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Drivetrain Compatibility, Downcountry vs. Trail Bikes, Shimano vs SRAM & More... Ep. 163 [Podcast]
Today on the podcast, the guys discuss some epic recent rides as well as Liam's unfortunate injury before delving into the latest exciting products from KETL & Trail One. We then jump into a classic set of listener questions ranging from drivetrain compatibility, to an age old debate of Shimano vs. SRAM and everything in between. Tune in!
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If you are one strange human that would like to read a transcript of the podcast above, continue reading below!
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 163 of the MTB podcast presented and
hosted by Worldwide Cycle, Ketl Mountain Apparel, and Trail One Components. I'm Jared.
I'm Liam. And I'm Trevor. That is right, ladies and gentlemen. The three amigos are back. And in this
episode, we discuss some epic recent rides we've been getting into lately, as well as some exciting new stuff coming
from Trail 1 and Kettle, plus some classic listener questions ranging from drivetrain upgrades to cross
compatibility and everything in between. Cross drivetrain compatibility.
Cross drivetrain compatibility. Is that cross trainining? That crosschaining crosschaining.
Compatibility is often very important when you talk about drivetrain upgrades. Yes. So maybe I did that on purpose. I
don't know. I don't know. But what we do know is Zach's words of wisdom. Don't let one
person ruin your day. Yeah. Which I like. Yeah. Don't let it ruin your day. It's
not worth it. No. Cuz you know, you never know when you're going to come across that person. You know, maybe they're, you know, maybe
they cut you off on the road or maybe they have a remark on the trail that you didn't like or something like that or,
you know, you never know. And you just got to brush it off. Be better than them. Yeah. Exactly. Would you agree, Liam?
Yeah. Yeah. You know, definitely have some flare at some traffic, though.
And it happens. It happens. It happens. Yeah, it happens. Speaking of things that happen, Daniel's fun fact. And uh since
Daniel just had a baby, we are going to celebrate that with a fun fact about babies. Babies are born with around 300
bones, which fuse together as they grow, leaving adults with 206 bones. I had no
idea. Did you guys know that? Well, babies have a lot of cartilage. I know. That's about all I know, though.
I know. Like their their top of their head is all cartilage and their nose and their they don't really have kneecaps. I don't think they That's right. I also saw they
allegedly do not have kneecaps allegedly because that's been proven probably.
But uh yeah, and like their skulls are super soft. You can like push it in and stuff. You probably don't want to do that.
No, you don't want to do that, Jared. That's why a lot of them wear the the
shaping helmets. Oh w Yeah, when they wear the the white helmet,
it's to I believe it's to shape their head. Maybe in case they were born with like a crazy oblong head.
Yeah, something like that. Like a cone head like that. Like like that movie. It's pretty common though. Really? Mhm.
Wow. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. A lot of babies wear it for the first few months. They come out and they get their heads get like all pressurized and they're
crazy shape. Yeah. And I think it's when they lay on their back a lot, they can't really move, right? So it might be the the back
might get flat spotted. flat spot back there. I'm not I'm not positive I never had a baby. I don't even This is like
not up our alley. Yeah, it's all conjecture. It makes sense though. I mean, if I'm feeling I'm just kidding.
Yeah, your your head might be flat. It might be. Is that an insult?
No, I don't think so. Flat head. Yeah, flathead. Flat head. Flat back. You can make you can make it one.
All right. Fast fantastic testimonials. I used to shop at Jensen USA, but they started playing with their pricing the
way Performance Bike did before they collapsed. That's when I found Worldwide Cyclingery. I've been very pleased with
my experiences over the last year. For me, mountain biking is fun and Worldwide Cyclinger works hard to make it fun when
spending money, which is probably an oxymoron. Their system works from signing up for notification of out of
stock items to the smooth ordering, staging, shipping, delivering process, and they make it fun and funny with
their emails, videos, and podcasts. Overall, it's been a great experience from Peter. Thanks, Peter. Thanks, Pete.
I particularly liked the first sentence when he said, "I used to shop at Jensen USA." Mhm. Mhm. I like that. And not anymore. Then
he found Worldwide Clyer. I like that, too. Yeah. I think maybe
it's it's a pretty good process. Yeah. Yep. From ordering, customer service, all that stuff. Yeah.
And help us helps pay us to make podcasts. Yes. That's right. You got to You got to agree. And that's what we work hard on
the experience. So, thanks, Peter. Um, Trevor, what kind of bikes and rides
have you been enjoying lately? I've uh gone on a couple rides lately. Did an ebike ride last week and did a uh
short uh short mountain bike ride yesterday. Nice. I just got back from the MX of Nations
uh motocross race out in Indiana. Um so I wasn't riding this past I normally try
to ride every weekend. Pretty religious about riding like Saturday, Sunday, but yeah. Or running or something. But
uh this weekend was motocross, which was pretty cool. complain. A lot of those guys ride mountain bikes out there,
Tomac and all those guys. But yeah, haven't been riding a ton. Trying to work trying to balance work with working
out and riding and um you can't do everything too much. So trying to get some balance in my life and um yeah, not
not a ton of like racing or anything. Bike park season's pretty much over now. So yeah. Um
summer's over. Summer's over. Summer's over. But uh soon to be on season for SoCal at
least. all the people in the east coast because uh far up north or anywhere kind
of but the uh southwest. So sorry about that. But yeah, dirt's about to get good here. Although the
days will be shorter, but um yeah, looking looking forward to that. Yeah. When is the time change? I think end of
October Yeah, early November. Yeah, first. So, still got a little bit, but the days are getting short. Like can't really
It's hard to ride after work. I mean, you can, but yeah. Um, yeah, I rode yesterday at like
5:30 and did an hour ride and it was pretty much sunset. So, yeah, it's about to be night ride season.
About to be night ride season. Gonna have to bust the lights out or get some new lights or something. But I like night rides, but I don't like
starting in the dark. I like riding in the dark. Yeah, that's kind of enjoyable cuz you never really get to be on top of
a mountain when it's like sunset or anything. And um but starting in the dark is takes some motivation, I would
say, little bit. Um, but it's fun. I I I've always done it and I enjoy it. It's It's just a different style and feel like you're
riding more off of feel than what you're seeing. You like tunnel vision basically, which is kind of a fun experience.
I used to like doing a lot of road night rides. Really? Really? Yeah, it is pretty fun. Yeah.
Feels like it does feel like you're in like a tunnel. Yeah. Like we used to do some I used to do some crazy road group rides at night
that were pretty wild. Group rides. Sounds gnarly. Yeah. some like LA kind of underground
stuff through the streets like Wolfpack Hustle stuff when I was young. Wow. Um, was it like late?
Yeah, like I think the ride started at 10 p.m. I think Yeah, I think Monday night started at
10:00 p.m. And you do like a fastpaced 23 to 25 mph average group ride through
the streets of LA. Like, which kind of running that kind of means you're swelling reds. You're just
like full kamicazi. I was like 20 years old. So, young and dumb. I still have some good
like Strava times. Like a buddy of mine commented on it Strava couple months back and was like, "Dude, this is
crazy." And I like looked and it's just like all top 10 through the streets of LA. All still stand no one can do that.
No one's doing it. No. And I don't know. I don't know if that whole scene still lives, but that was
fun. And you're just tunnel visioned out. You don't know where you are. If there's climbs, like there wasn't huge
climbs, but you're still like go through Glendo and some of that stuff. And yeah, used to hit like a, you know, 20-minute climb at times.
Yeah. Everything kind of looks the same. You're just going through the gridlock. That was fun. Wild, that is wild indeed.
And do some stuff in Ventura and like the the farm fields, too. There's no one out there and you can just
take up the whole road at, you know, 10 p.m. Yeah. And you can see people coming at least and people can sort of see you if
you have lights on. So, True. That's cool. Yeah, that was fun. Mountain bikes not super my thing at
night. You have not been riding recently, Liam. want to explain. We kind of talked about
a little bit on the last podcast. Have you been riding first year? Yeah, I've been riding a bit. Actually,
I've kind of been riding all the bikes. Um, you're ebike tester. I am the I am the resident ebike tester.
