One of the most important tool in a mechanics toolbox is the hammer. Yes, the hammer. Such disrespect it’s seen in its time that it rarely get’s mentioned. Today, I am sharing three important hammers in my arsenal that make a real difference to me. Two of them have been on my bench almost every … Read more
Brian Tyson called me up yesterday just as I got home from work. I was a little haggard and just wanted to chill. “Pete!” He said. “Let’s do a night photo shoot! I have a shot I want.” I was not in the mood. I protested. “Another day?!” He eventually won me over. I was … Read more
Windy and I went down to UCSC to ride this Friday. I took the day off just to have some fun. She had a rental of a Santa Cruz Hightower 27+ (Large) reserved. She’s been riding lots of modern bikes in her quest for a good purchase. Some bikes are just experiments and good times. … Read more
We got out to one of our favorite trails to do a photo shoot this Sunday. Perfect weather. Great dirt. Much stoke. Ronen, John, Shea, me and Annie the dog put our time in trying to get some good shots. I wish the focus and bounce were as much a match as our efforts. On … Read more
I got the new Reverb B1 170mm seatpost right away. Of course. Riding the B1 is really nice. After riding on Reverb Stealth A2 150mm and KS LEV Integra 150mm posts (until now, both the best in the business), this post is noticeably more solid, smooth, and controlled. It really feels like the great part … Read more
If you hold onto some clothes long enough, they’re sure to come back into fashion. The same can be said for some bike junk. Tools mostly. Air/nitrogen loss when removing the filler from suspension equipment is a big problem when specific internal pressures are required. The part is pumped up to the desired pressure but will reduce when … Read more
NAHBS 2016 was a good show. Lots of cool folks showing cool stuff. Excited spectators. Fun parties. It is always nice when the show is local. This year, Sacramento. It’s a great venue for the event. I like coming to Sac for this. Also, the weather was great. The home town folks really stoked everyone out. … Read more
The Specialized Command post has long been known as one of the worst dropper posts that money can buy. I got this post from a friend in new condition for $80. It was for a ‘C’ bike of mine so I wasn’t too worried about perfectly pro functionality. The post had an offset which was … Read more
The KS LEV 27.2 Integra post is a great problem solver for older fashioned and light bikes that use 27.2mm seatposts. I certainly wouldn’t design a bike with one of these in mind but they do solve problems. These days, 150mm of drop is considered average. 100mm is simply minuscule. The big problem with these … Read more
I love KS LEV and RS Reverb seatposts. They are both the best in the business and excel in different ways. Most people think that the LEV isn’t serviceable. It is. Like anything else. The 30.9/31.6 versions come apart easy enough with a right angle snap ring tool. Functionality is similar to the Reverb. It’s got … Read more
Dropper stems. Are they a thing? Do we need another lever on our handlebars? Will these break at the worst of times? When is enough, enough? Many in the mountain bike world dismissed dropper seat posts when they first appeared. Many swore they had no use for one…until they rode one. Then they had to have … Read more
Rode down in UCSC again. Out on a nice date ride. Distractions galore as there were about a hundred women riding the trails at the same time. Oy. Got 3 crappy videos from the day. I forgot the good camera. Sad face. These shots definitely needed the wide angle lens.
