Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

i've decided I want an insert on the rear reading this

Honestly I'd just do both front and rear - yes it costs you 150g but means you can really lean on a front tyre without risking folding it over when it's at a low pressure. Reliable grip.

How’s the durability? The last pair of Adidas shoes I bought (Terrex hiking boots) started to split after a few months of wear.

@skinny am I right in thinking you’d got a pair of Fiziks with the weatherproof liner removed at one point? Can I ask what you took to Kyrgyzstan?

Yeah they did some custom. They were good till I snapped the sole in half. But they still held too much water and too warm.

I spent winter trying a bunch of shoes and settled on the pearl izumi X Alp summit. They're breathable and drain well. Plus good vibram sole for walking. The vibram is a bit soft but grippy. I'll get about 1 year our of a pair with a lot of hiking. I can walk in them for ages no issues. Great show.

I didn't like the adidas sole, thought the grip was poor. Plus this clip in version didn't bend well and was uncomfortable.

If I were looking for flat MTB shoes, I'd proberly go find some vibram approach shoes. Because they would suit my riding (hiking) best, and that's what I'm doing now.

I have had a pair of Terrex for a couple of years at least, still going strong although definitely marked up significantly from my pedals (flats). I have the goretex versions as well which are genuinely waterproof.

However they’re not warm (although I really suffer with cold extremities in winter), they’re actually so resistant to ventilation that chemical foot warmers don’t heat up inside them- using conventional shoes inside Endura flat-pedal overshoes with the same chemical warmers is much better from a warm and dry perspective.

Criticism would be that they’re very flexible- you might want a stiffer sole.

I'll get about 1 year our of a pair with a lot of hiking.

So probably 2-3 years for us mere mortals :)

I guess riding in the UK is tamer. It’s rare that I have to walk anything and when I do it’s more like 10 minutes than hours at a time.

Durability is ok. I do pretty decent mileage throughout the year, anything from long xc rides to dh runs. The soles are fine beyond a row of holes where the pins dig in. Still grip well. I managed to snap the finger loops on the tounge putting them on, and the neoprene sick looks a bit sad now though still works. Hoping they'll do another two winters/18 months before needing replacing. And you do feel it if you whack a rock/root riding.

Depends. I can walk for long periods in Scotland or lakes.

I'm going to build my neuron up with flats because I intend to use it in the mountains and while sometimes I'll ride always, others I could end up hiking for hours to get to some paths I want to expire. I might go back to clips but want to see what the fuss is about

Do you guys ever service your droppers? If so, how often?

I find the Trailcross a bit too flexy which tires my feet out. I do like the grip and ventilation though.

Yeah, you get used to it but a little extra stiffness would be good.

Two years in and I haven't serviced my OneUp one apart from topping up air and using silicone spray on it. I bought a service kit for it but so far it's flawless

Thanks. Never checked the air pressure of mine so that might be worth doing.

Done my OneUp once since I got it second hand off a mate 18months ago, who told me when he gave it to me it needed a service. I'm not totally convinced I noticed much difference, but topping up the pressure made it feel better. Biggest improvement in performance was just putting new inner and outer cables on it

I do check under the seal now and then though, wipe off the dirty grease and smear a little fresh stuff on it.

Anyone looking for cheap GX AXS then you can get it for £316 here!

https://www.bikeactive.com/sram-gx-axs-upgrade-kits-c2x35731008

Use the code BLACK20 when you check out.
R2-bike in Germany are also doing 12 speed GX Eagle cassettes for about £98 with no import charges etc.

Anyone with experience of Specialized tyres? Baulking at Vittoria prices - looking at Purgatory or Ground Control for all round use on the rear to replace a Barzo. T5 vs T7 casing?

I use Spesh tyres on my hard tail as does my GF. Great value decent tyres.

I prefer the Purgatory to the Ground Control and the T7 is a good compromise between the grip and longevity

I have one of their mud tyres for winter and have found it good value, tough and easy to fit. Can’t complain about it

thanks to those who encouraged me to do a 50hr service on my forks. I did it yesterday and am very pleased. Going to a shop for a fork service is incredibly expensive here; I cleaned out a ton of crap; the wiper seal had zilch grease on it and now is much much better; it was fun injecting the oil into the bottom of the legs (not sure if I did this quite right but seems good); I used lightweight motor oil per many other forums and saved ££; I got said oil in my fr disc brakes 😒; I, at the same time, installed my HUGE new front tyre to help bring the front up a smidge and get more support in rock gardens. Rockshox says 2.5 is OK. This month I also swapped out my bars (please someone buy the old ones) and converted a 2006 wtb super duty 20mm hub to run in the 15mm forks (lots of filing)

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The bottle cage is an experiment, i’d love to know what kona were thinking with this

Good news! Looks good.
Next time it's better to remove the brake first 👍

Looks good.

Dunno, the full length stanchion scratch is a bit of a shitter

One of the staff at the holiday company we used in Morzine had a big scratch on his Fox 36 stanchion - it'd been filled with epoxy and then linished, he said it was fine - no leaks, worked perfectly. Looked a bit odd because Kashima, but if it works it works.