Gear Talk

After reading a recent item in Dirt Rag, I became curious about taking a poll...

Here's the question: What kind of air pressure are YOU running when you ride at Salisbury?

I realize there's some key information to consider with this, so I'm providing a sort of form.

Here are the questions:

Full suspension, hardtail or rigid?
Rider weight?
Tubes or tubeless or Stan's?
Tire size/width?
Pressure?

I'll get the ball rolling with my info on two different bikes...

Full suspension, hardtail or rigid? Full suspension
Rider weight? 160
Tubes or tubeless or Stan's? tubes

well, it's that time of year where you lube up the face with bag balm, carmex, hope your water bottles don't freeze, and your eyes constantly water and streams of snot season, so
I thought:

let's all share winter riding tips. Some of us have thought about it, some of us do it. So what's your tips b/c you never know who might give it a try.

sorry rudymuto, you can skip this!!!! well actually you probably have some great winter clothes suggestions!!!!!

So now that it gets dark early, I need to get some lights so I can actually ride after work. I used to have a Niterider Storm HID a few years ago, which was super bright and solid. Now that LED technology is catching up, I'm not sure if I should spring for a tried and true HID system like the Niterider Enduro, or go with a LED. I heard a rumor that Niterider is just going to use their stock up of HID parts and will eventually not have any replacement parts.

Recently, a few friends have been really digging their Kendas, so I figured I'd try one.
I got a Nevegal Stick-E for the rear. I knew going in that the Stick-E compound was soft, but was supposed to work really well in wet conditions.

I honestly didn't notice a large improvement with this compound, but I didn't notice they wore INCREDIBLY fast. After just a handful of rides the center, square-edge knobs were wedge-shaped.

I had them on the bike for maybe two months and was riding at R.B. Winter on Don's ride when I looked back and noticed this (see image).

So right now I am trying to decide on if I would rather go with a 08 Yeti 575 or a ASR. I plan on doing mostly XC trail riding, don't plan on racing though. But I do like to ride fast as well, and would like it to climb with some agility. Anyone have opinions on this fact? It's basically a 5.75" travel bike vs a 4" travel bike. Anyone have either of these bikes in the area, in medium, that I could perhaps see in person?

Does anyone know if you can replace a 10w halogen with a brighter LED bulb. I have a Vistalight Nightstick setup and would like to make it brighter. The bulb can be replaced with a 15w halogen, but I'd like to go with an LED replacement for a longer burn time when riding. I know of replacement bulbs for regular flashlights, going form halogen to LED, and wondered if anyone knows of one for my light. Thanks!

hi everyone, i have an entry level full susp bike and looking to move on. my diamondback coil ex has a very springy rear susp which makes it nice for my casual goto get here rides and my 10 mile ride to work. i test road a iron horse yakuza aniki today and a 7 ponit 3. they are nice bikes but i can notice the extra weight which i kinda expect. one very big thing i noticed the very mushy rear suspesnion that is what im after for the softer trail rides and drop offs, minor gaps and stair cases i have been progressing with. is this the feeling i should expect and get used to...................?

I'm thinking about getting a helmet cam for a winter ski vaction, but I just saw a camera for sale in my recent Bike Nashbar for $100. That seems like a really good price. The best I could find was $120 on Pricepoint for what I believe is the same camera.

Anyway, does anyone have any experience with helmet cams, what do I look for and what features are necessary and what ones are overkill. I'm thinking waterproof is a must. I get lost when it comes to putting images on disc becuase it involes sitting in front of a computer and trying to speak it's language.

Now that 29'ers are so mainstream I guess we need a new wheel size... the 650B (27½'er).

Soma's take on it.

Anybody happen to know if the traditional (non rapid-rise) Shimano XT long-cage is no longer available?