droo

SRAM for MTB, Shimano for road. The end. Have ridden all of the things extensively, and this is my "pick a side and be a d*ck about it". I can back it up though: SRAM MTB shifting feels way better for me than Shimano. Short lever throw and proper tactile feedback. Shimano just feels mushy and approximate by comparision. I'd feel the same about their roadie stuff if it didn't upshift instead of just block a shift when you get to the end of your gears - nothing quite like reaching for that last gear on an 18% climb and it shifts you back down to the second cog when you've already used all you've got. Death. Even in the middle of the cassette it's much easier to shift the wrong way with Double Tap than Dual Control.

The problem is with the spherical washers needed for the Elixirs. Take those off and you're good to go. If you've got the one that looks like 2 tubes (see pic below) you won't be able to because it's got the concave side of the one washer machined in, but if it's the standard one piece one you'll be fine.

I think the world of 3D modelling has advanced quite a bit since he was around, but fair point. He probably did it just to see if it was possible, I wonder how it held up... Still easier and cheaper to just do it properly, and the end result will likely last longer.

It can be done, but you'll need to be pretty good at maths or 3D modelling. Although, as always - just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Pull an 11sp Shimano roadie shifter apart, and reassemble it. For science.

11 speed? If it is, change your cables ASAP, or prepare for your cable to snap mid-ride and be an absolute hack to replace. There's a sharp bend in the lever that causes the cable to fray and eventually snap inside the lever, and what you're experiencing may be the start of that. If that doesn't solve your problem, then proceed to the spritzing solutions.

At which point the decent mechanic will supply a quote, and if it's not accepted will encourage said not-a-customer to look elsewhere rather than make his name gat by doing half a job. As for the "it's too old to work on" - if spares are scarce that's justified. The amount of time spent hunting for parts that'll fit can't be charged for. If it's adjustment, the older it is the easier it is to fix, as a general rule.

This. Everything else is speculation (aside from the FD being that's almost mounted on the seatpost).

Seems an odd choice of weapon... Good advice on the process though. I definitely think that if more victims followed through there would be way less of this going on.

Plenty of spares for those still available, and they're not too difficult to work on.

What fork is on there? If it's a 30mm stanchion I can help, if it's a 28mm then the seals are no longer available so there's not much to be done aside from changing oil and replacing some internal o rings, which I can also do. Rather save it than bin it if you can, landfills are full enough.

Basecamp is what I use for planning road trips to upload to my car GPS. The base maps are useless for MTB, but if you've got the TopoActive set on your device you can use that while you're plugged in. Tracks4Africa is also a great mapset for planning gravel rides, heaps of info on there and you can upload the route to your watch / head unit when you're done.

Basecamp is the way for creating Garmin routes. Connect and Explore are a hack.

Shimano caliper pistons are notorious for chipping, especially on the 4 pots. It happens when resetting pistons at pad change time - if the pistons go in even a bit skew the corners crack off and they leak. The best way to avoid this is to reset pistons with the pads still in place, it decreases the chances of the pistons rocking in the bore. Calipers, when available, are at least reasonably well priced. Also I have a piston for you.

If you already have a Garmin device, then the answer is easy - any of their other devices will just work with what you already have. If you don't, then it's down to personal preference or what's on special. DC Rainmaker will help you make up your mind if you're on the fence.

Listen to the Wookie. Sturdy wheels, a 34mm (at least) fork - Suntour do a few that won't break the bank - and a decent hardtail frame. Anyone suggesting a marathon bike - forget. At 150kg those pivots will be toast in a matter of months, if not weeks. And Crests - the less said about those the better, even for okes half that size.

High praise coming from you...

You'll need a new hub body for that I'm afraid, the thread that the drive ring screws into is stripped. Dragons may have something knocking around in their warehouse, otherwise a wanted ad in the classifieds will probably turn something up.

Low direct mount should do the job.

Frame or complete, but would be a custom build - Banshee haven't done build kits since the Covid supply chain hack. There are a few Pike DJs around, some nice SS hubs...

If a Banshee Amp interests you, let me know...

Also, Loctite. Aluminium fasteners being, as they are, prone to either stripping or galling at torque values high enough to achieve the right tension. Weight weenie-ism makes for interesting problems. Pretty interesting reading though, haven't looked at this sort of stuff in the 20 years since 2nd year engineering. Back on topic though - OP - you can theorise all you want, but the only thing that'll work is taking the thing apart and putting it back together again. Properly. You'll find out pretty fast what's loose, worn, dry or broken. It's one of the things that makes bikes so great to work on - diagnosing stuff like this, 99.9% of the time, is just a matter of observation. Not something you can do easily on a 4 stroke engine or a production line.

They do, service parts are pretty well stocked.

Can't comment on the Beryl from experiance cos I've never seen one, but the Diamond is a great fork so the chassis is solid. The Beryl looks like the same spring and damper configuration but minus one adjuster on the damper and with a bit of a hack of a spring preload. If you're in the sweet spot and more of a set and forget rider I reckon this will be a great budget fork.