I rode the mte I like last weekend maybe, which I had an absolute blast on. I'm like super stoked on that bike. I
love it. Um, it's like just a supernatural feeling ebike, which I don't know, lighter ebikes are kind of
more tend to trend that way, but the MT I feel like just handles super well. The weight is like
still a big dog. Still a big dog. It's like what I think the one we have is like 44 pounds. So, but the geometry and the suspension
platform is like so perfect. Oh, I'm sorry. That was You're talking about the M. Oh, yeah. MT. Yeah. Mid travel. So, it's
like a 145. Not a big dog. 145 rear I think 160 front. Yeah. Um, so yeah. And the geos are so dialed.
And then you rode that with a buddy who wrote a full power but doesn't ride as much, right? Uh, he was on the Amplow actually, but
what I did was I I tuned the Amplow to be the same power in watts.
So, we were both same pace on the climbs and everything. So, that's pretty cool. But yeah, I love that bike. I'm super
stoked on it. I was like eventually if I were to get ebike, like this would be it. Not that that's happening anytime soon, but um yeah, it's super cool. And
then I've also been riding my 140 just around here. And then I took my 165 up to Sky Park, which was a little
overkill, but it's fun. Um, and I got to test out the DEG DF kit, which is pretty
insane how much of a That's a good place to test it, though, because you could swap between settings. Exactly. So, I did a whole day with it.
How was that? It's honestly, it blew my mind. Like I did a whole a whole day in the 10 degree
where I definitely noticed like the biggest difference in like there's a couple corners on um Comet like the
enduro trail where it's like super steppy and like you're kind of doing almost like a switch back like with these huge roots and stuff and oh man I
was just blown away by how it like really chainless it kind of felt you know and just the freedom through the
suspension travel just totally blew my mind. And then I put it back into the zero which and then I was like whoa.
Okay. Like you can definitely feel it tugging at your feet more with the pedal kickback. Um but it's one of those
things. It's like now that I tried it and then I went back and I was like, "Oh, now I can notice it." Yeah. I noticed the kickback more that I went
and tried it without it, you know? Um which was pretty crazy. And
but I don't It's It's really interesting cuz everybody's like, "Oh, it's the same as like having a 36 tooth, right?" But
it's like it's it's like actually really not because you know there's the climb and so on the climb if you're kind of
just like if you're pedaling at a certain cadence like it will not engage because of the spring on the back of the
like ratchet I guess right you really have to like engage it otherwise it'll just kind of spin whereas like a 36
tooth like it'll still engage. Well, and the main difference is like, yeah, it could be the same. It would be the same
10 degree be 36 and 20 degree would be the 18 to, right? But
that's at a perfect if you catch that 18 to the furthest back moment from engagement, that's 20°.
So, you're just banking on the fact that it's going to be furthest back versus closest to it. And it's always rotating
as one's fixed and one's not, right? where the DEEG you always have the 20 degree, you always have the 10
degree and then now you have a fast engagement. So it's it's a consistent 10 or 20 versus a
that's the biggest thing. It's completely inconsistent. It's consistent. Exactly. Yeah. And that's that's what I totally found. I was like it's consistent and you can really like feel
the ratchet kind of floating in that position which is really cool. Um so I was like wow. I was honestly
blown away. I didn't think the 10 degree was going to make like that big a difference but I was like wow. Okay. I couldn't even imagine. I guess yeah, if
you're like riding Whistler for instance, right? Like a bike park where you really didn't even have to pedal like at all basically.
Just put it in 20. Just put in 20. Or if you're shuttling something steep like for instance, if you're shutting Crest Line or something
like throw in the 20 like you probably aren't really pedaling on that. Um yeah, I was really bummed that the
sample showed up I think on Wednesday right after you guys literally showed up the day after and I was just like damn.
Yeah, it would be insane. And you know, honestly, even like on just on the jump lines, like the only thing I really
didn't like was obviously the the big um the dead spot in the engagement, but just like like cycling the suspension on
the jumps even. I was like, "Wow, this is just mindblowing." Cuz I've never ridden an O chain or anything like that. Always wanted to,
but yeah, it was it's pretty insane. Um I do feel like the one cool thing
about the Ochane is you can just kind of turn the knob, right, if you wanted to the newest version, right? if you just want to truly change
it on the fly, which I'm like, if I'm at a bike park, I'm probably not gonna like take my wheel and a cassette off to unless you're like having lunch, you
know, or something like, oh, maybe I'll tinker with this, but like even then you're probably not going to do that. Yeah. Like maybe if you're done for the day,
you want to change it for the next day. Um, in that regard, yeah, it's it's pretty insane. Pretty stoked. I think the advantage of the DF kit is
there's no weight penalty, too. The O chain weighs a ton. Yeah. And no service. No service. No, not really. Yeah. Like
the O to service O chain is kind of a pain. Yeah. Yeah. And uh to say the least, it's it's a it's a lot.
Yeah. But yeah, the DF is just simple. So yeah, I think the O chain like Yeah, it's damped a little bit and probably feels a
little bit better in your feet when it does hit that engagement, but not not the end of the world.
No, I would say. Yeah. But overall, super stoked on that. Um I think it's great on an enduro or
any any gravity oriented bike like uh or anything you're going to take to the bike park, I guess. Um, even even on a
mid-travel bike, right? I was like telling Andre, I was like, "You should just get this because if you do go to a bike part like for his SP140, I'm
like, then you throw it in the 10 or the 20 and like your bike is basically transformed." Yeah. It gives you options. It's pretty cool. Yeah.
Yeah. I I want to try on my ASR. Yeah. Cuz it's I I have a set of DEG wheels that are on it currently and
it's like what you said, no weight penalty. Yeah. And I'll ride it in zero almost all the time. But like, you know, I go and ride
something that's over its head or you need all the traction you can get and, you know, run it in the zero.
If you're going to go like Spectrum or something or whatever. Yeah. Or, you know, I'm in the I'm in the Sierras, right? And I'm like, I'm
not really worried about, you know, my engagement pedaling today, but like I'm riding some downhills that
are probably over the XC bike side type of for sure. Yeah. Speaking of ASR,
I just can't get out I can't get out of my head that I want to build that bike. I think I'm going to build one out. Yeah. It's pretty sick.
Pretty sick. It's a ripper. Yeah, it is. Speaking of bikes, Liam, tell us a little bit about what happened.
Yeah, I had a uh had a spill. Yeah, I had tumble. Little tumble.
Um, honestly, it was a normal crash. I don't know. It was a good crash. It
was on a rocky trail, but um wasn't anything I haven't done like multiple times this summer, you know. Um but I
managed to break my wrist pretty darn good. So crazy. I think on the last pod you guys
said I broke my wrist. Yeah. And at the time of you guys recording that
uh I didn't the the ortho had said that I
did not need surgery and I was going back for x-rays like the next day after the recording. Well, it turns out I did
need I do did need surgery. Um I shifted quite a bit. I broke both my radius and
a a distal radial fracture. radius fracture um and kind of splintered it
and like shattered it quite a bit. So there's no support there. It's just completely like basically my whole hand
was like falling down um and like pulling backwards too. So it was pretty uh displaced even after the
ER set it. They did a really good job setting it. Um it was just my body just was pulling it out of place and then
broke the tip of my as well which is very common kind of no fix for that. Um,
but then so that happened. That was like a a week after I crashed. So I crashed
on Wednesday. That was a Wednesday after. He's like, "Cool, go get a CAT scan. Come in Monday for preop. We'll
have surgery on Tuesday." I was like, "Cool." Um, this ortho was vetted through a few people that I know locally
and, you know, everyone had great things to say about him. So, um, including, you know, chiropractor I really trust. Uh,
and he fixes son's elbow. So, um, I was stoked with that. went in on Monday to
look at the CAT scan and get all the preop details. And then he looked at me with a super bum face and was like, "I
can't do your surgery." And I was like, "What? Why not?" And he was like, "Uh, you have a fracture in your scaffoid as
well that didn't show up on the X-rays." Dang. Whoa. I was like, "Oh, dang." So, I had to go
to hand specialist. Luckily, that ortho, it was it was almost 2 weeks at this point, so it's like pretty urgent for
surgery. Jeez. uh that ortho personally called the hand
specialist that had been recommended to me but I didn't have a hand injury before I had a wrist injury. Now I have a hand and wrist injury with a scaffoid.