During the winter here in Northern California the mountain bike riding is excellent. Traction is for days, but also slippery roots and moss covered rocks, a little mud and maybe even some rain. Winter storms cut new ruts and change trails into different animals. It’s great. Some of the best riding you can imagine. What these winter … Read more
Yesterday was such an incredible day. I spend from 10am to 4pm in the woods of UCSC. I rode with two different groups. Hit all kinds of stuff. It was one of those incredible days that you just want to squeeze every little bit out of it. It was warn, sunny, and traction was epic. … Read more
Hole punches need to be in your tool box. So often problems with number plates and a host of other race day issues can be elegantly solved with even a cheap hole punch. I can’t count how many times I’ve wished to have one in my hand at just the right moment. A cheap punch … Read more
JIS – Japanese Industrial Standard I work on a lot of Japanese machines. Motorcycles, bicycle parts, cars, and electronics. A lot of people do the same. Here in the United States, many mechanics and technicians use the incorrect tools and cause issue to the fasteners of these machines. It’s a shame. Japanese produced goods use … Read more
What Happens when you put mineral oil (HSMO) in a set of brakes designed for DOT fluid? A lot of people have been talking about how nice the new SRAM Guide brakes are. About how these quad-piston brakes seem to work almost as well as Shimano twin-piston brakes. For years, Avid and SRAM brakes were some … Read more
I’m a very lazy mechanic. I don’t want to do any more work or pay any more attention than I need to when I’m repairing something or tuning a system. Because of that, like most mechanics, rather than use a torque wrench on every bolt I turn I’ve learned a feel for the metal, parts, … Read more
Yesterday was a fun ride. Getting my injured knee back up to speed has taken longer than I thought. I folded my left knee sideways snowboarding a couple of weeks ago. I think it’s fine but the pain and swelling have persisted and give me doubts. Anyway, I felt good on Sunday and we took … Read more
Following my last post where I was able to adapt and move forward in development, I produced an offset insert for the 55mm Euro lower headtube on my new 2016 Scott Genius LT. One of my goals is to see how long I can run this thing so it goes super fast down hills. It’s interesting how … Read more
While putting my new 2016 Scott Genius LT together, I learned about yet another industry ‘standard’. The ZS55. Not 56, 55. WTF? The headset on this frame is ZS44/28.6 top and ZS55/40 bottom. ZS55 is a rather rare size. There seems to be no good reason for this divergence. This is referred to as European Standard. … Read more
My riding in the past year and a half or two has changed quite a bit. I’m now 46 and my strength and stamina isn’t what it was in the past. Training hard still resulted in slower climbing and shorter rides. The truth is that I wasn’t born to be a real athlete and years of … Read more
Ronen Sarig is a total noob. Julien Absalon is one of the best XC racers there is and a World and Olympic champion. The two have one very uncommon (in a modern sense) thing in common. They both have tied and soldiered spokes on their bicycle wheels but for different reasons. Julien Absalon (BMC) has wire tied … Read more
We’ve been hard at work on riding our Bay Area trails. The theme of 2015 seems to be to ride the trail bike like a DH rig. Crush rocks. Smash everything. A trip to Pacifica, Stafford, and yet another trip to Rockville was the score for this weekend. Quite the diverse selection. Loam, jumps, and rocks. … Read more
With the introduction of the 8000 & 9000 offroad groups, Shimano has changed it’s brake pads for mountain and post mount road cooling fin type. (The image below shows a post mount pad set vs a flat mount pad set) F03C (Y8J79802A) used to be the metal-type pad used in the calipers. Now, J04C (Y8LW98030) is … Read more
This weekend ended up having to turn out like this I guess. A thrill ride of adrenaline. Just what I like when I’m out having fun. A week ago, I was on a small group ride in Marin. We were on a section of trail that is about as basic as it gets. Wide, groomed, … Read more
Here’s a fun little hop up for your haggard older Maxle Lite fork. I love Rockshox forks. The post Reba era has been good to the brand and they only get better. Now, everything has through-axles. Until recently, the lighter forks got Maxle Lite through axles. This was great. A much stiffer and easier fork. … Read more
In the past weeks, I’ve rebuilt 3 reverbs. A Reverb A1 for a friend and two Reverb Stealth A2s of my own. I’d done a few others in the past, especially when they first came out and there were all kinds of issues and a learning curve for most. Traditionally, 90% of all Reverb issues … Read more
Yesterday I raced the Rockhopper Enduro in Rockville Regional Park. It was a great event that raised funds for local high school league racing. The weather and conditions were perfect. I don’t ride at Rockville very often and this gave me a great excuse. Surprisingly, it came out that I had won my class and … Read more
Since hearing about it, I had been thinking about entering the Rockville Rockhopper Enduro that happens on Halloween day. I try to do a few races a year, just to keep honest. Recent years, that’s meant downhill, flow, and cyclocross. Finally an easy to attend enduro close to home. Typically, they are 4-12 hours of driving … Read more