Choosy riders choose...

Show us the fruits of your shoot-outs, comparisons, and personal testing... what products, trails, bike shops, people, events, ideas/concepts/tech, etc. do you find yourself choosing after much deliberation and repeatedly coming back to? Give a list of things that it had to beat out, to rise to that top personal spot.

Also, out of curiosity, try to name something that will be attainable in the near future that might be a contender to replace your choice, if applicable.

 

I'll start with my favorite tire, the Maxxis DHR2 2.3 TR/EXO (3c or DC). I shop for them at Art's Cyclery which typically have 'em on sale for $50 or so, before I use a code (VIP17) or gift card (discounted Black Friday sale). I've been on it for over 2.5 years, briefly trying other tires, but always coming back.



I spend 20 minutes to cut the knobs like this, to get them to rail corners similarly to the DHF and old High Roller, yet still retain the *much* faster rolling speed (25W rolling resistance/Crr vs 45W for DHF/HR2) and braking. It also has super reliable tubeless compatibility (tested with Stan's, Bontrager, and TruckerCo sealant) and if I don't wreck it prematurely, the tread can last over 2500 miles.

The HR2 and DHF are excellent alternatives, but when I can get a faster rolling tire for little downside, why not. It's also significantly lighter than either. It's super predictable and rarely lets me down. In fact, I think it's so grippy that I probably trusted it too much and it led me to getting high sided for the first time when trying to cut a corner on the inside while going a bit too fast (@6:00 in this video).

I've tried:
- Hans Dampf TrailStar/SS (super slow ~42W Crr, skitters unpredictably on brakes up front, doesn't corner on rails, compound doesn't feel as secure on sun-baked dirt, but okay on forest dirt like on Skyline)
- Butcher Control (the compound just isn't as nice on dry ground, but it's a different story in hero dirt)
- Purgatory Control (same as the Butcher, except it doesn't corner nearly the same, and this likes to fling sand in my face even when it's not freshly washed)
- Trail King ProTection (unreliable tubeless and casing much more prone to tearing)

I'd love to see this tire pre-modded, and with the shoulder knobs even with the center knobs, rather than in between. Maybe make the r/L shaped shoulder knob more like the other shoulder knobs, with less of a protrusion. I feel the ~$50 price I paid is well worth it, compared to what else I could've spent a reasonable budget on.

 

JIF?



Too soon of a derail?

 

Hmm...I can't think of anything I'm super particular about that I have enough experience with.

Huge fan of my Saucony Kinvara shoes. Put a ton of miles on them. They are the shoes I picked for my 70.3. And when I found a pair on the clearance rack at Road Runner Sports, I bought another pair (which I wore for my 140.6). But as I have other shoes (about 10 active pairs), I can't say they are the only ones I wear.

Oh, wait, this isn't a triathlon forum?

 

The concept of riding where no pavement exists is something I seem to keep coming back to. Every time I hit the street, first thing is I just want to see the dirt again.

I think an indoor course consisting of a styrofoam-like surface could finally take me out of the dirt.

 

The only item related to cycling I have used that hasn't changed with regards to brand and model is my pair(s) of Sidi Dominator 5 shoes. Everything else has waivered in my quiver.

 

#1 Speedplay Frogs:
We have been dating now for over 23 years..


#2 XT Ice Tech Brakes
Best Brakes I have ever used.


#3 Sram Grip Shift
No shifting on the left all shifting on the right? Now there is 12 of them? Grip Shift is the only way to go!
Supah clean, supah fast. It's like having an automatic transmission.

Yes... too soon...

 

Sram drivetrain, Time pedals and Pearl Izumi shorts. Having been using them as long as I can remember.

 

In a nutshell:

Shimano drivetrain, Shimano brakes (although I would like to try Hope brakes one day), Shimano pedals (I like CB EBs, too), Spesh Purgatory tires on everything (will switch to Maxxis eventually), Fox suspension (more plush than RS), WTB Rocket saddle (most comfy to date), KMC chains (they last longer for me). ESI foam grips (comfy, inexpensive, weight-weenie light).

 

Maxis minion
Specialized butcher
Five ten
Wtb rims
Answer handlebars
Shimano brakes
Koobi saddles
Moab grips

For hiking and running:
Hoka and altra

Trail: Chiquito! (Non-summer)

Females: my wife

 

does beer count?

 

Sativa: Jack Herer
Hybrid: Gorilla Glue #4
Indica: Hindu Kush

 

Do you really choose JIF? I'm snacking on Skippy crunchy right now. Isn't loaded down with sugar and salt like the store brand. I worry about getting cavities with the store brand (Kroger), while the Skippy stuff is top tier. Wonder if the peanuts in that video are roasted... I've once bought a large bag of raw unroasted peanuts and they were totally not ready for eating. Ended up just boiling them.

Sure. Pub, brewery, temperature of drink, style of pint glass it's poured in or directly out of the bottle, etc... share your passion. Perhaps it would be better with less/more hops, with a more earthy yeast, or perhaps better if it were barrel aged?