So now the hand specialist has one to do it. He called him personally explain the situation. They got me in real quick.
Got me the next day. Looked at CAT scan um and like managed to get me in for surgery. Gave me like 4:50 p.m. the
night before surgery. Like hey you're going for surgery the next day at 1. And I was like, "Okay, cool. I won't eat."
Yeah. I won't eat after midnight. Like, which is good. Like, you don't anticipate it too long, you know? Like that that and you you kind of just
needed to get it done. I needed to get it done. It had been what, like a week already? It was No, when I got surgery, it was 2 weeks from the crash.
Yeah. See, that's just a long time to live with a broken like it's almost going to start healing in the wrong way and have to be broken.
I don't know how fast that stuff happens, but Jeez. So, um, yeah, I uh got a plate and six
screws in my radius and a screw in my scaffold. So gnarly. Insane. Yeah, it was a pretty normal crash that
ended up in probably probably the worst injury I've had. So Wow. Yeah. Um mile from the house.
Mhm. That's the lucky thing. I guess it was lucky. Yeah. Like I wasn't in Sycamore, you know, where I ride most
mornings. It was 8:00 a.m. I was a mile from the house. I had cell phone service, which when you drop into Sycamore, you lose cell phone service,
right? Yeah. So that's just a scary reality. I would have had I know. I would have had to, you know, probably bike
fourish miles out depending on where I was in Sycamore with no cell phone service. And um yeah, so luckily my
roommate was home too and she was able to come get me and take me to ER fast. So like all all things considered, it's
like all pretty good. Um I wasn't wearing gloves. I wasn't wearing knee pads. I was wearing like kettle
lightweight jersey and and shorts. And somehow I didn't even cut myself. Not a
single drop of blood, but I shattered my wrist. Was your Was your palm cut up or
anything? That is so weird. Yeah. And you don't even really know like exactly what I don't really even know what happened.
I just got off line. Like I tried to take a high right line and either something snagged on the right end and but snagged and like threw me left or I
got off line, hit a hit a rock my front wheel and just got pitched left. I don't know exactly what happened, but I just
got pitched kind of like semiOTB to the left side, which I broke my left wrist and went down. I I tumbled once or twice
collecting myself. I was just like, damn, that was a hard crash for 8 a.m. solo, you know, just like, oh,
you know, one of those moments you're like, dang, could I could I have avoided that? probably, you know, and then like
I go to get up, bikes on top of me and stuff and I go to get up and my wrist was just sideways and I was like, "Oh,
brutal." I moment I've dislocated my shoulders a lot. So, I was like, "Oh, it's dislocated. You
can't dislocate a wrist. There's no palm socket, but I didn't know that in the moment." So, I straightened it out.
I like grabbed it and like put it back and like straight straightened it out. Um, I bet that felt good.
I didn't feel it. It was like adrenaline shock. Oh, really? Like immediately that Yeah, immediately. Yeah. Still like
upside down on the trail just like looked at my wrist like um Yeah. It didn't really hurt until I was like in the car, you know, sat down
and kind of like like, "Okay, I don't have to like think about getting down the trail to the street or anything.
Something's not right here." Yeah. Um and then it definitely was starting to hurt more and more and that's when I was like, "Yeah, this thing's broken."
You had to hike out. Yeah. I like hiked down the rest of the trail I was on. Um like you're pretty close to the road at
that point. Yeah, I was pretty close to the road and then I was able to like side saddle the bike and just like coast sit down to the the road.
Oh, wow. Brutal. So, yeah, you know, it's a bummer. Kind of the way she goes with with what
we do. It's the way she goes. Um, you know, all things considered, I'm lucky you have you crash sometimes, you
know, and I've had a good run. I made it through all of summer. Yeah. Racing everywhere, riding on different
countries, pushing pushing your skills. We were just in Whistler absolutely pushing my
bike skill. You know, it could have been the middle of nowhere, Tasmania, New Zealand. Exactly. Where you're like, I don't even know
what to do right now. Like, who do who do I call? That stuff makes me want to get uh an InReach Mini, Garmin InReach, just to
have like you can just put it in your pocket. Yep. Yeah. Just carry it with you like when you
have no service cuz like you really are pretty screwed if you don't have service. Your phone though, new one, has
satellite. It does have worst case. It's like you just go in there and and hit that. So
that is nice actually. Um um but yeah, so road to recovery. Uh I'm
already in hyperbaric every day. Yeah. What is that looking like? I don't fully know yet. Um I think I'll be in a splint for a few more days.
Hopefully I get I think I'm going straight to brace, not a hard cast. Oh. Um because I had surgery, so I don't
need to hard cast it. Oh wow. Um I'm my elbow's free already, so I can I'm supposed to be in a sling, which I
am in a sling for I think two more weeks. I get a splint off hopefully this weekend in a brace and then started
doing like very light movement PT to get range of motion back. Um I want to say in like a week or two.
Wow. So luckily Tideman is PT uh sports academy and I have full access to sports
academy. Shout out sports academy and tideman. Nice. Um so yeah hyperaric red light table. Um
they'll be doing that for the next month straight and then yeah start PT and and all that. So yeah.
Wow. Wow. Well, here's hoping for a smooth recovery. Yeah. Yeah. You know.
Yeah. Doing everything you can. So, yeah. I'm not I'm not too worried. I'm just glad I had surgery finally. Um and
now I'm just like, you know, Yeah. At least you're not like missing any events and stuff and hopefully hopefully when you do come back, it'll
be a couple months and it'll be time for some fun riding this season. this this like January or something. Now,
I can I can hopefully get walking soon once, you know, I'm in a brace and not in this splint that's like covering half
my broken bone and the other half 6 months stuff. Yeah. Get moving and you know, get the legs going, burn some
calories and, you know, get the blood flow cuz all that's good for healing, too. That's probably all you want to do, too.
That's all I want to do. I just want to like be able to walk the dog. Yeah. You know, like I can't even walk the dog. That's brutal. Um, like up until today,
I don't think I could walk full speed without it like just bouncing and hurting. So, I know. I felt bad. You seemed pretty
pretty bad last week. You just look like you were just in pain. You look way better now. Yeah, but it just didn't look good.
Yeah, I was I was in a good amount of pain. It just was broken, right? Like it wasn't set right. My body's pulling it out of place.
Um, I haven't slept, but I don't think I'll sleep for a while. Mhm. Um, yeah. So, if anyone's really good at
insurance and how to pay the least amount of medical bills,
I'm sure there's people out there with some experience in that. Yeah, that would be dope. Yeah, that's a nightmare. Yeah, that's that's the next
Mhm. next uh making a lot of phone calls, huh? A lot of phone calls, a lot of pushing stuff off and trying to figure out how
to get the the least out of my pocket paid. So, yeah, we have good insurance, but it still doesn't do that much. Not when uh
you know, you have a ER bill and a surgery. So yeah, it's so lame. Yeah, I know. It is lame. It is super lame. Yeah, it's like what
are we paying for, you know? Yeah. Well, yeah. Not to bring down the pod,
but it's all good. It happens. Um, you know, it does happen. Yeah. I'll be on be walking soon. Do PT,
get on probably spend a lot of time on the road bike this winter. Yeah. Yeah. and like the mellow kind of like
hard tail just to get some miles in and get stuff moving and yeah put just be a
be a big base winter, you know. Yeah, exactly. So there you go. Speaking of a lot of miles,
you guys uh you guys I don't know if you're familiar with the event that Jeff is doing this. I am. You are.
He wanted me to go. He wanted you to go and do it with him. Yeah. I said no before I broke my wrist.
So, it's a 100 mile mountain bike ride, the Moco Epic, and was it FBI Matt, formerly FBI Matt
roped him into it? And Trail One is sponsoring a aid station. Is that correct? Yep. Nice. The B team doing it.
