Ask the experts

[rideit]

Is that like Algebra in a sleet storm?

[panchosdad]

Meanwhile all us guys who enjoy a post ride beer or just have dad-bods still do a hard pass on these trendy new skinsuits.

And we all appreciate that.

[jackstraw]

I love how the DH & endurbro crowd is making their shorts/pants tighter and tighter because, let's face it, tight clothes work really well for cycling. Huh. Maybe there's something to Lycra after all.

They are? Are you wearing lycra skiing, 'cause ya know, racers wear lycra and it works well for skiing.

My Dakine Thrillium pant is fkna awesome for colder weather. Baggie, yet fitted.

And the dad bod lycra wearing roadies...does it really matter? Maybe get in shape first, then throw the lance wannabe clothes on?

[HankScorpio]

Speaking of bike wear, my buddy who works at shop showed me these "mtb dungarees" that his shop is stocking. The POC rep said they've sold one pair in the Northeast so far. I honestly thought they were a joke at first but they're very real.

https://na.pocsports.com/products/co...medium=organic

I think they're absolutely absurd looking and will be keeping my eye out for a pair being worn in the wild.

[Dee Hubbs]

^ you have to understand the Swedes and their weather to understand this design.
With only 6-1/2 days of sunny summer weather, they will ride their bikes is all conditions.

[VTskibum]

That's a ski bib with tapered legs/ankles, suppose Dee's right in the applicability of the environment. Guessing UK and other wet regions would get more use than us.

[SKIP IN7RO]

All sorted, see ya on the trails.

[skaredshtles]

All sorted, see ya on the trails.

[toast2266]

Speaking of bike wear, my buddy who works at shop showed me these "mtb dungarees" that his shop is stocking. The POC rep said they've sold one pair in the Northeast so far. I honestly thought they were a joke at first but they're very real.

https://na.pocsports.com/products/co...medium=organic

I think they're absolutely absurd looking and will be keeping my eye out for a pair being worn in the wild.

While I don't doubt that those things are nice when the weather is super shitty, muddy rides pretty much destroy everything. Clothes are basically getting sandblasted for hours on end. There's no fucking way I'd spend $500 on bike clothing that's realistically going to last for maybe 30 rides before it's completely trashed.

[Canada1]

I have an old 9 speed xtr spider derailleur. The one with the Carbon pulley guides. I actually have two. because when the derailleur pulley guides wore out last time I bought another. Have any of you found a good replacement for the pulley guides? I'd like to swap it out. Don't really care about weight, and actually would prefer aluminum or even steel after wearing out two of the carbon ones.

Any ideas?

[El Chupacabra]

I have an old 9 speed xtr spider derailleur. The one with the Carbon pulley guides. I actually have two. because when the derailleur pulley guides wore out last time I bought another. Have any of you found a good replacement for the pulley guides? I'd like to swap it out. Don't really care about weight, and actually would prefer aluminum or even steel after wearing out two of the carbon ones.

Any ideas?

I have a XTR rear derailleur if you're interested, 9-speed, looks like this - but don't remember if it's long or medium cage.

https://aroundthecycle.com/products/...32499037241404

[Beaver]

Speaking of bike wear, my buddy who works at shop showed me these "mtb dungarees" that his shop is stocking. The POC rep said they've sold one pair in the Northeast so far. I honestly thought they were a joke at first but they're very real.

https://na.pocsports.com/products/co...medium=organic

I think they're absolutely absurd looking and will be keeping my eye out for a pair being worn in the wild.

Holy fuck!

"$600.00
or 4 interest-free payments of $250.00 with Afterpay"

Interest free! Sounds great!

[XtrPickels]

^ you have to understand the Swedes and their weather to understand this design.
With only 6-1/2 days of sunny summer weather, they will ride their bikes is all conditions.

Exactly. Working in this industry means that we constantly hear the needs of the fringe cases. The question is, can you sell enough for it to be commercially viable?

Often times not, which is why product regresses to the middle. We make our true money off product that sells in Seattle and in Colorado. Typically this leads to consumers complaining the product companies are not addressing their specific needs.

It's the same issue with the thread about ski width < 110mm in tech talk. Everyone lusts and reads the reviews and gets excited by the next super-fat ski. But despite their popularity in the sub-culture of TGR, not that many people actually buy them. Or, if they do, it's a quiver ski that they hold onto year over year or trade on the secondary market. But, that's not where the general, every-day, ski shop makes their money.

This niche market opens the door to smaller, more nimble, (often) direct to consumer brands to fill the vacuum. They produce smaller runs and have (potentially) higher margins (because of DTC sales). Often these smaller companies can cover the need of that market segment. A big company HAS to make thousands or the factory won't give them an opening, so there's no room for them to play.

This niche market also opens the door to a market with fewer, more wide-reaching retailers because they can push out smaller shops who can't compete with their vast inventory. This is Backcountry, EVO, Amazon, etc. As they pick up market share, they can carry more fringe products. Soon, this is the primary place consumers look because most of the stock is sold through these behemoths.

So, frankly, I applaud POC for taking a swing. They created a product to excel at something; hopefully, for them, they sell enough to keep them in their line because despite it making no sense to the majority of consumers, it'll make some quite happy.