<--- not a beer drinker, yet somehow knows all this.

Shimano brakes (SLX and up) - so strong that you only need 1 finger to slow down... should actually only use 1-finger, if you want modulation. Excellent ergonomics, extremely simple to bleed, consistent power, super reliable, strong convenient hinged clamp. Ditched the sintered for resin, saving the sintered for wet rides. (snagged XTR BR-M9020 through a Universal Cycles sale for around $120, else I would've stuck to SLX).

Chosen over:
- Avid/SRAM: more difficult to get a quality bleed with, lever ergonomics not as good, braking performance is comparable, matchmaker is straightforward to use and gets controls in good position to reach, brake pads (4 pot trail version) are a bit more costly*

I like how the flat mount calipers are laid out, basically rotated forward a little. Air flow directly into the gap of the pads and the brake line is aligned inline with the chainstay. Wouldn't mind buying again with the new standard. One niggle I had with the brakes is that the servo wave thing was clacking when I first got the brake.



ODI grips - my current favorite model is the Elite Pro. ODI has that "just right" rubber compound, plus the lock-on clamps are super secure, and they come in all sorts of diameters and patterns. The Elite Pro has the comfort of a thicker grip, but the feel of a thinner grip. ~$25 (got mine from Universal Cycles)

Chosen over:
- Oury: kind of gets tacky yet slick when wet, and also gooey, especially once worn in and used in high temp and high humidity. Seems to break down into particles and shed, leaving all sorts of specs of black rubbery "dust" on your hands/gloves
- Ergon GP1, GE: too firm and hard, clamp doesn't lock down very well, models with palm "wings" are especially prone to rotation on the bar
- Easton: the TPE, or whatever they use, feels okay, but it just doesn't feel as refined nor luxurious as the ODIs.
- ESI Chunky: these silicon grips seem popular, but they seriously lack grip. Feels like they'd let my hands go once they get wet. Requires a strong grip on the bar when going through the rough--don't go trying to ride without your thumb hooked around the bar. They at least didn't fully tear off from handlebar strikes like foam grips would. That seem to absorb a lot of grease and other dirt--can't ever have visibly clean hands if I use them without gloves.
- Santa Cruz Palmdale: A solid contender to ODI, but I'm a bit worried about what kind of stress it can cause to my bar, not being able to slide it entirely on. The taper on the end that allows it to get tight on the bar, just is too tight. Not in love with the knurled pattern.

Not sure what would replace this choice... an Elite Pro version that worked with the dual lock-on clamps?


* regarding brake pads, Kool-Stop is surprisingly still making better quality brake pads than OEM and other "specialists"

 

Friction shifting on the road bike. This new index stuff is just a fad.

On a more serious note, I'd have to answer "good hubs". I've certainly tried enough cheap hubs and there is a world of difference between them and the good ones. I may just be a DT Swiss convert for life. No tools required for disassembly... What's not to love? Just today, I swapped end caps and free hub bodies between wheels and it took all of 10 minutes.

And... The Surly single speed cog. I almost forgot to mention it, because it's just there. I put it on a few thousand miles ago, and it's still as smooth and silent as day 1. The alloy cogs (Wolftooth) did not last 1/2 as long before becoming grindingly unusable.

 

I have questions...

Rock N Roll Gold chain lube. Keeps the drivetrain super clean, saves time/effort since it cleans/strips as it lubes. Lasts over 150 miles between relubes. Survives water crossings. Lab proven to reduce friction more than almost every other lube. I get a big bottle of it from Art's Cyclery for $15 with code VIP17.



Chosen over:
- Dumonde Tech - can gunk up the drivetrain if you're not super diligent about wiping off excess. Lasts similarly long, but not as slick. Can give off an odd organic smell, like fermenting sugar -> alcohol one day, and like a preserved science lab frog another day. A bit more economical for the price, but less convenient and lower performance. Chain still squeaks slightly after initial application (applied after deep chain cleaning, 1 drop per roller), but prob just means I wasn't thorough with the first application and 2nd has always fixed it.
- ProLink - keeps the drivetrain clean, but doesn't last very long between relubes. Washes off from water crossings.
- Pedro's Go - better than WD40, worse than all the other nicer lubes. Just an economical lube that I use on my beater bike
- Pedro's Icewax - used this for my beater/commuter, and it gunks up, but not in a bad way. This is expected with a wax, and the gunk pretty much pulls the grit off the chain, keeping the chain slightly oily feeling, but the metal-to-metal contact points all seem rather clean with the waxy gunk filling the voids.
- Used Boeshield T9 and White Lightning in the past, and Boeshield made everything black and oily (in a thinned-in-solvent way) but could be easily wiped off, while White Lightning was clean, but just wasn't very slick.

If they can make RnR Gold better, or cheaper, I'm all for it. I'm convinced this is the #1 lube for me, even though I do go through quite a large volume of it, due to how they insist on being liberal with it.

 

I never get gunked up using Dumonde tech. Apply, wipe, ride. Always brush off dust and dirt on drivetrain after riding.