Only a few a couple. But Jeff said they're so screwed. They haven't been riding, training at
all. Oh, no. They don't know what they're doing. Um, their butts are going to hurt. Their legs are going to cramp. They probably
don't know how to eat. Yeah. Yeah, a 100 mile mountain bike ride is gnarly. It is. Most people would be pretty screwed.
This isn't screwed for that. This isn't a 100 mile road bike ride. Yeah. Where you can kind of just you can
do it like off like Yeah. off the couch almost. Yeah. You've been riding you can do you know Yeah. You do a flat 100 mile road bike ride is
4 to 5 hours. This is going to be this going to be 9 to 12 hours I bet. Yeah.
Yeah. For sure. I'd be amazed if they have higher than a 10 mph average on the East Coast. Dude, that's hard just in general on like a
mountain bike ride. Decent elevation. The riding at the East Coast is all rock. It's all jank. Like nothing's really fast. I mean, I'm sure
there's some fast single track, right? Yeah. There like uh South Germantown Bike Park in Boyds, Maryland.
Yeah. Um Yeah, it sounds like they're linking together several trail systems. Okay.
I believe. So, I'm sure there's going to be a couple sections, right, where they're linking them and they could get that or speed up, but like
I mean, if they're all doing it together, especially as well, I don't know if Jeff is going to like literally be with them the whole time. Yeah, Jeff's literally going to be with
him the whole time. Wow. Yeah. Good for him. That's why I said no.
So, I'm not going to be out there for 10 hours. Hey, good for them. Honestly, it sounds like a great I don't think it's technically a race.
Okay. It's like just an event. I think it's like a grand fondo because I think there's weird permitting and rules around the
word racing road closures and all that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So, it does get complicated,
but yeah. So, they're doing that. We'll have a trail one and and kettle aid station out there.
Nice. Um Well, I'm certainly looking forward to hearing how this goes. Yeah. I wish we could get a live feed.
I want to know how long it's going to So much. Yeah. So much saddle time. Yeah. So much. What's the longest ride you guys have ever done on a mountain bike? on a
mountain bike. Oh man, probably like 50ish miles.
Yeah, I want to say the same miles. I mean, in like six or 7,000 ft of climbing.
Me and Tyman, I think we did 60 miles this winter. Yeah, but there's a good amount of road in that, but we did like a big backbone
loop. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. I got you. There's a fair bit of road in that. Yeah.
What about you, Trevor? Probably around like Yeah. 48 miles, I think it was. 48 miles like 7K. probably
back in the day. I've done some like from Ventura to Ohhigh like Topa Topa
Mountain and back like um lowest and highest point like Ventura County and we did that and stuff. Nice.
So I've probably done like 80 or 90 miles with like 12 13,000 ft of vert but that was like a hard tail.
Yeah. And like yeah like 40 plus miles of that or more was road,
you know. So that's what I'm thinking like when I did my ride like fair a little bit of it was road but mostly trail. I was so done.
Yeah. Afterwards at like 48 miles day, 7K. We were trying to get to a 10k day, but the
ele the straa like elevation map was off. So we were disappointed that we only got like seven or eight.
But I was so like took everything in my ability to like, you know, keep pushing. Yeah.
Um so yeah, and like kind of like Liam was said, you have to plan ahead your nutrition so much.
Yeah. Like you know, I think like you said like um when you're thirsty or hungry, it is too late. Like yeah, you need to
be on top of that and it's so hard to like force yourself to do that especially if you're not experienced like you know F doing this type of
stuff. And also like I hope he's listening to what they're taking in right cuz like you don't want
to just like oh I'm thirsty and just drink all water cuz you need electrolytes and carbs and
Yeah. There's so much more to it than just like you know I'm thirsty I'm going to drink 12 bottles of water today. It's like not
going to do it for you, dude. still going to be depleted in other areas that you need. So,
yeah, cuz you're sweating, not just water. You're sweating all the other nutrients that you need. Yeah, that's crazy. Um, good luck to
those guys. Yeah, good luck. Yeah. Yeah. More power to you for doing that. Um, that's amazing.
Speaking of Trail One and Kettle, um, we talked a little bit about the Trail One Wheels, I think it was last podcast or
two podcasts ago. Yeah, a little bit. And those are very close to going live. Maybe
very, very close. Maybe by the time this podcast is out, they might be live. Yeah, that'd be cool. If they are, then
that would be great if they are. That'd be super cool. Uh so, Liam, tell us a little bit about uh the options and
like, you know, like you we're saying like spoke count, wheel size, and like kind of spokes for the built wheels.
Like what are we looking at? Yeah. So, uh trail one is just making the rim. Right. Right. So, we made a rim. Um it's with
the dimensions we wanted. It's a 30 mil internal with a very wide rim lip almost
4 mm wide. Um, so that helps prevent pinch flats as well as dents on the rim.
Uh, it's also asymmetrical, so you get a very even spoke tension from non-drive
and drive side or non-disc and disc side. Um, as well as a shallow profile.
So basically shallow as a profile as we can get with still having scor nipples. Um,
so essentially it should ride well. Even spoke tension. It does ride well. Not
sure it does ride well. We've been testing them all summer. I've been riding them all. So nice.
And it's like a downhill enduro enduro downhill rated rim. It is beefy.
Um, you know, it's porky, but that's what it takes to make a rim, an alloy rim that uh withstands a beating,
right? Um, so yeah, the rim only will be offered in basically four variants. everything you need. 29 32 hole 29 28
hole 275 28 hole 275 32 hole. Nice. Um so, you know, most likely you bang up
a wheel on your bike, you'll be able to buy a Trail One Ram as a replacement. Um that's is our our idea of offering all
four. Um, and the Ren comes with a lifetime warranty as far as
manufacturing defects go, as well as a crash replacement program, which I believe we decided on a 60% discount.
Nice. Uh, if you manage to dent a rim so bad it no longer holds air.
I think that's pretty uh pretty reasonable. Pretty legit. That's pretty reasonable. I mean, I I 60% off, so um I I forget what that will
be exactly. It's around a $50 rim replacement. Nice. I was riding the rim all summer and
racing it and just really abusing it as much as I could, which was pretty fun cuz normally you're kind of trying to
take care of your equipment. I was trying to destroy it, which I I loved. And uh yeah, I was pretty impressed with the uh anti- pinch
flat or anti- dent ability of it. Um just like I was hitting rim constantly
on low PSI and whatnot. Yeah.
I've seen some pretty crazy stuff in the shop in my days of doing mechanic stuff and um I've been pretty pretty stoked on
these. Nice. So yeah, it's called the shed rim named after the Frederick watershed or which Trevor raced the rims at a few months
ago at the shed enduro. Very extremely rocky. So it's well suited to be named after such a rocky
trail network. Perfect. Um, and then yeah, so that's the rim only option. And then the wheel
set. Uh, starting off small but mighty. Uh, we're using all DTSwiss components
for that. Um, so DTSwiss 350 hub with the DEEG rear hub.
Um, so you could run the DEG DF in the in these if you so choose to buy
aftermarket. It won't come with it, but you can buy it aftermarket. Nice. Um,
and then they're going to be 32 hole rear, 28 hole front. Uh, this is, you
know, rider tuned. You want a little bit more spokes on the rear, a little bit stiffer. Also, more spokes should get uh
out of true less fast or out of tension less fast. Um, and then a little bit less spokes in
the front saves a little weight, adds a little bit more compliance. Um, so front and rear specific uh with the spoke
holes. The spokes we're using are DT Swiss Competition, just the standard
best spoke. Um, you know, 208, 20 budded. And then, uh, those are also
going to be silver. Mhm. Which look cool. Yeah, they do. Those are so cool.
