openmind

https://escapecollective.com/grading-cross-country-how-to-define-modern-mountain-biking-trails/

Is anyone currently using a Wahoo head unit and successfully uploading workouts to Discovery Vitality? I've tried the "rigmarole of the wahoo > fft > connect > vitality steps" but no luck. Discovery either does not get or ignores workouts from Garmin Connect uploaded in this way.

Great event, thanks! Will be back.

When I still ran tubes I used latex for racing. Had to treat them carefully, including using lots of baby powder between the tube and tyre to help it move around. Supposedly helped to give the tyre a more supple feel, but also to stop the tube from snagging. Still had a few pop for no apparent reason. If I were to go back to tubes I’d try the tpe types for better reliability. Edit: just remembered that some people thought the baby powder was a waste of time as at 100psi it would not let the tube move anyway 😎. Did make it easier to install/remove tho.

When you have your own bike company you make your own monster cross bike! An XC-bike rear triangle welded to a gravel front-end. All in Ti (and much 3D printing). https://escapecollective.com/tech-gallery-made-2024-part-one/ Darren Baum's DBM (Drop Bar Mountainbike)

My first 29er (circa 2010) - fell in love with the lines First rode it single speed rigid just for fun (I had other bikes for "serious" riding) then 3x10 rigid and raced it like that for a year or so (by then this was my "serious" bike) and then relented and got a squishy fork. 10 years of happy miles until the bonded bottom bracket shell worked its way loose from the frame (sold it cheap to someone with the patience to repair it).

Awesome preview here: https://escapecollective.com/2024-paris-olympics-track-racing-guide/

Suffering itself is the reward.

Don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it. And have you seen how few road races there are anymore? Us drop-bar istas need all the fixes we can get.

A shameless plug for my virtual mates over at Escape Collective - sign up now for $1 for your first month! The Tour de France coverage is awesome. https://escapecollective.com/tdf/

Stick with Shimano for the shifting muscle-memory and especially the mineral oil brakes (you'll only need one bleed kit and oil stock).

Do you plan to keep using the 3x crankset? If so, why do you want a larger big sprocket on your cassette - a 22x36 gear ratio will get you up anything except a cliff face. If your cassette is worn, you can still get 11/36 10x cassettes. I just bought a Shimano XT one for an old bike from CWC. With a 3x setup your current derailleur will already be a long cage, there is no longer cage than that. You could try using the 11/40, Shimano are typically conservative in their range specs. This will probably work out ok if you limit your use to two chainrings, i.e. switch to a 2x crank, say 24/38 and adjust your chain length to suit. (Edit: just saw Droo's post - he says it best, as usual )

Carte Blanche (the news documentary show on MNet at 7pm on Sundays) has a doccie this coming Sunday on cycling safety.

Find a riding partner who is more keen than you are. Make commitments to ride with them and just pitch up. Even if the first hour is cold/uncomfortable/sore the bike will heal you. Also, there is nothing like a coffee and/or shower after a ride. But you have to ride first to get that feeling!

Besides the fact that you should be whipped with a wet toe strap for even thinking such heretical thoughts 😉, you might want to consider whether the frame can withstand the forces from the disk brake that it was not designed to take, especially on the fork. Unless you plan to just cruise on flat roads on a Sunday I would suggest it's a bad idea just from that point of view. Have you ever used rim brakes? They work really well except on first gen carbon rims and they are virtually maintenance free. Ideal for a vintage bike that you want to ride only occasionally and otherwise just hang up and look at. But maybe I'm just a grumpy old guy!! It's your bike, have at it.