[rideit]

I bet you could get a local seamstress to streamline the legs of some bibs that still have ‘decent enough’ waterproofing for less than $100…

[Falcon3]

I bet you could get a local seamstress to streamline the legs of some bibs that still have ‘decent enough’ waterproofing for less than $100…

Or just wear some stretchy gaiters. Or maybe that would make you look too much like a Mountaineer

[Spencer123]

I am running a Sram GX rear derailleur 12 speed that had been running well most of the summer. Now it is making a sort of clicking sound in the two largest cogs while under load on steep terrain. It isn't quite the clicking of a chain trying to shift into or out of a gear but not making it, it is more subtle.

It sounds and shifts great in the stand. On the trail in those cogs it sounds smooth when the terrain is more mid-grade, but once it steepens it comes back consistently.

B-gap has been reset with the sram tool. Hanger just checked with the DAG tool. Indexing seems ok with the smooth shifting, but I am newer to tuning bikes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

[toast2266]

I am running a Sram GX rear derailleur 12 speed that had been running well most of the summer. Now it is making a sort of clicking sound in the two largest cogs while under load on steep terrain. It isn't quite the clicking of a chain trying to shift into or out of a gear but not making it, it is more subtle.

It sounds and shifts great in the stand. On the trail in those cogs it sounds smooth when the terrain is more mid-grade, but once it steepens it comes back consistently.

B-gap has been reset with the sram tool. Hanger just checked with the DAG tool. Indexing seems ok with the smooth shifting, but I am newer to tuning bikes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

I'd guess either the cassette or chain (or both) are worn. Chain isn't meshing smoothly and clicks as it finds its position on the teeth. This will only happen under load to start, but will get worse with time.

[Dee Hubbs]

B-gap has been reset with the sram tool. Hanger just checked with the DAG tool. Indexing seems ok with the smooth shifting, but I am newer to tuning bikes.
Any thoughts?

It typically is 2 things:
B-tension, or your worn chainring.

B-Tension gap is very sensitive on SRAM Eagle. The B-Gap distance needs to be set with the suspension at sag. With the bike at sag, the swingarm pushes the derailleur further away from the cassette. This can add as much as 7-8 mm depending on your suspension design. The b-tension tool sets the gap at 14mm, if you set it without the bike at sag, it can end up being as afar as 21-22 mm away from the cassette.

Chainring- When your running in the 2 largest gears it put the most cross tension on the chain, and a worn chainring will create a bit of chain suck. This can cause a clicking sound as it releases the chain on the lower portion of the chainring. SRAM tech department are saying 12 speed chains are lasting longer than 2 or 3 front chainrings. Look for a worn chainring.

Check one of those 2 things.

[dcpnz]

Look for a worn chainring.

What exactly is the telltale to determine when a chainring has life left vs is done?
Or do ya just replace proactively to protect rest of drivetrain?

[XXX-er]

You might run 2 or 3 chains on a chainwheel but when it skips yer definatley fucked

[Dee Hubbs]

You might run 2 or 3 chains on a chainwheel but when it skips yer definatley fucked

Other way around. A 12 speed chain is lasting longer than the front chainrings.
A typical SRAM 12 speed life is:
Stage 1 - Original chain, original cassette, original chainring
Stage 2 - Original chain, original cassette, 2nd chainring (Sometimes even a 3rd chainring on the original chain if you're not using the steel version)
Stage 3 - 2nd chain, 2nd cassette, 3rd chainring
Stage 4 - 2nd chain, 2nd cassette, 4th chainring

[XXX-er]

interesting, I have always worn out the chains first then the small or middle chain rings start to skip, big ring almost never,

but it does make sense the front ring would wear > the rest of the drive train

I havent had a chance to wear out a 1x but that is coming on the E-bike

[Spencer123]

DeeHubbs and Toast-

Thanks for the advice! I should have mentioned, the cassette (GX 10-50), chain (XO), and chainring (Wolftooth 30T oval) were all replaced together in mid-august and have only a few hundred miles on them.

I set the B-gap with my buddy on it, we are likely about 20 pounds different. Will get it set with sitting on it and go from there.

Appreciate the help!

[bagtagley]

Smacked the derailleur and fucked my shifting. Got the bike on the stand and the hanger was off. The alignment tool showed how hilariously off it was. Tried to bend it back and it shifted and kind of dangled. Slowly removed the hanger bolt and found the problem. It’s a Syntace X-12. Is this by design? Almost put this in the rant thread because the only replacements I could find are in Germany. At least shipping was free.

[VTskibum]

So after running tubeless for ~13 years I stumbled across quite an obvious fix in hindsight, but never heard tip for resolving a leaky valve.

Grease the threads and the nut insert where it goes into the rim. Immediately stopped the valve air leak and confirmed w some water on the valve. Previous attempts to fix were generally involving a ton of force and the Stan’s shake to get it to seal in that odd spot.

Will also add that I think inserts really make tubeless sealant much less effective at sealing bead/valve etc. Tannus and now Tubolight are the only 2 experiences so far admittedly. Having flashbacks of tubeless circa 2008


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