There's some nonproven benefits to running silver spokes. It's not like,
oh, red's five times faster. I don't know. It's like the coating on the black spoke I don't think were good enough to
really realize it, but they do ping less. They the black coating kind of binds a
little bit. Adds friction. And then the silver spoke, it really just glides. So it just makes the wheel
when it is flexing in a corner or over some chattery stuff, it doesn't really want to bind up as much. It kind of is
more a little bit more free. It's marginal, but it's something. Yep. Um so plus they look cool. And then
yeah, brass nipples on everything. Very solid. Built beefy, built, handbuilt by me or
Trevor right now. So, we're just going to be building them up, lacing them up. Um, and we're just going to offer them
as a wheel set only, 2929 or MX wheel set um to start. And then also, we'll do
custom wheel builds if you so choose to want a custom wheel build, but they won't be like a drop down option on the
site. Yeah. You have to like email me separately and we can make do that. Yeah. Like with whatever hub you want.
Yeah. Whatever hub, whatever spokes and all that stuff you want. Like we're happy to do it. Um and invoice you kind of as a as a you know private thing.
Yeah. Um or special special order special build like shop wood or whatever.
Yeah. But uh yeah. So those will be the options. Pretty stoked on them. It's taking a long time.
It's a uh a lot of moving parts. Literally. Literally. Oh, nice. But yeah, a lot of
moving parts to get a wheel set going. You know, everything out of boxes and end caps and all these little things
that you don't really think about. They're coming the wheel set will come taped with trail one valves.
Um Yeah. And we tested a wheel last year, too, and it just wasn't up to par.
Yeah. Yeah. The the rim we tested last year was technically an all- mountain wheel. Yeah. Where this is an enduro downhill
wheel. So, um just like dented it so fast. Yeah. and it just wasn't like up to
standard of what we'd want to sell, I would say. At least for enduro riding. Yeah. For for aggressive stuff.
Yeah. Needs to be proper. Yeah. So, yeah, we've tested tested them, built them up, ridden them everywhere.
Um, and yeah, using the best parts that like these wheels are going on my bike the way they're sold on the website. You
know what I mean? Like I'm not putting different hubs on and different spokes. Like that is why they're on the website. It's because that's what I'm putting in
my bike. Yeah. It's what we run. Yeah. Nice. Yeah. Well, I can't wait to get myself a set. Yeah,
stoked on that. Um, speaking of new goodies, something else we have been very excited about is the new Kell gear
that's about to drop. Yeah. More most specifically for mountain bikers out there, the Skid Mark pants,
which is super legit. The mountain bike specific pant. Yes. I've been wanting this since we
purchased Kettle. Yes. Yes. And since we started making gear, I have been in the background saying,
"When's my mountain bike pant coming?" For 4 years, and it's finally here. Y
I'm snagging all the smalls from Sorry. No, I know. I hear you. Um
I will be snagging a few pairs for myself. We have definitely been waiting for this for a long time. Ever since we got rid of like the OG kettle pants that were
like they were okay. They're fine. They're so So yeah, they were not perfect.
Not ideal. They're on performance pants. No, these are more performance these are performanceoriented.
Yeah. Yeah. Almost almost no nothing held back as far as like fabric
goes and material and options and everything. They are sick. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh those should be here in a couple
weeks as well. So, keep an eye out. A week. A week. Yeah. Week. A week from now. Sick.
So, when this podcast comes out might be a few days. That's amazing. So, yeah. Keep an eye sign up for the kettle email.
Exactly. Check it religiously. The first batch will sell out. Yeah, we will be getting more, but the first
batch will sell out. Most certainly. Yeah. So, keep an eye out. They're going to be definitely more on like the trail
side, like thinner, lighter weight, uh, ventilated, you know, great for pedaling, not like super thick downhill
pants that you don't want to pedal in. Like, these are pants that you will want to pedal in and you can, which is,
yeah, but I would ride those downhill all day. Yeah, you could, right? You will. And there's room for there's room. I I I did a
little photo shoot for it and there's room for knee pads and stuff and um yeah, I'm very stoked on them. Should be
cool. Wow, you're one of the only ones who's got to wear them on. Yeah. Okay,
cool. We did a little shoot for it, so you'll probably see my There's a small sample in there that I could wear, but I can't ride a bike, so
Ah. Yep. Yeah. Um Yeah. So, there's that. There's some Oh, yeah. Also a puffy jacket and some
base puffies, some base layers, some Marino garments. Yep. So, those are actually gonna be
great little riding jerseys as well. The marino tops that are super nice. A lot of Marino options.
Some stuff just in time for kind of winter fall season. Exactly. Um pretty I think a lot of people are
looking forward to that cuz a lot of the options recently have just been lightweight summer options which Yeah. When you're in the middle of summer,
you're not thinking about marino wool. Yeah. No. Necessarily. So, it'll be cool. We got some warm warm warm gear for cold
weather. It's like a really nice marino blend, too. So, it's like soft and stretchy. It's not like that. It's not itchy marino, which like it's
probably more of like a 100% marino. This is definitely more of like a blend, but I think it's still mostly marino. Um
or like a large portion, but yeah, super stoked for all the good stuff. Yeah. Um so yeah, keep an eye out and uh you
think you'll like it as well. Listeners, speaking of listeners, should we take a break and jump into some listener
questions? Let's do it. Yep, let's do it. And now a word from our sponsor. Ladies and gentlemen,
listeners of the podcast, just wanted to take this moment to say thank you very much for tuning in. We truly do
appreciate it. Uh really means a lot to us. If you have ever watched a video on
our YouTube channel, if you've ever ordered anything from Worldwide Cycling, Kettle Mountain, or Trail One, and
obviously you're listening to the podcast, and we really do appreciate it more than you know. So, thank you so
much from the bottom of our hearts, and we will see you in the next one. Cheerio. And now back to the show.
Speaking of listener questions, we got we got a lot of really classic
questions coming. We got some long dogs in here. Yeah. I'll start us off right here. Hi lads. Looking for some advice as I want
to upgrade my drivetrain from Shimano SLX. I like the durability and reliability of trans uh transmission. I
think you meant Eagle 90. While having cable simplicity, but I know that I need new hub driver, cranks, and bottom
bracket. The other option is to get Shimano Di2, meaning that I only need a derailer and shifter. The main things
I'm considering are cost, maintenance, and durability. For context, I have a 2024 Giant Rain 1 that the drivetrain is
being installed on. I also have a 2023 Canyon Stoic 3 uh 140 mil travel hardail
set up as an XC bike that I'm very happy with the upgraded GX Eagle drivetrain on it. I also work at a bike shop, so I get
parts cheaper and have access to all the tools I need. I would like to know which drivetrain you'd recommend and which Di2
model I should get if that is recommended. Thanks, Jock. PS. I thoroughly enjoy the pod and live in Las
Tasmania and was going to try and join you guys on the trip, but then I fell off my bike mid November last year and
dislocated my shoulder. This led to surgery and 6 months off the bike. This meant I could not ride until after the
trip. Bummer. Well, Lon is pretty cool. Tazzy is pretty cool. Um,
and sounds like he's riding again. And sounds like he's riding again. It's cool. Well, boys, what do you think? Should he
It's a conundrum. Get a uh Di2 upgrade kit. Um, XT, right?
XT Di2 upgrade kit. That's what I would recommend. Or swap everything out to Eagle 90.
Yeah. I mean, it kind of depends on what his goal is. Mhm. Right. like
DR2 like XT upgrade kit. You could do Dior, you know. Yeah, true.
If you're ways to upgrade, that's Yeah. And it's like I I would probably do Dior derailer cuz you're
it's on a rain. You're going to be bashing it. And then as your cassette wears in your cranks, I would actually
go like XT cassette and cranks with the Dior derailer and shifter
because the cassettes where you're going to save weight and gain shifting performance.
The shift from the Dior to the XT, the shift's going to be the same. Yeah. It's going to feel the same.
That's true. Yeah. So like, you know, be marginally heavier. That would be the least uh path of resistance
is to go that route and stay Shimano. And if he's getting shop cost, too. Yeah. I mean, that's kind of a no-brainer to
me. And then you're already in the Shimano system. So, just as you wear out, upgrade, right?