 

Hence the diligence with wiping. Fixed it for ya Once the gunk was cleaned and I was keeping it wiped, it never re-formed.

Looked up Gorilla Glue #4 out of curiosity, and was thinking that it was just some brown-tinted resin that you somehow smoked... the description makes sense to make the name seem fitting.



Syntace Flatforce stem - for bikes with stack heights a bit too high (ex. long travel 29er hardtail combined with super low BB with ~633mm stack). I can always trust Syntace products to be fully tested for durability. Love the forged & shot peened construction of it. $70, surprising on Amazon.

I'd be getting more conventional shaped stems from Syntace too, if they weren't so expensive. OEM forged stuff is fine.

Chosen over:
- Ritchey -30d - wouldn't have gotten the stem low enough at 66mm or less length.
- FSA -20d SL-K/K-Force - pretty much a copy of Syntace, but with questionable design (big cutout at steerer and massive girth on top).
- and more conventional angled stems like Thomson - not a fan of CNC'd parts, especially not blocky ones

Could do without all the costly stuff like Ti bolts, o-rings that keep the bolts from falling out after loosening, and the heavy custom stem cap.

 

I'm still waiting for those Shimano silent coasting hubs to finally make it to production. Perhaps they'll update their seriously out-of-date cassette spline while they're at it. I really dislike how my Valor's 3.30 hubs end caps fall off, and dislike the same feature on DT350s, including having the entire cassette + freehub slide off under its own weight. Luckily, the 240s I've dealt with have much tighter fitting parts. I don't have a fav hub, but I favor Shimano front for the cup-and-cone bearings (as long as they hold their tightness well). Wish their rears were as good, but it's hard to package it all between the axle and freehub shell without something being compromised.

I'm also learning the same with alloy cogs. Probably has 2k miles and it's skipping occasionally. Steel next time... it's a mystery how Ti cogs get reported to last so long, when its abrasion resistance (tribological properties) and hardness are significantly less than steel. Don't want to go presuming that maybe they're babied and used in conjunction with higher quality chains and chainring.

 

I'm not really a stickler for any particular part on my bikes...but I do prefer SRAM for shifting duties. As long as I'm having fun when I'm riding...I'm good. When riding...my bike and its parts are the last things I want to think about. If I have to think about something my bike during a ride...that usually means something isn't working as it should. I recently replaced the brakes on my Banshee to some Magura MT Trails...since I was losing some confidence in my old ones. I'm also thinking about replacing the rear XT caliper on my 29r with an XTR since it's starting to get sticky.

As for chain lube...I've been using the Rock N Roll Blue for some time now. No reason to change it.

 

Lately i have been using the Rock N Roll absolute dry. Great stuff for where I live.

 

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Welp, @Varaxis pretty much buried everything that works for me.

Thread over...

 

I have questions too!

Curious why the choice of RockNRoll Gold or Absolute Dry? I've been using RnR Blue for many years. It seems to work well and keeps the drivetrain pretty quiet. What advantage do the other two versions have over blue? I have always applied after a full day ride. But partly because I clean the drivetrain which is often covered in dust. Do I not need to re-lube so often? Just clean off the dust and keep going? It can get crunchy during rides but once cleaned seems ok.

 

For those that still need a QR seat post clamp, well pretty much anything but the Hope ones are useless crap for me. I have bought one for every bike I owned since 2004. I liked the pre 2014 ones better, only for the more time consuming CNC work, performance is the same.

Why?
1. Precise fit
2. Perfect leverage with handle
3. Sweet no tool nut
4. The best brass bushing fit in the industry
5. Fat guy proof
6. Colors are dope
7. Seems to shed sand/dirt better than some others.

 

Skippy? Seriously? You are insane.
jiff crunchy for daily, or if feeling fancy Justin's

 

Excuse me sir, do you speak jive?

 

Dayum - who knew @Varaxis and I have so much in common!

Maxxis Minions - DHf and DHr II
Syntace bars and stems
Rock and Roll Gold
XT or XTR Trail Brakes

And for me - DT Swiss hubs!!!!!

I would say Marzocchi, but the big M is pretty much finally dead now - maybe.

 

Rock-N-Roll Gold - I normally switch back and forth with RNRG and Muc Off But recently the latest bottle of Muc Off has completely turned to gel. don't know if it's from the heat in the garage or a bad batch. RNRG FTW but I certainly don't get 150 miles a lube.
Red Monkey grips - comfortable, light, inexpensive.
Niterider lights - probably over 1000 rides, still working as they should.
Kindshock i900r dropper post - from 2010. Never rebuilt. Been on four bikes. A little slow now but still works.
Stone IPA -

 

I've got mine Niner Ti Cog set up with a KMC 8.93/9.93/10.93 chains and Renthal SR4 rings. Definitely not babied.

 

I have used Finish Line Dry lube for years and it works great. But our shop got in some of the RNR AD and it works in the baron wasteland where I ride in Bakersfield. It does not pick up a lot of dirt and grime like the Finish Line lube did.