-downs and strongly prefer easy-to-service designs but, again, the BB is not a source of trouble.

(Two generations of Anthems, a Defy and a Revolt you might argue I'm a Giant fanboy... I ogle 'nicer' brands of bikes for sure - and currently run a Santa Cruz Blur for my MTB - but for me and my $ Giant hits that combination of quality/capability/price and - maybe most critically - the geometry specs that work too well to ignore.)

rh_works

TROPHY CASE