Yeah. Not not necessarily needing to upgrade because for the sake of upgrading, but all your parts will be compatible and
then just buy the nicer cassette and chain as you wear the stuff out. Yep. I'm going with that answer, too. I
think Dior's a super good option. I think that yeah, getting a new hub driver, cranks, and a bottom bracket or
just like a chain ring if if possible, maybe. Probably not, though. Um, that's just a pain and it's going to
add up to a lot of unnecessary stuff. So, yeah. Um, yeah, that's I think the Dior Dior
Di2 is the move. Yeah, I mean, I would agree honestly having ridden the D2 on my 140 for
several hundred miles now. Um it it is amazing and it shifts super well.
And it is almost in the similar vein where like the harder you pedal the better it shifts.
Y and even though Yeah. Eagle 90 is amazing and shifts like buttery smooth.
Um this is this just makes a little more sense than to swap the entire unless it
was all worn out. Like if he needed a new drivetrain in the first place like then I would say go for it. But you're
going to spend the same amount of money probably getting a full Eagle 90 group set, you know, than just this upgrade
kit, right? So, like if your drivetrain is still in decent condition, I say this, but if you need a full overhaul,
then that's a good point. Yeah, I go Eagle 90. That's a good point. And thank you, Trevor. Cuz cassettes get expensive.
They do. Yeah. The Eagle 90 cassette is a couple hundred bucks. Yep. Um you could go Eagle 70 cassette or
actually No, you have a you have a microspine, so you can't True. Yeah, you would have to go hub driver as well. So like Yeah, that's
depending on what hubs on that Giant could be easier or harder to get a driver for that. Is Eagle 70 HG or is it XT?
No, I think it's HD. HG. Yeah. Huh. Um but it still wouldn't work cuz he has micros from X.
So you need need a new driver. Um and I guess if you did go this route, you would have some cross compatibility.
Well, Type, not really. I guess you you'd X that compatibility with your other Canyon. So
Mhm. Yeah. There goes my other way to tie it in. So, well, there you go. Not bad.
Well, we have a kind of an interesting question here. What conspiracy theory would you start if you had to invent one
from scratch? You want me to go first? I'm ready. If you're ready, go for it. Um,
riding horses is harmful to the horse.
That's a great one. That's a good one. Yeah. Hararmful harmful to the trails. Harmful to everything.
That's actually true. It's It's really where my hatred is coming from. I don't hate horses and I don't hate horse
people, but I hate horses on the mountain bike trails. Yeah. Um maybe sometimes some of those people
have an attitude problem, too. They might be on their high horse. Yes, Liam.
But uh I I just It's sketchy on trails to run into
horses. Very uh we all of our all of our trails around here are multi-use, so horses are allowed on all of them. Um just asking
for plus they poop on the trail. They do. What? Yeah, it's crazy. Like I was dude, I was rolling in
Calabasas the other day on the street. Horse pooping on the street. Yeah, especially in Calabas, too.
What? What can you just poop on the street and leave it? That's crazy. You can't do that with dogs. No, you
know what I mean? You can do it downtown LA. Could do in downtown LA. Yeah, you could. Yeah, but we would probably get arrested if we
looked a little bit more homeless. We probably could get away with it. you know, but I have seen I've literally made eye contact with somebody in LA like as
they're pooping on the street and just like walking out of a party at midnight, you know, or something like that, and they're just like, "Don't look at me."
But, um, that would be my conspiracy theory. That's pretty good, man. I I have an even deeper one, but I'll save that cuz it's a business idea, too,
that I'm going to picked myself. There you go. Um, Trevor, what's yours? I don't have one, dude. Oh, come on.
I I feel like then what's your favorite conspiracy theory? You don't have to invent one from scratch. I'm not really a big conspiracy theory
guy. Oh, I mean, I like hearing about them sometimes, but yeah, I just don't care enough to theorize
that something. I'm thinking of like a Shimano wireless thing or ShraMM wireless thing like,
oh, they they're having you go like into this upgrade system or they don't want you to go cable and then they come out
with Eagle 90 and it's amazing. It's like that's not a conspiracy. They kind of prove it wrong.
That's like a mountain bike conspiracy. Yeah. Um, well, this isn't necessarily like
the one that I invented from scratch, but it is one of my favorite ones is that birds are not real and that they're
government drones. Government surveillance drones. You definitely did not invent that one. No, I didn't. All right. My conspiracy theory is um,
everyone in an airport is fake. Dude, I've had a conversation with you and Jared as we travel. Airports are
dude NPCs walking around, man. NPCs and just like how is everyone here on a
Tuesday at 9:00 pm or 9:00 a.m. Like just like me like Yeah. How's my plane full to go from here to
Whistler? What? That is crazy. We were uh I was I mean I was just on an airplane yesterday and
we were in a a layover in Vegas on the way to Indiana and and uh having
breakfast in the airport. It was busy on like a it was a Friday morning and just just just we're just watching for we had
like 3 hours the best place. was watching. And it was in Vegas, so people were gambling. Yeah.
In the airport. In the airport? Oh, yeah. They have They had like smoking they have fun in Vegas. I don't think so. They got smoking sections in there. We w
we walked the whole airport cuz we were um had time to kill. Soing it was uh
Yeah, I just There were some pretty fake people in there. It is crazy, isn't it? So, that's my That's my theory.
That's fair. That's That's a good one. Yeah, that's good. Um All right. How about this? I noticed
on the recent posts regarding Liam and Jeff's ASRs that both were running TTYP drivetrain components mixed with
non-Type. Liam's bike is TT type but using Eagle Dub cranks. Jeff's bike is running TTY XXSL cranks and everything
else is Stram 11-speed. I did not think interchanging these parts was possible.
That's what big bike wants you to believe. There you go. That's it.
That's exactly what um honestly no. kind of like I've had so many DMs about my
bike when I posted it about running TTY Eagle 90 with old cranks. People are
like, "How are you doing that? I thought this wasn't compatible." And I'm like, "Chain line matters to a certain point,
but it's not like that mattersome." I think if you're running a pretty normal size chain ring, it's not the end
of the world. Is that what it's about? Is the chain line. It's all about the chain. Chain line. Yeah. Yeah. So like like yeah the the cassette
chain and derailer and shift patterns those are not interchangeable right like
Jeff has to run 11 speed with 11speed derailer and
uh cassette and then he can run actually run an old 12-speed eagle chain on that but right
um but he's running XXSL cranks. The reason why he's doing that is because XXSL cranks are the lightest cranks now.
And he's a weight weenie. And I finally got him off E13 cranks that are way more of a pain to align and get right than
the uh system. The dub system, right? Um it's like that with like every 30 mm
crank. It's like you have your guessing. Yeah. You just guess and check where the dub is like pretty standard.
Yeah. Um, I'm running the opposite because I had those cranks and they're an old spec that I really like.
So, they're a it's a weird spec. It's technically comes in a cork box, not a
SRAM box cuz they're power meter cranks. Yeah. So, they're old power meter cranks without a power meter. Um, so they're
165 arms with a non-dub wide spindle with a eightbolt chain ring pattern. And
that's how you do it because all the Type X all the Type stuff is 8 volt. Yeah, that is an anomaly of a case.
Yeah, it is like they're on blowout. I bought two. I have one on my hard too. To get a not to get a non dub wide
spindle with eight cuz that's how it all used to be. It's crazy.
Yeah. So, it's a weird like only made for probably like 2 years since. So, it is a non-dub wide. So, I think I
don't know if I'm running a zero offset training. That's that that would fix everything. Yeah. and put it right back in the 55
mil chain line is to run a zero offset chain ring on the non-dub wide cranks that I have. I don't I don't know if I
am. I might be running a 3 mil offset chain ring. Yeah. I don't know. Um and like but like eyeballing the
chain line is fine. Um it's within a usable range within a couple mil we're talking about.
Mhm. Um you know and it's just fine. And even if it's further inboard, think about how
when you're riding, where are you spending all of your time? Well, you're spending it climbing and I want my chain
line to be straighter when I'm climbing. Yeah. So, I want it closest to the frame as possible anyways. Yeah.
So, I remember when we first got the new TTY drivetrains in and I was installing them and um normally on a standard um dub
crank, you just have a 3M spacer on the I think it's on the right side on the drive side. And with the Eagle
Dub, it was a 7.5 spacer on the right side and then a three on the left side. I was like, "Whoa, that's huge." And
then didn't really didn't really put two and two together that it was a Eagle Dub wide crank set.
