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

Yes, it is

Three is the correct number of rigid 29ers to own

Until you get a fourth

First thing on my list would be ditching the lock-on grips for some push-on's. Best bang-for-buck comfort upgrade' you can make.

Where are these lovely looking trails?

Obviously the answer is always to buy another bike. If you’ve got a 27.5 hardtail I’d go 29 full sus, just so you have your bases covered.

That's something I could try! I had had some traumatising experiences in the past with the grips of my bmx suddenly popping/sliding off in wet weather so never even considered it...
Do you have any recommendations?

Should have thought about this! Just get an extra mtb haha.
These pictures are taken in Portugal, close to Lisbon, very hilly and rocky area and great riding:)

I totally get the convenience and safety element with lock-on's but all grip/no plastic core is a massive boost in comfort and damping. Chromag Wax are my go to

Esi silicone chunky grips. On all my bikes. Unbeatable.

Don't need gloves, even when wet. Super comfy. Like letting 20psi out the front tyre.

Awesome! I will give that a try, do you use some sort of glue when you install them? Or just some hair spray?

You'll need some hairspray, spraybrake or compressed air to get them on or off.

+1 for the ESI grips. I spray some Isopropyl inside to slide them on, which then dries without leaving any residue. They never slip in the slightest

Wolf Tooth’s Fat Paw Cam grips are really nice.

My favourites are the fattest lizard skins dsp grips. I loved the esi grips really comfy but they tear up pretty quickly and any colour other than original black goes brown after your first muddy ride and the foam doesn't clean up well at all.

esi are fragile tho

Stop gripping your bars so hard and/or crashing like a big noob and they'll last longer

How dumb/stupid/dangerous is it to put a 52mm offset Pike on a Stumpy designed around 44mm. The other option is a 41mm fork and a 4 month wait.

or increase the travel to 150 and get 42mm offset Lyrik?

8mm.. I think it'll be fine

as if anyone can notice 0.8cm on a mountain bike

I had the same question when I was looking for forks to build up my bike... did some research and there are so many bullshit stories, I even found a video of a guy timing himself doing laps with different offset forks.
I think in reality it doesn't really make much difference.

or increase the travel

This is mountain biking. You ALWAYS increase the travel

It probably won’t be perceptible. There’s is obviously a change but I don’t think you’d be able to tell a difference even in a back to back test.

I would say get the 150mm 42mm offset Lyrik. You can just change the travel with a new air spring if 150 ends up feeling like too much. But I’d guess you’d stick to 150 once you try it.

Edit - this explains the differences fairly well
https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/news/why-mountain-bike-use-reduced-offset-forks

Like letting 20psi out the front tyre.

Like minus air! Only run 20 on the gravel bike these days.

@TotalShanner The Pros Closet has a huge collection of retro mountain bikes in their warehouse definitely worth the trip if you're nearby.

I mean, I'm just guessing. Not actually sure what a psi is.

That’s brilliant, hadn’t heard about it until now.
They have a museum link on the website https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/mtn-bikes?year=1989
Prototype 1989 Ti Salsa Ala Carte looks like the og gravel chariot.

Just had my first proper solo session down at the local dirt jumps. Living the WFH dream - no kids (spotty teenagers or my own), sunshine and dry jumps. Technique is getting there. Loving the bargain bin Charge Blender I've managed to cobble together. It's exhausting though. 45 mins and I was cooked.

Only thing bugging me is I picked up some very cheap but brand new DMR branded RST Dirt 100 forks, thinking the spring would be mega stiff them being DJ specific, and even though listed as firm, still seem quite a bit softer than I'd have pumped an air fork up to had I the choice...concerned the squish is limiting my pumping/eating speed in the berms. Anyone got any experience if stiffer forks make you faster? Conserving speed is my main challenge at the moment - though technique improvement is helping.