All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

I'm excited for trail building season again. Next month all the leaves should be gone!

 

Agree and disagree. This area (Lefthand) is on National Forrest land. It opened to public non-motorized in 2016 and the trails from the video are on Gov maps/have FS trail markers. Nate posted the video in 2018 but there was already an increase in usage. There were even a couple of unsanctioned but public races there before Nate’s video.

Did Nate’s video increase its popularity? Maybe some but what really made it popular was the shear amount of trail building that occurred. Almost every single trail can be accessed or seen from one of the main, marked FS trails (except a few). I appreciate what people have and continue to build there but it’s a double edged sword. If you build cool trails in close proximity, people are going to find them. Especially if they are in public areas. Look at the area just north of there. Some hunting Advocacy group even posted a bounty on trail builders but then also publicized the same trails they were trying to shut down!

but yes I agree with a lot of the frustrations you share but not sure how much blame you can place on YouTubers. I think it’s more mapping sites like MTB project (which added Jon Watt/Bon Scott/845 whatever to the map in 2017, 1 year before Nate’s video) and Strava.

 

lolol. pinkbike throwing some shade today.

 

Fuck, I love flow trails.

 

Reaching out to the wealth of knowledge and experience in here.

The more there are sales, the deeper I fall into upgrades.

SRAM NX eagle groupset is on sale for $182. Which would fit my 2x to 1x conversion.
I'm seeing that popular opinion is DEORE 11sp > NX 12spd. However, the cheapest I can put together a Deore set is $294(ish).
Should I pass on NX, and hold out for sale(s) on Deore peices?

 

is there a GX groupset on sale? that's IMO the best bang for buck.

if not, you can start with the NX groupset and upgrade as you go. I would most definitely prefer the gx shifter over the nx (nx isn't designed for longetivity. water and dust ingress into the shifter is a real thing on the nx). and the derailleur is the same between the two. just lighter parts on the GX.

 

IDK if you check Universal Cycles, but they sometimes have good deals on Shimano.

https://www.universalcycles.com/specials.php?category=&company=Shimano&order=

 

Check it, this shop is my go to for drivetrain: https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3237072/

Edit: you can run a NX cassette, not quite $182 but still a quality drivetrain for pretty cheap

 

i think his issue is he needs a crank as well. currently 2x if i remember the post.

 

True, might be able to get away with the same cranks and a new chain ring, I know I used to run a 3x crank with a single ring from Race Face.

But yes I started doing the math and it quickly became the same price as the Deore kit haha

 

Dang... this details what I've been reading about long term issues with NX. Those are definitely deal breakers.

No sir, but I'll check 'em out!

Yea, as Ginseng27 mentioned, I am currently 2x on a square tapered BB. I THINK, the current set up is riveted, but I'll have to check.

Nothing wrong withy 2x set up at the moment, just taking advantage of current sales. Already recived my Rockshox Recon, and ditched the XCM fork...so the upgrade bug has bit me.

 

Filming on illegal/unmapped trails isn't the issue here, it's driving more traffic to trails in a way that could be problematic for access while at the same time not providing any sort of education on trail etiquette/access/user conflict. Part of the problem is consistently showing your crew riding fast as possible like you're on a closed enduro race course, which doesn't set a great example when you're actually on multi-use trails. Especially busy ones. As a result his videos have generated a lot of facepalms and "really, he had to film that trail??" reactions among locals in different areas.

I know of one he trail filmed (not gonna name it) that already has very tenuous access for bikes through a Wilderness Study Area. The land manager's rules state that bikes must be carried about 2,000ft uphill....no pushing - wheels are not allowed to touch the ground. It's a stupid rule but the land manager has already threatened to prohibit bikes entirely if it's not followed. Anyone who cares about this trail would very clearly spell out the bike carry rule if they were nice enough to tell you about it to begin with. It's anyone's guess how many of Nate's subscribers will show up to ride it. Yet the bike-carry rule is not mentioned in the vid, in its description, or in the comments, even when riders ask how the trail can be shuttled (it can't). But don't forget to like and subscribe! And sign up for patreon! Seems irresponsible and douchey to leave out an important detail like that when access is at risk.