And me and Liam were kind of both talking like 7.5 seems a bit extreme to have like as a spacer. Seems like it
just doesn't seem very right to me. Um, even though that's what that makes it a 52 mm chain line.
Yeah. The Dub Y does feel very very much wider than a normal dub crank like a standard
crank set. So, it's like and when I'm pedaling all day, I can feel it. I actually don't like a a wide Q factor.
Really? Um, which is a way more of a thing in the road world. Like, they have different Q factor cranks in my own bike. They just don't you don't have the
option. Sh said you're you're going with the wide crank and you're going to like it. Yeah, literally. And I I can feel it. And I don't really enjoy it on like big
pedals, so that's why I bought these old spec cranks. I bought two of them. Um, and yeah, I've been hanging on to
them. So, it's such a weird thing to fiddle with and change it like as right like why change it?
It gets it can get a little complicated like I guess for Type I tell people about a dub wide versus a dub normal. They just kind of their
brains exp glaze over and like some some people ask me all these specifics about it and I'm like
just make sure your cranks are tight and your chain lines like roughly down the middle of your cassette like you're you're fine. Like Mhm.
Yeah. Obviously don't run some crazy far out or far end stuff, but like if you look
at a lot of the gravel guys what they're doing, they're fitting like 48 50 and 52
to chain rings on their gravel bikes are supposed to clear like 44 tooth rings. Yeah. They're just making it work. And they're they're pumping their stuff
way out. They're running crazy crosschain lines. Like they're doing the stuff that's not, you know, supposed to
work and it's working fine and they're winning races. And like back in the day with like Yeah. BB30 and stuff like you're you're
interchanging in like Canidale AI like you're you're interchanging spacers on each side and you're just guessing check
guess and check you're just constantly taking on and off crank set and yeah the chain lines all over the place like you're just making sure the Q
factor is like within reason and um chain lines within chain lines within reason and it spins properly. It's not
binding and you're good to go. Yep. You know, so checks out. Is it perm spec? No, not really. But is
it outside of spec? I'd say no. Not really. As long as it works and shifts fine,
right? Works fine, man. I've ridden it for whatever, eight months and raced it all over with the same exact setup. I slept
on one new chain and it's not wearing chains fast. So, there you go. Probably probably never dropped a chain. Jeff replaced his chains four times in
the last 400 miles. So, you got to love it. I'm not even exaggerating.
I walk in the shop and Liam's like, "What are you doing to Jeff's bike?" I'm like, "Oh, I'm cleaning it." Like, "Didn't you just clean it?"
Full rebuild. He goes He goes up to me. He's like, Trevor, he's like, I need you to do like a just a basic tune on this. Like, I
rode it 20 miles. I'm like, what else was there to do?
Oh, man. Like, I just came out of spec. You don't even You don't even need your chain lube cuz we waxed your chains.
Like, you're good to go. Pretty funny. Oh, just I just want his old stuff. All his old chains and tires and you know,
it's all perfectly good. All right. Hey guys, uh, love Worldwide Cyclingery and the podcast. customer
service is the best and always look forward to your stories, wisdom, and humor. Question for y'all. Um, if you
guys had to race your own traditional Amish buggy on a World Cup downhill track and you only had to you only had
one upgrade for your buggy, which of the four options would you choose? One is downhill tires, two is dual crown fork
suspension, three is dropper post for the bench seat, four is your favorite
bottle of tequila. Thanks from Dave. This is a really good question cuz it's a tough one. Yeah, you only have to
choose. You can only choose one up for the buggy. I really want to choose two. I'm going downhill tires.
You're going downhill tires. That was kind of my first instinct. You're not going to make it very far without that. Yeah, that's true.
I mean, logical downhill tires and a dual crown fork would be one and two. Yeah.
Um, for the sends, dropper post and a bottle to get loose.
Yeah, exactly. Get the seat out of the way and get loose. Get drunk for the downhill, right? Um, I'm going to have to agree. I
guess downhill tires, you know, get the pressure dialed. You know, it's crazy what you can do with some
downhill tires, but if you're not worried about flatting, you know, you're just going to cinch to the bottom. You're not going to
fix it. That's like putting downhill tires on a hard tail. It's like putting down tires on a hard tail. Or no, putting downhill tires on a
rigid. There you go. I wonder if anyone's done that before. I'm sure someone has. Someone's everything. I'm sure there's
an instance where like you're riding through the desert or something which is crazy sharp stuff on like a bike packing
bike and you basically need that you need dino tires. Yeah. And it's so heavy. So heavy but like you'll flat
you want flat in the middle of nowhere. No. H thanks for the thanks for the laugh Dave. Uh Liam, you want to read
the next one? Yeah, sure. Good day everyone. Thank you for all
that you do in the podcast which I listen to while working on bikes or on the way to the ride. It was exciting to
hear Rebels back and under new ownership or same ownership. And as seeing as how
I'm going to need something new in the next few months, I want to ask this question realizing that because of where I
ride Las Vegas area and because I have a dedicated downhill bike, I'm thinking XC Down Country, thus putting the Rebel
Ranger as a great pick. The question is, can this bike be over forth like the Yeti lunch rides? The Fox 36 SL at 130
is my potential choice. A big guy weighing 170 with a goal of weighing 230.
270 now. 270 now with a goal of weighing 230 even when I when lean with the XC
background in late 90s down. I ride pretty aggressively. My rides are mostly loose over hard pack with
moderate elevation changes and distances. Thank you again. Advice is helpful. Feels great to be on the pedals
again. Jeff F. Well, Jeff, I think you could or you you easily can.
I've had a a Ranger with a 130 pike on it. I was going to say we've both done that. Yeah, you got a 36.
I did have a 36 on there at one push. That was overkill, huh? That was way overkill. A 36 XL would be a better choice where
that lives lives now than for uh Jeff's uh stature. Yes.
But um I don't know. I kind of push you towards the Rascal. Honestly, I was thinking the same thing. Yeah. like
like it comes with a bigger fork. You can put lighter weight wheels and tires on it and the overall weight's not going
to be that big of a difference, but you're already going to have the over the bigger fork. Yeah. And the platform's kind of better suited
for you have your weight and like knowing some of the Las Vegas stuff like Yeah, you can do pretty long XC stuff,
but like you're also going to drop down a jank trail. Yeah. Where the Ranger is just going to be it'll be at it limit quick. Like it's
it's not a downhill bike. Can you also put a 30 36 SL at 140 as well, right? I
believe so. You could do 36 SL on a rascal SL. Save some weight. And then, you know, and then if you
really want to go like riding XC, just throw some light tires. And I was just looking up just to make sure like 270 is pretty big for a little XC
bike. And I just looked up the bike can handle it, but they just recommend Yeah. like changing your suspension out,
getting some bigger brakes in there, maybe some burlier tires and and wheels and it'll be just fine. Yeah,
I do recommend I've ridden like the bootleg canyon area before and which is sweet for a downhill bike, but they've
also got some cool XC trails out there and they're pretty sharp. Like if you were to run the Ranger with a little bit
of a bigger bigger fork and some heavier duty tires cuz everything in Vegas as I'm sure you know
is just sharp and trying to kill you. Yeah. So, um yeah, definitely get get the get the Ranger, get a uh yeah, Fox
36 SL130s. Pretty sweet. And some uh some like enduro tires maybe. Um something like
that just to not cuz you will fly out there. Something just like a slightly thicker casing. Something with a thicker casing. And uh
it's actually so fun because you can carry a lot of speed everywhere and pump stuff and True. Um like way more than you you'll get
you'll open up your horizons for more than you can just ride a downhill bike out there. Yep. So, it'd be pretty fun.
Yeah, that's a tough choice. Yeah, if you're going Ranger or Rascal cuz
really, like you said, Liam, like the Rascal is not going to be that much like heavier. Yeah, I would probably go with a Rascal
out there, right? Than a Ranger. And also, not only that, but like when you travel, you're going to have that more versatility with a with a Rascal.
I did a Enduro race out there in Boule Canyon and I rode an epic Evo. No way.
