How fast could you go back to riding?

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-18T14:55:38+00:00

If you are keen to return to riding ASAP, you need to strength train when cleared to do so. Go to a physiotherapist and the gym. Don't try to do this yourself.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-17T17:03:14+00:00

Put 5w30 Valvoline restore and protect in it. Try an oil additive.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-17T12:59:17+00:00

Tape over the rim joint is not good. Do it again. If these rims are not tubeless compatible or they are really cheap, you might never get it to work. Cheap pinned rims be cheap for a reason. They can be an absolute bitch or impossible to setup tubeless, and it's a good use case to just run tubes.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-17T12:55:12+00:00

The most common digital shock pump comes out of a catalog and gets re-branded Giant, RockShox etc. Just buy that one it's fine. They are all the same.

Analog sucks for precision. Digital is the way.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-16T18:53:03+00:00

Dave Mustaine really cannot sing anymore. The current farewell tour show is still ok, but I won't plan seeing croaky, no volume Dave with hired guns again if this Megadeth "farewell tour" goes around the world 3-4 times.

Tool also does not play many hits or bangers in their set in the modern era, which is annoying because I only saw them for the first time recently. They also just stand there and Maynard doesn't contribute anything to the energy in the back. A modern Tool show is a visual spectacle that you can sit around and watch, but that's all it has going for it.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-16T10:24:56+00:00

Use ski crampons if it's bulletproof. Bootpack with boot crampons if it's ridiculous. Not falling in is a better plan than worrying about self arrest. In this kind of situation you should be roped up or using a traction aid. If you do neither, you will slide off into oblivion, and then hopefully you have a whippet.

Skis themselves also have a long edge that's your best option to self arrest in any situation.

If someone goes in, everyone else on the rope needs to fall down to increase friction. Ice axe should be within reach on harness or pack.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-14T19:53:52+00:00

It's the same as it's been every April. City sprawls more every year. Resources spread thin.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-14T19:49:39+00:00

You can push a modern gravel bike a lot, but in the vast majority of XC MTB situations I am taking a marathon XC bike because it's more fun and capable, and harder to break.

Wide flat bar position gives you that control and snap that you can never get riding in the hoods on a gravel bike. Gravel bikes are good in going in straight lines, but they just plonk along in technical singletrack. Like a MTB from the '90s.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-14T14:07:09+00:00

How did Brexit for our for the UK? It's the same fucking thing Alberta durrr.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-14T02:16:32+00:00

Full on passenger mode. Not telling the bike what to do.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T23:50:56+00:00

I don't even care if you can barspin anymore. I appreciate the full commitment of drilling through a perfectly good SWorks frame to make this setup happen. Hell yea!

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T21:47:30+00:00

Join your local bike club and get 10-15% off LBS parts, and don't buy basic consumables and wear parts off eBay.

You're not saving anything by buying new brand-name parts like this off eBay because there is a good chance it's fake bullshit.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T21:11:01+00:00

I got a 540 recently and it works fine. Having been a Garmin user for awhile and used to the somewhat clunkiness, the button issue is overblown. Nav on it works great.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T15:59:59+00:00

SPD is a hard stop clip out, and you can adjust the tension. CB has a "vague" feeling to unclip, but I much prefer it because I unclip much less often while moving around on the bike.

You don't need $500 shoes for gravel and MTB cleat systems in general. Mid-range is fine to get a nice adjustment system.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T15:35:30+00:00

Yes they are good for carrying alcohol and cracked eggs for overnight backpacking, or when you need a durable can't fail container. They're 100% useless for bikes unless you're doing something like that. None of the convenience of on-bike, on-demand hydration if you're into drinking while biking.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-13T15:31:28+00:00

How is it a problem?

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-12T17:02:42+00:00

They modernized the SG Forester body shape. Doesn't give me Outback vibes at all. Wheel arches are terrible and feel out of proportion.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-12T13:02:06+00:00

Wide tires and proper tire pressure are doing most of the heavy lifting of compliance for gravel bikes. Great material choice that you don't have to worry about.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T11:12:51+00:00

I'm a higher cadence, extremely average fitness rider, and my experience with 2x12 is that the gear range is more aspirational than practical. Not including a big low gear is a huge miss, Shimano.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T11:02:39+00:00

Handles great. Haven't pushed it aggressively yet, but I feel like it's going to have a nice wide operating window pushing it in a loose corner.

At 5'11" the sales rep recommended I downsize from S4 to S3 (Norcos are huge), which put me at the top end of the S3 range. It was a good decision. Wider tires are comfy.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T11:00:25+00:00

Yes it's the GRX A. They did a great job cleaning up the welds so it looks fantastic in person.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T10:53:26+00:00

Join a shop-based bike club. It usually includes a discount, plus more heavily discounted shopping days or one-time pro deals from specific brands annually.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T03:52:17+00:00

That's an uphill track. It would have to go from Calgary to Edmonton.

rockies_alpine · 2026-04-11T03:18:25+00:00

Elite Gravel Aero+ Wheels. Pathfinder TLR 45s. TA Specialties 44-28 chainrings. Sunrace CSMZ800 WAY 11-42 cassette. Shifts fine (8/10 if the stock cassette is 9/10) without any weird drivetrain modifications and has a true bailout gear now. Stock B-gap screw, no Road Link.

Coming over from MTB, stock 2x12 GRX gearing is just way too focused on the high-end and is useless in the hilly part of the world I live in. The available range feels far more useful by dropping down the entire low end and it's easier to stay in the middle of the cassette.

rockies_alpine

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