Same with filming on trails that have high hiker traffic, especially ones that already have user conflict. Again there is never any mention of said hiker traffic or that you maybe, possibly, should slow down when passing, be nice, and say hi. At least he no longer seems to show his crew blasting past hikers who have stepped off the trail. Maybe they actually do slow down to pass and it just gets edited out. He would set a much better example if he showed that in the vids though, IMO. There are plenty of clueless riders out there who need to see that example set. Instead all they see are riders slaying the DH and getting as much air as possible. Like the issue above, if these riders show up uninformed of local issues they can cause problems and the local advocacy group or local riders are stuck dealing with the fallout of any bad or ignorant behavior.

Haha, yeah I'm definitely talking shit about influencers in general, but deservedly so. Definitely applicable in Nate's case too. He isn't the typical influencer who trades an IG post or two for a hotel stay or other product but his job is to help sell product for his sponsors and he does that in part by posting content on social media. If you're going to personally profit from doing that, then you also have a responsibility to help protect the trails you're profiting from. All he'd have to do is not list the trail name or location. Or add a bit of info to educate his audience. The fact he does neither makes him no better than all the other influencers out there who are blowing up hot springs, lakes, and campsite locations, or anything else that they've ruined for likes.

 

Alright - another question for you guys. I’ve been running tubeless for over a year now as a rider - on my gravel and MTB. When I swapped out my gravel tires, there wasn’t really a residue or build up like what I have in my MTB rear tire that I swapped out tonight. Looking at various interwebs photos, some had this same residue others didn’t.

There was some dirty sealant remaining, but is my maintenance of the sealant correct in that I add about 2oz every 3 months as I live in the high desert of New Mexico. I ride my MTB regularly so it doesn’t really sit dormant. I’m using Stans regular was original sealant and then I switched to Stans Race - didn’t realize I purchased Race when I bought more. I’ve had some punctures that I’ve plugged with bacon bits. Otherwise, sealant has worked great riding the areas I do with goat heads and cactus.

Here’s the photo I snapped of the inside of the tire. Is this why the sealant works or is this mean I need to add sealant sooner than 3 months?

Thanks for responses in advance!

 

looks normal to me.

 

That's wild

Well said on the matter but it will require an authoritative figure and/or mob mentality to change this behavior. Social media sucks in so many ways.

 

I get what you're saying, but even when people came out to access using the trail mapping software it was a very limited number of riders. I started riding LH around '16, and it was always empty. Around '18 that started to change, and a lot of locals attribute that to the videos being dropped.
I wonder if we're talking about the same area "north of there," I'll abbreviate it as PV. It's a very similar situation. NF land, some limited mapping available, lots of rider-built trails and off-shoots (built by a lot of the original builders of LH), plenty of gnar. But, no videos. Result? Still not busy, still off radar.
I agree that it's not his fault entirely. But, he (and others) contributed to the popularity and increase in usage. And as @evdog said earlier, anyone using these lands and other people's work to profit, has a minimum responsibility to explain their basic history, local etiquette, and promote responsible usage.
I guess I'm bitter about LH because it was so good, and so close to me. It was so great to see people put their heart, time, skin, and blood (myself included) into making that place what it was. Watching new lines and trails pop up was amazing, because it was all rider-built. Maintaining it was a source of pride, as was riding it. When an influx of people who didn't give a shit came in, it made a lot of us sad and angry. Oh well, plenty of space out there. I just hope LH keeps going, and people who ride there continue to build, which seems like it's happening again.

 

I didn't know you needed to add sealant every 3 months. I only add it when I get a flat and have problems getting it to seal/sit on the bead. i do 2 oz for my 27.5 x 2.4/2.5 tires. i thought you needed a bit more for 29ers and a bit less for narrower tires?

 

You’re doing it right.

 

Most of this has a shelf life of 2 years before clumping. Say it does it a bit quicker since it's being used and exposed to elements.
Change it once a year and you should be golden IMO.

Most people will change tires 1 or 2 times a year so I see no issues.