And uh I I I made it through. Did pretty well. And I uh I I was pushing the
absolute limit of the bike. There was it was absolutely pushed to its limit. And I would recommend more travel than a 120
or 130. So yeah, just a little bit more helps a lot. It's very rocky out there. Very rocky. Mhm.
Yeah. The Rascal is quite efficient. And I will say I think the Rascal is the most fun bike I've ridden.
Yeah, I would agree. It's like a little BMX bike. A little BMX bike, man. It's so freaking fun. Yeah, I was riding the like a year
ago. I had so much fun with it. It just wants to like pop up and hit little side hits and Yeah. Um it like sounds cliche, but like it's
true. Yeah. It's a It's pretty wild. It's a little wallet. It's a little rascal. It's wild how playful it is. Little
Wascal. That's awesome. Yeah, David loves his. I mean, it's super cool bike. Yeah, you know.
Yeah, it's it's super cool. Well, let's hit one mole. Yeah, let's do it. Hi. In your previous
podcast, I believe Liam said he was riding a Forbidden Druid. Actually, that was Trevor. That was me. But I've had my eyes on that bike for a
while, but I'm wondering how is a druid for a do-it- all bike. I do a bit of everything. Bike park once a month, XC
trails, big pedal days, and I enjoy doing gnarly trails quite a bit whenever I have the chance. How would the Druid
be as a doodle bike if it's the only bike you could have? I have my eyes on the Da Vinci Troy and Rocky Mountain
Instinct, which are fantastic bikes, but the Druid, it just catches my eye for some reason. Is it just lust or could
the druid be the bike? Thanks for your time. I've been listening to your podcast for quite a few years. Cheers from the Canadian East Coast. I
was going to say this guy's Canadian through and through Rocky Mountain for
Da Vinci. Yeah, I like it. The Canadian pride is showing. Uh so yeah, I ride I ride the Druid and uh
it is my do it all bike and I do a bit of everything as well. Bike park once a month kind of deal. XC, big pedal days,
gnarly trails. Um do it all. Two different wheel sets. So, I've been running trail one uh new shed shed
enduro rim uh setup, which has been awesome for the bike park days, racing,
Whistler, gnarly stuff, like just everything you could throw at it, it handles it. But also, I've also got a
different wheel set um for like XC, all mountains kind of stuff with lighter
tires. I think that's the key to making a do it all bike. Um although like man,
every time I ride the Druid, I I'm so impressed by it. It's actually insane. I just rode some trails last night behind
my house and they're re very rocky downhill trails that people shuttled downhill bikes on and I was able to with
the light setup, light light tires, light wheels, um I was able to just rip
it a new one and I was just like this is sick that I can even do that and then go and pedal it pedal it as far as I want
to go, you know? Yeah. Um so like you don't necessarily need the super heavy duty stuff. Sometimes you can get if you're fluid enough, you
can get away with the the lighter stuff. It just may not be the best in like a bike park or something. But yeah, I
would I would recommend it two times over. Yeah. Mhm. It's cool. Like it just the harder
you It's true. The harder you push it, the better it is, the more stable it is. Mhm. And uh it's quiet and it's just dialed.
I love it. Extremely dialed. Definitely one of the best bikes I have ever had for sure. Yeah. I miss it at times as well.
It's just cool. Like Yeah. like pedaling it all day. Like sometimes with the idler, you can hear it after a while. If
your chain gets dry, you can feel it a little bit, too. But as long as you keep up with your chain lubrication,
good to go. Yeah. Mhm. Do you find that waxing your chain on that bike has helped with that a little bit? Yeah. Waxing I think I don't know. It
just gives me like an extra ride or two without having to lube it. Yeah. But I just use squirt. Yeah. And even yesterday like um got home late
from a flight and I wanted to ride and um I didn't want to put squirt on because I wanted it to dry. So, I just
put some um Moto X just dry lube, just a little bit on there just to have it cuz
it was super dry. Yeah. Just a little bit. Good to go. You know, just I didn't want if I put squirt on and just want to ride
immediately, it would just gunk up so bad. True. You really have to let it dry. So, just a little bit of normal dry lube. Just a
little bit just to keep it lube. Yeah. And it's going to be dry by the end of the ride anyway. So, all good. Nice.
Yeah. I just ride my chain dry if that's the case. Yeah. Just like it's going dry. Yeah. See, with the Druid, like it just
sounds horrible with the pulley on there, and you can feel it. So, I just I don't want to do that. But yeah, I don't
know. I'm stoked on that bike. I can't wait to ride it again. I feel like it would be great on the Canadian East Coast as well.
For sure. Yeah. I mean, I've heard that it's like a lot kind of like the East Coast, like just jank and rocky.
Yeah. I find like the bike's fun on like single track and stuff, but when it gets rocky and rough Yeah.
it uh just excels. Just carries speed. Yeah. Yeah. It's cool for a 130 bike. It's insane.
Yeah. Tell people that like I'm riding the bike park on a 130 travel bike and it's like what? Like I I wouldn't want to do
that on a rascal. No. You know, it's not as playful as a rascal. It's a different style bike. We both had I was on a rascal
and you were on the Druid and we went to Hurricane, right? Oh, yeah. And we were riding what did we ride? Grafton.
Grafton. Yeah. Grafton mix. And I was very easily at the limit of that bike and Trevor was shredding.
Yeah. And and it's like crazy that they're both 130 mil bikes that is crazy that ride so different
just opposite ends of the spectrum which cool that's the cool part about bikes like people are always comparing
bikes and it's like what is what's the real difference like that's an actual real difference. They're they ride completely different.
Yep they do. I remember I had my Druid when we were we did our hurricane trip a couple years ago, right? Was I guess
that was last spring maybe? Two years ago. Yeah. And uh it just it suited that
train so well. Just like super rocky rocky square like Yeah. where it's something where you get hung up and doesn't really want to get hung up.
Like uh definitely like core memories riding that bike in that place and also like in the Dolomite it's just like like
you were saying just the harder you push it the better it gets. It's so confidence inspiring which is cool cuz most bikes you push it
harder it gets a little overwhelmed you know. So just like you said also especially for a 130 bike it's just like mind
I didn't do it this year but I I do think I could get away with riding that bike in Whistler at its absolute limit
especially at like 130 is not a lot of travel. Yeah. Like it could it could do it though. I feel like you'd be on the limit on the
tech trails. Yes. Like you'd be fine on the jump trails. It would be awesome. It'd be awesome. But with proper tires, I think it'd be
totally through it. Yeah. Sometimes you just need a lot of travel. Yeah. Yeah.
Like some of the honestly I felt like some of the tech blues we were riding at speed were some of the gnarliest.
Yeah. Cuz like the black ones you don't really ride at speed. No. Yeah. Um so we're like riding some black, some in deep and all that stuff up top. Um,
and yeah, it's gnarly. You have some decent compressions, but like the blue the blue stuff,
you can ride fast and then all of a sudden you just get overwhelmed and get all of a sudden you hit a hole. Yeah. Hit a big hole or like you went
off the trail in a blue you went off the trail. You missed that trail. Yeah. Just cuz I just I just had a
little deflection off off a route or a hole or something. He like kind of was flowing. And I literally like right before he did I was
like, "Yeah, Trev like Holland." Like said it out loud and he just blast blast
passed the Ryan. He gave me too much confidence. He threw my new guy. Yeah, Trev. Oh, literally so funny.
And that was on like a tech blue, but you know, so I don't know. You could get away with it. Yeah, for sure.
But I don't know many other 130 bikes you could do that with. No, I would not want to bring a rascal to Whistler. Yeah. No, probably not.
It wouldn't be very very fun. Crazy how different they can be. Yeah. Well, that will just about do it for
this one, boys. Thank you everybody so much for tuning in, listening, watching, we truly do appreciate it. And um gosh,
if you find yourself on the Worldwide Cycling website, we do have a discount code you can use. It's called MTB
Podcast number 10. MTBPodcast10. So, feel free to use that whenever you like.
And uh gosh, guess we'll see you in the next one. Cheerio. Peace. Love you.
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